Hand Me Down World

Sep 17, 2012 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, read-in-2012

emergency read while I wait for the library to re-open (damaged roof) and I can pick up all the lovely reservations waiting for me. This book is my wife's, but I have always meant to read it as I liked 'Mr Pip'.

this book suffered because for some reason - well, work, family etc, the usual reasons - I couldn't get a good long run at it. I think it was a fine novel. It was a fine novel, a moving account of an African woman trying to trace her abducted new born son. The son is taken by its father t...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Book Bazaar added it · review of another edition

Customer review from Jo...

A young black African woman works as a maid in a hotel in Tunisia. She meets Jermayne, one of the guests, also black. He teaches her to swim and makes her pregnant. He returns to the hotel for the birth of the child, together with his wife, and they both disappear with the baby.

The young woman’s search for her son is told through the words of various people she meets on the way – her supervisor at the hotel, an inspector (of what?), a truck driver who gives her a lift a...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read and really liked Lloyd Jones’ last novel, Mister Pip, I knew I would like Hand Me Down World but I didn’t know how much. Jones brings to light the darker side of life in an always engaging and startling way.

All those things to which the world turns a blind eye: human trafficking, prostitution, homelessness, illegal immigration are all brought into focus.

Hand Me Down World tells the story of an African woman (who calls herself Ines) as she travels from Tunis to Berlin in search of he...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Nadine Millar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-that-halt-time

People lie. Not just to the world, but to themselves. This is the barb of truth at the end of "Hand Me Down World", which, difficult though it may be to accept, is impossible to deny. Jones presents several witnesses on his quest to tell the story of the protagonist, whose fate seems doomed from the very first page. We hear accounts from those who apparently know this woman, or have known her intimately in the past, as well as installments from people whose paths crossed with her only briefly. W...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-from-new-zealand

There are a number of novels where the story is told in a number of different voices, but I do believe this one may win the prize for the largest number of narrators. It is a bit reminiscent of modern television documentaries in which multiple people relate their experiences relating to a given topic; unlike television however, the story is not passive; it is one in which the reader has a job to do in interpreting what's really going on -- if he or she can find any reliability in the narration....more There are a number of novels where the story is told in a number of different voices, but I do believe this one may win the prize for the largest number of narrators. It is a bit reminiscent of modern television documentaries in which multiple people relate their experiences relating to a given topic; unlike television however, the story is not passive; it is one in which the reader has a job to do in interpreting what's really going on -- if he or she can find any reliability in the narration. Each narrator has his or her own slant on the truth -- and what they say speaks not only to the situation at hand but also to how they perceive and wish others to perceive them in the world each occupies.

Hand Me Down World is the story of a young woman in Tunisia whose quest for her young son begins in the middle of the Mediterranean, where she is dumped by human traffickers and told to hang on to a buoy until someone comes to pick her up. After a while it becomes obvious she's been duped, so she makes her way dog paddling onto the Italian coastline. There she takes on the name Ines, and with only a plastic bag in which she keeps only a few meager possessions, she begins to make her way to Berlin where her son's father lives. Her story is related by those with whom she comes into contact, and by Ines herself. This cast of characters include a truck driver, an elderly snail collector, an ex-pat Parisian who calls himself Millennium Three, a researcher from the UK sent to study the Roma culture in Berlin, and others that bump into Ines along the way. After the book introduces all of these people (and a few more), the most involved narrations begin with Ralf, an elderly blind man who hires Ines to view the world for him; Defoe, another lodger taken on by Ralf, and then there's Ines herself, whose account of things doesn't always coincide with what has already been said about her. The novel is structured sort of like a detective story, where there are conflicts among all of the narratives for the reader to sort and then try to piece together in some coherent fashion. And then there's the Inspector, whose purpose I won't reveal here, but who serves as sort of a compiler of all of the stories.

While the author explores Ines' search for her son and her experiences along the way, he is also able to veer off into other areas, especially the issues faced by immigrants trying to find a better life than the one they left behind, who often become "the real ghosts... those whom we choose not to see." But even as he's tackling this issue in a big way, running through the novel is theme of identity, most obviously examined in Ines but also among all of the other characters. There's also a great deal of thought offered about living with dignity instead of fear, a choice Ines and other characters have to consider in the hopes of having any kind of future.

While the prose may be a bit sparse in comparison to Jones' Mr. Pip, the pacing is good and appropriate for a novel like this one. In the first part of the book,the reader is not stuck on any one character or situation too long as Ines makes her way through Europe. As Ines continues her journey, the story also moves along and doesn't dwell too long in one spot . The second half moves a bit slower as it boils down to the stories of only a few characters in Berlin, and then of course, Ines herself. This part is not as quick to read through, but what makes it very interesting is how certain events are repeated and retold, offering a new slant on information received earlier in the novel.

I was very intrigued by this novel both in terms of structure and story; the multiple-voice approach is quite interesting and actually works well here as things are slowly revealed, little by little. Yet at the same time, just when I started thinking I had Ines figured out, the author throws in little curve balls that made me wonder if I knew her at all. This line of thought carries throughout the book, and actually, I'm walking away from the book wondering how well I really know anybody. If you're looking for a regular narrative story in linear format, keep looking -- this isn't the book for you. But if you want something intriguing that resonates long after the last page is turned, you might just want to give it a try. (less)

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Dec 14, 2011 Signora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was pleased when I received my Early Reviewers copy of "Hand Me Down World". I had enjoyed reading "Mr Pip" by the same author a couple of years ago and was looking forward to another work by him. I was not disappointed. Have you ever wondered what people would say about their experience of you? Have you ever wondered if someone else recounted an interaction with you, would their version be the same as yours? That is how this book reads...and it is fascinating.
The main character is Ines, a sin...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you have ever wanted to read a story about true courage, resilience and strength, than this would be the only one you'd ever need to read.

This novel follows the story of an African woman (who's name you're not even sure of throughout the entire novel) working as a maid in a tourist resort. It's there that she falls for a tourist who gets her pregnant, but tricks her and leaves her - taking their baby with him to Berlin. You are heartbroken for this woman before her story has even began. The s...more

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Aug 22, 2011 DubaiReader rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, vine

Slow start.

This was a book that difinitely came into its own in the second half. From that point on, the characters started to develop and I became more involved with the narrative. The last section, where we finally hear from the central character, 'the woman' referred to on the back cover, was excellent, but for me, the book had dropped to four stars before then.

The snapshot chapters we read at the beginning are, in fact, witness statements, given to an inspector who is following in the footst...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Felice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Raise your hand if you enjoyed Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. Me too!! Well, good news for all of us, Jones has a new novel, Hand Me Down World. This book is out now in the U.K. and due out in the States in September.

Hand Me Down World is the story of Ines search for her kidnapped baby son. Ines works as a maid in a resort in Tunisia. In addition to their domestic duties the staff at this hotel is expected to provide sex for the guests. When Ines becomes pregnant after an affair with a German touri...more Raise your hand if you enjoyed Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. Me too!! Well, good news for all of us, Jones has a new novel, Hand Me Down World. This book is out now in the U.K. and due out in the States in September.

Hand Me Down World is the story of Ines search for her kidnapped baby son. Ines works as a maid in a resort in Tunisia. In addition to their domestic duties the staff at this hotel is expected to provide sex for the guests. When Ines becomes pregnant after an affair with a German tourist she is tricked into signing away all rights to their son by her lover and his wife. Ines does not accept this cruelty as fate. She decides that she will venture into the world of which she knows nothing, get herself to Berlin and reclaim her child.

Taking a page from mystery writers like Wilkie Collins and Agatha Christie the first half of the novel is told by various characters by way of their statements to the police. At this point the reader has no idea why the police are investigating Ines and the varying accounts give disparate points of view of the events. This uncertainty regarding Ines (not her real name) is echoed through the novel. Jones allows the hotel manager, human traffickers, fellow immigrants, a snail collector, a British film researcher, an Italian truck driver and a blind German to all have their say in defining Ines prior to allowing her to speak for herself but does that make Ines a more reliable narrator? Along the way these witnesses inadvertently reveal how they have been contained by their own worlds.

Ines is a complicated character. She is a victim and a victimizer. Having her introduced to us by third party testimony is the genius of this novel. By doing this Jones keeps both Ines the Heroine and Ines one of the millions of iinvisible, poverty stricken citizens of the world intact. He also feeds our need to solve the mystery of contradictions that is Ines.

It's easy to feel sorry for a woman trapped in a low paying job in a country where she has little or no prospects. It is more difficult to empathize with a woman who uses sex to manipulate men. Is it that her sad life experience has schooled her to believe that her sexuality is her only hope of finding her son? Or is Ines a self serving individual who uses sex to control? Someone who is 'no better than she ought to be' as my Aunt Isabelle would have said. Most of the witnesses, but not all, see Ines as a demure woman and a good worker but we know that Ines carries a knife and has stolen money. There are even hints that she may be involved in a murder.

There are some moments in Hand Me Down World that press credulity and occasionally the statements made by the witnesses come off almost as ~~~shudder~~~ short stories. Heaven Forbid! However the all too realistic plight of Ines and the very large talents of Lloyd Jones carry the day. This is a novel that will stay in your thoughts. The misuse of Ines by people with money smacks of modern colonialism, Ines situation, her background, the mysteries of identity and the clever way Jones has laid out the story make Hand Me Down World a thought provoking page turner.(less)

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Mar 10, 2011 Ae Lynch rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This latest novel from Lloyd Jones is the compelling and intriguing story of "Ines", an African hotel worker who travels illegally to Europe to find her son. This story is told through the narratives of the various characters she comes into contact with on her journey (as they hand her down from one to the other, the idea which provided the title), and then from her own perspective. In this manner the novel focusses on how people treat each other, and also on how they shape their world according...more This latest novel from Lloyd Jones is the compelling and intriguing story of "Ines", an African hotel worker who travels illegally to Europe to find her son. This story is told through the narratives of the various characters she comes into contact with on her journey (as they hand her down from one to the other, the idea which provided the title), and then from her own perspective. In this manner the novel focusses on how people treat each other, and also on how they shape their world according to their own preoccupations.

This novel tells its story in a hyper-realistic manner, never resorting to sensationalism, and avoiding an over-the-top climax. The depiction of maternal love in the novel manages to be moving, yet restrained; Jones conveys the desperation of Ines's search, and her yearning for her child, yet does so without resorting to sentimentality or unrealistic emotional displays. Similarly, Ines is an illegal immigrant in Europe, yet is never patronised or demonized.
The movement of the story through Europe is similarly well illustrated: Jones allows the characters to vividly describe the scenes of their own Italy, Austria, and Germany. An example is the alpine hunter and guide, who subtly portrays their surroundings through discussing its suitability to partridge hunting.
The most fascinating aspect of Jones's novel is the narration. Using the first-person narration of the different people that Ines comes into contact with on her way to Berlin (ostensibly the testimonies that they give to the inspector who has been following her journey), proves an arresting manner in which to tell her story.
The difference in the voices and styles of narration showcase Jones`s talents, as each of these sections are interspersed with each of the character`s own preoccupations and concerns. From the African co-worker who tells of her time working with Ines in simple English, to the defensive and self-serving truck driver who makes excuses and reasons away his every action, to the blind Ralf, who describes his world in how it sounds and feels. Each of the accounts also provide a different perspective on Ines's own character, as each narration seems to see her in a slightly different light. There is a snail collector who pities her and aids her in a manner close to how she would a frightened animal, the American food critic who is reluctant to help her because she is an illegal "alien", and there is Hannah, who only refers to Ines as "the black woman".

It becomes apparent as you move through this novel that each version of events is not necessarily reliable (in a post-modernist fashion), and that each character is seeking to present themselves in the best possible light. Some of the narratives contradict each other, and when Ines comes to tell her own version of events it contradicts many of things we have read previously. This of course also reminds us that we can't take her version of events for granted either, adding another fascinating layer to this novel's depth, and ensuring that you will want to start again from the beginning almost immediately.
This narrative approach manages to convey both the isolated nature of existence, through each character`s subjectivity and illustrating how we can never really know them, and humanity's attempts to bridge this isolation, through the depicted relationships and rare instances of actual connection. The ending is also inconclusive, allowing the reader to decide with which version of existence the tale has resolved itself.

Ultimately, this is a compelling story, told in a fascinating manner, and will leave you thinking for long after it's finished.(less)

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Oct 30, 2010 CuteBadger rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a book about one woman’s journey, physical and emotional, from Africa to Europe in search of a child, but it’s just as much about the individual journeys of all the people she meets, who help or hinder her along the way. It’s a book about home, and what the concept means.

She calls herself Ines, and she’s not the kind of person any of us has met in real life or on the pages of fiction before now. She’s someone who wouldn’t draw any attention, who you might look right through. Sometimes yo...more This is a book about one woman’s journey, physical and emotional, from Africa to Europe in search of a child, but it’s just as much about the individual journeys of all the people she meets, who help or hinder her along the way. It’s a book about home, and what the concept means.

She calls herself Ines, and she’s not the kind of person any of us has met in real life or on the pages of fiction before now. She’s someone who wouldn’t draw any attention, who you might look right through. Sometimes you want to help her, other times you want her to take a different path to the one she’s decided on, but as you find out more about her, you realise you know less than when you started. Her world is so different from ours that you could say that she’s almost from a different planet.

The novel is very realistic in its portrayal of Ines and all the people around her - in life we don’t instantly find out everything on meeting a new person and we don’t here. We see each of them briefly as Ines encounters them and have to make up our minds about them using the little information we have to go on. Should we (and Ines) trust them or not?

The book has several narrators, each with their own idiosyncrasies, and though Ines is one of them we hear about her long before we hear from her, so we see her through other eyes first. Perhaps we’d think the same some of the narrators if we were to meet her.

Lloyd Jones draws you in right from the start, and it’s a hard book to put down - I found myself reading long into the night, trying to find out more about Ines and what led her to Europe. I tried to read the last few pages slowly, to make the pleasure last, but at the same time desperate to get to the end to get some closure to the story. I felt bereft when I finished, like the feeling you get when a much-loved visitor has gone home.

The style is accessible and some of the descriptive passages are quirky and beautiful. The characters are real, with real human positives and failings, so that you feel you know people like them.

I haven’t read any of Lloyd Jones’s other books, but I look forward to reading more of his work. If it’s even nearly as good as “Hand Me Down World” then I’m in for a treat.
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Oct 26, 2010 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the story of a women know to the reader as Ines. Ines makes a long, hard, and often dangerous journey from Africa to Europe in search of a child.

'Hand Me Down World' is actually one story, told twice. The first half of the book is narrated by the people who Ines meets during her journey. From the truck driver who gives her a lift to the blind man who used her as his eyes. Ines is 'handed down' from person to person - slowly making her way to her destination, with the determination that...more This is the story of a women know to the reader as Ines. Ines makes a long, hard, and often dangerous journey from Africa to Europe in search of a child.

'Hand Me Down World' is actually one story, told twice. The first half of the book is narrated by the people who Ines meets during her journey. From the truck driver who gives her a lift to the blind man who used her as his eyes. Ines is 'handed down' from person to person - slowly making her way to her destination, with the determination that only a mother separated from her child can have. Ines is used by people, but she is also a user, she will stop at nothing to reach her goal.

In the second half of the book, the exact same story is told again, this time narrated by Ines herself. It is clear that there are some unreliable narrators in this book as the stories vary so much. Each narrator portrays themselves as wholesome and good, only interested in Ines' welfare, yet it is clear that Ines sees the events so differently to the earlier narrators - but whose is the true story? Maybe both of them are true? It's about perception - about understanding how badly Ines wants to get to Berlin - understanding why.

I will be honest and admit that during the first couple of chapters of Hand Me Down World I struggled. I struggled with the unusual narration, the fact that at that time the reader did not know who or what Ines really was. It is a unique and intriguing way of telling a story and once I became used to this quirk I became entranced by the story and the writing.

Each narrator has their own style, this in itself shows how talented an Lloyd Jones is. As Ines travels through Europe, each country, each place is described wonderfully.

It's a kind of 'lonely' story. Ines is essentially a lonesome person, despite the fact that she meets many people on her journey, she never opens up to them, or reveals her real self. It is only towards the end of the story that the reader is allowed to enter into her world and some of her emotions and feelings are exposed.

The book blurb says 'this is a novel you cannot stop thinking about', and I would agree. It's the kind of book that takes you way past bed-time, that makes you want to read 'just one more page'. There is a certain air of mystery about it.

Essentially the story of the love of a mother, but also an exploration of different characters and how one story can be re-told in so many ways.

Heart-breaking in parts, often beautiful and quite inspiring.(less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, contemporary-lit

This was kind of a frustrating book for me. Ostensibly the story of a woman searching for her kidnapped son, it's told instead through the points of view of people she meets along her journey. As has been said in other reviews, we don't even get her real name, and most of the time she isn't even given one. We don't get the woman's point of view until about 2/3 through the book, and then it differs from the other accounts. You don't ever feel like you really know her. With the added not knowing w...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who is Ines, an illegal African migrant who embarks on a hazardous sea crossing to Italy and Germany in search of her stolen son? That answer is revealed slowly and painstakingly in this haunting new book by Lloyd Jones, author of the acclaimed Mister Pip.

When we first meet her, Ines is working as a maid in a tony Tunisian resort, where women routinely supplement their wages with “hotel sex.” In the first few pages, we learn that she is seduced and impregnated by a callous black German guest, Je...more Who is Ines, an illegal African migrant who embarks on a hazardous sea crossing to Italy and Germany in search of her stolen son? That answer is revealed slowly and painstakingly in this haunting new book by Lloyd Jones, author of the acclaimed Mister Pip.

When we first meet her, Ines is working as a maid in a tony Tunisian resort, where women routinely supplement their wages with “hotel sex.” In the first few pages, we learn that she is seduced and impregnated by a callous black German guest, Jermayne, who tricks her into signing adoption papers for him and his wife. What Jermayne does not expect is that Ines will put herself in the hands of people-traffickers who launch her on a journey to the Sicilian coast, where she is arrives “bitten as a sodden sea cucumber. From there, she makes her way to Berlin.

This story is revealed in bits and dabs, through successive narrations of an unscrupulous truck driver, a group of mostly benevolent alpine hunters, a British film researcher, a selfless French poet, and finally, a blind German man whose father may have been complicit in the war horrors. It is only after the first 120 pages that we meet the three key narrators: Ralf (the blind man), Defoe (his other lodger) and finally, Ines herself.

It’s an intriguing way to reveal Ines, a woman who is driven by motherly love and who will do anything and everything to spend time with her stolen son, Daniel, including betraying the trust of those who give her shelter and devotion. Like an old-fashioned detective story – in modern and sparse prose – we discover the contradictions between the narratives, what is real and what isn’t, and who Ines really is, deep down inside.

There is a beautiful symmetry about this book. In the first few pages, Lloyd Jones reveals the stuff that Ines is made of. She buys a parrot, that she quickly tires of, and tries to sell it. When that proves impossible she places the parrot on a skiff as it “rolled its eye up to her, to look as though it possibly understood her decision and had decided it would choose dignity over fear.” Much later on, Ines’s constant harping to see her son is described as parrot-like; she, too, chooses dignity as the best way to go.

The sparseness of the prose – the distance from Ines – places the reader at a bit of a distance. At times the narrative sags under the weight with a sense of inertia. Yet every time it slows down to a snail’s pace, something – some action, some decision, some revelation – creates more forward momentum. As a reader, I felt as if I were on a slow-moving train that suddenly picked up speed and oh, look at the view!

Lloyd Jones reveals a sense of daring and experimentation that shows he has come quite a way since Mister Pip – a book I admired greatly. This subtle book is, in turn, riveting, disquieting, haunting, and at some points, boring, as we follow Ines’s odyssey to pursue her son. It reminded me a little bit of Chris Cleave’s Little Bee in its tautness and ability to summon up emotion. Lloyd Jones is definitely a writer to watch!
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Mar 27, 2011 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: librarybooks

‘To hold onto even a little is still to have it.’

This is the story of a woman we know as Ines: an African woman who travels illegally to Europe to try to find her son. Ines’s story is told through the narratives of various people she comes into contact with during her journey as they each hand her from one to the other, and then from her own perspective. This method of narration allows us to see how different people perceive and treat Ines (and each other) and how each person’s view of the world...more ‘To hold onto even a little is still to have it.’

This is the story of a woman we know as Ines: an African woman who travels illegally to Europe to try to find her son. Ines’s story is told through the narratives of various people she comes into contact with during her journey as they each hand her from one to the other, and then from her own perspective. This method of narration allows us to see how different people perceive and treat Ines (and each other) and how each person’s view of the world is shaped by their own perceptions and preoccupations.

‘Timing is everything in this world.’

As the novel opens, Ines is working as a maid in a Tunisian resort. She is seduced by a German guest and, after she gives birth to their son, is tricked into signing adoption papers for her lover and his wife. Ines does not accept the loss of her son in this way, and begins her journey to Germany. First, Ines places herself in the hands of people smugglers who leave her drifting in the sea of the coast of Sicily.

‘At night geography is the first thing to disappear.’

We learn of this first stage of Ines’s journey from a hotel supervisor and a police inspector who are the first two narrators. The other narrators and witnesses to Ines’s ordeal are an unsavoury Italian truck driver, a group of alpine hunters who prove adept at smuggling Ines over the high border into Austria, even though one of them disagrees, a British film researcher, a snail collector, and a blind German man. Each of these people plays some role in Ines’s search for her lost son.

Not every version of events is reliable: some of the narratives contradict each other, as do aspects of Ines’s narrative when she comes to tell her story. Truth is always relative, but Ines has a disadvantage relative to the other narrators. She is caught on the wrong side of bureaucracy, thus lacks power and, given that Ines is not her real name, her identity is also blurred.

And the ending? It’s inconclusive, which leaves satisfaction dependent upon how each reader interprets it. It’s a compelling and fascinating story and left me wondering about Ines, her journey and her fate long after I’d finished reading.

‘Everyone has a home. They might hate it but it is still home.’

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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Oct 23, 2010 Alison Wassell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: real-readers

This is an unusual and thought provoking novel that is surely destined to linger in reader's minds for a long time.
The first section of the book consists of a series of 'testimonies' of those whose lives have in some way been touched by the central character, an African woman known as Ines, as she is 'handed down' between them from Tunis to Berlin in search of the son she has been tricked into giving away. Through these narrators we learn Ines' story at second hand, and in a fragmentary way, ne...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Siria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-century, new-zealand-fiction

Hand Me Down World is the tale of a migrant from sub-Saharan Africa who leaves her job as a hotel maid in Tunisia to go to Berlin in search of the son who had been taken from her. The novel is told from a variety of different perspectives, the people whom Ines—the migrant—meets as she slogs from Sicily up over the Alps and towards Berlin. In some places their stories align; in others they disagree, as one might expect given the vagaries of individual memories and perspectives, the desire for sel...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I approached this book with some trepidation, mainly because it had received such favourable reviews that I worried I might be disappointed!
Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a complicated novel. It’s the story of Ines (not her real name) and her journey to find her child. The first section describes how Ines interacts with those she meets in her journey. To me, although this was a fascinating view of the lives of a range of people (the truck driver, the hunters...) it was not very engross...more I approached this book with some trepidation, mainly because it had received such favourable reviews that I worried I might be disappointed!
Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a complicated novel. It’s the story of Ines (not her real name) and her journey to find her child. The first section describes how Ines interacts with those she meets in her journey. To me, although this was a fascinating view of the lives of a range of people (the truck driver, the hunters...) it was not very engrossing in terms of discovering anything about Ines herself. I found this section too objective, a narrative. Perhaps this was the author’s intention, in which case he succeeded!
The description of Ralf’s blindness was masterly. Jones’ language was simple but brilliantly apt.
Despite learning more of Ines’ adventures, and the straits to which she had been reduced in her journey, I was still unable to feel close to her. To me, she was not real. Jones has a marvellous grasp of language, but he did not make Ines into a real person for me, and I need a real person if I am to have empathy and understanding of their actions. I felt that I should be more empathetic, because, after all, she’d been treated disgracefully and had a burning need to see her child, but I did not actually feel this way! This is the superficial aspect of this novel.
This novel is challenging in that it makes the reader question her reaction to people, in this case, to Ines. I think Jones was making a very important point – Ines could not explain herself or defend her actions because she could not make herself understood. She was a refugee, out of her environment, without language, without ready access to people and services. I am ashamed to admit that I fell into the trap of judging her, and I thought I was a very non-judgemental person and have been known to rail at people for judging refugees! Jones has shown that it is so easy to see people out of context when we they are unable to communicate, for whatever reason.
Although at the time I found this novel less than engrossing, I’m glad I read it for the lessons I learnt about myself. As I said, it’s a deceptively simple novel with hidden depths, if the reader is willing to meet the challenges.
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Nov 20, 2011 Kiwiflora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Did you read Mr Pip, Mr Jones' 2007 novel that was short listed for the Man Booker? Having read the winner of that year's competition I still can't understand how 'The Gathering' won it. But never mind. Moving on. So, after reading this new novel, you ask yourself how on earth does a white, middle aged, literary man from little old New Zealand at the bottom of the world, somehow create such characters as Mathilda in Mr Pip (teenage girl, growing up in a Pacific Is village, being immersed in the...more Did you read Mr Pip, Mr Jones' 2007 novel that was short listed for the Man Booker? Having read the winner of that year's competition I still can't understand how 'The Gathering' won it. But never mind. Moving on. So, after reading this new novel, you ask yourself how on earth does a white, middle aged, literary man from little old New Zealand at the bottom of the world, somehow create such characters as Mathilda in Mr Pip (teenage girl, growing up in a Pacific Is village, being immersed in the literature of Dickens, then dealing with the blackness and evil of an invasion), and in this story, Ines (young black African woman, desperately seeking her lost child). And what's more, manages to tell the story from their points of view rather than in the third person? The one thing I particularly remember from Mr Pip, was how true he was able to make Mathilda, how he got inside the head and soul of a young girl. Which is also very striking in this novel, it is almost as if he is the character that he has created. The second very striking thing about Mr Jones is that he is primarily a story teller. I would love to be a child of this man, and listen each bed time to the marvellous stories and weaving of characters he creates, to send me off to sleep. This novel is also such a great story.

But don't think that Mr Pip or this story are lovely. They are not, quite the opposite.

Ines, as we come to know her by, is a young African woman working as a hotel supervisor in a Tunisia hotel. Seduced by a German guest, she bears a child, which is ruthlessly taken off her by the father and his wife and whisked back to Germany. Instead of self-destructing, Ines then sets about making her way to Berlin in a bid to get the child back. The single minded determination of a mother's love is the one thing that keeps Ines going. In the course of her story there are many opportunities and times to simply give up, but she just keeps on keeping on, heading north, scraping money, lying and deceiving to find her child. This is the one constant through the story as Ines deals with people traffickers, near drowning, a sleazy truck driver, learning to trust the strangers she meets and then more often than not abusing that trust. Quite remarkable really.

The story is not actually told through Ines' eyes till the last third and then it expands and elaborates on the previous two thirds, which is told through the voices of the people she comes into contact with along the way - a fellow hotel worker, the variety of people she meets on the journey to Berlin, the young man she hooks up with once there, and the blind man who employs her to be his eyes and carer.

I found it quite a fascinating way to read a book. As each person narrates their encounter with Ines we build up a picture of what she is like, and as such she encompasses the entirety of a human being - compassion, love, courage, ruthlessness, selfishness, sacrifice, hope, determination, and ultimately survival at all costs. Until finally of course we meet Ines herself at the end of the journey she has so far been on, and maybe the beginning of the next stage in her remarkable life.

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I loved Mr Pip so much, I almost didn't think something could be as good. But this is, in an entirely different way. When it was published the reviews were many and various. Interestingly the reviews by men were less supportive of the story than those written by women. I can't help but wonder that maybe men perhaps feel uncomfortable with such a story about a woman being told by a man. Maybe I am reading too much into it...

Mr Jones wrote this story while on a year's writer's residency in Berlin over 2007-08. From reading this story, the city would appear to have left a mark on him as the city is as much a character in the book as Ines, Bernard and Ralf are. I want to go there now myself! Another place for the list...
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Feb 25, 2011 Bluesky rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hand Me Down World is told in a pastiche of personal recollections about the central character, who is only ever referred to as she, her, or the woman. The very first character in the book claimed "If I tell you of my beginning you will know hers. I can actually remember the moment I was born." Thus shooting down any credibility as a witness, even a fictional one!! I could forge no connection with the central character and lost interest in her journey, for all that it sounded so interesting from...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Shawn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always feel bad giving a well written book such a low rating. The author is definitely a good writer. This is quite enjoyable until the last 2/3 or so when the main character begins her account of what happened on her journey to find her kidnapped child. Her version deviated to greater and lesser degrees from the narration of others, but in ways that either didn't matter or had Me wondering what the point was in changing the narrative from what the original teller reported. It didn't add to th...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Els Keytsman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

De Nieuw-Zeelandse schrijver Lloyd Jones vertelt in “Tweedehands Wereld” het pakkende vluchtverhaal van een naamloze Afrikaanse vrouw. Al in het begin van de roman wordt de lezer in haar verhaal gezogen. Als hotelmeid in een Tunesische badplaats wordt ze verleid door een Duitse hotelgast van wie ze zwanger wordt. Na de geboorte van hun zoontje laat de man laat haar adoptiepapieren tekenen die ze niet begrijpt, en ontvoert haar zoontje. Ze legt haar lot daarop in handen van mensensmokkelaars. Die...more De Nieuw-Zeelandse schrijver Lloyd Jones vertelt in “Tweedehands Wereld” het pakkende vluchtverhaal van een naamloze Afrikaanse vrouw. Al in het begin van de roman wordt de lezer in haar verhaal gezogen. Als hotelmeid in een Tunesische badplaats wordt ze verleid door een Duitse hotelgast van wie ze zwanger wordt. Na de geboorte van hun zoontje laat de man laat haar adoptiepapieren tekenen die ze niet begrijpt, en ontvoert haar zoontje. Ze legt haar lot daarop in handen van mensensmokkelaars. Die gooien hun ‘vracht’ in zee, vlak voor de Siciliaanse kust. Gelukkig kan ze zich vastklampen aan een boei. En had eerder een andere hotelgast haar leren zwemmen. Vele anderen komen om. Eens aan Europees vasteland neemt ze de naam ‘Ines’ aan, en er volgt een pijnlijk en slopend ploeteren naar Berlijn op zoek naar haar zoontje.

Het straffe van dit boek zit in de vertelstructuur. Jones stelt het vluchtelingenportret van ‘Ines’ samen als een mozaïek. De eerste twee delen van het boek omvatten de fragmentarische en persoonlijke -en dus gekleurde- getuigenissen van andere mensen die ze tegenkomt op haar reis. Een hotelbegeleider. De politie-inspecteur. Een Italiaanse vrachtwagenschauffeur. Alpinejagers. Een pastor. Een anarchist. Een Brits filmresearcher. Een slakkenverzamelaar. En een blinde Duitse man.

Verschillende scènes worden zo herhaald, terwijl de lezer telkens andere facetten ontdekt. De lezer krijgt gaandeweg veel sympathie voor ‘Ines’ die wordt misbruikt en erg kwetsbaar is. Al die mensen helpen haar op hun manier in haar vluchtreis en zoektocht naar haar verloren kindje. Of buiten haar uit. Maar ze is niet alleen slachtoffer, ze is ook dader. Want ze steelt, heeft een mes bij zich, maakt misbruik van vertrouwen, wordt zelfs verdacht van moord. Wat haar recht houdt is een vastberaden zoektocht naar haar kind.

Dan zakt het verteltempo en later komt ‘Ines’ zelf aan het woord. Deze vertelstructuur maakt van “Tweedehands wereld” een zoektocht naar de waarheid, een whodunnit, een detectiveverhaal. En we beseffen tegelijk dat die waarheid niet bestaat. Jones toont met dit mozaïekportret dat onze identiteit slechts toevallig tot stand komt en vooral door anderen wordt geconstrueerd.

Jones kon met een werkbeurs een jaar leven en werken in Berlijn. Daar werd hij geïnspireerd door een verslag over de gevaarlijke reis die bootvluchtelingen moeten maken. Asielzoekers, vluchtelingen en migranten in illegaal verblijf halen enkel de krantenkoppen als cijfer, een statistiek. De schrijnende verhalen erachter krijgen we zelden te horen of te zien. Ingewikkelde thema’s als mensenhandel, illegale migratie, seks om te manipuleren of overleven, moederschap, altruïsme worden dankzij de opzet van dit boek door Jones beschreven op een manier de lezer echt raakt: “Een mens is niet meer waard dan een zak rijst. En dan, zodra er geld is overhandigd, is een mens gereduceerd tot vracht. Oude vissersboten. Open boten. Te zwaar beladen, te weinig voorzieningen. Onvoldoende eten en water – sinds wanneer is dat nodig voor handelswaar? En ze verdwijnen. Ze verdwijnen op zee.”

Dit boek is een moedig werkstuk. En stemt de lezer tot nadenken.

(deze boekbespreking maakte ik voor e-fugee, de nieuwsbrief van Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen. Zie www.vluchtelingenwerk.be)(less)

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Apr 09, 2012 zespri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another book by Lloyd Jones, author of award winning Mr Pip.

I thought this was a very clever book, and found it hard to put down, as I wanted to find out what happened to the main character, a woman whose real name we never do find out.

Her story is told by a succession of narrators, who meet her on her journey. They all encounter her differently, depending on the closeness of the relationship, the reason for their paths crossing, or the perspective the narrator puts on the intersection of their...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Ange rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub-read

I loved the way the author told the story of Ines, the central character of the novel, in a "hand me down" way. Everything about her life was handed down to her, even the telling of her story. Throughout most of the novel you don't know Ines at all, only what you are told of her through the eyes of people who at the least have their own viewpoint, but more so are compelled to make themselves appear in a better light by the painting of Ines. At this point I didn't like her at all. I thought her s...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Vicki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Compulsively readable, beautifully written, but the ending left me feeling strangely flat and dissatisfied. I loved the way this story was told by multiple, fully believable characters. However, some parts of the story did not ring true. Really, EVERY man this woman ever meets takes advantage of or rapes her? EVERY man? There are a lot of men in this book. Also, the crime that the main character is under investigation for didn't quite work for me. It seemed kind of random and pointless, sort of...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: new-zealand-authors

I enjoyed Mister Pip and thought I would also enjoy Lloyd Jones; new novel.

I did and I didn't. It is wonderfully written, deep characters who I now feel I know, yet this is not a light read.

The story centres on Ines, an African woman of no name (Ines is an adopted name, no real place of belonging, who is used by a man to get the child he and his wife desire. Tricked into trusting him her child is taken far away.

Ines then begins a search for her son that is heart-breaking, gritty, and painful....more

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Feb 28, 2011 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Both the story itself and manner in which it is told are compelling. But it wasn't until near the end I was willing to attach the term "amazing" to Mr. Jones, Hand Me Down World. I think I know why. "Compelling" is just good storytelling, but the book became personal for me when I reached "...the old gentleman... was tall and sagged down through his shoulders. It was as if he had been looking forward to meeting me for some time and here we were. I have known hotel guests like him. They are so p...more

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May 08, 2012 kp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the story of an unnamed North African woman who travels to Germany to retrieve her stolen child. But we don't hear from her until nearly the end of the book. Jones moves us toward her words via the trail of stories she creates in her wake, and the novel is a masterful study of perspective. Each chapter asks us to see through a different pair of eyes, and every perspective is compelling and authentic. By the end of the book, we know how little we know about those shadowy figures whose liv...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Chris LaHatte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-novel

I love books for Christmas! Lloyd Jones last year almost won the Booker prize for Mr Pip. This year through modern Berlin he writes of a journey, from a woman who lets very little of herself escape to the outsider, in her journey to see her child stolen by trickery. There are some pretty nasty characters, but none are free from using others for their own needs, whether sexual or for other purposes. The story unfolds from North Africa, through Europe to Berlin and back to Italy. The woman, whose...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Carole rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first part of the story is narrated by various people who encountered a woman and helped her in her quest to travel to Berlin to find her young son. I thought this was intriguing and I really liked how they all helped her in different ways, some good, some not so good, from a truck driver, snail shell collector to a chess player and other interesting characters.

As the story goes on we gradually learn a little more about this woman from Africa, until she herself narrates the last part and we...more

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