When laws are passed by the government making it illegal to hoard food, I'm still backing his decision but part of me wanted him to get caught just to get him off the page. Then again, maybe the thread of economic disaster is something that all time periods have in common. This book is about a domineering, sexist, jackass of a father who doesn't know how to show love to his family in anyway that most children would recognize.

I think I was studying economics and history at the time and the thought that this all might have been so close to possible was compelling. When he blows this whistle there is a sense of a chill, unsettled wind running through the air and in the sequence the whistle’s tone acts as a carrier signal back through time.

A good tale, fascinating, but at the end, a bit too neat and pat in how the author resolves everything and brings about the ending he so fervently desires. The economy was on its knees and the previous winter, the coldest in over 15 years, had become known as the Winter of Discontent after government policies attempting to control inflation sparked widespread industrial action, the reaction to which contributed to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister later that same year. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.

He spends the entire book making belittling comments about Barry's mother and older sister Nessie, mostly about their inferior, womanly minds. I'm not entirely sure of the reason for the second edition, except that there's a rise in dystopian YA literature, and the publishers saw a chance to market this book to that audience. His father doesn't want visitors, keeps disappearing into the basement, and those who were friends before are no longer friends. Read all The father, an ex-military man, sees the 'handwriting on the wall' as to where his country's economy is headed.It read a bit differently for me, but also surprised how much detail one can get out of a book describing hyperinflation, not exactly a children’s book. In this sense, Noah’s Castle could be seen as the lower budget, more youth-orientated flipside to the final series of Quatermass (1979) and its consideration of societal collapse and norms.

In varying degrees, the author explores each path as we see this world through the eyes of teenager Barry Mortimer. but the chilling sense of hopelessness and fear of ordinary lives being turned upside down by forces that no-one can seem to control would certainly have struck a chord. An early 80s kids show set in the not too distant future, starring the late, great Mike Reid of EastEnders fame. This past weekend I picked the book up again during the read-a-thon and found to my surprise that I was getting into the story line.People like Christopher Fairbank ( AUF WEIDERSEIN PET ) , Lee McDonald ( GRANGE HILL ) and Alun Lewis ( EMMERDALE ) . It is Norman’s solipsistic, patriarchal approach to life—a damaged worldview resulting from a childhood dominated by another man’s traumatizing self-obsession, and now playing out in another form through his son, and so on for ever—that creates, at least in part, the social fragmentation he so fears. The story explores how the members of the family, and those around them, survive and grow during one winter of the crisis.

I imagine it sparking rich conversations over family dynamics, the individual versus the greater good, and the impact of government economic decisions. It was aimed at the YA audience of the seventies and it contains no foul language, no overt sexual situations, and relatively unrealistic understated violence: one or two people get duffed up a little bit and someone is shot through the part of the shoulder that apparently contains no nerves, blood vessels, bones or joints and heals right up almost immediately.The tv series aired in Australia on ABCtv along with many of the other children’s serials of the time. Got through this book really quickly, was easy to consume and interesting enough to keep my interest. Originally published in 1975, Noah’s Castle was written by John Rowe Townsend, a deft and prolific children’s author who produced books in a range of genres from romance to thriller to science fiction, and who, although almost forgotten now, was well-known at the time for Gumble’s Yard (1961), a portrait of working-class life inspired by his reporting for the Manchester Guardian. His wife and children have misgivings about the plan, believing that their hoard of supplies should be shared amongst wider society.