Two Months’ Worth of Reports!
Two Months’ Worth of Reports!
“Less ” by Andrew Sean Greer
This Pulitzer Prize winner was boring, uninteresting and not at all funny. So said all ten of us Page Turners. Our score was the lowest yet of one out of ten. Less was clearly not more.
However, it was lovely as always to meet up together for a welcome cuppa and exceptional bara brith and brownies. Thank you, Nicola. You spoilt us
“Frank and Red” by Matt Coyne
Frank is a widowed older man who likes to keep himself to himself. Red is a six-year-old boy who is chatty and excitable.
Frank is a gruff, ill-humoured loner since the death of his wife, Marcie, whose “ghost” does her best to cheer him along or put him straight on a few things. His house and garden are now neglected, and he’s turned his back on the world. Then Red and his mum Sarah move in next door after Sarah’s divorce
Red hates the new house, it’s tiny compared to his old house, he hates his new school, none of the kids speak to him, excluding him at playtime, and one boy in particular is a real bully. It’s no better at home, no one to play with, and then there’s Frank, the grumpy old man next door who’s really mean.
The most unlikely of friendships, but somehow, two people who are decades apart in age, are thrown together by circumstance. What follows warms the heart to see just how the relationship develops. Frank and Red are new neighbours and complete opposites.
The group felt that it was an easy read with some laugh out loud moments and was sad and emotional. There were some issues that some members found difficult to accept. Firstly, why didn’t the teacher do more about the bullying of Red which was quite obvious as the story developed. The whole group questioned whether a six-year-old would have taken this difficult journey on the underground as he was trying to reach Frank’s son or would Frank have got away with driving on the pavement (which he did) trying to reach his son.
The story was heartwarming and uplifting but had varying scores between 5-9. The final score was 7.1
Many thanks to Jill our hostess for the afternoon who provided us with delicious chocolate cake.