Book Review – THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley
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| The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – Alan Bradley |
Quirky and captivating. In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley has conjured up an enchanting little world with charismatic characters that readers will love.
‘Feely says that there is a broken telephone connection, between men and women, and we can never know which of us rang off. With a boy you never know whether he’s smitten or gagging, but with a girl you can tell in the first three seconds.’
‘I waited as this sunk in. Communicating with Ned was like exchanging cabled messages with a slow reader in Mongolia.’
And most importantly of all, Flavia de Luce is a book lover.
Many classic novels and authors are referred to throughout the novel – what more can a reader want in a protagonist?
‘As I stood outside in Cow Lane, it occurred to me that Heaven must be a place where the library is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.’
‘… it had been the garage where autos had their oil and tyres change, their axles lubricated and other intimate underside adjustments seen too.’
Alan Bradley’s The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has been a huge success and that success is well-deserved.
Bradley‘s talent as an author really shines through, as does his extraordinary vocabulary. For those that have not had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Flavia de Luce I strongly urge you to do so – you will not regret it.
BOOK RATING: The Writing 5 / 5 ; The Story 4.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (The Book Depository), The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Amazon)
, A Red Herring Without Mustard
(due to be released in 2011).
Wow! Wonderful review. I've wanted to read this for a while now. I didn't realize the author has other books out.
I so loved this book …
Yay! I can't wait to pick this one up!!
I loved this book as well as #2 in the series. Go Flavia!
I have this out from the library at the moment, so I hope to get to it soon. I hope I enjoy it as much as you did.
I have seen so many good reviews of this book I can't wait to read it!
This is in my TBR pile- think I might bump it up a few spots. I feel like a good book that's easy to like!
SO glad you enjoyed this one! The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag is even better (if that's even possible) in my opinion
Great review. Is this a novel suitalbe for young teenagers?
Gina – I don't believe there is any content in this that would be unsuitable for young teenagers, but I don't think they would get the full charm of the novel as some of the humour and references are aimed at adults. What does everyone else think?
Booksploring, Caitlin, Bibliophile – I want to be Flavia! And can't wait to read #2.
Suko, Coffee…, marg, Becky, Sam – You should definitely read it. Glad I started this series at the beginning so i can go along for the whole ride. If you follow the link to Flavia's website I provided, there is a full series outline (6 books).
If you haven't read this book YOU must! It's so much fun, very much as Joanne says, like Alice in Wonderland.
Great review. I'm going to have to read this!
Pearl
I have this one sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I've heard nothing but good things about this one. I'm enjoying your blog. I will become a new subscriber.
I've wanted to read this for a while now. I didn't realize the author has other books out.
As much as I LOVED this book and recommend it highly as well (it is an AMAZING debut), I loved the second book in the series, THE WEED THAT STRINGS THE HANGMAN'S BAG, even more. Can't wait for the next one. I recently reread Josephine Tey's wonderful mystery, A SHILLING FOR CANDLES in which there is a character kind of similar to Flavia and I've wondered since if Bradley might not have been influenced by Tey's work.