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Adele Geras
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A Hidden Life Paperback – June 12 2008

by Adele Geras (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 40 ratings
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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Orion
  4. Publication date
    June 12 2008
  5. Dimensions
    12.8 x 3 x 19.7 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0752893319
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0752893310
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orion (June 12 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0752893319
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0752893310
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 281 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 3 x 19.7 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 40 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Adele Geras

    Adele Geras

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  2. Adele Geras

    Adele Geras

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    I've been writing books for children since 1976 and have published more than 90 books for readers of all ages from babies to teenagers. In 2003, my first adult novel was published (FACING THE LIGHT) and I've written three others, all published by Orion.

    I've also published poetry and have reviewed for the Guardian and the Times Educational Supplement

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
40 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

Mrs. M. G. Powling
5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a family saga
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2007
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Once again Adele Geras has created a fascinating and rewarding family saga. She is the mistress of the genre. The focus of the story is Lou, granddaughter of Constance Barrington, a spiteful matriach who decides, on her deathbed, to leave to Lou only her grandfathers novels. The books - written in the 1960s and long out of print - are a seemingly worthless inheritance. But when Lou begins to read one of the books which her grandfather used to read to her when she was a child, she realises that there is more to it than mere fiction.
This is a hugely satisfying read.
9 people found this helpful
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sue hillyard
4.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2014
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I have recommended this book to our book club as I think it has something in it which they all will be able to recognise in their lives. Loved it from page 1 to the last Good for a holiday read.
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Skylarker
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2016
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A new author to me, recommended by my sister and I enjoyed the book very much. It was gentle, but with hidden depths which gradually unfolded. I came to care about the characters and believe in them, which is always the test of a good novel.
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Jane Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2009
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Adele Geras cannot fail. She has magic in her fingertips. She also knows how to draw in her reader to the poignancy of the family life she is tracing. The pathos, poignancy, conflict, deceit are all felt keenly. Her imagination is beyond riches, her plot magnificently crafted.
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Kate Hopkins
3.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is the third Adele Geras novel that I've read, and the one I liked the most, probably because it had the most interesting plot: the other two that I've read were very much along the lines of the family-and-friends-have-extravagant-country-house-weekend-with-past-secrets-revealed-and-decide-they-all-love-each-other plot. Here Geras is trying out something more interesting:

The plot in short: spiteful matriarch Constance Barrington dies, leaving her two-million pound house to Justin, the son of her son's first wife (and no relation to her by blood) and the remainder of her estate to be divided between Vanessa ('Nessa'), the daughter of her son's first wife (again, no relation) and her son Matt. Lou, her only granddaughter, is left the copyright of her grandfather's novels, long out of print, and nothing else. Lou copes with this fairly well, partly because, as a stoical single mother on a tiny income (reading film scripts for a small production company) and having fled a violent relationship, she is used to hardship. She also adored her grandfather, John. And when she starts reading one of his books, 'Blind Moon', she begins to become more curious about his life and his writing. Is 'Blind Moon' actually autobiography? Was John writing directly about his experiences growing up in a prisoner-of-war camp in World War II? Gradually, Lou begins to trace the secrets of her grandfather's life, taking a journey to Paris where she makes some astonishing discoveries. She also determines to accomplish her ambition to write a screenplay, with 'Blind Moon' as her subject, and finally plucks up courage to send it to a production company. Meanwhile Constance's will has caused trouble among the rest of the family. Lou's father Matt begins to lust after his sexy first wife, Ellie, and to neglect his second wife, Lou's mother Phyl. Nessa's dissatisfaction with her marriage reaches breaking point, and she begins to realize some surprising facts about herself and her relationship with her business partner Michaela... and Justin begins to realize that the wicked and the greedy rarely prosper for long (well, not in romantic novels!).

I enjoyed reading this book: I thought that the material about Lou and her grandfather and Lou's love of film was very interesting, and enjoyed the sections dealing with John's novel (a shame we never heard about his other novels) and his early experiences in Borneo. Geras also wrote fairly convincingly about Lou's life as a single mum, though the violent boyfriend that Lou had fled didn't really come to life, and Lou's dropping out of her university course didn't seem likely. I thought Geras dealt with the lesbian theme in the novel very sensitively, though she may have overdone Nessa's petulant qualities early in the novel - it was quite hard to feel sympathetic towards her after reading the early chapters of the book and I thought Geras could have made her vulnerability more clear. Justin was an amusing character, and I liked Geras's description of Phyl's love of children and her work as a vet's assistant.

However, I felt in the end that the balance of the novel didn't entirely work. I'd have liked to have had more material about John and his family, and why John married the horrible Constance, and about his writing, and less of the Matt and Ellie plot which seemed unconvincing and a bit silly - Ellie was a parody 'vamp'. I also found the ending a bit exaggeratedly happily ever after, with the bad characters all suffering, and Lou rewarded in the manner of a fairytale princess (SLIGHT SPOILER): I could believe in her final happy relationship with publisher Jake (why are so many men in romantic novels called Jake?) but it seemed overly convenient that he was also wonderfully wealthy. The French bit of the plot could have also been elaborated on a bit, and I couldn't understand why everyone called Madame Franchard 'Madame' if Franchard was her maiden name (and she didn't appear to have married). There were also some clunky bits of dialogue; my favourite being when Jake said that he 'wasn't that interested in fiction; he guessed he liked John Barrington's novel because it wasn't really fiction' (an odd thing to say about an autobiographical novel!).

All in all a pleasant, on the whole well-written and light read, but not one that bears too much serious thought. Having read three Geras novels I've come away with the feeling that she is a talented and accomplished writer, but one writing very much for the 'romantic' market.
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