Isabel and Rocco

by Anna Stothard

Taking refuge in the attic room they have always shared, a teenage brother and sister survive abandonment by their parents. Free from adult rules and restrictions, the lines between adolescence and experience disintegrate. But when crisis looms, their dependency on each other is severely tested.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Anna Stothard was born in London and studied English Literature at Oxford University before completing a Screenwriting MFA at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. She is the author of five acclaimed novels, which have been translated into multiple languages and published around the world. Her writing often explores themes of identity, belonging, and obsession. Anna now lives and writes by the sea on the west coast of Guernsey.

Reviews

[Tink Magoo is bad at reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Normally I moan about 'flowery' writing and why a brown leaf can't just be that but in this case the writing along with the story and overall feel dragged me in and consumed me whole.

There is a mild resemblance between this and The Cement Garden wherein they both contain highly dysfunctional families where the children are left to their own devices and as readers we get to watch as everything falls apart around them. Were Cement Garden has an actual incestuous relationship this one does go beyond the bounds of a traditional brother sister relationship but it does not involve any sexual activity which I had expected. It was the will they/ won't that had me glued to this book along with the mystery surrounding their parents. I barely left my seat to pee from start to finish.

My only complaint would be the ending. While I would have liked to read more and have everything wrapped in a neat little bow, I'm not sure where I would have wanted it to go if it had carried on.

Would recommend for anyone that likes slightly dark moody atmospheric books that aren't heavily plot based.

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I hadn't read Ian McEwan's "The Cement Garden," I might have enjoyed this more as the topic of an "incestuous romance" between brother and sister was done in a much more daring and interesting way. (Not to mention that there was no comparison as to quality of writing, although it's hardly fair to compare.) This book had abysmal writing at times and felt like a lot of filler rather than a novel which progressed. To be honest, it was more like "Flowers in the Attic" by VC Andrews than anything else. This is more for an adolescent girl than an adult in the end. A huge disappointment.

[Gordon Ambos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es war... okay? Irgendwie konnte ich nicht wirklich was aus dem Buch mitnehmen, außer dass mich die inzestuösen Anspielungen genervt haben. Entweder du schläfst mit deinem Bruder oder halt nicht. Entscheide dich mal. Wenn ich schon über Inzest lese, soll es auch richtig abgehen.
Die "Auflösung" kam mir auch viel zu schnell und ich hätte sie beinahe überlesen.
Schreibstil war ganz nett, aber auch nichts Weltbewegendes.
Nettes Buch für zwischendurch, nicht mehr und auch nicht weniger.

[Charlie · Rating 1 out of 5]

What started off as interesting writing and an intriguing storyline, became very quickly monotonous and a bore which left me bored and uninterested in the storyline.

[Sumekha · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF but I think I have the right to rate this book since it wasted my time.

Page 198/254

[Sally Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darkly compelling read, reminiscent of Ian McEwan's "The Cement Garden". The intensely close pairing of the titular Isabel and Rocco, siblings in their mid-late teens, are left alone when their parents seemingly inexplicably abandon them and the family home.

Told from Isabel's perspective what follows is a series of childhood memories of an almost frighteningly dysfunctional family, and a feeling of increasingly claustrophobic chaos as the two siblings become more dependent on each other in their symbolically decaying house.

The fact that Stothard penned this debut novel, and created this richly textured, foggily self absorbed narrative, whilst she herself was still at school is really quite incredible. She writes with the maturity and assured style of someone beyond her years.

[Lisachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non mi è dispiaciuto affatto! Si vede che si tratta di un'opera prima, lo stile è un po' acerbo, ma la narrazione è consapevole e l'approfondimento psicologico dei personaggi non è scontato, così come non lo è l'esplorazione della loro relazione, che pur diventando man mano sempre più esplicitamente, se non romantica, caratterizzata comunque da una forte attrazione, resta sempre in bilico fra il sì e il no, come realisticamente uno può immaginare una relazione del genere possa essere.
La brevità del romanzo, lungi dall'essere un difetto, contribuisce invece a restituire al lettore la sensazione anche "cronologica" di quella manciata di giorni che in effetti Isabel e Rocco passano da soli nella loro casa in rovina. La Stothard non mette niente di più e niente di meno, ed è una scelta saggia.
Avrei forse voluto sapere qualcosa in più di questi genitori folli e meravigliosi, prede di un amore cannibale ed egoistico che si nutre solo ed esclusivamente di se stesso, ma è evidente che la Stothard desiderasse usare queste due figure evanescenti, quasi impalpabili pur nella loro estrema fisicità, solo come contraltare dei protagonisti, e può starmi bene. Avesse scritto una novella a parte solo su di loro, però, l'avrei letta volentieri.

[Nooks Full Of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5🌠

[prettywhenyouread · Rating 3 out of 5]

🇩🇪 German Review // Rezension 🇩🇪
•
Mein zweites Buch von der Autorin und auch in diesem Buch hat mir leider die Verbindung zu den Charakteren gefehlt.
Sie kommen kalt rüber, was jedoch zu der Gesamtstimmung des Buches passt🌨
Auch wenn Gefühle geäußert werden, ist es so sachlich, dass man nicht richtig mitfühlen kann.
Aber ich finde, in dem Fall ist es passend gemacht.
Jedoch beinhaltet das Buch viele sehr schöne Sätze, Gedanken und Metaphern.
Man kann es lesen, den es ist ziemlich schön geschrieben. Aber man verpasst auch nichts wenn man es nicht tut🤷🏻‍♀️❄

[heartful · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sexy.

[Alex West · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointed with the story but the writing kept you moving along only to be disappointed with the end.