I had to seek it out and it was a revelation. This was a list voted for by the public and there at number 82 was this book that I had never heard of. I didn’t know that Smith had a writing life beyond children’s books really until 2003 when the BBC produced a much publicised Big Read Top 100 books. Once I deemed myself able to cope with the “difficult words” found a whole new level of enjoyment from what I got from Disney. I would spend hours looking at the classic pink cover of the Puffin edition, retelling the story from the film to myself over and over and yearning to be old enough to be able to tackle the book. Of course I knew who Dodie Smith was, writer of my much-loved copy of “101 Dalmatians”. I have only discovered it in recent years. It is time to recognise this book for what it is – one of the finest novels of the Twentieth Century. (I would like to think that fathers recommend it to sons!) It captivates whole families. It is a book which readers recommend to the next generation, mothers recommend it to daughters.
It has simmered along for the last few years as a bit of a word of mouth classic. Once again, not explicitly chick-lit but for any fans of that genre this book is an absolute treat.
0 kommentar(er)
