When the author asked me for a review I was very surprised because my blog's still fairly new and I don't think of myself as an amazing book blogger yet. I was also very unsure whether he was even the author and inquired whether he was some crazy stalker man...he's not so I decided to read and review it. I wanted the book anyway so it a win-win all round.
So what exactly is The Jeremy all about? I did write my own synopsis but I give too much away in every version I write so I'v decided to stick with the one on Goodreads.
The story of an English boy's life in Britain during the 50's and 60's.  Born into a Catholic household in the Year of the Dragon his progress is revealed through snapshots of the milestone events which forge his character. Life's oddities, including family, religion, education and sex, regularly present themselves for attention during his quest for that elusive thing called 'enlightenment', but fortunately, he is not alone. Help arrives in the form of Mrs Bulging Bosoms, the Colonel, Professor Melchior Da Maven and Lewd Rude Dude, to name a few of his advisers, who endeavour to guide him in the ways of the world. Unfortunately, they don't always agree. |
This book is a story about a boy and his life told from his POV, including all the funny characters in his head who help with his thinking process and decision making. Because of this it is not the essential page turner, thriller, paranormal, coming of age drama etc. etc. etc. This does not mean it's not a great book. It is. It effectively has it's own page turning quality courtesy of Jo himself. His sense of humour and great wit is what pushes the read to keep on chugging. Jo is a comedic genius or at least dancing on it's borders. His sense of humour is similar to mine and I had a good chuckle while reading.
I totally related to this story. I grew up in a religious home and went to a Catholic primary school just like the Jeremy. I'm no Catholic but have met a scary nun or three. It's a book that allows you to relive your childhood as you step into the Jeremy's head and live his. To quote the author this book is a bit like puberty...it appears, takes over your life for a little while and then leave you in a place you didn't expect to be.
VERDICT: This is a charming, funny, witty, warm coming of age story, told from conception...yep you heard me. It starts off with the 'Spermatazoan Olympics'. I would recommend this to anyone who loves coming of age stories. It's perfect for a sunny day at the park, where you could sit in the shade of a tree and read...provided you're not prone to crazy hay fever like me.
Reading it was like listening to one of my uncle's favourite stories about his childhood. You know at a family get together where stories are shared and you find yourself laughing along not only for the jokes but the level at which you relate. Because you do/did similar things or had similar experiences growing up too.
It was difficult deciding what to rate it as I found myself dancing between Ooh la la (9/10) and Giggity (10/10). Why?
I cannot guarantee that everyone would relate to it like I did. This would affect the extent to which you'd enjoy it. I wasn't able to read it in one full go but that's not a regular occurrence for me either. Reading often takes a couple of days even weeks for me.
It was also difficult reading in some parts...I thought I had a wide ranging vocab but Jo's vocabulary is quite extensive so I had to keep my dictionary on hand; just to make sure I really 'got' what he was saying. This negative however is a plus- I've learned some new words...so this book is educational too :D
I'm scoring it a Quagmire's giggity...for me it was that good and I'm not just saying that. At first I didn't want to give it such a high rating because I know it won't appeal to some and I wanted to take in consideration how others would perceive it. Some people would pass this book by because there's no "I just couldn't put it down" magic but it is an enjoyable feel good book and I felt good.
If you love books like this...you will lurve this book!
I heart this book...total lurve and thank you Jo for sending it to me. It was truly my pleasure.
Release Date: Dec 2009
Publisher: Epic Press Ltd.
324 pages
I was sent this book by the author for my honest review.
2 comments:
This looks reaaaally interesting! I think I would enjoy it too.
That's good to know...I did have a good time with it!
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