Comment 697 on “Jubilee”

1. Essie Fox says:

   at 5:44 AM

   The camera never lies or does it In her brilliantly observed debut novel Shelley Harris begins her story with a photograph that has been taken during an English suburban street party to celebrate the 1977 Jubilee That picture goes on to be an iconic image, and one syndicated around the world, in which Satish, an immigrant Asian boy is seen sitting amongst his white neighbourhood friends.It is a powerful emblem of hope, of tolerance and racial harmony But what happened just before that event and [...]

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2. Faith Spinks says:

   at 5:44 AM

   I was recommended this book by a colleague at work She told me that it was the best book she had read in ages I clearly need to recommend some better books for her to read It wasn t that it was a bad book I did enjoy reading it But it probably won t join the ranks of books I like to re read or books I d enthusiastically recommend to others.In 1977 as the residents of Cherry Gardens hold a street party to celebrate the Queen s Silver Jubilee a photographer from a local newspaper takes a photo The [...]

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3. Cai says:

   at 5:44 AM

   Back in 1977, the United Kingdom celebrated the Jubilee with street parties and decorated streets A photo of the party in Cherry Gardens made the newspapers and was splashed all over the media For Satish, the day is a painful memory, one that he would prefer to forget So thirty years later when they want to reconstruct the photograph, Satish is reluctant.Jubilee highlights the racism that was prolific through out the 70 s Harris does a great job of allowing you to feel the injustice of the treat [...]

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4. Rebecca Mckenzie says:

   at 5:44 AM

   I bought this book at the airport in Birmingham and thought it would be a fun read amongst all the Jubilee paraphernalia this year in England not what I was expecting at all This was the first novel written by this author and although her intent was good, she missed the mark with her poor writing and it was a struggle to finish Satish s addiction should have been substantiated to fall in line with the story as it was, it didn t flow with the plot is this book about racism, addiction, immigrant [...]

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5. Annee says:

   at 5:44 AM

   I was looking forward to this book, it seemed intriguing But OMG talk about drag it out, I think I said out loud on a few occasions just tell us the secret I even sped read a few chapters thinking it must be coming up now When it was eventually revealed, I just thought oh right , so it really wasn t worth waiting for.Touching on the racist elements of the book and trying not to give any spoilers , it really was awful that this was accepted back then.

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6. Laura says:

   at 5:44 AM

   From BBC Radio 4 Satish was at the centre of an iconic photo of a Jubilee street party taken in 1977 but thirty years on he dreads a reunion Even though he is now a successful paediatric cardiologist and happily married with two children of his own, the events of that fateful day are seared on his memory.

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7. Sophia says:

   at 5:44 AM

   When Satish Patel was twelve, a photographer took a picture of the street party held in his road during the Silver Jubilee Satish was in the foreground, seemingly happy amongst his friends, and the photo became incredibly famous a symbol of racial integration and community spirit Thirty years on, Satish is a successful heart surgeon, married with two children and a good life When an old friend contacts him trying to organise a reunion to restage the photograph, Satish panics He starts taking dia [...]

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8. M.B. says:

   at 5:44 AM

   I read the blurb on this in Tesco and found it intriguing and that it was going to be a great read Yeah, I was mislead.The story is told both in 1977 and the present day Usually, I quite enjoy books written in this way or from multiple points of views , but in this case I found it really confusing.Also, the main character of Satish he bored me It got to the point where I truly didn t care what happened to him I only persevered with the book because I thought or hoped that it might just have been [...]

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9. David Hebblethwaite says:

   at 5:44 AM

   Satish Patel was a boy at the time of the Queen s Silver Jubilee, the son of an immigrant Ugandan family in an otherwise all white Buckinghamshire village he was a key figure in a photograph taken of the village s Jubilee celebrations, an image which became iconic Thirty years on, Satish is a successful cardiologist with a habit of helping himself to diazepam from the medicine cabinet he receives a call from an old friend, telling him of plans to stage a reconstruction of the photo but Satish is [...]

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10. Carole says:

    at 5:44 AM

    This was an easy to read story about a group of people who lived in the same street as children when the Queen s silver jubilee celebrations took place The main character is Satish, who is now a successful children s cardiac surgeon, and the story flits between current time and the day of the jubilee street party when in the grand tradition of story telling something happened that would change the course of those children s lives for ever I thought the storyline was quite good, it wasn t your ru [...]

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11. Lou Robinson says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Not a bad little story, the title is somewhat self explanatory, in that it is themed around a jubilee event What I liked about it The flash backs to the silver jub and forward to this year s diamond effort, some of the characters, particularly Mandy and Sarah I can picture them in their 70s flares and the accurate recounting of what it was like in 1977 middle England But, the downsides, I didn t particularly like the main character, Satish The end was disappointing, I kept thinking there was to [...]

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12. Bettie☯ says:

    at 5:44 AM

    BABTSatish was at the centre of an iconic photo of a Jubilee street party taken in 1977, but 30 years on he dreads a reunion Even though he is now a successful paediatric cardiologist and happily married with two children of his own, the events of that fateful day are seared on his memory.Jubilee is Shelley Harris s first novel Not interesting enough for me to continue with this for another week

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13. Sarah Rodgers says:

    at 5:44 AM

    This book promised so much on the cover description but it just failed to materialise in the story.The books theme had very good potential but I don t feel that it was at all well executed It was a good look at the nostalgia of the 1970 s but so much development of the characters was required The book ticked along but was not a great page turner.This book has already been relegated to the charity shop pile as I could not recommend it to anyone else.

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14. Jane says:

    at 5:44 AM

    At first I wasn t sure about the to ing and fro ing between present and past, but it did help to build suspense to the final scenes The images were from a childhood Britain that I remember and I enjoyed this aspect of the book The white racial attitudes that abounded at that time are well portrayed and I liked the final little twists and turns that were unexpected.

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15. Helen Matthews-grout says:

    at 5:44 AM

    I don t think it was as good as everyone says it is, but an enjoyable read at an appropriate time I found the swtiching of stories a little confusing, and thought the event that happened to him a little underwhelming maybe I missed the point

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16. Leslie says:

    at 5:44 AM

    I love love love this story, ready to read it again right away

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17. Mrunmai Kulkarni says:

    at 5:44 AM

    The author has painted a beautiful picture of the contrasting household lives of people of different faiths It is evident that a detailed observation has been made about how people are driven by their beliefs and prejudices, how they react to a particular situation, and how different people perceive the same thing in different ways It shows the racial discrimination that unconsciously exists in the minds of people, and how they vent it out by their petty acts There were a few times, though, when [...]

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18. Moore says:

    at 5:44 AM

    This is a quick gentle read, which travels softly between 1977 and the present I read it as a palette cleanser, and it was perfect for that, quick and clear, casting a modern light backward on some 1977 behaviours that some people would prefer to forget I can t help but think this story has rather undersold the central event at the bottom of it all There is something rather matter of fact about the telling, and perhaps that s why the second half of the story doesn t land so well The idea is good [...]

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19. Emma says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Dit boek greep me helaas niet bij de keel, wat ik gehoopt had Ik vond het moeilijk om me te verplaatsen in de gevoelens van de hoofdpersoon Ik begreep echt niet waarom hij sommige keuzes maakte Verder vind ik de schrijfstijl naarmate het boek vordert verwarrende worden Je moet als lezer maar uitvogelen of je in het heden of verleden bent

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20. Karen says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Yes, this book took six months to read I put it down and picked back up twice The plot was interesting, but the characters never came alive When you don t care about the main character it s a chore to keep reading the book, but I did want to know what happened at the end Okay, now I know, and it was interesting, but pretty predictable.

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21. Karen says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Heartwarming and nostalgic Really Addiction, racism, and people generally being horrible to each other Hmm Bit of a mess, really Would have benefited from a much ruthless editor.

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22. Samantha Pattison says:

    at 5:44 AM

    3.5 stars

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23. Kiwiflora says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Here, in one of Britain s colonial outposts, generally speaking the Queen is a popular figure head But because she is so far away, and so remote, and so invisible to us, anything to do with celebrating who she is and what she represents has very little impact Apart from a long weekend to mark her birthday Her jubilees too 25th, 50th, Diamond come and go here, the average citizen barely noticing But in the UK of course, completely different story A jubilee is an event, something to plan for and a [...]

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24. Jules says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Without a doubt, this book has some special qualities as a piece of fiction.This work has many themes but it is highly concentrated in analysing life and culture in the late 1970s hence its title Jubilee In the opening chapters, we are told about a typical photographical portrait taken during a street party to celebrate the Queen s Silver Jubilee The portrait is highly culturally analysed mainly from the perspective of Satish, a young immigrant from Uganda, and the narrative develops from there [...]

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25. Paula Maguire says:

    at 5:44 AM

    I enjoyed this book mostly for the nostalgic element of recognising the sigs of growing up in the seventies, the clothes, music ect I could also relate to the suburban setting even though the families described were unlike the 6 children minimum typical of irish families at the time The structure was good and the device of the main characters drug addiction in the face of blackmail was gripping and felt realistic My big dread was that his tormentors sexually abused him so I was relieved that his [...]

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26. Simon Lipson says:

    at 5:44 AM

    A little gem A street party photograph taken on Jubilee Day in 1977 has become symbolic of the era, its subjects a microcosm of British society But behind the smiles lie secrets about the relationships between some of them and the events of that day that slowly emerge through the eyes of Ugandan Asian immigrant Satish I ll say no about the plot, save that it s beautifully wrought, teased out through flashbacks and glimpses of the present day.The delights here are many Harris evokes 1977 with a [...]

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27. Philtrum says:

    at 5:44 AM

    This is the story of Satish Patel, a lad of Indian descent whose parents fled Uganda when he was very young and made their home in the South East of England.The story flips back and forth in time between 1977 specifically the day of a street party for the Queen s Silver Jubilee and the present time.Back then, Satish was the only non white kid in his street Now, he s a successfully paediatric cardiologist But he remains haunted or at least significantly affected by events which took place back on [...]

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28. Jacqueline Pye says:

    at 5:44 AM

    Jubilee was a very entertaining read I didn t check reviews before finishing the book, but I do agree that it could be a little difficult to become emotionally involved with Satish like watching with interest from the sidelines The key issues of the plot were thought provoking, especially getting to understand better what children like Satish would have had to cope with at that time from all generations of established white families As the story alternated between then and now , occasionally I [...]

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29. Harriet Lake says:

    at 5:44 AM

    To continue my resolution to sortof review the books I finish on here though I ve definitely missed some , I thought this book was OK I liked the characters and there were some excellent moments, but I feel it didn t give enough attention to the truly interesting aspects of the story The story is loosely about generations of an Asian family who moved to the UK in the 1970s It jumps from present day to the Jubilee in the 70s, when the protagonist was a child It explores issues of racism and xenop [...]

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30. Clare Hudson says:

    at 5:44 AM

    My second read of this book I read it first time round about the time of the Diamond Jubilee 2012 will it live up to a second read and come on the house move with us Or will it end up at the charity shop Hmmmm debating about this but think it will go to the charity shop I definitely shan t read it again, though I did enjoy second time round You could almost feel the racial tension coming from the pages from the young boys in the story I m sure in some parts of the UK not much has changed Fascina [...]

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