Book Review: & Sons by David Gilbert

& Sons

by

David Gilbert

 

 

I was given this book by Waterstones to read and review on their website www.waterstones.com so thank you very much for the opportunity to do this. This is my first David Gilbert book so I went into this with an open mind.

 

A.N.Dyer is a famous author and after going to the funeral of his life long friend Charles Topping he realises that the life he has lead has not been as good as it should have. He decides that he needs to get his 3 sons together and confess to all his wrong doings, and try to re-build the relationships that have been broken these past 19 years before it is too late.

 

The book is narrated by Philip Topping the son of the dead life long friend and how he see's the story. This was a different way of writing which I don't think I have come across before. I found it good in most parts but then weird in other as a lot of the scenes Philip was not there so how did he witness this??? I found the first 100 pages of this book a bit long winded if I am to be honest, and found that the introduction of the characters went on too much and was sometimes confusing. This is because Gilbert started a story which went into another and then into another and then back to the original story. It was a bit like seeing Billy Connolly doing stand up but not as funny.  However once this has been done the story started to get going and the pages turned a lot faster.

 

About half way through the book your mind was wondering as to where this story was going and you knew there was a huge secret to be told. I had a couple of ideas but then the first twist came along and it was like WOW...... where did that come from. Never in a million years would I have guessed that and I have such a warped mind. This gave the book another kick start and you had to read on. The story then started to take shape and became more interesting. Just as the book was coming to an end there was yet another twist. This one again I had no idea was coming (yes I know I've been rubbish but that's good in a book) although it was a very sad twist and got me a little upset(no tears). This book was a great insight into the relationships between fathers & sons and that they are not always perfect. The book also had a dark side to it which added to story a lot.

 

The Character numbers were kept short which as you know from previous reviews I like. My two favourites were Andy (youngest son) and Jamie (middle son) I found them both very funny and interesting to follow throughout the book. Andy at times made me laugh out loud with his antics.

 

I scored this book 3.5 out of 5. I just found that it was missing something and lost marks for how the book started. Would I read a David Gilbert book again?? Yes I would, there were bits in there that was great and I love how the twists came from nowhere. I do recommend that you give this book a try. If you do,  and like me you found the start a bit slow then please stick with it as it does get better.

 

I would like to know what other people think that have read this book. do you agree or disagree?? Please feel free to leave comments below.

 

Speak soon

 

CBailey31