Reviews for Servants

The average rating for Servants based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-09-15 00:00:00 Tammy Tucker In this coming of age tale, Mark is 11, unhappy about being moved from London to Brighton when his sick mother and stepfather, David, relocate there. He fears that David is not doing the right thing for the mom, and Mom always seems too tired to go out or do anything other than sit in bed or on a couch and look pale. Mark is trying to improve his skateboarding skills, but does not connect much with the local kids, who are much better at it than he is. One day, after blowing up at David, Mark escapes the house and happens across the old lady who lives in the basement. She invites him in for tea and cake. The small space in which she lives has a large, mysterious door that catches Mark's interest. The old lady shows him what lies beyond, an expansive space an entire floor where the servants used to live back in the day. It is dirty and spooky. On another visit, when the old lady falls asleep Mark steals past the door and finds that there is more to the space than dirt. The inhabitants of the past reappear and Mark finds himself in another era. What does this all mean? The rising dirt in the basement stands in for his mother's advancing cancer, and ultimately, Mark taking some responsibility in the lower reaches, he plays a role in cleaning up the mess, participating, leading, and thus growing. Mom begins to get better. Surprise, surprise. Mark had held on to ideal notions of what his father had been, but ultimately allows the truth of that to enter his consciousness as well. And he finds that David is not the monster he imagined him to be. There is also a theme here about the past being always with us, the ghostly servants in the basement, the rotting pier, and ultimately, the friendship of David for Mark's mother, from a time before Mark. The book was an amazingly fast read, and was enjoyable, but it seemed a bit too obvious in a way, and I found that even though I did not get all the notions that were at play, I did not care enough to spend much thought on them. So, it is recommended, slightly.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-11 00:00:00 Edward Brown A spellbinding, creepy novella, The Servants is chilling, but at the same time is grounded in the ordinariness of everyday life. An 11 year old boy is transferred from his London home to Brighton by his mom and new stepdad and can't understand or reason out why his mom and dad are not together and he resents his new father. His mom is also very ill and even this doesn't puncture his self-pity until the end of the story. He is lonely and spends his days roaming the beach in the cold, rainy off-season and practices on his skateboard, the last gift he was given by his father. Things don't change until he meets the intelligent, vibrant old lady who lives in the basement flat of their new house. She's odd, but interesting and tells him about the history of Brighton and their house; how it used to be jumping with activity and servants who lived below stairs and kept the house and its inhabitants alive. He steals the key from the old lady that goes to the servant's quarters and explores these basement rooms on his own. Surprising events ensue.