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Repeat It Today with Tears
Susanna is a secretive child, obsessed with the father she has never known and determined that one day she will find him. As an adolescent she becomes increasingly distanced from life at home with her mother and sister. When she finally discovers her father's address and seeks him out, in the free and unconventional atmosphere of 1970s Chelsea, she conceals her identity, beginning an illicit affair that can only end in disaster.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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525 people want to read
About the author
Anne Peile
2 books10 followersAnne Peile was born in London; she has lived in the South West and Belfast and worked as a cook, writing emails for the BBC and in educational support. She works for a London bookstore. Repeat It Today With Tears, her debut novel, was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 28, 2015
Unequivocally a 5 star read, in my eccentric humble opinion...
Want to read
February 9, 2015Got this from my chica today...
Thank you!!!!! ♥ ♥ I can't wait to read this!
Thank you!!!!! ♥ ♥ I can't wait to read this!
November 12, 2021
Странна и крайно провокативна история, която добрият стар GR е сложил в дългия списък за британските награди Orange.
Не е за всеки, то и за мен много не е, но пък е добре написана в първо лице, доста майсторски подмолно. От психологическа и психиатрична гледна точка е изящно оформена, натиснати са изобилие от червени бутони, присъдата е оставена изцяло на читателя. Но може ли човек да съди любовта? Независимо в каква безумна форма се появи, независимо с какъв куп други примеси от зависимости, неосъзнати и объркани нужди, страхове и обсесии върви? Аз поне не мога.
Привързах се и към двамата герои, и ми беше много мъчно за тях.
***
“All absolutes are simple.”
“I believe that for a time I was blessed because the person that loved me so was the person always so loved by me; nothing else.”
“Don’t you know that passion always ends in death?”
“I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of Christ. They are destined to be lost.”
St Paul’s letter to the Philippians
Не е за всеки, то и за мен много не е, но пък е добре написана в първо лице, доста майсторски подмолно. От психологическа и психиатрична гледна точка е изящно оформена, натиснати са изобилие от червени бутони, присъдата е оставена изцяло на читателя. Но може ли човек да съди любовта? Независимо в каква безумна форма се появи, независимо с какъв куп други примеси от зависимости, неосъзнати и объркани нужди, страхове и обсесии върви? Аз поне не мога.
Привързах се и към двамата герои, и ми беше много мъчно за тях.
***
“All absolutes are simple.”
“I believe that for a time I was blessed because the person that loved me so was the person always so loved by me; nothing else.”
“Don’t you know that passion always ends in death?”
“I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of Christ. They are destined to be lost.”
St Paul’s letter to the Philippians
June 24, 2015
I need to process what I just read.
5 Marvellous stars for the tragic passion and it reminded me of a heartbreaking book I read 2 years ago "Chained Melody"by Debbie Martin.
It is a fairly short book that moved me and it isnt a book for those offended by taboo or incest.
The book is set in London in the 70s set in London written in the first person POV. The narrator Susie, is an introverted intelligent girl who has grown up pretty much without love and grows up obseseed about her father wanting to know about him.
She does comes across as manipulative sometimes but she seems lost in her passion for him. Her blind twisted passion for her fathehr and that she only burns for him. I felt like I wanted to reach out to her.
Of course, we know right from the beginning that this is going to be really tragic. The narrator goes on to tell us how she grew up, background information about her father , her sister, her 2 close friends and the job she took up and how she comes to meet her father and begins her affair.
This is not the steamy romances I usually read with explicit sex scenes but one with the beautiful in between details of her closeness with her father as her lover. Her father never knew that she was his daughter. Like how he touches her inner thighs or the different flavors she tastes when she kisses him in the mornings or how he washed her hair when she was sick. She also goes on talk about the beauty of her father.
This book does not sensaionalize or romanticize incest either. It just tells without judging.
Of course, I was very intrigued by how normal the tone was as a narrator until part 2 starts and she neveer sees it as anything and she feels her father made her so that she can be his lover. To be everyhing beautiful she can possibly be to soothe his soul.
I think this is a difficult topic to write about and I think Anne Pelie did a wonderful job and writing sometimes seemed like poetry. The author never question the moral viewpoint of incest anywhere and just goes to chronicle the experience.
I loved the way the author made susie's father, a more rounded character with more dimensions rather than too flat. As I read the book I do want to understand Susie and why she did such a thing. I can see her dreams and hopes, her passion and love, her vulnerability, her sense of reasoning and feelings. At times, I felt I was just reading about a younger girl having an affair with an older man
I am not going to spoil how the story goes for anyone. I would like to highly reccommend this book to anyone whos is thinking about giving this book a go.
5 Marvellous stars for the tragic passion and it reminded me of a heartbreaking book I read 2 years ago "Chained Melody"by Debbie Martin.
It is a fairly short book that moved me and it isnt a book for those offended by taboo or incest.
The book is set in London in the 70s set in London written in the first person POV. The narrator Susie, is an introverted intelligent girl who has grown up pretty much without love and grows up obseseed about her father wanting to know about him.
She does comes across as manipulative sometimes but she seems lost in her passion for him. Her blind twisted passion for her fathehr and that she only burns for him. I felt like I wanted to reach out to her.
Of course, we know right from the beginning that this is going to be really tragic. The narrator goes on to tell us how she grew up, background information about her father , her sister, her 2 close friends and the job she took up and how she comes to meet her father and begins her affair.
This is not the steamy romances I usually read with explicit sex scenes but one with the beautiful in between details of her closeness with her father as her lover. Her father never knew that she was his daughter. Like how he touches her inner thighs or the different flavors she tastes when she kisses him in the mornings or how he washed her hair when she was sick. She also goes on talk about the beauty of her father.
This book does not sensaionalize or romanticize incest either. It just tells without judging.
Of course, I was very intrigued by how normal the tone was as a narrator until part 2 starts and she neveer sees it as anything and she feels her father made her so that she can be his lover. To be everyhing beautiful she can possibly be to soothe his soul.
I think this is a difficult topic to write about and I think Anne Pelie did a wonderful job and writing sometimes seemed like poetry. The author never question the moral viewpoint of incest anywhere and just goes to chronicle the experience.
I loved the way the author made susie's father, a more rounded character with more dimensions rather than too flat. As I read the book I do want to understand Susie and why she did such a thing. I can see her dreams and hopes, her passion and love, her vulnerability, her sense of reasoning and feelings. At times, I felt I was just reading about a younger girl having an affair with an older man
I am not going to spoil how the story goes for anyone. I would like to highly reccommend this book to anyone whos is thinking about giving this book a go.
March 27, 2011
I picked this book up in the library because the cover grabbed my attention and, when I read the back cover copy, I was torn as to whether to take it home. This book deals with the incredibly taboo topic of incest and so I knew it would be a difficult read, but something about the title and the description made me want to read on. So I decided to go with it.
The first thing to say about this book is that the writing is beautiful. Such a sensitive subject could easily become crass, explicit and disgusting but, whilst there are obviously sex scenes in the book, these are not described graphically but are more focussed on what's going on in Susanna's head. This is a deeply disturbing read but the prose is written with such finesse that somehow it is moving and poignant at the same time.
Susie is an interesting character. She's manipulative and clearly very screwed up, bordering on evil, yet there was something about her that made me want to give her a huge hug and tell her that she's not alone. Same with Jack, although he didn't know that Susie was his daughter, he knew that he was committing a taboo by dating someone so you, especially given that he was married, which should make him an unlikeable character, yet it doesn't.
What I also liked about this book is that it doesn't attempt to romanticize the book. It never questions the moral standpoint that incest is very wrong. It just chronicles one girl's experiences with it and her mental decline as the relationship progresses.
I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it. I think this is one that will stay with me for a while.
The first thing to say about this book is that the writing is beautiful. Such a sensitive subject could easily become crass, explicit and disgusting but, whilst there are obviously sex scenes in the book, these are not described graphically but are more focussed on what's going on in Susanna's head. This is a deeply disturbing read but the prose is written with such finesse that somehow it is moving and poignant at the same time.
Susie is an interesting character. She's manipulative and clearly very screwed up, bordering on evil, yet there was something about her that made me want to give her a huge hug and tell her that she's not alone. Same with Jack, although he didn't know that Susie was his daughter, he knew that he was committing a taboo by dating someone so you, especially given that he was married, which should make him an unlikeable character, yet it doesn't.
What I also liked about this book is that it doesn't attempt to romanticize the book. It never questions the moral standpoint that incest is very wrong. It just chronicles one girl's experiences with it and her mental decline as the relationship progresses.
I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it. I think this is one that will stay with me for a while.
October 3, 2018
Difficult to really like any of the characters, from narcissistic Susie to her pathetic father who can't believe his luck at bagging a beautiful teenager, but beautifully written and skillfully evocative of the era it's set in. I still don't understand the origins of Susie's single-minded sexual compulsion towards her father, it's never really explained; however, this is a satisfying and gorgeous read (the writing, not the topic at hand...).
January 31, 2012
Fifteen-year old Susanna grew up with a sister who was ready to embrace her sexuality the minute she crossed that threshold and a mother who couldn't care less about what her daughters wanted or did. Her mother didn't have a great opinion of her daughters' father either, who she claimed was a womanizer and who wasn't around much. But Susanna was fascinated with the idea of her absent father. Having grown up on tough or no love, under a mother who is only focused on her own love life with a married man and with a sister who moves from one bed to another, Susanna mostly visualizes her life with a father who is always there for her. And then one day, she does find him. Using the flirting strategies she learned and concealing her identity, she seduces and then begins an illicit affair with her father.
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought this was a weird and unconventional premise for an award-nominated book. Repeat it Today with Tears was longlisted for the Orange Prize and I badly wanted to read it. Incest is such a taboo, discomfiting and disturbing topic, but it's also an oddly fascinating one - one which leaves the two sides of your minds warring with each other. On one side, you don't want to understand a character like Susanna - if I understood her, does it mean that I approve of her actions? On the other hand, you do want to know why she did it, and to know that, you have to let go of all the inhibitions, prejudices and biases that you bring to the reading experience. I say prejudices, because even though I don't see any legal, moral, ethical or biological good in incest, there is usually more to a picture than meets the eye. And while, during the first half of the book, I was railing against Susanna to not do something like that, and use her common sense instead, halfway into the book I began to empathize with her and really understand her. Eventually, I was able to close the book without judging her, and for me that was very important, because it meant that the author didn't use incest as a plot device or to manipulate a reader but to create a fascinating character who was simply lost.
I had to say the above, because I am not a fan of books that take controversial matters or true tragedies and weave them into fiction. My instinctive reaction is usually to feel exploited or taken advantage of. I didn't feel that here. There's also the fact that incest is a very hard topic to read about. Most of us have fathers, mothers and siblings we love, which is what makes empathizing hard. How do you empathize when you cannot put yourself in the other person's shoes? This book didn't glorify, sensationalize or sully the concept of incest. Interestingly, it felt like reading about any other affair. In addition, the author didn't cast her judgments into the story or the character, or make it appear a right thing to do or a wrong thing.
Repeat it Today with Tears was actually pretty fascinating and intriguing, despite its subject. Most of the time, I was curious about how this will unfold, because there's definitely not going to be a happy ending. Susanna's father had no idea that she was his daughter. He had given up his womanizing ways for years and was surprised to find a young beautiful girl want to even be with him. Since Susanna's mother had all but neglected her daughters completely, there was no one to stop her from doing whatever it was that she wished. I loved how the author constructed the novel - as I mentioned above, I was all anti-Susanna initially. But over time, you could see why Susanna did what she did. I felt sorry for her - any girl who makes sordid life choices at 15 and doesn't think so, didn't have a proper home or guidance. At some point in, I began to see The Bell Jar's Esther Greenwood and Audrey Tautou's Angelique from He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not in Susanna. You could see her erroneous reasoning, her descent into the madness of love and life, her attempts to obsessively protect everything that she considers hers, her jealous-woman reactions to her father/lover's conversations with his wife, her easy willingness to give up on her life even before it has begun. You could see that although just 15/16, she was behaving mostly as someone much older than that, and yet still trapped within the vulnerability of a 15/16-year old mind.
In the end, I thought this book was wonderfully written. Mostly, it's a character-driven novel - a very powerful one - as the author builds the background of the characters and establishes the relationships between them. Occasionally, I felt the writing slip up - as if the author was trying too hard but instead falling flat. The second half of the book felt more intriguing to me, because we learn of the consequences of Susanna's actions - on others and on herself. Here was a chance for a girl to get over the affair, but... I'm not going to spoil it for you. I would strongly recommend this read, which at 186 pages, packs a lot of emotion, intrigue and a wonderful story arc.
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought this was a weird and unconventional premise for an award-nominated book. Repeat it Today with Tears was longlisted for the Orange Prize and I badly wanted to read it. Incest is such a taboo, discomfiting and disturbing topic, but it's also an oddly fascinating one - one which leaves the two sides of your minds warring with each other. On one side, you don't want to understand a character like Susanna - if I understood her, does it mean that I approve of her actions? On the other hand, you do want to know why she did it, and to know that, you have to let go of all the inhibitions, prejudices and biases that you bring to the reading experience. I say prejudices, because even though I don't see any legal, moral, ethical or biological good in incest, there is usually more to a picture than meets the eye. And while, during the first half of the book, I was railing against Susanna to not do something like that, and use her common sense instead, halfway into the book I began to empathize with her and really understand her. Eventually, I was able to close the book without judging her, and for me that was very important, because it meant that the author didn't use incest as a plot device or to manipulate a reader but to create a fascinating character who was simply lost.
I had to say the above, because I am not a fan of books that take controversial matters or true tragedies and weave them into fiction. My instinctive reaction is usually to feel exploited or taken advantage of. I didn't feel that here. There's also the fact that incest is a very hard topic to read about. Most of us have fathers, mothers and siblings we love, which is what makes empathizing hard. How do you empathize when you cannot put yourself in the other person's shoes? This book didn't glorify, sensationalize or sully the concept of incest. Interestingly, it felt like reading about any other affair. In addition, the author didn't cast her judgments into the story or the character, or make it appear a right thing to do or a wrong thing.
Repeat it Today with Tears was actually pretty fascinating and intriguing, despite its subject. Most of the time, I was curious about how this will unfold, because there's definitely not going to be a happy ending. Susanna's father had no idea that she was his daughter. He had given up his womanizing ways for years and was surprised to find a young beautiful girl want to even be with him. Since Susanna's mother had all but neglected her daughters completely, there was no one to stop her from doing whatever it was that she wished. I loved how the author constructed the novel - as I mentioned above, I was all anti-Susanna initially. But over time, you could see why Susanna did what she did. I felt sorry for her - any girl who makes sordid life choices at 15 and doesn't think so, didn't have a proper home or guidance. At some point in, I began to see The Bell Jar's Esther Greenwood and Audrey Tautou's Angelique from He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not in Susanna. You could see her erroneous reasoning, her descent into the madness of love and life, her attempts to obsessively protect everything that she considers hers, her jealous-woman reactions to her father/lover's conversations with his wife, her easy willingness to give up on her life even before it has begun. You could see that although just 15/16, she was behaving mostly as someone much older than that, and yet still trapped within the vulnerability of a 15/16-year old mind.
In the end, I thought this book was wonderfully written. Mostly, it's a character-driven novel - a very powerful one - as the author builds the background of the characters and establishes the relationships between them. Occasionally, I felt the writing slip up - as if the author was trying too hard but instead falling flat. The second half of the book felt more intriguing to me, because we learn of the consequences of Susanna's actions - on others and on herself. Here was a chance for a girl to get over the affair, but... I'm not going to spoil it for you. I would strongly recommend this read, which at 186 pages, packs a lot of emotion, intrigue and a wonderful story arc.
September 15, 2014
The novel is divided into two parts. The first half of the book concentrates on Susie's childhood and how she then meets and seduces her father. The second part does not come a surprise to the reader, because by then Susie has already hinted many times at a "the end" of their secret affair. While in part one, she is but a quiet girl who is in desperate need of (parental) love and then goes at it in a way most people would never even contemplate, when the love of her father is taken away from her, she suffers a mental breakdown.
The story then deals with her life in a mental institution, where she claims memory loss and a hardly functioning memory in general to get the doctors off her back.
Honestly, this book was a very daring project. The love affair balanced precariously on a very, very fine line. In spite of my many reactions of revulsion throughout the book, I have to admit that Peile handled it pretty well, because she never crossed that line. The opening sentence was a very clever move; Susie immediately grabbed my attention by stating that the first real kiss she shared with her father took place on Easter day. With this intriguing and disturbing opening to the book, you just have to continue reading, be it in small portions at a time (which was the case for me. Maybe I just have a overly sensitive disposition?).
Susie is a well-written character, her personality well developed. It was not difficult to sympathize with her, although I could never forget what she had done with her father. It was clear from the start that she needed parental love and obviously her mother would never dole out any. Growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood, surrounded by oversexed teenagers (her older sister Lin included), and a mother who hardly acts like one, how could this sixteen year-old understand the different kinds of love? Poor Susie, she really did not know any other way to claim love from her father or how to give appropriate affection back. I had the impression that after she was institutionalized, the possibility of a normal family (i.e. being raised by her father and his wife Olive), however briefly, did pass through her mind. I just wish she could have continued living her life unscathed by her experiences (on which she looks back quite often and very fondly indeed). But that would not be very realistic, would it?
For more reviews, read these two brilliant ones:
Still Life with Books
Iris on Books
The story then deals with her life in a mental institution, where she claims memory loss and a hardly functioning memory in general to get the doctors off her back.
Honestly, this book was a very daring project. The love affair balanced precariously on a very, very fine line. In spite of my many reactions of revulsion throughout the book, I have to admit that Peile handled it pretty well, because she never crossed that line. The opening sentence was a very clever move; Susie immediately grabbed my attention by stating that the first real kiss she shared with her father took place on Easter day. With this intriguing and disturbing opening to the book, you just have to continue reading, be it in small portions at a time (which was the case for me. Maybe I just have a overly sensitive disposition?).
Susie is a well-written character, her personality well developed. It was not difficult to sympathize with her, although I could never forget what she had done with her father. It was clear from the start that she needed parental love and obviously her mother would never dole out any. Growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood, surrounded by oversexed teenagers (her older sister Lin included), and a mother who hardly acts like one, how could this sixteen year-old understand the different kinds of love? Poor Susie, she really did not know any other way to claim love from her father or how to give appropriate affection back. I had the impression that after she was institutionalized, the possibility of a normal family (i.e. being raised by her father and his wife Olive), however briefly, did pass through her mind. I just wish she could have continued living her life unscathed by her experiences (on which she looks back quite often and very fondly indeed). But that would not be very realistic, would it?
For more reviews, read these two brilliant ones:
Still Life with Books
Iris on Books
Read
August 21, 2010Like The Kiss, but fictional and therefore not as shocking (The Kiss, for anyone who doesn't know, is about a woman who has a consensual affair with her father.) Part of what makes The Kiss such an amazing book is that though most of us have not had incestuous affairs, the story is instantly relatable to anyone who grew up with an emotionally manipulative parent, even if their own relationship never crossed that line. But in Repeat It Today with Tears, the father never knows that Susie is his daughter, and so all the evil and manipulation lies in her. That being said, the writing was beautiful and reminded me of early Kate Atkinson, before she started doing mystery/thrillers and did coming of age.
March 26, 2011
Not an easy subject to tackle, I wasn't even sure that I wanted to read it but am so glad that I did.
Susie seeks out the father she never knew and leads him into a sexual relationship without him knowing her true identity.
So much about this book could have gone so wrong but rather than being voyeuristic and sleezy , it was a disturbing and uncomfortable read, yet also incredibly touching and poignant.
Whilst admittedly there is a lot of sexual activity it very much takes second place to Susie's desperate need to be loved and taken care of.
Very well drawn sympathetic characters, the author lets us understand them rather than demonise them as they enter their clearly doomed relationship. A very brave debut.
Susie seeks out the father she never knew and leads him into a sexual relationship without him knowing her true identity.
So much about this book could have gone so wrong but rather than being voyeuristic and sleezy , it was a disturbing and uncomfortable read, yet also incredibly touching and poignant.
Whilst admittedly there is a lot of sexual activity it very much takes second place to Susie's desperate need to be loved and taken care of.
Very well drawn sympathetic characters, the author lets us understand them rather than demonise them as they enter their clearly doomed relationship. A very brave debut.
January 27, 2011
Deeply disturbing, beautifully written - my kind of book! Loved it, will be haunted by it for weeks to come. Having sickly strange dreams since I first began reading it. If only more books were this intense and affecting. This book is exactly what I have come to expect from the rock stars at Serpent's Tail - their titles rarely disappoint.
June 16, 2011
Firstly, this is a topic that is quite taboo...I was quite shocked when I go to the point where it is revealed, although, there was a slowish buildup to it. I am divided on the book, I think that some will love it or hate it, depending on your personal values and morals. That being said it was well written, it was just the subject matter that was a bit disturbing.
February 8, 2017
"I knew, when I sealed this bargain, that I would have to make atonement"
Outstanding! It's amazing how someone's actions can be so wrong, and yet you can understand them. Susie is a unique character; her logic for the decisions she made, was as questionable, as it was appealing. Such a sad but beautifully written story.
Outstanding! It's amazing how someone's actions can be so wrong, and yet you can understand them. Susie is a unique character; her logic for the decisions she made, was as questionable, as it was appealing. Such a sad but beautifully written story.
August 23, 2012
I loved it, It was wrong but it was right, It made me cry and laugh and feel what the protagonist was feeling, I actually got into her mindset and understood her reasoning... I'd read it all over again...
June 7, 2019
I didn't have any idea whatsoever about the plot of this book so I was shocked when I read the first page- it was so straightforward, I had to put my copy down and contemplate for a minute. I don't mind reading books like this (as long as it has substance, you know what I mean?), but since I dived into it without any knowledge on what it would be, I was left dumbfounded.
If you're sensitive with taboo or controversial topics, then I wouldn't recommend reading this. However, if you have plans to read this book, make sure to check the synopsis, plot or other readers' review.
Anyway, despite the disturbing feeling and my total shock, I really did enjoy the writing. It was beautiful and well-written. Anne Peile is a talented author. I hope she writes more.
If you're sensitive with taboo or controversial topics, then I wouldn't recommend reading this. However, if you have plans to read this book, make sure to check the synopsis, plot or other readers' review.
Anyway, despite the disturbing feeling and my total shock, I really did enjoy the writing. It was beautiful and well-written. Anne Peile is a talented author. I hope she writes more.
July 21, 2019
I'd begun reading it with the wish of learning of how the mind of somebody who is commiting incest is working. How it feels, what is making somebody to do it?
16 years old Susie is seeking her biological father with the hope that she will receive the love that her cold mother was unable to give to her.
Love is not what she wants, but sexual intercourse with him, or so her sick mind is lying her. Why doesn't she want a platonic relationship, as father and daughter, learning about each other than a sexual fantasy that she could have with any stranger she could meet on the street.
I didn't like Susie or her father, because I found repulsive their actions, he is a pedophile and she a manipulative person. The writting is beautiful, altough pompous.
16 years old Susie is seeking her biological father with the hope that she will receive the love that her cold mother was unable to give to her.
Love is not what she wants, but sexual intercourse with him, or so her sick mind is lying her. Why doesn't she want a platonic relationship, as father and daughter, learning about each other than a sexual fantasy that she could have with any stranger she could meet on the street.
I didn't like Susie or her father, because I found repulsive their actions, he is a pedophile and she a manipulative person. The writting is beautiful, altough pompous.
June 8, 2017
Was terribly difficult to understand why Susanna would want to have a romantic relationship with her own father.This is a nagging question till one reaches part two when things become a little more clear though I cant say that all the questions were answered even after the end.The author has chosen a controversial subject and all one can say is that all sorts of taboos exist but by reading about them one perhaps gains some kind of perspective on them even if one may not agree on them.I enjoyed the way Anne Peile has written this and look forward to reading more from her.
August 4, 2017
if loving this book is wrong, i don't want to be right... hahahahaha... this story was beautiful, and beautifully told... easy to see how a person would do something that seems so awful and transgressive and wrong, but also beautiful and deep and heartfelt and touching... love is love, some say... i had hoped for a different ending, maybe more fitting the depths of Susie's love, though i wonder if how she handled the tragedy wasn't altogether more fitting, or more realistic anyway...
January 13, 2019
Wow
I would not recommend this book to everyone, due to the subject matter. As a student of psychology, this is truly a work of art. The writing is of literary classic echelon. Blown away by the complexities of the characters. Proceed with care, this is not a light read.
I would not recommend this book to everyone, due to the subject matter. As a student of psychology, this is truly a work of art. The writing is of literary classic echelon. Blown away by the complexities of the characters. Proceed with care, this is not a light read.
October 28, 2020
Sobering
'I never did belong'. How difficult is it for some to understand this book? If you have been on this earth long enough you see how twisted a mind can be starved of love, seeking love, seeking peace or escape.
'I never did belong'. How difficult is it for some to understand this book? If you have been on this earth long enough you see how twisted a mind can be starved of love, seeking love, seeking peace or escape.
May 11, 2019
A difficult subject matter handled sensitively. Read in a day.
Read
May 16, 2025very dusturbing book. most incestuous relationship ever.
May 18, 2011
In Repeat it Today with Tears, Peile takes the idea of an unloved person’s insatiable longing for love, and exemplifies it to stunning effect.
The person is Susie, a clever but disengaged teenager living in 1970s south-west London. She tracks down her long-absent, artist father, Jack, to a street in Chelsea. He doesn’t know who she is, and she never tells him. She seduces him, and begins a sexual relationship with him.
Susie’s interest in nothing but her father is immensely powerful. She never waivers in it, right until the end. This absolute conviction is deeply affecting. You could think objectively about the reasons for Susie’s deviant behaviour. You could question the wrongness of her relationship with Jack. RITWT is undoubtedly thought-provoking; but it’s its emotional impact that really takes hold.
Their relationship ends in breathtaking tragedy, involving the loss of Jack, as Susie makes clear from the beginning. She spends the second half of the book as a patient in a mental hospital, lying to or concealing information from the staff about everything, much as she did with Jack and everyone else she knew. But whether or not her words are strictly true or sane, she remains utterly convincing. The end of her relationship with Jack is the end of everything, for her. She thinks that she was meant to live only for him. I believed her, and this made the events that pushed her over the edge into apparent insanity, and her repeated reflections on them and on Jack himself, almost too tragic to bear.
Peile’s writing matches Susie’s level of conviction. It is a slim volume, but this means that not a word is wasted. The sense of place is particularly strong. All the characters are wholly believable and well-rounded. Every detail is important. It is a brave, honest, wonderful book.
The person is Susie, a clever but disengaged teenager living in 1970s south-west London. She tracks down her long-absent, artist father, Jack, to a street in Chelsea. He doesn’t know who she is, and she never tells him. She seduces him, and begins a sexual relationship with him.
Susie’s interest in nothing but her father is immensely powerful. She never waivers in it, right until the end. This absolute conviction is deeply affecting. You could think objectively about the reasons for Susie’s deviant behaviour. You could question the wrongness of her relationship with Jack. RITWT is undoubtedly thought-provoking; but it’s its emotional impact that really takes hold.
Their relationship ends in breathtaking tragedy, involving the loss of Jack, as Susie makes clear from the beginning. She spends the second half of the book as a patient in a mental hospital, lying to or concealing information from the staff about everything, much as she did with Jack and everyone else she knew. But whether or not her words are strictly true or sane, she remains utterly convincing. The end of her relationship with Jack is the end of everything, for her. She thinks that she was meant to live only for him. I believed her, and this made the events that pushed her over the edge into apparent insanity, and her repeated reflections on them and on Jack himself, almost too tragic to bear.
Peile’s writing matches Susie’s level of conviction. It is a slim volume, but this means that not a word is wasted. The sense of place is particularly strong. All the characters are wholly believable and well-rounded. Every detail is important. It is a brave, honest, wonderful book.
March 2, 2014
Susanna is a teenage girl who is obsessed with the father that she has never known. When she schemes up a way in which to meet him, rather than introduce herself as his daughter, she seduces him. Rather obviously, this is not a relationship that is going to end well for either party involved.
This is the kind of book that I knew I wanted to read the moment I read the synopsis. I am a girl with an absent father. I can relate to Susanna’s longing and desperation for a relationship with her father. I was able to look past the repulsive idea of a father/daughter sex affair, and read it for what it meant to Susie- daddy’s love at last. And she was deeply in love with him, in her own obsessive way. She states that she exists only for him, and she believes it to her very core. Without her father, she is nothing. Just try to imagine having this mindset, never wavering, no matter what happens... I find it utterly heartbreaking. There were so many points in this book where the emotion took over me, and I had to put the book down to get my thoughts in order. That, to me, is a good read.
This is a book that I highly recommend, if you are able to get past the subject matter. For being just short of 200 pages, it is an incredibly powerful and engaging story. It may be some disturbing subject matter, but it is very beautifully written. One of those stories that even a week after finishing it, you still find yourself thinking about it, trying to make up different endings, imagining what the characters could be doing now...(I’m not the only one who sometimes believes that characters live on after the story is finished, right?...er, no? well ok).
Also posted at Blogspot
This is the kind of book that I knew I wanted to read the moment I read the synopsis. I am a girl with an absent father. I can relate to Susanna’s longing and desperation for a relationship with her father. I was able to look past the repulsive idea of a father/daughter sex affair, and read it for what it meant to Susie- daddy’s love at last. And she was deeply in love with him, in her own obsessive way. She states that she exists only for him, and she believes it to her very core. Without her father, she is nothing. Just try to imagine having this mindset, never wavering, no matter what happens... I find it utterly heartbreaking. There were so many points in this book where the emotion took over me, and I had to put the book down to get my thoughts in order. That, to me, is a good read.
This is a book that I highly recommend, if you are able to get past the subject matter. For being just short of 200 pages, it is an incredibly powerful and engaging story. It may be some disturbing subject matter, but it is very beautifully written. One of those stories that even a week after finishing it, you still find yourself thinking about it, trying to make up different endings, imagining what the characters could be doing now...(I’m not the only one who sometimes believes that characters live on after the story is finished, right?...er, no? well ok).
Also posted at Blogspot
April 8, 2011
WHOA! This book was quite a deviation from what I typically read and although I thought the topic perverse and most definitely taboo, I also think it's good to push myself to have a wide range of reading variety. Without going in to too much detail, I will say that the 16 year-old girl, Susanna, is so hungry for her fathers love that she finds her father, who does not know her, and seduces him. I just kept thinking - No! No! No! What are you thinking Susie? Needless to say the things did not end well for either of them.
I did not necessary find the topic of this story likable, but the manner in which the story was written and my wanting Susie to do the right thing and end the affair kept me coming back. I would've read it in a day if I could, but this one took me two. It was hard for me to rate this book due to the conflicted feelings I have about it.
I did not necessary find the topic of this story likable, but the manner in which the story was written and my wanting Susie to do the right thing and end the affair kept me coming back. I would've read it in a day if I could, but this one took me two. It was hard for me to rate this book due to the conflicted feelings I have about it.
July 9, 2016
Not the first book I've read where I've thought "if this is love, I don't want it." Well, I mean aside from the father/daughter thing, which obviously adds a new variable to that equation. (Of course, it isn't actually love, but that's not really the point.) However, this one didn't quite resonate with me the way others have in the past. I was expecting a bit...more, though I can't put my finger on what that more would be exactly. It was very well written though. I liked the way, especially the the second part of the book, whatever was happening to her in the present would call up a memory from the past.
Interesting book, but ultimately left me feeling cold, aside from a deft turn of phrase.
Interesting book, but ultimately left me feeling cold, aside from a deft turn of phrase.
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August 4, 2016This review was deleted following Amazon's purchase of GoodReads.
The review can still be viewed via LibraryThing, where my profile can be found here.
I'm also in the process of building a database at Booklikes, where I can be found here.
If you read/liked/clicked through to see this review here on GR, many thanks.
The review can still be viewed via LibraryThing, where my profile can be found here.
I'm also in the process of building a database at Booklikes, where I can be found here.
If you read/liked/clicked through to see this review here on GR, many thanks.
August 1, 2011
If you read one book this Summer, make it this one!
And if you can, get someone else to read it with you. My Mum and I were both enrapt by the character of Susie and enjoyed sharing theories on why she carried out the actions she did. Our insights differed from each other's and we each picked up on things the other had not.
I don't want to put forward any theories as I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but if you have any you'd like to share, please message me with them!
And if you can, get someone else to read it with you. My Mum and I were both enrapt by the character of Susie and enjoyed sharing theories on why she carried out the actions she did. Our insights differed from each other's and we each picked up on things the other had not.
I don't want to put forward any theories as I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but if you have any you'd like to share, please message me with them!
February 18, 2012
Anne Peile successfully creates a disturbing character whose actions are at once incomprehensible and pitiful. A story of neglect that leads to an extreme, misplaced desire for affection, the calm attitude of Susie when relating her tale heightens the chilling atmosphere. At times I felt the diaogue was a little stilted, but even with that I found this to be a well-crafted novel, driven by the depth of character that Peile has portrayed.
August 2, 2015
Despite the controversial subject matter, this book was beautifully written & thoroughly beguiling. It's not a long book, but I skipped through it in a couple of sittings.
And despite the main character being a bit of a Lolita, she's still quite likeable. Even though her family are a bunch of misfits!
I was actually gutted when part one ended, especially in the way that it did, but part two was an anticlimax for me and is what prevented me from scoring it 4 stars.
And despite the main character being a bit of a Lolita, she's still quite likeable. Even though her family are a bunch of misfits!
I was actually gutted when part one ended, especially in the way that it did, but part two was an anticlimax for me and is what prevented me from scoring it 4 stars.
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