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The Most Beautiful Thing
by
Satya Robyn (Goodreads Author)
Meet Joe. 14 years old, obsessed with birds & the weather, and perplexed by humans. Spend the Summer in Amsterdam with his chaotic artist aunt Nel. Come back fifteen years later, witness a tragedy, and discover a secret which will change everything...
Paperback, 317 pages
Published
March 20th 2012
by Woodsmoke Press
(first published March 16th 2012)
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Community Reviews
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857)
Jan 19, 2013
Jackie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2013-reading-challenge
A beautiful, moving and uplifting book that covers puberty, dysfunctional relationships (both familial and sexual), friendship, first love, depression and loss.
There are very few characters, so I came to feel like I knew Joe and Nel very well. Joe aged 14 is solemn, moody, socially awkward, obsessive in his interests and utterly compelling.
Nel, the aunt he goes to stay with in Amsterdam that summer, is an artist with a love-life as colourful and chaotic as her small flat. And she's just what h...more
There are very few characters, so I came to feel like I knew Joe and Nel very well. Joe aged 14 is solemn, moody, socially awkward, obsessive in his interests and utterly compelling.
Nel, the aunt he goes to stay with in Amsterdam that summer, is an artist with a love-life as colourful and chaotic as her small flat. And she's just what h...more
A beautifully written, beautifully paced and, well, beautiful book.
The central character, Joe, grabbed my attention and affection right from the start. Some Amazon reviewers have speculated that his emotional difficulties may describe autism. This didn't actually occur to me while I was reading and I'm not sure it's quite the right interpretation. Perhaps we simply don't need to label our different drummers.
I always find it interesting when a female author writes a male protagonist (and vice ver...more
The central character, Joe, grabbed my attention and affection right from the start. Some Amazon reviewers have speculated that his emotional difficulties may describe autism. This didn't actually occur to me while I was reading and I'm not sure it's quite the right interpretation. Perhaps we simply don't need to label our different drummers.
I always find it interesting when a female author writes a male protagonist (and vice ver...more
This was definitely "The most surprising thing". The book was nothing at all what I expected, even though I didn't delve into it with a lot of expectations to being with. We follow Joe, a fourteen year old boy, troubled by his family and by what I think is supposed to be a light degree of autism or asperger, as he visits his aunt Nel in Amsterdam.
It's a book with a small person gallery, which means that we get to know the main characters, Joe and Nel, rather well. I loved that. Both were really...more
It's a book with a small person gallery, which means that we get to know the main characters, Joe and Nel, rather well. I loved that. Both were really...more
I was drawn into this book when I started to read it - I liked 'The Letters' very much and really enjoy Fiona's postings and ideas. I was reading it on a train journey and just got to the second part. When I went back to it a couple of weeks later I just couldn't get back into it. Nel was really the only character I liked, and once she was gone, rather too conveniently I thought, I was just waiting to get to the end - for our reading group at the end of the week. I liked the Amsterdam setting, a...more
What an unexpected story! I knew this would be a story of character development, but had no idea it would be an in-depth journey of discovery/depression for Joe, the main character! It was a really good book. Slow at times. I was unsure of where it was going at times. However, the last 1/3 of the book really took the reader into Joe's real life; into Joe's real head/and struggles with his lifelong depression. Some reviewers wrote they thought Joe may have Aspberger's syndrome. I think that was l...more
This was the first book that I read of Fiona Robyn's and what an introduction to a writer. Joe's story had me enthralled from the start and it's been a while since I cared about a character so much. The writing seems effortless and the characters very real in all their confusion, pain and happiness. Sadly I finished it while travelling on the tube so couldn't have the proper cry that this book made me want to have. But I will read it again and now I know about the emotional punch it packs, will...more
I quite liked the characters and the book was very easy to read - I finished it in two nights. Unfortunately something about it just didn't grab me. I can't really put my finger on what. The main protagonist was very likeable, I wondered if he had a level of aspergers - or if the point was supposed to be that he found comfort in facts and scientific analysis and couldn't combat his depression until he had embraced the emotional side of life.
The book has a gentle pace and is bittersweet. It treat...more
The book has a gentle pace and is bittersweet. It treat...more
Wanted to give this 3.5 stars, really.
Perhaps it was intentional because of the nature of Joe's personality disorders, but I found it very, very difficult to identify with or feel much for him, or care much about what happened. I did love Nel! And I found the story to be intriguing, although at the same time, the main story point was kind of obvious to me from the start, and I just read waiting for the reveal (and maybe to learn if there was anything more to it, a bigger secret). I felt like I...more
Perhaps it was intentional because of the nature of Joe's personality disorders, but I found it very, very difficult to identify with or feel much for him, or care much about what happened. I did love Nel! And I found the story to be intriguing, although at the same time, the main story point was kind of obvious to me from the start, and I just read waiting for the reveal (and maybe to learn if there was anything more to it, a bigger secret). I felt like I...more
This book is written in two parts. Part one is set when Joe is fourteen and he goes to Amsterdam to spend six weeks in the summer with his aunt Nel who is an artist. Meanwhile back home in Milton Keynes his Mother is struggling with her depression.
In part two Joe is now twenty nine and has returned to visit Nel. Joe hasn't been coping very well, he keeps bursting into tears, is having problems at work and has a non existent love life. While in Amsterdam this time he discovers a life changing sec...more
In part two Joe is now twenty nine and has returned to visit Nel. Joe hasn't been coping very well, he keeps bursting into tears, is having problems at work and has a non existent love life. While in Amsterdam this time he discovers a life changing sec...more
This was an incredibly bittersweet read. The writing was beautiful, I thought the pacing was just right, and I loved the characters (though Emmie was a little bit too much like a 'manic pixie dream girl' in places). Although some reviewers seemed to find Joe annoying, I thought he was an excellent protagonist. The fact that he was unsympathetic at times made him seem very real to me, and that made his later struggle with depression all the more painful to witness. As a bonus, having spent a lot...more
Not at all my usual kind of read, I only embarked upon this because I follow the author's Writing Our Way Home blog and she was kindly offering it as a free download when it was first published. I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy it, but despite all my reservations by the time I reached the end I realised I had been completely drawn in without realising it. The subject matter is still not my cup of coffee, but the thoughtful and descriptive story-telling won me over. In conclusion, it...more
Jul 27, 2012
Camilla ~ ♥Qhuay At Last♥ ~
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
free-kindle
((Freebie on Amazon/Kindle))
I admit it, I’ve had ‘stuff’ happen in my life – I still don’t want a book written about my life though, because you know what? My life is not that interesting, and I would feel bad for the people who, one day, got the book about my life as a freebie on Amazon/Kindle and then had to read about my life where, yes stuff happened, but it still wasn’t interesting.
If you can even understand that last part then that is how I feel about this book..
For the life of me I don’t...more
I admit it, I’ve had ‘stuff’ happen in my life – I still don’t want a book written about my life though, because you know what? My life is not that interesting, and I would feel bad for the people who, one day, got the book about my life as a freebie on Amazon/Kindle and then had to read about my life where, yes stuff happened, but it still wasn’t interesting.
If you can even understand that last part then that is how I feel about this book..
For the life of me I don’t...more
When I received this giveaway in the mail, I couldn't stop touching the cover - whatever type of paper-finishing the publishers used felt like butter. I also was drawn into the cover design - simply the title, drawn with colored pencils, on a stark white background. Well, to me, the cover design and the paper choice, proved to be the foreshadowing of the story and the writer. The author writes like creamy, whipped butter and all the colors fading into and out each other made me think of Joe - fa...more
It's rare that a novel makes me truly care about a character. Fiona Robyn accomplishes that feat in The Most Beautiful Thing with the telling of Joe's story. Joe's family is dysfunctional. His mind is a maze. His feelings are confounding. His life, a mess. Following his journey from age fourteen to twenty-nine was a wonderful, voyeuristic ride that left me tearful and hopeful for his future--and completely invested in it. There is much to learn from Ms. Robyn on the art of character building.
There are many books about depression. The words in this book are beautifully put together and describes that absolute inertia that slows the world and your breath when you're in the middle of depression. How nothing stops it until the head and heart are ready. The descriptions of Amsterdam are so exact I feel like I'm back on the Dam sipping coffee and walking towards the flower market. Beautiful.
I loved most of this book- mainly because the characters were so original and the main male character's "voice ' was flawlessly executed. That said, this book- with such a strong beginning - fizzled out for me at the end. Everything was so beautifully complex and intricately written,, then suddenly over and wrapped a little too neatly in the end.
This was just wrong... ok ok..I dig that the author belongs or runs a writers collective but there was no reason why this book had to prattle on meaninglessly.It could've been an ok short story but to make it a full blown novel with such an auspicious title was really misleading to me....yes, I chose this book partially based on its title;what a fool am I? The only thing that kept me reading was hope that the protagonist was going to eventually be diagnosed with Aspbergers syndrome which would...more
I'm torn by this book. I enjoyed the author's skill at writing through the eyes of an awkward teenage boy, but felt that the second half was missing something - it ended so quickly. For the quality of the writing, however, and the nuances of a sensitive relationship Robyn was able to paint, I think it deserves 4 stars.
May 14, 2012
Jessica
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary,
favorites
Wow. A book that deserves its title. It is a beautifully written story about depression, life, family and love. It proceeded along at its own gentle pace and there were no great surprising turn of events. It reads like one slow gradual crescendo till the end. I was really drawn by the characters as much as I was by the story.
Wow! Just finished your wonderful novel "The Most Beautful Thing!" Full of rich and quirky characters, intense family drama, multicultural influences, and the exploration of a deep and very important subject matter. Very well done, Fiona Robyn! I highly recommend this fabulous book! Thank you...
The description in this novel immersed me in Holland. I felt cocooned in Nel's home and felt the emotions experienced by Joe. The author described his teenage angst with a passion that made me care for him. I really loved Nel and she became a friend I looked forward to meet again each time I picked up the book.
There were twist which I didn't expect, making lots of things slot into place. I am sad to leave the characters behind now I've finished the book, and I would certainly recommend this book...more
There were twist which I didn't expect, making lots of things slot into place. I am sad to leave the characters behind now I've finished the book, and I would certainly recommend this book...more
I was totally absorbed by this wonderful book.
14 year old Joe spends the summer in Amsterdam with his quirky aunt. He is gentle but self absorbed and finds it very difficult to understand the world and other people.
This story is a coming of age tale, but not in the traditional way. It is shocking at times, but I loved the contrast in characters and the unusual friendships.
14 year old Joe spends the summer in Amsterdam with his quirky aunt. He is gentle but self absorbed and finds it very difficult to understand the world and other people.
This story is a coming of age tale, but not in the traditional way. It is shocking at times, but I loved the contrast in characters and the unusual friendships.
Fiona Robyn never fails to create a world that draws you in. This is a gentle yet shrewdly constructed and vivid story, written with wisdom and compassion, tinged with sadness and humour. There is something so real about everything she does, that gets right to the heart.
Lovely story. I couldn't put it down- even though it wasn't a thriller. It's about families and mental health issues and how those two intertwine. But mostly it's a story about a young man, who probably is either on the autism spectrum or has Aspbergers, and his time spent with his aunt. It's a nice read with a nice ending and I recommend it.
A sad book that made me cry. A book about a boy, and then the boy as a man, and his feelings of displacement. Sent to Amsterdam to live with his Aunt this story tells how he finds himself ... almost.
This book is divided into two parts. Each follows Joe on visits to Amsterdam, first at 14 and then at 29. Both trips offer life changing experiences for Joe as he learns more about life, love, and family and how to cope with the complications that each can present.
Life through the eyes of a teenage boy. The narrator was someone (even though I am not a teenage boy) you could connect with. This was witty and sad in equal measures. I really enjoyed this book.
I have mixed feelings about this novel. On the positive side, I was swept along with the tale and quickly became engrossed. There were however some cheesy elements, particularly at the end of the novel, which woke me up out of my suspended disbelief. Overall though I was entertained.
I really liked the first section. Part II was harder to take. Seriously, I almost gave up on it in the middle. But I k pet at it and I'm glad that I did. It was worth it. I especially liked the image at the very end. I've seen that before, and it makes perfect sense to me.
A very good written book that makes you think. I got it for free when there was a promotion on it but after finishing it, I think it is worth buying. Also, I see that it is cheap too! It is definitely worth the money.
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Satya Robyn (previously Fiona) is a novelist living in Malvern, the UK. She wrote the best-selling 'The Most Beautiful Thing' and her latest novel is 'Thaw'. Her author site is here.
She founded Writing Our Way Home with her husband Kaspa and their mission is to help people connect with the world through writing.
She posts a short piece of observational writing called a small stone daily at a smal...more
More about Satya Robyn...
She founded Writing Our Way Home with her husband Kaspa and their mission is to help people connect with the world through writing.
She posts a short piece of observational writing called a small stone daily at a smal...more
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“Do you know what people really want? Everyone, I mean. Everybody in the world is thinking: I wish there was just one other person I could really talk to, who could really understand me, who'd be kind to me. That's what people really want, if they're telling the truth.”
—
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