"The book describes a 24 hour shift with RSW Fat Barry in a British 'care' home for adolescent girls. During those 24 hours one girl teeters on the dge of psychosis, others sniff solvents, 3 go on the game; and they fight, one cuts, one smears faeces, one steals; and one member of staff slips towards a nervous breakdown... Throughout we are given the case history of each girl, c.v. of each member of staff, all interspersed with quotes from invented texts. Many of them cynical in content. There is no resolution."
Sam Smith, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Political/social activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- general liberal/left wing activism
- abortion
Inside culture (main char)
- British
Other aspects:
- story of the poor
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- European
- British
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Something wrong upstairs/downstairs?
- mental illness
Parents/lack of parents problem?
- orphan story
Wild kid(s)?
- committing crimes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- deluded
- wild
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
- dumb
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to torture
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of hetero sex
Lot of foul language?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
