Product Description

Abbie Fenton wants a baby. Her husband Felix, not unaware of the thunderous ticking of Abbie’s biological clock, wants to oblige but their home has still to be blessed. Cue the usual round of doctors, tests, probes and scans – all to no avail. So Abbie – adopted at birth – decides that if she can’t have a child then she must at least discover whose child she is. Soon, she and Felix are caught up in a make-or-break search for family, identity and meaning. And little do they know quite where the journey will take them …

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260246 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire in 1963, and is regarded as one of the leading poets of his generation. After university he worked as a probation officer in Manchester; he also presented Radio 4's poetry series Stanza for five years. His first prose book ALL POINTS NORTH was published by Viking in 1998. His first novel LITTLE GREEN MAN was published by Viking in 2001. His most recent projects include a translation of THE ODYSSEY for Radio 4, and a screenplay for the BBC. He lives near Huddersfield.

Customer Reviews

Poignant and funny
I am a fan of poetry by Simon Armitage, and also his previous novels, All Points North, and The Green Man. 'The White Stuff' is equally enjoyable. It is a moving, enjoyable read, at times a little uncomfortable, yet funny, and the relationship drawn between Abbie and Felix is realistic and loving. I enjoyed and understood Abbie's need to try and understand her past and find out who she really is. The final twist is a nice resolution.

Simon: what's gone wrong?
I really rate Simon Armitage. Have followed him avidly since his first appearances on the Mark Radcliffe show in the early 1990s. Loved the poems, the readings, the dodgy trips to Iceland, even his first novel.

But this one really stinks. It's a story by numbers, and it doesn't make sense. The themes are one dimensional: limited to blokish solidarity and how we're all so complicated. There are too many characters: most of whom don't make sense and some of whom are really frustrating (girl called Miss Moffat - has a fear of spiders - geddit??). The ending is soggy and lazy.