Eddy, Eddy

  5 Reviews

Welcome to a year in the life of Eddy Smallbone, orphan, checkout operator, nanny and pet minder. Navigating the earthquake-disturbed streets of Christchurch, Eddy, on the cusp of adulthood, has plenty to keep him busy while he wrestles with the big questions of life.

With a nod to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this moving coming-of-age story is written with empathy and warmth, and is populated with quirky characters, both human and animal. [Larger font]

Comments from BDS Reviewers

"Well written and engaging."

"Kate de Goldi writes about young people with great empathy and warmth and outlines the hurdles of youth with obvious experience and with marvellous humour."

"Everything gets covered : sex, drugs, abortion, tattooing, music, religious beliefs, relations with adults, etc, all with a gentle touch."

"A clever book where the narrative emerges in a subtle way."

"I enjoyed this book but I prefer De Goldi's previous book, The 10pm Question."

"I gobbled the book up in the first reading, I so wanted to find out what happened, but the second time round I savoured every word."

"The broken city of Christchurch is a metaphor for Eddy's broken mind - very clever."

"I did not enjoy the book as much as I'd expected, but perhaps I'm not the target audience."

"I'm well-educated, but there were many words in the book that I'd never heard of before."

Reviews

WELL 238

16-08-2023

Overall the group really enjoyed this book and it prompted a good discussion. Most members felt it was slow to start but couldn't put it down by the end. The group felt it was well-written and tackled/covered issues of emotional awareness in men, male mental health and the various forms 'family' can take - all with graceful tact.

PALMN 029

26-06-2023

A good story that helps to share the experience of living in the cleanup after the earthquake with a unique found family of people and animals. The challenging vocabulary made many of us read with a device nearby to look up words. The characters were well drawn but to some of us always felt like characters rather than fully formed people. One in our group felt Boo seemed old beyond her years, but many of us recognised her in people we have known.

METH 001

22-06-2023

Group had mixed opinions on the rating. Some felt it was a bit wordy. Characters were well-written and described.

CHCH 481

13-04-2023

Divisive in our group with scores ranging from 3-5. Loved the Christchurch setting and quirky characters. Some thought too many characters.

BLENH 022

20-03-2023

This stimulated the most discussion of any book the group has tackled. So many stories of Christchurch arose from Eddie's adventures.