Regatta

by Libby Purves

Knowledge is power. When Anansi Cowper, the lame, angry and neglected child of council care and parental carelessness, finds herself adrift in a Suffolk seaside resort, she has no hesitation in destroying her hosts' complacent comfort with a well-timed revelation about what she saw in the old Martello Tower.

But Anansi is only eleven years old and the few pillars of her life are crumbling. Faced with her own disaster, compounded by the one she has created for the smug little town of Blythney, she needs courage. So does Sheila, whose husband has strayed too far for easy recovery; his lover Penny, startled by her own husband's robustly Victorian approach to Sin; and their various children. In the background flows the river, which cares for none of them; and an old war hero, who cares rather too much.

The answer, for those who can recognize it when they see it, turns out in the end to be perhaps a better one than any of them deserve.

Genres: Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Libby Purves is a journalist and author who has been writing for The Times since 1982. A previous columnist of the year and author of 12 novels and non-fiction books, she was for 40 years a BBC Radio 4 broadcaster after becoming the Today programme’s first woman and youngest presenter.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when two worlds collide. Anansi is mixed race and has been living with her mum on a sink estate in London. When she is sent on holiday to give her mum a break she finds herself transported to the prosperous middle-class world of a small seaside village in Suffolk. The opportunities for misunderstanding and havoc start to occur immediately, and before long everyone's lives have been turned upside down. Libby Purves has written about a world she knows well, and the resulting story keeps you turning the pages until the end.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book! Well written, good storyline, believable characters and a bit of a moral too! A child from an extremely deprived background is given a 'holiday' by a well meaning middle class woman, she becomes a catalyst for various events in this affluent corner of the UK.

[Annette Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit sentimental for my taste but it's an easy to read, charming story with a wonderfully happy ending. A nice, gentle book.

[mrs s baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Brought tears to my eyes more than once. Highly recommend if you need a feel good read. Could we have a sequel?

[Sharon Scagell · Rating 4 out of 5]

an enjoyable story about a girl who had a disability from her parents. She was moved to a foster home for the summer which gave her a new life

[Louise Culmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheila Harrison lives in a small picturesque sailing town on the Suffolk coast, and every summer she has deprived children to stay in her spacious home, and introduces them to the wonders of sailing, picnicking, and other wholesome pursuits. This year she welcomes eleven year old Anansi, a fiercely independent girl from a particularly grim single parent home. Anansi is terrified by the sea, the river, and the boats at first, and overwhelmed by the kindly but not very perceptive Sheila, who expects everyone else to share her enthusiasms and is oblivious to Anansi's fears. she also faces hostility from Sheila's youngest son, Douai, a year older than her, who resents her presence in the house. But she makes friends with Sheila's Uncle Harry, a former soldier who tells her stories of his wartime career and helps her overcome her fear of boats, and Marta, an imaginative little girl who finds Anansi fascinating. then an incident at a picnic provokes Anansi into revealing an embarrassing secret she has learnt which throws the Harrison family into turmoil. Anansi's skill at sailing improves rapidly, the hostility between her and Douai is unabated, and the story builds to an almost unbearably thrilling climax. THis is a gripping story with some marvellous characters, but Anansi is the star, you just wait to see what she will do next. It made me think what 'Swallows and Amazons' would have been like, had Arthur Ransome introduced a determined streetwise inner city child into the placid world of the Walkers and the Blackets.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anansi, an eleven-year-old girl in council care, excluded from school after fighting, goes to stay at a seaside town. She is thrust into wealthy tennis/sailing circles, which at first confuse and alienate her.

But Anansi is a determined, courageous and essentially honest person. Underneath her aggressive exterior she also has some surprising kindness, and empathy.

The sailing jargon is rather too extensive for my tastes, and there are too many minor characters to remember. But it's quite thought-provoking; overall a satisfying book even if the ending is rather too nice and neat.

Recommended if you like women's fiction with some depth, particularly if you're interested in sailing. Three and a half stars would be fairer.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good even I found it a bit soap opdeaish for me (too many different characters, hence 4 stars) but the storyline is a FAB. It's about a mixed girl (black and white) who is being fostered for a summer in a small town that loves to sailing. She told a secret about 2 people and that secret made a huge impact on a town. Soo good. :)

[Chris Hinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to put down

There are some real characters in this story: you get to understand them. It moves on easily, but quite irresistibly. It's one of the few books which I intend to keep, rather than pass on. But very keen to lend it.