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La chambre des vies oubliees
Après quarante années à laver et repasser toutes les chemises du voisinage, Robert Sutton a décidé de vendre son pressing de Lough-borough Junction, quartier pauvre du sud de Londres. C'est un jeune Anglais d'origine pakistanaise, Akeel, qui répond le premier à sa petite annonce - il est sérieux, poli, intelligent et ambitieux, mais ce n'est pas vraiment le genre d'héritier que Robert avait en tête... Une année durant, les deux hommes que tout oppose vont se côtoyer, s'apprivoiser et, de méfiance en confidences, nouer une amitié singulière. Autour d'eux, Londres palpite : deux clochards beckettiens, une jeune fille au pair amoureuse de son employeur, une vieille dame sénile, un poète jamaïcain, un père de famille factotum de la mafia locale... Robert et Akeel observent en devisant cette ronde étourdissante. Et Robert se demande s'il livrera à son jeune successeur la clé de la «chambre des vies oubliées», cette pièce où il conserve ses secrets, et ceux des autres...
380 pages, Pocket Book
First published March 1, 2008
15 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
About the author
Stella Duffy
65 books185 followersStella Duffy was born in London and grew up in New Zealand. She has lived and worked in London since the mid-1980s. She has written seventeen novels, over seventy short stories, and devised and/or written fourteen plays. The Room of Lost Things and State of Happiness were both longlisted for the Orange Prize, and she has twice won Stonewall Writer of the Year. She has twice won the CWA Short Story Dagger. Stella is the co-founder of the Fun Palaces campaign for cultural democracy. Her latest novel is Lullaby Beach (Virago).
She is also a yoga teacher, teaching workshops in yoga for writing, and a trainee Existential Psychotherapist, her ongoing doctoral research is in the embodied experience of being postmenopausal.
She is also a yoga teacher, teaching workshops in yoga for writing, and a trainee Existential Psychotherapist, her ongoing doctoral research is in the embodied experience of being postmenopausal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 28, 2017
I have enjoyed reading this so much, I've been looking forward to getting back to it between reading sessions and thinking about it when I was away from it. Stella Duffy is coming to Dunedin next month for the Writers and Readers Festival and I'm looking forward to meeting her. I had read her earlier books ages ago but this one I think is the best one I've encountered. Robert Sutton is ready to retire, for all of his life he has been running the dry cleaners in a suburban London street. By cleaning the local residents clothing he has an insight into their lives, their misfortunes, their affairs of every kind. People leave clues to their lives in their pockets, things like keys, receipts, jewellery and letters. Robert, and his mother before him have been collecting these lost things and storing them. Collecting them together, filing them in a special system and keeping them in a room above the shop secretly but methodically. Robert has had his challenges, his mother who was quite the handful, his wife who left him and took their daughter, but he is someone who the neighbourhood appreciates and who has a way about him which people appreciate. He is opinionated but kind and above all sometimes the only friendly face in a life of strangers.
Akeel is going to buy the business, he is earnest and willing and while he has major plans to make changes he agrees to work alongside Robert, learning the trade and being Robert's right hand man. It is a relationship which is sometimes tense but also one in which the two men gradually become close and able to share their secrets.
This is a gorgeous slice of life. All the customers, their stories, the kids who hang around the shop, the pub across the road, the lives of ordinary people who live ordinary lives but who are in their own ways extraordinary. Ahhhhh it was lovely!
Akeel is going to buy the business, he is earnest and willing and while he has major plans to make changes he agrees to work alongside Robert, learning the trade and being Robert's right hand man. It is a relationship which is sometimes tense but also one in which the two men gradually become close and able to share their secrets.
This is a gorgeous slice of life. All the customers, their stories, the kids who hang around the shop, the pub across the road, the lives of ordinary people who live ordinary lives but who are in their own ways extraordinary. Ahhhhh it was lovely!
February 5, 2011
Were it not for my book club I wouldn't have considered this book. My life would have been so much the poorer! This is a beautiful book, that to me spoke about the human condition and most of all about loneliness and the brief connections that we make with one another. The character of Robert is beautifully observed, and watching his tentative friendship with Akeel develop throughout the book was one of the joys of reading. The revelations are so subtly introduced that it's only a little while after reading them that they hit you with their magnitude.
I particularly liked the fact that Stella Duffy made no moral judgements about some of Robert's more questionable actions. This would have been very easy to do, and for me would have lessened the impact of the book.
If I have any criticism, it is that I was initially confused by the number of characters that we are introduced to. There are quite a few people threaded throughout the narrative that perhaps have a superficial connection to Robert and the shop, but these gradually slotted into their place, and just like life, were often left as loose ends.
Incidentally, other members of the group disliked the fact that the "room of lost things" was potentially underplayed and mislead the reader into thinking that would be the major topic of the book. It isn't; the original title was (I think, correct me if I'm wrong!)'The Junction', and this is probably a more accurate reflection of what you get - a year in the life of Loughborough Junction, in particular the inner workings of the dry cleaners.
I would never have believed that one of my top books would concern the story of an aging dry cleaner in London. But it is! This book is material that for me transcends it humble origins and I can't praise it highly enough.
I particularly liked the fact that Stella Duffy made no moral judgements about some of Robert's more questionable actions. This would have been very easy to do, and for me would have lessened the impact of the book.
If I have any criticism, it is that I was initially confused by the number of characters that we are introduced to. There are quite a few people threaded throughout the narrative that perhaps have a superficial connection to Robert and the shop, but these gradually slotted into their place, and just like life, were often left as loose ends.
Incidentally, other members of the group disliked the fact that the "room of lost things" was potentially underplayed and mislead the reader into thinking that would be the major topic of the book. It isn't; the original title was (I think, correct me if I'm wrong!)'The Junction', and this is probably a more accurate reflection of what you get - a year in the life of Loughborough Junction, in particular the inner workings of the dry cleaners.
I would never have believed that one of my top books would concern the story of an aging dry cleaner in London. But it is! This book is material that for me transcends it humble origins and I can't praise it highly enough.
April 30, 2013
I have no hesitation in giving The Room of Lost Things a full five stars. The only initial negative is that it is in a somewhat stream-of-consciousness writing style, therefore not adhering fully to correct punctuation. I spent the first couple of pages wanting to mark it up with a red pen, but then I chilled out about it and let myself be taken with the flow and with the voices of the characters.
And I'm glad I did. In fact, the book reads incredibly easily and quickly.
Each time I had to lay it aside (to work, cook, eat, or sleep, say), I genuinely felt a pang. It is the first time I've truly known a book to be "unputdownable" -- a term that is so massively overused as to be almost worthless now, sadly.
I don't know how The Room of Lost Things compares to Duffy's other work, since this is my first of her books. I borrowed it from my local library (thank goodness for libraries!), but I want to buy a copy immediately.
A moving ode to London and the people you have contact with but don't really know, this book really is essential reading for anyone who has lived in the Smoke -- or, indeed, in any big city.
And I'm glad I did. In fact, the book reads incredibly easily and quickly.
Each time I had to lay it aside (to work, cook, eat, or sleep, say), I genuinely felt a pang. It is the first time I've truly known a book to be "unputdownable" -- a term that is so massively overused as to be almost worthless now, sadly.
I don't know how The Room of Lost Things compares to Duffy's other work, since this is my first of her books. I borrowed it from my local library (thank goodness for libraries!), but I want to buy a copy immediately.
A moving ode to London and the people you have contact with but don't really know, this book really is essential reading for anyone who has lived in the Smoke -- or, indeed, in any big city.
March 12, 2023
Robert Sutton wants to retire from the South London dry cleaner's that he owns and where he has lived all his life. Akeel Khan is the candidate to take it on, who works with Robert for a full year learning the business, as we learn about their lives and the lives of their customers.
A bittersweet story of beginnings and endings.
A bittersweet story of beginnings and endings.
August 5, 2011
A good read, good character building, but lost the plot at the end - as readers we expect the author to make a decision on the ending. This made me feel Ms Duffy had lost her way a bit. At our reading group the ending was a sticking point for all of us and there were also comments that from the title we had expected to find out more about the items in the 'Room'. Having had that little gripe, we did all enjoy reading it, and loved the evocative atmosphere created.
October 2, 2017
I decided, after quite enjoying The Hidden Room but not getting on at all well with London Lies Beneath, that I would give Stella Duffy one last chance. Thus, I borrowed The Room of Lost Things from the library. I was not pulled in straight away, but did find myself becoming more interested after a few pages, and almost engrossed a couple of chapters in.
The real strength for me here was the way in which London is portrayed; I miss the city dearly, having studied there for an entire year, and now being a whole country away from it. Duffy goes into so much detail about different boroughs; London, wonderfully evoked in all of its grit and glory, essentially becomes a character in itself, arguably the most important one in the novel. I admired the way in which everything revolved around something as dull and suburban as a dry-cleaning shop, too; it worked very ell as the novel's focal point. The structure is clever yet simple.
I did find my attention waning after a while though; whilst the main thread of story featuring Robert and Akeel is interesting, some of the secondary characters had stories which felt quite repetitive after a while. This is my favourite of Duffy's books to date, but I still wasn't blown away by it.
The real strength for me here was the way in which London is portrayed; I miss the city dearly, having studied there for an entire year, and now being a whole country away from it. Duffy goes into so much detail about different boroughs; London, wonderfully evoked in all of its grit and glory, essentially becomes a character in itself, arguably the most important one in the novel. I admired the way in which everything revolved around something as dull and suburban as a dry-cleaning shop, too; it worked very ell as the novel's focal point. The structure is clever yet simple.
I did find my attention waning after a while though; whilst the main thread of story featuring Robert and Akeel is interesting, some of the secondary characters had stories which felt quite repetitive after a while. This is my favourite of Duffy's books to date, but I still wasn't blown away by it.
November 23, 2023
A gentle character study over a year at a dry cleaners as the elderly owner hands over the legacy to his successor, and lightens his physical and emotional load. One of those annoying endings with two possibilities ... I chose the uplifting one!
August 22, 2018
This story surprised me in that I liked it more than I expected to. It’s a 3.5 rating for me. The book gently rolls along, in a way reminiscent of the gently bobbing tide of the Thames, telling the story in a disparate way of characters including Helen, Mrs Ryan, Marylin, Dean, Stefan, Charlie & Dan, who are subsidiary to the main characters Robert and Akeel.
Set in south London the story revolves around the dry cleaning shop Robert has run all his adult life, and his mother ran before him. The shop is on a busy corner of Loughborough Road and Coldharbour Lane, located under a railway arch. All of the characters rely on the dry cleaners and rely on Robert and have done for as long as they can remember, yet Robert is something of an enigma.
He decides to retire and sells his business to Akeel, an ambitious, young British Muslim from east London. They form a friendship that surprises both of them in the year they agree to work together prior to the final handover of the shop.
There are many sad moments. Robert is lonely, full of regret and grief yet somehow there are also bright moments, hopeful moments and the author captures the gritty authenticity of the many ‘Londoners’ perfectly. Keep moving forward, just like the river.
Set in south London the story revolves around the dry cleaning shop Robert has run all his adult life, and his mother ran before him. The shop is on a busy corner of Loughborough Road and Coldharbour Lane, located under a railway arch. All of the characters rely on the dry cleaners and rely on Robert and have done for as long as they can remember, yet Robert is something of an enigma.
He decides to retire and sells his business to Akeel, an ambitious, young British Muslim from east London. They form a friendship that surprises both of them in the year they agree to work together prior to the final handover of the shop.
There are many sad moments. Robert is lonely, full of regret and grief yet somehow there are also bright moments, hopeful moments and the author captures the gritty authenticity of the many ‘Londoners’ perfectly. Keep moving forward, just like the river.
November 3, 2014
A very interesting read, we get the view of a microcosm of life in south London, seen through the eyes of a dry cleaner, the comings and going of the people who deposit both their cloths and their memories in his shop.
It is a totally original book... And I will always make sure I check my pockets before going to the dry cleaners from now on :-)
May 26, 2019
Set over a year, The Room of Lost Things is the sweet and tender story of an unlikely friendship, but is ultimately about the great chaotic melting-pot that is London. It is also very much about Londoners, their lives, dreams and struggles, and how they mostly find ways to rub along together.
Loughborough Junction, where the central dry-cleaning shop and its room are located, is an odd place. Despite having a train station and being fairly central, it's a nonentity on the London map. One of those liminal areas between areas so numerous in London. It's not quite Brixton, it's not quite Camberwell and it wouldn't have a name of its own if it weren't for the railway. It is somewhere thousands of people will pass through every day on the train and on buses but not somewhere they will stop or even talk about. Yet for Duffy, and consequently for the reader, it becomes emblematic of London at large.
The book is poetic and highly evocative, particularly of south London. This was an added draw for someone who knows the area and all of Duffy's hinted descriptions of the city charmingly resonated with me, but I'm not sure how well this would play with people who don't know the Camberwell area, at least a little.
The writing style is very distinctive and I sadly found it stilted and jarring at times. It didn't always flow smoothly for me and as such got in the way.
I had also difficulties with keeping track of the secondary characters. Most of the book is focused on and dedicated to Robert and Akeel (who are interesting and well rounded characters). The others appear very sporadically and almost separately from the main narrative; the link being that they are known to Robert and are almost all customers of the shop.
The Room of Lost Things is an unprepossessing story, where in the end very little happens, but it somehow sweeps the reader along, grabs them and doesn't quite let go. Until the end, that is, which was rather a let down; Duffy being unable or somehow unwilling to make up her mind on how to finish her story. She gives us two contradictory endings instead.
The book is not really about the room of its title, which is where Robert (the owner of a laundry) and before him, Alice, his mother, store the detritus that customers of the dry-cleaning business leave in their pockets. This plays only a small part in the narrative but I think Duffy tries to mirror that room with her book to turn the book into a version of that room.
In the end this is what Duffy wants to tells us: that London is like a room of lost things that are brought together randomly to form some inchoate whole. An endearing paean to London.
Loughborough Junction, where the central dry-cleaning shop and its room are located, is an odd place. Despite having a train station and being fairly central, it's a nonentity on the London map. One of those liminal areas between areas so numerous in London. It's not quite Brixton, it's not quite Camberwell and it wouldn't have a name of its own if it weren't for the railway. It is somewhere thousands of people will pass through every day on the train and on buses but not somewhere they will stop or even talk about. Yet for Duffy, and consequently for the reader, it becomes emblematic of London at large.
The book is poetic and highly evocative, particularly of south London. This was an added draw for someone who knows the area and all of Duffy's hinted descriptions of the city charmingly resonated with me, but I'm not sure how well this would play with people who don't know the Camberwell area, at least a little.
The writing style is very distinctive and I sadly found it stilted and jarring at times. It didn't always flow smoothly for me and as such got in the way.
I had also difficulties with keeping track of the secondary characters. Most of the book is focused on and dedicated to Robert and Akeel (who are interesting and well rounded characters). The others appear very sporadically and almost separately from the main narrative; the link being that they are known to Robert and are almost all customers of the shop.
The Room of Lost Things is an unprepossessing story, where in the end very little happens, but it somehow sweeps the reader along, grabs them and doesn't quite let go. Until the end, that is, which was rather a let down; Duffy being unable or somehow unwilling to make up her mind on how to finish her story. She gives us two contradictory endings instead.
The book is not really about the room of its title, which is where Robert (the owner of a laundry) and before him, Alice, his mother, store the detritus that customers of the dry-cleaning business leave in their pockets. This plays only a small part in the narrative but I think Duffy tries to mirror that room with her book to turn the book into a version of that room.
In the end this is what Duffy wants to tells us: that London is like a room of lost things that are brought together randomly to form some inchoate whole. An endearing paean to London.
January 25, 2024
I really enjoyed this - slow, comforting, and very familiar if you live in / have lived in / are from London. Even more so if you know SW/SE well.
In London, we live so close to such a diverse range of people. SO MANY PEOPLE. And yet it is so easy to, with the exception of places like this dry cleaners, interact only with those most like you. To see so much of a city, but only be touched by proportion.
It is, also, so easy to come to know so much about someone without knowing them. I thought this was reserved for the online social-media-age but this book reminded me, it is not.
There are people doing and keeping weird things, it has made me wonder how many notes/pictures/items of mine are being stored in strange places, have been pondered upon by fellow humans.
Lastly, as someone with hoarding tendencies, I saw myself in Robert in a way I haven't in literature. Holding onto items as a way to hold onto not only what they mean to you, but what they could in the future.
Aw, I loved this!
In London, we live so close to such a diverse range of people. SO MANY PEOPLE. And yet it is so easy to, with the exception of places like this dry cleaners, interact only with those most like you. To see so much of a city, but only be touched by proportion.
It is, also, so easy to come to know so much about someone without knowing them. I thought this was reserved for the online social-media-age but this book reminded me, it is not.
There are people doing and keeping weird things, it has made me wonder how many notes/pictures/items of mine are being stored in strange places, have been pondered upon by fellow humans.
Lastly, as someone with hoarding tendencies, I saw myself in Robert in a way I haven't in literature. Holding onto items as a way to hold onto not only what they mean to you, but what they could in the future.
Aw, I loved this!
May 24, 2017
I found this book in a charity shop and was intrigued as it revolves around an area I know well. The story is set arond a dry cleaners and not unsurprisingly perhaps there is a room full of things that have been left behind or perhaps found.
The charm and thrill of this book is in it's characterisation, the reality of the people portrayed and the oddness. Both fit very well.
There is a story about real people and real circumstances and real interest.
If you want a synopsis read the blurb:
If you want a good story that stays with you for years- read the book
The charm and thrill of this book is in it's characterisation, the reality of the people portrayed and the oddness. Both fit very well.
There is a story about real people and real circumstances and real interest.
If you want a synopsis read the blurb:
If you want a good story that stays with you for years- read the book
August 28, 2024
This book is character driven and really has no plot. I was waiting for the storyline which did not come. The ‘reveal’ comes around 10 pages from the end, and had no impact on anything at all. If you like a book full of character descriptions then you will enjoy it. The title is misleading and I felt the book went nowhere at all. In it’s defence it was well written in terms of pace and had me going to the last page, where ultimately I was glad to move on to something else. I would not recommend this to my bookclub.
December 4, 2016
Well, whoever would've thought a book based on a dry cleaning shop could be so interesting? After having visited London this year, it was easy to imagine the everyday scenarios & picture the landmarks...also a reminder of how lonely people's lives can be! Pure genius!
December 27, 2017
I loved this book, and was swept along happily in its tale. I loved the panoply of characters, the depiction of London, and the sense of passing time and change. I found it quite hopeful, despite the urban loneliness it portrays. A great wet weekend read, would definitely recommend.
October 22, 2019
Beautiful and captivating
Loved the way the stories intertwined. I felt as though I was there in the street all the way through. Perfect combination of sorrow and joy although I want to know more about some of the lesser featured characters, I think they could all have books of their own. I also want the actual room turned into a museum in a sequel! Perfect holiday read.
Loved the way the stories intertwined. I felt as though I was there in the street all the way through. Perfect combination of sorrow and joy although I want to know more about some of the lesser featured characters, I think they could all have books of their own. I also want the actual room turned into a museum in a sequel! Perfect holiday read.
February 3, 2017
Just cannot engage with anyone or anything in this. Skipped to the end to see what I missed and moving onto something more interesting to me
April 26, 2020
This is a wonderful book. The level of detail given to the tiny things makes them exquisite. A glorious weaving of details through and through again, I was really sorry when I finished it. Great.
May 9, 2021
Beautifully crafted and insightful - this author writes reliably great books.
October 21, 2021
Another cracking and emotional read by Stella Duffy. Writing at its very best.
July 31, 2022
Sweat book, rather amusing but not great and did not encourage me to read anything else by this author - just not my cup of tea.
August 28, 2023
Really enjoyed it - loved the twists and turns of the storyline and characters
July 22, 2020
This is the sort of book where not a lot actually happens, and yet you get to know something about the lives of a number of the customers of a dry cleaning shop in Loughborough Junction, a crossing of railway lines in the south of London. The people described all live around the area, but do not necessarily know each other. The owner of the shop has been observing them for years, and seems to know far more about them than one might expect from the brief conversations he has with his customers. It turns out they leave things in their pockets, and over the years, Robert, his mother and his wife have collected these things which form an archive of sorts. Now Robert is going to sell the shop to a young second generation Pakistani couple, and gradually Robert transfers his knowledge to Akeel, and starts to let go his secrets.
I first picked up this book in a charity shop because the word Loughborough jumped out at me, as I studied at Loughborough University. Then the blurb on the back drew me in, as I was intrigued about the secrets which were held in a room of lost things. I was expecting the "lost" things to be examined one by one, telling us more about the person who had left it behind. In this my curiosity was disappointed, because there is really only one box which is really important, and the physical archive has no significance; the real archive is in Robert's head. In the course of the book, we begin to realise that Robert has a few secrets of his own, which would not necessarily stand the light of day. We also discover that Robert has withheld information which has influenced other people's lives, and we have to wonder if that is acceptable. In the end, I didn't really find Robert a likable character, and felt much more drawn to the unsure, principled Akeel, with his plans and hope for the future.
Given the setting of the book, it could have dwelt on race relations and divisions. As it was, race was not really an issue, although Akeel does have to worry about how he will be able to find space and time to pray while running the shop. Like London itself, adapting itself to its multicultural and multi-faith inhabitants, this turns out to be less of a problem than anticipated. Stella Duffy did manage to wrong-foot me on a couple of occasions, when I belatedly had to re-imagine a character as it became clear that they were in fact black, and not white, as I had assumed; their skin colour was largely irrelevant. It made me wonder if Stella Duffy was herself black, but apparently not, and while trying to find out, I came across her blog about 'The Room of Lost Things': http://stelladuffy.wordpress.com/my-b...
In conclusion, I enjoyed the book and was drawn into the story, which describes an area which is entirely different from the area I grew up in or have lived in since, except perhaps the summer I spent in Coventry. It is "an everyday story of country folk", in a place as far removed from 'The Archers' as it is possible to get, with no country in sight; the setting is more similar to 'Eastenders' without the drama (although it is there, in the background). A poignant view of contemporary Londoners.
I first picked up this book in a charity shop because the word Loughborough jumped out at me, as I studied at Loughborough University. Then the blurb on the back drew me in, as I was intrigued about the secrets which were held in a room of lost things. I was expecting the "lost" things to be examined one by one, telling us more about the person who had left it behind. In this my curiosity was disappointed, because there is really only one box which is really important, and the physical archive has no significance; the real archive is in Robert's head. In the course of the book, we begin to realise that Robert has a few secrets of his own, which would not necessarily stand the light of day. We also discover that Robert has withheld information which has influenced other people's lives, and we have to wonder if that is acceptable. In the end, I didn't really find Robert a likable character, and felt much more drawn to the unsure, principled Akeel, with his plans and hope for the future.
Given the setting of the book, it could have dwelt on race relations and divisions. As it was, race was not really an issue, although Akeel does have to worry about how he will be able to find space and time to pray while running the shop. Like London itself, adapting itself to its multicultural and multi-faith inhabitants, this turns out to be less of a problem than anticipated. Stella Duffy did manage to wrong-foot me on a couple of occasions, when I belatedly had to re-imagine a character as it became clear that they were in fact black, and not white, as I had assumed; their skin colour was largely irrelevant. It made me wonder if Stella Duffy was herself black, but apparently not, and while trying to find out, I came across her blog about 'The Room of Lost Things': http://stelladuffy.wordpress.com/my-b...
In conclusion, I enjoyed the book and was drawn into the story, which describes an area which is entirely different from the area I grew up in or have lived in since, except perhaps the summer I spent in Coventry. It is "an everyday story of country folk", in a place as far removed from 'The Archers' as it is possible to get, with no country in sight; the setting is more similar to 'Eastenders' without the drama (although it is there, in the background). A poignant view of contemporary Londoners.
June 18, 2021
Set in contemporary south London, this novel follows Robert Sutton as he goes about his daily life running his dry cleaning business, he knows his customers extremely well, having ran the place for 40. When Robert decides to move on and sell his business to Akeel, a young and eager British Muslim, an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two. As Akeel learns his trade, the two men begin to open up and share their hidden lives with one another. The novel also follows many other individuals of the street; the homeless drunks on the corner, the lonely old lady who can’t remember where she lives, the various men and women who come in and out of Roberts shop, all of which intertwine and connect beautifully with each other.
This novel illustrates the bustling streets of London perfectly; telling the story of the comings and going’s of its residents and its frantic affairs. Both Robert and Akeel are likeable characters; Duffy’s intricate writing style gives even the most stubborn individuals
a streak of warmth and beauty. Despite this, I found it difficult to follow the excessive amount of characters, and would have preferred more focus on the two main characters. Not a lot happens in this novel; there is no unexpected plot twist, no heartbreaking tragedy, yet it somehow manages to hold the readers attention as we sail through the conventional narrative of London life. Duffy highlights the loneliness that comes with old age and the passing of time, giving it a melancholic undertone. Although it was a slow and slightly anticlimactic read, i did find it to be insightful, and the way Duffy leaves us with two alternate endings is the perfect conclusion to such an ambiguous novel.
This novel illustrates the bustling streets of London perfectly; telling the story of the comings and going’s of its residents and its frantic affairs. Both Robert and Akeel are likeable characters; Duffy’s intricate writing style gives even the most stubborn individuals
a streak of warmth and beauty. Despite this, I found it difficult to follow the excessive amount of characters, and would have preferred more focus on the two main characters. Not a lot happens in this novel; there is no unexpected plot twist, no heartbreaking tragedy, yet it somehow manages to hold the readers attention as we sail through the conventional narrative of London life. Duffy highlights the loneliness that comes with old age and the passing of time, giving it a melancholic undertone. Although it was a slow and slightly anticlimactic read, i did find it to be insightful, and the way Duffy leaves us with two alternate endings is the perfect conclusion to such an ambiguous novel.
March 31, 2013
Este libro es un gran enga��o de principio a fin. Lo cog�� de la biblioteca por la descripci��n de detr��s (y porque la portada me pareci�� bonita, lo admito ^^): "A book for anyone who's ever lived and loved in London - [...]. Always surprising, always moving, and as fresh as tomorrow". Me apetec��a un mont��n leer un libro que transcurriese en Londres y que adem��s fuese bonito, "moving" y "fresh as tomorrow". Vale, pues este libro es la cosa m��s deprimente del mundo. Son un mont��n de historias entremezcladas en torno a la historia principal de Robert, el propietario de una tintorer��a a punto de venderla y jubilarse. Cada historia es protagonizada por un personaje con una vida a��n m��s miserable que el anterior. Todos viven en un barrio del sur de Londres (en alg��n lugar entre Brixton y Camberwell), cuyas descripciones proporcionadas por el libro quitan a cualquiera las ganas de venir a Londres (y la verdad, no he estado en Camberwell, pero dudo que llegue a los deprimentes niveles que el libro establece para la zona).
Ah, adem��s de ser deprimente, es terriblemente aburrido. Lo acab�� porque no me gusta dejar libros a la mitad pero estaba ya harta de todos los personajes. Ninguno consigui�� interesarme lo m��s m��nimo.
Al final la cosa acaba medianamente bien para unos y mal para otros. La verdad es que no me imagino recomendando este libro a nadie. No le he puesto 1 estrella porque creo que est�� bien escrito, aunque en ingl��s no soy capaz de juzgarlo bien.
Ah, adem��s de ser deprimente, es terriblemente aburrido. Lo acab�� porque no me gusta dejar libros a la mitad pero estaba ya harta de todos los personajes. Ninguno consigui�� interesarme lo m��s m��nimo.
Al final la cosa acaba medianamente bien para unos y mal para otros. La verdad es que no me imagino recomendando este libro a nadie. No le he puesto 1 estrella porque creo que est�� bien escrito, aunque en ingl��s no soy capaz de juzgarlo bien.
February 15, 2016
This is the story of an aging drycleaner, Robert, who takes in his young successor Akeel to train him, with the story of a lifetime unfolding in front of our eyes.
The book is a good and entertaining read, but there are two things I expected and didn't get:
1. The title indicates that we might get a deeper view into the room where the main character stores all the things people have left in the pockets of their drycleaning over the last 40 years. Although we get some interesting peaks, the story is mostly told outside this room. A slight disappointment...
2. We don't only hear the story of Robert, but that of several people that live nearby, have used his dry cleaner's or that Robert is connected to in any way. Together with the anticipated change of ownership I expected a finale that either pulls together a few of the lose ends, but it all ends, rather like life itself in long anticipated moments, rather down to earth and again, disappointing.
All in all, a nice read that bubbles along comfortably. Something for a non-committal rainy afternoon in the house.
The book is a good and entertaining read, but there are two things I expected and didn't get:
1. The title indicates that we might get a deeper view into the room where the main character stores all the things people have left in the pockets of their drycleaning over the last 40 years. Although we get some interesting peaks, the story is mostly told outside this room. A slight disappointment...
2. We don't only hear the story of Robert, but that of several people that live nearby, have used his dry cleaner's or that Robert is connected to in any way. Together with the anticipated change of ownership I expected a finale that either pulls together a few of the lose ends, but it all ends, rather like life itself in long anticipated moments, rather down to earth and again, disappointing.
All in all, a nice read that bubbles along comfortably. Something for a non-committal rainy afternoon in the house.
November 4, 2016
I am finding this a most difficult review to write. Overall i enjoyed the book which focuses on Robert's last year as the owner of a dry-cleaning store and his hand over to Akeel. However there are more characters than you can shake a stick it. Indeed, the first 30-40% feels like an introduction to the people of South London and definitely shows the lack of a storyline. Despite all this the author has a skill of taking you along one path and providing little twists at the end. She unreels Robert's and Akeel's characters slowly and with real depth. Eventually all the plot line come together and you begin to see where the book is leading. Despite all this i never felt like putting the book down or not to finish there is something that keeps you wanting to read more. In the end it is a cleverly written book with a twist to the ending. This is the first book i have read by Stella Duffy I could be tempted to more but I am seriously torn as to how to rate this one in the end i have gone for 3 stars but it so easily could have been 4
August 13, 2014
Richard Sutton is ready to sell his dry cleaning business. The only taker is an industrious young man named Akeel. Richard agrees to train Akeel for a year before handing over the business.
The story the gives us a glimpse of the patrons of the dey cleaners. Really giving us a peek into the various residents that live in the area.
The conversations between Richard and Akeel are about everything from race to parenting.
The room referred to in the title is never fully explored, but I get the sense that those things left behind are sometimes better off where we left them.
There isn't much of a plot to this book, but the writing is good enough to make you a part of the setting. I could begin to visualize this particular corner on a London street.
The ending is ambiguous which is a bit frustrating.
The story the gives us a glimpse of the patrons of the dey cleaners. Really giving us a peek into the various residents that live in the area.
The conversations between Richard and Akeel are about everything from race to parenting.
The room referred to in the title is never fully explored, but I get the sense that those things left behind are sometimes better off where we left them.
There isn't much of a plot to this book, but the writing is good enough to make you a part of the setting. I could begin to visualize this particular corner on a London street.
The ending is ambiguous which is a bit frustrating.
March 22, 2014
I learned of this book from Simon of the simonreads blog as a book that represents his native country of England. It did take a chapter or two to get into the rhythm of the book, but once I did it was an enjoyable read with a surprise ending that answered a question the book poses, I can't say more on this or it ruin the book for other readers. It helps to have an understanding of life in London to completely enjoy the book, while I never lived in London, I wish I had, I have visited London a number of times and have a feel for the city.
January 31, 2016
This was one of our book group reads. I'm afraid that I gave up on it and couldn't finish it. There just wasn't enough to keep me interested. There are lots of different snapshots of other characters but as soon as you get interested in them it's another 4 chapters before they are mentioned again.
I heard from others in the book group that it gets going three quarters of the way through but I need to be interested before that point! Perhaps if I had more time on my hands I might have stuck with it. It's a shame as I was looking forward to it.
I heard from others in the book group that it gets going three quarters of the way through but I need to be interested before that point! Perhaps if I had more time on my hands I might have stuck with it. It's a shame as I was looking forward to it.
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