Have you ever had a secret? One so important that it feels as if it will tear you in two? Stephen's got one. He's also got a great job, beautiful w...
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reviews
Jan 25, 2011
Rebecca
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I read Without Alice very recently after talking to Denyse via twitter and Facebook. I'm usually a crime novel kind of girl as you can see from the books on my read list, but I wanted to read work by people I actually "knew", so I started Without Alice.
I found it brilliantly written. The first part of the book really had me hooked as I connected with everything that was happening as Jennie gave birth and worked through all the concerns mothers to premature babies go through More...
I found it brilliantly written. The first part of the book really had me hooked as I connected with everything that was happening as Jennie gave birth and worked through all the concerns mothers to premature babies go through More...
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Mar 18, 2011
Gabrielle
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I loved this insightful look into the intertwining lives of Stephen, Jennie and Alice. Perhaps the central idea at the heart of this compelling novel is the fact that the smallest things can have the most profound impact. In her debut novel, D J Kirkby explores the lives of three people born in the same year, who as adults are unexpectedly drawn together. Kirkby has worked for years in midwifery and she depicts birth and early motherhood with great skill and tender compassion - Jennie's experie
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Aug 31, 2010
Kathryn
rated it:
Within a very few pages, I was hooked, caught up in people’s lives and sucked into their story, as if I were in the same room and living through it with them in real time. D.J. Kirkby’s writing is extraordinary and dazzling. She works on every one of your senses: the world she creates feels so real that the characters are more like people you know whom you’re eavesdropping.
D.J. does something remarkable in this, her debut novel. She makes her main character intensely unlikeable and s More...
D.J. does something remarkable in this, her debut novel. She makes her main character intensely unlikeable and s More...
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Oct 29, 2010
Teresa
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I have discovered some fabulous new (to me) authors via Twitter so I can testifiy that it’s not all mundane tweeting about what folk have for dinner or outpourings of grief at news of the latest X Factor evictee! Via Caroline Smailes (whose excellent novel Like Bees to Honey I have reviewed here) I found out about D J Kirkby (Denyse) who has already written From Zaftig to Aspie, a memoir of her extremely colourful childhood and eventual diagnosis with Aspergers Syndrome at the age of 40. My
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Jul 27, 2010
Talli
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It says a lot about this book that despite it being over 30 degrees on the Central Line, I couldn't stop turning the pages even as sweat dripped from my brow.
The narrative sweeps you along through the lives of the characters, keeping you guessing and wondering how it all will resolve - or indeed if it *will* - in the end.
With realistic, complex characters and an intriguing storyline, it's a must-read!
The narrative sweeps you along through the lives of the characters, keeping you guessing and wondering how it all will resolve - or indeed if it *will* - in the end.
With realistic, complex characters and an intriguing storyline, it's a must-read!
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Sep 28, 2010
Chris
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I won a copy of this book on First Reads..............and after reading it, I give this book 5 Stars! In my opinion, D.J. Kirkby writes an incredible story displaying the good and bad; beautiful and ugly; strengths and weaknesses of humankind. The author draws you into the story on page 1, and keeps you turning the pages, with surprise after surprise throughout the book...........all the way until the End! I definitely recommend adding this to your "to read" list. :-)
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Jan 27, 2011
Jo
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Without Alice is an exceptionally clever book. It takes you by the hand and leads you through a story, allowing you to form your own opinions and make judgements on its characters ... then, like all good books, it pulls the carpet from under you and forces you reassess your whole view of the story. This is a beautifully written, brilliantly crafted novel which will capture you from the moment you start reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very difficult to write an accurate review without
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Nov 15, 2011
Natajia
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Sep 08, 2010
D.J.
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Have you ever had a secret? One so important that it feels as if it will tear you in two? Stephen’s got one. He's also got a great job, beautiful wife and an adorable son. Outwardly his life seems perfect but it means nothing without Alice.
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