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Come to the Edge
She didn't mean to become a revolutionary. She thought she was going on a rural retreat.
Take one narrator looking to 'get away from it all'. Put her in a shambolic, draughty farmhouse in a scenic valley with two psychotic goats and a village-full of empty second homes and scores of poor and elderly people with nowhere to go...
ADD one widowed survivalist called Cassandra White and an absent banker.
Stir in an escalating state of hostilities between the haves - who don't use what they have - and the have-nots - who decide on a crazy utopian scheme to reclaim the valley for the locals.
And what do you get?
A hilarious, timely satire from Joanna Kavenna, the prize-winning author of Inglorious and The Birth of Love...
Take one narrator looking to 'get away from it all'. Put her in a shambolic, draughty farmhouse in a scenic valley with two psychotic goats and a village-full of empty second homes and scores of poor and elderly people with nowhere to go...
ADD one widowed survivalist called Cassandra White and an absent banker.
Stir in an escalating state of hostilities between the haves - who don't use what they have - and the have-nots - who decide on a crazy utopian scheme to reclaim the valley for the locals.
And what do you get?
A hilarious, timely satire from Joanna Kavenna, the prize-winning author of Inglorious and The Birth of Love...
295 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2012
7 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Kavenna
19 books157 followersJoanna Kavenna is a prize-winning British novelist and travel writer.
Kavenna spent her childhood in Suffolk and the Midlands as well as various other parts of Britain. She has also lived in the United States, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
These travels led to her first book, The Ice Museum, which was published in 2005. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award in that year, and the Ondaatje Prize, and the Dolman Best Travel Book Award in 2006. Described by the The New York Review of Books as "illuminating and consequential," it combines history, travel, literary criticism and first-person narrative, as the author journeys through Scotland, Norway, Iceland, the Baltic and Greenland. Along the way, Kavenna investigates various myths and travellers' yarns about the northerly regions, focusing particularly on the ancient Greek story of Thule, the last land in the North. Before The Ice Museum she had written several novels that remain unpublished.
Kavenna has held writing fellowships at St Antony's College, Oxford and St John's College, Cambridge. She is currently the writer-in-residence at St Peter's College, Oxford. Themes of the country versus the city, the relationship between self and place, and the plight of the individual in hyper-capitalist society recur through Kavenna's novels and in some of her journalism.
She has written for The New Yorker, The Huffington Post, The London Review of Books, The Guardian, The Observer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, among other publications.
Kavenna is now based in the Duddon Valley, Cumbria and has a partner and two young children.
Kavenna spent her childhood in Suffolk and the Midlands as well as various other parts of Britain. She has also lived in the United States, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
These travels led to her first book, The Ice Museum, which was published in 2005. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award in that year, and the Ondaatje Prize, and the Dolman Best Travel Book Award in 2006. Described by the The New York Review of Books as "illuminating and consequential," it combines history, travel, literary criticism and first-person narrative, as the author journeys through Scotland, Norway, Iceland, the Baltic and Greenland. Along the way, Kavenna investigates various myths and travellers' yarns about the northerly regions, focusing particularly on the ancient Greek story of Thule, the last land in the North. Before The Ice Museum she had written several novels that remain unpublished.
Kavenna has held writing fellowships at St Antony's College, Oxford and St John's College, Cambridge. She is currently the writer-in-residence at St Peter's College, Oxford. Themes of the country versus the city, the relationship between self and place, and the plight of the individual in hyper-capitalist society recur through Kavenna's novels and in some of her journalism.
She has written for The New Yorker, The Huffington Post, The London Review of Books, The Guardian, The Observer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, among other publications.
Kavenna is now based in the Duddon Valley, Cumbria and has a partner and two young children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
February 19, 2018
This is the lightest of Joanna Kavenna's four novels so far, but it still smuggles in some targeted satire and addresses very real issues with a Robin Hood like form of natural justice. Its heroine Cassandra White is a brilliant creation.
At first we seem to be in the same kind of territory as Cold Comfort Farm or to give a more contemporary example Rachel Cusk's The Country Life. The nameless narrator has just been abandoned by her husband in London for a younger woman, when she answers an advertisement: "Wanted, companion in rural life. Can be male or female preferably not completely young, but not entirely decrepit either...". She drives up to the Duddon Valley, a quiet valley on the south side of the Lake District and finds herself on Cassandra's old-fashioned and decaying farmhouse, which she runs according to fiercely independent green principles, for example the only toilet is a "thunderbox" which is used to make compost. Her introduction to Cassandra's way of life is uncompromising and she proves ill suited to the spartan lifestyle, but she stays thanks to the beauty of the area and a certain admiration for Cassandra.
Things take a more interesting turn when the National Trust announces that it wishes to evict a couple of pensioners from one of their cottages. The valley is full of houses that have been bought and furnished luxuriously by the rich, who are never seen in the valley, for example Cassandra's neighbour "banker Sooke". Cassandra hatches a plan to break into these houses and make them available as free accommodation for needy locals like the pensioners, who are initially told that the landowners have given their permission. The narrator acts as Cassandra's assistant, but is only aware of some of Cassandra's schemes. The resettlement proves very popular with the locals, and spawns similar schemes elsewhere, but inevitably some of the owners return. They find their properties transformed and well defended, and the story builds to an inevitable destructive confrontation.
The narrative is full of brilliant comic touches, for example when the narrator tells the residents that a confrontation is coming and tells them that if they want to escape punishment, it is time to go, she describes her own speech:
"This doesn't seem like much of a rallying speech.
It will not be taking a prominent place in the history of rhetoric.
It does not allude to any fighting on the beaches and there is a conspicuous failure to refer to our happy band of brothers and sisters or our green and pleasant land.
It turns out it's not much of a crowd pleaser.".
This book is highly entertaining and has a pointed satirical edge. I was amused to see that two of the blurb quotes were gushing comments from the Daily Mail, a newspaper whose world view is normally diametrically opposed to the likes of Cassandra - clearly its book reviewers are allowed to deviate from its party line. I have now enjoyed all of Kavenna's novels, which cover an impressive range of styles, but fortunately there is another on the way later this year.
At first we seem to be in the same kind of territory as Cold Comfort Farm or to give a more contemporary example Rachel Cusk's The Country Life. The nameless narrator has just been abandoned by her husband in London for a younger woman, when she answers an advertisement: "Wanted, companion in rural life. Can be male or female preferably not completely young, but not entirely decrepit either...". She drives up to the Duddon Valley, a quiet valley on the south side of the Lake District and finds herself on Cassandra's old-fashioned and decaying farmhouse, which she runs according to fiercely independent green principles, for example the only toilet is a "thunderbox" which is used to make compost. Her introduction to Cassandra's way of life is uncompromising and she proves ill suited to the spartan lifestyle, but she stays thanks to the beauty of the area and a certain admiration for Cassandra.
Things take a more interesting turn when the National Trust announces that it wishes to evict a couple of pensioners from one of their cottages. The valley is full of houses that have been bought and furnished luxuriously by the rich, who are never seen in the valley, for example Cassandra's neighbour "banker Sooke". Cassandra hatches a plan to break into these houses and make them available as free accommodation for needy locals like the pensioners, who are initially told that the landowners have given their permission. The narrator acts as Cassandra's assistant, but is only aware of some of Cassandra's schemes. The resettlement proves very popular with the locals, and spawns similar schemes elsewhere, but inevitably some of the owners return. They find their properties transformed and well defended, and the story builds to an inevitable destructive confrontation.
The narrative is full of brilliant comic touches, for example when the narrator tells the residents that a confrontation is coming and tells them that if they want to escape punishment, it is time to go, she describes her own speech:
"This doesn't seem like much of a rallying speech.
It will not be taking a prominent place in the history of rhetoric.
It does not allude to any fighting on the beaches and there is a conspicuous failure to refer to our happy band of brothers and sisters or our green and pleasant land.
It turns out it's not much of a crowd pleaser.".
This book is highly entertaining and has a pointed satirical edge. I was amused to see that two of the blurb quotes were gushing comments from the Daily Mail, a newspaper whose world view is normally diametrically opposed to the likes of Cassandra - clearly its book reviewers are allowed to deviate from its party line. I have now enjoyed all of Kavenna's novels, which cover an impressive range of styles, but fortunately there is another on the way later this year.
December 29, 2014
[4.5] Wow. I seriously underestimated this novel. Just because it has a comic tone that's very easy to read, and begins with the female first-person narrator's husband leaving her - whereupon she abandons her perfect consumer lifestyle and drone job with absurd lack of difficulty - doesn't mean it's chicklit. There is a strapping younger man who turns up later, but as a lust-interest he's only relevant on about 5 pages out of 300. What this actually is, is a manic political satire.
The nameless narrator answers an ad to assist on a smallholding in the Lake District, and finds herself living in a tumbledown house with paranoid survivalist environmentalist widow Cassandra White. Some of those details seem to indicate that the pair are specifically a Withnail & I reference as well as more generally a "riff on the old relationship of the prophet/sage and their interpreter, or the fabulous freak and their less charismatic companion: [e.g.]On the Road by Jack Kerouac". (Wikipedia)
White devises a scheme to move impoverished local residents into luxurious empty second homes. Events and ideas and big personalities snowball in a way that reminded me of some of my favourite children's books, The Bagthorpe Saga , as well as other things I can't currently remember. Capitalism, Romanticism and Greens are all mocked though it's clear that the book is more sympathetic towards the two latter. And by the end I thought that Kavenna may also have been poking fun at chicklit rather than writing an intelligent version of it.
Now that the author has been named as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists this book will surely get a little more attention as it deserves. I suppose I'm part of that really; I don't routinely keep up with new books so hadn't heard of her before reading the Granta collection.
Come to the Edge may not have the stylistic complexity favoured by some of the regular posters I know from Goodreads, but it's a book I'd recommend to some other friends on and off the site who'd enjoy an easy contemporary comic novel with a political side. It may not be faultless, but it's one of the most fun books I've read in the 18+ months since I started posting on here.
The nameless narrator answers an ad to assist on a smallholding in the Lake District, and finds herself living in a tumbledown house with paranoid survivalist environmentalist widow Cassandra White. Some of those details seem to indicate that the pair are specifically a Withnail & I reference as well as more generally a "riff on the old relationship of the prophet/sage and their interpreter, or the fabulous freak and their less charismatic companion: [e.g.]On the Road by Jack Kerouac". (Wikipedia)
White devises a scheme to move impoverished local residents into luxurious empty second homes. Events and ideas and big personalities snowball in a way that reminded me of some of my favourite children's books, The Bagthorpe Saga , as well as other things I can't currently remember. Capitalism, Romanticism and Greens are all mocked though it's clear that the book is more sympathetic towards the two latter. And by the end I thought that Kavenna may also have been poking fun at chicklit rather than writing an intelligent version of it.
Now that the author has been named as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists this book will surely get a little more attention as it deserves. I suppose I'm part of that really; I don't routinely keep up with new books so hadn't heard of her before reading the Granta collection.
Come to the Edge may not have the stylistic complexity favoured by some of the regular posters I know from Goodreads, but it's a book I'd recommend to some other friends on and off the site who'd enjoy an easy contemporary comic novel with a political side. It may not be faultless, but it's one of the most fun books I've read in the 18+ months since I started posting on here.
November 1, 2016
Brilliantly bonkers. I have to admit, the idea of filling empty houses with well-deserving citizens is appealing, especially in Auckland right now (oh yeah, if you haven't heard - we're in the middle of a housing crisis). I just hope whatever solution is found here doesn't play out quite so dramatically as in Come to the Edge!
July 20, 2012
My original review: http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/...
Come to the Edge for me was one of those books that you instantly fall in love with. I was looking for a breezy, entertaining read the other day and thus I decided to pick it up, not having the faintest idea what to expect. Well, here’s what you can expect: a quirky, sarcastic and hilarious duo, a most unusual plot and roaring with laughter at 1 a.m when everyone else is sleeping and even though you need to get up for work in 6 hours, you just shrug and keep reading.
Come to the Edge tells the story of our unknown narrator, a suburban housewife who’s been through a marriage break-up and who just wants to get away from it all. She answers a mysterious and quite unusual advertisement for an unpaid companion on a small farm in the Lake District. Upon arriving in this rural village she finds Cassandra White, an eccentric widow who doesn’t believe in such things as tertiary education or religion and who abhors modern conveniences like television, supermarket food, or central heating.And this is where things are starting to get complicated. Every day is struggle for our narrator who’s used to the conveniences of a suburban home but despite everything, she decides to stay. The novel is about her strange friendship with Cassandra, about the differences between rural and suburban life, between the rich and the poor. Take all these ingredients, add a pinch of sarcasm and 3 tablespoons of humour and you get Joanna Kavenna’s masterpiece.
I loved the relationship between Cassandra and the narrator and how much she changed during the weeks they spent together. I loved how Cassandra was trying to teach her to be different instead of accepting the role society imposed upon her, and even though she rejects Cassandra’s ideas at first, she completely changed by the end of the novel. Cassandra was quite an interesting character – in addition to the fact that her remarks are incredibly witty and hilarious, she’s right. You might think she’s a lunatic at first but there’s truth in what she says and what she’s fighting for. Even though she might not be the most sociable or warm or hospitable person you’ve ever met, she’s still a likeable character and I really liked her.
My only problem with this story is that I feel like no matter how hard I try, my review won’t do it justice. But I hope you’ll trust me and believe me when I say it’s a fantastic read. I can guarantee that it’s nothing like you’ve ever read before. It’s a witty comedy about serious things with a unique narrative and likeable characters- and even though the plot is quite exaggerated, it’s still believable and more importantly, very funny. It’s a charming, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny page-turner – a definite must have. And just a tip for commuters: do not read it on your way to work, including trains and the tube. Believe me, you’ll be crying with laughter.
Come to the Edge for me was one of those books that you instantly fall in love with. I was looking for a breezy, entertaining read the other day and thus I decided to pick it up, not having the faintest idea what to expect. Well, here’s what you can expect: a quirky, sarcastic and hilarious duo, a most unusual plot and roaring with laughter at 1 a.m when everyone else is sleeping and even though you need to get up for work in 6 hours, you just shrug and keep reading.
Come to the Edge tells the story of our unknown narrator, a suburban housewife who’s been through a marriage break-up and who just wants to get away from it all. She answers a mysterious and quite unusual advertisement for an unpaid companion on a small farm in the Lake District. Upon arriving in this rural village she finds Cassandra White, an eccentric widow who doesn’t believe in such things as tertiary education or religion and who abhors modern conveniences like television, supermarket food, or central heating.And this is where things are starting to get complicated. Every day is struggle for our narrator who’s used to the conveniences of a suburban home but despite everything, she decides to stay. The novel is about her strange friendship with Cassandra, about the differences between rural and suburban life, between the rich and the poor. Take all these ingredients, add a pinch of sarcasm and 3 tablespoons of humour and you get Joanna Kavenna’s masterpiece.
I loved the relationship between Cassandra and the narrator and how much she changed during the weeks they spent together. I loved how Cassandra was trying to teach her to be different instead of accepting the role society imposed upon her, and even though she rejects Cassandra’s ideas at first, she completely changed by the end of the novel. Cassandra was quite an interesting character – in addition to the fact that her remarks are incredibly witty and hilarious, she’s right. You might think she’s a lunatic at first but there’s truth in what she says and what she’s fighting for. Even though she might not be the most sociable or warm or hospitable person you’ve ever met, she’s still a likeable character and I really liked her.
My only problem with this story is that I feel like no matter how hard I try, my review won’t do it justice. But I hope you’ll trust me and believe me when I say it’s a fantastic read. I can guarantee that it’s nothing like you’ve ever read before. It’s a witty comedy about serious things with a unique narrative and likeable characters- and even though the plot is quite exaggerated, it’s still believable and more importantly, very funny. It’s a charming, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny page-turner – a definite must have. And just a tip for commuters: do not read it on your way to work, including trains and the tube. Believe me, you’ll be crying with laughter.
May 12, 2018
When the narrator's placid, materialistic, suburban life is shattered by her husband trading her in for a new and improved model, she throws her habitual caution to the wind and answers an ad: widow seeks companion for help around the farm.
She arrives expecting a bucolic farm holiday spent with a sweet old lady in a cardigan only to find out the widow is a 6 foot tall, fiery red-headed warrior goddess with revolution on her mind. The widow warrior doesn't believe in government, state education, private property, processed food or--worst of all--indoor plumbing.
This modern day Robin Hood story grabbed me on the first page, had me laughing by the second and hanging on for a wild ride all the way through. Kavenna's writing is fresh, energetic and bitingly funny; it's easy to see why she was on Granta's list of 20 best young writers. Yet underneath the satire, the author raises some interesting questions about the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Highly recommended for lovers of dark humour.
She arrives expecting a bucolic farm holiday spent with a sweet old lady in a cardigan only to find out the widow is a 6 foot tall, fiery red-headed warrior goddess with revolution on her mind. The widow warrior doesn't believe in government, state education, private property, processed food or--worst of all--indoor plumbing.
This modern day Robin Hood story grabbed me on the first page, had me laughing by the second and hanging on for a wild ride all the way through. Kavenna's writing is fresh, energetic and bitingly funny; it's easy to see why she was on Granta's list of 20 best young writers. Yet underneath the satire, the author raises some interesting questions about the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Highly recommended for lovers of dark humour.
September 18, 2012
Cassandra White, you are amazing. What I wouldn't give to be your friend, you crazy bitch.
It all starts when the useless husband of the unknown narrator cheats on her and she has to find something else to fill her life with (other than pretty furniture from Ikea). She happens to answer an advertisement to help out a widow at her farm and ends up in hell where every day goes something like this: "I go outside again and as if nature is avenging the death of an innocent if foolish beetle it pisses rain onto my head as I drag a goat along on its rope and eventually the goat kicks and I fall into the mud again." The mad widow on the hill is Cassandra White, the fairy queen, the druid.
Cassandra White has her own strong ideas of how the world works and somehow you have to agree with her. She's bonkers and rude as hell, but you can't help admiring her. The same happens to the narrator as well. She finds herself helping her oppressor in her quest to avenge rich people for buying expensive country homes and never using them. You know you would do the same.
The book is really funny and I love the way it is written. At some points it felt a bit lazy to use noises instead of describing what's actually happening with verbs, but I don't mind. The only bad thing I can think of was that the ending wasn't what I hoped. Not at all.
It all starts when the useless husband of the unknown narrator cheats on her and she has to find something else to fill her life with (other than pretty furniture from Ikea). She happens to answer an advertisement to help out a widow at her farm and ends up in hell where every day goes something like this: "I go outside again and as if nature is avenging the death of an innocent if foolish beetle it pisses rain onto my head as I drag a goat along on its rope and eventually the goat kicks and I fall into the mud again." The mad widow on the hill is Cassandra White, the fairy queen, the druid.
Cassandra White has her own strong ideas of how the world works and somehow you have to agree with her. She's bonkers and rude as hell, but you can't help admiring her. The same happens to the narrator as well. She finds herself helping her oppressor in her quest to avenge rich people for buying expensive country homes and never using them. You know you would do the same.
The book is really funny and I love the way it is written. At some points it felt a bit lazy to use noises instead of describing what's actually happening with verbs, but I don't mind. The only bad thing I can think of was that the ending wasn't what I hoped. Not at all.
February 5, 2014
I had quite literally just read Cold Comfort Farm and my goodness the timing of this book coming into my life could not have been more perfect. Imagine Cold Comfort Farm, being a satirical pastoral novel, and mix it with Where'd You Go, Bernadette, with it's zany leading lady and you have Come to the Edge, a wonderful dark comedy by Joanna Kavenna. I had such a good time reading this book and found myself laughing in delight at many of the unnamed narrators observations and thoughts. Also, I kinda wanna be friends with Cassandra White; how terrifying and amazing would that be?? It's not a long read so I really recommending pouring yourself a big cup of tea, getting cozy on the couch, and treating yourself to a lovely afternoon of hilarity.
June 24, 2013
I have to admit this is not the type/style of book I usually read. I'm an historical fiction, historical fact type of reader.
I browsed this book in my local library and something about the summary drew me in. A perfect easy read for my impending holiday I thought and so it turned out to be.
The writing style and characterisation of the main protagonists made the pages fly by and I have to say the main plot hit a chord with me.
As someone who grew up in North Wales in the 1970's where holiday homes were empty except for weekends and the locals could not afford to buy a house where they were born and bred, I can empathise. There was a big hoo ha ha at the time when the Welsh Nationalists started burning down these homes, but now the problem is more widespread throughout the idyls of the nation people are noticing more.
Definitely a political statement being made in this book but in an enjoyable fun way which is not off putting, or party political in any way.
I would have given this an extra star but I thought the ending a little weak.
Now I must browse my local library for more book I wouldn't normally read, and maybe surprise myself again.
I browsed this book in my local library and something about the summary drew me in. A perfect easy read for my impending holiday I thought and so it turned out to be.
The writing style and characterisation of the main protagonists made the pages fly by and I have to say the main plot hit a chord with me.
As someone who grew up in North Wales in the 1970's where holiday homes were empty except for weekends and the locals could not afford to buy a house where they were born and bred, I can empathise. There was a big hoo ha ha at the time when the Welsh Nationalists started burning down these homes, but now the problem is more widespread throughout the idyls of the nation people are noticing more.
Definitely a political statement being made in this book but in an enjoyable fun way which is not off putting, or party political in any way.
I would have given this an extra star but I thought the ending a little weak.
Now I must browse my local library for more book I wouldn't normally read, and maybe surprise myself again.
September 10, 2014
4'5
Me ha gustado incluso más de lo que esperaba. Empecé sin expectativas, porque no había leído ni una sola reseña sobre este libro ni sobre ningún otro libro de la autora. Desde el primer momento me consiguió atrapar la prosa y la protagonista. He conectado más con la coprotagonista, Cassandra, la propietaria de la granja,que con la protagonista; porque es un personaje que me ha ENCANTADO: su forma tan excéntrica de ser, sus comentarios, sus ideales, su modo de vida... vaya, una tía rara de los pies a la cabeza con la que te reirás.
No se ha llevado el 5 por ese final, que me ha dejado un poco indiferente y con cara de ¿cómo?
Me ha gustado incluso más de lo que esperaba. Empecé sin expectativas, porque no había leído ni una sola reseña sobre este libro ni sobre ningún otro libro de la autora. Desde el primer momento me consiguió atrapar la prosa y la protagonista. He conectado más con la coprotagonista, Cassandra, la propietaria de la granja,que con la protagonista; porque es un personaje que me ha ENCANTADO: su forma tan excéntrica de ser, sus comentarios, sus ideales, su modo de vida... vaya, una tía rara de los pies a la cabeza con la que te reirás.
No se ha llevado el 5 por ese final, que me ha dejado un poco indiferente y con cara de ¿cómo?
January 8, 2016
Woman’s husband cheats and leaves her. Woman abandons her life of bourgeois striving and late-capitalist plenitude for hard work and simple living in the country. Then woman and her survivalist frenemy undertake a scheme to “resettle” the local elderly and/or poor population into un-lived-in second homes. Oldest story in the world, right?
I found the narrator of Come to the Edge weirdly relatable. As someone who once left a museum in Vienna feeling huffy about the Habsburgs’ collection of silver, I understand the ambivalence that comes from wanting to stick it to the Haves while still admiring their exquisite taste in knick-knacks.
I found the narrator of Come to the Edge weirdly relatable. As someone who once left a museum in Vienna feeling huffy about the Habsburgs’ collection of silver, I understand the ambivalence that comes from wanting to stick it to the Haves while still admiring their exquisite taste in knick-knacks.
July 14, 2019
A slight read, fortunately. Although it is set just up the road from me, I didn't find either the places, the people or the plot remotely well described, or indeed comic in any way. Possibly a sense of humour failure on my part, as others seem to think it both humorous and polemical. Not me. The plot was both heavy handed and poorly written and the characters were flat, yes even the chief protagonist, Cassandra.
December 12, 2013
Boring, boring, boring.
I have no idea why I read the whole thing. Maybe beacause I paid for it.
But I'm selling the book as fast as I can.
I have no idea why I read the whole thing. Maybe beacause I paid for it.
But I'm selling the book as fast as I can.
August 15, 2025
Chris Cleave's quote promised "laughing again and again". Nope. Not even a chuckle.
October 21, 2025
eat the rich ✌️
April 23, 2016
Summary Of The Story:
BEWARE THE THUNDERBOX!
In 'Come To The Edge' we follow an unnamed woman who up until her husband left her had been happy in their perfected but 'perverted' way of life. She had it all, a nice house, kitchen appliances, an office job, a TV and even a bath. But when her other half leaves her for a younger women as she apparently cannot bear children for him, the narrator of this story answers a wanted ad to help a 'Cassandra White' on her farm and takes her leave up to the north of England.
It is here that our lead character suffers at the hands of Cassandra White, a tough as old boots widow who runs White farm on her own, does not trust the government or much else and definitely does not eat grain. Cassandra White is a woman on a mission, she is loud, judgemental, hard working and takes no prisoners, her husband is long gone and her kids have grown up and left, so it is just her, her cow and the ThunderBox.
White Farm is in a beautiful valley, once a farming community, the rich have bought up the land and placed expensive property on it that they do not use, just another 'must have' of the wealthy. This sort of thing does not sit well with Cassandra White and she makes it well known. The two women butt heads on most things when they first meet, things including sugar, hygiene, bathroom conditions, heating, butchery, alcohol, caffeine and practically every other comfort that we all enjoy day to day.
This soon comes to a stop when the ladies find out another poor elderly couple have been turfed out of their house due to rising costs and made to move into more suitable housing. This has been happening all over the valley and this is where Cassandra White has decided that it is coming to an end. The women and practically the whole valley get embroiled in a thin-as-ice scheme to re-home the poor and elderly in the unused mansions that litter the land. Chaos ensues...
My Review:
Come To The Edge is predominately a funny book, though there are some harder themes running through it. The humour comes with the narrator and her classic outlook on life, her creature comforts, her not wanting to go to the bathroom in a whole in the ground, her trusting people and their decisions and her wanting to be warm. The other humorous element is definitely Cassandra White, abrasive, no-nonsense and completely self sufficient. The pair work well together and there is some great comedic material within these pages.
I think viewing Cassandra White from the outside was a great decision, viewing her from another's perspective really accentuated the crazy but also did her character a lot of justice as her way of life compared to the other woman's made her come across as a special breed of person, one you don't get to see very often these days. The other character had her moments but mainly she is the complainer, fighting a new way of life, fighting her inner voice telling her to just run away and mainly to document the scheme devised by Cassandra.
The story itself is well written, it develops nicely over time, it stays interesting and great characters occupy its walls. I felt the tone changes were a bit intense and shifted the weight of the book uncomfortably here and there but its not enough to break the lovely rhythm that JK manages to weave here. The ending for me did not match the pace of the book, the last 50 odd pages went from about a steady 40mph to 100mph and the events that take place when it is going that fast are a little over the top. It is not that the actions of the characters don't make sense, they fit the personalities perfectly, it is just the degree of craziness that really does not compute, but its fiction so there is room for plenty of craziness.
Overall I believe it is absolutely worth a read, it is an insight into an older way of life, it may get you off the couch and growing a few of own vegetables and sneaking your grandparents into that house down the road that is always empty, CTTE is a fast paced, easy read, that will have you laughing, wondering, revolting and saying...was that really necessary.
8/10
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BEWARE THE THUNDERBOX!
In 'Come To The Edge' we follow an unnamed woman who up until her husband left her had been happy in their perfected but 'perverted' way of life. She had it all, a nice house, kitchen appliances, an office job, a TV and even a bath. But when her other half leaves her for a younger women as she apparently cannot bear children for him, the narrator of this story answers a wanted ad to help a 'Cassandra White' on her farm and takes her leave up to the north of England.
It is here that our lead character suffers at the hands of Cassandra White, a tough as old boots widow who runs White farm on her own, does not trust the government or much else and definitely does not eat grain. Cassandra White is a woman on a mission, she is loud, judgemental, hard working and takes no prisoners, her husband is long gone and her kids have grown up and left, so it is just her, her cow and the ThunderBox.
White Farm is in a beautiful valley, once a farming community, the rich have bought up the land and placed expensive property on it that they do not use, just another 'must have' of the wealthy. This sort of thing does not sit well with Cassandra White and she makes it well known. The two women butt heads on most things when they first meet, things including sugar, hygiene, bathroom conditions, heating, butchery, alcohol, caffeine and practically every other comfort that we all enjoy day to day.
This soon comes to a stop when the ladies find out another poor elderly couple have been turfed out of their house due to rising costs and made to move into more suitable housing. This has been happening all over the valley and this is where Cassandra White has decided that it is coming to an end. The women and practically the whole valley get embroiled in a thin-as-ice scheme to re-home the poor and elderly in the unused mansions that litter the land. Chaos ensues...
My Review:
Come To The Edge is predominately a funny book, though there are some harder themes running through it. The humour comes with the narrator and her classic outlook on life, her creature comforts, her not wanting to go to the bathroom in a whole in the ground, her trusting people and their decisions and her wanting to be warm. The other humorous element is definitely Cassandra White, abrasive, no-nonsense and completely self sufficient. The pair work well together and there is some great comedic material within these pages.
I think viewing Cassandra White from the outside was a great decision, viewing her from another's perspective really accentuated the crazy but also did her character a lot of justice as her way of life compared to the other woman's made her come across as a special breed of person, one you don't get to see very often these days. The other character had her moments but mainly she is the complainer, fighting a new way of life, fighting her inner voice telling her to just run away and mainly to document the scheme devised by Cassandra.
The story itself is well written, it develops nicely over time, it stays interesting and great characters occupy its walls. I felt the tone changes were a bit intense and shifted the weight of the book uncomfortably here and there but its not enough to break the lovely rhythm that JK manages to weave here. The ending for me did not match the pace of the book, the last 50 odd pages went from about a steady 40mph to 100mph and the events that take place when it is going that fast are a little over the top. It is not that the actions of the characters don't make sense, they fit the personalities perfectly, it is just the degree of craziness that really does not compute, but its fiction so there is room for plenty of craziness.
Overall I believe it is absolutely worth a read, it is an insight into an older way of life, it may get you off the couch and growing a few of own vegetables and sneaking your grandparents into that house down the road that is always empty, CTTE is a fast paced, easy read, that will have you laughing, wondering, revolting and saying...was that really necessary.
8/10
Please enjoy my other reviews here, and add us on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and read our reviews on Amazon UK/US.
May 5, 2013
I bought this book on an impulse, and because I've used Appolinaires quote many times in my professional career, because people are so afraid of risk taking.
This book certainly addresses the "big" issues such as risk taking, the meaning of self, other, and how one defines these concepts, finds personal meaning (or not) in them and then finds a way to integrate these aspects of self and live authentically. All set in a world that is riven with iniquity at all levels: financial,social, psychological and interpersonal.
Heady stuff.
Personally I didn't find this a laugh out loud book as many reviewers state they have done. I found it written with understated wit, and thus mildly amusing. There is also the use of black humour, all of which is relevant to the plot. Which is where I have the difficulty - the first third or so, while implausible, is engaging and just about believable given the unnamed narrators recent past and desperation to find which particular "edges" she wants to approach.
The story from about a third in becomes ad absurdum for me, and the author seems to me to be using an unlikely device of introducing anarchic behaviours, without necessarily fully explicating the philosophical and personal motives of the protagonist. Again, this could be a plot device, although not one I found particularly convincing.
Overall an entertaining and quick read, but not one that lends a great deal to understanding said big issues that the author appears to want to explore.
For me Dodie Smiths "I Capture The Castle" does this far more subtly and effectively.
This one is more like a combination of Cold Comfort Farm meets Rambo.
This book certainly addresses the "big" issues such as risk taking, the meaning of self, other, and how one defines these concepts, finds personal meaning (or not) in them and then finds a way to integrate these aspects of self and live authentically. All set in a world that is riven with iniquity at all levels: financial,social, psychological and interpersonal.
Heady stuff.
Personally I didn't find this a laugh out loud book as many reviewers state they have done. I found it written with understated wit, and thus mildly amusing. There is also the use of black humour, all of which is relevant to the plot. Which is where I have the difficulty - the first third or so, while implausible, is engaging and just about believable given the unnamed narrators recent past and desperation to find which particular "edges" she wants to approach.
The story from about a third in becomes ad absurdum for me, and the author seems to me to be using an unlikely device of introducing anarchic behaviours, without necessarily fully explicating the philosophical and personal motives of the protagonist. Again, this could be a plot device, although not one I found particularly convincing.
Overall an entertaining and quick read, but not one that lends a great deal to understanding said big issues that the author appears to want to explore.
For me Dodie Smiths "I Capture The Castle" does this far more subtly and effectively.
This one is more like a combination of Cold Comfort Farm meets Rambo.
October 27, 2019
Cute concept, but OMG the writing. I spent the first third of the book rereading every few paragraphs trying to make sense of them. (One review mentioned the importance of commas. Commas would certainly have helped, but it wasn’t the only reason the start of the book was unreadable.) It was exhausting and completely took away from the fun of reading.
It got better halfway through the book. (Not sure if it’s because I got used to it, or it was written more clearly, or just the story became more focused.) But since the damage had been done while I was getting to know the characters, this book earned just a two star, brought up from a one.
It got better halfway through the book. (Not sure if it’s because I got used to it, or it was written more clearly, or just the story became more focused.) But since the damage had been done while I was getting to know the characters, this book earned just a two star, brought up from a one.
June 27, 2013
A female Jack Parlabane from any of the Brookmyre novels meets A female Blott from Tom Sharpe in a completely insane version of Cold Comfort Farm. There is no point in trying to explain the relentless remorselessness of the plot especially as it would spoil your fun reading this book. Just think of Margo Channing in "All about Eve" - "fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride".
December 8, 2013
I loved the first half of it but then it kind of disintegrated into too much absurdity. The character of Cassandra was a little too unlikeable. But then again - there are women like her around - totally stark raving bonkers. And it did make me think about complacency.
August 27, 2020
1.5. I thought this was going to much funnier than it was. There were a few comic bits, and then pieces I can see were intended to be funny, but not to me. I found the writing style interesting, and it would’ve been ok in small doses, but it was definitely overdone.
March 17, 2014
This absolutely did not work for me. Unfunny and I couldn't stand her writing style. Very disappointing.
July 2, 2019
Two stars may sound harsh, but it does equate to "it was OK", and that was the best I could say about it.
It's a very easy read and it did raise a smile on occasions, but overall I found the comedy a bit heavy-handed which destroyed many a potentially humorous moment.
The central idea of the novel from which the majority of the second half develops is an interesting one, especially for anyone with a sense of social justice. I won't spoil it by saying what that is, though.
The final climactic scenes reminded me of a Tom Sharpe novel, such as "Porterhouse Blue", which I read as a teenager but find unpalatable now. In fairness to the writing, I was compelled to find out how it ended, so I guess I cared that much.
I found the central character, Cassandra, too extreme to be believable, though maybe I need to get out more, whereas the narrator's character seemed too wishy-washy to be true.
I guess it's one of those books that just wasn't for me - the writing style was OK and it presented few difficulties to the reader - it just seemed insubstantial and, I guess, fluff. You may read it and split your sides laughing - it's certainly the sort of novel you could read on a beach and not be too challenged by, but maybe I'm after something more?
It's a very easy read and it did raise a smile on occasions, but overall I found the comedy a bit heavy-handed which destroyed many a potentially humorous moment.
The central idea of the novel from which the majority of the second half develops is an interesting one, especially for anyone with a sense of social justice. I won't spoil it by saying what that is, though.
The final climactic scenes reminded me of a Tom Sharpe novel, such as "Porterhouse Blue", which I read as a teenager but find unpalatable now. In fairness to the writing, I was compelled to find out how it ended, so I guess I cared that much.
I found the central character, Cassandra, too extreme to be believable, though maybe I need to get out more, whereas the narrator's character seemed too wishy-washy to be true.
I guess it's one of those books that just wasn't for me - the writing style was OK and it presented few difficulties to the reader - it just seemed insubstantial and, I guess, fluff. You may read it and split your sides laughing - it's certainly the sort of novel you could read on a beach and not be too challenged by, but maybe I'm after something more?
February 23, 2025
“If you are excessive enough then you pass into a realm beyond the law. If you are going to be a tyrant and an adulterer and a fraudster, then make sure you are the president.“
Published in 2012, yet perhaps more relevant than ever with mentions of class divides and the inequity of wealth, cubicle life and middle class guilt, cheap overseas production, critiques of the government, the rule of law etc.
The fall of the scheme was inevitable, it was there not only in the foreshadowing, but in her name, true insight headed for demise. But my hopes, my own righteousness got squashed anyway. The tone was all light and comical, until it wasn‘t. I love Kavenna‘s writing, because I was there, I laughed, then I cried. I was the pervert enraptured by giddiness and spectacle, then was left bereft by the abrupt, circular culmination. It felt like Cassandra herself had slapped me around the head and implored me that it had always been about the spark, not the status quo. And that I better hold on to this, my own anger.
It did make me wonder: How are Cassandras made? Discomfort? Awaiting the strike of a match? And are her mythological characteristics split into the main characters all along?
Published in 2012, yet perhaps more relevant than ever with mentions of class divides and the inequity of wealth, cubicle life and middle class guilt, cheap overseas production, critiques of the government, the rule of law etc.
The fall of the scheme was inevitable, it was there not only in the foreshadowing, but in her name, true insight headed for demise. But my hopes, my own righteousness got squashed anyway. The tone was all light and comical, until it wasn‘t. I love Kavenna‘s writing, because I was there, I laughed, then I cried. I was the pervert enraptured by giddiness and spectacle, then was left bereft by the abrupt, circular culmination. It felt like Cassandra herself had slapped me around the head and implored me that it had always been about the spark, not the status quo. And that I better hold on to this, my own anger.
It did make me wonder: How are Cassandras made? Discomfort? Awaiting the strike of a match? And are her mythological characteristics split into the main characters all along?
October 24, 2017
Cassandra White is going to be me in 20 odd years.
Come to the Edge took me a little bit to get into. The narrator was a little too unlikable for me at the beginning, and the writing style was something I had to get used to. That being said, once I hit the pace, I fell into this book. It's incredibly compelling, and so relevant. This book came out in 2012 and is set in the UK countryside, but it could just as easily be set in 2017 downtown Vancouver, or any other town suffering under a housing crisis.
Maybe not as funny as the reviews on the book claim, but it was lighthearted, and endearing.
I'll be re-reading this again. And catch me in 2040 burning down empty houses.
Come to the Edge took me a little bit to get into. The narrator was a little too unlikable for me at the beginning, and the writing style was something I had to get used to. That being said, once I hit the pace, I fell into this book. It's incredibly compelling, and so relevant. This book came out in 2012 and is set in the UK countryside, but it could just as easily be set in 2017 downtown Vancouver, or any other town suffering under a housing crisis.
Maybe not as funny as the reviews on the book claim, but it was lighthearted, and endearing.
I'll be re-reading this again. And catch me in 2040 burning down empty houses.
February 25, 2018
I was hesitant at first, since there is a recommendation from the Daily Mail on the front cover. The book only cost £1 though, and sounded interesting, so I picked it up anyway. I'm glad -it was actually really funny, and absolutely mad but quite thought inducing - I say inducing, and not provoking, because it hasn't raised any ideas I didn't already have, but it brought them back to the forefront of my mind. It is the sort of book I haven't encountered before, and would like to see more of. Funny surreal rebellions could form a genre I could get very into.
September 1, 2020
Purchase Come to the Edge here for just $10!
Seemingly a light tale on the surface, Kavenna writes about a woman who moves into a rundown house with a widow, Cassandra White. Full of comic moments, this contains a wonderful relationship that seems like nothing you have ever read before, but so familiar at the same time.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
Seemingly a light tale on the surface, Kavenna writes about a woman who moves into a rundown house with a widow, Cassandra White. Full of comic moments, this contains a wonderful relationship that seems like nothing you have ever read before, but so familiar at the same time.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
February 6, 2020
I liked the premise of this but it was poorly worked out. A fun comic satire marred by giving the ending at the beginning and with very little character development in between i found myself waiting for it to play out rather than having any kind of excitement about what might happen. A curious decision - poor editing?
October 2, 2019
Could not put this book down from the moment I started it. The narrator is so dryly funny, taking us on long sentence detours into her own thoughts as events unfold, yet she never veered into I-cant-even-follow-this territory even as the story and all of its craziness unfolded. I LOVED this book.
June 2, 2020
This book is definitely not for everyone but hoooo boo it was for me. The plot. The characters. The absurdity. The apocalyptic theme. The humour. All perfect. Also, anyone saying the last half is "too improbable" clearly needs to attune more to current events.
May 27, 2021
This was very witty, fast paced, easy to read. Absolutely loved the writing style in this one, made the book go by so fast. The final 5 pages were kinda odd but overall a quite fun short read. Will be reading more by Kavenna in the future!
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