false 2054504 14 Set in post-WWII suburban London, this superb debut novel charts the downward spiral and tortured redemption of a young man shattered by loss. The war is over, and Lewis Aldridge is getting used to having his father, Gilbert, back in the house. Things hum along splendidly until Lewis's mother drowns, casting the 10-year-old into deep isolation. Lewis is ignored by grief-stricken Gilbert, who remarries a year after the death, and Lewis's sadness festers during his adolescence until he boils over and torches a church. After serving two years in prison, Lewis returns home seeking redemption and forgiveness, only to find himself ostracized. The town's most prominent family, the Carmichaels, poses particular danger: terrifying, abusive patriarch Dicky (who is also Gilbert's boss) wants to humiliate him; beautiful 21-year-old Tamsin possesses an insidious coquettishness; and patient, innocent Kit -- not quite 16 years old -- confounds him with her youthful affection. Mutual distrust between Lewis and the locals grows, but Kit may be able to save Lewis. Jones's prose is fluid, and Lewis's suffering comes across as achingly real. (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>) The author was born in London and grew up in a creative environment: her father is the Jamaican poet and screenwriter Evan Jones, and her mother was an actress. As her friends took up their various university places, Sadie worked in a variety of jobs. After traveling, she settled in London and spent several years as a screenwriter, before writing her first novel, Outcast. 2059673 7 2 2008 The Outcast total:568|5:85|4:219|3:163|2:74|1:27| 568 1965 930 174 1 5 false false Thu Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 04:11:50 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 06:42:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Aug 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 12:46:30 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 03:59:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 2 false false Sun Jun 15 12:22:55 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 12:37:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 07 10:28:53 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 16 10:10:13 -0700 2008
Rewind to 1945. His father has just returned from the war and somewhat dismayed to see that young Lewis has become quite a...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 09:36:14 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 08:35:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 19:50:52 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 20:05:40 -0700 2008
It's a good book. Depressing, most reviews say, and I disagree. Depressing would have been if Lewis STAYed home! Or if he'd worked for Dicky FOREVER! Sadie Jones is a fine writer. I'm sorry I can't reach for her next book tomorrow....more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 27 05:40:08 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 05:41:02 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 30 07:56:53 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 07:57:17 -0800 2009
We meet Lewis Aldridge at the beginning of the story, he is 19 years old and just out of prison for setting fire to a church. He is hoping for a n...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 16:01:02 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 12:15:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false true Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 22:14:59 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 00:43:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false true Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 12:14:14 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 13:50:57 -0700 2009
Almost from the beginning, I was able to empathise with the main characters, and for me this is an important aspect of the book – any book.

It was impossible not to feel for Lewis – misunderstood and mistr...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 19:03:47 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 03:54:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Apr 29 12:08:20 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 13:18:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 08:02:43 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 15:01:10 -0700 2009
The story is heart-wrenc...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 18:21:26 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 12:15:45 -0800 2008 1 3 false false Fri Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 15:51:22 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:46:46 -0700 2009 1 - children watching their mothers drown (especially if it is described in agonizing detail for several pages)
2 - fathers beating children mercilessly
3 - sons...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 11 21:15:09 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 21:15:39 -0800 2009
1957 and 19 year old Lewis is going back to his home in South England after 2 years in jail. He is returning to a community of 50's middle-class England whose church-going, s...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 01 11:58:23 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 01 12:05:00 -0700 2008


...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 09 06:54:43 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 06:56:48 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 04:30:19 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 08:21:11 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2054504