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Post by tintin on Jul 2, 2012 16:51:52 GMT 1
On first examination “Tan and Tarmac” shows every promise of being an excellent book.
For a start the splendid title stirred my interest. The Victorians and Edwardians loved this type of title (my favourite title of this kind is "Pike and Dyke" a story of the Dutch Revolt)
The concept is excellent. A young lady of 16 moves from Sussex to Kensington and discovers riding in town. A fascinating activity in one of the world’s most fascinating cities, coupled with the fact that there don’t appear to be many other West End based riding novels should be a recipe for a winner.
Unfortunately “Tan and Tarmac” is a very weak book.
But why? That is what I tried to put my finger on.
I think it is because there are too many characters and too much happening.Very few characters are more than sketched and some have no description at all, despite having full names. I did wonder at one point if this had been a much longer book that had perhaps been brutally (and clumsily) edited.
It might have been better to have had fewer adventures and fewer characters and done them really well, there are potentially several good books worth in there. It would also have been possible to do it purely as a “slice of life” type of book as several of the places and activities in the book are fascinating enough in themselves without trying to synthesise a story around them, but in this book they only have the most cursory description. Generally the book suffers from a lack of description and background and a surfeit of plot(s). We only get a small peek at what might have been really interesting scenarios and it is really frustrating.
The part of the book that flows best and comes alive is the Wild West Show and it might have been better to stick with that alone and make it a whole book.
To make matters worse the illustrations are poor in that the illustrator seems not to have been briefed on the book. One horse who is clearly described as a Piebald, down to the location and shape of his markings, is clearly shown as a solid colour. The illustrator must never have seen a“Teddy Boy” - his one looks more like an American College Lecturer.
The book I am sorry to have to say is for me a failure. I was so disappointed by it I went and read “A Day to Go Hunting” again to cheer me up.
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Post by fizz on Jul 2, 2012 22:49:03 GMT 1
I was greatly disappointed with this book. I read Ribbons & Rings, one of my all time favourites, when I was 11 & I assumed this was something about Shaun & motor racing & show jumping; well from the title it could have been. How boring it was to me (God I'd be over 30 when I found a copy in a charity shop). Gillian Baxter has an interest in glamour & film stars, they appear in a number of her books. All the fashion references in Ribbons & Rings...what is a Gor-Ray skirt? This I think does date them a bit. I see her reading picture goer & having some of those signed post cards of film stars. My Mum had all those & went to the pictures every week in the 1950s. I suppose the equivalent would be pop stars today. This didn't interest me much or the setting being in London, even though it is rather curious; does anyone know if any of those stables still exist in the Capital? I just found it an unconvincing plot. I think I will try to re-read it before I vote.
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Post by fizz on Jul 2, 2012 22:50:33 GMT 1
Yes Tintin the illustrations are appalling in this & all the Gillian Baxter books. I teach art & design & I used one of the books as a bad example once!
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Post by Claire on Jul 2, 2012 23:14:33 GMT 1
One of the few pony books and only one of Gillian Baxter's which has defeated me. Tried to read it 3 times and failed to get more than about half way. Was going to do a re-read and try to survive it this summer but was saved from this fate by the book selling on ebay!
Like Tintin says hard to put your finger on what is wrong with it. I like or love all of Gillian Baxter's other books, their worlds and their characters normally leap into life immediately but this one just limped along half-heartedly. Have you read any other Gillian Baxter books tintin?
GB did suffer from poor illustrations in a lot of her books, altho the Elisabeth Grant illustrations in some of them were quite nice, and the Mary Gernatt covers on some of the paperbacks were good.
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Post by Claire on Jul 2, 2012 23:17:38 GMT 1
Oh forgot to say her first book Horses and Heather was actually illustrated by Sheila Rose and had a very nice cover, defo the best illustrated of all her books.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2012 6:53:27 GMT 1
Not read this and by the sounds of it I won't bother!
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Post by tintin on Jul 3, 2012 17:26:13 GMT 1
I have n't read any others, though I do intend to. T&T misses the target, but not by that much (although its a small amount that makes a big difference) which makes you want to give her a second chance. I think the book is so annoying because it is almost a good book.
As to the pictures I do think they are bad, but style is a matter of taste, inaccuracy is a different matter
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Post by Claire on Jul 3, 2012 21:53:13 GMT 1
I know from talking to a few authors that many of them having little say over the illustrations and/or cover art & a lot of the illustrators don't read the books but are briefed by editorial staff who may not know one end of a horse from another which is why there are so many books with wrong colours, breeds and what not. I even did a quiz not so long ago in which you had to guess whether the horse colour on the cover art was the correct one or not. Re. Baxter books, IMHO the better ones include the Pantomime Ponies series (altho for younger readers), The Bobby & Shelta Series (starting with Jump to the Stars), The Team From Low Moor, the Stables at Hampton and Sweet Rock, although to be honest they are all pretty good apart from T & T.
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Post by tintin on Jul 23, 2012 13:13:33 GMT 1
My Dad has just finished "Tan and Tarmac"! (Do you think we ought to have an exclusive club with a badge or T-shirt - "I've read all of Tan and Tarmac")
His comments were "the work of a chronicler not an historian" (I know exactly what he means - just one thing after another with little explanation of examination) and "I'm surprised the stables kept going with such shambolic rides".
I don't know what the situation is now, but 20 or so years ago there was only one stable and the Civil Service Riding Club who still offered rides in the park
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2013 20:31:44 GMT 1
Well I have read it after my comment earlier that I wouldn't bother I do see why most people have a problem with this book. It does ramble on with far too many unnecessary characters and I lost the plot with them so gave up trying to remember all their names and who was who in the end! Talking of names why was the heroine of the book called Steve? To me that is a boys name! It was shortened from Stephanie so surely Steph would have been better? Anyway that said I did find parts of the book really interesting which is why I gave it a good rating. I enjoyed the descriptions of stabling in London, the bomb sites, teddy boys and the smog. Gillian Baxter has similar style stables in her Pantomime ponies series, Save the Ponies. I find it fascinating that horses were kept upstairs! As far as I'm aware there are two riding stables in London still, fairly close to each other in Bathurst Mews. I'm going there hopefully later in the year with a friend to have a ride along Rotten Row Blinking expensive though We're also going to look at the Royal Mews too while we are there.
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Post by Claire on Jul 17, 2013 20:36:52 GMT 1
Lol at the earlier comment rosie ;D
I did find the bit about the stables upstairs interesting and the descriptions of London I just couldn't get any enthusiasm up for the story itself.
Riding along Rotten Row sounds posh! You'll have to let us know what it was like.
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Post by susanb on Jul 17, 2013 20:47:52 GMT 1
I've actually seen a barn in the suburbs of Massachusetts that had stabling on the 2nd floor...it just seemed so odd! I think it was fairly unusual to have a two floor barn outside of a city, as there is generally more room to spread out, eliminating the need to build up.
It's illegal to house horses on the second floor in Boston, due to fire risks. People just howl when they read that one in the "weird law" lists that come up.....I'm guessing that they lack the imagination envision the old days, when the entire city ran on horse power!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2013 7:13:23 GMT 1
I'd love to see that I just hope the horses we'll be riding along the Row won't be as badly behaved as the horses in this book, all they do is bolt, rear, buck, kick and bite ;D
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Post by brumby on Aug 4, 2013 10:52:09 GMT 1
Having read all of the comments on Tan & Tarmac I have to say I agree with most of them and yet I quite enjoyed the book. Not my favourite but far from the worst i have read. Agree it had the makings of a great book but didn't quite get there. I quite liked the main characters that worked at the stables (even though we didn't get to know them in depth) they did care for the horses and gave special attention to their favourites, I'm a bit of a sucker for riding school stories (maybe thats why i liked it??) I also liked the horses and ponies and their quirks. I just ignored the characters that kept popping up (sometimes I had no idea who they were?) I would love to see the mews the set up fascinated me. Agree dodgy illustrations. The only thing that did really concern me was the behaviour of the horses, surely if you have horses that need to be ridden around traffic they would need to be much calmer. Its a funny book, i think someone said They couldn't really put their finger on why it did't work I can't really put my finger on why I liked it! Claire it does get better as it goes along... worth another try?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2013 13:26:30 GMT 1
That pretty much sums it up for me Brumby Go on Claire you know you want that medal
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Post by kunuma on Aug 4, 2013 14:38:14 GMT 1
OK found it and reread it, I think it's the writing style that ruins it - she was very young when she wrote these wasn't she? It is hard to read, more like a scientific report than a pony story - but the basis for the story is unusual, the ending is good and the adventures are interesting! Plus no animals get hurt in it which puts it way over many of the PT books for me as a comfort read. I did have to remind myself how long ago it was written though, the way they were all happily trotting around in the middle of London - not that I know London at all, thank goodness, I've only ever been to Earls Court, but from what I saw of it , I wouldn't want to see any more, and as for riding round it!!!
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Post by Claire on Aug 4, 2013 23:13:43 GMT 1
Well she was even younger when she wrote the Jump to the Stars wasn't she and thats a pretty good book. I just feel this one is deadly dull, totally inoffensive but dull. Might give it one last try next time I come across a copy.
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Post by trixiepony on Aug 5, 2013 6:20:53 GMT 1
Well I liked it my copy is a dragon paper back illustrated by Anne Gordon. Yellow with age. I think it's right that there is too Meny carters and too much happening it gets confusing I still liked it thow.
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Post by Claire on Aug 5, 2013 11:42:46 GMT 1
Looking at the votes so far this is definitely a 'marmite' book!
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Post by trixiepony on Aug 6, 2013 7:17:57 GMT 1
Yes no middle groaned with this book ether love or hate.
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Post by brumby on Aug 6, 2013 22:48:21 GMT 1
Claire, I think the Aussies would call it a "vegemite" book ;D
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Post by cally on Aug 8, 2013 11:47:04 GMT 1
This is one of the very few pony books I have put down unfinished and given away. The only other one was one of those sneaky Christian ones, and I removed the cover (it was quite nice, old, no hint of Bible bothering) and stuck that up on the kitchen pantry door. I recycled the book.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2013 12:10:32 GMT 1
lol I see it's now got a booby prize. Definitely a vegemite book ;D
Who's going to give it a gold cup? I couldn't quite run to that but did give it a 4 rating.
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Post by catpony on Aug 19, 2013 5:18:16 GMT 1
I enjoy the silver brumby novels by elynne Mitchell. She depicts the high country and brumbies so well
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Post by tintin on Jul 21, 2014 23:51:48 GMT 1
Horses - in London - upstairs?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 6:45:16 GMT 1
Thanks for that tintin these old clips are great. I'd like to see inside the stables, wonder if any clips show them?
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Post by Claire on Jul 22, 2014 12:17:02 GMT 1
Fab video Tintin, thanks for showing us it. Yes I'd like to have seen inside the stables too. Imagine living over a stableblock like that its quite bizarre. Lol had a giggle at the smalls on the washing line
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Post by vera on Jul 22, 2014 23:50:15 GMT 1
I loved this book when I first read it. Unfortunately have not been able to acquire a copy since way back then. I loved the idea of horses "upstairs" and was quite startled by how naughty the equines were. Also bemused by the thought of riding valuable horses through busy London streets, remembering one year's Christmas parade when the very placid Clydesdale was startled by a child jumping up with a balloon under his face and the horse trying to bolt...thus putting an end to anything other than dogs being allowed in the Parade... I think people who know lots about horses are often put off by books which are written for people who dream about horses. Some Pony books successfully cross the divide between the dream and reality; others just miss out. This one succeeded for a dreamer!
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