It is so refreshing when you read something and it makes you go "Oh that's what it's like to actually like something instead of just tolerate it since you're already reading it!" This is a good book, hooray. Thanks to Meg for giving me a copy after I read a really good review of it in Salon. On New Year's Day my kitten peed on the dust jacket but the book was fine, and it turns out the inside cover is even prettier. Good job cover art.

I know there's a lot of these books, grownup books with child narrators, it's a thing. I haven't read a lot of them though, and I wonder if I'd like them as much as I liked this, because Lawrence sits perfectly on the gap between literary and childlike -- he's not preternaturally gifted or anything, he just happens to tell us exactly the right things. And being inside his head is exactly like it should be: he expresses his thoughts in quotations a lot as they come to him, so we can follow his acute ups and downs and the differences between what he thinks and what he says. And it's cute how he says "actually" all the time. The only thing I'm not into is the use of elementary errors in the spelling and capitalization and punctuation etc. I don't need to think Lawrence is writing the book -- and it's never otherwise indicated that he is, which is good because I hate that device; "I just had to tell you my story!" -- and the narration would have exactly the same impact if it looked correct on the page. (The childlike grammar is a different thing, that totally works because it is careful and artful and natural to read. He's telling the book.)

I really like the story, and the family dynamic between Lawrence and his baby sister, and Lawrence and his mother, and Lawrence and his hamster, and how he is their rudder. His mother's breakdowns are simple and well-drawn, and so is his love for her. The Roman setting is perfect, but also because you appreciate what this is going to be like for Lawrence to remember when he's older. Once the ending was near, I realized what was going to happen but in that good way where you're full of dread, not just "oh I see what you did there." Really liked it, really glad to read it.

On the cover of this book, a quote from Pat Conroy links this book to both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I found intriguing. I would not have linked Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird at all - she is much more adult than Lawrence seems to be. And Lawrence is just a kid in an abnormal situation, while much of what happens to Christopher Boone is because of his own disabilities. However, I did appreciate the quote because it made me think a bit more about Lawrence,the narrator in When We Were Romans.

This is an odd little book. That is neither bad or good, it just wasn't quite what I expected.

I learned about it because of the Book Brahmin on Shelf-Awareness. Many of the books suggested in this column have been great additions to my reading shelf. The story is told by a nine year old boy who can't spell and who believes his mother in all things. Most nine year olds would agree with him - moms are to be believed.

I seem to be in a period of reading books that contain moms who are angry, crazy, absent or anything other than normal. I know this is serendipity, but it made dealing with Lawrence's mother hard for me. She really wasn't competent and I worried so about the consequences of her actions.

I did not fall into this novel, but I am not sorry I read it. Kneale has a good ear and his language seems right for a nine year old. I recommend this book to readers of literary fiction, to people interested in the voice of child narrators and to those are willing to deal with dysfunctional families.

I did it! This is book #50 for 2008!

Told through the thoughts and observations of a nine-year old boy, this was a great read. I really felt for Lawrence - as he struggled through much of the story to keep his mother on an even keel and her thoughts off her paranoia of being followed and spied upon by her ex-husband.

The device of using Lawrence as a filter was a little distracting in places. Misspellings made it hard to tell what he was talking about at times ("crussons" for croissants for example), but it didn't really detract from the story.

a precious book!

Don't start this book at 7 pm if you need to be bright-eyed at work the next day - this is my lesson. I was up until 1 am needing to find out what happens next, then what, then what, as the story (told through the perspective of a young boy, whose age I never did catch) unfolds and intrigues. First you think you understand what the family situation is, what the conflict is, then you begin to see what the child cannot and then, well, I won't spoil it, but just try to put it down!

The voice of the narrator is believable, and the pieces of the puzzle come together at an elegant, tightly constructed pace. Loved it.

It took me a few tries to get past the first chapter, the narrator being so young and childish (rightfully so) was hard for me to read. But I’m so glad I pushed through, When We Were Romans is a haunting story told through the eyes of a very brave seven year old.

A must read!

When We Were Romans chronicles the downward spiral of a mother and her two children as they try to elude her estranged husband. Told from young Lawrence's point of view, the narrative is compellingly funny and tragic. As the reader picks up on clues that Lawrence unknowningly communicates, the tragedy builds to a realistic conclusion that is hard to witness after falling so in love with the young protaganist. A sweet, sad, and ultimately hopeful book.

I loved the viewpoint of Lawrence in this book, an interesting and real child- from his assigning animal characters to the strangers he meets (the ones that "deserve" an animal, that is), to his fascination wtih the galaxy and Popes, to his struggle to retain what he knows is truth in a situation where what is real becomes increasingly fuzzy. I agree that the mis-spellings were not consistent, but it did not distract me from the story. The ending was a bit confusing (although even more so I'm sure for Lawrence)- I couldn't figure out where they were going for quite a while. Overall, a good read with several laugh out moments. I did almost despair for the damage done to him, but there is a hopeful ending at least.

When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale is told from the perspective of 9 year old Lawrence. He lived in England with his mother, Hannah, and his sister, Jemima. Lawrence’s parents were divorced and his mother thought his father was spying on them and breaking into their cottage. So, Hannah packed Lawrence and Jemima up and headed to Rome, where she’d lived before she was married. While the three of them are there, things began to unravel and the reader realizes that Hannah is mentally ill before Lawrence does. Lawrence wrote:

"Mum changed so quickly, one moment she was all fine and then it was like a big ray just shon [sic] on her and made her go wrong."

Lawrence believed everything his mother was telling him and tried to help and protect her. He was forced to take a role he was too young for. This book shows how children are affected when they have a mentally ill parent.

I wanted to love this book, but ended up liking it. The book drew me in very quickly and finished with a bang, but I felt like the middle dragged some. Since it was told from Lawrence’s perspective, it was loaded with misspellings and I have to admit they bothered me. The cover of this book is a delight, though.

It took me a bit to get used to the style of the narrator, but once I did, I loved this book. If you like books for adults narrated by children, definitely pick this one up.