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The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
Part coming-of-age story, part mystery, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is a quirky and utterly charming debut about a community in need of absolution and two girls learning what it means to belong.
England, 1976. Mrs. Creasy is missing and the Avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbors blame her sudden disappearance on the heat wave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren’t convinced. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. Inspired by the local vicar, they go looking for God—they believe that if they find Him they might also find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home.
Spunky, spirited Grace and quiet, thoughtful Tilly go door to door in search of clues. The cul-de-sac starts to give up its secrets, and the amateur detectives uncover much more than ever imagined. As they try to make sense of what they’ve seen and heard, a complicated history of deception begins to emerge. Everyone on the Avenue has something to hide, a reason for not fitting in.
In the suffocating heat of the summer, the ability to guard these differences becomes impossible. Along with the parched lawns and the melting pavement, the lives of all the neighbors begin to unravel. What the girls don’t realize is that the lies told to conceal what happened one fateful day about a decade ago are the same ones Mrs. Creasy was beginning to peel back just before she disappeared.
England, 1976. Mrs. Creasy is missing and the Avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbors blame her sudden disappearance on the heat wave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren’t convinced. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. Inspired by the local vicar, they go looking for God—they believe that if they find Him they might also find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home.
Spunky, spirited Grace and quiet, thoughtful Tilly go door to door in search of clues. The cul-de-sac starts to give up its secrets, and the amateur detectives uncover much more than ever imagined. As they try to make sense of what they’ve seen and heard, a complicated history of deception begins to emerge. Everyone on the Avenue has something to hide, a reason for not fitting in.
In the suffocating heat of the summer, the ability to guard these differences becomes impossible. Along with the parched lawns and the melting pavement, the lives of all the neighbors begin to unravel. What the girls don’t realize is that the lies told to conceal what happened one fateful day about a decade ago are the same ones Mrs. Creasy was beginning to peel back just before she disappeared.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2016
2,621 people are currently reading
19.5k people want to read
About the author
Joanna Cannon
15books948followersLibrarians note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
Joanna Cannon is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, which has sold over 250,000 copies in the UK alone and has been published in 15 countries. The novel was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, shortlisted for The Bookseller Industry Awards 2017 and won the 2016 BAMB Reader Award. Joanna has been interviewed in The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Times, and Good Housekeeping magazine, and her writing has appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, and the Guardian, amongst others. She has appeared on BBC Breakfast, BBC News Channel’s Meet the Author, interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5, and is a regular at literary festivals across the country including Edinburgh and Cheltenham. Joanna left school at fifteen with one O-level and worked her way through many different jobs � barmaid, kennel maid, pizza delivery expert � before returning to school in her thirties and qualifying as a doctor. Her work as a psychiatrist and interest in people on the fringes of society continue to inspire her writing, and Joanna currently volunteers for Arts for Health, an organisation bringing creative arts to NHS staff and patients. Joanna Cannon’s second novel Three Things About Elsie is published in January 2018 and explores memory, friendship and old age. She lives in the Peak District with her family and her dog.
Joanna Cannon is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, which has sold over 250,000 copies in the UK alone and has been published in 15 countries. The novel was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, shortlisted for The Bookseller Industry Awards 2017 and won the 2016 BAMB Reader Award. Joanna has been interviewed in The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Times, and Good Housekeeping magazine, and her writing has appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, and the Guardian, amongst others. She has appeared on BBC Breakfast, BBC News Channel’s Meet the Author, interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5, and is a regular at literary festivals across the country including Edinburgh and Cheltenham. Joanna left school at fifteen with one O-level and worked her way through many different jobs � barmaid, kennel maid, pizza delivery expert � before returning to school in her thirties and qualifying as a doctor. Her work as a psychiatrist and interest in people on the fringes of society continue to inspire her writing, and Joanna currently volunteers for Arts for Health, an organisation bringing creative arts to NHS staff and patients. Joanna Cannon’s second novel Three Things About Elsie is published in January 2018 and explores memory, friendship and old age. She lives in the Peak District with her family and her dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,516 reviews
July 25, 2016
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear this had such promise and for such a long stretch I truly thought I'd found one of those lovely little gems that perfectly blends the coming of age of a couple of plucky English Scout Finch's with a traditional Agatha Christie romp through the evil hiding in a lovely English country village.
Alas, what starts off as a promising story about a missing woman who may have known a few too many secrets about her fellow villagers suddenly and very randomly descends into total lunacy.
Joanna Cannon knows how to turn a phrase and her primary narrator, precocious ten year old Grace is pretty charming as smarter than their years heroines are wont to be. Cannon smartly doesn't stick us permanently in Grace's head (precocious English school girls are charming up to a point let's not kid ourselves) so chapter's alternate between Grace and her sickly friend Tilly somewhat paradoxically "looking for god" who they believe with help them locate the missing woman and various community members on their street who they visit to see if god is hanging out with them.
Cannon puts together a solid supporting cast of the usual suspects one tends to encounter in "evil in your backyard" mysteries. It's summer in the late 70's and we meet a pathetic middle aged homebody stuck living with his wretched mother who equates being a horrid busy body with concern for the well being of her community, a sweet, gentle OCD ridden germaphobe (and the husband of the missing woman), the local bully and his much abused wife, Grace's loving but clearly distracted parents, and the odd ball at the end of the street who everyone hates because he was accused of kidnapping a baby that he didn't actual kidnap and he's probably gay and he likes to take photographs.
As we spend time with each of these people and begin to see them through Grace and Tilly's naive but intuitive eyes it becomes apparent that they're all hiding something. We move back and forth between the disappearance of the baby ten years ago and the subsequent "accident" that killed the oddball's mother and the present day. Clearly the community knows something about the "accident" and it appears the missing woman may have found out exactly what happened.
The problem is each and every person involved in this story is also hiding a totally unbelievable barrage of other secrets that have more or less nothing to do with anything. Rather then stick with a really solid story that could have exploded marvelously when Grace and Tilly randomly stumble on the truth Cannon does a totally bizarre u-turn at the 3/4 mark. Suddenly the community isn't just covering up a possible murder they're also embezzling money, framing people for kidnapping, breaking and entering other people's houses and then there's an absolutely bonkers side story where the entire street simultaneously and apropos of absolutely NOTHING decides Jesus is appearing in a water stain.
Yup, we go from really well written mystery to everyone on the block seeing Jesus in like .6 seconds.
The worst problem with is the total lack of resolution. Once it becomes apparent that the missing woman knows everything that the people on the avenue have done its all about where she's gone and if/when she comes back what will happen.
So what happens?
Nothing.
We never find out who's behind anything or where missing lady went or why or with who or frickin' anything and I literally threw this book across the room, seriously, I actually legit chucked it across the room, I swear, I should have taken pictures, but I really truly did it. I. Threw. This. Book. Across. The. Room.
Maybe it was the heat? I don't know...
Alas, what starts off as a promising story about a missing woman who may have known a few too many secrets about her fellow villagers suddenly and very randomly descends into total lunacy.
Joanna Cannon knows how to turn a phrase and her primary narrator, precocious ten year old Grace is pretty charming as smarter than their years heroines are wont to be. Cannon smartly doesn't stick us permanently in Grace's head (precocious English school girls are charming up to a point let's not kid ourselves) so chapter's alternate between Grace and her sickly friend Tilly somewhat paradoxically "looking for god" who they believe with help them locate the missing woman and various community members on their street who they visit to see if god is hanging out with them.
Cannon puts together a solid supporting cast of the usual suspects one tends to encounter in "evil in your backyard" mysteries. It's summer in the late 70's and we meet a pathetic middle aged homebody stuck living with his wretched mother who equates being a horrid busy body with concern for the well being of her community, a sweet, gentle OCD ridden germaphobe (and the husband of the missing woman), the local bully and his much abused wife, Grace's loving but clearly distracted parents, and the odd ball at the end of the street who everyone hates because he was accused of kidnapping a baby that he didn't actual kidnap and he's probably gay and he likes to take photographs.
As we spend time with each of these people and begin to see them through Grace and Tilly's naive but intuitive eyes it becomes apparent that they're all hiding something. We move back and forth between the disappearance of the baby ten years ago and the subsequent "accident" that killed the oddball's mother and the present day. Clearly the community knows something about the "accident" and it appears the missing woman may have found out exactly what happened.
The problem is each and every person involved in this story is also hiding a totally unbelievable barrage of other secrets that have more or less nothing to do with anything. Rather then stick with a really solid story that could have exploded marvelously when Grace and Tilly randomly stumble on the truth Cannon does a totally bizarre u-turn at the 3/4 mark. Suddenly the community isn't just covering up a possible murder they're also embezzling money, framing people for kidnapping, breaking and entering other people's houses and then there's an absolutely bonkers side story where the entire street simultaneously and apropos of absolutely NOTHING decides Jesus is appearing in a water stain.
Yup, we go from really well written mystery to everyone on the block seeing Jesus in like .6 seconds.
The worst problem with is the total lack of resolution. Once it becomes apparent that the missing woman knows everything that the people on the avenue have done its all about where she's gone and if/when she comes back what will happen.
So what happens?
Nothing.
We never find out who's behind anything or where missing lady went or why or with who or frickin' anything and I literally threw this book across the room, seriously, I actually legit chucked it across the room, I swear, I should have taken pictures, but I really truly did it. I. Threw. This. Book. Across. The. Room.
Maybe it was the heat? I don't know...
August 2, 2017
I felt very British in the reading of this book.
Yes, I am an idiot. If it has taken this long to figure that out you might can sit next to me.
Anyways it's England in 1976. It's hot. Very hot.
Did me telling you that a couple of times get on your nerves? Suck it up buttercup because this book tells you that fact a whole lotta times.
I threw in another one just to get you good and broke in! *cackles*
The story takes place on the Avenue where all the neighbors know everyone's business. But then Mrs. Creasy goes missing.
The gossiping begins.
Then we meet my two saving graces for this book. Ten year old Grace: My mother said I was especially at an awkward age. I didn't feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant it was awkward for them. and her best friend Tilly.
The two girls over hear the whispers and end up (after hearing the vicars sermon) decide that they can find God and that will also lead them to Mrs. Creasy. God is everywhere after all.
They begin their sleuthing.
They figure out the secrets of listening in.
I had worked out, through a series of experiments, that this was the most useful step. Any higher and you couldn't hear the words; any lower and you risked being discovered and sent to your room, and repeatedly told proverbs about people who listen in doorways.
I was disappointed that I didn't love this book more. For crying out loud it has some spunky little girls and Jesus's image on a drainpipe.
"No, Dorothy. Jesus Christ wasn't crucified just so you could get to choose your own deck chair." May Roper's voice lifted itself higher into the air. "He was crucified so we can all make our own bloody decisions about where we want to bloody sit."
There was just so much with the boring parts. The girls weren't featured enough for me and the adults (many adults) were just boring clods. I got beat over the head with "Angel Delight" until I will never, ever try the stuff even if it was served here.
Then when the wrap up of where 'Mrs. Creasy was' came about I was mad at myself for finishing the book.
This could have been a great book. Dammit.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
This might be the review in which Sandra hunts me down and smacks me upside the head with a book review.
Because she liked it and I'm a hateful booger and didn't. She is probably the right one in this equation.
Yes, I am an idiot. If it has taken this long to figure that out you might can sit next to me.
Anyways it's England in 1976. It's hot. Very hot.
Did me telling you that a couple of times get on your nerves? Suck it up buttercup because this book tells you that fact a whole lotta times.
I threw in another one just to get you good and broke in! *cackles*
The story takes place on the Avenue where all the neighbors know everyone's business. But then Mrs. Creasy goes missing.
The gossiping begins.
Then we meet my two saving graces for this book. Ten year old Grace: My mother said I was especially at an awkward age. I didn't feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant it was awkward for them. and her best friend Tilly.
The two girls over hear the whispers and end up (after hearing the vicars sermon) decide that they can find God and that will also lead them to Mrs. Creasy. God is everywhere after all.
They begin their sleuthing.
They figure out the secrets of listening in.
I had worked out, through a series of experiments, that this was the most useful step. Any higher and you couldn't hear the words; any lower and you risked being discovered and sent to your room, and repeatedly told proverbs about people who listen in doorways.
I was disappointed that I didn't love this book more. For crying out loud it has some spunky little girls and Jesus's image on a drainpipe.
"No, Dorothy. Jesus Christ wasn't crucified just so you could get to choose your own deck chair." May Roper's voice lifted itself higher into the air. "He was crucified so we can all make our own bloody decisions about where we want to bloody sit."
There was just so much with the boring parts. The girls weren't featured enough for me and the adults (many adults) were just boring clods. I got beat over the head with "Angel Delight" until I will never, ever try the stuff even if it was served here.
Then when the wrap up of where 'Mrs. Creasy was' came about I was mad at myself for finishing the book.
This could have been a great book. Dammit.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
This might be the review in which Sandra hunts me down and smacks me upside the head with a book review.
Because she liked it and I'm a hateful booger and didn't. She is probably the right one in this equation.
May 17, 2019
A quirky, moving and beautifully written tale of life in 1970s Britain... a delight from start to finish (Review Paula Hawkins)
Wonderful, magical story, exceptional read! The story centers around a street in an unnamed town or village in England somewhere. Grace and Tilly, two cute 10-year olds, play major parts in the story. It is the summer of 1976, a scorching hot summer and Mrs. Creasy has gone missing in the street. She disappeared. All neighbours are in turmoil and the avenue is alive with whispers, gossip and conclusions. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, Grace and the vulnerable, wise Tilly, decide to take matters into their own hands. But as doors and mouths begin to open and the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, Grace and Tilly find more than they could have imagined.
A colourful set of characters, a weird and amazing story....a brooding atmosphere....tragedy and fun moments combined.... deliciously written. Bit by bit, piece by piece we are given fragments of the story, to complete the puzzle, alternating between 1967 and 1976. A coming of age story, how people stick together and how a story grows out of control... to a surprising climax ending.... and above all the 'grownup wisdoms' of Grace and Tilly and their pointy observations, makes you chuckle, in between moments of drama and tragedy too. Real good read, great debut, charming and fascinating & recommended! Highlight in my reading year 2017!
Wonderful, magical story, exceptional read! The story centers around a street in an unnamed town or village in England somewhere. Grace and Tilly, two cute 10-year olds, play major parts in the story. It is the summer of 1976, a scorching hot summer and Mrs. Creasy has gone missing in the street. She disappeared. All neighbours are in turmoil and the avenue is alive with whispers, gossip and conclusions. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, Grace and the vulnerable, wise Tilly, decide to take matters into their own hands. But as doors and mouths begin to open and the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, Grace and Tilly find more than they could have imagined.
A colourful set of characters, a weird and amazing story....a brooding atmosphere....tragedy and fun moments combined.... deliciously written. Bit by bit, piece by piece we are given fragments of the story, to complete the puzzle, alternating between 1967 and 1976. A coming of age story, how people stick together and how a story grows out of control... to a surprising climax ending.... and above all the 'grownup wisdoms' of Grace and Tilly and their pointy observations, makes you chuckle, in between moments of drama and tragedy too. Real good read, great debut, charming and fascinating & recommended! Highlight in my reading year 2017!
June 24, 2016
There's something that appeals to me in a story told from a child's perspective. Maybe it's the innocent perceptions that are full of wisdom that the adults around them just don't always have or maybe it's their honesty and self awareness.
Mrs . Creasy has disappeared and ten year old Grace and her nearly ten year old delicate friend Tilly , decide they will find out what happened to her . They can do that and keep everyone in the neighborhood safe they believe , if they can find God. Instead they find Jesus on a drainpipe. So yes , this is funny at times , especially in the chapters from Grace's perspective, but while there are lighter moments, there are some things going on here that will give the reader pause .
While this small British community is experiencing a heat wave , these precocious, girls who stole my heart , go from house to house under the guise of working on a Brownie badge to see what they can find our about Mrs. Creasy's disappearance. While it's clear to the reader, but not two these mini sleuths something terrible happened 9 years ago that the people in this neighborhood have been hiding . It is through the narratives of the neighbors that we get clues, but Grace's alternating narrative was my favorite and I always couldn't wait to get back to it . The time frame alternates back and forth between the present of 1976 and back to 1967 when there was a fire , a death and a baby that may have been kidnapped.
I loved Grace and how she decides that she needs to watch over Tilly and the story is definitely about friendship and learning what it really means. It's also about belonging, about misconceptions of those that are different , and about chilling things that people do to take matters into their own hands ,and about a different time when everyone in the neighborhood seemed to know everything about everyone or
do they ?
An excellent debut novel which will keep me looking for what Cannon may write in the future.
Thanks to Scribner and Edelweiss.
Mrs . Creasy has disappeared and ten year old Grace and her nearly ten year old delicate friend Tilly , decide they will find out what happened to her . They can do that and keep everyone in the neighborhood safe they believe , if they can find God. Instead they find Jesus on a drainpipe. So yes , this is funny at times , especially in the chapters from Grace's perspective, but while there are lighter moments, there are some things going on here that will give the reader pause .
While this small British community is experiencing a heat wave , these precocious, girls who stole my heart , go from house to house under the guise of working on a Brownie badge to see what they can find our about Mrs. Creasy's disappearance. While it's clear to the reader, but not two these mini sleuths something terrible happened 9 years ago that the people in this neighborhood have been hiding . It is through the narratives of the neighbors that we get clues, but Grace's alternating narrative was my favorite and I always couldn't wait to get back to it . The time frame alternates back and forth between the present of 1976 and back to 1967 when there was a fire , a death and a baby that may have been kidnapped.
I loved Grace and how she decides that she needs to watch over Tilly and the story is definitely about friendship and learning what it really means. It's also about belonging, about misconceptions of those that are different , and about chilling things that people do to take matters into their own hands ,and about a different time when everyone in the neighborhood seemed to know everything about everyone or
do they ?
An excellent debut novel which will keep me looking for what Cannon may write in the future.
Thanks to Scribner and Edelweiss.
June 16, 2017
I really enjoyed this book! So many laughs!
This was a coming of age story along with a whodunit story line.
This story takes us behind closed doors into the various homes and lives of the residents on one block in a town in England during a heatwave in the summer of 1976.
I think all will enjoy this one!
This was a coming of age story along with a whodunit story line.
This story takes us behind closed doors into the various homes and lives of the residents on one block in a town in England during a heatwave in the summer of 1976.
I think all will enjoy this one!
August 25, 2018
For two months in the extremely hot summer of 1976, the mystery of Mrs. Creasy’s disappearance from the Avenue occupies all the residents� thoughts and energies. Not completely, though, because nine years before, a suspicious fire in the neighbourhood occurred and its embers still smolder beneath everyone’s thoughts and actions.
Grace Bennet, the main narrator of this story has a best friend named Tilly, and Grace says: ”I have known Tilly Albert for a fifth of my life. She arrived two summers ago in the back of a large, white van . . .� Grace and Tilly’s insights and concerns are a breath of fresh air wafting through the heavy heat and belaboured consciences of all the adults on the Avenue.
”My mother said I was at an awkward age. I didn’t feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant that it was awkward for them.�
Grace and Tilly do not know what is going on in the neighbourhood, but when Mrs. Creasy disappeared, they sensed the undercurrents all around them and decided that Mrs. Creasy had to return soon so everything could go back to normal. They also decide to go on a search for God.
The narrative of this story is exquisite and I loved seeing the neighbourhood through Grace’s and Tilly’s eyes. The plot also shifts from the current time (1976) to the last few years of the 1960’s and we have glimpses of what people will do under duress, and how the more people that are involved, the more intense and out-of-hand things can become. We are shown both sides of ‘belonging� and ‘being part of the neighbourhood�.
Although there are mysteries involved that drive the plot, it is also about many other issues that can be found anywhere people are found. As different as their personalities are, it is the connections between these neighbours in the Avenue that draws them together. Although it sounds idyllic and is an ideal worth striving for, it also has its dark side.
I highly recommend this novel that succeeds on every level it addresses.
Grace Bennet, the main narrator of this story has a best friend named Tilly, and Grace says: ”I have known Tilly Albert for a fifth of my life. She arrived two summers ago in the back of a large, white van . . .� Grace and Tilly’s insights and concerns are a breath of fresh air wafting through the heavy heat and belaboured consciences of all the adults on the Avenue.
”My mother said I was at an awkward age. I didn’t feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant that it was awkward for them.�
Grace and Tilly do not know what is going on in the neighbourhood, but when Mrs. Creasy disappeared, they sensed the undercurrents all around them and decided that Mrs. Creasy had to return soon so everything could go back to normal. They also decide to go on a search for God.
The narrative of this story is exquisite and I loved seeing the neighbourhood through Grace’s and Tilly’s eyes. The plot also shifts from the current time (1976) to the last few years of the 1960’s and we have glimpses of what people will do under duress, and how the more people that are involved, the more intense and out-of-hand things can become. We are shown both sides of ‘belonging� and ‘being part of the neighbourhood�.
Although there are mysteries involved that drive the plot, it is also about many other issues that can be found anywhere people are found. As different as their personalities are, it is the connections between these neighbours in the Avenue that draws them together. Although it sounds idyllic and is an ideal worth striving for, it also has its dark side.
I highly recommend this novel that succeeds on every level it addresses.
May 16, 2016
4+ When Mrs. Creasey disappears, 10 year old Grace and her slightly younger friend Tilly decide to investigate. After learning from the vicar that God is everywhere they decide that while they are looking that they will also look for God.
A heat wave, a cul-de-sac, a man who doesn't fit in, God in a drainpipe and secrets many, many secrets and two very entertaining young protagonists. The girls find out many things, not necessarily things that will solve the case, because in truth they do not have the ability to understand everything they hear nor able to put it in the proper context. They also do not have all the pieces, but individual people do. The dangers of judgment and banding together to deliver their own justice. Throughout the novel we hear a great deal about shame, because though everyone talks about everyone else here, their are those who are keeping something back, things they don't want known because it will shame them.
This is a marvelous novel, written in a lighter toe but dealing with some very important and weighty subjects. The part when the girls are in church and the vicar is talking about sheep and goats was laugh out loud funny. I read some of that to my husband. Ultimately this is a novel about friendship and a heat laden summer when two young girls learn a far more valuable lesson than they ever expected.
ARC from Netgalley.
A heat wave, a cul-de-sac, a man who doesn't fit in, God in a drainpipe and secrets many, many secrets and two very entertaining young protagonists. The girls find out many things, not necessarily things that will solve the case, because in truth they do not have the ability to understand everything they hear nor able to put it in the proper context. They also do not have all the pieces, but individual people do. The dangers of judgment and banding together to deliver their own justice. Throughout the novel we hear a great deal about shame, because though everyone talks about everyone else here, their are those who are keeping something back, things they don't want known because it will shame them.
This is a marvelous novel, written in a lighter toe but dealing with some very important and weighty subjects. The part when the girls are in church and the vicar is talking about sheep and goats was laugh out loud funny. I read some of that to my husband. Ultimately this is a novel about friendship and a heat laden summer when two young girls learn a far more valuable lesson than they ever expected.
ARC from Netgalley.
January 13, 2021
3 stars
What I’ve discovered in reading this book is that I should stick to things that I know I’ll like. I don’t think the book was bad it just wasn’t for me. I have this thing where I’ll jump on a recommendation regardless if it sounds like something I’d enjoy, just because I wanna try something new.
As the saying goes, you don’t known until you try. So, I tried (took me months) and I’ve discovered that books with a very British feel don’t do it for me. Books with teenage/children wannabe detectives also don’t do it for me. There’s many other things that didn’t do it for me in this one but none as important as those two things.
Looks like my goal to read the physical books that are gathering dust on my shelves (from sitting there for years) is not up to a great start..
What I’ve discovered in reading this book is that I should stick to things that I know I’ll like. I don’t think the book was bad it just wasn’t for me. I have this thing where I’ll jump on a recommendation regardless if it sounds like something I’d enjoy, just because I wanna try something new.
As the saying goes, you don’t known until you try. So, I tried (took me months) and I’ve discovered that books with a very British feel don’t do it for me. Books with teenage/children wannabe detectives also don’t do it for me. There’s many other things that didn’t do it for me in this one but none as important as those two things.
Looks like my goal to read the physical books that are gathering dust on my shelves (from sitting there for years) is not up to a great start..
May 24, 2017
Mrs Creasy disappeared on a Monday. I know it was a Monday, because it was the day the dustbin men came, and the avenue was filled with a smell of scraped plates."Why do people disappear?"
The pastor looked over his shoulder ...
The voice came from the graveyard.
His expression...
Oh neverminnnnndddddddd, it was only Grace sitting behind a gravestone talking to him. He just did not see her!
Her parents said she was awkward, but she disagreed. She was more likely awkward to them. Yes, that's what it was.
The Avenue was a place where:
- the vicar smelled the same as the church. Faith had been trapped within the folds of his clothes;
- God separated the sheep from the goats and loved sheep only;
- the ground beneath one's feet were safe and experienced - wisdom grow in the soil when people are buried;
- foxgloves, daisies and hydrangeas all argued loudly with each others as patterns on the teacups;
- artificial flowers were not welcomed - there were too much fakery in the world as it is;
- each house holds its contents with a poker face, giving nothing away;
- the word 'lunch' was dangerous, acting posh like that would lead to rejection in the community of dinner-eaters;
- God supervised one's misery in swirling gold letters, because when God speaks, he appears to speak only in a decorated font;
- memories are only forgotten when someone dies. But only then!
- toes can do a little dance in a sandal like piano notes;
-Margaret Creasy knew everyone's secrets and now she vanished with them. Where did she go? Most importantly, what if she comes back!?
The police were all over the place. Everyone was nervous.
Circa Wisteria lane television series: the same mystery, suspense, intrigue, juicy gossip, dark secrets. It was all there on the estate where The Avenue of neighbors shared their lives for many years. The Avenue was always a parade of people, joined together by tedium and curiosity, passing other people's misery around themselves like a parcel.
With picturesque prose and a sharp sense of humor, the life of two ten-year-old girls, Grace and Tilla, are colored in when they discover the deeper intrigue behind adult life and the disappearance of Mrs. Creasy. The pastor said God was everywhere and looked after His flock. Well, they simply would find Mrs. Creasy then if they can find God. They had to try at least.
All the inhabitants of the houses from number One to number Fourteen had a role to play in the mystery of The Avenue.
Paranoia, misconceptions, pride, prejudice, secrets and guilty consciences spilled into the melting streets during a simmering hot summer on this English Estate.
Anger and fear pushed them to form a flock of sheep ... or... goats, depending on who's definition of a sheep and goat was accepted, and also, if God could be proven to be more than just two creosote eyes looking at you where you sat on the chippings in front of a silent Jesus. What else can God do but keep his mouth shut when the guilty might proof to be innocent, and the innocent not so holier-than-thou after all? The dividing line between a scapegoat and a sheep was not so clearly defined as it should have been. But it seemed, along with everybody else, Jesus would quite like to disappear as well ...
An absolute joy to read! A superb debut novel. A neighborhood drama at its finest! Lighter and darker moments. Tears and laughter. A shocking, surprising ending. All things packaged as goats and sheep somewhere in the psyche of The Avenue. And ourselves.
Just one little hitch for me. Confusion. The story jumps between different time periods as well as addresses. It was difficult to catch up each time. And the ending... it felt like throwing the baby out with the bath water for no apparent reason whatsoever. Otherwise it was great.
RECOMMENDED!
May 2, 2018
Yeah! My first Buddy Read...with Dana and it was a wonderful way to kick off a new experience of Buddy Reads. The title is what initially caught my eye, then the story had me adding it to my TBR where it probably would have remained forever if not for Dana suggesting a Buddy Read. I'm so glad she picked this one.
Told in alternating timelines, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is the story of one little town in England and the people who live there. Frankly, they are all nuts. It's part mystery. One of the towns residents, Mrs. Creasy, has disappeared and no one knows what happened to her. Naturally, everyone and I mean everyone has their own ideas of what happened. But there are two special, wonderful girls who take it upon themselves to find her. Well, find God who they believe will find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home. It tells the story of friendship too between these girls and coming of age during that one fateful summer. But the lesson in this one is......mind your own dang business! Really! I don't want to give anymore away to this story to give away any clues.
It was a great story to read. I would read so much as I wanted to know what happened. Why were the townsfolk like they were. What happened to Mrs. Creasy. And why did the entire town conspire against one Walter Bishop. Yes, I don't want to give anything away. It's a wonderful, light summertime read and is perfect if you just want a relaxing, fun read. Thanks Dana for suggesting this one!
Told in alternating timelines, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is the story of one little town in England and the people who live there. Frankly, they are all nuts. It's part mystery. One of the towns residents, Mrs. Creasy, has disappeared and no one knows what happened to her. Naturally, everyone and I mean everyone has their own ideas of what happened. But there are two special, wonderful girls who take it upon themselves to find her. Well, find God who they believe will find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home. It tells the story of friendship too between these girls and coming of age during that one fateful summer. But the lesson in this one is......mind your own dang business! Really! I don't want to give anymore away to this story to give away any clues.
It was a great story to read. I would read so much as I wanted to know what happened. Why were the townsfolk like they were. What happened to Mrs. Creasy. And why did the entire town conspire against one Walter Bishop. Yes, I don't want to give anything away. It's a wonderful, light summertime read and is perfect if you just want a relaxing, fun read. Thanks Dana for suggesting this one!
July 2, 2016
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep was lots of fun -- a good light read with some tangible emotions thrown in. It is really the story of a stretch of road in a town in England -- a few neighbours and their secrets. Set in 1976, the story is told primarily from the point of view of 10 year old Grace, who with her friend Tilly sets out to find God and why one of the neighbours has disappeared. From time to time, the story shifts points of view and we see things from the perspective of the various adult neighbours, giving us insight into their various secrets -- including a big collective one that dates back to 1967. The tone is light, and there is much humour. But there's an undercurrent of serious emotions -- the price of buried lies, the effects of prejudice against difference and the cost of wanting to belong. It's somewhat predictable and verging on saccharine, but I found myself gobbling it up and really enjoying the ride. It's hard not to fall for Grace -- she is perceptive, but still gets things wrong as one would expect of a 10 year old. Thanks you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy.
March 20, 2018
EXCERPT: Mrs Creasy disappeared on a Monday.
I know it was a Monday, because it was the day the dustbin men came, and the Avenue was filled with a smell of scraped plates.
'What's he up to?' My father nodded at the lace in the kitchen window. Mr Creasy was wandering the pavement in his shirt sleeves. Every few minutes he stopped wandering and stood quite still, peering around his Hillman Hunter and leaning into the air as though he were listening for something.
'He's lost his wife.' I took another slice of toast, because everyone was distracted. 'Although she's probably finally just buggered off.'
'Grace Elizabeth!' My mother turned from the stove so quickly that flecks of porridge turned with her and escaped onto the floor.
'I'm only quoting Mr Forbes,' I said. 'Margaret Creasy never came home last night. Perhaps she's finally buggered off. '
ABOUT THIS BOOK: England, 1976.
Mrs. Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.
And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined�
MY THOUGHTS: The summer of 1976 is hot, and a lot of things are blamed on the heat. No one is acting normally, and the disappearance of Margaret Creasy only serves to exacerbate the strangeness.
It was the title that attracted me, 'The Trouble With Goats and Sheep'. It is a very clever title, just as this is a very clever book. Cannon is an author who can take the ordinary, the mundane, and transform them into something more than a little magical.
Whoever would have thought that the story of two little girls, taking something that the Vicar says quite literally and spending their summer looking for God (because God is everywhere), would turn into such a charming book? If you are looking for something light, heartwarming and charming, this will more than fit the bill.
Don't expect everything to be tied up, nice and neatly, at the end, because it isn't. The author left me with just as many questions as she answered, but she also left me smiling, satisfied and wanting to read more of her books.
4.5 very smiley stars for The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon, narrated by Paula Wilcox, published by Simon and Schuster Audio, which I listened to via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my ŷ.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
I know it was a Monday, because it was the day the dustbin men came, and the Avenue was filled with a smell of scraped plates.
'What's he up to?' My father nodded at the lace in the kitchen window. Mr Creasy was wandering the pavement in his shirt sleeves. Every few minutes he stopped wandering and stood quite still, peering around his Hillman Hunter and leaning into the air as though he were listening for something.
'He's lost his wife.' I took another slice of toast, because everyone was distracted. 'Although she's probably finally just buggered off.'
'Grace Elizabeth!' My mother turned from the stove so quickly that flecks of porridge turned with her and escaped onto the floor.
'I'm only quoting Mr Forbes,' I said. 'Margaret Creasy never came home last night. Perhaps she's finally buggered off. '
ABOUT THIS BOOK: England, 1976.
Mrs. Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.
And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined�
MY THOUGHTS: The summer of 1976 is hot, and a lot of things are blamed on the heat. No one is acting normally, and the disappearance of Margaret Creasy only serves to exacerbate the strangeness.
It was the title that attracted me, 'The Trouble With Goats and Sheep'. It is a very clever title, just as this is a very clever book. Cannon is an author who can take the ordinary, the mundane, and transform them into something more than a little magical.
Whoever would have thought that the story of two little girls, taking something that the Vicar says quite literally and spending their summer looking for God (because God is everywhere), would turn into such a charming book? If you are looking for something light, heartwarming and charming, this will more than fit the bill.
Don't expect everything to be tied up, nice and neatly, at the end, because it isn't. The author left me with just as many questions as she answered, but she also left me smiling, satisfied and wanting to read more of her books.
4.5 very smiley stars for The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon, narrated by Paula Wilcox, published by Simon and Schuster Audio, which I listened to via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my ŷ.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
May 13, 2018
5 beautiful, insightful stars!
This is probably the longest review I have ever written, but the moral of this story is so powerful, yet written in a light, fun way, it has stayed with me weeks after finishing it!! Also, it was a wonderful buddy read with my GR friend PorshaJo!! Thank you for reading it with me. It had sat on my shelves forever and I might not have ever gotten to it had we not decided to read it together - and what a beautiful story I would have missed out on!! This will definitely go on my favorites shelf!
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is charming story set in two different decades -1967 and 1976. In 1967 a baby goes missing - in 1976 an older woman, Mrs. Creasy disappears, both from the neighborhood estate (Avenue). The backdrop of the story is set in the summer heat wave of 1976 and everyone is blaming the weather, as well as each other for all going wrong on the Avenue. The heat not only reveals secrets from the 1967 storyline, but is bringing out the worst in everyone. One Sunday, Grace, spunky ten year-old and narrative, and her fragile ten year-old friend, Tilly, decide to go to church to ask God to help them find Mrs. Creasy. When they ask the vicar how to stop people from disappearing, he tells them "You have to help them find God." After more questioning they are told that God is everywhere and will keep everyone safe. The adorable little girls, taking everything literally, decide to spend their summer holiday making everyone safe by finding God, and Mrs. Creasy, by becoming amateur detectives. They go door to door disguising themselves as Scouts. Their bored, and sweltering, neighbors are all too eager to talk about anything they will listen to. One house the girls are warned not to go near is No. 11, home of neighbor, Walter Bishop. He has been judged and set apart from the rest by the Avenue residents. The neighbors have taken matters into their own hands, as we will learn in the 1967 timeline story, and have judged him based on appearances.
In the girls' search for God, Tilly finds Jesus, on the most unimaginable surfaces (possibly due to the heat) - a rusty drainpipe. Headline reads "The Second Plumbing." The neighbors argue and judge who should sit closest to Jesus and guard Him, based on their worthiness. Not all the neighbors are convinced it looks like Jesus, but as Tilly says, "...it doesn't really matter if it's Jesus or a stain on a garage wall. ...it brought us all together, didn't it. ....and after all, Jesus is definitely in the drainpipe. He always has been. God is everywhere. Everybody knows that."
I love the symbolism of Jesus portrayed as a goat. One of the neighbors explains to the girls that He was crucified because He was an outsider, an "unbelonger", "because He had different views and beliefs...and others were very hard on anyone who didn't think they way they did." Tilly replied, saying, "He was probably the biggest goat of them all." A very good point of how quick we are to judge anyone who is not like us, as Jesus was judged the same way.
The character development in The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is exceptional and it is not surprising after reading that the author, Joanna Cannon, is a psychiatrist. She was inspired to write the book after meeting a lot of people and observing they share a common feeling of "unbelonging." She met lots of people who stood at the 'edge of the dancefloor, where they try to copy what everyone else is doing, but never quite get it right." She saw the sheep as respectful, ordinarily appearing people and the goats as different and didn't quite fit in - the ones who stood out. Cannon saw lots of people, not just in mental health facilities as a 'silent herd of unbelongers...the goat.' "It is only when something goes wrong, and society needs someone to blame, that the sheep turn into the goats and say we knew they were strange all along, and of course they must be guilty, because they just look the type, don't they?" The trouble is, behind most sheep you will find a goat.
The book is so insightful and a powerful lesson in how we should live our lives. The story is about judging others, belonging and 'unbelonging' and how those we judge as different are mistreated. Cannon said that she hoped the story would help us be kinder to one another - to those "standing at the edge of the dancefloor.....and realise that unbelonging is actually a belonging all of its own."
My favorite quotes from the book::
I still hadn't learned the power of words. How, once they have left your mouth, they have a breath and a life of their own. I had yet to realize that you no longer own them. I hadn't learned that, once you have let them go, the words can then, in fact, become the owners of you.
You only really need two people to believe in the same thing, to feel as though you just might belong.
This is probably the longest review I have ever written, but the moral of this story is so powerful, yet written in a light, fun way, it has stayed with me weeks after finishing it!! Also, it was a wonderful buddy read with my GR friend PorshaJo!! Thank you for reading it with me. It had sat on my shelves forever and I might not have ever gotten to it had we not decided to read it together - and what a beautiful story I would have missed out on!! This will definitely go on my favorites shelf!
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is charming story set in two different decades -1967 and 1976. In 1967 a baby goes missing - in 1976 an older woman, Mrs. Creasy disappears, both from the neighborhood estate (Avenue). The backdrop of the story is set in the summer heat wave of 1976 and everyone is blaming the weather, as well as each other for all going wrong on the Avenue. The heat not only reveals secrets from the 1967 storyline, but is bringing out the worst in everyone. One Sunday, Grace, spunky ten year-old and narrative, and her fragile ten year-old friend, Tilly, decide to go to church to ask God to help them find Mrs. Creasy. When they ask the vicar how to stop people from disappearing, he tells them "You have to help them find God." After more questioning they are told that God is everywhere and will keep everyone safe. The adorable little girls, taking everything literally, decide to spend their summer holiday making everyone safe by finding God, and Mrs. Creasy, by becoming amateur detectives. They go door to door disguising themselves as Scouts. Their bored, and sweltering, neighbors are all too eager to talk about anything they will listen to. One house the girls are warned not to go near is No. 11, home of neighbor, Walter Bishop. He has been judged and set apart from the rest by the Avenue residents. The neighbors have taken matters into their own hands, as we will learn in the 1967 timeline story, and have judged him based on appearances.
In the girls' search for God, Tilly finds Jesus, on the most unimaginable surfaces (possibly due to the heat) - a rusty drainpipe. Headline reads "The Second Plumbing." The neighbors argue and judge who should sit closest to Jesus and guard Him, based on their worthiness. Not all the neighbors are convinced it looks like Jesus, but as Tilly says, "...it doesn't really matter if it's Jesus or a stain on a garage wall. ...it brought us all together, didn't it. ....and after all, Jesus is definitely in the drainpipe. He always has been. God is everywhere. Everybody knows that."
I love the symbolism of Jesus portrayed as a goat. One of the neighbors explains to the girls that He was crucified because He was an outsider, an "unbelonger", "because He had different views and beliefs...and others were very hard on anyone who didn't think they way they did." Tilly replied, saying, "He was probably the biggest goat of them all." A very good point of how quick we are to judge anyone who is not like us, as Jesus was judged the same way.
The character development in The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is exceptional and it is not surprising after reading that the author, Joanna Cannon, is a psychiatrist. She was inspired to write the book after meeting a lot of people and observing they share a common feeling of "unbelonging." She met lots of people who stood at the 'edge of the dancefloor, where they try to copy what everyone else is doing, but never quite get it right." She saw the sheep as respectful, ordinarily appearing people and the goats as different and didn't quite fit in - the ones who stood out. Cannon saw lots of people, not just in mental health facilities as a 'silent herd of unbelongers...the goat.' "It is only when something goes wrong, and society needs someone to blame, that the sheep turn into the goats and say we knew they were strange all along, and of course they must be guilty, because they just look the type, don't they?" The trouble is, behind most sheep you will find a goat.
The book is so insightful and a powerful lesson in how we should live our lives. The story is about judging others, belonging and 'unbelonging' and how those we judge as different are mistreated. Cannon said that she hoped the story would help us be kinder to one another - to those "standing at the edge of the dancefloor.....and realise that unbelonging is actually a belonging all of its own."
My favorite quotes from the book::
I still hadn't learned the power of words. How, once they have left your mouth, they have a breath and a life of their own. I had yet to realize that you no longer own them. I hadn't learned that, once you have let them go, the words can then, in fact, become the owners of you.
You only really need two people to believe in the same thing, to feel as though you just might belong.
March 14, 2016
The Curious Incident of the Wife in the Nighttime + Boo Radley + lashings of Angel Delight = The Trouble With Goats and Sheep.
It's narrated by a little girl who sounds more like Alan Bennett than a little girl. Grace manages to simultaneously be clever enough to make constant wry observations, and stupid enough to think that you can find God as if it's a game of hide and seek.
Grace's narration is interupted by chapters in which we visit various, largely indistinguishable neighbours, who provide enough exposition for us to lose all interest in her childish detective work.
Set in the heat of a seventies heatwave the whole thing feels overcooked. The goats and sheep metaphor isn't brilliant to begin with and gets mentioned again and again and again. The period details are charming but even they begin to grate after the umpteenth mention of Angel Delight.
The whole thing is about as fresh as a forty two year old Jackie magazine.
It's narrated by a little girl who sounds more like Alan Bennett than a little girl. Grace manages to simultaneously be clever enough to make constant wry observations, and stupid enough to think that you can find God as if it's a game of hide and seek.
Grace's narration is interupted by chapters in which we visit various, largely indistinguishable neighbours, who provide enough exposition for us to lose all interest in her childish detective work.
Set in the heat of a seventies heatwave the whole thing feels overcooked. The goats and sheep metaphor isn't brilliant to begin with and gets mentioned again and again and again. The period details are charming but even they begin to grate after the umpteenth mention of Angel Delight.
The whole thing is about as fresh as a forty two year old Jackie magazine.
August 10, 2017
★★★★ 4 charming stars!
"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer"
Author Unknown
**
Grace and Tilly, the astute and inquisitive 10 year-old protagonists of The Trouble With Goats And Sheep, charmed me from the very beginning of this quirky story.
While I grew up thousands of miles away from England, the novel's nostalgic take of the 1970's was a big part of the allure for me as its narrative took me back to the carefree days of my childhood.
The story stars during the summer of 1976 as a sweltering heat wave is sweeping across England, including The Avenue, a picturesque housing estate located in a rural part of the country.
Margaret Creasey has gone missing, but most residents appear to be more concerned about the secrets she might have taken with her than her well-being or the details of her mysterious disappearance.
As the school year comes to and end, Grace and Tilly need to find a worthy project to fill their long summer days, investigating what happened to Mrs. Creasey sounds like the perfect mission for them.
One day, while listening to the Vicar deliver a sermon about how God distinguishes between those who deserve eternal punishment and those who deserve eternal life like "a shepherd who separates the goats from the sheep", the girls decide that before they can hope for Mrs. Creasy's safe return they will have to find God.
And so Grace, along with her somehow reluctant sidekick Tilly, embark on a mission to find the Almighty among the residents of The Avenue by asking questions that are at times poignant, frequently funny and occasionally impertinent. Or at least they sound that way to some of the people they talk to.
The girls have been told to stay away from Walter Bishop, an odd man who lives by himself in Number 11. A few years earlier another traumatic event, this time the kidnapping of a baby, made Walter a pariah in the community, even though nobody found any proof of his involvement in the incident.
Although the story is mostly told from Grace's perspective, the narration frequently switches among the different characters. There are also flashbacks to the winter of 1967 describing a tragic house fire in which a few of the residents played a role, although we don't know a lot about what exactly took place.
The girls quest for answers hits several snags when they discover that some residents have been keeping quite a few secrets and that no one is particularly anxious to share them.
By the time Tilly discovers Drainpipe Jesus, an apparition that at least for a while brings the people of The Avenue together, we are certain that their elusive behavior have something to do with Mrs. Creasy’s strange departure. The stories behind each one of the characters are cleverly intertwine until an unexpected episode is revealed and we finally begin to understand what happened.
For me, the most memorable aspect of this novel is how accurately (and humorously) Cannon depicts the way children filter what they hear. At this young age they are still making sense of the world and so they pick on adult expressions and behaviors, but frequently lack the context to fully interpret their meaning. On the other hand, it is precisely that sense of innocence that allows Grace and Tilly to ignore the prejudices that have become so prevalent among those that surround them.
I specially cherished the way Grace and Tilly's friendship was portrayed. There's a moment when Grace, motivated by her need to be accepted by her peers, hurts her friend deeply.
This passage, in which she reflects how her insensitive words brought so much pain on Tilly, illustrates Cannon's thoughtful writing:
“I still hadn’t learned the power of words. How, once they have left your mouth, they have a breath and a life of their own. I had yet to realize that you no longer own them. I hadn’t learned that, once you have let them go, the words can then, in fact, become the owners of you.�
Among other things, The Trouble With Goats And Sheep reminds us that indeed words can be powerful but also very damaging. It is also a cautionary tale about the extremes people can go to when adopting a herd-mentality and by blindly accepting the beliefs of their tribes.
****
A big thank you to Barbara not only for recommending this story but also for so kindly furnishing a copy of the book as well!
February 7, 2016
Beautifully written, with real humour, and exquisite characterisation.
This book is hugely enjoyable and genuinely different from most whodunnits. The very English period details and aphorisms were so familiar, with some real gems:
They assumed I didn't understand the conversation, and it was much easier to let them think that. My mother said I was at an awkward age. I didn't feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant it was awkward for them.'
So much of the dialogue and narrative could have come straight out of my childhood, though I was born later. Joanna Cannon has written the 60s/70s with nostalgia, but without letting her characters get away with bad behaviour and narrow minded attitudes. She captures so well the types of people who profess their faith and decency, whilst hiding the kinds of secrets that need police involvement to resolve, not just confession.
All in all, a brilliant debut, and an author I'll be reading again.
Many thanks to Joanna Cannon, Scribner, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is hugely enjoyable and genuinely different from most whodunnits. The very English period details and aphorisms were so familiar, with some real gems:
They assumed I didn't understand the conversation, and it was much easier to let them think that. My mother said I was at an awkward age. I didn't feel especially awkward, so I presumed she meant it was awkward for them.'
So much of the dialogue and narrative could have come straight out of my childhood, though I was born later. Joanna Cannon has written the 60s/70s with nostalgia, but without letting her characters get away with bad behaviour and narrow minded attitudes. She captures so well the types of people who profess their faith and decency, whilst hiding the kinds of secrets that need police involvement to resolve, not just confession.
All in all, a brilliant debut, and an author I'll be reading again.
Many thanks to Joanna Cannon, Scribner, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 27, 2024
Part coming-of-age story, part mystery, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon is a quirky and utterly charming debut about a community in need of absolution and two ten-year old girls learning what it means to belong.
There's something that appeals to me in a story told from a child's perspective.
Maybe it's the innocent perceptions that are full of wisdom that the adults around them just don't always have or maybe it's their honesty and self-awareness.
This book boasts a colorful set of characters, a weird and amazing story.... a brooding atmosphere.... tragedy and fun moments combined.... deliciously written.
There's something that appeals to me in a story told from a child's perspective.
Maybe it's the innocent perceptions that are full of wisdom that the adults around them just don't always have or maybe it's their honesty and self-awareness.
This book boasts a colorful set of characters, a weird and amazing story.... a brooding atmosphere.... tragedy and fun moments combined.... deliciously written.
May 13, 2016
I was charmed from the start with the main character, Grace Bennett, an inquisitive ten-year old girl with an active imagination, and her friend, Tilly. It is beautifully written, with humour and with tenderness.
The cast of characters, including Grace and Tilly live in a housing development in England. It is a persistently hot summer, 1976. With the days of vacation ahead, Grace, and by association, must find an adventure to cure the boredom with endless days with nothing to do. One of their neighbors, Mrs. Creasy, has gone missing, and with knowing that “only God knows� where she has gone off to, Grace makes it their business to find out. First things first, though. If God is the only one who knows, then what better place to start than by asking Him? Where should they start to look for Him? Their adventure begins at the church, but it doesn’t end there. There’s a lot of knocking on doors, asking questions, posing as Girl Scouts out to do a good deed, girls who eventually steer the conversation around to God and the missing neighbor. This isn’t too difficult, as most of the neighbors appreciate the company and someone to listen to them talk about anything and everyone.
It’s a fairly typical, small neighborhood filled with people who know each other’s business, personal and otherwise, and most of them have lived there long enough to know each others secrets. Do those secrets have anything to do with their neighbor’s disappearance?
The girls have been warned never to go to the house where Walter Bishop lives, Number 11. He’s a bit of an odd one, and the neighborhood has suspicions about him. Then again, they have their suspicions about anyone new, or anyone ”different� in any way.
The characters in this book are so well drawn I could easily imagine this place, these people, this place and time. All in all, a lovely debut novel.
Publication Date: 12 July 2016
Many thanks to Scribner, NetGalley, and to the author, Joanna Cannon for providing me with an advance copy to read.
August 9, 2017
4.5 stars
November 28, 2016
This book was an absolute joy to read. An event, an adventure, as Grace and Tilly search for God in their neighborhood, as the vicar has said that "God is everywhere." They hope that if they find God, they will also find Mrs. Creasey, who has gone missing. The vicar also said, "God will protect us", and since the 10 year old girls take everything literally, they want to make sure he's going to take care of the people in their neighborhood. Their search for God leads them to some surprising knowledge about their neighbors; it seems they all have some shameful secrets.
The girls are treasures, and so are their dialogue and thoughts. I started out flagging some sentences because they were so strange and perfect, but had to stop when I realized the book was so full of them. In the course of a few weeks during a hot summer in 1976, both girls grow up a little, and the ending leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions. But that's what happens when you go looking for God.
My one quibble with the book is that the boiling pavements and life-sapping heat occur at a temperature reading of 82°. When you live in the American south, that just sounds ridiculous.
However, I can forgive that because, like I said, this book was a joy to read. And even though God separated people into goats and sheep, and sent the goats straight to Hell, I believe I would rather be a goat.
Just ask Grace and Tilly.
The girls are treasures, and so are their dialogue and thoughts. I started out flagging some sentences because they were so strange and perfect, but had to stop when I realized the book was so full of them. In the course of a few weeks during a hot summer in 1976, both girls grow up a little, and the ending leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions. But that's what happens when you go looking for God.
My one quibble with the book is that the boiling pavements and life-sapping heat occur at a temperature reading of 82°. When you live in the American south, that just sounds ridiculous.
However, I can forgive that because, like I said, this book was a joy to read. And even though God separated people into goats and sheep, and sent the goats straight to Hell, I believe I would rather be a goat.
Just ask Grace and Tilly.
August 19, 2020
4�
A wonderful debut novel.
Inventive descriptions abound in this apparently simple story of a lady who goes missing in a small English village neighbourhood. Unfortunately, the publisher has requested no quotations from a review copy, so I’ve got holes in my tongue from biting it!
This is told partly by 10-year old Gracie, in the present, and partly by the neighbours in the present and in flashbacks. I like Gracie’s parts the best. It does jump back and forth between times and points of view, and a few names are similar (Sheila and Sylvie), which didn’t help me remember who was who.
Gracie and Tilly, her delicate best friend, decide that God would be able to save the missing lady, Margaret Creasy, so they decide to search everyone’s house for God (because He's everywhere), including the scary man whom everyone accuses of being a baby-snatcher (Gracie was that baby, found safe) and probable kiddy-fiddler. Tilly reckons Walter’s not a murderer because murderers are fatter and have mustaches. I did enjoy these girls!
Gracie and Tilly learn in church that the shepherd separates the goats and sheep because, they presume, he doesn’t like the goats because the sheep feed and clothe him and the goats don’t, so the goats will go to eternal punishment. And God does that with people, so Walter Bishop seems destined to be a goat. What’s more, his house burned down with his mother in it, and that must mean something, too.
The word “scapegoat� is never used, but Walter is blamed for everything that goes wrong in the village. His house is a constant target for kids shouting obscenities and throwing rocks, and he is the subject of gossip and even informal town meetings. They now conclude that Walter has murdered Margaret � all they need to do is prove it.
Margaret’s husband says he misses that she “dԳٲԲ� his worries, and that now silence happens everywhere. Others miss her for various reasons, some because she may know some secrets.
There are some townsfolk who are obviously frightened to tell what we think they know. Some of the men are scary, as one women remembers “her own father, and all the other men who came wrapped in harmless packaging.� [Sorry, Scribners, and for the next one too.]
I appreciate descriptive passages, but I was annoyed to have quite so many complicated versions of words filling mouths or spilling out or rolling down the road or whatever. I almost started to keep count.
But then I would read this and think, perfect!
“Everything is in chaos. The avenue looks as if someone has shaken all the contents and tipped them back out onto the street."
Cannon shows a lot of talent here, and I’d have enjoyed it even more if Gracie had told the story and if Tilly had been a bigger character, rather than just a foil for Gracie. I love the way the author shows us how their minds work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribners for a copy for review. (I couldn't resist a couple of small quotes.)
A wonderful debut novel.
Inventive descriptions abound in this apparently simple story of a lady who goes missing in a small English village neighbourhood. Unfortunately, the publisher has requested no quotations from a review copy, so I’ve got holes in my tongue from biting it!
This is told partly by 10-year old Gracie, in the present, and partly by the neighbours in the present and in flashbacks. I like Gracie’s parts the best. It does jump back and forth between times and points of view, and a few names are similar (Sheila and Sylvie), which didn’t help me remember who was who.
Gracie and Tilly, her delicate best friend, decide that God would be able to save the missing lady, Margaret Creasy, so they decide to search everyone’s house for God (because He's everywhere), including the scary man whom everyone accuses of being a baby-snatcher (Gracie was that baby, found safe) and probable kiddy-fiddler. Tilly reckons Walter’s not a murderer because murderers are fatter and have mustaches. I did enjoy these girls!
Gracie and Tilly learn in church that the shepherd separates the goats and sheep because, they presume, he doesn’t like the goats because the sheep feed and clothe him and the goats don’t, so the goats will go to eternal punishment. And God does that with people, so Walter Bishop seems destined to be a goat. What’s more, his house burned down with his mother in it, and that must mean something, too.
The word “scapegoat� is never used, but Walter is blamed for everything that goes wrong in the village. His house is a constant target for kids shouting obscenities and throwing rocks, and he is the subject of gossip and even informal town meetings. They now conclude that Walter has murdered Margaret � all they need to do is prove it.
Margaret’s husband says he misses that she “dԳٲԲ� his worries, and that now silence happens everywhere. Others miss her for various reasons, some because she may know some secrets.
There are some townsfolk who are obviously frightened to tell what we think they know. Some of the men are scary, as one women remembers “her own father, and all the other men who came wrapped in harmless packaging.� [Sorry, Scribners, and for the next one too.]
I appreciate descriptive passages, but I was annoyed to have quite so many complicated versions of words filling mouths or spilling out or rolling down the road or whatever. I almost started to keep count.
But then I would read this and think, perfect!
“Everything is in chaos. The avenue looks as if someone has shaken all the contents and tipped them back out onto the street."
Cannon shows a lot of talent here, and I’d have enjoyed it even more if Gracie had told the story and if Tilly had been a bigger character, rather than just a foil for Gracie. I love the way the author shows us how their minds work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribners for a copy for review. (I couldn't resist a couple of small quotes.)
May 27, 2018
The author does a fine job of getting inside a child's head. Ten year old Grace and her friend Tilly spend a large bit of their time decoding adult speech. This novel takes you back to childhood with its mysteries. And there is a real life mystery too, one of their neighbors has disappeared. During their hot summer vacation the girls try to solve this puzzle and are also on a search for God, because the minister said he is everywhere, so they go house to house looking. Tilly is ill so they have to also be mindful of her health in their search for answers.
I would have given this book a four, but the writer creates a vague muddle in wrapping up the murder, so that I had to search on ŷ to find out what other readers thought happened.
I would have given this book a four, but the writer creates a vague muddle in wrapping up the murder, so that I had to search on ŷ to find out what other readers thought happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2016
Set during the heatwave of 1976 in the east of England, ten year old pals Grace and Tilly decide to look for Mrs Creasy, a neighbour, who has gone missing. However, Mrs Creasy is not the only person that Grace and Tilly include in their search. As if Mrs Creasy’s disappearance isn’t enough of an adventure for the girls, Grace and Tilly also decide to search for God!
I want to give this book a big ten stars all wrapped up with big hugs and deliver them with so much love! To say I adored this book is an understatement. I really hated that it had to end! This will be added to ‘my favourite books ever� list as personally I loved and identified with it so much. I’ve said before with some debuts that it’s difficult to believe that they are an author’s first book, but I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say, without reservation, that it is difficult to believe that this is a debut.
I bought both the kindle and audio versions of the book but in the end I just listened to the audio completely. Paula Wilcox, did a fantastic, animated, whole-heartedly committed narration. Even Paula gets ten stars for her performance! (I’m not good with audio at the best of times, I struggle with it as a medium, therefore if I loved the audio that much then I really felt it was an outstanding performance!)
The characters were varied, engaging and credible and I loved each and every one of them. They were so ordinary, yet each one had their own story to tell and their situations and stories were realistic and convincing. I could identify with most of the characters, they are characters that we all know and see and interact with in our daily lives. The friendship and interactions between Grace and Tilly was so heart-warming and so special, at times so very funny and so sad. I adored this duo! I laughed so many times during the entire book. The humour was executed in such a subtle, enjoyable and precise way and the pacing was perfect. I can’t express how much I loved Grace and Tilly’s characters, their friendship and their journey to find Mrs Creasy and of course, God.
This read was such a nostalgic one for me. I was aged ten in 1976, the same age as Grace and Tilly are and I remember this heatwave vividly. Even though this is set in the UK…yes, we even got this heatwave in Ireland that year! I remember it so well, sitting out in our front garden with my friend, the sun dripping down on us, making daisy chains and listening to the radio. We could have been the Irish Grace and Tilly! Those summer days seemed so long, so much fun and so sunny! You can sense the heat in this novel. You can feel the humidity and warmth. Everything in this novel brought back so many memories for me, the stuff we used to get up to as kids, the magazines we read, the food we ate, the television we watched, the toys we played with, everything! It brought back memories to me of things I had even forgotten about and it gave me an exceptional journey down the memory lane of my childhood and I loved it for that.
Although this novel made me laugh a whole lot, there is also an underlying serious theme and a solemn message within its pages. A message which involves those who may not ‘fit in� socially to what we consider norms, who may be a little different from us and because of this, in turn, how we may treat them differently or in fact exclude them from society altogether. The author explains her thoughts behind this theme and her reasons for writing on this topic very well at the end of the book. I really didn’t want this book to end. I would have quite happily listened to this book if it was double the length and most probably ended up still wanting more. Loved it!
I want to give this book a big ten stars all wrapped up with big hugs and deliver them with so much love! To say I adored this book is an understatement. I really hated that it had to end! This will be added to ‘my favourite books ever� list as personally I loved and identified with it so much. I’ve said before with some debuts that it’s difficult to believe that they are an author’s first book, but I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say, without reservation, that it is difficult to believe that this is a debut.
I bought both the kindle and audio versions of the book but in the end I just listened to the audio completely. Paula Wilcox, did a fantastic, animated, whole-heartedly committed narration. Even Paula gets ten stars for her performance! (I’m not good with audio at the best of times, I struggle with it as a medium, therefore if I loved the audio that much then I really felt it was an outstanding performance!)
The characters were varied, engaging and credible and I loved each and every one of them. They were so ordinary, yet each one had their own story to tell and their situations and stories were realistic and convincing. I could identify with most of the characters, they are characters that we all know and see and interact with in our daily lives. The friendship and interactions between Grace and Tilly was so heart-warming and so special, at times so very funny and so sad. I adored this duo! I laughed so many times during the entire book. The humour was executed in such a subtle, enjoyable and precise way and the pacing was perfect. I can’t express how much I loved Grace and Tilly’s characters, their friendship and their journey to find Mrs Creasy and of course, God.
This read was such a nostalgic one for me. I was aged ten in 1976, the same age as Grace and Tilly are and I remember this heatwave vividly. Even though this is set in the UK…yes, we even got this heatwave in Ireland that year! I remember it so well, sitting out in our front garden with my friend, the sun dripping down on us, making daisy chains and listening to the radio. We could have been the Irish Grace and Tilly! Those summer days seemed so long, so much fun and so sunny! You can sense the heat in this novel. You can feel the humidity and warmth. Everything in this novel brought back so many memories for me, the stuff we used to get up to as kids, the magazines we read, the food we ate, the television we watched, the toys we played with, everything! It brought back memories to me of things I had even forgotten about and it gave me an exceptional journey down the memory lane of my childhood and I loved it for that.
Although this novel made me laugh a whole lot, there is also an underlying serious theme and a solemn message within its pages. A message which involves those who may not ‘fit in� socially to what we consider norms, who may be a little different from us and because of this, in turn, how we may treat them differently or in fact exclude them from society altogether. The author explains her thoughts behind this theme and her reasons for writing on this topic very well at the end of the book. I really didn’t want this book to end. I would have quite happily listened to this book if it was double the length and most probably ended up still wanting more. Loved it!
July 17, 2016
It's summer of 1976, very hot, unremittingly hot, and Mrs. Creasy is missing from her home on "the Avenue", as the residents call it. Where she has gone and why no one seems to know, but two local girls, Grace and Tilly, aged 10, decide to make it their summer mission to investigate. Their goal: to find God in the Avenue! And how to do this? By learning more about the people they have lived with all of their lives...actually talking with them in ways that only 10 year olds would or could.
And thus we are introduced to a neighborhood of individuals and families often ill at ease with their present and past, living with secrets and lies totally unknown to the young girls. The search for God does open up all types of conversations within the small community, as everyone wonders what has happened to Mrs. Creasy. The feeling of unease increases with the heat which is a heavy and appropriate metaphor. Such a comparison of innocence and complicity. I am not going to go further as I do not want to give spoilers. The fun of this novel is in the interactions, how all the characters, old and young, pull each other off course or drive them on. Such is life!
Grace and Tilly, thank you for the journey around your neighborhood. Joanna Cannon, thank you for a different take on the lingering effects of secrets and lies on people's lives.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
And thus we are introduced to a neighborhood of individuals and families often ill at ease with their present and past, living with secrets and lies totally unknown to the young girls. The search for God does open up all types of conversations within the small community, as everyone wonders what has happened to Mrs. Creasy. The feeling of unease increases with the heat which is a heavy and appropriate metaphor. Such a comparison of innocence and complicity. I am not going to go further as I do not want to give spoilers. The fun of this novel is in the interactions, how all the characters, old and young, pull each other off course or drive them on. Such is life!
Grace and Tilly, thank you for the journey around your neighborhood. Joanna Cannon, thank you for a different take on the lingering effects of secrets and lies on people's lives.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
July 10, 2016
4.5 stars
Utterly charming, surprisingly meaningful.
Set in 1970's English midlands, in a time where neighbours actually knew about each other (too much perhaps?), during an oppressive heat wave, Mrs. Creasy goes missing. Precocious 10 year old Grace and her delicate friend Tilly decide to play sleuth around the neighbourhood, to find Mrs. Creasy, but also to find God.
I just loved the chapters from Grace's point of view. So innocent, so literal, so damn funny I laughed out loud several times. I loved returning to her way of thinking, but when the point of view switched to one of the neighbour characters, it leant a deeper and often darker insight to the mystery. The mystery's origin goes back almost 10 years, and Joanna Cannon makes us wait until the very end to reveal it all to us, which was just perfect.
The title refers to the biblical story of Christ separating the people one from another "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats". Sheep=good, goats=bad. The trouble is, it's not always that easy to tell a sheep from a goat.
This book was about many people, in varying stages of sheepishness or goatyness, each with their secrets, each with the burden of shame, doing whatever they felt they needed to do to belong. Some belonged more than others.
Cannon did a splendid job of character development. I especially enjoyed May, who was always eating an entire box of cheap chocolates in any given scene. I loved the friendship of Grace and Tilly. And I enjoyed looking up some 1970's English confectionaries, such as garibaldis, Milk Tray, Angel Delight, and of course "pork scratchings" which I attempted to enjoy many years ago when I was staying with a friend in the midlands.
A book with many insights and lovely moments, and at the heart, a troubling mystery. Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Scribner!
Utterly charming, surprisingly meaningful.
Set in 1970's English midlands, in a time where neighbours actually knew about each other (too much perhaps?), during an oppressive heat wave, Mrs. Creasy goes missing. Precocious 10 year old Grace and her delicate friend Tilly decide to play sleuth around the neighbourhood, to find Mrs. Creasy, but also to find God.
I just loved the chapters from Grace's point of view. So innocent, so literal, so damn funny I laughed out loud several times. I loved returning to her way of thinking, but when the point of view switched to one of the neighbour characters, it leant a deeper and often darker insight to the mystery. The mystery's origin goes back almost 10 years, and Joanna Cannon makes us wait until the very end to reveal it all to us, which was just perfect.
The title refers to the biblical story of Christ separating the people one from another "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats". Sheep=good, goats=bad. The trouble is, it's not always that easy to tell a sheep from a goat.
This book was about many people, in varying stages of sheepishness or goatyness, each with their secrets, each with the burden of shame, doing whatever they felt they needed to do to belong. Some belonged more than others.
Cannon did a splendid job of character development. I especially enjoyed May, who was always eating an entire box of cheap chocolates in any given scene. I loved the friendship of Grace and Tilly. And I enjoyed looking up some 1970's English confectionaries, such as garibaldis, Milk Tray, Angel Delight, and of course "pork scratchings" which I attempted to enjoy many years ago when I was staying with a friend in the midlands.
A book with many insights and lovely moments, and at the heart, a troubling mystery. Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Scribner!
August 28, 2016
Hard work because none of the characters engaged my attention. I found it a boring read. The writing felt self conscious and over-done though every now and then there was a nice turn of phrase but the rest was often incomprehensible.
The story. I don't know, two girls go in and out of people's houses looking for God (so utterly not interested in whether they found him) and Mrs Creasey (likewise). This is like reading a children's book that isn't very good. There is no mystery as such, no tension anyway, just a lot of smart aleck stuff from two kids looking in on an adult world - this has been done so much better elsewhere.
I'm stumped by the fuss this book has created. Others have clearly enjoyed it but for me there was nothing engaging about it. The endless references to Angel Delight and other 70's vintage items was tiresome and too frequently done. Reading this was like being trapped in a bag of chewy sweets that have melted to a sticky mess on the parcel shelf at the back of the car.
Tedious. And no ending at the end just a sort of shrugging of cute shoulders. Great for baby-brainers.
PS. Someone bought this for me. I don't think I would have put myself through it otherwise.
The story. I don't know, two girls go in and out of people's houses looking for God (so utterly not interested in whether they found him) and Mrs Creasey (likewise). This is like reading a children's book that isn't very good. There is no mystery as such, no tension anyway, just a lot of smart aleck stuff from two kids looking in on an adult world - this has been done so much better elsewhere.
I'm stumped by the fuss this book has created. Others have clearly enjoyed it but for me there was nothing engaging about it. The endless references to Angel Delight and other 70's vintage items was tiresome and too frequently done. Reading this was like being trapped in a bag of chewy sweets that have melted to a sticky mess on the parcel shelf at the back of the car.
Tedious. And no ending at the end just a sort of shrugging of cute shoulders. Great for baby-brainers.
PS. Someone bought this for me. I don't think I would have put myself through it otherwise.
July 9, 2016
This book is ideal for those who have enjoyed Fredrik Backman's books, such as , and Rachel Joyce's books, such as . It has a similar flavor with its warm-hearted blend of humor, some painful truths and a dash of mystery mixed in.
Margaret Creasy disappears from her neighborhood on a hot June Saturday in 1976 and ten-year-old Grace Bennett may have been the last to have seen her when the woman asked to use the Bennett's phone to call a taxi. Grace didn't let her in because her mother was having a lie-down. So where did she go then?
Grace and her friend Tilly want to help figure out the mystery so they ask the vicar some tough questions, like how do you stop people from disappearing? He tells them that you help them find God. The Lord is our shepherd and people are sheep who need a shepherd to keep them safe. In his sermon, he preaches that God separates the sheep from the goats but the girls soon learn that it is not always easy to tell the difference between the two as they hunt for God amongst their neighbors.
Underlying the current mystery is a secret that the neighborhood has kept for nearly twenty years. And each person has their own private secrets as well. Mrs. Creasy liked to visit and was a good listener--did she disappear because of something she learned?
This is a coming of age story in which Grace learns to value true friendship and part of the book is told in first person from her point of view. But it also switches to third-person when dealing with the stories of the many eccentric neighbors--and this works quite well, taking a step away and looking into their lives, as perhaps God would. Slowly their secrets begin to be revealed...but not quite all and we are left with some questions at the end (which I thought was the weakest part of the book.)
For a debut novel, I thought this was quite well done and I look forward to reading more from Joanna Cannon, who seems to be a very talented writer.
My grateful thanks are extended to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.
Margaret Creasy disappears from her neighborhood on a hot June Saturday in 1976 and ten-year-old Grace Bennett may have been the last to have seen her when the woman asked to use the Bennett's phone to call a taxi. Grace didn't let her in because her mother was having a lie-down. So where did she go then?
Grace and her friend Tilly want to help figure out the mystery so they ask the vicar some tough questions, like how do you stop people from disappearing? He tells them that you help them find God. The Lord is our shepherd and people are sheep who need a shepherd to keep them safe. In his sermon, he preaches that God separates the sheep from the goats but the girls soon learn that it is not always easy to tell the difference between the two as they hunt for God amongst their neighbors.
Underlying the current mystery is a secret that the neighborhood has kept for nearly twenty years. And each person has their own private secrets as well. Mrs. Creasy liked to visit and was a good listener--did she disappear because of something she learned?
This is a coming of age story in which Grace learns to value true friendship and part of the book is told in first person from her point of view. But it also switches to third-person when dealing with the stories of the many eccentric neighbors--and this works quite well, taking a step away and looking into their lives, as perhaps God would. Slowly their secrets begin to be revealed...but not quite all and we are left with some questions at the end (which I thought was the weakest part of the book.)
For a debut novel, I thought this was quite well done and I look forward to reading more from Joanna Cannon, who seems to be a very talented writer.
My grateful thanks are extended to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.
November 13, 2018
I’m a fan of novels with plucky ‘tween-aged girl protagonists. “The Trouble with Goats and Sheep� features ten-year-old Grace, whose innocent observations made me laugh out loud. The story opens with a neighbor, Mrs. Creasy, missing. There is much speculation in the neighborhood about whether she was killed; abducted, or just plain ran away. Grace and her best friend Tilly are interested in the strange disappearance of Mrs. Creasy. Grace’s mother is afflicted with nerves and needs a few “lie-ins� throughout the day. Mrs. Morton, a neighbor takes care of Grace when her mother needs theses rests. It is on the Sunday after Mrs. Creasy goes missing, that Grace and Mrs. Morton attend church. Grace has decided that she is going to ask God to find Mrs. Creasy. They sit up front so God can hear them better.
“I didn’t understand much of what the vicar was talking about, but he smiled at me from time to time, and I tried to look sinless and interested.�
From that Sunday sermon, Grace gathered that if God was in a community, then everyone would be safe and found. So the novel begins as two ten-year-old girls attempt to find God in their community.
Grace and Tilly’s observations of the adults around them are delightful and tragic. Through their eyes, the reader learns of the duplicity of adult views and actions. The story is also advanced through other characters in the novel. It is clear that all the neighbors harbor secrets and are fallible.
The novel is both sad and amusing, as is life. As the girls pursue their quest of finding God, human frailties� are uncovered, mostly with sympathy. This is a fun read for those times you just want to see another side to character flaws.
“I didn’t understand much of what the vicar was talking about, but he smiled at me from time to time, and I tried to look sinless and interested.�
From that Sunday sermon, Grace gathered that if God was in a community, then everyone would be safe and found. So the novel begins as two ten-year-old girls attempt to find God in their community.
Grace and Tilly’s observations of the adults around them are delightful and tragic. Through their eyes, the reader learns of the duplicity of adult views and actions. The story is also advanced through other characters in the novel. It is clear that all the neighbors harbor secrets and are fallible.
The novel is both sad and amusing, as is life. As the girls pursue their quest of finding God, human frailties� are uncovered, mostly with sympathy. This is a fun read for those times you just want to see another side to character flaws.
March 25, 2023
Northampton, East Midlands by Antons Jevterevs
The writing is so subtle, poetic and beautiful! Grace and her best friend Tilly are wonderful characters, they are thoughtful and endearing young girls with inquisitive minds. Tilly was my favourite person in this book, she won me over in a special way - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that alone was the reason for me to emotionally connect with her.
Reading the conversations and thoughts of both the girls made me think again that finding the whimsical and creative answers to seemingly ordinary questions is part of every child's personality since they're still young and their conscience mind is not yet fully immersed in the environment surrounding them.
Brockhall, Northamptonshire, East Midlands
The atmosphere of this small town in the story gave me the feeling of peace and had reminded of those cosy places I had been spending my summers at as a kid - with lush green nature, birds' singing in the morning and where you can actually see the stars at night. Those places felt more personal, as if you would surely meet a friend on every street.
And, of course, the scorching heat like the one described in here was also a part of the adventurous childhood summer months. That's one of the reasons why this novel is among those rare stories that come to my mind when I think about summer! ☀�
Towcester, Northamptonshire, East Midlands
I perused the notes on my reading process and for me the most important message was this one: The true meaning behind everything stays hidden unless you keep your heart open. And this I learned from Tilly!
As much as I would have definitely appreciated a closed ending, I thought that an open ending really worked in here. I thought - like it happens with any good written book - it opened a door for our imagination to think up what's next and allowed the story to live on even after we closed the last page. There also were lots of little clues that kept me thinking I'm close to figuring out the part involving Margaret Creasy. So hopefully next time I'll maybe understand the story better! Loved this book, left me with a lot to think about...
A special big thanks to Jasmine for recommending this beautiful book!
P.S. Images:
(1) The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is set in Britain during the summer of 1976, which, as I read, was the hottest summer ever recorded in the UK. The exact town wasn't mentioned but, I believe, it was located somewhere in the East Midlands. So I chose the photo of Northampton as it gives me a small-town cosy vibes, though in reality it's actually the largest town without city status :)
(2) My choices for images are purely based on the atmosphere of my childhood summer memories. The places I visited were different, though, of course :)
(3) Towcester has a population of nearly 11,000.
(4) Art by Ayako Onozuka
February 4, 2018
I really enjoyed the start. The two girls were great fun and brilliant characters, although as one reviewer mentioned, Grace's voice was reminiscent of Alan Bennett's which coincidentally she shares a surname with. I loved the 70's references, the ponchos, whimsies, Kay's catalogues, garibaldis, artic rolls, although I agree, Angel Delight was mentioned too many times. Although I was only 3 yrs old I do remember the summer of 1976 as we had just moved house, and the heat was memorable. Someone had given us a fake leather mustard coloured sofa with brown cushions flecked with orange, and I remember sticking to it, I also remember people watering their gardens with their washing up water and I remember one garden that had a beautifully green lawn that nobody was very pleased about as watering gardens was banned-so all this detail was interesting to me.
I did start to lose track of what was happening. I needed a map of who lived where, and the story going back and forward in time didn't help. I found there was too much hinting, I wasn't sure what was gossip and what happened, and started not to care and just wanted Mrs Creasy to come back. I'm not even sure why she left!
I did like the girls friendship and the way they roamed about which reminded me how different life was for children when I was young and made me think how babies were parked in prams outside shops and how for reasons talked about in the story this just wouldn't happen now. I enjoyed this slice of 70's life but found the parts without the girls voices not so interesting and the mystery managed to evade me!
I did start to lose track of what was happening. I needed a map of who lived where, and the story going back and forward in time didn't help. I found there was too much hinting, I wasn't sure what was gossip and what happened, and started not to care and just wanted Mrs Creasy to come back. I'm not even sure why she left!
I did like the girls friendship and the way they roamed about which reminded me how different life was for children when I was young and made me think how babies were parked in prams outside shops and how for reasons talked about in the story this just wouldn't happen now. I enjoyed this slice of 70's life but found the parts without the girls voices not so interesting and the mystery managed to evade me!
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