And everyone was "shaken" by their encounters with the objects of their affection...often literally shaking. Instead they become part of the fabric of Ashton Park in ways that personify love and courage...and longing. Copyright: Writer(s): Ray Noble Lyrics Terms of Use. But. All I can say is that Rosie Allison is most certainly on my short list. Army sergeants Dave and "Fixit" spend a three-day pass in Pasadena, where they meet Janet and Cora, two young women who work in a parachute factory. We’d love your help. Skip to main content. It reads fast but is thought provoking. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The orchestra is conducted by Gordon Jenkins who also provided the arrangements for the album. However, even death cannot dim the luminescence of this love. A shattering, yet spirit-sustaining, glimpse into loss and survivorship, this is a story which will resonate with many. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison is set in England during the Second World War. Additional information. We also come to know Pawel, Ruth and also Roberta as more then just characters in the back story. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of. In the summer of 1939, with the impending threats of WWII devastation looming large, thousands of children were evacuated from London, sent to safer locations in the surrounding countryside. I found it impossible to believe that any of these characters fell in love with each other and that they were heartbroken when people died. And while there were scenes that were beautifully written, it didn't come together for me. I found the intense reactions a little off-putting since so many characters, who should have had different personalities, shared the same experience. Amazon.co.uk: the very thought of you. Thus begins a mass evacuation of the children of London to safer locations along the English countryside. To see what your friends thought of this book. What I got instead was a meandering plot, full of clumsy and obvious plot devices, and what on earth was the last section all about?! The very thought of you and I forget to do The ordinary things that everyone ought to do. She is a very brave eight year old and gets on the bus that will take her to an unknown place with a stiff upper lip and absolutely no tears in sight. Scrobbling is when Last.fm tracks the music you listen to and automatically adds it to your music profile. This haunting war time novel chronicles the suffering during the war but also the impact of the war time experience for years to come. The plot meanders between characters and changes points of view at random, half the time you don't really knows who's it even is. The mere idea of you, the longing here for you, You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you. "The Very Thought of You" focuses on one such child, Anna Sands, relocated to the wealthy manor home of Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton. The Norton's had such exciting, dynamic lives, but they only popped up sporadically, while I was hearing every last de. Select Your Cookie Preferences. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees by Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton, an enigmatic childle. Childless themselves, the Ashtons welcome the children and provide them with care and an education. It's a period when stakes were high and when British society was struggling to reshape itself in the face of imminent catastrophe. Initially, we meet Anna and her mother Roberta who are on a lovely shopping trip that culminates in a delightful luncheon. I enjoyed that part of the story & hearing about the people who owned the home & why they opened it up to children….but there was so much oddness, cheating, drunkenness, & none of it rang true to me. I won this on the Goodreads giveaway page, and was excited for it to arrive, having read the glowing reviews and notice about the Orange Prize list. Thousands of children are being evacuated as the threat of bombing in London becomes more real. It is 1939 and Hitler is storming down on Poland and England feels the march of German boots coming. I'm living in a kind of daydream, I'm happy as a king, The Norton's had such exciting, dynamic lives, but they only popped up sporadically, while I was hearing every last detail of infidelities on all sides. I loved it right up until the melodramatic last third of the book. This novel is just full of broken hearts, people for whom life has taken sad twists and turns, and left them sad, lonely, and searching for love and fulfilment. Like most children, she is more worried about getting a bathing costume, then the actual reasons for the evacuation. It is the gallant and gentle Thomas who becomes a touchstone in Anna's life. Most of us dream of being a 'writer' and never get past a first page of idle jottings. The story kept me interested but the last 30 or so p. I am being generous with a 3 star rating, it was not as bad as some of the reviews would have you think….this story started out being about a child who was being evacuated from London during WWII & going to live in the country with other children. She is married with two daughters and lives in London. As Roberta watches the bus wi. It leaves you with a lingering feeling and makes you think about war and how it affects children. The historical backdrop must also be acknowledged along with the deeply accurate way Rosie Allison paints the era in terms of time and accuracy. Little does she know that she is marching towards a home that will forever change her life. Anna, trying to be brave on a bus full of children she doesn't know, many of them crying for their mothers, is also alone, headed to an unknown destination, away from her home and her parents, only eight years old. On a journey that will forever change her life, Anna's destination on this day is the home of Elizabeth and Thomas Ashton, who have opened their home to eighty six of the London evacuees, turning their home into a dormitory and school in order to take in these temporarily homeless children. This is an impressive debut novel that reminds me in many ways of my favorite childhood novel The Secret Garden...that in itself sends chills up my spine! Rosie Alison grew up in Yorkshire, and read English at Keble College, Oxford. This impressive first novel - shortlisted for the Orange Prize - traces the lives of Anna and Roberta, as well as Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth Ashton, primarily during the war years. She spent ten years directing television documentaries before becoming a film producer at Heyday Films. Good thing it was a free book. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Given that this was nominated for lots of literary prizes, including the Orange, I was expecting a great novel. It creates an immense distance between the reader and the characters, and also between the characters. As luck would have it Anna, along with more than eighty other evacuees, is swooped up by the elegant Elizabeth Ashton and bused to her husband's ancestral home, Ashton House. I was very interested in the premise of this book but found it to be a total disappointment. kinda moment. Opening in London in 1939, Anna and her mother Roberta are on a shopping trip, but not a happy one. Inner desires, memories, dreams, and resentments shift and collide with outward actions and appearances, maintaining a tension born partly of the extremities of war and partly of the particular natures of our characters. So when I saw that this story took place in a stately home converted into a school for evacuees, run by a couple whose marriage was under terrible strain after he had become crippled by polio, I thought it sounded as if it might be a good read. The very thought of you and I forget to do The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do I'm living in a kind of daydream I'm happy as a king And foolish though it may seem To me that's everything The mere idea of you, the longing here for you You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you I see your face in every flower Few will be unaffected. She spent ten years directing television documentaries before becoming a film producer at Heyday Films. She is a strong little soldier! With Dennis Morgan, Eleanor Parker, Dane Clark, Faye Emerson. The Very Thought of You Photos View All Photos (9) Movie Info. He is a man who suffers great loss and unspeakable tragedy, yet he lives his life with appreciation for the beauty he sees among the devastation. A haunting story, this is a riveting debut novel. It requires grit and determination to go all the way. the very thought of you and I forget to do The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do I'm living in a kind of daydream I'm happy as a … View full lyrics Scrobble Stats ? It's just the thought of you, the very thought of you, my love. All credit to Rosie Alison for getting her first book published, by whatever means. She is sent to live at the palatial mansion of Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton who have turned their home into a dormitory and school to house the London evacuees. I see you face in every flower, your eyes in stars above, I hated this! Approved third parties also use these tools in connection with our display of ads. The writing style is no less then exquisite as Rosie Allison crafts a tale that is so bittersweet and emotionally draining for the reader. This shopping trip is to purchase the clothes that Anna will be taking with her as she is evacuated from London. The narrative is so expository, it is all tell don't show. Disappointing and goodness only knows who nominated this for a prize! Dimensions : N/A: Frame: Unframed, Framed. The book is a romance book but in so many ways its not. Having read all of Kate Morton's books this year, I inevitably compared this "gothic-light" tale to hers, and it suffered for the comparison. Having read all of Kate Morton's books this year, I inevitably compared this "gothic-light" tale to hers, and it suffered for the comparison. This was a terrible book. Moodily atmospheric and increasingly melancholy, we're privy to their inner lives (multiple third person perspective) as those lives intersect and diverge, playing again and again on novelist Alison's title theme. It creates an immense distance between the reader and the characters, and also between the characters. Shop The Very Thought Of You. What a string of bad books in a row. Bm7-5 E7 F#m F#m7 B7 I see your face in ev'ry flower, your eyes in stars above-- E7 Cdim It's just the thought of you, (First Time) Bm7-5 E7 A Amaj7 Bm7-5 E7 The very thought of you, my love. The Very Thought of You took my breath away as Rosie Allison tells this haunting tale of coming of age from a child's perspective during pre WWII England and beyond. I'm sorry...I got halfway through and nothing - and I do mean NOTHING - had happened, I didn't like any of the characters or care remotely what happened to them, and it really just isn't my cup of tea. In the summer of 1939, with the impending threats of WWII devastation looming large, thousands of children were evacuated from. True love comes to Thomas in midlife, but it is not a love with whom he will be allowed to share life on earth. I'm living in a kind of daydream, I'm happy as a king, Foolish though it may seem, to me that's everything. I wanted to know what fascinating and socially significant things I was missing out on in the Norton's lives while reading about people who seemed to only fall in love with beauty or with the idea of unblemished ideallistic love. The prose is truly heavy and plodding, and the whole book could have been a lovely 70 page novella but instead dawdles on and on. JazzStandards.com: The premier site for the history and analysis of the standards jazz musicians play the most. Anna Sands, a young girl living in London, is evacuated from the city along with other children and moved to the countryside where it is hoped the children will be safe from the bombings taking place in the city. She will find herself drawn to Thomas and he in turn finds her a dear and comforting child that he can trust. It's 1939 and Hitler is preparing to invade Poland. And while there were scenes that were beautifully written, it didn't come together for me. Start by marking “The Very Thought of You” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I won this on the Goodreads giveaway page, and was excited for it to arrive, having read the glowing reviews and notice about the Orange Prize list. This shopping trip is to purchase the clothes that Anna will be taking with her as she is evacuated from London. This story and these characters are neither little nor ordinary. Not bad it was quite an emotional sad read. There is a great story lurking in this novel somewhere--with the war, separation, marriages, an old estate house...but the writing in this novel makes me feel like a year nine student is trying to be profound. Frame Size: 62.7 x 72.7cm . We follow Anna Sands, an eight year-old, as she leaves her mother, Roberta, to go they know not where. 23 Boy Band Slow Jams That Made You Believe In Love, HOT SONG: 21 Savage x Metro Boomin - "My Dawg​" - LYRICS, NEW SONG: Rod Wave - POP SMOKE - "MOOD SWINGS" ft. Lil Tjay - LYRICS, NEW SONG: AC/DC - "Shot In The Dark" - LYRICS, NEW SONG: Shawn Mendes - "Wonder" - LYRICS, Songs That Will Make You Cry Uncontrollably. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2004 CD release of The Very Thought Of You on Discogs. Elizabeth and Thomas have also had much sorrow in their lives, and they are trying to make sense of their lives as they have become, Thomas confined to a wheelchair and Elizabeth longing for a child, but unable to conceive. Inner desires, memories, dreams, and resentments shift and collide with outward actions and appearanc. We use cookies and similar tools to enhance your shopping experience, to provide our services, understand how customers use our services so we can make improvements, and display ads. I myself, thought this was a beautifully written, haunting, achingly sad book. As a married adult, with children of her own, Anna finds some measure of comfort in reconnecting with Thomas. Anna is relocated to the Ashton Estate in the Yorkshire countryside; Elizabeth and Thomas Ashton, a childless couple, have opened their estate to the evacuees where they educate and care for the young. Directed by Nick Hamm. The screenplay concerns an American soldier on a short leave during World War II who falls in love with and marries a woman. Your heart will ache for Thomas, but his soul remains undaunted through it all. When I came to the last section, I realized that the first 260 page we all a set up to explore some interesting themes about what makes us the people we are, but what an extended set u. I hated this! As Anna's life becomes entwined with that of the Ashton's, events occur that will shape Anna's adult life. A story of love, loss and complicated loyalties, combining a sweeping narrative with subtle psychological observation. Opening in London in 1939, Anna and her mother Roberta are on a shopping trip, but not a happy one. Bored with her job at a Minneapolis car rental agency, restless Martha (Monica Potter) impetuously takes a trip to London. These children were torn from their homes and separated from their parents, and no one could be certain what the future would hold. Very disappointing. © 2021 METROLYRICS, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. I have no idea how this book made it to the Orange Prize shortlist for 2010. Her debut novel THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU (2009), which made it onto the Amazon Rising Stars shortlist and was longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year and. I have just finished this book and I have to say that even though it has left me feeling a little sad, it was a very good book. The story revolves around the evacuation of children from London to the relative safety of the countryside at the onset of World War II. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. As Roberta watches the bus with her only child on it pull away from the station, she is alone, her daughter headed to a destination she is not even sure of, and her husband serving in the army. The narrative is so expository, it is all tell don't show. Description Additional information Description. 3:13 PREVIEW I'm Beginning to See the Light. The very thought of you and I forget to do When I came to the last section, I realized that the first 260 page we all a set up to explore some interesting themes about what makes us the people we are, but what an extended set up, poorly done and then the themes weren't particularly well explored. She speeds up some parts of the story to move the plot, but then slows down the tale with shifting points of views from other characters that keep the reader longing for more. Soon Anna gets drawn into their unhappy relationship, seeing things that are not meant for her eyes - and finding herself part-witness and part-accomplice to a love affair, with tragic consequences. Would have been so much better if the author had not descended into the realm of the Romance novel. As the song says: "The very thought of you, and I forget to do those little ordinary things that everyone ought to do....". Thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the Blitz. Alison continued with her narrative style of skipping and flitting from POV to POV so quickly and shallowly, that the characters are all one dimensional and totally unsympathetic. The idea behind the plot had potential, but it seemed like Alison wasn't really sure what to do with it and then ran out of enthusiasm. Welcome back. 3 childhood friends all separately fall for cute American Martha and within 3 days of her arrival at a London airport, their friendship is at risk. Label: EMI - CDP 7 943412,Cedar - CZ 306 • Format: CD Compilation • Country: Europe • Genre: Jazz, Pop • … Being put in such adult situations will shape her own adult life and we will see how her own life is always lived in the shadow of the Ashton Estate....This is a beautiful and emotional tale that is less about the war raging through Europe, but more about the people trying to live just beyond its reaches. The main event is the album "The Very Thought of You" which was recorded 2-8 May 1958 for Capitol (originally released in the USA in November 1958)and is to be heard on the first 14 tracks on the disc. Nat "King" Cole*, Gordon Jenkins And His Orchestra - The Very Thought Of You ‎ (CD, Album, RE) Collectors' Choice Music , EMI Music Special Markets CCM-875, 509995-01980-2-3 As with many who have experienced the shock of wartime desolation, Anna searches throughout her life for real peace of mind. Ultimately, Anna's search for fulfillment will come full circle and bring her once again to Ashton Manor. Ack! Refresh and try again. A A6 The mere idea of you, the longing here for you; A A+5 A6 Amaj7 B7 You'll never know how slow the moments go 'til I'm near to you. England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. Try Prime Hello, Sign in Account & Lists Sign in Account & Lists Orders Try Prime Basket. Initially, we meet Anna and her mother Roberta who are on a lovely shopping trip that culminates in a delightful luncheon. The Very Thought of You quantity. Amateurish writing, weak plot and borderline creepy with the main character an eight year old girl with an unnatural attachment to her teacher thirty years her senior. Prepare to have your eyes opened, your heart broken, and your view of the amazing endurance of the human spirit revised and revived. Anna is relocated to the Ashton Estate in the Yorkshire countryside; Elizabeth and Thomas Ashton, a childless couple, have opened their estate to the evacuees where they educate and care for the youngsters. You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you. Anna is very blithe about this and sees herself as going on a trip to the seashore. 2001 Preview SONG TIME I Only Have Eyes for You. “I want to thank you for the profound joy I've had in the in the thought of you.”, “Of all the many people we meet in a lifetime,it is strange that so many of us find ourselves in thrall to one, Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction Shortlist (2010), Books similar to The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison, Goodreads Editors (and CEO) Share Their Mystery Picks. The story kept me interested but the last 30 or so pages left me rolling my eyes….also a major pet peeve of mine is when an author over uses a phrase or a word & in this case it was "leaked away", I have never heard this term & I read it enough in this book to last a life time…. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 1. I found it impossible to believe that any of these characters fell in love with each other and that they were heartbroken when people died. Rosie Alison grew up in Yorkshire, and read English at Keble College, Oxford. The word that comes to mind is dispassionate. I am being generous with a 3 star rating, it was not as bad as some of the reviews would have you think….this story started out being about a child who was being evacuated from London during WWII & going to live in the country with other children. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees by Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton, an enigmatic childless couple. Happy that it was shortlisted for The Orange Prize. Her debut novel THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU (2009), which made it onto the Amazon Rising Stars shortlist and was longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year and the Prince Maurice Prize 2010, was shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. The romantic/sexual adventures of some of the main characters were forced, absurd, and inexplicable, but were however, less melodramatic than the untimely deaths. All in all, very disappointing. She is married with two daughters and lives in London. Thus begins a mass evacuation of the children of London to safer locations along the English countryside. Anna Sands, a young girl living in London, is evacuated from the city along with other children and moved to the countryside where it is hoped the children will be safe from the bombings taking place in the city. Few will be unaffected. The mere idea of you, the longing here for you, To help you stock that Want to Read shelf, we asked... England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. Anna lands in the middle of an unhappy marriage as we meet polio stricken Thomas who is confined to a wheelchair and an obviously infertile Elizabeth who longs for a child and can not bear the advent of her monthly cycle. Die-hard mystery fans are always on the hunt for their next supremely satisfying whodunit. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison is set in England during the Second World War. With Joseph Fiennes, Monica Potter, Rufus Sewell, Tom Hollander. It is 1939 and Hitler is storming down on Poland and England feels the march of German boots coming. They form a somewhat tentative, but still caring relationship, keeping touch in letters and Christmas cards. Limited Edition Giclee Print, published 2015. (First CD reissue 1991). You will experience all of these things when you read Rosie Alison's "The Very Thought of You". Thousands of children are being evacuated as the threat of bombing in London becomes more real. If the author doesn’t seem to care about the characters, why should the reader. What is scrobbling? An excellent book about romantic and physical love, about the strange paths of human desires - most of the main characters get what they wish, only... - and about a precocious child that observes the above due to the historical circumstances, but all interspersed with vignettes from related characters that actually add a lot to the story; and of course a story of the British "home front" from 1939 on, but also vignettes from the brutality of the previous war that scarred a generation and made mo, An excellent book about romantic and physical love, about the strange paths of human desires - most of the main characters get what they wish, only... - and about a precocious child that observes the above due to the historical circumstances, but all interspersed with vignettes from related characters that actually add a lot to the story; and of course a story of the British "home front" from 1939 on, but also vignettes from the brutality of the previous war that scarred a generation and made more understandable the British (and French) blunders from 1930's and their appeasing of monsters, This impressive first novel - shortlisted for the Orange Prize - traces the lives of Anna and Roberta, as well as Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth Ashton, primarily during the war years. Prepare to have your eyes opened, your heart broken, and your view of the amazing endurance of the human spirit revised and revived. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. A travesty that this tosh was nominated for the Orange prize. Moodily atmospheric and increasingly melancholy, we're privy to their inner lives (multiple third person perspective) as those lives intersect and diverge, playing again and again on novelist Alison's title theme. I wont blather on about the details, except that it reminds me of Kate Morton's novels. This novel is by a wide margin the worst book I have ever read. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. When the former child evacuee discovers her long repressed love (30 years worth) for her disabled, much older former teacher, and asks if he loved her too (back when she was 10) it was definitely a "wtf?" 'The Very Thought of You' is Rosie Alison's first novel, she is better known as a film producer and co-produced the excellent 'Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' - the film adaptation of John Boyne's novel. The Very Thought of You is a 1944 romantic drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Dennis Morgan, Eleanor Parker and Dane Clark. A shattering, yet spirit-sustaining, glimpse into loss and survivorship, this is a story which will resonate with many. This novel is just full of broken hearts, people for whom life has taken sad twists and turns, and left them sad, lonely, and searching for love and fulfilment. Be the first to ask a question about The Very Thought of You. It covers loss ,and marriage and love on many different levels. All of the characters are longing for something, but all these longings seem to draw us back to the emotion of love and at times the lack there of. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Shop The Very Thought Of You. Directed by Delmer Daves. Mount Size: 52.1 x 62.1cm. The ordinary things that everyone ought to do. Add to basket. They will stay in the reader's consciousness for a very long time. I generally enjoy novels set during the Second World War. "The Very Thought Of You "had been nominated for the orange Prize so I thought I would give it a read. Anna witnesses this emotional torrent one evening spying into an open door and her innocent childhood life is changed by seeing such an adult conflict. Lorri Hafer, The Music of Your Life Quartet. 'The Very Thought of You' is Rosie Alison's first novel, she is better known as a film producer and co-produced the excellent 'Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' - the film adaptation of John Boyne's novel.