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Original Title:	Poppy Shakespeare
ISBN:	0385662149 (ISBN13: 9780385662147)
Edition Language:	English
Literary Awards:	Orange Prize Nominee for New Writers (2007), Guardian First Book Award Nominee (2006)

Poppy Shakespeare

Clare Allan

Hardcover | Pages: 352 pages

Rating: 3.32 | 1112 Users | 111 Reviews

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Title	:	Poppy Shakespeare
Author	:	Clare Allan
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 352 pages
Published	:	April 11th 2006 by Bond Street Books (first published 2006)
Categories	:	Fiction. Mental Health. Mental Illness. Psychology. Health

Description In Favor Of Books Poppy Shakespeare

Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Prize
Poppy Shakespeare is wholly unique -- both an insider's look at the madness of the mental health system and an outsider's discovery of the power of an unlikely friendship, it signals the arrival of an extraordinary new voice on the international literary scene.
Who is mad? Who is sane? Who decides?
Welcome to the Dorothy Fish, a day hospital in North London. N has been a patient here for thirteen years. Day after day she sits smoking in the common room, swapping medication and comparing MAD money rates. Like all the patients at the Dorothy Fish, N's chief ambition is never to get discharged. Each year, when her annual assessment comes round, she is relieved to learn that she hasn't got any better.
Then in walks Poppy Shakespeare in her six-inch skirt and twelve-inch heels. She is certain she isn't mentally ill and desperate to return to her life outside. Though baffled by Poppy's attitude, N agrees to help. Together they plot to gain Poppy's freedom. But in a world where everything's upside-down, are they crazy enough to upset the system?
Funny, brilliant, and moving, Poppy Shakespeare looks at madness from the inside, questioning our mental health system and the borders we place between sanity and insanity. Written in high-voltage prose, original and troubling, it is a stunning debut.
Excerpt from Poppy Shakespeare:
"'It's not that I've got a problem with mental illness, ' Poppy said. 'It's just there's nothing the matter with me. Do you know what I'm saying?'
'I wouldn't worry bout that, ' I said. 'They must think you's mad or you wouldn't be here. Candid Headphones don't reckon she's mad. Never stopped her, ' I said. . . .
'Poppy?' I said, cause I got to say it. Be like watching a blind man walk under a bus. 'You know what you said bout not thinking you's mad?'
'Yes, ' she said, like what of it?
'Well I wouldn't say nothing to them about that, ' I told her. 'Not at the moment. I mean, don't get me wrong, I ain't saying nothing. It's just the doctors, you never know. They might decide to pick up on it. I mean, it's up to you, do you know what I'm saying, but maybe if you stick to your other symptoms.'"

Rating Containing Books Poppy Shakespeare

Ratings: 3.32 From 1112 Users | 111 Reviews

Write Up Containing Books Poppy Shakespeare

I didn't like it at first due to the writing style, the fact that it is not particularly 'pc' and that it was a little sterotypical, but it grew on me once I got over that. The writer seems to be making a point. I was hoping for a better ending. I wanted it to go on a bit longer to see what happened. Saying that, it was a page turner which is why I rated it as 'I really liked it'. I might have to pass it on to a mental health advocate to get their opinion!In the meantime, I will be watching the

A brilliant book that pulls no punches in its biting assessment of Mental Health services in the UK. I did listen to much of this on audio though did also read parts. The benefit of audio was the flavour of N's London accent that was well executed by the reader. I even found myself falling back into London slang myself after a few days with it, you do know what I mean? :)I have great admiration for Clare Allan drawing on her own experiences as a 'service user' as well as continuing to write on

This was a stunning work written wth a full heart. I was captivated instantly by N and Poppy. Weaved together with a clever wit and humour, I just couldnt put it down. Behind all the funny stuff was a heartbreaking story that left me deeply touched. Wow! Clare Allen, whens your next coming out???

It's been compared to a cross between Catch-22 and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. I'd add that it's Faulknerian and Kafkaesque. Not an easy read, and not flawless (it's not exactly what I'd call "action-packed," for instance), but a genuinely new take on the mental institution genre from the perspective of a lifer. N's voice is REAL. It's infiltrated my thoughts, and I keep finding myself saying, "Do you know what I am saying?" Poppy herself is not as compelling as I thought she would be, but

I found this book at e@curve and bought two. One for me and one for Shima Scarlett. As I expected, both of us love to book. If you are familiar with my choice of books, you might have already realized that 50% of the book I bought are those that I can relate with. so with this book, it is about being in a psychiatric ward and surrounded with people with various exceptional problems. If your really want to know what happens in this type of closed and guarded vicinity , you must not only read,

Lifelong "dribbler" "N." is asked to show new arrival Poppy Shakespeare around the Dorothy Fish, the North London day hospital where she has spent her adult life after an unenviable childhood of getting "moved around more than a pass-the-****ing-parcel" (p. 104). Poppy is a definite shout of stylishness as she asserts that she doesn't really belong there. And other residents aren't so glad to see her, feeling that she's meant to replace a much-loved former resident. As N. introduces her to the

Clever, funny, moving and written with a distinctive voice - I love it. I only knock off a star because the last third seemed a wee bit 'padded', but, other than that - superb.