Thursday

by Catherine Storr

Book Overview

A fifteen-year-old girl tries to find a way of helping an emotionally troubled boy. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006026067X
• ISBN13: 9780060260675
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Harper & Row
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

"Everything is only as real as it seems"

Catherine Storr was not just a brilliant author, but also a qualified doctor and a trained psychiatrist. These are important facts to know as her chosen themes often saw her delving into the dark places of the mind in order to create her insightful characters. THURSDAY, as the cover notes inform us, is "A fascinating exploration of the shadowy ground where psychology and superstition meet." From the outset we can be sure we'll soon be in traditional Storr territory. Bee Earnshaw is 15 years old and sick with glandular fever. One morning the child care officer, Mr. Tenterden, arrives at the house to make inquiries about Thursday Townsend, a clever but somber friend of Bee's from School. Thursday has gone missing and hasn't been seen for two weeks. Bee suspects he is hiding at the bomb site but decides not to tell Mr. Tenterden this as it's her and Thursday's secret place and sharing the knowledge would feel like betrayal. After much convalescing Bee begins to feel strong enough to leave the house but quickly discovers Thursday is not at the bomb site. Indeed it is clear no one has been there for many weeks. Bee is heartbroken and can't believe Thursday left without saying a word. She, after all, was his only true friend. A day trip to London soon follows and, by chance, Bee spots Thursday working on a building site. She eventually confronts him but he seems different, distant, and even a little cruel. He tells Bee not to try to find him again and walks off without looking back. He later reappears in a hospital some miles from home. Disturbingly, Bee learns, Thursday has experienced some form of mental breakdown. She decides to visit him believing that she alone can call him back to reality... While I've no doubt that storylines were very important to Catherine Storr they are undoubtedly secondary to the fascinating characters she created. You instinctively feel an affinity with them and a desire to commit, unconditionally, to each one of their triumphs and failures. She achieves this through her analytical style which expertly details the thought processes of her protagonists. She could, for example, write 300 pages about two people deciding what to have for lunch and still have you feverishly turning every page. This is not to suggest her stories are dull because they are most certainly not. It's simply that she never resorts to the sensational for cheap effect. There is suffering and moments of real tension but always her priority is to show the reader precisely how her characters learn and grow from their experiences. These are ordinary people with normal feelings yet all the while sliding on the learning curve of life. Thursday is a wonderful book which I can thoroughly recommend to young and old alike.