| Book Categories | | • | Antiquarian, Rare & Collectable | | • | Art, Architecture & Photography | | • | Audio CDs | | • | Audio Cassettes | | • | Biography | | • | Business, Finance & Law | | • | Calendars, Diaries, Annuals & More | | • | Children's Books | | • | Comics & Graphic Novels | | • | Computing & Internet | | • | Crime, Thrillers & Mystery | | • | Fiction | | • | Food & Drink | | • | Gay & Lesbian | | • | Health, Family & Lifestyle | | • | History | | • | Home & Garden | | • | Horror | | • | Humour | | • | Languages | | • | Mind, Body & Spirit | | • | Music, Stage & Screen | | • | Poetry, Drama & Criticism | | • | Reference | | • | Religion & Spirituality | | • | Romance | | • | Science & Nature | | • | Science Fiction & Fantasy | | • | Scientific, Technical & Medical | | • | Society, Politics & Philosophy | | • | Sports, Hobbies & Games | | • | Study Books | | • | Travel & Holiday | | • | Young Adult | | • | e-Books |
|
|
|
|
Wife in the North | 
| Author: Judith O'reilly
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £4.99
You Save: £3.00 (38%)
New (25) Used (25) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 1782
Media: Paperback
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0141033436
EAN: 9780141033433
ASIN: 0141033436
Publication Date: July 3, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Disappointing chick lit December 31, 2008
I read this after reading an extract in the Times and was really disappointed. The extracts gave a good idea of what to expect - chatty, funny writing, but the book as a whole is too long. There is a limit to how long you can read this type of writing and I got to the limit within 100 pages.
There were some good bits which were well described (eg the sweep before birth), but on the whole the tone and content were tiring - yes, London and the North are different, but she made the point far too many times.
Overall: amusing in places, but overlong and repetitive.
 Whinge in the North December 28, 2008
Y'know, I hate to say this but... go back to London, you clearly hate Northumberland! Every page is a whinge and after 50 it becomes tedious.
Interestingly the author does not allow anonymous posts on her sites and vets the others. Gosh, still depressingly self absorbed.
 Easy to relate to December 23, 2008
The book was recommended to me by a friend. I read a lot of books, ranging from Thrillers, history, contemporary fiction, autobiogs, but this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I could relate to a good part of the book and found myself laughing and crying along. Fantastic.
Upper middle class London-centric bleating December 15, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This (unintentionally) amusing book appears to have been written by a real life version of one of Bridget Jones' delusional surrey wife mates. It reads like a satire on ivory tower dwelling hooray henriettas, but actually appears to have been penned by the real thing. If, like the author, believe that civilization ends somewhere outside zone 6, this is the book for you.
Mrs O'Reilly writes about life in the North in the style of a reluctant anthropologist, pluckily embarking on a cultural tourism exercise/exotic adventure, amongst the simple, quaint, yet lovable peasants with amusing accents. In this, my favourite line, she marvels at their rustic ways:
'I was expected to talk to people in shops!'
Well whatever next. They'll be making eye contact next.
By the end of the book, you're left in no doubt on two issues:
1) The author misses London (she is the only thing bleating louder than the sheep which populate much of the Northumbrian landscape)
2) London is the centre of the known universe. All roads lead there.
For amusement value only.
 A generally good read but she does whine a lot! October 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I started off quite unimpressed with this (because the author really does moan far too much about nothing and every time she runs out of fuel in the middle of nowhere with small children in the back of her car it's ALWAYS ENTIRELY HER OWN FAULT!)...but it grew on me a lot!
It's the autobiography of a reporter who, due to wishes of her husband, agrees to leave London for Northumberland with their children. I could relate to so much of this as I too loved living in London and moving away was a wrench for me. It's the simple things you miss. You miss being able to go shopping at 7pm on a weeknight. You miss being able to pop out and get a coffee and lose yourself in the city. There's an air of anonimity which is inherant to London and I miss that very much. Living somewhere village-y with a full-blown gossip network and everyone knowing your business and talking about it is very upsetting. In London, no one cared. The statements at the end about how in London you have very good friends scattered all over the city but seldom have ever spoken to your nextdoor neighbour and how no one "pops round" is so true. I'm not sure I like people "popping round" though. I like my privacy. Maybe I'll get used to it? Doubt it. Judith starts off very coy and doesn't reveal much of herself but gradually opens up through the book and ends up revealing some very deep and personal things towards the end which come as a bit of a shock when you read them. It's very, very funny and although I didn't find it remotely un-put-downable - in fact, it took me a month to finish it, which is strange for me - it's very readable and being in a diary format, it's accessable too.
|
|
|
| |
