Saturday 27 February 2016

Book Review: The Boy Who Fell To Earth ~Kathy Lette



{Synopsis:

Meet Merlin. He's Lucy's bright, beautiful son - who just happens to be autistic.

Since Merlin's father left them in the lurch shortly after his diagnosis, Lucy has made Merlin the centre of her world. Struggling with the joys and tribulations of raising her eccentrically adorable yet challenging child, (if only Merlin came with operating instructions) Lucy doesn't have room for any other man in her life.


By the time Merlin turns ten, Lucy is seriously worried that the Pope might start ringing her up for tips on celibacy, so resolves to dip a poorly pedicured toe back into the world of dating. Thanks to Merlin's candour and quirkiness, things don't go quite to plan... 
(Source: Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13277383-the-boy-who-fell-to-earth)}

Shifa's:
I really disliked the book. I was expecting a lot from the book, especially the struggles of a single parent handling a child. Not just how they struggled, but how the child also struggled or thought of things or did things, and their relationship. I did not want to read about the love life of the mother. From the cover you can understand that it was a light book, but I think this book made me uncomfortable at times. Also too much of retorting and condescending tones and too much reply-back, it did not seem real. I expected a book which would make us feel sympathy/empathy towards the mother and the child, but I did not get any of those feelings. I think the fact that I thought that the book would delve deeper into the relationship between the mother and child and the child's interaction with the world, I expected a lot more out of it, but instead, it was something else, and that made me feel uncomfortable. Further, I thought more than this book being about how the mother struggles with an autistic child, it was more about how the mother was doing in her romantic relationship, and the 'autistic' part was just thrown in to show that she had some kind of struggle. Maybe I was expecting some scenarios from the child's point of view, and that's why I'm so harsh, but the way the struggles were described seemed so meagre. I felt cheated by the book - by the small summary at the back of the book, and that is why I really disliked the book. 

Safa's:

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style because it was witty and the use of original metaphors and similes were very entertaining. 
However, during the turmoils that the main character faced, I didn't really feel for her (because the writer didn't make us feel sad or angry or disappointed enough); so she isn't very relatable. Also, some parts were way too clichéd and that was quite irritating. Furthermore, I really and truly despised one of the characters and that was really one huge wet towel of the book, for me. 

Rating- 5.5/10
Rate-O-Meter: Yeah, whatever

If you are interested in buying this book, you can click here:
http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Fell-Earth-Lette-Kathy/dp/B00DO8TXR6/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456583808&sr=1-2&keywords=the+boy+who+fell+to+earth

We hope you have a wonderful day!
Salam|Peace!

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