How Many Camels Are There in Holland?..., Phyllida Law
How Many Camels Are There in Holland?..., Phyllida Law
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How Many Camels Are There in Holland?

Author: Phyllida Law

Narrator: Phyllida Law

Unabridged: 3 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Published: 02/28/2013

Synopsis

The charming, funny successor to the hugely popular ‘Notes to my Mother-in-Law’, from the inimitable Phyllida Law. Following Phyllida Law’s wonderful and acclaimed ‘Notes to my Mother-in-Law’ – which comically and tenderly documented the author’s relationship with her husband’s mother who lived with the family for 17 years – we now have a chronicle of Phyllida’s relationship with her own mother who suffered from dementia. Recently widowed, bringing up her own two daughters (actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson) and working as a successful actress herself, Phyllida went up and down to Scotland to spend as much time with her ailing mother as she could manage. During the period she kept a lively and frank journal noting many of the sad yet funny examples of her mother’s faltering grip on reality. The journal includes reminiscences of her own childhood and the tragic death of her only brother. This book promises to be just as warm and moving as her first and will also be beautifully enhanced by the author’s illustrations.

About Phyllida Law

Phyllida Law has appeared in numerous plays, television series and films, including Peter's Friends, Much Ado about Nothing, Foyle's War and Kingdom. She was married to Eric Thompson, the writer and narrator of the English version of The Magic Roundabout, until his death in 1982. She has two daughters, Emma and Sophie.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Triinu on April 01, 2023

Minu arvamuse leiab blogist [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Tweedledum on July 23, 2014

Bitter sweet and often darkly comic memoir by Actress Phyllida Law of the final months of her mother's life, whose glorious eccentricities gradually fade into a real and frightening dementia. Illustrated with her own watercolours the book is part journal, part anecdotal, but the overall effect is a......more

Goodreads review by Pam on July 05, 2014

The premise of this book outweighed my actual enjoyment of it. A pretty book, interesting and topical subject matter, written by well known actor, Phyllida Law, I was so looking forward to it. Initially I found it very confusing as the writing was all over the place. I did enjoy the latter part of t......more

Goodreads review by Debbie on September 25, 2018

Several years ago, I greatly enjoyed Law’s Notes to My Mother-in-Law. A sweet & short memoir of sorts, written in the titular notes by the author to her mother-in-law, who was hard of hearing and yet wanted the day’s news and arrangements, it was a short and charming read. Both women sounded like pe......more

Goodreads review by Seili on October 11, 2023

Ma nii tahtsin et see mulle meeldiks. Jah oli kohti ka ja üldiselt selline soe ja armas aga esimene osa oli nii palju parem... See meeldis mulle kõvasti rohkem. Et teema iseenesest on ju tõesti kurb ja sügav ja see, milliste naljadega kõige selle sees elati on vapramast vapper aga ikkgi... Väga hüple......more

Quotes

Praise for ‘How Many Camels Are There in Holland?’: ‘Handling delicate material with a clear head and a loving heart, Law manages to turn the stuff of tragedies into the most delicate of comedies … Law’s technique ought to be studied on writing courses’ Telegraph ‘I doubted that I could ever read anything that would make me smile gently at the tragic reality of caring for a beloved family member who slips away before your eyes becoming a stranger. Yet Phyllida Law has provided such a book …’ BOOK OF THE WEEK, Daily Mail ‘Phyllida Law has a delightfully natural style, a gift for anecdote and the knack of seeing the funny side of pretty much everything. Someone so accomplished could write a book about their weekly trip to the supermarket and make it highly amusing … funny, brave and heartening.’ Spectator ‘So much merriment courses through Phyllida Law’s account of looking after her mother … Many of their exchanges belong in an Alan Bennett play’ Daily Telegraph ‘The first thing that strikes you about Phyllida Law’s account of her mother’s descent into dementia is how merry and life-affirming it is. The fast pace gives it the immediacy of a diary and from the first page you are thrust into the middle of the tumbling, loving Thompson family…Not once does Phyllida moan, tears are only occasionally mentioned and always cried in private… It is the ultimate in girl power… the perfect (gin &) tonic’ Express ‘Her and Mego's exchanges often have the ring of a daffy sitcom. At one point she shouts after her glaucoma-afflicted mother "You haven't got your long-distance glasses on," as the latter totters out the door for a stroll. "Don't worry dear," Mego shouts back. "I'm not going any distance"’ Independent

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