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The Uncommon Reader

A Novella

By Alan Bennett

(227)

| Hardcover | 9780374280963

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Book Description

From the author of The History Boys and The Clothes They Stood Up In
A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, aContinue

From the author of The History Boys and The Clothes They Stood Up In
A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen who frequents the library, Bennett describes the Queen’s transformation as she discovers the liberating pleasures of the written word. With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England’s best loved author revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader’s life.

Critics

  • What One thinks of Henry James

    The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett Faber & Faber/Profile £10.99, pp160 What is it about the Queen that inspires such deep affection in the British? As played by Helen Mirren in The Queen, HM was possessed of a steeliness, an impatience with cant and ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • Waking up late at the Palace

    Since The History Boys transferred first to Broadway and then to the cinema, Alan Bennett has made the journey from national treasure to international superstar. The dustwrapper of this droll novella spends two lines on the London gongs that play pic ... (read full critics)

    spectator published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

19 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    I don't have much to say about the Queen, although I have some "nostalgic" feelings for her. When I was still a child and overslept in front of the TV, her portrait was the first image came to my eyes as they opened in the middle of the night. It was the colonial days of Hong Kong anyway.
    Yet, Alan ... (continue)

    I don't have much to say about the Queen, although I have some "nostalgic" feelings for her. When I was still a child and overslept in front of the TV, her portrait was the first image came to my eyes as they opened in the middle of the night. It was the colonial days of Hong Kong anyway.
    Yet, Alan Bennett's remarks about reading hit my nerve. There has been a time when I thought reading can only be good but my mother objected. Frowning disapproval on my postgraduate application, she said: "Girl, you've got a degree that is enough to find you a decent job. Why bother to read more?" I therefore sympathise with the fictional character when nearly everyone in the palace opposed her passion for reading. This short novel is filled with inspiring (and interesting) quotations. I just take few examples here:
    "Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it." (p.29)
    "Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met with in the pages of their novels, and were as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books." (p.53)
    "You don't put your life into your books. You find it there." (p.102)

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    Agatha_Ngai said on Jul 23, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    A novella from the pen of the brilliant Alan Bennett. Written with his renowned dry sense of humour this is an excellent quick read.<br />The queen had no idea that a mobile library van even made a regular visit to Buckingham Palace until one day whilst walking her corgis in the palace grounds ... (continue)

    A novella from the pen of the brilliant Alan Bennett. Written with his renowned dry sense of humour this is an excellent quick read.<br />The queen had no idea that a mobile library van even made a regular visit to Buckingham Palace until one day whilst walking her corgis in the palace grounds they came across it. At first she borrowed a book out of politeness but soon discovers the joy of reading. With the guidance of another travelling library member, Norman who works in the palace kitchens, she becomes widely read. She soon finds that she prefers reading to her duties as monarch to the dismay of the palace staff. This new passion of the queens leads her to behave somewhat differently than she has ever done before when undertaking her duties.<br />Brilliant and witty, it is a short and enjoyable read, full of interesting facts which will be a delight to anyone fascinated by the world of books.

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    Lindyloumac said on Dec 5, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    Whether you like the Queen of England or not, you would love this novella by Alan Bennett, renowned author of the critically acclaimed novel/ play/ movie "The History Boys".

    I am sure the plot is fictional as I really doubt that Queen Elizabeth II only took up reading in her twilight years and ... (continue)

    Whether you like the Queen of England or not, you would love this novella by Alan Bennett, renowned author of the critically acclaimed novel/ play/ movie "The History Boys".

    I am sure the plot is fictional as I really doubt that Queen Elizabeth II only took up reading in her twilight years and that she fell in love with the hobby after wandering into a travelling library while chasing after her corgis. But you would marvel at the boundless imagination of Bennett who, through this story of the Queen devouring one book after the other in the genres ranging from poetry, classics to gay literature, gives readers a glimpse of the Queen's personality as a human being despite the royal duties and responsibilities bestowed upon her.

    Reading "The Uncommon Reader", you will see a lot of display of dignity and decorum of the Queen with which we are all familiar, but her humour, shrewdness and insight into literature, politics and life are fascinating. These of course are made up by Bennett, but readers may find it not far from the truth. At one point, the Queen quipped that "One recipe for happiness is to have no sense of entitlement ... This is not a lesson I have ever been in a position to learn." I think it, to a certain degree, captures how the Queen feels about royalty.

    Bennett's writing is fluid and sharp. The Queen's take on reading and writing is one of the best lines I have ever read: "Books are wonderful ... At the risk of sounding like a piece of steak, ... they tenderise one." "... if reading softens one up, writing does the reverse. To write you have to be tough, do you not?" Witty and brilliant, Bennett has proved himself to be the heavyweight of contemporary literature.

    This is a simply smashing gem of a book. And there is even a twist in the tale. If there are still not enough reasons for you to pick up this book and enjoy it, I don't know what to say.

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    Tracy W said on Jan 28, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Three and a half stars

    If only for the presence of a monarch of the House of Windsor this book couldn't get less than three stars and a half.
    Althoug this is a work of fiction, whoever happens to have even a slight interest in Queen Elizabeth's life is repeatedly induced in asking himself how much her representation is tr ... (continue)

    If only for the presence of a monarch of the House of Windsor this book couldn't get less than three stars and a half.
    Althoug this is a work of fiction, whoever happens to have even a slight interest in Queen Elizabeth's life is repeatedly induced in asking himself how much her representation is true to life, as some passages seem quite unrealistic.
    However, the appearance of some members of the Royal Family as fictional characters should be more widely used in literature.

    " [...] as some of you may know, I have always disliked waste. One not wholly mytical version of my character has me going round Buckingham Palace switching off the lights [...]"

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    Chase Insteadman Mountbatten said on Feb 21, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • All his books...Very funny
    I identified with the queen
    I too may be an " osimath"

    The Clothes they stood up in & The lady in the van...fantastic

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    Alexanderb said on Jan 22, 2012 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    England - present

    Dry sense of humour. Nice read

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    Mati said on May 26, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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