Another day another book…
The lonely life of Biddy Weir by Lesley Allen
I’m really in two minds about this book.
The good part: it talks about bullying in an unflinching, painful (I almost wanted to skim reads some pages… I might have done… shhh), raw way. The consequences of bullying, the thinking of the perpetrator and the devastating effects on the victim…. all this was well written, and most of all it’s not glamourised in the least. It’s sad, heartbreaking and infuriating knowing that there are people out there going through this.
Biddy Weir grows up without mother, alone with a father who doesn’t know how to raise a child and pretty much ignores her (although he loves her very much – cue his obsessive relation with his own mother). Biddy is different, and gets bullied mercilessly throughout her school life until on a field trip, it all comes to an end…
The bad part: CLICHES’ city… unnecessary cliches everywhere… the picture perfect cottage by the sea, the ‘larger’ than life eccentric therapist with madly coloured hair, the lesbian teacher, the victim with the amazing secret talents… to name but a few. It didn’t need them. It trivialised the whole thing. AND (spoiler alert)… the end was too neat and wrapped up in a slightly unrealistic and simplistic bow.
It has 4 1/2 stars on Goodreads… I gave it a three.
Worth a read? It certainly makes you think about how you treat people and gave our bookclub lots to think about… so perhaps, yes.
Let me know what you think.
while you're ahead... 