The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws

3.17 of 5 stars 3.17 · rating details · 144 ratings · 42 reviews

The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws is an original and brilliant work. Margaret Drabble weaves her own story into a history of games, in particular jigsaws, which have offered her and many others relief from melancholy and depression. Alongside curious facts and discoveries about jigsaw puzzlesdid you know that the 1929 stock market crash was follow

...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published 2009 by Atlantic Books

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Game Theory

58th out of 129 books — 34 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 396)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 09, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've recently developed a fascination with jigsaw puzzles, after adding a new table - which is perfect for displaying a puzzle on for folks to add pieces to as they wander by (my mother-in-law used to have a similar one, and guests would often become intrigued with the puzzles). While reading about jigsaws online, I discovered the existence of this book. I have always like Margaret Drabble's work, so I ordered a copy. The book was originally meant to be a history of jigsaw puzzles, according to...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2011 Alison Moore rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoy doing jigsaws and I'm fascinated by historical overviews of everyday household objects, so I was expecting to enjoy this book, which had caught my attention when I leafed through it at a friend's house. I also hoped that it might give me a 'way in' to the world of Margaret Drabble, whom I've frequently tried to read but without success as for some reason I simply don't relate to her writing. I found the subject matter and the stories of her aunt Phyl very appealing, and read it with enth...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 20, 2010 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

What I liked: the memories and relationship with her aunt, who she associates with jigsaws. What I didn't like: long digressions, lack of focus, a bit of rambling. I could get into it as a loose meditation, but I don't think a writer with a lesser reputation would have been allowed to ramble so.
"auntie Phyl took us from Bryn to see Lincoln cathedral. We liked the Lincoln imp in the angel choir. She had a gift for capturing a child's attention by pointing out such things. The rose windows were t...more What I liked: the memories and relationship with her aunt, who she associates with jigsaws. What I didn't like: long digressions, lack of focus, a bit of rambling. I could get into it as a loose meditation, but I don't think a writer with a lesser reputation would have been allowed to ramble so.
"auntie Phyl took us from Bryn to see Lincoln cathedral. We liked the Lincoln imp in the angel choir. She had a gift for capturing a child's attention by pointing out such things. The rose windows were too big for me, too bright, too high, too far away and I had no interest in their iconography, authentic or jumbled, but I could see the imp and the angels. We liked to talk about such memories, "Do you remember when we went to see the Lincoln imp?" "Do you remember the horseshoes at Scarrington?" So we built up our pictures of the past." p.161

"I recently came across a book titled The Eloquence of Appropriation: A Prolegomena to an Understanding of Spolia in Early Christian Rome, which describes in some detail the process of recycling that is so poignantly visible in Rome . . ..Stones may be reborn. There's a phrase for this, as the book on antique spolia told me. Redivia saxa. And if stones, why not we? I find even the title of this book about spolia oddly moving. It describes a process of melding, joining and reassembling that affirms not entropy but continuity and survival and the grand aesethic of time." p.167

"As children, we were issued the strictest of warning about this major road, for it was a fearsome force. We must never, ever try to cross it alone. We must never even walk on its grass verge. We must never go to the village shop opposite without an accompanying adult. Crossing to the shop was like crossing a perilous torrent. I can't remember now whether there were proper crossings in the village where the lorries had to stop for pedestrians; I suppose there must have been. I remember well Joyce's crossing, which she policed for the school in her smart yellow fluorescent uniform, but there must have been others. We were far too docile to try anything risky, but I think we were impressed by the danger on the doorstep. It made life more exciting." p/35(less)

like · see review

Nov 24, 2009 Luann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-ladies

This book was a puzzle itself. I ended up liking it quite a bit. Part memoir (the bits I liked best), it is also full of history and information on puzzles of all kinds. I felt forced to go very slowly though it and at first felt sort of bored. I'm a fan of Drabble, not necessarily of jigsaws, and it took a while to engage with the subject. But gradually, I did feel like I caught a bigger picture of a time gone by, taking hold of a few pieces of a writer's life and influences. I do feel this boo...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2010 Eliza rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

1/13/2010: I loved this book, despite its rambling lack of structure and and stream of consciousness style. Drabble is such a confident and relaxed writer that I was carried along, despite some slow patches. More importantly, her stated purpose--to use the writing of the book as therapy for herself while she was taking care of her husband, who was being treated for cancer--is more than realized, and in the most thoughtful, compassionate, and intimate ways. In addition to all I now know about jig...more

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 02, 2012 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I bought this because I love Drabble and this is an odd genre--a memoir focussed around Jig Saw Puzzles and their history. I left it on the plane and it isn't gripping enought to merit buying another copy. But I will finish it when it gets to the library.

like 1 like · see review

Nov 22, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is by an author I like and I found it very interesting. It was about more than jigsaws, although a theme of jigsaws did meander through it. Drabble associates jigsaws with her Aunt Phyl, who taught her how to do them as a child, and with whom she shared the entertainment on visits as an adult. Besides jigsaws and their history, she also looks into other childhood games and books, mosaics and tesserae, and various bits of social history.
I found that I read this book slowly, both to keep trac...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2010 Allyson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed reading this informative, ruminative, sometimes dry, very British book. I love the cover and when I found my interest waning, I would look at the pattern and it would revive me. I have played with jigsaw puzzles all of my life, but mostly in my youth, and to hear of their history along with children's games was interesting.
Very digressive, but a book I would read again next year simply to explore areas I may have glossed over.
Almost like a mosaic, something to be studied in de...more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 26, 2012 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

A delightful meander through the world of childhood, puzzles and the things that keep us sane in a (slightly) mad world. In a rather unhappy childhood touched by depression, Auntie Phyl was an anchor, and she and the author shared many happy hours doing jigsaws and visiting places of mutual interest. Margaret Drabble explores the random pieces of her life, the things that evoke happy memories and those that are perhaps best forgotten. some are still in her possession, like the warming pan from h...more A delightful meander through the world of childhood, puzzles and the things that keep us sane in a (slightly) mad world. In a rather unhappy childhood touched by depression, Auntie Phyl was an anchor, and she and the author shared many happy hours doing jigsaws and visiting places of mutual interest. Margaret Drabble explores the random pieces of her life, the things that evoke happy memories and those that are perhaps best forgotten. some are still in her possession, like the warming pan from her family home, the patterned tile that may have belonged to one of her ancestors from the potteries; others are long gone, like the 'Teas with Hovis' sign that hung on the tree in the front garden. And along the way, she uncovers the stories of those who invented and produced puzzles, and finds patterns in unexpected places.

"My father used to encourage me, a moody adolescent, to stop sulking in my bedroom reading books and to join the family card game. 'You shouldn't look down on games,' he said. What's the point of admiring Jane Austen, and then despising the way her characters spend their time? Come and play.'"

"I too have a liking for opulence, despite my Quaker schooling. I like the look of opulence. I like red and gold. I was taught to suspect any form of opulence as vulgar bad taste, but when I first went to Italy, at the age of seventeen, I realized I had been falsely indoctrinated. Plainness is not the only virtue."

"I learned more about the appreciation of clouds and of Constable from doing jigsaws of The Hay Wain and Salisbury Cathedral than I learned from my first encounters with the original paintings. Now, when see clouds, I see clouds and Constable, not clouds and the shapes of a jigsaw puzzle, but the puzzle was the medium that introduced me, that fixed my attention, that made me pause."

On how the book has turned out (not as planned): "I think I have been trying to write about authenticity and family and folk memory, and how these concepts affect our view of the idyll of the Cider with Rosie, Teas-with-Hovis, Golden Legend past. I have been trying to recapture my aunt and my childhood. I have been trying to use simpler shapes and brighter colours than I have used in my work of late. I have been trying to fit the simple building blocks together..."(less)

like · see review

Mar 17, 2013 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first began reading this book (the March 2013 selection for my local book group) I hated it. The books goes on and on about British authors and games (obviously because Margaret Drabble is British), many of whom I had never read or even knew about. However, my new year's resolution this year it to finish books (I have several I need to go back and finish) and I didn't want this book to end up collecting dust on my "shelved for now" bookshelf. As I read more I did find and mark some intere...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2011 SarahC rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: feelsomething, and-anglophiles, drabble, mid-20th-century

As with most things that occur in our everyday lives, puzzle-working can generate many thoughts of things that were and are important to us. the Pattern in the Carpet is a book that reflects this. The notable English writer Margaret Drabble writes this reflective story of moments and thoughts from her own life, combined with the historic journey of the jigsaw puzzle. This is an unusual combination among the publishing trends of today, but a very good reason to set the trends aside for a moment.

I...more As with most things that occur in our everyday lives, puzzle-working can generate many thoughts of things that were and are important to us. the Pattern in the Carpet is a book that reflects this. The notable English writer Margaret Drabble writes this reflective story of moments and thoughts from her own life, combined with the historic journey of the jigsaw puzzle. This is an unusual combination among the publishing trends of today, but a very good reason to set the trends aside for a moment.

In a childhood of growing up with a mother who suffered from intense depression, Margaret Drabble’s aunt played an important role. Phyllis Bloor, Auntie Phyl, a maiden aunt, existed as a calmer, more comforting adult figure in the Drabble’s life. Food, outings, games, and jigsaw puzzles were a part of the comfy lives of Margaret and siblings as holiday visitors to Aunt Phyl’s. Phyllis Bloor was a steady family figure of many years, living into her nineties. Drabble weaves the telling of life with Phyl with the tracing of the history of jigsaw puzzles that she and her aunt commonly loved. And it should be no surprise that the more this amazing writer researches, studies, and writes about jigsaw puzzles, the more she discovers concepts, connections, and philosophies that aren’t at all puzzling. Among the facts she discovers, interesting stories come tumbling out of this book.

Early household jigsaw puzzles were created as teaching tools so children could learn geography. Over time, they took off as more of a past time, seeming to speak to us aesthetically and in other ways. Drabble takes this history beyond the obvious. She includes a look at items of antiquity, such as ancient mosaics as they could be thought of as “jigsaw” puzzles also. She examines the reforming and refitting of relics within a city or culture. This is the older concept of saxa rediviva, or “stones reborn.” When these pieces of a city are refitted into the “big frame” of a place, Drabble wonders if we are experiencing the “safety of the frame,” that all pieces will fit, that things will turn out right. And that concept trickles right back down to the small cardboard pieces of our jigsaw puzzles on the dining room table.

Drabble upholds the importance of puzzles, parlor games, amusements, diversions and all the things we do in innocent pursuit. Higher art can’t always claim the innocence of thought, and thus the innocent jigsaw puzzle holds a separate, important spot. Even the ephemeral quality of working a puzzle does not detract, but perhaps adds to, the importance of it. The short life of a puzzle in the works makes us pause. As Drabble says, we begin to really look at the small pieces themselves and the colors. In searching for parts that fit together, you take a close look at the patterns in the scene. You then recognize “greys and mauves... the white crests and mountains...the tints of pink and red” and the matching shades shared by completely different objects in the same scene.

I love the blending of history and memoir -- hers and our own, really, when it comes to things like jigsaw puzzles. There is a very important concept of recognition here. I think Drabble is such an effective writer. She has the ability to write with the effect that lives and their stories are part of everyday, rather than in contrast with it. The stories with everyday-ness still provide “wow” moments for me though. This history/memoir is a perfect example of connecting history, thought, art, and objects of family life with the unending narrative of life. (less)

like 2 likes · see review

Jan 19, 2010 Juan Manuel Perez Pelayo rated it 3 of 5 stars

I currently finished Drabble's book but could not get myself to write about it for many reasons, which are not all that important compared to what I learned. I have noticed that much of the criticism I have for any author starts out pretty much the same way. I am always amazed at their diction and sentences perhaps becase they phrased many things that I have thought long ago in the way I meant them to say. But Drabble, might be my antipode. Her interests with jigsaws is perhpas equally as strong...more I currently finished Drabble's book but could not get myself to write about it for many reasons, which are not all that important compared to what I learned. I have noticed that much of the criticism I have for any author starts out pretty much the same way. I am always amazed at their diction and sentences perhaps becase they phrased many things that I have thought long ago in the way I meant them to say. But Drabble, might be my antipode. Her interests with jigsaws is perhpas equally as strong but still different than mine. Ever since I was a two year-old baby, I have had a strong interest in jigsaw puzzles. Reading Drabble's own puzzling story of her life was so eye-opening to me. Her many references to historic happenenings aroung the jigsaw are fascinating (the origin of the word, the origin of the jigsaw, children at play through time and leisure with puzzles) but the thought-provoking nature of her book comes from her many memories of her Auntie Phyl. Before I proceed, I must apologize because I cannot help but relate to all the books I read and hence, I write these petty, emotional and sadly, non-philosophical reviews.
Drabble's book makes me raise this question: how will I age? How will I connect the pieces to my puzzle when I can count the remaining ones? I am sure right now that my life is still an undone puzzle, I have barely started the border of it. But I am sure making progress. I am assembling pieces for good, and discarding those ones irrelevant to the puzzle. I am grouping the ones with the same shape and proritizing and strategizing for a satisfactory completion. Don't worry, I'll certainly make mistakes, but won't be defeated be a erring puzzle piece not fitting into a given space at a given time: everything will fit with time.
ANYWAYS!
This read is 3/5. I am still pretty upset with Drabble's ending, but perhaps it's because I still haven't put everything together. A srong interest in jigsaws is a must. And perhpas some knowledge of Britain's geophraphy would have helped as well. (less)

like · see review

Jan 07, 2011 Blaire rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

Oddly enough, while Ms. Drabble set out initially to write a history of jigsaws, when she mentions them it's mostly as time-wasters. The book is really about the jigsaw concept as metaphor for lots of things in life. Her musings are wide-ranging; partly memoir, partly philosophical, with a little art history. While I was impressed with her erudition, I came away from the book feeling unsatisfied. Ms. Drabble tells us that she suffers from chronic depression, and it shows in the tone of the writi...more

like · see review

May 14, 2011 Okanagan Regional rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, pssm

Margaret Drabble's new 'memoir' with jigsaws, based on memories of a favourite aunt interposed with an interest and research on jigsaw puzzles. Her research expanded into puzzles of all kinds, she tells the history, the people, the places, e.g. a London cabbie who pointed out that recently-discovered Roman mosaics were puzzles. Great read, absorbing, intelligent, personal, and fun for an enquiring mind.

like · see review

Jun 27, 2010 Kristin rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. I've never read any other of Margaret Drabble's books (and it seems there are quite a lot), and in the introduction she goes to great pains to explain what the book is not going to be: a memoir. But I got at least 125 pages in, and it's exactly that. No mention of the history of puzzles as promised. It's not a bad book by any mean - just not what I was looking for.

like · see review

Nov 06, 2009 Leslie Angel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like Drabble. Had to read this --jigsaw puzzles--retired teacher, dog-loving, totally non- housecleaning aunt--but it was too rambling. Some good info. Needed serious editing. Some great lines. Strangely, not enough about jigsaw puzzles or her life. Liked her line about things coming together, like a disaster movie played backwards.RR-NYT

like 1 like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 False Millennium rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoirs, history-united-kingdom

I think I started to read this twice, and never finished it. I have no idea why. This time I did read it, and I enjoyed it. It had all of the qualities I like in a book: history, people in history, personal memoir, geography, exploration--in other words a lot to hold your interest. That and she writes with a very honest pen.

like 1 like · see review

Dec 31, 2009 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This might have been improved with some heavy, heavy editing. Perhaps better served entirely by being a long essay or a series of vignettes. What I liked, I really liked. Drabble is a witty and endearing woman, and many of her stories were quaint. But there were too many off-topic and forced passages that didn't weave in with the rest of the story.

like · see review

Jan 07, 2011 Sharron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-or-memoirs

I liked it despite the fact that the references to jigsaw puzzles to which I am addicted were relatively few in number. Nevertheless, Drabble writes so beautifully and she is so well-read herself that this memoir held my interest. That said, I think its intended audience is somewhat narrow.

like · see review

Nov 15, 2009 Jody rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had to read this one because it was by one of my favorite authors and about jigsaw puzzles, a favorite thing! This is the first nonfiction I've read by Drabble. It is part memoir, part history, part exploration of why we get so obsessed by doing them. In the end, I didn't learn a whole lot about the puzzle or Drabble. Just some snapshots, really. There was some interesting early history of the puzzle, dissected maps, etc, but not much depth anywhere in the book. That said, as soon as I finishe...more

like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Linden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nonfiction. A book which is partly memoir, and partly a history of the jigsaw puzzle. Lots of allusions to books in it also. I especially enjoyed the peek into Drabble's life.

like · see review

Dec 29, 2009 Joyce rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: essays

Disjointed dribs & drabs of memoir, biography, and history of jigsaws and other puzzles. One of those books I should have put down unfinished.

like · see review

Mar 04, 2010 charity rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bio-memoirs

Liked the style and voice the author used but didn't like the way the book played out. If it had been just a memoir or just about the history of games/jigsaws it would've been fine but going back and forth was awkward and made for a slow read.

like · see review

Nov 26, 2009 Pamster rated it 4 of 5 stars

Difficult to categorize, this has personal memoir interwoven with history of puzzles, some British social history, theories of play and of learning, and . . . other stuff. I've always meant to read her novels, and it's interesting that she feels done writing novels. Also interesting when she mentions her sister (A.S. Byatt) and problems around who "owns" what memories from their childhood and then has the "right" to incorporate that memory into her fiction-writing. She's brilliant and I enjoyed...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2013 Anne added it

Shelves: gave-up

I thought it would be more interesting but I found Susan Hill's "Howard's End is on the Landing" to be more interesting.

like · see review

Feb 04, 2010 Marilyn marked it as could-not-finish

The author of this books admits in the first few pages that this book is not all about the history of jigsaw puzzles--if she had put THAT on the cover, I would never have bothered bring it home.

like · see review

Nov 07, 2009 Sam Schulman rated it 3 of 5 stars

It should be better - her unrecognized depression is infectious. And how she hates her sister!

like · see review

Nov 05, 2009 Joan Winnek rated it 2 of 5 stars

Quirky book: I almost stopped reading but continued, skimming some places where the information is too dense, and I'm glad I did. There were some lovely payoffs.

like · see review

Jul 10, 2011 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Learned a lot but yikes (!) hard to follow most of Drabble's ramblings.

like · see review

Jul 08, 2011 Caroline added it · review of another edition

To say this is "lightly" edited is an understatement. Still enjoyable, though.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 13 14 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (7)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

15 users

Autobiography > Memoir

12 users

Biography

6 users

History

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Margaret Drabble

MARGARET DRABBLE is the author of The Sea Lady, The Seven Sisters, The Peppered Moth, and The Needle's Eye, among other novels. For her contributions to contemporary English literature, she was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2008.

More about Margaret Drabble...

Books by Margaret Drabble

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Pattern in th...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Pattern in the Car...

“Auntie Phyl's last months in the care home were extra pieces. Age is unnecessary. Some of us, like my mother, are fortunate enough to die swiftly and suddenly, in full possession of our faculties and our fate, but more and more of us will be condemned to linger, at the mercy of anxious or indifferent relatives, careless strangers, unwanted medical interventions, increasing debility, incontinence, memory loss. We live too long, but, like the sibyl hanging in her basket in the cave at Cumae, we find it hard to die.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws
avg rating	preview: The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws Goodreads rating: 3.17 (144 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6373223-the-pattern-in-the-carpet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348472182l/6373223.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6373223-the-pattern-in-the-carpet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws by Margaret Drabble[/url]

The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website