The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again! by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
| The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again! by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg | |
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| Category: Humour | |
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Reviewer: Susmita Chatto
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| Summary: A light hearted, humorous novel about a League Of Pensioners who want to change the world - by enjoying the delights of Las Vegas. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 416 | Date: January 2015 |
| Publisher: Pan Macmillan | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1447274902 | |
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Following the success of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, the League of Pensioners are back – and this time, they’re in Vegas! I haven’t read the first book but it was on my list when the opportunity arose to review this one. The idea of the League of Pensioners marching towards a fairer world through fun and frolics was hugely appealing to me and this is a stand alone novel so I thought I would dive straight in with this one.
The story opens well with a gripping incident and lively comic writing. Then we are introduced to Martha, the little old lady in question, and her partners in crime. There is some beautiful characterisation in the set up – who doesn’t love it when a team member is called Brains? The author enlivens the characters in unusual and refreshing ways; for example, Anna-Greta is described as having so little interest in clothes that she wishes someone could invent spray clothes! This all helps in getting to know the characters quickly.
If you enjoy light-hearted humour, there is a lot to appreciate here. The League get away with many things under the cover of being perceived as harmless pensioners and boy, do they milk it! They are also a good-hearted group and although I’m not advocating anyone go out and attempt to defraud casinos, the loveable rogues here are easily forgiven.
Much as I enjoyed the characterisations and comic scenarios, I did find some of the writing clunky and unnatural. Initially I thought perhaps something had been lost in translation or that the author was trying to fill in details for those of us who had not read the first book. However, as the book progressed I felt it was less likely to be a translation issue and more likely that the author did not have enough confidence in getting her point across and therefore repeated details or over-described in some areas. This led to some loss of pace and spark within the writing.
There were also a lot of adverbs and descriptive details. There are times when that type of writing suits the work, but in this case, the author clearly has great skill for comic writing and this would have been better showcased if the writing had been cleaner.
Overall, this is a fun and light hearted read which will appeal to readers of all genres and generations.
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again! by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again! by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg at Amazon.com.
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