The Mountain in My Shoe Louise Beech 9781910633397 Books
Download As PDF : The Mountain in My Shoe Louise Beech 9781910633397 Books
A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself.
On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving, he doesn’t come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she’s befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor’s foster mother, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband’s secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all. Exquisitely written and deeply touching, The Mountain in My Shoe is both a gripping psychological thriller and a powerful and emotive examination of the meaning of family . . . and just how far we’re willing to go for the people we love.
On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving, he doesn’t come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she’s befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor’s foster mother, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband’s secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all. Exquisitely written and deeply touching, The Mountain in My Shoe is both a gripping psychological thriller and a powerful and emotive examination of the meaning of family . . . and just how far we’re willing to go for the people we love.
The Mountain in My Shoe Louise Beech 9781910633397 Books
A good story about a sheltered and fearful woman who volunteers to be a friend to a little boy who is in the foster care system. You go through the story mainly through the pov of the woman Bernadette and the boy Conor. Bernadette has a difficult marriage and Conor has had a very rocky start in his young life, but they are drawn to each other. Conor's background is also gradually revealed through excerpts in his Life Book, which is a book compiled by all his social workers, his mother, his carers and anyone who's been a significant part of his life, so that he has a recorded history of his life while under the foster care system. Through certain events, things come to a head. The story is well-written and your heart is very much rooting for Bernadette and Conor, although I did find myself frustrated by Bernadette's weakness. I understand where her character is coming from, and her emotional weakness is common with women in her situation, but it's still frustrating nonetheless. The story also gives some good insight into the UK's foster care system, but it also made me depressed about the US's foster care system, which is overly burdened and where so many children fall through the cracks.Product details
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Tags : The Mountain in My Shoe [Louise Beech] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself.<BR />On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving,Louise Beech,The Mountain in My Shoe,Orenda Books,1910633399,Thrillers - Psychological,FICTION Thrillers Psychological,Fiction,Fiction-Psychological,GENERAL,General Adult,MysterySuspense
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The Mountain in My Shoe Louise Beech 9781910633397 Books Reviews
This is the story of Connor, a little boy that has led a very disjointed childhood, being passed from pillar to post through the care system because his mum is not able to care for him properly. For the last five years he has lived with his current foster carer Anne and has regular visits from his BFL volunteer friend, Bernadette.
Bernadette has decided to leave her controlling husband, Richard but that day he does not come home, Connor has also gone missing and so has 'the book' The book is a diary which contains letters, reports and stories written by people closest to Connor that depict what has happened so far in this boy's short life and will be given to him when he turns eighteen because, as it says on the very first page 'This book is a gift. A gift because it will one day be your memory.' Bernadette and Anne set out to find Connor and the book and bring them both home, Richard can wait.......
Even though I have all of Louise Beech's books on my ever growing tbr list, it's the first one I've read and I wonder why it's taken so long to pop my cherry with this author. I adored the lost soul that was Connor and loved the two women that wanted nothing more than to bring happiness to this boy's life in whatever way they could. This book is endearing, it's an eye opener to what happens in the care system and it pulls at your heartstrings at the turn of every page, a beautifully written book by an author that tests all the emotions of the reader throughout and one that will stay with me for a long time. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to reading her others very soon. A very well deserved 5 stars.
Reading certain stories feels like taking a bath. You open the first page, tentatively brushing the water with your toe to check the temperature, and you relax instantly, you know you are in good hands. So you climb into the tub, you let the steam fill your head and your body soak into the water. The Mountain in my Shoe’s waves of words washed over me until it felt a print on my skin, emotions, and mind.
First, I owe Bernadette an apology. Because of her name, I assumed right from the start that she was an old lady with a cane and a shawl around her shoulders. I blame the wife of a former French president for the image that my brain created of the character, and I was so happy to see it replaced by a more accurate picture of the truth not too long after my first impression. Bernadette is indeed what would be considered an old name in my country and it took me a little while to detach myself from the cliché!
But I had a lot more to think about than just a name. Like some Lego game, every chapter places bits and pieces up and all around you until you are faced with every one the characters, standing tall and naked in front of you. It takes hours and hardships, it takes memories and every one of yours and their senses, it takes steps and emotions, it takes risks and leaves. They say “show, don’t tell”. Louise Beech masterfully introduces you to some of the most wonderful and tragic protagonists I have ever met and throws them into a taut and emotional psychological thriller.
So, when I read her name, I thought Bernadette and I would remain strangers to each other. The name did not appeal, it felt weird in my mouth, like when you pick a sweet in a box and realize too late it was not the one you wanted. But we met through the beautifully lyrical writing of the author and I was swept away, transported to the life of a woman I’d just met. I could see her move before my eyes, I could feel her pain in my chest. It all happened so fast that before the first chapter, I was far from my couch, my heart aching for a woman stuck in a dull life she did not deserve, in a distressful situation I wanted to save her from. I felt the urge to reach out and fight for her, which rarely happens. Yes, I feel for characters, I fall for them, but I usually don’t feel so empathetic as to want to solve their issues myself! Louise Beech gave me a friend in Bernadette, someone to root for, someone to care for.
Then I met Conor. I used to hate kids and they always loved me. I was the teen stuck with the babies at gathering, bored to death. Now I don’t see many kids but I’m not interested anyway. My biological clock hasn’t started ticking, she is still sound asleep. So, I was surprised to react to Conor’s words, to his sweet childish behavior, to his naive beliefs and I was struck by his courage. I find children narrations to be difficult, but once again Louise Beech nailed it, as youngsters would say. I had this small, resilient voice in my head, hoping, swearing, fighting for his life, for belonging, for answers. The real voice of a child who has been handed bad cards by life.
Richard. One of the most mysterious characters I came upon. My emotions towards him changed as different pairs of eyes stared at him, as different minds and histories recalled the good and the bad, as different people shared their life with him. I never felt so unsure of myself. I admit I judge, but I also try and understand decisions, personalities, actions. The author gave me a man I have no idea how to figure out and I am left wondering. Guess what? I loved it this way.
Other characters filled the holes in Conor’s history. Anne’s warmth reached me when I needed the most, when the tension was so high it felt like waiting for my own kid to walk into the room. A very special narration also waits for you among the pages, and while I expected it to be clear, cut, impersonal, like those kinds of things seem to be, it only showed me there was also light at the heart of a system that does its best with what it is given. I teared up the most at those heart-breaking snippets. I was waiting for them every time, whether they brought good or bad news.
To say characterization was perfect is a euphemism. Characterization is at the heart of The Mountain in my Shoe. Characterization is what makes this story an original and heart-wrenching masterpiece served by the superb writing of a power beyond any author’s dreams.
I was curious about the connections of events, of course. When I am given drops of life in clever alternate chapters, my appetite for answers grow with every page, as fast as questions and worries started to riddle Bernadette. Her husband gone. A kid gone. The mystery knocks on Bernadette’s door one day the way life likes to invite itself to the party. Of course, you think life’s ruining it with all that tension and those emotions you did not ask for. You had the whole day planned in your head, your own issues to take care of. But the beauty of it is that you even if you never know what it brings you, you must open the door and let it happen, even if it’s terrible. So, it is up to women (again and again!) to pick up the pieces and try to reassemble them to recreate a picture while pressure and tension is trying to crush them. The author plotted this story with the idea of women gently putting life’s shattered parts together to invent a different picture. Louise Beech created a tale of life in which weak and strong go together, tears and laughs are inseparable, things happen for a reason, and you can find beauty and solace where you least expect it.
I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I was frightened, I felt sorry. I lived this story.
Beautiful story
It is difficult to explain what the book is about because it has meaning on so many levels. Suffice it to say that it is heartwarming and well worth reading. It is a book that examines the human condition and is as difficult to describe as is the future to a child. Read it. You will be glad you did.
A good story about a sheltered and fearful woman who volunteers to be a friend to a little boy who is in the foster care system. You go through the story mainly through the pov of the woman Bernadette and the boy Conor. Bernadette has a difficult marriage and Conor has had a very rocky start in his young life, but they are drawn to each other. Conor's background is also gradually revealed through excerpts in his Life Book, which is a book compiled by all his social workers, his mother, his carers and anyone who's been a significant part of his life, so that he has a recorded history of his life while under the foster care system. Through certain events, things come to a head. The story is well-written and your heart is very much rooting for Bernadette and Conor, although I did find myself frustrated by Bernadette's weakness. I understand where her character is coming from, and her emotional weakness is common with women in her situation, but it's still frustrating nonetheless. The story also gives some good insight into the UK's foster care system, but it also made me depressed about the US's foster care system, which is overly burdened and where so many children fall through the cracks.
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