Mister Pip

Title: Mister Pip
Author: Llyod Jones
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 256
Edition: Hardcover

"You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames".

Its 1990's. A civil war breaks out in a small tropical island, as the redskin soldiers invade the natives. All the whites flee the island, as the redskins raid the village looking for rebels and kills people who aids them. One White man chooses to stay behind. Mr.Watts. He is also known as 'Pop Eye' (as his eyes appear as if they are about to pop out of his face). On rare occasions, he wears a red clown nose, and pulls his wife, Grace (a black woman), along in a trolley, a sight that usually gathers a crowd of curious onlookers. When the local school teacher flees, Mr.Watts fills in for him. However, he has no teaching skills. He chooses to read aloud a chapter from 'Great Expectations' every day, much to the delight of the school children.

Matilda, a 13-year-old village girl, soon finds herself enraptured by the character 'Pip' and the Victorian England. When she playfully writes the name 'Pip' in the sand one day, the redskins mistake it for a rebel. They torture the villagers either to surrender 'Pip' or incur their wrath. During one of the interrogations about 'Pip', a student blurts out that Pip belongs to Dickens. When the question arises to who Dickens is, they point to Mr.Watts. Now, Its up to Mr.Watts, the eccentric 'Pop Eye', to save the village from impending violence.

Jones' writing is seductive...powerful...magical...He writes with great imagination and flair. His elegant prose will keep you riveted to the book from page one. I didn't get a chance to read all the Booker prize nominees (except Ian McEwan's 'On Chesil Beach'). But after reading this novel, I truly felt sad that Lloyd Jones didn't win the 'Booker'. I beseech you to read this truly enchanting novel.

My Rating: 4.5/5

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Lovely Lotus has awarded me the 'Schmooze Award' . Thank you so much Lotus, You are so kind!


This award is for the bloggers who “effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

I would love to pass on this award to Wendy at "Musings of a Bookish Kitty".