Cold Comfort Farm (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) by Stella Gibbons
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Book Reviews of Cold Comfort Farm (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin)
Book Review: A brilliant book
Summary: 5 Stars
Not long before she died, I wrote to Stella Gibbons to tell her how much I liked her books - all of them. She wrote back that most readers have only read Cold Comfort Farm. "It's rather like having a brilliant eldest child who puts the rest in the shade", she said. Since, with the exception of Cold Comfort Farm, all of her literary offspring are out of print, content yourself with buying the brilliant eldest book. Flora Poste, a true Virgo, descends on the Starkadder clan and creates calm out of chaos. And as with all good fairy tales, even the Starkadders lived as happily-ever-after as anyone with such a lurid emotional life could. (Note: If you enjoy this book and want to try some of Stella Gibbons' other titles, there are some gems, but they are all quite different in style from Cold Comfort Farm - it is unique.)Book Review: Gibbons' use of language make this a hilarious parody
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been hearing about Cold Comfort Farm for years and finally got around to reading it. I was not disappointed and Gibbons' skillful use of language and ridiculous over the top plotting make it laugh out loud funny. I've heard or read references to "I saw something nasty in the woodshed" and the "sukebinds" for years but never quite "got them" until now. Like Dickens even Gibbons' minor characters are well drawn, memorable and often hilarious carictures. Yes the book is surreal but close enough to reality for us to enjoy and identify with the characters and plots. I was a little distracted by Gibbons setting the story in the "near future" but got used to it and enjoyed the clever writing. Anyone who loves Wodehouse (especially Bertie and Jeeves) should find this a delight. The movie is next on my list of DVDs to see.Book Review: A brilliant, affectionate book
Summary: 5 Stars
Parody is easy to do but hard to sustain or do well, and almost always done as an end it itself--the author saying, "See how wicked and clever I am, and how silly the thing I'm mocking is!" Gibbons' genius is that she while she pokes fun at specific genres and authors (including herself), she actually writes a complete (and well-done) novel, and she treats the characters with affection and a certain dignity. The result is a book that's not only clever, funny, and well-written, but that is also unexpectedly, in the end, sweet and romantic. For those wondering, the 1995 film adaptation (available on DVD right here on Amazon) is remarkably faithful (with understandable trimming, folding and tucking), and likewise hilarious without ever being mean spirited. Both have my highest recommendation. ..bruce..
Book Review: warm praise for cold comfort
Summary: 5 Stars
I must have read this book 5 times now and each time find new things to laugh and be amazed about....I love its mocking tone, the predictions of the future(phones you can see people with, private planes called "Speed cop 11", the changes in prestige of different London suburbs etc....) This woman was a genius! The characters are hilarious but somehow real - how about the jazz band! and the depiction of human weakness (eg Amos being tempted by a Ford Van to extend God's Kingdom!). The names of the characters are better than those in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. My favourite line has to be the telegram Flora sends to Mrs Smiling (whose maid is called Riante!) - "Worst fears realized darling seth and reuben too send gumboots". A Masterpiece.Book Review: What's a sensible girl to 5 Stars
Every time I pick this book up I know I will be smilling in minutes. Not only is it funny but the book is also very clever in its takeoff of mouldy Brittish storeylines.Everything about COLD COMFORT FARM is delicious - Aunt Ada Doom who saw 'something nasty in the woodshed', the sukebind in bud, tidy Flora who is determined to tidy untidy cold comfort farm.
I don't think there is a whole lot going on below the surface of this book - I care about Flora but the other characters are mostly there for the satire they bring to the situations they are in.
This is a book meant to be read lightly for pure unadulted entertainment.
A must read - if you "get it" you'll read it over and over.