I do love Nina Bawden's books. I love the way that the story is not as important as the characters. I started off loving her children's books, in particular Carrie's War, and I loved the way that the first part of Anna Apparent was in so many ways an adult version of this story.Anna Apparent is a novel about a woman and her identity. Who exactly is the Anna of the title? By revealing episodes in Anna's life where she has played different roles (abused evacuee child, dutiful daughter of foster mother, nineteen-year old wife, mistress), Bawden paints a picture of Anna by centring on the other important people in her life, and it is only at the end that Anna is able to speak for herself.
I'm so glad that Nina Bawden has written so many books as they are such a pleasure to read and fortunately I still have plenty left to go for this challenge)
It's just been published the once by Virago. I've now decided to give my VMCs star ratings, and this one is 4*
Hi Verity
ReplyDeleteYou might be interested to read the interview with Nina which appeared on SpitalfieldsLife.com today.
After reading it I'd been thinking I should seek out more of her work - Anna Apparent sounds like a good place to start. Thanks for the recommendation.
Hello hearing trumpet - thanks for popping in. That was an interesting interview - I've just actually read her autobiography which was fascinating. I am so enjoying her books.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow collector of old Virago classics, I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this blog! I was googling 'Anna Apparent' when I found it, having just found a copy in my local charity shop for 50p, to my great joy. I'm half-way through my reading of the book right now, and I agree, the first part is like a much darker version of 'Carrie's War'.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in - I'm glad you found me! 50p for Anna Apparent - lucky you. Do come back and see my reviews as I work my way through the list.
I'll certainly be back, Verity. I see that you've read 'Miss Herbert' by Christina Stead, for example, the very book I picked up out of my Virago collection (some read, others waiting to be read, or, in the case of the favourites, to re-read!) this morning!
ReplyDelete