Items related to Columbus Day
Synopsis
Jessica is 10 years old, her mother is young and beautiful and most of their time is spent searching for her mother's father who has been missing for over 20 years. This is Janette Jenkins' first novel.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
Narrated through the honest and plaintive voice of 10-year-old Jessica, Janette Jenkins' debut novel Columbus Day follows the desperate search by the girl and her mother Olivia to find Olivia's father, the grandfather the little girl has never met. Jenkins' poetic prose vividly captures the setting of the North of England in 1973; Blackpool, for instance, is portrayed in all its scruffy glory:
Trams rattled, laughter, the shrieks from an invisible fairground, Radio 1. The tide was rolling in, filling the kidney-shaped pockets of water, getting closer to the rows of tartan blankets.Olivia is an ethereal creature: beautiful, stylish but vague. Highly conscious of social etiquette--"...whatever you do, don't ask for ketchup"--her hold on reality becomes increasingly tenuous as she resorts to ever more eccentric methods of tracking down her now-idolised prey, the father who left her when she was eight. Alarmingly, she exposes her daughter to unnecessary dangers but, thanks to Jenkins' strengths as a writer, the reader cannot judge her too harshly. Even her womanising husband, Jessica's father, comes across as a likeable, if flawed, character who isn't fully aware of what is going on but steps in to help when he realises how vulnerable his wife has become. Most compelling though is how all this trauma affects little Jessica.
Character rather than plot-driven, Jenkins cares more about the repercussions of any possible reappearance by Jessica's grandfather than the reunion itself, making this a powerful exploration of love and hope. --Christina McLoughlin
Synopsis
In 1973, ten-year-old Jessica is taken on long expeditions to find her grandfather - who has been missing for over 20 years - by her beautiful but unbalanced mother. Their journeying takes them from eccentricity to something far darker.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherChatto & Windus
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 0701168315
- ISBN 13 9780701168315
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages218
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Columbus Day
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR005358191
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Columbus Day
Published by
Chatto & Windus 04/02/1999, 1999
ISBN 10: 0701168315
ISBN 13: 9780701168315
Used
Hardcover
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780701168315
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Columbus Day
Seller: medimops, Berlin, Germany
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: very good. Gut/Very good: Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit wenigen Gebrauchsspuren an Einband, Schutzumschlag oder Seiten. / Describes a book or dust jacket that does show some signs of wear on either the binding, dust jacket or pages. Seller Inventory # M00701168315-V
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Columbus Day
Published by
Chatto & Windus 04/02/1999, 1999
ISBN 10: 0701168315
ISBN 13: 9780701168315
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780701168315
Quantity: 3 available