Booker finalist Astonishing Splashes of Colour takes its title from J. M. Barrie's description of Peter Pan's Neverland. It follows the life of Kit...
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Mar 23, 2009
Brigita
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Aug 11, 2011
Elaine
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Clare Morrall. Astonishing Splashes of Colour.
« - Мы должны с этим смириться – устроить жизнь без детей, делать то, что хотим.
Мне трудно говорить. Смотрю на потолок и вижу крошечного паучка, устремляющегося к какой-то призрачной цели. А знает ли он, куда идет? Или откуда пришел?
- Да, - говорю я »
Звучит ли «да» согласием на предложение подчинить жизнь обстоятельствам, или же это ответ на собственный вопрос о том, откуда и куда движется представитель ч More...
« - Мы должны с этим смириться – устроить жизнь без детей, делать то, что хотим.
Мне трудно говорить. Смотрю на потолок и вижу крошечного паучка, устремляющегося к какой-то призрачной цели. А знает ли он, куда идет? Или откуда пришел?
- Да, - говорю я »
Звучит ли «да» согласием на предложение подчинить жизнь обстоятельствам, или же это ответ на собственный вопрос о том, откуда и куда движется представитель ч More...
Mar 18, 2011
Gail
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This is a strange and fascinating novel. Kitty, who narrates the novel, is a woman in her thirties who feels lost in various ways - she knows that when she was a young child, her mother was killed in a car crash and her older sister ran away from home, but she cannot remember either of them. She had a baby of her own who died, and she is haunted by this. She feels lost in a sort of Never-Never Land (the novel's title is a quotation from Peter Pan) and reality and fantasy get merged in her mind,
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Apr 24, 2010
Crosy
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I tried. I really, really tried to finish this book, but I just couldn't. I always feel terrible for not finishing a book, but with this one, I also feel strangely relieved.
What made this book interesting to me was for one the title and then the concept: being raised as the youngest of a number of siblings, almost all brothers, never knowing her mother, Kitty tries to find out about the history of her family and especially her mother.
If the author had spent more time on More...
What made this book interesting to me was for one the title and then the concept: being raised as the youngest of a number of siblings, almost all brothers, never knowing her mother, Kitty tries to find out about the history of her family and especially her mother.
If the author had spent more time on More...
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Jul 19, 2009
Sarah
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I read the book because of title and I enjoyed the few moments here and there when Clare Morrall played up her book's connection to Peter Pan but for the most part Astonishing Splashes of Colour left me bored. Kitty for a variety of reasons is a thirty-something adult who refuses to grow-up. It's not that she's young at heart or playful, she doesn't want to face the harsh reality that life can sometimes throw at a person.
Of course, there must be reasons for Kitty's withdrawal from th More...
Of course, there must be reasons for Kitty's withdrawal from th More...
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Jun 06, 2009
Kiwi
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Jujubean lent me this book to read an eternity ago. I was reading it over spring break as well! That's when I started it. So sad that it took me so long to read a book, all because of exams and uni work!
I loved it. It's one of those "day in the life" sorts of books. Not fast-paced, a lot doesn't really go on. It's more about how the story is told. I loved this narrator's voice. It's unreliable--the character is unreliable, she's MEANT to be unreliable. She is coupled with a More...
I loved it. It's one of those "day in the life" sorts of books. Not fast-paced, a lot doesn't really go on. It's more about how the story is told. I loved this narrator's voice. It's unreliable--the character is unreliable, she's MEANT to be unreliable. She is coupled with a More...
Feb 05, 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 herself has regressed as a result of her sadness. "I don't feel grown-up anymore," Kitty says. "_I seem to have gone backwards." One critic said it deserved to become a bestseller
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Jul 24, 2010
Suzy
rated it:
I finished this book about a week ago. When I began it, I loved it. It seemed to hold a lot of promise and mystery, and it did indeed hold my attention throughout. The main character is a little unbalanced, but not so much so that you can't relate to her and like her. The cause of the loss of balance is gradually revealed, but even more gradually revealed is the underlying cause: deception. I can't say more without having to declare this a spoiler. The book is very well written, but I must
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Jul 25, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
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A beautiful cover...an intriguing
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 expect little.
I had high expectations for this book. If you go into reading it
without expecting "astonishing splashes of colour", if you begin
reading, thinking, perhap More...
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 expect little.
I had high expectations for this book. If you go into reading it
without expecting "astonishing splashes of colour", if you begin
reading, thinking, perhap More...
Jul 28, 2009
Jana
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book, just I didn’t like the end. It changed too fast from deeply and colorfully portrayed psychological world to high-speed action book. While Kitty sucked me like a black hole into her Peter Pan childish and confused perspective while trying to figure out why she was seeing everything in colours and discovering about her silent brothers and too distracted father, non existing mother and sister, and then slowly evolving into her own husband and child story – I thought, yes
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Jul 06, 2011
Rosemary
rated it:
One of those books you can't put down. The narrator (and main character) wins our sympathy immediately but the probability of leading a normal adult life is compromised by her increasingly devasting past. It provides interesting insight into the mind of someone who can no longer function normally. I didn't, however, think the "splashes of colour" aspect was explained properly. I also had a problem with her age - I couldn't come to grips with the fact that she was in her 30s, because sh
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Jul 30, 2011
I found this a surprisingly good book and had trouble putting it down. The main character Kitty was endearing, mainly because she didn't represent the 'normal'... she has mental issues, and lives a not so normal life... There were several big surprises that I didn't see coming, and were well thought out. You feel genuinely sad for the plight of Kitty, and want to understand more about how she lives as she does.
For a first novel I was shocked at how well the author wrote, especially the complexi More...
For a first novel I was shocked at how well the author wrote, especially the complexi More...
Aug 29, 2010
Marty
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I do not know where I got this book - it was in my to-be-read bag and had been there for some time! I thougnt perhaps taht I might have started it before and put it down, so I wasn't expecting much. I was therefore, very surprised at the intensity and depth of this book. It describes from a first person perspective the emotional/mental breakdown of a young woman who loses her baby in childbirth. I found myself completely caught up in her story and emotions - found the descriptions poignant an
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Feb 12, 2012
Athena
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This is the story of Kitty, a woman with a peculiar family history who has suffered a personal tragedy resulting in the loss of her unborn child - and the loss of her ability to have children. This experience has knocked Kitty a little off her rocker, and we follow her through a series of interactions that cause her to unravel further.
I really wanted to like this novel because of its title. As the first few pages indicate, "Astonishing splashes of colour" is a quote More...
I really wanted to like this novel because of its title. As the first few pages indicate, "Astonishing splashes of colour" is a quote More...
Dec 01, 2008
S.
rated it:
Splashy, yes. Astonishing? No.
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, Kitty, didn't go very far, despite what are admittedly some pretty big troubles. Aside from her, the other characters seemed underdeveloped. They came with labels: the husband is "sanity in a can More...
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, Kitty, didn't go very far, despite what are admittedly some pretty big troubles. Aside from her, the other characters seemed underdeveloped. They came with labels: the husband is "sanity in a can More...
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Jun 08, 2009
Lorraine
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It's so good! It's the kind of book in which I get fully engaged with the character that I miss her when the book is finished. I love the way the author makes the character lovable. I don't know really how to explain it. With Good in Bed, I had many times where I disliked the main character for her character flaws and weaknesses. I judged her. In Colour, I never ever felt that way. I wanted to help the other characters understand the protaganist and not judge her. The novel swallows you
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Oct 03, 2009
Debbie
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Jul 29, 2011
Jayne
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The cover of this book uses terms like 'solid', 'unassuming', 'not showy', and I worried it might plod. In fact it moves pleasingly quickly, with a series of events that will both shock and fascinate. There is a fair amount of humour, and anyone who has struggled with (or even without) children will sympathise with the main character Kitty. I guessed the main 'surprise' in the book before it came up, and I don't often do that. Nevertheless, it's still a 4 star for me.
Apr 02, 2010
Kitty Wellington ist die jüngste von sechs Geschwistern. Und vielleicht ist sie auch nie richtig erwachsen geworden. Kitty schreibt Gutachten für einen Kinderbuchverlag, und schon deswegen spielt sich ein Teil ihres Lebens stets im Reich der Phantasie ab. In der Realität ist sie 32 Jahre alt, verheiratet mit ihrem Nachbarn, und zutiefst traumatisiert durch eine Fehlgeburt, die dazu führte, dass sie nie Kinder haben wird. Der Versuch, diesen Verlust zu verarbeiten, führt sie zurück in die eigene
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Aug 27, 2010
Connie
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This is my second book that I have read from this author. It is amazingly free from profanity and sexuality and yet she is a strong writer. It is her writing that carries the story along. It does not have a happy ending, but I could feel the healing in Kitty and even though she would probably experience some consequences for her actions, I could tell that she'd be okay.
Jun 19, 2010
Michael
rated it:
I really want to give this 3.75 because it isn't quite a four (I have been giving too many 4 and 5 star) reviews. I read this last year and I can still remember what it was about which is a plus. It has a gentle emotional intelligence with a brooding sense of mental instability and loss. It kept me interested I was intrigued enough to stay with it.
Jul 07, 2011
Charity
rated it:
I was surprised by this book. I wasn't anticipating how much I would grow to care about the characters. Kitty's behaviour frequently made me cringe but in the end I could understand her pain. This also seems like a good wake-up call for people suffering from depression. The story was depressing but it was told in a very interesting way and Kitty's colourful view of the world was unique.
Jul 23, 2010
Lianne
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Enjoyed this book - had a few good twists and turns, but i felt that there wasn't enough of the book given to these - the last 50 pages of the book could have been given more space and more questions answered which would have given more closure to the book. All in all, enjoyable
Jul 13, 2010
Judy
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I would give this 3.5 if I could. An interesting novel about a young woman with issues, which unfold as you read. Flashbacks explain some of the present. I didn't know anything about this when I read it - I picked it up at the used book sale, and it's a Booker Prize nominee. I like the way the protagonist unfolds as we read.
Mar 01, 2009
Djrmel
rated it:
A book that tells a sad tale but does it with such a delicate touch you don't feel the pain until it's too late to stop reading. Lost parents, lost children, and lost minds all tie together in the end, but no one is better off than when they started.
Aug 14, 2011
Theresa
rated it:
I thought it was okay. There were few moments of surprise and most of the time I was drown out by the narrator's self-conversations and questions. Perhaps okay for a first-time writer, but overall I wasn't really impressed by it.
Feb 08, 2012
Claire
rated it:
This book has haunted me since I read it 5 years ago. I'm not sure why. I normally forget books. But I remember the entire plot of this one. And how I felt when I read it. It is so beautiful and yet so sad.
Aug 13, 2011
Carol
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This was a booker award nominee but I found the story to be too beyond belief -- the protagonist was without reason in her actions -- although she had resources -- so, an interesting book, but not a favorite ---
Aug 31, 2010
Wendy
rated it:
Compelling story of a woman driven insane by the loss of her baby and the behaviour of her husband who is also unbalanced and the rest of her family. It's not as heavy as that implies and I enjoyed it.
Jul 15, 2008
Cecily
rated it:
Focuses on a motherless child/childless mother from a big but emotionally distant family. References to Peter Pan make a rather crass analogy. She is also a synaesthete (though oddly that thread fizzles out as the plot becomes more interesting), and has very little social/self awareness of the consequences of her actions on others. You never really understand any of the characters - and especially not why James loves her. Perhaps that is a deliberate parallel with how little any of the character
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