Comments on: Promo: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Orion)

By: nextread

nextread — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:08:23 +0000

It doesn't tend to bother me – but then I don't have a build in proof reader and a lot of things that I probably should stop I don't – hence the typos on this blog.

I might have to pick up the paperback/paperback ebook priced edition

By: David Cronan

David Cronan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:32:44 +0000

There are minor irritants but for me they do distract somewhat from the flow of the story because, instead of reading the story as it should be, I keep looking for yet more "Americisams". Perhaps I am too pedantic! I have found more of them, but I won't bore you with them.

By: nextread

nextread — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:58:58 +0000

Hi David,

Thanks for the break down of the un-Englishness – do you think that they are minor irritants? or did they spoil your enjoyment?

By: David

David — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:15:22 +0000

Quite a good book but there a few things which to my mind show that the author does not come from England, but from North America.

For instance you call the doctor who is called-out to view the body in the garden the "coroner". This is not correct. He would be called either the "pathologist" or just doctor. In England the Coroner is the person who presides over an inquest and it not always a medical man, but sometimes a lawyer or solicitor,

Another phrase that did not seem right concerned the opening hours of the library. In the book it's shown as "Thursday through Saturday". That is definitely a North American terminology. In England it would be "Thursday to Saturday".

Other points:- we never call it the "Times of London", just the "Times" and we never use the word "lumber". it's either "wood" or "timber"

Also, why isn't Flavia not at school? She is only 11 and the story tales place in early June.