Farewell to the East End

De: Jennifer Worth

Narrado por: Saskia Butler

Written by Jennifer Worth, Farewell to the East Endis one of the trilogy of memoirs upon which the popular BBC series Call the Midwifeis based.

London's East End in the 1950s was a vibrant place-a close-knit community of families where children made playgrounds on bombsites and a lively social scene emerged. It was into this world that Jennifer Worth entered as a young midwife. Post-war life could be a struggle, but there was also warmth and humour. Farewell to the East End chronicles the lives, culture and stores of a bygone era.

©2010 Jennifer Worth (P)2010 Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A sad farewell but a memorable and satisfying send-off." ( Daily Express)

BIG FAN OF THIS SERIES

Loved "Call the Midwife" and grabbed this one - there is some repeats in the stories about particular lives, but overall good. Narrator fantastic!

A Brilliant Book

This is the third book in the trilogy by Jennifer Worth on her life as a midwife in the East End of London in the 1950's. After being hooked on the BBC adaptation of her first book, Call the Midwife, I have devoured what I can find of her writings, and she does not disappoint.

But I must emphasise that it is not a book for the faint-hearted! Most of the stories are sad, but she writes the accounts in such a way with humour sprinkled liberally throughout the book, that somehow you don't mind the sadness, and the characters you meet are filled to the brim with life, with all with the sweetness, brutality, stoicism, fortitude and love that comes with the desperately poor conditions Jennifer was working among. It is the stuff of real life.

Her writings on this period in history is an education as well in a time of English history that is not so glittering, and Worth deals with many of the social issues that are not so widely talked about such as back-street abortions, suicide, infanticide and prostitution - so it is not a 'light' read, but I enjoyed it because of the richness of characters and the interesting lives and stories weaved around those lives, and found myself many times with tears on my face, or laughing out loud.

I loved the ending because she gives a brief summary of the lives of the nurses she worked with and what happened to them. Chummy, Cynthia, Trixie, the Nuns and herself. There are no loose ends at the finish, and I find that very satisfying when you have come to love the main characters.

You will run the gamut of emotions in this brilliant book.

interesting but disjointed compared to first two

still found this very interesting however it felt much more disjointed than the previous books. nothing really related to anything else. still lots of interesting things just less of a story more of a random history book.

Highly Enjoyable

Author Jennifer Worth takes us once again into the hovels and pubs of the East End, laying bare the grim underbelly of poverty populated by these tough-skinned Londoners. We also revisit the characters we remember so fondly from her earlier books, and, true to the title of this final offering, follow several of them to their own ending. Sister Monica Joan and Chummy are a few of the old friends that we meet on this farewell tour. One reviewer describes the book as "disjointed", but such is the nature of an episodic narrative.

Saskia Butler's narration is excellent.

Interesting look at London in the 50's

Gentle read about life as a midwife in London in the 50's and the characters that she meets.