Imatge de l'autor

Kit de Waal

Autor/a de My Name Is Leon

9+ obres 566 Membres 37 Ressenyes

Sobre l'autor

Inclou aquests noms: Kit de Waal, Kit De Waal

Obres de Kit de Waal

My Name Is Leon (2016) 339 exemplars
The Trick to Time (2018) 97 exemplars
Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers (2019) — Editor — 53 exemplars
Six Foot Six (2018) 21 exemplars
Becoming Dinah (2019) 19 exemplars
Supporting Cast (2020) 14 exemplars
Mainstream (2021) 2 exemplars
The Trick to Time 1 exemplars

Obres associades

Protest: Stories of Resistance (2017) — Col·laborador — 28 exemplars
The Book of Birmingham: A City in Short Fiction (2018) — Col·laborador — 3 exemplars
The Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2014 (2014) — Col·laborador — 1 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Data de naixement
1960
Gènere
female
Nacionalitat
England
UK
País (per posar en el mapa)
UK
Lloc de naixement
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK
Educació
Oxford Brookes University(MA|Creative Writing)
Professions
She worked for 15 years in criminal and family law and as a magistrate (Justice of the Peace). She sits on adoption panels, worked as an adviser for Social Services and has written training manuals on adoption and foster care.
Biografia breu
Mandy Theresa O'Loughlin (born 26 July 1960), known professionally as Kit de Waal, is an English writer. De Waal was born in Birmingham, England, to Sheila O'Loughlin (née Doyle), a foster carer, registered child minder and auxiliary nurse, and Arthur Desmond O'Loughlin, a bus driver. Her maternal grandparents were Irish, from County Wexford, her father was from Basseterre, St. Kitts in the West Indies and a descendant of William Julius.

De Waal attended Waverly Grammar School in Small Heath, Birmingham. She worked for 15 years in criminal and family law and as a magistrate (Justice of the Peace). She sits on adoption panels, worked as an adviser for Social Services and has written training manuals on adoption and foster care. She began writing for pleasure at an early age, and when her children were relatively independent, she decided to study creative writing which she did at Oxford Brookes University, achieving a master's degree.De Waal is married to John de Waal, QC, son of Victor de Waal. They have two children.

Membres

Ressenyes

This is an excellent set of short stories, all told in a very intimate format Some of them are connected, and once you've seen that, you start wondering how many others are related. Jimmy who deserts his bride at the alter, is he also the man that has moved to a snooker hall in Bristol? None of the people telling their stories are overt, they are all quite contained. There's no Divas in here, they might all be considered supporting cast members in the play of life.
 
Marcat
Helenliz | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | Jan 25, 2024 |
I loved Kit de Waal's My Name is Leon, so when I saw The Trick to Time was coming out, I grabbed an ARC as quickly as I could. This book is fairly different from the previous one, but by no means less powerful. The focus here is on Mona, a sixty-year-old Irish dollmaker, and her efforts to live to the full the life she has left.

The book alternates between present-day Mona and her past, first as child in Ireland trying to cope with her mother's illness, and later as a young woman attempting to build a new life in England. I loved slowly getting to know Mona: as her past is unveiled and her present unfolds before our eyes, she gradually shapes up to be a wonderfully complex character. Supported by an unforgettable cast of secondary characters, Mona tries to put together pieces of her past life, and tries to overcome pain bigger than anyone should ever have to face.

The author's wonderful writing style takes us back to a time when life was different, and when social tensions exploded, immediately contrasting that with the quiet seaside town where present-day Mona lives. And it just works. Mona is complex and charismatic enough to hold the whole story together, the settings and historical elements add depth to the story, and the final revelations did surprise me a little bit, as I had drawn completely the wrong conclusion! The only negative for me is that, at times, the narration felt a bit slow, making this feel longer than it really is, but it was definitely worth it!

For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
… (més)
 
Marcat
bookforthought | Hi ha 7 ressenyes més | Nov 7, 2023 |
I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

What a great way to start 2017! My Name is Leon was everything a book could be: emotional, funny, well written and delicately touching upon terribly difficult topics. Go read it now!

No, seriously... What are you still doing here? Go!

Oh well, since you're still here, let me tell you why you should bother with this little gem of a book. Firstly, this book was highly original. I loved the fact that our protagonist is a biracial young boy whose family is so messed up he and his brother end up in foster care. This is a very sensitive topic, and one I actually rarely see represented in books. Yet somehow, the author managed to touch upon the issues faced by fostered children ever so lightly, truly helping the reader see the world from Leon's point of view. I was touched by this little boy's deep, deep love towards his mother and brother, I was amazed by his sense of responsibility and suffered his same frustration when his whole world collapsed.

Also, I loved the characters. Leon himself was incredibly well developed, growing and changing throughout the book. He is a real kid, with his problems, and his dreams. It was very interesting to get inside his little boy's mind to witness first hand exactly how he lived through all the things that happened to him. Themes of discrimination, equality, children's rights are delicately built in the story, so that it never feels like a lecture but still manages to get you thinking. The secondary characters were also very well developed, despite being seen only through Leon's eyes.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, My Name is Leon is one book that, even in its simplicity, will capture you entirely. Perfect to cozy up with in the cold winter, preferably with a good cup of English tea to get you in the right mood.
… (més)
 
Marcat
bookforthought | Hi ha 21 ressenyes més | Nov 7, 2023 |
5/10, it was a bit too much for me.
 
Marcat
Law_Books600 | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Nov 3, 2023 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
9
També de
4
Membres
566
Popularitat
#44,192
Valoració
4.1
Ressenyes
37
ISBN
44
Llengües
3

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