Items related to A Trick I Learned from Dead Men
Longlisted for the Womens Prize for Fiction 2013
After the disappearance of their father and the sudden death of their mother, Lee Hart and his deaf brother, Ned, imagine all is lost until Lee starts an apprenticeship at the local funeral home. Here, in the company of a crooning ex-publican, a closet pole vaulter, a terminally-ill hearse driver, and the dead of their local town, old wounds begin to heal and love arrives as a beautiful florist aboard a 'Fleurtations' delivery van, and Lee discovers there is life after death after all.
After the disappearance of their father and the sudden death of their mother, Lee Hart and his deaf brother, Ned, imagine all is lost until Lee starts an apprenticeship at the local funeral home. Here, in the company of a crooning ex-publican, a closet pole vaulter, a terminally-ill hearse driver, and the dead of their local town, old wounds begin to heal and love arrives as a beautiful florist aboard a 'Fleurtations' delivery van, and Lee discovers there is life after death after all.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
The Guardian: Evie Wyld (August 4th 2012)
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderfully funny, original novel. It is a testament to Aldridge's writing that she manages to create a convincing and expansive universe in such a modest space. In writing about lives and deaths reduced to their smallest elements she has created something joyous and life-affirming.
Financial Times: (July 14th 2012)
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderful book, written with a mixture of pathos and bleak humour. Lee's narration seems beautifully true: it is stop-start, cliche-ridden, and marked by that peculiarly British tendency to point out the stray cloud in an otherwise spotless sky.
Sunday Times: (July 15th 2012)
Aldridge's punchy style captures [Lee Hart's] matter-of-fact voice
perfectly as he fights on with moving determination. Both tragic yet somehow life-affirming, her novel holds you to the end.
Daily Mail: (July 13th 2012)
Aldridge beautifully captures Lee's thought patterns, in which cheering
cliches fail to mask failure and despair, and movingly portrays the relentless drudgery of both his domestic and professional life. Her research is impeccable, and the quirky portrait of funeral home routine will appeal to fans of the TV series Six Feet Under.
Time Out: (July 12th 2012)
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men successfully tackles the tricky taboo of death and the art of dying, stripping away the preconceptions many of us posses. It takes a few chapters to get used to the idiosyncratic narration, but readers are rewarded with an uplifting tale of life after death. Dead good.
Metro: Andrzej Lukowski (July 11th 2012)
This small but perfectly formed third novel from Kitty Aldridge is over too soon but is impressively accomplished, nailing the distinctive voice of its protagonist. Inventive coming-of-age tale (4/5 stars)
The Independent on Sunday: (July 15th 2012)
Kitty Aldridge has a talent for vocalising the thoughts of the young. In
her first-person narration Aldridge captures the idiom and diction of an
earnest working lad. The unembellished matter-of-factness also adds to the impact of Aldridge's descriptions of Lee's job. The sensitivity and respect with which Lee and his colleagues treat the deceased is touching..
Times Literary Supplement: (July 13th 2012)
Aldridge is a skilled observer and the novel is full of detailed, sometimes
strangely beautiful descriptions of the situations Lee encounters as he
attempts to keep his family afloat. There is joy to be found in the mundanities of day-to-day life.
The Independent: (Saturday July 14th 2012)
Aldridge's new novel, like her previous one, is a lament for modern
humanity's disconnection from nature. Blackly funny, moving, eccentric story about death..
Bella Magazine: (July 2012)
This simple poignant tale resonates long after the final page has been
turned.
Easy Living Magazine: (July 2012)
A dark but oddly funny novel.. Sad, funny and very moving.
Scotland on Sunday: (July 8th 2012)
Yet he [Lee Hart] is an immensely likeable protagonist and Aldridge has
absolutely captured his engagingly open inner voice. Lee manages the seemingly impossible. Despite everything, he gets the last laugh.
Fabulous Magazine: The Sun: (23rd June 2012)
I tend to read period books (yeah, I'm a Victorian lit geek). This book is
perfection, though. It's a moving book all about love, loss, death and
family. You'll cry, but it's really funny too, and the oddball characters are totally unforgettable and haunting.
Literary Review: (July 2012)
The still, small moments, when Lee grasps at something of an answer, at warmth, are fleeting gems: 'I reckon I am happy. Definition of happiness: When knob-all happens but you don't mind in the least. Can't last of course, nothing does.'
The Bookseller: We Love This Book magazine: Jason Bull (July 6th 2012)
This is the third novel by Kitty Aldridge and will surely bring her fiction
to a much wider readership. Written in short, snappy sentences - just as people really speak - many sentences end in 'but.' This is literary fiction that is dark, funny, sad, contemporary. Literary prizeshortlistings much deserved, but.
Longlisted for The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize 2012.
Review:
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderfully funny, original novel. It is a testament to Aldridge's writing that she manages to create a convincing and expansive universe in such a modest space. In writing about lives and deaths reduced to their smallest elements she has created something joyous and life-affirming.
Financial Times: (July 14th 2012)
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderful book, written with a mixture of pathos and bleak humour. Lee's narration seems beautifully true: it is stop-start, cliche-ridden, and marked by that peculiarly British tendency to point out the stray cloud in an otherwise spotless sky.
Sunday Times: (July 15th 2012)
Aldridge's punchy style captures [Lee Hart's] matter-of-fact voice
perfectly as he fights on with moving determination. Both tragic yet somehow life-affirming, her novel holds you to the end.
Daily Mail: (July 13th 2012)
Aldridge beautifully captures Lee's thought patterns, in which cheering
cliches fail to mask failure and despair, and movingly portrays the relentless drudgery of both his domestic and professional life. Her research is impeccable, and the quirky portrait of funeral home routine will appeal to fans of the TV series Six Feet Under.
Time Out: (July 12th 2012)
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men successfully tackles the tricky taboo of death and the art of dying, stripping away the preconceptions many of us posses. It takes a few chapters to get used to the idiosyncratic narration, but readers are rewarded with an uplifting tale of life after death. Dead good.
Metro: Andrzej Lukowski (July 11th 2012)
This small but perfectly formed third novel from Kitty Aldridge is over too soon but is impressively accomplished, nailing the distinctive voice of its protagonist. Inventive coming-of-age tale (4/5 stars)
The Independent on Sunday: (July 15th 2012)
Kitty Aldridge has a talent for vocalising the thoughts of the young. In
her first-person narration Aldridge captures the idiom and diction of an
earnest working lad. The unembellished matter-of-factness also adds to the impact of Aldridge's descriptions of Lee's job. The sensitivity and respect with which Lee and his colleagues treat the deceased is touching..
Times Literary Supplement: (July 13th 2012)
Aldridge is a skilled observer and the novel is full of detailed, sometimes
strangely beautiful descriptions of the situations Lee encounters as he
attempts to keep his family afloat. There is joy to be found in the mundanities of day-to-day life.
The Independent: (Saturday July 14th 2012)
Aldridge's new novel, like her previous one, is a lament for modern
humanity's disconnection from nature. Blackly funny, moving, eccentric story about death..
Bella Magazine: (July 2012)
This simple poignant tale resonates long after the final page has been
turned.
Easy Living Magazine: (July 2012)
A dark but oddly funny novel.. Sad, funny and very moving.
Scotland on Sunday: (July 8th 2012)
Yet he [Lee Hart] is an immensely likeable protagonist and Aldridge has
absolutely captured his engagingly open inner voice. Lee manages the seemingly impossible. Despite everything, he gets the last laugh.
Fabulous Magazine: The Sun: (23rd June 2012)
I tend to read period books (yeah, I'm a Victorian lit geek). This book is
perfection, though. It's a moving book all about love, loss, death and
family. You'll cry, but it's really funny too, and the oddball characters are totally unforgettable and haunting.
Literary Review: (July 2012)
The still, small moments, when Lee grasps at something of an answer, at warmth, are fleeting gems: 'I reckon I am happy. Definition of happiness: When knob-all happens but you don't mind in the least. Can't last of course, nothing does.'
The Bookseller: We Love This Book magazine: Jason Bull (July 6th 2012)
This is the third novel by Kitty Aldridge and will surely bring her fiction
to a much wider readership. Written in short, snappy sentences - just as people really speak - many sentences end in 'but.' This is literary fiction that is dark, funny, sad, contemporary. Literary prizeshortlistings much deserved, but.
Longlisted for The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize 2012.
"Both tragic yet somehow life-affirming, her novel holds you to the end" (Sunday Times)
"A dark, but oddly funny novel... Sad, funny and very moving" (Easy Living)
"A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderful book, written with a mixture of pathos and bleak humour that brings to mind classic television comedies such as The Office... Lee’s narration seems beautifully true: it is stop-start, cliché ridden, and marked by that peculiarly British tendency to point out the stray cloud in an otherwise spotless sky" (Financial Times)
"Pitch-perfect ... blackly funny, moving" (Independent)
"Aldridge beautifully captures Lee’s thought patterns... Her research is impeccable, and the quirky portrait of funeral home routine will appeal to fans of the TV series Six Feet Under" (Daily Mail)
"A dark, but oddly funny novel... Sad, funny and very moving" (Easy Living)
"A Trick I Learned From Dead Men is a wonderful book, written with a mixture of pathos and bleak humour that brings to mind classic television comedies such as The Office... Lee’s narration seems beautifully true: it is stop-start, cliché ridden, and marked by that peculiarly British tendency to point out the stray cloud in an otherwise spotless sky" (Financial Times)
"Pitch-perfect ... blackly funny, moving" (Independent)
"Aldridge beautifully captures Lee’s thought patterns... Her research is impeccable, and the quirky portrait of funeral home routine will appeal to fans of the TV series Six Feet Under" (Daily Mail)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherParagon
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 1471312976
- ISBN 13 9781471312977
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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Book Description Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A tan to the page edges/pages . Ex library copy with usual stamps & stickers. Seller Inventory # wbb0019040453
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