The Birds, the Bees, and Other Secrets by Frances Garrood
| The Birds, the Bees, and Other Secrets by Frances Garrood | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Katherine Stanton
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| Summary: A tale of self discovery and sexual discovery, set in the sixties and ending in the present day. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 304 | Date: August 2008 |
| Publisher: Macmillan New Writing | |
| ISBN: 978-0230708631 | |
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Cassandra Fitzpatrick is sitting by her dying mother's hospital bed. As she waits for the inevitable to happen she reflects on her turbulent life and her eccentric mother's effect upon it.
The Birds, the Bees and Other Secrets is the life of Cassandra Fitzpatrick. Ironically as the main character Cassandra is centre of attention but rarely in her life does the spotlight fall solely on her. She is constantly overshadowed by her mother, who is absurdly carefree and almost as much as a hindrance as she is a help to her daughter's upbringing.
There are times where Cass and her mother become incredibly annoying; a main character that won't stick up for herself is not very appealing. Neither is a mother who is totally naïve to her own selfishness. However, there are touching moments that would cause any female reader to envy Cassandra's unique relationship with her mother.
Frances Garrood is a magnificent writer and this book would be a pleasure to read regardless of its subject matter. However, there is very little action in the story and the storyline turns out to be a fairly average life story of a fictional girl. Luckily for Garrood though, the book redeems itself by ending wonderfully - although Cass is faced with her mother's death, she (and the reader) are rewarded with a happy ending.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
For another book about mother/daughter relationships we can cautiously recommend The Memory Stones by Kate O'Riordan.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Birds, the Bees, and Other Secrets by Frances Garrood at Amazon.com.
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