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By: AUCK 009
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2024-06-25 11:51:01 |
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Although pivotal to crafting Pamela and Margery's reminiscing, we thought there was too much emphasis on Pamela's depression and a missed chance to highlight her art. This book stimulated a great deal of discussion about a person we knew nothing of, however, unanimously we found this book a depressing read. |
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By: WHAKA 021
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2023-09-25 13:41:53 |
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Enjoyable book - a real insight to mental health especially of talented people. The controlling father would not have helped, nor the enabling mother. Only one of us found it "OK". |
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By: CHCH 060
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2023-08-10 14:13:41 |
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The group all enjoyed the book and it brought lots of interesting discussion. |
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By: CHCH 240
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2023-04-28 12:02:37 |
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Our group enjoyed it, some more than others. An insight into depression and an obsessive controlling father. A child who did not know her real childhood, therefore how to make decisions on her own. Short chapters kept it punchy and interesting. |
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By: NEWP 022
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2023-04-17 12:25:18 |
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Most enjoyed the book, a couple could not finish reading it as they were not interested in it. Those that did read it, found it a very interesting read, especially the relationship with her parents and how she lost her childhood by becoming famous at a young age. |
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By: WHAKA 019
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2022-09-28 10:26:24 |
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Most enjoyed this book and also the writing style. |
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By: CHCH 238
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2022-05-18 13:02:03 |
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A fascinating read. |
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By: MOSG 004
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2022-05-06 13:23:23 |
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Most loved it, especially the language and the short chapters, you just had to keep reading about Pamela and her amazing talent. It was interesting to see some of her work featured at the back of the book. Her Mum, Marjorie, was also interesting to read about. I got 'The Velveteen Rabbit' out from the library for the girls to look at. |
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By: NELS 042
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2022-04-29 11:26:30 |
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A fascinating story. We enjoyed looking up all the paintings and the characters written about. Slightly confusing style - jumping in time and character. |
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By: TAUR 015
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2022-04-29 11:23:36 |
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A story that covers art, literature, history and biographies of some famous and intriguing personalities. Plenty of discussion prompts. A well told story. Recommended by our group. |
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By: WHANG 003
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2022-03-07 11:25:11 |
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Enjoyed by all. |
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By: CHCH 145
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2021-11-01 11:55:52 |
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We all loved it - very easy read with short chapters. Intricate weaving of the relationship between daughter and mother and father, and a historical true story. |
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By: CHCH 194
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2021-09-14 16:43:01 |
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Interesting to learn some background to the family of the author of The Velveteen Rabbit. We discussed the challenges and blessings of giftedness. |
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By: KATIK 006
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2021-08-02 12:15:51 |
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Half of the group enjoyed this - the other half were not convinced by the true story/fiction mix. It was a well-written story - we all wanted to 'find out' how it would be resolved. |
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By: ROTO 006
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2021-07-21 13:15:30 |
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Well received by group. |
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By: CROMW 003
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2021-07-07 09:43:36 |
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The group very much enjoyed the content and format of this book. It generated a lot of discussion about the management of mental health, and the pressure put on "gifted" youth. |
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By: AUCK 060
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2021-07-05 10:33:04 |
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A mesmerising read, deeply thoughtful. An engaging book that stays in the mind. |
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By: AUCK 335
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2021-06-11 16:03:24 |
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No-one was enthusiastic about this book although we agreed that the story of Pamela Bianco was interesting. We found the short chapters switching from mother to daughter unsatisfactory and neither character really came to life for us. The mixture of fact, based on much research, and creative imagination left us wanting either fact or fiction, not this mixture. |
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By: MOTUE 001
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2021-06-09 14:18:24 |
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This book created a lot of discussion regarding mental health and parental control, including those who live through their children. There was sympathy for Margery balancing the needs of husband and daughter after negating her own needs. We felt her writing was her escape. |
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By: AUCK 116
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2021-05-31 13:43:32 |
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The majority of the group really liked the book. A book beautifully written about two amazing women. We liked the book construction, with short chapters alternating between mother and daughter. |
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By: PICT 001
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2021-05-31 13:06:53 |
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Most of the group enjoyed the book, although they weren't so happy with the moving backwards and forwards as they lost track of the times. |
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By: CHCH 011
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2021-05-13 14:58:38 |
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Fascinating and worthwhile read. |
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By: MAPUA 001
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2021-03-26 12:40:47 |
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We thought this was a well-written book with lots of research obviously done. A great insight into the working of a brain with mental health issues. Some loved it and some found it very sad, but still enjoyed by all. |
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By: PUKEKO 001
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2020-12-14 11:28:08 |
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We found this book interesting. Characters were well developed. The story prompted some of us to do further research into Pamela and Margery. |
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By: WELL 153
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2020-12-09 15:02:06 |
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A fascinating story, well researched. The structure was clumsy and the jumping from time periods often left the reader with a dislocated sense of the narrative. The second half flowed better. Otherwise a great read overall with well crafted characters. |
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