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Friendly Fire
Insightful and full of understanding and warmth, Patrick Gale's FRIENDLY FIRE is a richly compelling story of adolescence, sexuality and the lessons we carry forever.
'An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational' Daily Express
'Utterly compelling from first to last' Stephen Fry
Sophie, an orphan in love with learning, is sure she will thrive in Tatham's, an esteemed boarding school, having survived years of institutional living. But she soon finds herself lost among its cliques and rituals. Befriending two teenage boys, she experiences the first ache of futile love, then a brilliant teacher's inappropriate attention to one of the trio threatens to destroy them all. Sophie swiftly realizes that there are tougher lessons to absorb outside the schoolroom - of class, sex, families and the emotional disaster they can bring to even the most privileged lives.
'An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational' Daily Express
'Utterly compelling from first to last' Stephen Fry
Sophie, an orphan in love with learning, is sure she will thrive in Tatham's, an esteemed boarding school, having survived years of institutional living. But she soon finds herself lost among its cliques and rituals. Befriending two teenage boys, she experiences the first ache of futile love, then a brilliant teacher's inappropriate attention to one of the trio threatens to destroy them all. Sophie swiftly realizes that there are tougher lessons to absorb outside the schoolroom - of class, sex, families and the emotional disaster they can bring to even the most privileged lives.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
39 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Gale
42 books714 followersPatrick was born on 31 January 1962 on the Isle of Wight, where his father was prison governor at Camp Hill, as his grandfather had been at nearby Parkhurst. He was the youngest of four; one sister, two brothers, spread over ten years. The family moved to London, where his father ran Wandsworth Prison, then to Winchester. At eight Patrick began boarding as a Winchester College Quirister at the cathedral choir school, Pilgrim's. At thirteen he went on to Winchester College. He finished his formal education with an English degree from New College, Oxford in 1983.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
He has never had a grown-up job. For three years he lived at a succession of addresses, from a Notting Hill bedsit to a crumbling French chateau. While working on his first novels he eked out his slender income with odd jobs; as a typist, a singing waiter, a designer's secretary, a ghost-writer for an encyclopedia of the musical and, increasingly, as a book reviewer.
His first two novels, The Aerodynamics of Pork and Ease were published by Abacus on the same day in June 1986. The following year he moved to Camelford near the north coast of Cornwall and began a love affair with the county that has fed his work ever since.
He now lives in the far west, on a farm near Land's End with his husband, Aidan Hicks. There they raise beef cattle and grow barley. Patrick is obsessed with the garden they have created in what must be one of England's windiest sites and deeply resents the time his writing makes him spend away from working in it. As well as gardening, he plays both the modern and baroque cello. His chief extravagance in life is opera tickets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
August 31, 2022
At an elite English Boarding School in the late 1970’s we meet bright fourteen year old Sophie Cullen—an orphan who is in love with learning.
She won the very last scholarship spot to attend Tatham (a prominent institution that was founded in the 14th century) — in an environment dominated by boys (25 to 1).
Given that Sophie had survived years of institutional living- was happy there- she was sure she would thrive
at Tatham but at she felt loss among the cliques, previously formed friendships, class differences, and the sexual tensions.
In time, Sophie meets Lucas Behrman, who was Jewish, wealthy, and gay. Their friendship grows with intensity and entanglement.
Sophie then meets Charlie Somborne-Abbot, who came to the school after his father died and whose life is shadowed by a scandal.
Sophie’s first kiss was with Will Franks.
Although Sophie excels in all her academic classes,
the imperative education takes place outside the classroom.
This was a warm-hearted fast pace - sweet - coming-of-age story with all delights:
….drama, tragedy, relationship complexities, sexuality, and self discovery.
I like Patrick Gale’s writing…enough to choose several other of his books.
She won the very last scholarship spot to attend Tatham (a prominent institution that was founded in the 14th century) — in an environment dominated by boys (25 to 1).
Given that Sophie had survived years of institutional living- was happy there- she was sure she would thrive
at Tatham but at she felt loss among the cliques, previously formed friendships, class differences, and the sexual tensions.
In time, Sophie meets Lucas Behrman, who was Jewish, wealthy, and gay. Their friendship grows with intensity and entanglement.
Sophie then meets Charlie Somborne-Abbot, who came to the school after his father died and whose life is shadowed by a scandal.
Sophie’s first kiss was with Will Franks.
Although Sophie excels in all her academic classes,
the imperative education takes place outside the classroom.
This was a warm-hearted fast pace - sweet - coming-of-age story with all delights:
….drama, tragedy, relationship complexities, sexuality, and self discovery.
I like Patrick Gale’s writing…enough to choose several other of his books.
October 28, 2021
Three teenagers, one from a children’s home, meet at a top-notch boarding school where we follow their friendship & their lives for four years. Every chapter marked by a beautiful pen & ink sketch.
I was lulled into thinking I was about to embark on Malory Towers for adults but this is Patrick Gale not Enid Blyton. I’d describe it as .....slightly darker 😉 And so good. A coming of age novel which gradually & cleverly, increases in momentum, leading up to a Big Bang finish.
Stephen Fry describes this novel as ‘utterly compelling from first to last’. I agree!
I was lulled into thinking I was about to embark on Malory Towers for adults but this is Patrick Gale not Enid Blyton. I’d describe it as .....slightly darker 😉 And so good. A coming of age novel which gradually & cleverly, increases in momentum, leading up to a Big Bang finish.
Stephen Fry describes this novel as ‘utterly compelling from first to last’. I agree!
January 1, 2013
My friend Fanny, who is a huge Patrick Gale fan (and who I interviewed here) gave me a copy of this several birthdays ago but for some reason I never got around to reading it until now, despite thinking that it sounded excellent from the synopsis. I think it was one of those cases of “saving” a book indefinitely and not wanting to be without the option of picking up something that I knew was a good read. Anyway, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I need to read more books by Patrick Gale. He is excellent, and if his books were people they would be witty, slightly neurotic and rather creative introverts, with whom I would like to be friends.
... [Read the rest of my review here: https://whathannahread.wordpress.com/...]
... [Read the rest of my review here: https://whathannahread.wordpress.com/...]
August 20, 2012
This was not at all what I expected from the back blurb, I was expecting it to be more of a teen romance set in a boarding school, but this is something darker, and much more compelling. It details the teenage years of Sophie, an intelligent orphan who wins a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in the 70s (which I believe is loosely based on Winchester College), mostly full of boys and with only few girls, and lots of archaic practices. She forms a close, but strange, friendship with two upper class boys Lucas, who turns out to be gay, and then with Charlie (who isn't, but experiments with it), with destructive consequences for all three. I loved the period detail, and there are so many angles and messages(about class, money, love, culture, education, family relationships) to this book and the relationships between the characters. I also liked the way Gale satirizes upper class hypocrisies and shallowness - Charlie's mother is a comical, but horrendous, character. The more of Gale's books I read, the more I love him!
January 12, 2018
Disappointing for Patrick who I usually love. I think it was more autobiographical which is fine if you're posh and could understand the private school system. I would've liked more on Sophie and how she came to be where she was.
April 3, 2020
This rather mundane, superficial and ultimately predictable novel about a teenage girl growing up with two gay schoolchums is not Patrick Gale at his best, unfortunately.
Maybe because the book is written from the perspective of someone who is a generation younger than the author, Gale's usually pinpoint radar on the human condition is a little off tangent throughout this book. Whilst he says in the really useful author's notes at the end of the book that writing from a young girl's perspective was a bit of a creative experiment for him, I'm afraid it wasn't an experiment that completely worked.
In the final few pages, the narrative voice admits that the main drama of the piece took place without her input really, this is actually true for the whole book - our narrator, Sophie, is very little more than a commentator on the relationship between Lucas and Charlie, her two gay schoolfriends. This inability to get insight into their internal ruminations is where the book ultimately lets itself down.
Nevertheless, as you'd expect from Patrick Gale, the prose is extremely readable, and even if the book falls down overall on his usual excellent standards, I'm not sorry I read this. It wasn't a difficult read at all.
Maybe because the book is written from the perspective of someone who is a generation younger than the author, Gale's usually pinpoint radar on the human condition is a little off tangent throughout this book. Whilst he says in the really useful author's notes at the end of the book that writing from a young girl's perspective was a bit of a creative experiment for him, I'm afraid it wasn't an experiment that completely worked.
In the final few pages, the narrative voice admits that the main drama of the piece took place without her input really, this is actually true for the whole book - our narrator, Sophie, is very little more than a commentator on the relationship between Lucas and Charlie, her two gay schoolfriends. This inability to get insight into their internal ruminations is where the book ultimately lets itself down.
Nevertheless, as you'd expect from Patrick Gale, the prose is extremely readable, and even if the book falls down overall on his usual excellent standards, I'm not sorry I read this. It wasn't a difficult read at all.
April 8, 2014
Not a heartbreaker, and perhaps not his best, but by no means less than compelling all the same.
June 10, 2022
As ever with Patrick Gale, this is an immersive well-written book.
That said, I find it curious that a gay man would write a coming of age book from the perspective of a young teenage girl in a boarding school. It is not that I am against writers imagining things they have not experienced, more that, why would you write about puberty, menstruation, first bras ..... ?
The bar is hugely elevated in this unravelling of the highly strung emotions of adolescence covering so many issues about identity, sexuality, belonging, class, passion, alienation, morality, disgrace all being played out in a homoerotic male school with a few scholarly girls.
Whilst I found it easy to read it really wasn't Gale's best work. I kept thinking of a long ago read novel The Glittering Prizes by Frederick Raphael which dealt with antisemitism and class so much better.
That said, I find it curious that a gay man would write a coming of age book from the perspective of a young teenage girl in a boarding school. It is not that I am against writers imagining things they have not experienced, more that, why would you write about puberty, menstruation, first bras ..... ?
The bar is hugely elevated in this unravelling of the highly strung emotions of adolescence covering so many issues about identity, sexuality, belonging, class, passion, alienation, morality, disgrace all being played out in a homoerotic male school with a few scholarly girls.
Whilst I found it easy to read it really wasn't Gale's best work. I kept thinking of a long ago read novel The Glittering Prizes by Frederick Raphael which dealt with antisemitism and class so much better.
January 14, 2026
An engrossing story of teenage desire in a prestigious English boarding school in the late 1970’s. A lot of issues play out in this book. Semi-autobiographical, told in Patrick Gale’s wonderful engaging style.
November 24, 2018
Returning to Patrick Gale's earlier publications (reissued in 2018), I note his ability to create multi-dimensional characters, a feature so significant in his later texts. In the essay he includes after the novel "No Exaggeration", Gale reveals the parallels between his own life and those of the gay adolescents he features in "Friendly Fire". In the novel, however, they are seen through the perspective of a well-drawn female, Sophie, an highly intelligent orphan who attends an academic boarding school on scholarship. The friendships between Sophie and her young, gay, male friends, reveal the emotional turmoil of adolescents struggling to be who they wish to be, often in contrast to the expectations others have of them. Set in the 1970s in Great Britain, the criminality of homosexuality stands in stark contrast, thankfully, to our world of today.
Although I'm a fan of Gale's wide range of work, I found this novel to be somewhat uneven. At times, the writing was bogged down with stilted details about the nature of this esteemed British school that could have been condensed.
Yet, the stunning characterisations of Sophie, Lucas, and Charlie allow Gale to explore the angst of teenagers and the cycle of love, loyalty, betrayal, and loss that impact upon them. Gale manages also to capture the class distinctions and inherent prejudices in his created world, which adds significantly to the narrative and to the readers' understanding of the forces that impose themselves on his young characters. Sophie and her friend Lucas, for example, are referred to as "the bastard and the Jew" by the harsh, aggressive mother of Charlie, whose life is made intolerable by her interference.
It is most interesting that the healthiest relationship between "mother" and teenaged child in the novel is that between Sophie and Margaret in the Children's Home, where Sophie has lived without a biological family since she'd been abandoned. The unpretentious Margaret is a model of acceptance and respect for Sophie, who comes to realise that she has actually been "mothered" for the many years of her residence in the Home.
Although I'm a fan of Gale's wide range of work, I found this novel to be somewhat uneven. At times, the writing was bogged down with stilted details about the nature of this esteemed British school that could have been condensed.
Yet, the stunning characterisations of Sophie, Lucas, and Charlie allow Gale to explore the angst of teenagers and the cycle of love, loyalty, betrayal, and loss that impact upon them. Gale manages also to capture the class distinctions and inherent prejudices in his created world, which adds significantly to the narrative and to the readers' understanding of the forces that impose themselves on his young characters. Sophie and her friend Lucas, for example, are referred to as "the bastard and the Jew" by the harsh, aggressive mother of Charlie, whose life is made intolerable by her interference.
It is most interesting that the healthiest relationship between "mother" and teenaged child in the novel is that between Sophie and Margaret in the Children's Home, where Sophie has lived without a biological family since she'd been abandoned. The unpretentious Margaret is a model of acceptance and respect for Sophie, who comes to realise that she has actually been "mothered" for the many years of her residence in the Home.
October 30, 2013
This is set in a boarding school full of ancient traditions and an intake of predominantly male students. You wouldn’t need to know it was a Patrick Gale novel to suspect it might be a hotbed of homosexuality.
Seen through the eyes of Sophie, one of the school’s only female students, who got in on a scholarship having been brought up in care, it is skilfully written – it isn’t all about homosexual encounters though that’s the main thrust of it.
Like all Patrick Gale’s novels, it is full of interesting detail that keeps you wanting to read on even when nothing much is happening. It moves steadily towards its dramatic conclusion (which I didn’t see coming), and whilst I found the last chapter a bit jarring, this was another great read from this consistently excellent author.
Seen through the eyes of Sophie, one of the school’s only female students, who got in on a scholarship having been brought up in care, it is skilfully written – it isn’t all about homosexual encounters though that’s the main thrust of it.
Like all Patrick Gale’s novels, it is full of interesting detail that keeps you wanting to read on even when nothing much is happening. It moves steadily towards its dramatic conclusion (which I didn’t see coming), and whilst I found the last chapter a bit jarring, this was another great read from this consistently excellent author.
September 11, 2012
My favourite books by Patrick Gale are 'Notes from an Exhibition' and 'A Perfectly Good Man'. I have also been collecting and reading all his back catalogue and must admit that, after the two shown above, this is the one I have enjoyed the most so far. Wonderful writing and great characters, you almost feel as if you are there with Sophie, Lucas and Charlie. In his notes at the end of my edition, Patrick mentions some similarities to Harry Potter, although I more equated the clever, bookish but rather shy Sophie more with Lyra from the Northern Lights series! Absolutely loved it!
June 29, 2014
So many things about this were spot-on reminders of my own school days, even though my school was very different from Tathams - not boarding and all girls, for a start. I loved the slang and the games and the bizarre traditions of Tathams. Oh, and the dead hamster! (not a real one)
There were times when I would have liked to know what was going on in Lucas's head. Charlie was easy enough to read but Lucas wasn't, and there were points when perhaps the story suffered from being only from Sophie's point of view.
There were times when I would have liked to know what was going on in Lucas's head. Charlie was easy enough to read but Lucas wasn't, and there were points when perhaps the story suffered from being only from Sophie's point of view.
October 12, 2017
This is the compelling tale of Sophie & three years of her life at boarding school where she befriends Lucas, & later Charlie, both of whom come from backgrounds alien to hers. While she studies hard at school Sophie is also learning some much harder lessons about class, families & mother-love...& of the chaos & heartbreak they can cause.
I loved this just as much as I hoped I would - highly recommended it.
I loved this just as much as I hoped I would - highly recommended it.
October 12, 2012
Another cracking story from Gale.
I wasnt sure how it would go, with the characters being so much younger than all his other books I've read, but he did a fantastic job on both them and the story..
the three main children from different backgrounds, who come together and become such good friends, despite quite often not even liking each other rang very true.
I wasnt sure how it would go, with the characters being so much younger than all his other books I've read, but he did a fantastic job on both them and the story..
the three main children from different backgrounds, who come together and become such good friends, despite quite often not even liking each other rang very true.
January 8, 2015
Reading Patrick Gale is such a joy. This book was different from the others I have read in that it was centred on one character and was seen entirely from her perspective. It was also far more about "gay" issues. Sophie was such a great character and I really felt for her. I love Patrick Gale.
July 13, 2012
Loved this too -read it very quickly as find it hard to stop reading Mr Gale's books
October 7, 2018
3.5 stars
December 3, 2020
Tadi pagi saya baru ngeh bahwa saya dan seorang teman baik saya ternyata sekolah di SMA yang sama. (Kami baru saling kenal setahun belakangan). Dia langsung mengambil buku angkatannya. Umur kami berselisih empat tahun, jadi sulit membayangkan bahwa kami pernah ketemu di sekolah itu. Tapi ketika menyimak dia bercerita, saya seolah bisa mengenali pengalamannya semasa sekolah. Selain berbagi beberapa guru dan bangunan sekolah, kebetulan kami juga sama-sama gay dan sama-sama belum bisa berbagi tentang hal itu selama sekolah. Ketika teman baik saya bercerita bagaimana dia menyukai teman sebangku tanpa mengatakannya, saya bisa memahami rasanya. Begitu juga sewaktu dia berbagi pengalamannya tersisihkan dalam pelajaran olahraga, saya pernah ada di tempat yang sama.
Friendly Fire bercerita tentang tiga orang teman yang sama-sama merupakan outsiders di sebuah sekolah swasta di Inggris. Sophie jadi outsider karena dia merupakan siswi beasiswa yang besar di semacam panti asuhan. Lucas jadi outsider salah satunya karena dia menyukai sesama laki-laki. Sementara itu Charlie punya sifat gampang tersinggung yang bikin dia susah bergaul dengan sesama murid. Jadilah mereka bertiga berteman karib.
Alur buku ini mengikuti jadwal semester dan libur sekolahan, serta dinamika pertemanan Sophie, Lucas, dan Charlie. Mungkin sedikit mirip dengan Harry Potter, bedanya Hermione tidak naksir Harry dan Harry tidak naksir guru. Sementara iti, dalam Friendly Fire diceritakan bagaimana Sophie, Lucas, dan Charlie mengeksplorasi seksualitas masing-masing. Awalnya Sophie naksir Lucas, dan Lucas juga berusaha membalas perasaan Sophie. Tapi kemudian Lucas menyadari dirinya ingin hal yang berbeda. Sophie sempat marah, tapi kemudian bisa memaafkan Lucas. Menyelesaikan konflik ternyata membuat pertemanan keduanya makin erat.
Ketika menyadari bahwa dia bisa menunjukkan diri ke teman baiknya, Lucas thriving. Dia bercerita kepada Sophie tentang affair-nya dengan seorang kakak kelas. Suatu hari dengan feverish Lucas curhat soal bagaimana dia jatuh cinta dengan seorang guru mereka. Kebetulan Sophie termasuk dalam lingkaran murid-murid yang kerap diundang guru itu minum teh bersama di kediamannya. Sophie lantas bertanya kepada si guru apakah dia bisa mengundang Lucas ke jamuan minum teh. Jawabannya iya. Dari titik itulah kemudian bergulirnya cerita Friendly Fire bagi saya lebih menggetarkan daripada Harry Potter.
Pembicaraan dengan teman baik tadi pagi mengingatkan saya dengan buku Friendly Fire karena memunculkan lagi berbagai perasaan semasa SMA. Seingat saya, saat itu semua perasaan terasa intens. Dari rasa suka, malu, terasing, belum bisa menunjukkan diri kepada orang lain, masih dalam proses memaknai perasaan tapi di sisi lain merasakan tuntutan untuk bersikap dewasa, dan berbagai perasaan lain yang sulit terkatakan. Pada masa itu juga, mungkin banyak orang yang pertama kali mengalami patah hati, kehilangan, sampai mesti menelan konsekuensi pahit dari perbuatan yang sebetulnya tidak berniat jahat.
Dalam wawancara dengan Patrick Gale yang dimuat sebagai bonus dalam buku Friendly Fire, Patrick mengaku kerap berelasi dengan sesama laki-laki gay yang masih dalam proses memaknai pengalaman remajanya, meski usianya tidak bisa lagi dibilang begitu. Semasa remaja, dia nggak bisa berlaku seperti remaja pada umumnya. Patrick sendiri sebetulnya mirip Lucas, yang bisa menunjukkan dirinya kepada orang lain sejak remaja.
Kebetulan saat ini teman baik saya bekerja sebagai guru bahasa Inggris untuk remaja. Saya percaya dia bisa mengajar dengan baik, karena dia pandai membaca perasaan dan senang membaca novel young adults.
Friendly Fire bercerita tentang tiga orang teman yang sama-sama merupakan outsiders di sebuah sekolah swasta di Inggris. Sophie jadi outsider karena dia merupakan siswi beasiswa yang besar di semacam panti asuhan. Lucas jadi outsider salah satunya karena dia menyukai sesama laki-laki. Sementara itu Charlie punya sifat gampang tersinggung yang bikin dia susah bergaul dengan sesama murid. Jadilah mereka bertiga berteman karib.
Alur buku ini mengikuti jadwal semester dan libur sekolahan, serta dinamika pertemanan Sophie, Lucas, dan Charlie. Mungkin sedikit mirip dengan Harry Potter, bedanya Hermione tidak naksir Harry dan Harry tidak naksir guru. Sementara iti, dalam Friendly Fire diceritakan bagaimana Sophie, Lucas, dan Charlie mengeksplorasi seksualitas masing-masing. Awalnya Sophie naksir Lucas, dan Lucas juga berusaha membalas perasaan Sophie. Tapi kemudian Lucas menyadari dirinya ingin hal yang berbeda. Sophie sempat marah, tapi kemudian bisa memaafkan Lucas. Menyelesaikan konflik ternyata membuat pertemanan keduanya makin erat.
Ketika menyadari bahwa dia bisa menunjukkan diri ke teman baiknya, Lucas thriving. Dia bercerita kepada Sophie tentang affair-nya dengan seorang kakak kelas. Suatu hari dengan feverish Lucas curhat soal bagaimana dia jatuh cinta dengan seorang guru mereka. Kebetulan Sophie termasuk dalam lingkaran murid-murid yang kerap diundang guru itu minum teh bersama di kediamannya. Sophie lantas bertanya kepada si guru apakah dia bisa mengundang Lucas ke jamuan minum teh. Jawabannya iya. Dari titik itulah kemudian bergulirnya cerita Friendly Fire bagi saya lebih menggetarkan daripada Harry Potter.
Pembicaraan dengan teman baik tadi pagi mengingatkan saya dengan buku Friendly Fire karena memunculkan lagi berbagai perasaan semasa SMA. Seingat saya, saat itu semua perasaan terasa intens. Dari rasa suka, malu, terasing, belum bisa menunjukkan diri kepada orang lain, masih dalam proses memaknai perasaan tapi di sisi lain merasakan tuntutan untuk bersikap dewasa, dan berbagai perasaan lain yang sulit terkatakan. Pada masa itu juga, mungkin banyak orang yang pertama kali mengalami patah hati, kehilangan, sampai mesti menelan konsekuensi pahit dari perbuatan yang sebetulnya tidak berniat jahat.
Dalam wawancara dengan Patrick Gale yang dimuat sebagai bonus dalam buku Friendly Fire, Patrick mengaku kerap berelasi dengan sesama laki-laki gay yang masih dalam proses memaknai pengalaman remajanya, meski usianya tidak bisa lagi dibilang begitu. Semasa remaja, dia nggak bisa berlaku seperti remaja pada umumnya. Patrick sendiri sebetulnya mirip Lucas, yang bisa menunjukkan dirinya kepada orang lain sejak remaja.
Kebetulan saat ini teman baik saya bekerja sebagai guru bahasa Inggris untuk remaja. Saya percaya dia bisa mengajar dengan baik, karena dia pandai membaca perasaan dan senang membaca novel young adults.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2024
Interestingly, I started reading this book a few days after visiting Eton, so a lot of things mentioned had been explained there e.g. the need for different colours for each society. The school in the book did seem similar to it in many ways too.
Set in an elite English Boarding School in the late 1970’s, it tells the story of three pupils there: Sophie a poor orphan, Lucas, and Charlie, both rich boys. A final important character at school is Mr. Compton. There was a bit of initial misleading as to which pupil the teacher was interested in, it turning out to be
In my copy, there was a review by someone called Carolyn Hart, where she suggests the author has introduced a strong matriarchal thread through Margaret, the dependable children's home carer, Heidi, Lucas's super efficient mother, plus Charlie's terrifying and angry one. For some reason, she omits Mr. Compton's mother, who could be described as law abiding. . Interestingly enough, the one mother only briefly mentioned is Sophie's . The reviewer also picked up on the fact that the chapters alternated between school and holidays, which I hadn't noticed myself.
I loved this school story, even if it was another gay story. Does this author write any without gay people in them? I appreciate that that is his world but it's not representational of the UK in general. Anyway, I loved the cultural references too e.g. Timothy White's, trainer bras etc.
Set in an elite English Boarding School in the late 1970’s, it tells the story of three pupils there: Sophie a poor orphan, Lucas, and Charlie, both rich boys. A final important character at school is Mr. Compton. There was a bit of initial misleading as to which pupil the teacher was interested in, it turning out to be
In my copy, there was a review by someone called Carolyn Hart, where she suggests the author has introduced a strong matriarchal thread through Margaret, the dependable children's home carer, Heidi, Lucas's super efficient mother, plus Charlie's terrifying and angry one. For some reason, she omits Mr. Compton's mother, who could be described as law abiding. . Interestingly enough, the one mother only briefly mentioned is Sophie's . The reviewer also picked up on the fact that the chapters alternated between school and holidays, which I hadn't noticed myself.
I loved this school story, even if it was another gay story. Does this author write any without gay people in them? I appreciate that that is his world but it's not representational of the UK in general. Anyway, I loved the cultural references too e.g. Timothy White's, trainer bras etc.
August 28, 2017
After reading Facing the Tank, I was keen to try some of Patrick Gale’s other novels. By chance, I stumbled across Friendly Fire, which is set in the same town and focuses on the grand old boarding school, Tatham’s, at its heart. Gale admits in his author’s note that the school is a thinly-disguised version of his own alma mater at Winchester, and perhaps that’s why the story shimmers with a kind of nostalgia. Like an adolescent version of The Lessons crossed with The Secret History, it follows the formidably bright Sophie and her friendship with the fascinating, flamboyant Lucas across the course of three tempestuous years. It’s a tribute to intense adolescent friendship, a tale of trying to find one’s place in a confusing world, and – perhaps above all – a love-letter to what happens when a thirsty mind meets a classical education...
For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/08/18/f...
For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
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September 14, 2017
I always enjoy Patrick Gale's stories. They're told with that touch of humour that appeals to me, though this one in fact is somewhat less amusing than some of his previous books. Still, it's a worthwhile tale of an orphan living in a group home who gets the chance to attend a prestigious local school.
The small group of friends she eventually finds herself in, is one on the edges - something I could relate to, never having fit easily into any of the cliques at my own school - and the situation develops into something she is not quite prepared to cope with. The observations of her life, and how she and those around her deal with what she finds herself involved in, leading through sadness and pain, and eventually to a life that fits her perfectly, is well worth the read.
The typical English setting and 1970s atmosphere is also well described, and as always I walked away wishing I could write with the flair that Mr Gale shows.
The small group of friends she eventually finds herself in, is one on the edges - something I could relate to, never having fit easily into any of the cliques at my own school - and the situation develops into something she is not quite prepared to cope with. The observations of her life, and how she and those around her deal with what she finds herself involved in, leading through sadness and pain, and eventually to a life that fits her perfectly, is well worth the read.
The typical English setting and 1970s atmosphere is also well described, and as always I walked away wishing I could write with the flair that Mr Gale shows.
October 17, 2021
Quite an engaging, driven narrative arc, but I didn’t find the main character (Sophie) convincing: she was more a gay man’s idealised teenage beard than a real girl. The ending was overly dramatic for the run-up of the main narrative. Altogether it didn’t quite fit.
In the postscript, Gale says the book is based on his experience of Winchester.
In some senses it’s a Young Adult novel, but it’s clearly not aimed at a teenager readership.
Neither fish nor fowl might be an accurate summary of my take on it.
In the postscript, Gale says the book is based on his experience of Winchester.
In some senses it’s a Young Adult novel, but it’s clearly not aimed at a teenager readership.
Neither fish nor fowl might be an accurate summary of my take on it.
August 18, 2024
Look it's a Patrick Gale novel, of course this was love by the third chapter. A gay English Secret History would be a fitting and yet not fully descriptive note to make about it. As a coming of age novel, Friendly Fire deals so well with issues of family - real and found, love, sexuality and the limits/bounds of sexuality in Gale's usual heat rending beautiful prose.
It's not quite the soul-changing masterpiece that I found Take Nothing With You to be, but it's still a an utter marvel and come for this man and his works and by thunder I'll do you one.
It's not quite the soul-changing masterpiece that I found Take Nothing With You to be, but it's still a an utter marvel and come for this man and his works and by thunder I'll do you one.
January 7, 2020
Patrick Gale is my new favourite author so if I sound a bit gushy, I am! Already the details of the book are fading, but Sophie is a wonderful protagonist, who attends a prestigious boarding school through a scholarship. The school is unusual in that the girl boarders are called Daughters - it seems a very old school with some lovely traditions, (the Illuminati, for example) and I enjoyed the way Sophie fell for the boy in the dress. I'm not going to elaborate too much, just read it!
December 26, 2024
This really drew me in - a fabulous exploration of coming of age, emotionally, intellectually, sexually and set mainly in the very special environs of a centuries-old school with its peculiar traditions and yet very personal tensions. There are some shocking turning points but, for all but one of the characters, a satisfyingly reassuring conclusion. The book also highlights the personal tragedies that an intolerant society can force on those who do not conform to its expectations.
October 30, 2019
Maybe it’s because I have a stack of other books beckoning me but I just couldn’t get through this book and gave up half way. There just wasn’t enough happening for me. I’ve read “Notes from the exhibition “and really loved it but this didn’t intrigue me enough to finish. I do enjoy Gale’s writing and will try another of his books sometime. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
October 18, 2021
Once again Patrick Gale has written a novel that completely touched my heart. I absolutely loved Sophie and following her through her teenage years into adulthood in the last chapter was a total joy. The characters are exquisitely drawn ( I also loved Margaret and Lady Droxford), human and real with all the faults. A wonderful read !
January 18, 2024
Great writing, completely captivating and draws me in from the early pages. Really appreciate PG's writing abilities :) Story live held my attention, though shame it jumped 20+ years at the end.... not sure what we gained from that. Actually, maybe that's not quite true, it does reaffirm friendships between 2 of the main characters.
November 29, 2024
What a stunning book. Sophie attends an elite school where she meets Lucas, and later, Charlie. They become a threesome. There so much packed into this book, Snobbery, the easy easy cruelty of the young, and an ultimate shock. I won't give away the details but it's another blockbuster from Patrick Gale. I loved it.
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