| The Uncommon Reader: A Novella | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy New: $6.13
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Avg. Customer Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 4178
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0312427646
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312427641
ASIN: 0312427646
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
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Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Product Description
From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winning The History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading
When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 90 more reviews...
 A welcome surprise January 3, 2009
I broke down and bought this after a couple of my friends gave it really good reviews. When it arrived, however, I was pretty mad to see how short the book was. Granted when I went back and looked at the product page, I could see it is called a novella, so it's not like they were falsely advertising it. It was really my own fault for not noticing how short the book was.
Once I started reading it though, I was hooked. The premise is quite interesting: the Queen starts reading- first out of politeness, then because she enjoys it. I found I could identify with her several times, especially since many of my family and friends also do not understand my obsession with reading and with books, like those who surrounded the Queen in Alan Bennett's novella.
Not only did I find the Queen's journey in the story interesting and entertaining, it also inspired me to seek out some of the books mentioned that she reads. Many of course were/are classics which I have read or heard of, while others were new to me and not titles I recognized. Overall it's given me many books to add to a TBR list.
Back to the story- I really would recommend it. It's short enough for those who do not enjoy a long book, but long enough to hook the audience and make them compelled to finish it. I also really enjoyed the ending, and was not expecting it at all, which made it even better. Kudos to Alan Bennett, and I'll be searching out more of his work.
 A Royal Treat December 30, 2008
When the Queen of England happens into a bookmobile, she feels compelled by courtesy to check out a book. But when she takes it home and actually reads it, the world of books -- in fact, the world in general -- opens up in a way that this seemingly worldly woman never expected. And in this tiny novella, Bennett opens up the Queen's interior and exterior lives and the world of reading in ways I never expected. A smart and witty treat!
An absolute delight December 29, 2008
While the Queen was out with her dogs one day, the dogs took off and started barking at the traveling library (bookmobile) that was on the Palace grounds. The Queen feels duty bound to go over and apologize for her dogs' actions. While she was in the bookmobile she met a young man who works in the Palace kitchen. She also feels obligated to check out a book, so she leaves with The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. She becomes so engrossed in the book that she feigns illness so she could stay in bed to read. Thus began the Queen's love affair with books in The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.
The Queen's love of books doesn't please everyone, though, because she is running late for engagements and isn't paying as much attention to appearances as she used to. The young man from the kitchen is promoted to help her choose and keep up with her books. By the end of the book, the Queen has become interested in writing too, and what happens at the very end will surprise you.
This novella was an absolute delight. Readers will love sentences like this, "Books have enriched my life in a way that one could never have expected." It made me think about how reading affects the reader and others around them and how other people view readers. I was able to relate to the Queen's obsession with books.
"Once upon a time ... December 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"It was the dogs' fault."
The Queen (aka "One") met Norman Seakins and books in a van parked near the garbage bins.
One "read of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people."
One is thorough: "Books, bread and butter, mashed potato - one finishes what's on one's plate."
Norman becomes her amanuensis (and more); he "was unaffected by her because she seemed so ancient, her royalty obliterated by her seniority."
Except with Norman, One is unable to discuss books:
The President of France "looked wildly about for his minister of culture."
Her driver "opened the glove compartment and took out his copy of the `Sun'."
Asked what they were reading: "To this very few of Her Majesty's loyal subjects had a ready answer (though one did try: `The Bible?')."
Her staff: "I'm afraid Her Majesty is getting to be what is known as a handful."
Or One is disinclined: "Harry Potter, but to this the Queen (who had no time for fantasy) invariably said briskly, `Yes. One is saving that for a rainy day.'"
Even authors "she found were best met on the pages of their books."
So the Queen decides to join her ancestors and relatives - Henry VIII on heresy, Victoria with Leaves from a Highland Journal, the Duke of Windsor with A King's Story - and become an author herself.
To the consternation of her ministers -- the Queen has a "terrible sense of duty" -- she announces "One must not talk about it or it will never get done."
And they all lived interestingly ever after.
Robert C. Ross 2008
A December 11, 2008
Bennett's sweet satire of politics and the British monarchy is also a surprising love letter to reading and the pursuit of knowledge. What is sometimes a comedy of manners is also a well-written, beautiful little book about finding happiness late in life in unexpected places. Filled with bon mots and gentle humor, Bennett masterfully weaves inticing plot with brilliant characterizations that bounce off of the page. In fact, the characters are drawn so well, that it is hard to believe the book is a slim 120 pages - the author is dead-on with his observations, and the bit of a surprise ending is right on the mark. There is little to criticize: the only hindrance to the novella's success is the strange fact that everyone the Queen encounters has never heard of famous writers such as Proust and Hardy. Aside from this, Bennett has crafted a divine, delicious romp that opens wide windows of thought that transcend the plot. There is more to take away from The Uncommon Reader than meets the eye.
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