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    A Kid for Two Farthings : The Bloomsbury Group: The Bloomsbury Group
    Unavailable
    A Kid for Two Farthings : The Bloomsbury Group: The Bloomsbury Group
    Unavailable
    A Kid for Two Farthings : The Bloomsbury Group: The Bloomsbury Group
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    A Kid for Two Farthings : The Bloomsbury Group: The Bloomsbury Group

    By Wolf Mankowitz

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Six year-old Joe knows a unicorn when he sees one. His downstairs neighbour Mr Kandinsky has told him all about these mythical creatures, and there isn't anything in the world that this wise tailor doesn't know. So when Joe sees a little white goat amidst the singing birds, salted herrings and hokey-pokey ices of a Whitechapel market he has to have him. He knows it's just a matter of time before the tiny bump on the unicorn's head becomes the magic horn to grant his every wish.


    For in the embattled working-class community of 1950s East End London, there are plenty of people in need of good fortune. The only thing Mr Kandinsky wants is a steam press for his shop; his assistant Shmule, a wrestler, just needs to buy a ring for his girl; and all Joe and his mother wish for, more than anything, is to join his father in Africa. But maybe, just maybe, Joe's unicorn can sprinkle enough luck on all his friends for their humble dreams to come true.

    A Kid for Two Farthings is part of The Bloomsbury Group, a new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateJun 1, 2011
    ISBN9781408808757
    Unavailable
    A Kid for Two Farthings : The Bloomsbury Group: The Bloomsbury Group
    Author

    Wolf Mankowitz

    Wolf Mankowitz (1924-98) was the son of a Russian-Jewish bookseller in the East End of London, a prolific dramatist, journalist, novelist and screenwriter.

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    Reviews for A Kid for Two Farthings

    3.5/5

    32 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A young boy living with his mother, and looked after by their kind tailor/landlord, in the East End, wants a unicorn for a pet. And one day he finds one in the market for 5 shillings.A cute-enough story, but it hasn't aged well.
    • 4/5
      Reason for Reading: I love early 20th century British lit. and I'm enchanted by the entire line of The Bloomsbury Group reprints.Summary: Joe is six years old, lives on a street near Whitechapel which seems to be the Jewish quarter. Joe and his mother live in a room above Mr. Kadinsky's tailor shop; he is a trousers maker and his assistant Shmule is a young engaged pugilist training to work his way through the ranks to becoming a champion. Joe's father has gone to Africa to make a life for them and will be sending for him and his mother sometime. Joe mostly spends his days with Mr. Kadinsky in the shop while his mother works all day and Kadinsky is a talker and storyteller. He's told Joe the story of unicorns and why they no longer live in England but since everyone seems to be wishing for something Joe decides to check out the market anyway. If he can buy a unicorn he can make everyone's wishes come true and on that day what does he find but a unicorn, now the owner seems to think he's a crippled goat but Joe knows a baby unicorn when he sees one. You can even see the nub of his magical horn starting to grow in the centre of his forehead so Joe brings him home and Kadinsky pays for him. Perhaps now Joe can see that all his friends' humble wishes will come true.Comments: This is a touching heart-warming story, what I would rather call a novella than a novel coming in at 128 pages and only that because of the large font. At first one is puzzled whether this might be a story for children, with the large font and the six year old protagonist. But it is not. We are shown all the poverty of the immigrant living conditions and the hardships of working continuously just to get by. Sure there are parts a child would enjoy, but not overall. The book is told in the third person and though we see things through Joe, a child's point of view for the majority of the time we also see from Mr. Kadinsky's where the tone and subject matter become deeper. Discussions of trade unions, business dealing and wrestling matches put the book above a children's story. Joe himself is a wise little boy who has learnt a lot in his adult world and often speaks with a deep wisdom that can only come from a child who has been in the adult world. But Joe is a sweet, kind, loving boy with an innocence about him that his world has not touched. He believes in unicorns and magic and this belief may just be enough to enrich everyone's lives. Wonderful characters and an inspiring ending, this book will sure to please readers who like to read about simpler times and want a good, clean read.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book I have read from The Bloomsbury Group, which is publishing "lost classics" from the early 20th century; it bases publishing decisions on reader recommendations. This was a gentle novel about a small boy who needs a miracle, and decides that a deformed baby goat is really a unicorn, with full wish-granting skills. Little Joe lives in poverty in the East End of London, and Mankowitz does not pretend that life is a fairy tale there; the hard reality comes through vividly even when softened by the uncomprehending eyes of a little boy. Nonetheless, the tenderness of the relationship between 6 year old Joe and his wise old friend Mr. Kandinsky is utterly heart-melting. A lovely little book.
    • 4/5
      I can still hear these people talk; the characters are that real. It’s a street in London, but it could be a street in NYC in the middle of the last century. Six-year-old Joe finds a unicorn for sale and he buys him in the hopes that the unicorn can satisfy some wishes. I like how this all works out in a way that is both fantastical and realistic.
    • 3/5
      This was not a bad book but not too memorable either. The book nicely evokes the mid-20th century working-class Jewish community in London. Characters were somewhat undeveloped and the prose, while effective with its slangy, casual feel, was not to my liking.Six year old Joe lives in a boarding house with his mother and their friend Mr. Kandinsky, a trousers maker. His mother worries about his father who is away on business. Mr. Kandinsky tells Joe stories about unicorns, prompting Joe to buy one at the market – a kid goat. He takes care of his goat and observes the conflicts of the adults around him. Mr. Kandinsky wants a patent steam press for his shop and his assistant Shmule wants to win his big wrestling match and buy a ring for his fiancée Sonia. Joe also observes the employees of his mother’s shop, the men at the Tailors’ Union, various transients and the spectators at the wrestling ring. The book is more about daily life than plot- or character- driven.