Una Stella Tra I Rami Del Melo (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
On audiobook. Jamie's whole family has been torn apart by his sister's death, and things just keep getting worse, even though it happened five years ago. Now his mother has run off with another man, and Jamie and his surviving sister, Jas, are left with their father, who mostly seems to drink and cry. The author wisely shows you how neglected the two kids are so that you kind of hate the parents before revealing the horrifying details about how their daughter was killed. This was very good, well-written and sensitive with fully realized characters-- and it was read with a pleasant Scottish burr by David Tennant! I have been looking forward to reading this book as i will be teaching it to a y7 class in September. Initially, the voice of the protagonist, 10 year old Jamie, is strikingly similar to that of Christopher in Curious Incidient, however, after a few chapters it starts to differ somewhat. I expected this book to render me an emotional reck and to delve more into the subject of the 7/7 bombings. However, it did the complete opposite due to how the novel is told through Jamie who can't really recall anything to do with the bombings or his sister who died on that day too. Due to this, the novel is quite emotionally flat for the most part and I believe this is purposefully done so that you experience Jamie's world rather than being swamped with the mother, father or sister's grief. Of course, you do witness Jamie's family dealing with grief but even that is relayed in an emotionally-dead pan way. Ultimately, this approach to the narrative only serves to heighten the wave of emotion you feel at the end as a family reunites over the death of a cat- something seemingly unimportant at the beginning, but something which allows Jamie to mature and finally understand his family rather than be the outsider. The story deals with other complex themes which makes this slender novel really quite heavy in terms of subject matter and analysis. Furthermore, the characters you meet throughout this novel are all extremely realistic and well-illustrated. A decent book overall which confidently deals with complex themes through an unusual perspective. One annoyance: overuse of " 'cos " !
What do You think about Una Stella Tra I Rami Del Melo (2011)?
Una historia que me ha fascinado. Se ha convertido en uno de mis libros favoritos.
—Mark
I loved Jamie. He's a doll. The audiobook is read by David Tennant and awesome.
—mycolor
Wonderful issues.authentic narrator. flawed characters. Real emotions.
—arualbr9
