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Everything and Nothing
A gripping psychological suspense read. Cupboards were sticky from spilled jam and honey, and the oven smoked when you turned it on because of the fat that had built up over the years. Agatha would never, ever let her future home end up like this. She would never leave it every day like Ruth did. She would never put her trust in strangers. Ruth and Christian are—just—holdi...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
January 20th 2011
by HarperCollins UK
(first published January 7th 2011)
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Absolutely amazing new book by Araminta Hall.
Grips you right from the start, so much so that I didn't put this book down until I had finished (needless to say it only took me two days).
Written from the view points of the three main characters: Ruth and Christian, married but falling apart and their seemingly perfect nanny, Agatha.
This story twists and turns right up to til the end, with intensity growing throughout. I felt as if I was there going through everything with them, sympathasing thro...more
Grips you right from the start, so much so that I didn't put this book down until I had finished (needless to say it only took me two days).
Written from the view points of the three main characters: Ruth and Christian, married but falling apart and their seemingly perfect nanny, Agatha.
This story twists and turns right up to til the end, with intensity growing throughout. I felt as if I was there going through everything with them, sympathasing thro...more
“The tube spat Agatha into one of those areas where people used to lie about their postcodes. Although why anyone ever would have been ashamed to live here was beyond Agatha’s understanding …”
The opening of Araminta Hall’s debut novel sets things up very nicely.
Ruth and Christian are struggling to balance their busy, busy lives: juggling demanding careers, patching up a marriage battered by his affair, a five-year old daughter who won’t sleep, and a three-year old son who won’t eat.
But then ther...more
The opening of Araminta Hall’s debut novel sets things up very nicely.
Ruth and Christian are struggling to balance their busy, busy lives: juggling demanding careers, patching up a marriage battered by his affair, a five-year old daughter who won’t sleep, and a three-year old son who won’t eat.
But then ther...more
A really enjoyable book. I feel that the Goodreads summary doesn't do it justice. Everything And Nothing is actually a gripping novel, verging on a thriller but not quite... Tension is slowly and subtly built thanks to the author's gripping narrative and realistic descriptions. I really enjoyed Araminta Hall's style and I'll definitely be on the look-out for her future works.
I personally quite liked the character of Agatha. I know you're not supposed to, since it is told very plainly from the st...more
I personally quite liked the character of Agatha. I know you're not supposed to, since it is told very plainly from the st...more
There are quite a few reviewers with 'mixed feelings' about this book and I am one of them.
The fact that Ruth and Chris were having such a difficult time of it, unable to hold together their busy lives with children and careers to cope with set a very good scene for potential disaster.
Enter Agatha, on the surface a gem, a lifesaver to this chaotic family. Of course we know from the very start that something is amiss.
I loved the way Aramnita Hall began to build the tension as Aggie brings her o...more
The fact that Ruth and Chris were having such a difficult time of it, unable to hold together their busy lives with children and careers to cope with set a very good scene for potential disaster.
Enter Agatha, on the surface a gem, a lifesaver to this chaotic family. Of course we know from the very start that something is amiss.
I loved the way Aramnita Hall began to build the tension as Aggie brings her o...more
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to work comes this book. We know from the back cover and the opening sections that the ‘perfect nanny’ employed by the chief characters will turn out to be less than perfect, but waiting for things to go wrong is a tense experience.
I liked and admired this book for its ability to make me understand and sympathise with all the characters - including the nanny - and its willingness to take on the big philosophical topics of life and set out to encapsula...more
I liked and admired this book for its ability to make me understand and sympathise with all the characters - including the nanny - and its willingness to take on the big philosophical topics of life and set out to encapsula...more
The book begins promisingly. A young girl walks down a middle class street in London on her way to an interview for the job of nanny. Greeted by the chaotic scene around her (mum and dad on the verge of spliting up, two unruly children) Agatha already knows she wants this job – and we already know she is hiding something!
The plot raced along at a satisfyingly quick pace and the characters of both Ruth and Christian (the parents) were nicely drawn; lots of angst, guilt, anger and blame and I beli...more
The plot raced along at a satisfyingly quick pace and the characters of both Ruth and Christian (the parents) were nicely drawn; lots of angst, guilt, anger and blame and I beli...more
I suppose I was attracted to this book because of the cover, first and foremost. That's what I miss about having a Kindle - you don't get to see the cover nearly as often as you should. The cover reminded me of Susan Lewis books and then the depth and intricacy that she goes into. So I decided to brave a new author and see what it was like.
Araminta Hall writes honestly, she doesn't sugarcoat arguments or family lives. She writes as you imagine the characters to be thinking and thus makes them l...more
Araminta Hall writes honestly, she doesn't sugarcoat arguments or family lives. She writes as you imagine the characters to be thinking and thus makes them l...more
I found the book interesting to begin with but I started to get a little bored, around the middle. The tooing and froing of the characters Ruth and Christian got tiresome. At first I found some things I could relate with, as a mother of two myself, but after a while I tired of hearing how bad they thought they were as parents and starting mentally shouting " well get off your bum and do something about it!" Aggie was a character that at first I wanted to be, perfect in every way although as I pe...more
Nice easy read. One of the reviews on the back on the cover says "chilling and suspenseful". Nope not really! a very good storyline and really goes into the depth of post natal depression and how sometimes you can just feel lost and that no one understands. The characters are all relatable and credible. The storyline had so much promise in the hands of a master of suspense like James Patterson for example this would have been a knock out block buster. The deed that you know thoughout the book is...more
This was quite an intense read, fairly short at 279 pages, but packs a punch! Aggie is the perfect Nanny, but is she too perfect? Ruth & Christian work hard and long & need someone to take care of their daughter Betty and toddler Hal, while they are at work. Aggie comes along at the right time and quickly becomes indispensable, but there's something bubbling under the surface that comes to a head. At the same time as past issues in her employers marriage resurface. This is an excellent d...more
A family with two children is in need of a nanny to come in and take care of the kids. The nanny they end up with is the perfect one, as a matter of fact, she seems to be too perfect, simply she is too good to be true.
A very interesting book and easy read. I finished it in a relatively short time and was gripped with the story line. It is thrilling to say the least and the actions are fast paced. You don’t have to wait forever for something to happen. What I didn’t like however is the ending. It...more
A very interesting book and easy read. I finished it in a relatively short time and was gripped with the story line. It is thrilling to say the least and the actions are fast paced. You don’t have to wait forever for something to happen. What I didn’t like however is the ending. It...more
This is verging on a 4 star because it was so gripping. I read it in one sitting. I had painful backache at the time but it made me forget about that and stay up til 2 in the morning. It's a tale which will resonate with frazzled working parents everywhere. Ruth and Christian have a myriad of problems until seemingly perfect Nanny, Agatha arrives to turn chaos into order. Surprise surprise, all is not as it seems. Only 3 stars though as I felt Agatha could have been just that little bit more men...more
Initially wasn't keen on the written text swapping between different characters perspectives but soon hooked into storyline enough for this to be less noticeable.
I liked the story and the snippets of learnt info along the book building up into climax at the end of the book. Left an awful lot to the end of the book to tie up quickly in a couple dozen pages.
I found the characters very believable and as a mum could relate well to the way Ruth felt about many things throughout the book.
Gave this 3/5...more
I liked the story and the snippets of learnt info along the book building up into climax at the end of the book. Left an awful lot to the end of the book to tie up quickly in a couple dozen pages.
I found the characters very believable and as a mum could relate well to the way Ruth felt about many things throughout the book.
Gave this 3/5...more
I enjoyed this book overall. It had me gripped. I liked how Aggie changed quite subtly from imagining never wanting to leave the family to what she became (though it was obvious from the start that something was amiss).
The author's writing style, narrative & wonderful descriptions made the book for me. I would read another book by her for these reasons alone.
The ending was a major weak link, however. After a slow boiling build up, the ending felt like it happened in a paragraph or two, and w...more
The author's writing style, narrative & wonderful descriptions made the book for me. I would read another book by her for these reasons alone.
The ending was a major weak link, however. After a slow boiling build up, the ending felt like it happened in a paragraph or two, and w...more
I read this book over the space of two days (although it could have easily been read in one sitting). Although I liked the book, I was lead to believe that Everything and Nothing was going to be focused more on Aggie and her psychosis, whereas Hall seems to have focused a little too much of the book on Ruth and Christian's relationship issues and less on Aggie's story. I would have probably enjoyed this book more if it were weighted the other way around. However, I still enjoyed Everything and N...more
I've seen mixed reviews for this book and whilst I can completely understand the comments, they are some of the reasons why I loved it so much.
Ruth and Chris are a married couple trying hard to deal with the fallout from his affair with a younger woman a year ago. With two young and high maintenance children and demanding careers, they are a family in crisis. In an attempt to regain some control they hire a nanny, Agatha. Aggie soon becomes indespensible, the house has regained some order, the...more
Ruth and Chris are a married couple trying hard to deal with the fallout from his affair with a younger woman a year ago. With two young and high maintenance children and demanding careers, they are a family in crisis. In an attempt to regain some control they hire a nanny, Agatha. Aggie soon becomes indespensible, the house has regained some order, the...more
Review
'Unputdownable!chillingly well-drawn' Sophie Hannah 'An assured debut takes the Mary Poppins myth and turns it into a menacing tale of the enemy invited in! Araminta Hall has turned the perfect nanny trope into something much more disturbing. Imagine a mash-up of Mary Poppins with Stephen King and you get the general idea! What makes this smartly written first novel so disturbing is its moral ambiguity; Hall keeps us engaged with all the characters, even the duplicitous Agatha, right up
...more
Ruth and Christian are a modern couple with all of life’s everyday hassles getting on top of them, trying to find the work/life balance, huge mortgage to pay, with their two young children Betty and Hal, they’ve gone through several nannies, and Christian has had an affair. Hal refuses to eat properly. Things seem to be at breaking point. Their days are exhausting; they both have jobs in media, time together is short and seems to be spent arguing and sniping at each other. Both of them wonder if...more
I read this book in one day, not because it was a "can't put it down" but simply I had nothing else to do. Sums the book up really. SO much of the book was dedicated to building this story and then boom the "twist" and the ending completed in about 20 pages.
It's a shame because the writer is clearly talented but it's a little as though she got bored of her own story and just ended it. You know like when you were in primary school and finished off "and then I woke up, it was all a dream". Boring...more
It's a shame because the writer is clearly talented but it's a little as though she got bored of her own story and just ended it. You know like when you were in primary school and finished off "and then I woke up, it was all a dream". Boring...more
Gripping? Chilling? Suspenseful? Hardly - I found no sense of menace at all. Despite the tagline (there's no such thing as a safe house...) I never for one moment thought that the children were in any danger. As one reviewer has already said, there was too much emphasis on the relationship issues between Ruth and Christian, and not enough on the psychological problems of Agatha. Shame - a good idea, but not well developed.
Seemingly perfect but far from it yuppie couple hire a seemingly perfect but far from it nanny. Things seem to improve but then go very very wrong.
There are no hidden meanings here its just a terribly good read. Women characters are drawn better than the men. The core relationship between baby/working mother/nanny is excellent
There are no hidden meanings here its just a terribly good read. Women characters are drawn better than the men. The core relationship between baby/working mother/nanny is excellent
Expecting something like "The hand that rocks the cradle " i was a little disappointed in the slow start and middle of this book.
A better synopses would have been " the eternal struggle of motherhood and marriage ".
In the end the book redeemed itself and it was after all an enjoyable read.
A better synopses would have been " the eternal struggle of motherhood and marriage ".
In the end the book redeemed itself and it was after all an enjoyable read.
Fast read, good for holiday (handy as that's where I was when I read it). Did not like any of the protagonists and pretty much guessed the ending. BUT the writing seemed to me to be promising and yielded some truths, particularly about the reality of marriage with kids and dual careers.
Easy to ready, pretty compelling story and characters. I liked it. It rushed at the end to bring everything together but I think I liked that because the main story for me wasn't the main bit of the book, it was the characters and their dynamics that made it for me.
I enjoyed reading this book and the feeling of spiralling chaos from Ruth and Christian's problems contrasted with Agatha's tight control. In the end, of course, she is the one truly out of control and the family have a chance of balance. A good read.
Not the worst story in the world but it was a slow build. You expected more to happen than what it did and the end seemed short and hurried. Questions were answered but it could have been much more of a thriller. Enjoyable read but needed a little more depth.
Most depressing and boring book ever. Made me remember why I don't read "normal women" books. Dysfunctional parents, bratty kids, Nanny who's mental and complete lack of a story except for everybody hates each other. Only finished because it was short.
Very readable, lively characters but not a convincing scenario. Didn't really get any sense of menace just a bit of tension towards the end of the story. Perhaps had I read it when my children were young it would have had more impact.
Maybe it was just me, but the story just felt flat to me.
The story itself sounds promising but the characters are all pretty awful.
Ruth was really annoying, she overthought everything and was on such a downer about everything, I found her incredibly depressing.
Christian is also annoying, and a bit of a self obsessed pig. And Agatha well...started off interesting and then it was like the writer got bored of her.
Because I found the characters so unlikeable it affected the whole book for me.
Th...more
The story itself sounds promising but the characters are all pretty awful.
Ruth was really annoying, she overthought everything and was on such a downer about everything, I found her incredibly depressing.
Christian is also annoying, and a bit of a self obsessed pig. And Agatha well...started off interesting and then it was like the writer got bored of her.
Because I found the characters so unlikeable it affected the whole book for me.
Th...more
I think I enjoyed it. When I say think, I was hoping for exploration of Aggie's past more. Everything happened quite quickly in the end, almost as if the writer was running out of pages. However, I did enjoy the characterisations and even though I didn't particularly like anyone in the book, I did empathise with them all. Given it 3/5.
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Nov 03, 2011 02:21am