"Learning to Speak" is a collection of short stories full of autobiography by British Booker Prize writer Hilary Mantel. The book contains six short stories: "King Billy Was a Good Gentleman," "The disinfecting," "Beautiful Curves," "Learning to Speak," "Four Floors Up" and "The Clean Slate," as well as exciting excerpts from Hilary Mantel's autobiography "The End of the Breath."
"Learning to Speak" has a strong autobiographical flavor by Hilary Mantel herself, describing multiple stories related to childhood: "King Billy Was a Good Gentleman" has a child who must overcome the pain of losing his father and the confusion of the disappearing Irish cultural heritage; "Beautiful Curve" is about A tale of friendship, faith and a near-disaster in a scrapyard; the narrator in "Learning to Speak" corrects her northern accent with the help of a washed-up actress... With a disorienting lightness, Mantel uncovers a haunting period of childhood transformation.
Reader comments
This book is very interesting. It shows the inner world of children through some short stories. For example, in "Learning to Speak", the friendship between the child and the old dog and the exploration of the world made me feel the innocence and beauty of childhood. The author's writing is concise and powerful, allowing me to understand the characters' personalities and experiences very well. I think this book is not only suitable for children, but also reminds adults of their childhood.
This book is very interesting. It shows the inner world of children through some short stories. For example, in "Learning to Speak", the friendship between the child and the old dog and the exploration of the world made me feel the innocence and beauty of childhood. The author's writing is concise and powerful, allowing me to understand the characters' personalities and experiences very well. I think this book is not only suitable for children, but also reminds adults of their childhood.