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By: NORTH 003
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2026-03-01 12:13:52 |
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Most of us loved this book. It generated a good discussion of what a N.Z. song may look like - we're a lot younger as a country, so it might be quite different. |
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By: AUCK 056
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2025-12-05 14:25:27 |
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Our group all enjoyed reading this book, a great favourite. So well-written. |
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By: KATIK 008
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2025-07-16 10:31:04 |
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Group enjoyed the book. Evoked memories of gifted people we know. Well drawn characters, wonderfully descriptive setting. Generated engaging discussion. |
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By: NELS 096
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2025-06-04 13:12:05 |
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We really liked this book - the musical thread, the descriptive evocative writing, the characters and their relationships, and the concept of stories passed on by songs. I wished we could hear the final symphony! |
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By: WAIKA 012
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2024-03-11 11:19:53 |
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A light but enjoyable read. Started quite a conversation about music in our group. As well as themes of loyalty and fidelity. |
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By: NELS 062
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2024-03-06 11:48:00 |
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A delightful book enjoyed by all the group. Combined a variety of themes including love, grief, and forgiveness. Strong characters, and beautifully written. |
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By: AUCK 307
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2023-09-03 19:29:46 |
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Our group loved the book. We found the characters to be convincing and credibly flawed. The descriptions of the landscapes, the images of the grand houses in their decay and the challenges of farming for those who now had to do it all themselves were well written. The idea of songs being a method of recording history was fascinating. Everyone really enjoyed the writer's style and use of language. A very good read. |
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By: HAMIL 019
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2023-03-30 10:23:12 |
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We all thoroughly enjoyed this book. The concept of a 'song collector' was intriguing. |
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By: WHANG 023
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2021-11-08 18:14:38 |
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Mixed reaction to this book, most people liked it but a few gave up along the way. Someone said that it was two books tacked together badly, the first part is the family story and the second is the grandchild's story. Opinions pretty divided. |
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By: TAUR 035
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2019-02-20 12:31:40 |
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An easy read and enjoyed very much by most of the group. All agreed that it was beautifully descriptive with very clever observations of life in rural England at that point. The characters, even minor ones, were well drawn, with a gentle storyline that was believable. Some of us wanted more loose ends tied up, but accepted that they were actually superfluous to the main strands of the story. Lots of discussion as to whether NZ has similar songs that should be collected and what made them special to us. |
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By: NAP 021
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2018-10-03 11:27:07 |
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We, like other groups, really enjoyed this clever book. There seemed to be something in this story for everyone, from music, family values, humour, sadness, regret and yet great love as well. Great descriptions of Dorset and farming life both past and present. All characters were beautifully "fleshed out" and became acquaintances rather than characters in a book. It is pleasing to discover that "Song Collecting" is alive and well! A great read. |
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By: CHCH 116
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2018-08-31 14:49:53 |
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A good 'holiday' read. Clever character developments and 'in family' relationships. The fifty (or so) year gap between successive chapters was handled cleverly - each informing the other regarding the result of, or reason for, the actions of another generation. All members found it quite a compelling read. |
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By: WHAKA 003
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2018-08-31 14:44:36 |
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Our group loved this book. The themes of music, country life, literature, folk song collecting, Jewish hardship etc really resonated, and made for good discussion. Thanks. |
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By: CHCH 196
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2018-08-31 14:35:39 |
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The group unanimously enjoyed this book as our holiday read. We had a wide ranging discussion, touching on many of the characters - Jack, Harry, George, Edie, Sal and Marcus (and Robin). We also discussed England and its heritage of stately homes and their maintenance. We loved the descriptive writing about the Dorset countryside and enjoyed the musical storyline - we would have enjoyed a CD (like The Conductor CD) with the music on it. |
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By: LOWER 008
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2018-08-29 14:58:02 |
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Loved by everyone for the beautiful evocative writing, the interesting characters and the story itself! We found the notes VERY GOOD and the questions thought-provoking. We enjoyed discussing the song map questions; and also the Suzuki method of learning music that is happening to our grandchildren and children. |
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By: CHCH 344
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2018-08-29 14:51:57 |
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We all loved this book. Best one we've had all year! |
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By: WELL 107
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2018-08-29 14:51:16 |
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Beautifully written with such lovely descriptions of post war Britain and the countryside - especially Dorset. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. |
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By: DUNED 058
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2018-05-18 13:40:21 |
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Although the book appeared to be an easy read, there were multiple threads and intricacies - most of us loved it! |
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By: AUCK 150
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2018-05-18 13:39:07 |
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It was agreed by all members of our book club that this was a thoroughly enjoyable story - beautifully written with touches of humour and sadness. |
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By: WELL 024
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2018-05-18 13:34:01 |
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Everyone loved this book, describing it as a good read. Many issues were explored in this book, layered on a background of passion for music and nature. |
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