The Outcast
by Sadie Jones
The Outcast
Sadie Jones |
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Outcast.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 213)
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in October, 2007
One of the things I was not keen on was the fact that the book is set in the 1950's, I am not normally a fan of books set in the past so this made me feel a bit apprehensive. It follows the life of Lewis Alridge in several parts, which is what made the novel so enjoyable to me. We find out all the things about Lewis that you would want to know, find out why he is like he is, and also find out a bit about the neighbours who live near him.
We join the book to find out that Lewis has been in pri...more
We join the book to find out that Lewis has been in pri...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Kourt
This book was so desperate and so sad. Yet it was so well-written that when I wanted to put it down and step away from the depression and darkness I couldn't! I was completely immersed in the story. Completely. All the details (including the pain and loss) were so vivid, I felt like it was a memoir.
Lewis, a troubled teen, returns home from incarceration and tries to deal with the consequences of his decisions. The tale weaves the story of many characters all suffering from particular d...more
Lewis, a troubled teen, returns home from incarceration and tries to deal with the consequences of his decisions. The tale weaves the story of many characters all suffering from particular d...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I though The Outcast was a tremendous book. The writing style was lean and evocative at the same time. You'd never know it was a first novel. I found the characters believable and came to really care what happened to them even as they sometimes exasperated me. The plot dragged a tiny bit in the middle but persisting is worth the effort. I read the last few chapters while on the exercise bike and cried the whole time. Moving but definitely not sappy or sentimental.
Lewis, the main character is ...more
Lewis, the main character is ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Lewis Aldridge has been released after 2 years in prison. It is 1957, and he is coming home. But for some reason, nobody's really keen on seeing Lewis again. Why?
Rewind to 1945. His father has just returned from the war and somewhat dismayed to see that young Lewis has become quite attached to his mother. For his part, Lewis barely remembers his father. A few years later, in a tragic accident, Lewis's drunken mother drowns in the river, and nothing is ever the same again. For anyone. ...more
Rewind to 1945. His father has just returned from the war and somewhat dismayed to see that young Lewis has become quite attached to his mother. For his part, Lewis barely remembers his father. A few years later, in a tragic accident, Lewis's drunken mother drowns in the river, and nothing is ever the same again. For anyone. ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
jill's bookclub, my sisters, emma
"Atonement" meets "We Need to Talk about Kevin" meets "Rebel Without a Cause," (sort of) this first novel about a troubled teen-ager trying to survive and grow up in a stuffy, repressed village full of upper-class (no doubt Tory) twits outside London in post-WWII England is a total page-turner. Since suspense is a big part of the book's lure, I'm reluctant to provide plot details. There's tragedy, romance, violence and the last few chapters, in particular, had me tu...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
people with beating hearts
It took me a few chapters to warm to the prose, which felt a bit clumsy at first -- like big grey blocks the writer kept dropping on my foot -- but as I grew to love the protagonist, I came to see the prose as an essential part of him, an expression of his tortured thought patterns. Which is interesting because the narrative is in shifting close 3rd-person points of view, but Lewis's voice -- or what I came to see as Lewis's voice, angry and raw and intense, colours the whole thing. In the end...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
This was an interesting book for me...I quickly got into it and devoured the first 100 pages and then all of a sudden the narrative just seemed to come to a halt for me. I put the book down and didn't really have any motivation to pick it up again for several days. Then I found out the book was due back to the library and I couldn't renew it because it was on hold for someone else. So I decided I was going to keep it and try to finish as quickly as possible. After another 10 or 15 slow pages...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
3 comments
From the publisher:
It’s 1957 and Lewis Aldridge is travelling back to his home in the South of England. He is straight out of jail and nineteen years old. His return will trigger the implosion not just of his family, but of a whole community.
A decade earlier, his father’s homecoming casts a different shape. The war is over and Gilbert reverts easily to suburban life — cocktails at six-thirty, church on Sundays — but his wife and young son resist the stuffy routine. Lewis and his mo...more
It’s 1957 and Lewis Aldridge is travelling back to his home in the South of England. He is straight out of jail and nineteen years old. His return will trigger the implosion not just of his family, but of a whole community.
A decade earlier, his father’s homecoming casts a different shape. The war is over and Gilbert reverts easily to suburban life — cocktails at six-thirty, church on Sundays — but his wife and young son resist the stuffy routine. Lewis and his mo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
Sad, but compelling book by a new author. Lewis and his mother have a very close relationship and when his father returns from WWII, Lewis does not have any connection with his father. His mother drowns when he is ten and the village begins to think of him as strange and some even think that he had some involvement with her death.
His father remarries within a few months of his first wife's death and the family situation does not improve. Lewis begins to cut himself.
However, the book ends...more
His father remarries within a few months of his first wife's death and the family situation does not improve. Lewis begins to cut himself.
However, the book ends...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
I couldn't put this down. I found the character of Lewis so sympathetic, my heart bled for him. You could just see James Dean, River Phoenix, or maybe Leonardo playing him in the movie. Maybe the story lost a little bit of direction towards the end, but the ending was quite satisfying.
Interestingly, though the book takes place in a small village in Surrey, I kept forgetting that it was in England, and not in America (specifically the northeast). Maybe I've been living over here too long ...more
Interestingly, though the book takes place in a small village in Surrey, I kept forgetting that it was in England, and not in America (specifically the northeast). Maybe I've been living over here too long ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Okay. This is grim. But having read to the end now, I can say that the writing is sufficiently beautiful and the author is in such tight and absolute control of her material, that it's worth it. It's a pleasure to read and the ending redeems much of the grimness. The young man we root for finds his way. A young girl we fear for is terribly brave. Together, they provide an uplifting and very believable resolution. It's really a lovely book.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
This is a well-written book. Although, it was so slow at times that it was somewhat hard to really get into the story. There are plenty of intensely searing moments that I had to take a breather for a bit to keep on reading. This is one of those books that you really have to be in the mood to read and be forewarned of its intensity. Don't be fooled by the book jacket description. It sounds like there's a mystery to be solved in the small, post-WWII English town. But there isn't--at least not in ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
Who exactly decides when a person is an outcast? Has society really changed that much since 1950? Don't people still only want to hang with the "right" people? This book brings up a lot of questions that could lead to great discussions in a reading club. And Dickie....I loathe Dickie in this book. When you read it, you'll understand why. You are not stuck with your history. At any time in life you can chose a new direction and create your own new beginning. Thank God for new beg
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
Lovely book, very exocotave of 1950's English village life from the perspective of a 9 year old boy......until a shocking event happens that turns his world upside down.
I loved the first half, and found myself captivated but, disappointingly, the second half runs away with itself and I did find myself waiting for something to happen. Ending was disappointing too. Having said that, I did enjoy this and look forward to more from this first time author.
I loved the first half, and found myself captivated but, disappointingly, the second half runs away with itself and I did find myself waiting for something to happen. Ending was disappointing too. Having said that, I did enjoy this and look forward to more from this first time author.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is the official launch of my "Powell's said I should read it summer", where I am using the Powell's website to broaden my literary horizons.
The Outcast was compelling, but didn't draw me in quite all the way. I found the story of how we create our own enemies to interesting and the conclusion to be almost just, but I missed something in reading it. I'll update this when I figure out what it was.
The Outcast was compelling, but didn't draw me in quite all the way. I found the story of how we create our own enemies to interesting and the conclusion to be almost just, but I missed something in reading it. I'll update this when I figure out what it was.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
Excellent first novel. I'm still thinking about Lewis Aldridge and hoping that he is OK. Really great momnet when his father, in am attempt to bond with him, gives him a poem to read. It's so the wrong thing to do and far too little, too late. Some of the characters are too black and white (is anyone as evil as Dicky Carmichael) but the over all novel is great. Highly recommend.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
The development of all the characters was written with lovely attention, even the unlovely characters. This story follows the life of Lewis Aldridge from early boyhood to young adulthood. There is something terribly wrong about this boy, that just the right gesture or sign, could save him. You will have to read the book to find out if that gesture was ever made.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
My rating has less to do with the literary quality of this book and far more to do with the fact that reading a book so skillfully crafted to express pain, regret and brokenness is unwise during the gray and bleak Minnesota springs.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Like the reviews I read about this book, I found it hard to believe this was a new author. Sadie Jones is definitely talented, I especially appreciated her character building skills, I seemed to know what a character was going to do before they did it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will wait anxiously for her next one.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
