HAVE THE MEN HAD ENOUGH ? - Margaret Forster (engl.)

"HAVE THE MEN HAD ENOUGH ?" is a 1989 novel by English writer Margaret Forster about the dementia of octogenarian 'grandma',
alternating between the perspectives of Jenny (daughter-in-law) and Hannah (granddaughter). Grandma is deteriorating with dementia as
Bridget and her carers struggle to cope with her. Jenny and Hannah try and help but Charlie and Stuart also have different viewpoints. Then
Bridget has a holiday to Germany while Grandma's condition takes a turn for the worse...

What do men run away from ? Not war, not physical hardship, but the day-to-day emotional demands of impossible domestic situations.
That's women's work. This is a story of female courage, where black comedy turns to disturbing pathos revolving around the rights of an
indomitable woman.

Anita Brookner from The Spectator writes that "Margaret Forster has written an extremely skilful and angry novel, and one which, although
beautiful written, is not easy to read...The punishing narrative, which carries one helplessly and unwillingly, veers cleverly into fiction in the last
couple of chapters...It is Margaret Forsters's contention that the women shoulder the burden, while the men write the cheques. Hence the
satirical edge to the question that forms the title. One can only applaud the author's indignation, and hope that it will not go unnoticed and
unrewarded."

Michael Irwin writing in the London Review of Books has some criticism that the novel "seems to provide a complete if depressing answer to
such questions, but its comprehensiveness depends on the sympathy-shrivelling datum that the family are sufficiently well-heeled to be able to
choose from the full spectrum of available possibilities, private as well as public. Charlie thinks nothing of shelling out £20,000 a year on his
mother. Many a reader would envy his plight. What is admirable in the book nonetheless is the scrupulous exposition of a widespread and
formidable problem that doesn't obviously lend itself to literary presentation. Aspect after aspect is considered: arthritis, bad feet, falls, clothes,
incontinence, the arguments for and against euthanasia. There is a prevailing honesty that makes one trust the detailed accounts of the ‘homes’ that are visited. But to say so is virtually to admit that the book seems rooted in documentary rather than imaginative truth. There is a
whiff of the notebook about much of the description."

Jonathan Coe writing in The Guardian says that "the novel sets out to investigate, with humour and anger the play of loyalties that such a
situation sets in motion...The choice would have to be made because men and women it is argued, respond to the crises and deadlocks of
family life in different ways. Forster is razor sharp when it comes to the part which gender plays in determining moral attitudes...If there was a
prize for the most useful novel of the year, Margaret Forster would be a clear favourite; and since there are already the best and most
entertaining, I sincerely hope she wins one."

Publisher: "CHATTO & WINDUS" London U.K. 1989. Hard cover, 251 p. Dimensions: 16 x 24 cm. The book is new. From local bookstore.

E-mail: truta.srecko@gmail.com

DELIVERY - Croatia and Abroad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"JE LI MUŠKARCIMA BILO DOSTA?" je roman engleske spisateljice Margaret Forster iz 1989. o demenciji osamdesetogodišnje 'bake',
izmjenjujući perspektive Jenny (snaha) i Hannah (unuka). Baka se pogoršava s demencijom kao Bridget i njezini njegovatelji teško se nose
s njom. Jenny i Hannah pokušavaju pomoći, ali Charlie i Stuart također imaju različita stajališta. Zatim Bridget ide na odmor u Njemačku dok
se bakino stanje pogoršava...

Od čega muškarci bježe ? Ne rat, ne fizičke poteškoće, već svakodnevni emocionalni zahtjevi nemogućih obiteljskih situacija. To je ženski
posao. Ovo je priča o ženskoj hrabrosti, gdje se crna komedija pretvara u uznemirujuću patetiku koja se vrti oko prava neukrotivih žena.

Anita Brookner iz "The Spectatora" piše da je "Margaret Forster napisala iznimno vješt i ljut roman, koji, iako lijepo napisan, nije lako čitati...
Kažnjavajuća pripovijest, koja nosi bespomoćno i nevoljko, lukavo skreće u fikciju u posljednjih nekoliko poglavlja... Margaret Forster tvrdi da
žene snose teret, dok muškarci ispisuju čekove. Stoga je satirični rub na pitanje koje čini naslov. Može se samo pozdraviti autorovo ogorčenje
i nadati se da neće proći nezapaženo i nenagrađeno."

Jonathan Coe piše za "The Guardian" kaže da "roman nastoji istražiti, s humorom i ljutnjom, igru ​​odanosti koju takva situacija pokreće ...
Izbor bi se morao napraviti jer muškarci i žene, tvrdi se, odgovaraju na krize i mrtve točke obiteljskog života na različite načine. Forster je jako
oštra kada se radi o ulozi koju spol igra u određivanju moralnih stavova... Kad bi postojala nagrada za najkorisniji roman godine, Margaret
Forster bila bi očiti favorit; a pošto već ima najboljih i nadasve zabavnih, iskreno se nadam da će ga osvojiti."

Izdavač: "CHATTO & WINDUS" London V. Britanija, 1989. g. Tvrdi uvez, 251 str. Format: 16 x 24 cm. Knjiga je nova. S police knjižare.

E-mail: carlitotruta1609@gmail.com

DOSTAVA - Hrvatska i inozemstvo