false 836910 10 Caught in an over-vivid world, Kitty, inflicted with synaesthesia, feels haunted by her 'child that never was.' As children all around become emblems of hope, longing and grief, she begins to understand the reasons for her shaky sense of self. What family mystery makes Kitty's four brothers so vague about her mother's life? And why does Dad splash paint on canvas rather than answer his daughter's questions? On the edges of her dreams, Kitty glimpses the kaleidoscope van that took her sister Dinah away--is it a link to her indistinct childhood? Its resonant themes of identity struggles in a large family, the pull of desperation and the optimism of an eccentric, loving marriage make this a compelling and witty debut. 822523 book 13 2 2003 Astonishing Splashes of Colour total:200|5:37|4:71|3:71|2:19|1:2| 200 722 322 38 5 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 04 06:31:14 -0800 2008 Fri Sep 26 01:53:55 -0700 2008 It is one of my very favorites.

This summer I read the author's second novel. I enjoyed it a lot but it is no where near as good as her 'booker short listed' Splashes.

Splashes has so much more depth! It is a book about memory....more...]]> 3 2 false true Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 24 00:33:05 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 23 12:16:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jul 19 17:02:56 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 17:03:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 16:05:15 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 16:08:44 -0700 2009
I loved it. It's one of those "day in the life" sorts of books. Not fast-pa...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:28:01 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:28:01 -0800 2009 Short-listed for the 2003 Booker Prize, Astonishing Splashes of Colour received wide praise in Britain. Its title is drawn from J.M. Barre's Peter Pan ("Neverland is always more or less an island, with astonishing splashes of colour here and there") and is an appropriate reference as Kitty...

more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sat Jul 25 19:22:06 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 19:22:17 -0700 2009 title...an interesting blurb on the back of the book....I've learned
that all of these can promote excessive expectations and lead to a
dire case of book disappointment. Sometimes I think I'd rather know
too little about a book and thus come to e...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 14:27:34 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 03:59:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Aug 26 20:49:31 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 05:17:05 -0800 2008
I imagine a lot of people figured out early on in this book what the surprises would be. I'd like to think the plot was constructed as a stage for synaethesia, but even that seems hardly fleshed out.

Unfortunately my sympathy for the character, ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 23 14:35:24 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 08 14:16:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false true Thu Sep 17 04:20:23 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 10:45:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 05:29:42 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 04:32:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Mar 01 08:49:09 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 08:49:39 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 07:03:22 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 07:05:37 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Fri May 30 13:40:27 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 12:35:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Jan 11 01:23:59 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 27 18:11:09 -0800 2009 identity among highly unusual circumstances. Beautifully written, a story
that draws you in completely, wonderfully crafted three-dimensional
characters, settings that live and breathe all on their own....more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 14:18:38 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 14:19:23 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Feb 07 09:20:10 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 09:20:32 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 12:49:49 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 12:49:49 -0800 2009 ]]> 5 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Oct 02 15:08:52 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 15:10:53 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Aug 21 19:11:45 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 19:12:06 -0700 2009