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307th out of 381 books
—
441 voters
The Red Shoe
by
Ursula Dubosarsky (Goodreads Author)
Funny, tough-minded and tender, this is the story ofMatilda and her two sisters growing up in Sydney, Australia, in the early 1950s. Their father is mentally unstable and largely absent, their mother is possibly in the thrall of his brother, and a headline-making Russian spy defection is taking place next door. Punctuated by the headlines of the times, The Red Shoe depicts...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by Roaring Brook Press
(first published April 1st 2006)
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I'm having a hard time putting my finger on a plot in this book. The setting is Australia post World War II and throughout the text are actual news headlines and stories about the events of the time. The newspaper clippings interested me and was why I read the book in the first place. The sad thing is, and maybe it's because I'm not Australian, but they actually added very little to the story for me. They were interesting in their own right, but almost distracting from the story.
You get a sense...more
You get a sense...more
I found this book quite by chance, inexplicably with our juvenile chapter books, although to my mind the mature content makes it more of a teen novel. The action takes place in Sydney, Australia in the early 1950s, the Cold War era. Three sisters tell the tale, but the focus is on the youngest, a six-year-old (perhaps the reason the book was considered a juvenile read). Their father, who is often absent on military duty, had emotional problems as a result of his service in World War II. His brot...more
Sometimes I feel like we in America are now so accustomed to a shiny, glossy, corporate edited McMansion of a novel with a tight plot and rip roaring action, that we can't appreciate anything unusual. We can't find the patience to sit with something entirely new that whispers instead of roars.
The Red Shoe is unusual, and I found it incredibly stirring. Yes, like other reviewers have said, definitely subtle, like an E.M. Forster novel. Forster was the master of subtlety. The Red Shoe reminds me...more
The Red Shoe is unusual, and I found it incredibly stirring. Yes, like other reviewers have said, definitely subtle, like an E.M. Forster novel. Forster was the master of subtlety. The Red Shoe reminds me...more
The Red Shoe takes place in Australia and chronicles the real life story of a Russian defector hiding duing the Cold War. The story is told through three sisters, but mostly through Matilda who wants to be a spy when she grows up. I think the author has a neat writing style, though much of the story has little to do with the plot. This is a solid tale, though I don't think it has much appeal for teens with its young characters and somewhat obscure subject. (Kip)
Too obscure, but newspaper excerpt...more
Too obscure, but newspaper excerpt...more
This is an odd book that is at its best when probing the perspectives of three sisters in Sydney, Australia during the Cold War. There are moments when Dubosarsky nails what a six-, eleven- or fifteen-year-old might feel when confronted with a shell-shocked father who hasn’t recovered from the war or the presence next door of a defecting Russian diplomat. For me, the author’s initial use of the old “Red Shoes” story was strained and unnecessary. And the use of actual newspaper articles from the...more
Oct 17, 2008
Muphyn
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Maybe people who don't mind reading a pointless story
I can't quite put my finger on what I disliked so much about this book. Probably a combination of a reader reading far too fast, nothing really happening until the end of CD 3 (almost the end of the book) and just being really, really boring. If this YA book is supposed to make young people read and get interested in Australian history, then I don't know...
It just seemed like a string of not very exciting, random events... "Today Mathilda's family went to the movies, the next day they went to th...more
It just seemed like a string of not very exciting, random events... "Today Mathilda's family went to the movies, the next day they went to th...more
The story is told through the alternating point of view of three sisters: Matilda (6), Frances (11) and Elizabeth (15). The events of a mysterious neighbor "who looks like a spy" (according to Matilda) are recounted alongside flashbacks and hardships dealing with their father, a veteran of World War II, who suffers from post-traumatic stress and often leaves his family for lengths of time. The girls, who often experience related feelings of isolation and misunderstanding, live in a rundown home...more
I really really wanted to really like this. How's that for an articulate sentence? It has that slightly hazy childhood quality to it, with a slightly Zilpha Keatley Snyder feel, where some of the essence of the child's worldview is captured. Plus there's a Russian diplomat in hiding, some slightly surprised family baggage, a variety of allusions to the Andersen story, and...well, it didn't quite do it for me. I would be really curious to see a child's reaction to it. The perspective shifts betwe...more
A very subtle and interesting story about three girls and their dysfunctional family. It is set during the time of the Petrov affair, when communist spies were receiving a lot of media focus. The father is a war veteran and tries to hang himself. I really loved the character of Matilda; she is curious and imaginative. Although I enjoyed this book I don't know that it would appeal to students. As I said, it is very subtle.
In the most part this book is reliably narrated by a six year old girl. The reader is placed in Australia in 1954. The storytelling is subtle and realistically portrays how historical events affected the every day lives of a Sydney family. I very much enjoyed the primary sources, in the form of newspaper clippings, that are found throughout the novel.
I read this very quickly this afternoon and the narrator was entrancingly convincing as a young child. I think this is much closer to the consciousness of a child than I have seen in literature for a long while. Every tiny daily detail is filled with significance and Matilda senses things that she can only half explain. She is much more observant and much smarter than the adults around her might like.
Her other two sisters are narrators as well, but they don't register as much interest as Matilda...more
Her other two sisters are narrators as well, but they don't register as much interest as Matilda...more
Another wonderful coming of age story from Ursula Dubosarsky. A short novel at only 181 pages, she manages to delicately weave a tale that kept me on tender hooks from the first chapter...strangely the retelling of a grim Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. A mesmerizing story told from the perspective of the three central characters - 15, 11 and 6 year old sisters. The intertwining of real clippings from the Sydney Morning Herald from April 1954 it worked well and the story came together perfec...more
Yuck. Good thing this was a short one that I read in about an hour and a half. The plot was hard to find, and the author didn't seem comfortable switching between the three daughter's perspectives and voices. A little bit of intrigue when you realize the father tried for suicide - but that doesn't happen until page 125, and by then you are BORED. Do not waste your time on this one.
Aug 14, 2012
Maddison - the geek loves books_
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
best-books-ever,
young-love
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING this book IS AMAZING i LUV this book it is about 3 sisters elizabeth whose 15 and has recently been had a nerveous break down 11 yr old artist fracessa and curious 5 yr old matilda it is one of those books that everyone will love so READ IT NOW
I was just confused.
I picked up this book because I loved The Game of The Goose.
But this one was just hard to engage to.
The technique written is great, but its definitely not something I'll read again.
I picked up this book because I loved The Game of The Goose.
But this one was just hard to engage to.
The technique written is great, but its definitely not something I'll read again.
Loved this book for upper primary school children. Great author.
Interesting read.
This novel had so much potential: 3 sisters growing up in Australia during the Cold War, a defecting Russian diplomat. But it fell flat for me.
First it is a dark tale, and you don't find out until the end why it is such a dark tale. I found it hazy and confusing through most of the book - some books lead up to something, this book just seemed to enjoy taunting the reader with what you don't yet know.
Rated PG for sexual innuendo, violence, and disturbing themes.
First it is a dark tale, and you don't find out until the end why it is such a dark tale. I found it hazy and confusing through most of the book - some books lead up to something, this book just seemed to enjoy taunting the reader with what you don't yet know.
Rated PG for sexual innuendo, violence, and disturbing themes.
I've now read three books by Ursula Dubosarsky. The Red Shoe is by far the better of the three.
This book was interesting, but kind of weird and random as well... not something I'd recommend or read again. The newspaper clippings were interesting, but seemed to have NO point, nothing to do with the story at all! A bit strange and confusing.
I didn't love this book. Rather depressing and a little too vague in parts. I wanted to like it for the fact that the author is Avi's wife and that it's set in Australia and who doesn't love that, but it wasn't a favorite.
Great book by Aussie author! Quirky family set in 1950's Sydney.
Intense subject matter for the audience.
Haunting...
May 18, 2013
Claire Catacouzinos
added it
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Ursula Dubosarsky is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. About The Golden Day, her first book with Candlewick Press, she says, "The little girls watch, wonder, respond, change, and grow — and then their childhood is gone, forever. This element of the story, I suppose, is at least partly autobiographical. But, as I say — all of our teachers come home safe and so...more
More about Ursula Dubosarsky...
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Oct 16, 2008 11:01pm
Jul 17, 2012 05:50am