Untold Stories

Alan Bennett

Doreen found this a mish mash, but liked tales about his childhood, his Mam and Dad and family life, told without a hint of condescension. Doreen always liked Alan Bennett and now she liked him even more.
Doreen 15/1/06

Loved it.
Christine 5/2/06

Gill hadn’t finished it and was struggling. It’s a very big book. A collection of various writings collected when he was diagnosed with cancer. The fist part is about his upbringing in Leeds. The descriptions of family life are easy to relate to. Then there’s a group of articles about people he has known and there’s a bit of name dropping. Gill found this rather tedious. The next bit is about art. He was made a trustee of the National Gallery although he doesn’t seem to know much about art. Overall verdict-mixed
Gill 9/4/06

Gill found the articles at the end about his cancer treatment and getting honours more readable, but still thinks the book could do with more of an edit because it is repetitive and a bit rambling in places and could do with being half- two thirds the size.
Gill 7/5/06

Andrew spent a long time reading this and found it quite enjoyable to ramble through. As it is a collection of articles it does get repetitive sometimes. Andrew enjoyed some bits more than others and found some parts quite gripping. Sometimes, however, he thought Alan Bennet was playing up to his image.
Andrew 24/9/06

By the same author

The Laying On of Hands

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