Grace Williams Says it Loud
Emma Henderson
Grace Williams Says it Loud
Disgusting,' said the nurse. And when no more could be done, they put her away, aged eleven. On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace meets Daniel. He sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for. Debonair Daniel, who can type with his feet, fills Grace's head with tales from Paris and the world beyond. This is Grace's story: her life, its betrayals and triumphs, disappointment and loss, the taste of freedom; roses, music and tiny scraps of paper. Most of all, it is about the love of a lifetime.
3.5 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
General Fiction |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
336 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
June 2010 |
| ISBN |
978-1444703993 |
| Publisher |
Sceptre |
| |
Disgusting,' said the nurse. And when no more could be done, they put her away, aged eleven. On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace meets Daniel. He sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for. Debonair Daniel, who can type with his feet, fills Grace's head with tales from Paris and the world beyond. This is Grace's story: her life, its betrayals and triumphs, disappointment and loss, the taste of freedom; roses, music and tiny scraps of paper. Most of all, it is about the love of a lifetime.
Reviews
The Independent on Sunday
David Evans
“Superb … Henderson dramatises shocking attitudes to mental illness — doctors refer to the patients as "monstrous" — but her triumph lies in the fact that the reader begins to forget the heroine's condition altogether. Grace's romance with Daniel, a "debonair" epileptic, is tender and convincing; the limber, musical prose peppered with brilliant descriptions...”
06/03/2011
Read Full Review
The Sunday Times
Lucy Atkins
“Henderson, whose sister was institutionalised in the 1950s, resolutely avoids judgment, focusing instead on the human spirit that blooms despite the circumstances ... There is tenderness, joy, romance (not to mention inventive sex) and heartbreak. The language is tricksy, the subject disturbing. But this book is energetic, passionate and not easily forgotten.”
20/06/2010
Read Full Review
The Guardian
Tessa Hadley
“The conceit is ingenious, and it works ... If the writing sometimes slackens, it isn't because we don't believe in Grace. The problem may be that everything is told in an implied retrospect, as if she were remembering it much later, mixing together different layers from her past. Sometimes that structure leaches the freshness out of a story, however hard the writer's language works to put the colour back. But this is a sensitive and generous book...”
07/08/2010
Read Full Review
The Independent
Freya McClelland
“This dynamic first novel is reassuringly upbeat. Henderson succeeds in creating a rich narrative despite the obstacle of limited speech and challenges the reader to confront prejudices about those living with disability.”
03/08/2010
Read Full Review