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Elizabeth Garner

Autor/a de The Ingenious Edgar Jones

3+ obres 181 Membres 9 Ressenyes

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Inclou el nom: Elizabeth Garner

Obres de Elizabeth Garner

The Ingenious Edgar Jones (2007) 154 exemplars
Nightdancing (2003) 18 exemplars
Lost & Found (2023) 9 exemplars

Obres associades

First Light: A celebration of Alan Garner (2016) — Col·laborador — 29 exemplars

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Gènere
female

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Ressenyes

A very interesting book which explores a lot of issues without seeming to do so. Edgar Jones is born in a very beast-like manner and we see his transformation from this state to inventor extraordinaire (sort of). Perhaps this is a comment on the Victorian condition. Edgar however is beset by difficulties; he is torn between a desire to show his father, a man left behind in the previous century, that he is worthy and please his masters of apprenticeship. A side story tells us of his mother's condition and the way in which public opinion is swung against her. This is well worth a read and I found myself drawn in to the story by the beautifully portrayed characters.… (més)
 
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shushokan | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Dec 3, 2012 |
Edgar Jones was differently gifted in an age when his skills were not valued. He was unable to master reading and writing, but he did have a gift for anything mechanical. His father, unable to educate him, apprenticed him to a blacksmith as a young boy. Here he met an Oxford anatomy professor whose work was challenging the conventional notion of a God-created universe. And here is where the story breaks down for me. The professor is building some type of a museum for his specimans made of iron and employs Edgar, age 12 at the time, to help him raise this structure. The narrative describing the structure needed *something* because I was unable to follow what was going on. Was it too technical, or not technical enough? I think the latter. Was it the gap between British English and American English that caused my confusion? I can't be sure, but I was unable to follow the more technical aspects of this book. The characters were well done. The plot was loosely based on actual characters and events, but rather too much license was given, in my opinion.… (més)
½
 
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mojomomma | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Jun 6, 2011 |
The Ingenious Edgar Jones tells the story of a mysterious dark-haired boy, born ahead of his time on a lightning-filled night in the Oxford of the 1800s. Immediately upon his arrival, he disappoints and vaguely puzzles his mother- she had wanted a girl- and delights his father- but slowly, as his life goes on, this state of affairs is somewhat reversed.

The boy Edgar, while supremely gifted with what would now be called mechanical abilities, lags behind in reading and writing and thus remains functionally illiterate until as late as seven or eight. Constantly drawn to the great outdoors, he figures out ways to escape his lessons and roam free in the wilderness outside his home. Then, one day, on a sojourn right into the city, he comes across a fascinating place- an iron forge- and promptly offers himself up for an apprenticeship.

Later he is taken in by a Professor of Anatomy from one of Oxford’s colleges- the old man, never named, sees the spark in the boy’s creativity and takes him on in an apprenticeship of his own. But all the while, what Edgar wants as badly as he wants to invent things of metal and bone, is that eternal quest for most children- parental approval- and that espcially from his father.

His master at the forge, the Professor, and lastly his kindly master at the invention shop- Mr Stevens, all fall short of his desires for validation. Naturally. His father, William, is unable to look beyond Scripture and accept his boy’s somewhat different vision and talents.

And this is the crux of the story. A child, born both different and gifted; the religious climate in the England of the 1800s where Science and God are raging against two sides of the debate, and the devastating social justice of the time that Edgar finally comes up against.

The story ends with a somewhat different outcome- magical realism, almost, which did not jibe well with the rest of the story. However, Edgar is a curious and engaging fellow; you do want to follow along on his adventure, want to laugh with him (and he does laugh an awful lot) and weep when his brave heart is disappointed yet again. His inventions, whether of bone or metal or lcloth, are marvelous, his imagination fierce and his spirit tender yet powerful.

Elizabeth Garner is a writer of both vision and precision, each of Edgar’s futuristic inventions outlined with spare yet well-rounded detail. The emotions are evoked more from the reader, rather than laid out on the page in grandiose prose. I enjoyed the tale as much as the telling, and would love to read more from Garner. ( I almost wish for a sequel to Edgar.)
… (més)
 
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dmenon90 | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Apr 25, 2011 |
Very interesting story of early Victorian era Oxford, a born inventor, and the society that does not recognize his worth.
 
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marciathing | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Sep 16, 2010 |

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Obres
3
També de
1
Membres
181
Popularitat
#119,336
Valoració
3.2
Ressenyes
9
ISBN
11

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