3rd September 2023

The third book in the One End Street series is one that I didn’t know existed when I read the other two as a child, and so is entirely new to me on this read through.

It focuses on the character and setting that quickly became a favourite in the previous book, as Kate goes on holiday for the whole summer. However I don’t think it does it as compellingly as the previous book managed.

One thing I particularly noticed in this book was the length of the paragraphs. I can only assume that this is an effect of when it was written - but there are frequently paragraphs taking up almost an entire page, and that’s a lot of dense, small writing, to have in one go. Similarly the book, and the individual chapters, feel longer than in the first two books.

The story is generally good fun. It’s interesting to see some returning characters, and some actual characters arcs for, well at least one of them, which I think sets this a bit apart from the previous novels.

As with the previous novel, there’s one small moment of legacy racism, which probably would be entirely commonplace at the time the story is set, although I’m not sure that would be fair to say of the time this novel was actually written. It’s more subtle this time round, but still jarring to a modern reader.

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29th July 2023

I had one memory of this book from reading it when I was a child, and I’m pleased to see that scene plays out just the same. The rest of the book was like reading an entirely new story.

Unlike the first book, this one is presented more as a continuous novel, rather than almost a collection of short stories with continuity between. After a bout of measles, three of the children are sent off to the countryside to recover. This provides for the best part of the narrative, taking up the central half of the book, and unsurprisingly seems to be the part that will be repeated in the following book.

Unfortunately, as the book reaches its conclusion, it takes a surprisingly racist turn. Being from the 1950s, I’m sure the terminology used was in common parlance. But being from the 2020s, it’s utterly out of place and, repeated as it is four times or so, completely threw me out of the narrative and really ruined the end of the reading experience. It’s exceptionally irritating as it’s not evening meaningful to the plot. There feels to be no reason whatsoever for it being included, and with a modern mindset that just makes it feel like the author has done it for shock value.

So, a really nice, nostalgic read… until the last couple of chapters which spoiled it. I really hope that modern reprints have tweaked the ending to make this appropriate again for small children.

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25th February 2023

I recently read the biography of Terry Pratchett, in which it’s mentioned that as a young child he enjoyed reading Eve Garnett’s tale of a large working class family. And I remembered enjoying it, I imagine when read to me by my mum, as a small child (it was certainly her choice of a book she had known as a child - possibly even then her own original copy).

And so a second-hand 1975 copy very quickly made its way to my shelves, and then, once I’d finished the biography, into my hands and eyes.

The book remains delightful - there is surprisingly little to age it (although I realise it’s possible that between the 30s and 70s some editing might have gone on) in the style of language or the usual problems that early 20th century texts have. Perhaps there’s an element of sexism in the level of agency the boys control in their adventures, compared to those the girls experience.

But the book does, as I understand it sets out to, paint a picture of what working class life was like at the time - the professions and hardships of the parents, the daily happenings for the children, the cultural references, the challenges to overcome, and particularly the relationships with people of other classes.

I’ve very happily revisited this book - and have also obtained the two sequels, only one of which I read as a child.

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