Ghost Children

by Sue Townsend

The author of the celebrated Adrian Mole books presents a bittersweet novel about a discouraged electrician haunted by a former lover's abortion, who makes an appalling discovery that forces him to catch up with his past. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend was a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tended to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and had woven this theme into her work.

Reviews

[Imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so deliciously weird. Not pro-life or pro-choice it shows the way children change people. The characters are enchanting rough diamonds who show aspects of society we often don't see. My love for Sue Townsend is still going strong.

[Brida · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this book.
It's...sick. I know what you're thinking, but not sick sick, just... shows an ugly side of people. But a side every person has, nonetheless. Well, obviously not necessarily expressed the same way as the ugly side of the characters in this book, but still.
The title is actually more appropriate than I thought at first, because there's a lot of (unwanted/dead/etc) children mentioned throughout the story, though they're not important characters, they are a link between them all.
Also, a strong motif in the story are secrets. Each character has their own secret which they would like to confess to someone, but also can't because they don't want to cause more pain, so they carry this burden alone.
Once again, I don't know what to say. The subject is pretty serious but the book hasn't left a huge impact on me. Yet I wouldn't consider it bad or unintersting.
Hmm.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very gritty and grisly in places but totally compelling too, despite not really liking any of the characters. As another reviewer said though, the ending felt very rushed and some ends might have been better left loose than tied unsatisfactorily in the way they were.

Worst thing for me, with the audiobook, was the utterly abysmal reading by some bloke who's apparently a broadcaster and 'voice artist'. His intonation and emphasis was completely off and I'd go so far to say as even worse than Bonnie Wright in the Harry potter films.

[Salwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*

I want more please! Can I get more since I said please. Please,please.
I want to know did Angie and Chris found the pictures taken by Gregory. The one that had Catherine in it? And Storme. It break my heart when no one wanted her.

This is my first book by Sue Townsend. And it blew my mind. Gotta find more.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this one completely broke me.

This is one of Sue Townsend’s less well-known books, which is a tragedy, as it may be her best work. Absolutely heart-rending. I suppose you could call it a ghost story or ‘magical realism’ if that’s your bent; I just call it a bloody great novel.

Be warned though, if (like me) you’ve lost a child, it is a very difficult book to get through, but definitely rewarding if you can manage it.

[Michael Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute knockout brilliant read. Townsend takes her subject by the balls and twists, and then twists some more ... there is little relief. She is unflinchingly honest and loyal to every one of her characters, as they struggle within a warts-and-all portrait of British life. This book will put your moral standpoints to the test.

[Olga Podobed · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best I've read in a long time!
So beautiful, full of love, made me cry a lot, even about the dog, what to tell about the people.

I still remember and love this book still, so much changed since then in my life.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books. Departure from the comedy of A. Mole, though the humanity in GC is sometimes amusing (rare). It is disturbing and vivid and completely believable. The characters were only very slightly pastiche but they were certainly of a real type. Poignant and moving.

[Ciska Imschoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely 'the odd one out' in my collection of Sue Townsends books. It's less light hearted, with severel grim (abortion) story lines, but her talent and skill are again obvious with vivid characters and on point descriptions.
But so much sadder than every other book of hers.

[Margaret Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow...

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I finished this novella in two days. It is not a happy story, but it is well told and compelling. Sue Townsend has a great way of bringing her characters to life, with excellent dialogue and numerous telling details. Ghost Children takes us on a disturbing journey into poverty, addiction, and mentally troubled lives. Some parts — those that vividly portray Crackle’s abuse of his little daughter Storme, and his callous treatment of her simple minded mother — are particularly hard to read. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. There is so much to ponder over. I didn’t care for the ending, finding it too abrupt. But I agree with the reviewer who calls this story deliciously weird.’

[Myra King]

DNF!
I know Townsend wrote this book to prove she could do more than comedy. But to me, this book proved that she can't.
Her character are one dimensional, and frankly caricatures of real people.
This book is basically nothing more than exposition and trauma p0rn.
I don't see the point of half baked ideas and plots.

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad and sometimes difficult story of regret and loss and responsibility that surprised me over and over again with twists I could not see coming.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer her more humorous stuff..

2019 reading challenge - A Book About a Family

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far it is sick and twisted. A lovely departure from what she normally writes. Having finished the book I have to say that enjoy is not the right word to describe the experience. This is a 360 from the Adrian Mole diaries and the ending just leaves you wishing for more; it is by no means tidy. There is not one likeable character in the book, which would normally put me off, but I was so intrigued with where it was going that it didn't matter to me. Very interesting.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gritty, dark story of love and loss that's hard to put down. Touching and chilling at the same time, with interesting and complex, often creepy characters. Angela, married, rekindles a relationship with lonely Christopher that ended 17 years ago when Angela aborted their child. Their story becomes intertwined with Tamara, a young goth mother, Crackle, a crack-addicted loser, and their abused and neglected toddler. A deep yet easy read.

[Sarahjayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another reviewer commented that this book was kind of a crossover between 'A Casual Vacancy' by J.K. Rowling and a Ben Elton novel, and I'm inclined to agree. Being a fan of both, I really enjoyed this book, found it gritty, well-written, and despite the weird events/subject matter, thought the storyline and the characters somehow remained convincing.

[Ken Gorst · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, however it had the feel of a fleshed out short story rather than a novel.

I felt there was a set of characters missing, that would have given the book a more positive edge. Maybe a couple trying to adopt.

As it was, both main characters were really depressing and the book had a very dark feel to it.

It also ended rather abruptly.

[Penny Blanch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cross between J.K. Rowling's 'A Casual Vacancy' and Ben Elton's style,it was an excellent read,well written and edgy.I loved the way the characters were linked in such a horrible way.I would definitely recommend it if you are a Ben Elton fan.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not like this book at first as it is gritty and sickening but it was also compelling so I stuck with it and really 'enjoyed' this one. The characters were superbly drawn and the story, although unusual and hard was brilliant.

[Cynthia Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very sad book about sad people who are driven by passions, drugs (in one case), bad memories, poverty and wealth. It was hard to read in parts, but I did read it in one day, and it kept me from my daily walk!

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could't get ınto thıs book so gave up on ıt. I hate doing that but I,m on holıday and wasnt wastıng any more tıme on ıt.

[Pierre Mestdag · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad story about sad people that toutched me profoundly it leaves a bitter taste...

[Tommy K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Children is a story of love, loss, ageing, struggle and the affect children have on people’s lives. Be warned that the story is told in a brutal, uncompromising manner, often with shocking details and there are moments that made me genuinely wince as I read it.

The genius of Townsend’s writing is that you see all aspects of the characters – all are painted in shades of grey and you see their inward vulnerabilities and secrets as well as their outward projections. Even towards the most despicable character shows some progression towards of redemption.

It’s not perfect, few novels are, and there are a few loose ends that stood out to me;

• Christopher and Angela still living in the same town as one another for 17 years and never once seeing each other. Even in a big city those odds would be incredible.
• Towards the last act of the story there is an incredibly brief and never expanded upon moment where the book title suddenly became literal.
• Seemingly there’s no consequence meted out to the unnamed character from the prologue that sets off the chain of events in the story.
• The ending was fairly anti-climactic. Obviously with this kind of kitchen sink drama you can’t expect too much but all the same it felt as though earlier in the book Ken had taken Raj up on his offer of hired vengeance and it just went nowhere really.

To my knowledge the story is a stand-alone, which is a shame as I’d be interested to see where the principal characters ended up 10 years on, but unfortunately Sue passed away in 2014 so I’ll just have to imagine it*.

4/5

*In my imagined epilogue Crackle gets beaten to death in prison.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irredeemably bleak read, where everyone is too fat or ugly or clumsy, or just bloody horrid, all the housing is dreadful, and the weather can only snow. Christopher has gone off the rails since having his paternal feeling cut from him by his partner, who had a late-term abortion of the baby she didn't want. She, Angela, meanwhile has let herself go, and while married to a boring pedant can't see any step to make to improve her lot. But that couple of olden times, Christopher and Angela, are by far the least unlikeable people on these pages, which start with someone dumping a sack of foetuses destined for an incinerator, and includes post-child abuse investigative surgery. It's very readable, despite the triggers in so many chapters, but it's certainly not an enjoyable thing, and does suffer somewhat from the nagging thought that it was written just to show Sue Townsend was more versatile than her Adrian Mole contracts allowed her to be. I could make my usual barbative comments about how the current 'Mayor' is turning Leicester into a shit-hole of Dantean proportions, but even he seems to be playing catch-up with the city as imagined here.

[Ceri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange book. Was not what I was expecting.
I wanted to read it having come accross the title in another or Sue Towsend books but there was no write up about it.
This is not the funny comedy I have read by her before this was dark, gritty, and a strange story.
Lots of characters that interlinked with different stories that didnt go as I thought they would. I feel so much more could have been expanded on the first part of the story with the male getting rid of the baby this seems too overlooked for me. The hospital again mentioned later in the story needed much more then I think it was given. I dont know if there is another book spun off from this answering those questions if there is please let me know. The story also seemed to end so quick, I know every story ends somewhere but this one felt rushed which was a shame as I feel like there was so much more that could have been given to us within this book.

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comic novel. Some of it is black comedy, but the 'grim parts' don't fill up the book. The characters a largely caricatures. Most of the characters seem to have either learning difficulties or severe obsessive behaviours. Because the focus is often on the comedy, I sometimes wondered whether I was, in fact, laughing AT them, which is, of course, not cool. The reverse of that is that a chronically obese woman is allowed to celebrate her body, so I wouldn't call the book careless. Laughing at the abusive crackhead didn't trouble me as much. Plenty to smile about in this book. Going by some of these reviews, I figured this would be dark and troubling. I found that not to be the case.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I randomly picked this book off the shelves in the library and it was definitely not what I was expecting. The book is full of family crisis and violent relationships. The people are tormented by “love”. Definitely disturbing and odd. First few pages were confusing and till the end, I was left with unsolved questions. The ending was rushed and it didn’t please me thus the three-star rating. I liked the story but the ending failed me.

[insia Abdulla · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s difficult to write a bad review of a greatly admired author, but unfortunately this attempt at writing a serious novel without ‘Townsend’s’ trademark humour, quirky characters and hapless ordinaries culminates in boring wooden characters that are unimaginably and simply written.

It’s loosely based on toxic relationships, past traumas and male obsession with wanting children. It’s not written well enough for these themes to be connected together to form a believable narrative. It’s more a children’s book with adult themes. The simplicity of the writing coupled with the lack of brain activity was what kept me reading, rather than the actual story itself.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tough, often uncomfortable, read with some awful subject matter (unwanted pregnancy, class, child abuse, poverty, love, addiction, self esteem and family) however, the characters are so well written that you can’t help but feel (and root!) for them.

Moving, bleak, disturbing, dark, powerful and heartbreakingly beautiful.