Keep It in the Family

by Anne Fine

Contains three short stories, “William Darling” (1-18), “You Don’t Look Very Poorly” (19-36), and “Fight the Good Fight” (37-57).

"William Darling" was first published in Shark and Chips and Other Stories (Puffin 1992), “You Don’t Look Very Poorly” was first published in The Puffin Book of Funny Stories, ed. Helen Cresswell (Viking 1992; Puffin 1993), and “Fight the Good Fight” was first published in Streets Ahead, ed. Valerie Bierman (Methuen Children’s Books 1989).

Note: “You Don’t Look Very Poorly” was “adapted from Crummy Mummy and Me”. A note reads “This was the first of what turned out to be several stories about Minna and her unusual family”.

Genres: Childrens

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 1996

About the author

Though readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.

Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)

Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.

Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.

Reviews

[Owen Townend · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant little collection of lightly humorous short stories for middle grade readers.

Anne Fine was a big part of my childhood in books and Keep It in the Family offers just the right length for a nostalgia trip.

Though nowhere near as iconic as The Flour Babies or Madame Doubtfire, these three tales are a lovely example of Fine's writing.

In William Darling, we follow a young man frustrated by the way his father calls him 'darling'. While I doubt it was the full intentional, I found this a touching examination of how toxic masculinity can spoil a healthy expression of love. It broke my heart to think of how misunderstood the father was by the son.

In You Don't Look Very Poorly, we focus on Minna who criticises the sympathy her mother shows her while ill and is then afforded an opportunity to show mum how it is done. I enjoyed the way it demonstrates how tricky it can be to tend to someone else's needs.

In Fight the Good Fight, we watch a young anti-smoking advocate struggling to get her point across on a busy bus without alienating herself. I found it a little laboured in the middle but appreciate how it arrived at a workable policy for change.

It was lovely to revisit Fine through stories I have only just discovered. Keep It In The Family is a perfect sampler for her back catalogue and doesn't even feel too dated. I recommend it to any parents from my generation wishing to share it with their own kids.

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of three short stories by Anne Fine.

"William Darling" is a story about a boy whose father calls him 'darling' in front of the other kids at school. It's a fun story about the relationship between a boy and a father who is a generation older than that of the other kids' dads.

"You Don't Look Poorly" is about Minna and her mum. Minna gets sick and wishes her mum was a better nurse; when the tables are turned, who is the better nurse and patient? Enjoyable family story. I love the way Anne Fine writes about everyday realities in such an interesting way.

"Fight the Good Fight" is introduced as a bit of history, and it may be eye-popping for the current generation. It's about a girl who has to catch the bus to school every day back in the days when passengers in the single decker buses were allowed to smoke, and she hates the smell of cigarettes.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penguin 60s are perfect for leaving in your coat pocket. My daughter picked this out of her box of them for me, and I read most of it while waiting to collect her from school. It's a very funny little book.