General Chat

Please review Shadows of the Workhouse and
The Birthing House

Ann
Glos

Bookmarking this thread as hubby just bought Shadows of the Workhouse for me yesterday. Will be interesting to see what others think of it.

Dianne xx

Shadows of the Workhouse isn't available here in NZ yet, so I wasn't able to read this one.

The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

Got this from the library and on picking it up turned it over to read the blurb on the back and right across it is "Scariest book since Stephen King's The Shinning', now I hate it when they do that kind of thing, as things never ever live up to expectations then.

But on saying that I did enjoy this read, though I did find it a little bit of an odd concept for a story. I like the atmoshpere given to the house, being someone who likes horror stories over most other genre a haunted house type story is going to have my interest, though the development of the characters needed a bit more work. I did find that there seemed to be jumps in the story that weren't explained and was thinking to myself at one point that this is written as if the written was actually doing a movie script, when lo and behold some of the chapter was then set out as if it was a screen play and that visuals would hold the storyline together better. I did get the feeling though that there should have been a couple more chapters to the book , ie that there shold have been some of the police investigation of the case and that perhaps this would reveal that Conrad was having a delusional/phsycotic (sp??) episode.

Michelle

N

Have read Shadows of the Workhouse brilliant book also by the same author is "Call the Midwife" very informative and funny in places.
Miffy

Review Shadow of the workhouse by Jennifer Worth

Jennifer Worth is an excellent narrator. She brings her characters to life and it is even more poignant that the stories are true.
How sad to split children from Mothers and then to move them when they were seven to yet another place.
But it is the stories of her work in the community as a nurse that are gripping and she tells the stories of the people of Poplar so well. The people who lived in the tenements and the non acceptance of ‘incomers’ who were not born and bred in Poplar but a few miles up the road.
Then I learnt so much about the Boer war from her talks with Joe. I really knew very little about that war, I had heard of the scorched earth policy but not really thought about it. 30,000 women and children killed in the name of war by the British. I found that very hard to take in.
Then Jo talks about the first World War and the second World war. The first in which his twin sons fought, and died and the second in which he lost his wife and daughter to be left alone.
And then the rebuilding of Poplar and the displacement of the people who lived there. The putting of Jo into the residential home which was the old workhouse and which still seemed almost as bad.
At this point I liked the quote from the Bible by sister Julienne: Our Lord’s words to Peter in St John’s gospel: “When you are young you go where you wish, but when you are old, others will take you where you do not wish to go”. How very apt!

The book is sad in places but uplifting in others as Jo’s spirit shows through. Not to forget the sometimes comic parts about Sister Monica Joan.
In the epilogue Jennifer Worth says that there were good things about the workhouse system; thousands of children who would have died of starvation on the streets were housed and reared --brutally perhaps by modern standards-, but they survived, and after the 1870 Education act were also educated. Mass illiteracy became history and within a couple of generations the population of Great Britain could read and write.
An excellent book, should be reading material in schools and definitely is of interest to Family History researchers.


Ann
Glos

Greaders Review The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

No, I definitely did not like this book (I know it was my choice too!) For me I found it seriously unpleasant. I have to add here that I don’t like horror stories at all so maybe I made a bad choice, not my scene!)
I found it creepy and not what I expected and there was too much of (I think you’d call it) the paranormal. I like books that have a logical explanation, maybe that the episodes were psychotic or something but there was no explanation. I found it too explicit and horrific. And I left the book in the library of the site we stayed in in Lanzarote. (I noticed there was another one there too!)


Ann
Glos

Shadows of the Workhouse

Shadows of the Workhouse was a strange mixture of anecdote and history, sometimes presenting what must have been the author’s invention as fact (i.e. the final words of Peggy and Frank). However, I found the book very engaging and interesting, especially the details about the lives of the costers, painting a vivid picture of life on a knife edge, just a step away from the workhouse.
Although the workhouses sounded dreadful Jennifer Worth does present a balanced viewpoint of their benefits as well. (One of my ancestors was a porter at Whitechapel Workhouse in the 1890s so I had a personal interest.)
The story of sister Monica Joan was fun but I wasn’t quite sure how it fitted into the theme of the book.
I enjoyed reading it and I would definitely read her other book ‘Call the Midwife’ if I came across it in the library but I wouldn’t rush out to buy it.


Haven't finished The Birthing House yet, will post when I have ploughed to the end!

Pammy

Have not yet started The Shadows of the Workhouse but wished I had picked this one up as my first one to read.
The Birthing house was not what I was hoping for as I do like a good horror or ghost book. It took me a while to get into and then I found it jumping about and must admit to skimming pages to find some interesting bits.
With family being here I had a break from it and must admit to going back to reading a book a friend had lent me. I started reading the book again and have a third to go so will persevere as want to see it through to the end.

x Jill

I read both books and just can't say I enjoyed the Birthing House in fact I am still not sure whether the main character was delusional or going through a breakdown of some kind due to his problem marriage, all a bit too wierd.

On the other hand I thoroughly enjoyed Shadows of the Workhouse which I thought was well written as an insight to what it really was like. Fotunately there has been no mention of the workhouse in my families but it left me understanding more the reason why my parents generation and even most elderly people today are terrified of having to go into a care home I like to think that when I have read a book that I have learned something.

n

I finally finished it so here is my review
The Birthing House
It’s not the sort of book I would normally choose and I found it difficult to read because of the ‘Americanisms’. The story seemed a little disjointed and I didn’t find the characters completely believable but some of his descriptions were very vivid. I think this was Christopher Ransom’s first book and I felt his inexperience showed. However I did want to know what happened in the end, although having finished it I’m not sure I’m much the wiser!
Pammy

Thanks Pammy, me neither!

One think about a reading group is that we get to read books we would not normally read. sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, other times it reinforces why I don't read those authors.

Ann
Glos

Question time Ann, do you prefer English authors to American? Personally I prefer English authors for the most part.
Penny's comment about 'americanism' just got me wondering that was all.


Michelle

On the whole Michelle, I prefer British Authors.

Ann
Glos

I did not like the Birthing House and did not finish it so can't review it.
I have not finished Shadows of the Workhouse. Will do soon.

Angie

thank you Angie.

Have just sat and read Shadow of the Workhouse and it was the sort of book I could not put down. It was both funny and very sad and had the added bonus of the photos.
The writer brought the era to life and having found some of my own family in the workhouse it painted a vivid picture of how hard life could be.
x Jill