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The Odd Flamingo
- GenresCrimeBritish Literature
220 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2025
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Nina Bawden
64 books91 followersNina Bawden was a popular British novelist and children's writer. Her mother was a teacher and her father a marine.
When World War II broke out she spent the school holidays at a farm in Shropshire along with her mother and her brothers, but lived in Aberdare, Wales, during term time.
Bawden attended Somerville College, Oxford, where she gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Her novels include Carrie's War, Peppermint Pig, and The Witch's Daughter.
A number of her works have been dramatised by BBC Children's television, and many have been translated into various languages. In 2002 she was badly injured in the Potters Bar rail crash, and her husband Austen Kark was killed.
Bawden passed away at her home in London on 22 August 2012.
When World War II broke out she spent the school holidays at a farm in Shropshire along with her mother and her brothers, but lived in Aberdare, Wales, during term time.
Bawden attended Somerville College, Oxford, where she gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Her novels include Carrie's War, Peppermint Pig, and The Witch's Daughter.
A number of her works have been dramatised by BBC Children's television, and many have been translated into various languages. In 2002 she was badly injured in the Potters Bar rail crash, and her husband Austen Kark was killed.
Bawden passed away at her home in London on 22 August 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 2, 2025
Well written but just unrelenting misery! All the characters were so unappealing.
September 13, 2025
Will Hunt, a solicitor, receives a phone call from the wife of an old friend: can he come and help? When he complies, he discovers that a young woman has turned up at his friend's house saying that he has impregnated and abandoned her. When the young woman disappears and a body is discovered, Will finds himself investigating deeper and deeper into a murky criminal underworld, culminating in being caught up in the action.
I enjoyed reading this story but that probably owes more to that fact that work has been stressful and it was nice to drift into something familiar and easy to read. But I didn't love the story. I found the character of Will unlikeable and unrealistic. I think the author is trying to present a drippy, boring man as a main character, which can be interesting, but Will's constant reflections on his feelings, his over concern about what people look like (and the odd judgements he draws from this), and his flip-flopping between adoring and despising people makes him unpleasant and frustrating to read. He didn't quite ring true for me as a person, and the narrative might have benefitted from being from the third person point of view to give some distance from his thoughts.
I enjoyed reading this story but that probably owes more to that fact that work has been stressful and it was nice to drift into something familiar and easy to read. But I didn't love the story. I found the character of Will unlikeable and unrealistic. I think the author is trying to present a drippy, boring man as a main character, which can be interesting, but Will's constant reflections on his feelings, his over concern about what people look like (and the odd judgements he draws from this), and his flip-flopping between adoring and despising people makes him unpleasant and frustrating to read. He didn't quite ring true for me as a person, and the narrative might have benefitted from being from the third person point of view to give some distance from his thoughts.
September 29, 2025
It was OK, but didn't really hold my attention until the end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews