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5th out of 14 books
—
3 voters
A Kind Man
by
Susan Hill
Tommy Carr was a kind man; Eve had been able to tell that after half an hour of knowing him. There had never been a day when he had not shown her some small kindness and even after the tragic death of their young daughter, their relationship remained as strong as before. Grief takes its toll however, and it's not surprising that by the following Christmas, Tommy is a shado...more
Paperback, 185 pages
Published
2012
by Vintage
(first published 2011)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Susan Hill's literary novels seem to be short period pieces set in an undisclosed time in England. In this book I think we can guess that the time is the 1930s and that it takes place in an industrial town in Northern England, probably Yorkshire. She is also attracted to writing ghost stories and this novel does have a supernatural component, not connected with haunting, but something that takes place for which there is no rational explanation.
The setting is beautifully described and the reader...more
The setting is beautifully described and the reader...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Yes, I am most definitely a Susan Hill fan and I apologise in advance if this ends up being a gushing post verging on the let's skip beatification and just make her a saint of storytellers right here, right now. You've probably gathered by now that she's done it again - she's created a wonderful gem of a story whose simplicity belies a rainbow of human emotions and feelings.
Unlike my other encounters with Susan Hill's writing, this is not a ghost story as such although there is a definite elemen...more
Unlike my other encounters with Susan Hill's writing, this is not a ghost story as such although there is a definite elemen...more
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This was a reading group book and certainly provided plenty to discuss for such a short book.
I personally found the style of writing depressing - the whole story had an aura of sadness and inevitability about it, with the main characters all too accepting of whatever life throws at them. Perhaps that is partly because of the apparent time frame (in the 1930's I'm assuming) and the place (North of England?)Ms Hill doesn't elaborate,but perhaps leaves it to the reader to fill in for themselves.
To...more
I personally found the style of writing depressing - the whole story had an aura of sadness and inevitability about it, with the main characters all too accepting of whatever life throws at them. Perhaps that is partly because of the apparent time frame (in the 1930's I'm assuming) and the place (North of England?)Ms Hill doesn't elaborate,but perhaps leaves it to the reader to fill in for themselves.
To...more
One of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have read in a long time. The book is a novella and it tells such a simple little tale yet it's moving and complex and so very lovely.
A woman meets a man, a kind man, and they marry. Everyone says he's a kind man and he never fails to be kind to her, his wife. They are quietly happy. They build a quite happy home together. He's kind and quiet and gentle. A child is born and he plays music to her. She's sunshine in their home. Three years later the ch...more
A woman meets a man, a kind man, and they marry. Everyone says he's a kind man and he never fails to be kind to her, his wife. They are quietly happy. They build a quite happy home together. He's kind and quiet and gentle. A child is born and he plays music to her. She's sunshine in their home. Three years later the ch...more
I am a big fan of Susan Hill's writing. She seems to be able to tell such intricate and detailed stories in such a short time. Her characters are always full and believable and even when she is writing a ghost story, maybe especially when she is writing a ghost story, she can weave a totally believable tale that draws you in and has you on the edge of your seat... a fine example of this is The Woman In Black. However for the first time in a long while this book, The Kind Man, feel short for me a...more
Having never read any Susan Hill before and only having seen the play based on A Woman in Black at the theatre, I was not sure what to expect. I suppose I should have expected some kind of supernatural element because of A Woman in Black but this story starts as a story of loss and grief, told with authentic emotion that it was still somewhat of a surprise when the unexpected happened despite a particular tone of foreboding. Her writing is at times poetic and at other times so simple, yet this s...more
This novel is both detailed and somehow soft-focus. Like a verbal equivalent of Merchant-Ivory's visual style. It isn't clear where in England this is set, or quite when (the 30s? The 50s?). There's a lot of telling rather than showing with only certain pivotal scenes enacted before us. The narrative is an exercise in poise, engaging the reader's empathy while retaining a certain neutral objectivity. Situations rather than language elicit an emotional response, but there are stretches that feel...more
I find Susan Hill's books very variable, but this was a little gem - concise, precise and extraordinarily moving. I disagree with those who have said that the characters are supine, simply giving in to their fates - for this is how life was for so many people at the time (and indeed still is, in some parts of the world). Conversely, I found them dignified and entirely credible.
I won't go into plot detail, as spoilers would be inevitable, but suffice to say that I was engaged throughout, and that...more
I won't go into plot detail, as spoilers would be inevitable, but suffice to say that I was engaged throughout, and that...more
I really found this a difficult book to like - the characters are dull, everyone seems to be going no where and its all feels a bit lost in time and space. I read it for book club and its really not a book i would recommend.
i do though have a prejudice against characters that accept what unfolds as thought they have not choices - it like life happens to them and they just go with it no questions asked - who lives like that? I mean Tom - the kind man in question gets this ability and its just tha...more
i do though have a prejudice against characters that accept what unfolds as thought they have not choices - it like life happens to them and they just go with it no questions asked - who lives like that? I mean Tom - the kind man in question gets this ability and its just tha...more
Sep 14, 2012
Roberta
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
literary-fiction
Conoscevo già Susan Hill per aver letto, molti anni fa, La donna in nero (da cui recentemente è stato tratto un film con Daniel Radcliffe, The Woman in Black) che ricordavo piacevole ma anche di impostazione classica, senza grosse sorprese. Adesso mi viene il dubbio di non averlo letto con la dovuta attenzione (o forse mi è mancata proprio la maturità letteraria).
A Kind Man è la storia di un matrimonio, quello tra Eve e Tommy, ambientata in una cittadina industriale senza nome (indicativamente s...more
A Kind Man è la storia di un matrimonio, quello tra Eve e Tommy, ambientata in una cittadina industriale senza nome (indicativamente s...more
Review from Badelynge
I read my first Susan Hill book back in the dim, misty past of my college days. Nestled in my English Lit reading list amongst Thomas Hardy, T.S.Eliot, G.B.Shaw, Grahame Greene etc was I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill. To an 18 year old who was more used to reading wall to wall epic fantasy and sci-fi I found Hill's writing the most accessible, though I admit it wasn't until a much later reread that I really appreciated the sheer depth and truth of her writing. Altho...more
I read my first Susan Hill book back in the dim, misty past of my college days. Nestled in my English Lit reading list amongst Thomas Hardy, T.S.Eliot, G.B.Shaw, Grahame Greene etc was I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill. To an 18 year old who was more used to reading wall to wall epic fantasy and sci-fi I found Hill's writing the most accessible, though I admit it wasn't until a much later reread that I really appreciated the sheer depth and truth of her writing. Altho...more
This is a strange book, very well written as all her books are. The two star rating is because I found the subject matter distressing and the book does'nt really come to conclusions which give 'closure'. However since real life is like this perhaps it is an honest attempt to come to terms with a strange phenomenon.
To say more would spoil the novel- it won't take you long to read at less than 200 small pages.
I would be interested to see other people's reactions.
To say more would spoil the novel- it won't take you long to read at less than 200 small pages.
I would be interested to see other people's reactions.
Another exceptional read from Susan Hill. This novella deals with love, in a subtle and understated way. How Susan Hill manages to create the atmosphere and emotions she does with such sparse use of words I don't know but halfway through this book I was crying - a very rare occurance with a book - and read it in almost one sitting. Sad and heart-warming all at the same time.
This is a deceptively simple book. Beautifully written and thoughtful, it is the story of a young couple in England who find one another, marry, have a child and quiet happiness, then lose the child. There's a bit of a supernatural element. The book made me think about self, and love and place. Still wondering how the sister could have been so ungenrous and unkind.
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The first Susan Hill book I've read, I bought it on recommendation. Undeniably well written, but the story was very simple and I found the 'moral' rather preachy. Also, I found it hard to empathise with any of the characters, even with the mother of the dead child, because the narration was so neutral. Pleasingly short.
I liked the simplicity of the story and the way that it plucks at your heart strings through the experiences of the characters in the book. There's a lot left unexplained, for example, why the sister keeps on having so many children, where the story takes place and when. It reminded me a folk tale.
I normally love Susan Hill's books, but I found this one very depressing, in that the ending had a kind of morality in it which almost seemed like a punishment. Some books, like this one, I find very well written, and get engrossed in, and then the ending can be a let down. Missed the magic.
A small book Full of morals. It was a little boring at the beginning but it picked up base and it got more intresting until we got to the main moral of the story which is that kindness should be given and not to wait for anything in return.it is a vertue that is given to only those who can handle it.
Short and sweet. Kind of a romance. Not much of a plot, mostly just character description. Hill doesn't make mention of where or when this takes place, so you can insert your own visions of people/settings.
Read in under 24 hours; a touching novella but in many ways too similar to In the Springtime of the Year, which still resonates with me some 20 years after first reading it.
Beautifully written and thoughtful book. A simple story but with a wonderful idea of doing what is right in life and all that truly matters is being a kind man!
This was a beautiful fable of a book - just right for reading over Christmas. It was a gentle book..a book about giving.
a slightly different kind of story for Hill,it was ok with a few surprises but it didn't overwhelm me.
Beautiful. I picked it up to read a chapter before bed but then couldn't leave it.
This book is amazing! I cried like a cow all the way through!
Nicely written, very sympathetic with the subject matter, but I didn't get the point of it. Guess I was waiting for a horror twist with didn't come.
again - more brilliant writing and characters.
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Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factor...more
More about Susan Hill...
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factor...more
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26. Februar, 08:35 Uhr