Zuviel des Guten.

by Anne Fine, Ursula Kösters-Roth (translator)

Colin is in many ways an ideal citizen. A responsible job for the council, visits to his aged mother Norah, and cooking and shopping for her. But no-one knows about his other - much more secret - life that involves a garden shed, a circus acrobat, and a much-adored three-year-old charmer.

Genres: Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Though readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.

Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)

Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.

Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this quirky little story. Poor old Colin trying so hard to just live his life surrounded by strong and rather nasty women in his life.
I felt sorry for the chap but also somewhat annoyed by his lack of strength. I wanted to shout at him to grow a set - dammit. which is the point of the story i think.

The characters are wonderfully real and i am sure this kind of story goes on every day across the world. These factors combined made this a readable and enjoyable book

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

initially i thought the style of writing was okay and it was an easy read, but when i passed the halfway mark, i was getting very bored with the story. it was going nowhere and it was the same thing over and over again.

i finished it this morning and i'm disappointed. i don't know what the point is. i didn't get any message from it, there was no climax, no nothing ... :(

[Turnstone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the start of this book refreshing. The main character, Colin, sees himself and is seen by others as an incompetent failure. His schoolmates coined the term 'to Coll it up' for getting things wrong and Colin has failed to move on from that. He has a responsible council job and his own flat but his only romantic relationship ended with his girlfriend complaining that it was like being with someone pretending to be a person. His confident twin sister is no longer reliably on his side and his nasty mother is becoming increasingly needy. This leaves plenty for room for his character to evolve and for people to learn to relate differently. Unfortunately nothing like that takes place. Colin makes friends with a young woman and we notice how good he is with her daughter but that is not a development. It is an anomaly which undermines the integrity of the character and goes nowhere. Colin's other skill turns out to be an ability to funnel council resources towards his friends which is equally hard to integrate with his character. Then, just as Colin seems to gain confidence in caring for his mother he gives her food poisoning. This is the first in a series of catastrophes. It seems that 'Colling it up' is still Colin's main way of operating but as the narrative and the characters are so incoherent it is difficult to care.

[Paul Ransom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine a mildly pleasant Sunday night dramedy. BBCish. Professional, no obvious flaws but…neither here nor there. Characters you never manage to care for, narrative arcs that are well shaped but ho-hum, and an ending that’s only fractionally removed from bland, suburban sentimentality. Amusing enough but forgettable. Anne Fine’s ‘All Bones And Lies’ is the novel that never got adapted for screen. Yet, to be fair, her writing is taut and lively, and she executes the modern mantras of ‘good’ (read, profitable) writing as well anyone. As such, this book is diligently plotted but bloodless. The craft, though astutely practised, serves no art, no purpose other than the next turn of page. That said, I read till the end. For all the flatness, Fine somehow manages to tantalise you with the possibility that she might soon deliver something more interesting than a cup of milky tea. She never does; but maybe that too is a feather in her cap. As in, ha-ha, tricked you.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a real chore to complete reading and almost gave up on it several times. It's our book groups book to read this month and myself and others did not enjoy it. I found myself frustrated with the main character and how he was treated by his mother. I could understand by his twin sister was estranged from their mother. I found some of the writing disjointed and in general felt the story didn't flow well. It was a relief to finish it. Not sure if I would pick up another of her books.

[Clémence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Malgré une plume agréable et quelques bons mots, ce roman ne m'a pas beaucoup emballée. Je n'ai pas bien saisi où cette histoire devait conduire son lecteur, c'est pour ça que je me suis arrêtée aux 2/3 du livre. Je n'ai pas réussi à apprécier les personnages ce qui ne m'a pas aidée à continuer à lire non plus. C'est dommage car la quatrième de couverture et le résumé m'avaient semblé très prometteurs.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basically enjoyable read; the relationship between Colin and his mother will likely have a lot of resonance for anyone with difficult aging parents. However, the book had a number of other characters and plots that were, at times, a slog to get through. It's not the most quickfire story in the world, but it has a lot of funny parts to help lighten the load.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely gentle story with a great ending.

[Sue Corbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure for ages but then a couple of characters got me and I enjoyed it.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne Fine è una nota scrittrice di romanzi per bambini (suo Madame Doubtfire, da cui il film 'Mrs. Doubtfire' con Robin Williams) ma nei suoi romanzi per adulti brilla per ironia e sarcasmo e si dedica brillantemente e crudelmente alla dissezione dei rapporti familiari. All Bones and Lies non fa eccezione: Colin è un uomo di mezza età dalla vita poco interessante: è un ispettore dell'ufficio igiene, vive solo, non è sposato né fidanzato, va a trovare la madre tutti i fine settimana. Ed è proprio la madre la bestia nera: una donna acida, che trasforma ogni cosa piacevole in una sofferenza e che perfino la figlia si rifiuta di vedere. E' per questo che tocca a Colin preoccuparsi, cosa che sa fare molto bene. Fra il lavoro e la madre, la sua vita non brilla, e l'unico momento piacevole è l'amicizia con la piccola Tammy, una bambina conosciuta tramite la sorella.

http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...

[Jenny]

Borrowed from the local library in Milan. A limited selection of English books.
Did not complete.
Seemed boring. Only read first couple of chapters and gave up. Life's too short to plough through dull books.

[Kate North · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't really make up my mind about this one - not sure if I liked it or not. It was very readable so I kept at it, but I found it very frustrating as the characters were quite hard to like. Wishy washy, I know!

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anybody who ever cared for an aged parent will understand and appreciate this novel. I loved Anne Fine's black humour - maybe because of my own sense of humour - and could empathise with Colin right through the novel.

[Liz Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of Anne Fine's best and no where in the same league as Google Eyes and Flour Babies . I plodded on through the book hoping that something would happen to kick things off but no it remained the same dreary stuff until the last page !

[Alli Maskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I care for my two elderly parents who live with me , so I loved the black humour in the book and really identified with the main character.

[Catherinerobssister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book! First one I've given 5* to in a while. Loved the characters and the story...so sad to have finished such a fab book. Please read !

[Louise Mulligan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bit dull