News

« Headlines

Most reviewed: A Partisan's Daughter

17.03.08 Anna Richardson

Louis de Bernières latest, A Partisan's Daughter (Harvill Secker), is markedly different from his legendary bestseller, Captain Corelli's Mandolin--which did not prevent it from being widely covered on publication, however, making it last weekend's most reviewed.

David Robson in the Sunday Telegraph did not mince his words when he opened his review. "Oh dear," he wrote. "From the author of one of the most fondly remembered novels of recent years, a love story that will have 99 per cent of female readers wanting to scream out loud."

Where de Bernières offered a "nuanced view of love" in Corelli, "there is a dismaying absence of nuance in his new novel, set in London in the 1970s."

Christian House in the Independent on Sunday also referred to de Bernières' previous work and wrote that the new novel combined the depth of the previous "widescreen epics", such as Corelli, with the brevity of his other "seemingly prosaic miniatures", such as Red Dog and Labels.

House wrote that the book "will keep fluttering around in your thoughts long after you've finished it" and revealed that by the end of it "I'd laughed out loud numerous times and, eventually, cried. That's as true a testimony to a book's loveliness as I know".

Penny Meyrick, in the Daily Express, also described the book as "a haunting exploration of passion that lingers days after the final page", while Angela Cooke, in the Sunday Express, was left slightly disappointed.

"The journey of this peculiar relationship is moreish," she writes. "But the questions that the reader needs answering to make it a fulfilling experience are never answered."

She concludes that "this is a beautifully written and compelling story"--not like Robson, who concedes that Bernières "can still write with a certain wry poise", but describes A Partisan’s Daughter as "sour" and "charmless".

MOST REVIEWED (14th to 16th March)

A Partisan’s Daughter by Louis de Bernières
(Harvill Secker 9781846551413 £16.99)
"A haunting exploration of passion" Daily Express
"Sublimely funny and moving" Independent on Sunday
"Beautifully written and compelling" Sunday Express
"As a love story, the novel is still born" Sunday Telegraph

The Language of Others by Clare Morrall
(Sceptre 9780340896655 £12.99)
"An enjoyable, engrossing read" Independent
"A suspenseful tale with a taut, spare style and real emotional impact" Guardian

Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong
(Hamish Hamilton 9780241143520 £17.99)
"Less an allegory of national character than a warning of ecological Armageddon" Financial Times
"The reader is constantly reminded that this is a work of translation" Times

Menzies Campbell by Menzies Campbell
(Hodder 9780340898666 £20)
"Gentle and enjoyable" Guardian
"Well worth the effort" Observer

Death in Breslau by Marek Krajewski
(Quercus 9781847242525 £15.99)
"Wonderful" Guardian
"Dark and compelling" Mail on Sunday

Media Anna Richardson Most Reviewed A Partisan's Daughter

See Also