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Starting Over
by
Tony Parsons
This is the story of how we grow old -- how we give up the dreams of youth for something better -- and how many chances we have to get it right. George Bailey has been given the gift we all dream of -- the chance to live his life again. After suffering a heart attack at the age of 42, George is given the heart of a 19-year-old -- and suddenly everything changes. He is a fr...more
Paperback, 291 pages
Published
August 6th 2009
by Harper
(first published 2009)
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This is a bit episodic. It is as if Tony has taken issues reported in the daily mail (facebook wrecking parties, google earth dipping parties) and woven them into a family tale that covers all his usual ground. Getting older, responsibilities, how this generation of fathers and not as good as the one before etc.etc.
The story is a family man - wife - two kids - who has a heart transplant and starts behaving like a younger man - rebuilding matey relationships with his kids etc.
Its the episodic fee...more
The story is a family man - wife - two kids - who has a heart transplant and starts behaving like a younger man - rebuilding matey relationships with his kids etc.
Its the episodic fee...more
Mixed feelings about this one. The start felt disjointed, as though in a rush over the editing the author had simply ripped out random sections of his manuscript and posted the rest to the printers. Somewhere along the line a guy who’s either 42 or 47 depending on whether you believe the text or the back cover synopsis, gets a heart transplant. It happens so quickly they might possibly have installed a zipper in his chest. Then he starts taking on some of the characteristics of his much younger...more
I thought the novel has a really powerful message; by having the second chance...it's really important for you to improve yourself in order to be a better person. George who was shot with a gun at his heart, but got lucky, found a donor (19 years old boy) who can replace a heart to his body. In the beginning of his transition, George was acting a little childish (teenager-ish) towards his family which makes his wife almost leave him for another man. george spent most of his time staying at his p...more
Why do I keep reading books by a middle aged man? A middle aged middle class British man. Because of Man and Boy, the "love letter from a father to his son, and from a son to his father". That's beautiful and relevant to me. But I'm definitely not part of Parsons's target audience. I find all his books ok and quite sympathetic, but... This time it's a middle aged man who gets a new heart and a new chance at life. And becomes like a boy. And there's his relationship to his teenage son and daughte...more
[3.5]
This is the fourth Tony Parsons book I've read, and as I started it I told myself I really must stop buying them. They are acquired during moments of boredom in station branches of WH Smith and the like - but they're always a bit meh, and if I'm going to read ladlit in the first place, I should at least try other authors.
However, it turned out to be the most interesting of his books, as for once it wasn't just about the characters' marriages and divorces, and I remembered why I chose this o...more
This is the fourth Tony Parsons book I've read, and as I started it I told myself I really must stop buying them. They are acquired during moments of boredom in station branches of WH Smith and the like - but they're always a bit meh, and if I'm going to read ladlit in the first place, I should at least try other authors.
However, it turned out to be the most interesting of his books, as for once it wasn't just about the characters' marriages and divorces, and I remembered why I chose this o...more
I'm still not so keen on Tony Parson's newer books. I much preferred Starting Over to My Favourite Wife (and the truly uninspiring Stories we Could Tell) but it wasn't so good as Man and Boy, Man and Wife or One for my Baby. Reading the blurb for this novel, the plot grated a little (the whole memory effect thing seemed a bit naff - I'm just waiting for a Cecelia Ahern novel on the subject to prove me right :)). The writing was clean and easy but I don't really think I ever got over the plot. It...more
It was okay. I felt that the plot meandered at times and seemed to chop and change a bit. The protagonist would be in one setting and a completely different one the next. He'd do absolutely ridiculous things to. I know that was the idea behind the book - man has heart operation, starts behaving young again, but it didn't really feel that there was a hard emotional development behind his sudden change of behaviour. Not enough to warrant it.
There was a lot of good expression between the characters...more
There was a lot of good expression between the characters...more
George, a man of 42 gets a heart implanted of a 19 year old boy and suddenly feels more like a teenager himself than a husband + father in his middle ages. Although many ppl probably dreams of being younger than they really are, this also causes a lot of problems in the marriage dynamic. In the end George moves back in with his parents and instead of being a police office he now cleans private swimming pools.
The topic itself is very interesting, but somehow I didn't like the second part of the...more
The topic itself is very interesting, but somehow I didn't like the second part of the...more
i think it's a light book. and it is fun to read, but incomparable with his Man and Boy. it is just a sory about how a once responsible father turned into someone who was too simple-minded that left his family unstable. his wife left him, his daughter didn't like home anymore and his son strayed away and didnt finished schooling. this was all from the impact of the heart transplant from a teenager into this man's body. anyway it is a good read! :)
I think the book is funny.. It's weird thinking such thing could happen to a person but I got excited wanting to know what will happen next. Never thought that I would put much interest on a life of a middle-aged man...
At the beginning I found George to be extremely irritating with his some kind of crazy teenage crisis... I mean at the age of 42?? Poor Lara....
But unlike My Favourite Wife, i found this book more easy going and light.. My vote goes to My Favourite Wife!
At the beginning I found George to be extremely irritating with his some kind of crazy teenage crisis... I mean at the age of 42?? Poor Lara....
But unlike My Favourite Wife, i found this book more easy going and light.. My vote goes to My Favourite Wife!
It's a run-of-the-mill soap opera in terms of plot, and not half as interesting as previous novels such as "Man and Boy", but what Tony Parsons loses in story he makes up for with fantastic characters. These are richly drawn creations, and the single best thing about this novel. It's hard to turn what appears to be ordinary on the surface into something extraordinary, but Parsons manages this feat with the character of George. Lush, feel-good comfort food.
I found it to be the worst among Parsons' novels, with a protagonist which is supposed to be sympathetic, but turns out to be maddeningly irritating and a cautionary tale in himself, teaching you how not to behave with family and friends. The only thing I liked about the book is the author's interview at the end, where he shares what are the ingredients of writing a novel- 'experience, research and imagination. You live it, you find out about it and you make it up'.
Apr 16, 2011
Jason Pym
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
30-something English dad
Shelves:
uk-fiction
Early on this threatened to turn into a supernatural domestic drama, with the heart transplant central character channelling his dead heart donor's spirit. Luckily that was only hinted at then dropped for the rest of the book.
A great read. The only reason I gave this three instead of four stars is that it's likely only a great read if you're a thirty-something English dad. Otherwise, it's not likely going to grab you.
A great read. The only reason I gave this three instead of four stars is that it's likely only a great read if you're a thirty-something English dad. Otherwise, it's not likely going to grab you.
i like his other books better.
and oh, this is a story of 47 yo man, not 42 as what's written on the back cover, who has a second chance to live his life again; given the heart of a 19-year-old.
p.21:
"We're getting old,' I said. Keith was forty-two, five years younger than me, ...
p.31:
'Male, forty-seven, history of heart disease, had a myocardial infarction- let's see...
go figure.
It ain't a heavy one. The first day I read half of it. Second day I was busy. Third day I finished the other half. About George, who was given a new heart of a dead 19-year old guy. He thought that somehow the new heart change him into someone else. But then, the thing is about chances of starting again. To feel and gain more from life. Not just what he wants, but to do it the right way for everyone.
Tony Parsons writes easy to read books with a real life feel about them. While none of them have blown me away, I've enjoyed the ones I've read to a degree. "Starting Over" is the tale of a middle aged man who goes on a voyage of discovery following a heart transplant. It's a gentle, pleasant read with situations in that many readers will smile knowingly at.
after reading this book, i realized that
1. i just loved the idea of 'cellular memory phenomenon' .
2. i've been thinking(this is even b4 i read SO) about Pledge my organs and tissues by filling NATIONAL ORGAN DONOR REGISTRATION FORM.
thus is signed up for one of the http://www.rayma.com.my/giftoflife/si...
It’s the right thing to do.
1. i just loved the idea of 'cellular memory phenomenon' .
2. i've been thinking(this is even b4 i read SO) about Pledge my organs and tissues by filling NATIONAL ORGAN DONOR REGISTRATION FORM.
thus is signed up for one of the http://www.rayma.com.my/giftoflife/si...
It’s the right thing to do.
As usual Tony Parsons takes fairly standard characters but makes them interesting with his simple plots, good dialogue and his astute observations of life. George gets a new heart which changes him - much to the amazement of his family. Funny at times, but serious at others - it will make you reflect on life even if you have not had a transplant.
I do like Tony Parsons. Warm, funny, very believable characters.
Not quite sure I like any book about a person who needs a heart transplant at 42 - and the acceptance that a person of that age is definitely "middle aged". But obviously I'm in denial, I guess.
Laugh. Cry. And dread the day when your cute little children become teenagers.
Not quite sure I like any book about a person who needs a heart transplant at 42 - and the acceptance that a person of that age is definitely "middle aged". But obviously I'm in denial, I guess.
Laugh. Cry. And dread the day when your cute little children become teenagers.
This is the book I took to swap at the Stammtisch and Katarina pick it out. I didn't know her very well then and she asked me if it was good, and I said, well, it is ok. At the next Stammtisch she stormed over to me and said it was the most awful and depressing book she'd read in a long time! It was the start of a beautiful friendship!!
At first, I have to be honest, I did not really like George Bailey...such a selfish prick, but towards the end (even though I knew he was going to find himself) I grew to like him and cheered him on. This is why I have given it only 3 stars (the dislike of the character and the too clear narrative path leading to a happy ending).
I have all of Tony Parsons novels. They are very good. Real people, real problems, everyday life. Reasonable solutions. This newest novel had several real life issues and situations dealt with. Health, family, birth and death to name a few. Yet the slices of life are not so thin so as to be unsubstantial.
My least favourite Tony Parsons novel so far. There wasn't much of a plot and the structure of the novel seemed very disjointed in places. You get to the end of this book and think 'what really happened during this book'? It's very lack lustre and not half as good as his earlier novels like 'Man and Boy'.
I like the fact that Tony Parsons has a very male writing style. It's nice as an insight, but I also find it entertaining because it's a move away from traditional love stories coming from a woman's voice.
I really enjoyed Starting Over and thought the storyline was funny and believable and real.
I really enjoyed Starting Over and thought the storyline was funny and believable and real.
A brilliant story, told with humour, sympathy and a great empathy for the characters involved, the novel's theme deals with real life issues, the story of a man who has a heart transplant and who then takes on the persona of a man half his age which in turn causes repurcussions in his home life and relationships with his loved ones.
There was this familiar feeling that swept right into my veins as I read this book. It was the same sensation as when I read Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother. Nevertheless, I was happy with the ending. It was good enough.
"If you change the blade, and then you change the handle - is it still the same sword?"
"If you change the blade, and then you change the handle - is it still the same sword?"
Reviewed at http://mamakucingbooks.blogspot.com/2... Mama Kucing Books & Ravings: Starting Over by Tony Parson
The bookmwas kinda patchy with a lot of guess works needed to read it. Could it be highly influenced by some of the latest movies?
The bookmwas kinda patchy with a lot of guess works needed to read it. Could it be highly influenced by some of the latest movies?
Interesting book on a story of a guy who gets a heart transplant and how it affects his life.
I like the way Tony Parsons writes about people and there emotions. He describes things quite realistically.
Can recommend!
I like the way Tony Parsons writes about people and there emotions. He describes things quite realistically.
Can recommend!
Another Tony Parsons book about a middle aged man who loses "it" and finds "it" . Perhaps I am getting over my own midlife crisis now and don;t need to read about it any more, but the phrase "middle aged git lit" comes to mind.
Apr 01, 2013
Anusha Atukorala
added it
Fairly interesting book. About a man in his forties who gets a new heart of a 19 year old. His life turns upside down as a result and he thinks and acts like a 19 year old - causing distress to his wife and not being able to be the responsible person he was earlier. Tony Parsons writes well.
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Tony Parsons (born 6 November 1953) is a British journalist broadcaster and author. He began his career as a music journalist on the NME, writing about punk music. Later, he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, before going on to write his current column for the Daily Mirror. Parsons was for a time a regular guest on the BBC Two arts review programme The Late Show, and still appears infrequently on the...more
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