Mr Rosenblum's List: or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman - Softcover

Solomons, Natasha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340995653 ISBN 13: 9780340995655

Publisher: Sceptre, 2010

Synopsis

Jack Rosenblum is five foot three and a half inches of sheer tenacity. Through study and application he intends to become a Very English Gentleman.

Jack is compiling a list, a comprehensive guide to the manners, customs and habits of this country. He knows that marmalade must be bought from Fortnum & Mason, he's memorised the entire British monarchy back to 913 A.D and the highlight of his day is the BBC weather forecast. And he never speaks German, apart from the occasional curse.

From the moment he disembarked at Harwich in 1937 he understood that assimilation was the key. But the war's been over for eight years and despite his best efforts, his bid to blend in remains fraught with unexpected hurdles. Including his wife.

Sadie finds his obsession baffling. She doesn't want to forget who they are or where they come from. She'd rather bake cakes to remember the people they left behind than worry about how to play bridge.

But Jack is convinced they can find a place to call home. In a final attempt to complete his list, he leads a reluctant Sadie into the English countryside. Here, in a land of woolly pigs, bluebells and jitterbug cider, the embark on an impossible task...

About this title

Product Description:

An utterly charming and very funny book, as German, Jack Rosenblum and his wife Sadie, attempt to settle in 1950's rural England. A fantastic read. (fic)

Review:

Prepare to be seriously charmed. (The Times)

'The descriptions of England - as friend, adversary and eventually homne - are exquisite. Jack Rosenblum, a foolish, deeply sympathetic protagonist, is exasperating and admirable in equal measure. A touching, surprising and satisfying read.' (Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast)

'Utterly charming and very funny' (Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen)

'In her charming debut, Natasha Solomons folds together Jewish baking, golf and Dorset folklore to create a singular comic confection... Solomons crafts a fine pastoral comedy from Jack's eccentric endeavours to reshape the land and from his encounters with rustic labourers who seem to have absconded from the pages of a Hardy novel... Sadie provides a touching counterpoint to the comedy... Much of the delight in this novel stems from Solomons' feeling for types of traditional knowledge that are on the verge of obsolescence.' (Telegraph)

The light yet poignant tone makes for an unusual, richly comic novel...a treat of a book. (Guardian)

An affectionate portrait of a spirited man trying to find a little corner of the world where he can truly belong...[Solomons] successfully treads the fine line between comedy and the precarious plight of refugees in an entertaining tale that has resonances in contemporary Britain. (Herald)

'a subtle and moving examination of the dilemma faced by immigrants to modern Britain'. (Observer)

'a tender exploration of the nature of home'. (Marie Claire)

written with and skill, humour and sympathy (The Lady)

[Solomons] has an exceptional feel for the Dorset countryside. (Country Life)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sceptre
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0340995653
• ISBN 13: 9780340995655
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320