Off The Bookshelf UK - Books The Facts of Life The Facts of Life New & Used The Facts of Life

Search Books - select a category

Buy The Facts of Life online at Discounted New and Used prices. Delivered to your door with Off-The-Bookshelf.

The Facts of Life
by: Patrick Gale

Off The Bookshelf's Price: £8.99

Prices subject to change.

Used Price: £0.89
Third Party New Price: £4.58

Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780006547686
ISBN: 0006547680
Label: HarperPerennial
Manufacturer: HarperPerennial
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: August 05, 2002
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Studio: HarperPerennial
Sales Rank: 15087

Related Items:

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Define what the 'Facts of Life' are.
This is a book which takes you right to the middle of these characters and their lives. This is not the facts of life in its colloquial sense, this is about issues (murder, unrequited love, lust, mental breakdowns, free love, homosexuality, AIDS, the effects of war) that are perhaps hidden when we talk about the reality of life but are very real nonetheless.

Patrick Gale (PG) splits the story into two sections. The first sees Edward Pepper, a German exile who falls in love with his English, older female doctor, Sally. The setting is post-war but the author makes no date reference throughout this part of the story and the second. As a reader you get a real sense of time, era, place and atmosphere, without having to refer to dates ... Read More:

Rating:

- A great book with a bad cast!
Another great book by Gale but what I get again is a cast of characters that I don't care about and could quite easily dislike! A very good story but why oh why aren't these people likeable? This is Gales biggest weakness, a cast of brilliant characters that no one likes. In future make me care!

Rating:

- I might be out of step with the other reviewers here, but this is my favourite Gale novel!
I recently bought a copy of Patrick Gale's latest novel "Notes From An Exhibition" and I thought before reading it I'd re-read this book as it has always been my favourite of Gale's novels and made a real impression on me when I read it back in the mid 90's. At first I felt disappointed, I'd had this book taking up space on my bookshelves for over ten years and it really wasn't doing much for me, but then, and I think this is one of Gale's skills as a storyteller, it began to draw me in and I found myself really caring for characters I hadn't particularly liked at the start of the book. And once the author has drawn you in and you begin to care he starts to put you through the emotional wringer - one moment I was laughing aloud the next I felt ... Read More:

Rating:

- An engrossing epic
Like Gale's most famous novel, 'Rough Music', 'The Facts of Life' features two narratives several years apart concerning the same family. While the two threads are not interweaved in the same way as 'Rough Music', and do not have the same obvious link, both prove gripping reads, and the strong characterisation of Edward Pepper is retained throughout. As is common in Gale's work, a key theme is homosexuality and its complexities, but it would be unfair to pigeonhole this purely as 'gay literature' - anyone who appreciates strong storytelling will enjoy this novel. The contrasts between Edward and Jamie, the similarities between Sally and Alison and the three key deaths all provide particularly strong moments; and fans of Joan Collins are sure to indulge ... Read More:

Rating:

- A great, involving read
Over the past year I've been working my way through Patrick Gale's novels. Yes, Rough Music is his masterpiece but you can't compare everything to it (see other reviews). I thought this book was very moving.

It is two stories and at times I couldn't really see any reason for putting them in one volume but as you get nearer the end of the second part you see that stories from both parts mirror each other. The Holocoust and AIDs, a grandfather and his grandson both in hospital and mercy killings. These things go towards making up the "facts of life". And maybe the novel also offers different ways of surviving: blocking things out,loving too much, living through other people or just passing through as the Hollywood star does.

My only ... Read More:

Books : The Facts of Life