Chloe's Song - Leslie Thomas (G)

Book Forum for your reviews and favourite authors
Post Reply
User avatar
Little John
member
Posts: 16399
Joined: January 2nd, 2010, 1:46 pm
Location: SE London

Chloe's Song - Leslie Thomas (G)

Post by Little John »

I used to be a big Leslie Thomas fan and read lots of his books back in the 70s and 80s. Then somehow, I got tired of him or Thomas got tired of writing and got a bit stale - or so it seemed to me.

Coming back to him after a goodly while, I wasn't sure what I thought at first. The style seemed a bit simple and lacking the pathos that had endeared him to me back then. But the story was good and made me want to know what happened next. After a few chapters, I got used to the simplicity and started to just enjoy the read without being hampered by what used to be.

Written in 1997, Chloe Smith's story and song is a convoluted one. It starts with Chloe on her way to a committal hearing in the back of a police van. The story is told in dribs and drabs as she remembers her life and how she got into this predicament. Brought up in an Army family, her father court marshalled for fraud and eventually committing suicide. Chloe learns to survive but not always what is best for her and falls for a bad penny who keeps turning up. Homeless and penniless, she answers an advert for a live in housekeeper, looking after an elderly couple who hate each other.

The ending is full of the old Thomas Promise and brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. I'm not sure now if he ever was as good a writer as I remember or whether it was just the characters and the very mundane lives they led that lured me into his world. But I enjoyed this book. It worked for me.
Yes this is the real "Little John" (or it could be "colin")
Post Reply