World Famous Comics: The Uncommon Reader: A Novella
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella
By: Alan Bennett Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: September 18, 2007 Release Date: September 18, 2007
From the author of The History Boys and The Clothes They Stood Up In
A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen who frequents the library, Bennett describes the Queen’s transformation as she discovers the liberating pleasures of the written word. With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England’s best loved author revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader’s life.
A quiet gem of a story An Uncommon Reader is an understated story of the self-discovery of a person who has lived a proscribed life in the public eye. Alan Bennett gives the reader the feeling of what it's like to live the life of the queen -- indeed to be inside her head -- in this brief novella.
Royalty collides with literature. A total delight. What would happen if Elizabeth II, Queen of England and matriarch of a family notoriously hostile to books, suddenly became an avid reader? Alan Bennett gives us the wryly hilarious answer in his novella, "The Uncommon Reader." Bennett is well known for his erudition and wit as an essayist and playwright, and also--as demonstrated before in "The Madness of King George"--his tart and piercing insight into the institution of royalty and what it does to those who are part of it. How Bennett, a Yorkshireman of lower-middle-class origins, came by his insights into the House of Windsor is a mystery, but it has given us some delightful works of literature, including "The Uncommon Reader." Bennett is brisk and persuasive in portraying how a steady course of reading presents the Queen with a series of revelations about her life and personality, and how it shapes her perceptions of her empire and her people. Simultaneously, reading interferes terribly with the serene dispatch of royal duties (the corgis are just as unhappy as the equerries). In this little book of barely more than a hundred pages, Bennett has a great deal of fun skewering not only royalty and its minions, but also his fellow authors. Here are the Queen's thoughts after hosting a soiree for some of Britain's most distinguished literary lights: "Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met in the pages of their novels, and as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books. Nor did they seem to think one had done them a kindness by reading their writings. Rather they had done one the kindness by writing them."
An Ode to Reading and its Constant Delights This is the loveliest little book I've read since I discovered Helene Hanff's "84 Charing Cross Road" a million years ago. Using the Queen as his catalyst, Alan Bennett gives us this love story between a new reader and the world that opens to her through the magic of books. He could be speaking of any bibliophile, but because it is Her Royal Highness, the opportunities for wit and plot twists in this slim volume are multiplied exponentially. There were several beautiful quotes which I will be adding to my favorites list, and I recognized myself on every page as a person who struggles to find time to read and resents having the obligations of everyday life intrude upon that time.
Time spent reading is never wasted; furthermore, time spent reading The Uncommon Reader will be looked back upon with great affection.
"One had always read. Only these days one is reading more." It's good to be Queen, but it does have its drawbacks -- long periods of tedium in slow-moving vehicles, a relentless round of ceremonial duties, and a bird's eye view of everyday life. What better solution to these drawbacks than the pages of a good book?
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella is a quirky little book about Queen Elizabeth II and her discovery of the joys of reading. Pursuing her yapping corgis through the grounds of Windsor Castle, she ends up in the library bookmobile and checks out a book to be polite. From this beginning, guided by kitchen hand-turned-equerry Norman Seakins, she is soon deep in the world of books.
This new habit of hers is unpopular with the people around her. She's becoming too "remote," they say; Alzheimer's is suggested. Her punctuality and attention to formal routine are slipping. Norman is spirited away from her staff but she keeps reading.
Author Alan Bennett packs a lot into this compact book. Through all the palace intrigue, Mad Hatter's tea parties, and hilarious references to writers old and new, the queen keeps reading. Her point of view widens exponentially and she begins making notes -- and then writing more seriously.
There's a little treasure around every corner in this wry book. The final scene is pure theater of the absurd, and the final paragraph will probably make you laugh out loud. Highly recommended.
Linda Bulger, 2008
Insightful, Thoughtful, and Funny - A Great Quickie! I came across this book from one of BookBrowse's monthly newsletters about upcoming releases/recommendations and proceeded to suggest it to the Palmer Evening Book Group, then quickly purchased my own copy on Amazon.
It's a novella, only about 120 pages long and I managed to finish it through the course of a single day (with work shoved between (:.) The basic premise of the story is that the Queen of England has recently discovered books and the joy of reading by way of a traveling library that is parked near the courtyard of the palace. She returns to the library every Wednesday until she becomes so fond of reading, she begins to explore other places (such as the London Public Library, and her own extensive collection). Throughout the Queen's newfound hobby, the royal household and her staff quickly become upset. She's no longer interested in her "duties" and has started arriving late to places (such as Parliment). The Queen often laments about her meetings, wishing instead she could be at home reading.
By the end of the novella, the Queen has moved on from her love of reading to becoming a writer. She's well aware of how this will make her staff feel, so she keeps it hidden.
The novella is fully of great one-liners and thoughts that really make you think. Bennett achieves great success in this novella, making you both laugh out loud and ponder the "causes" of reading.
Definitely a recommendation. But be weary if you don't like to read "British" English.
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