3.5
Turtle Diary
ByPublisher Description
Two lonely Londoners bond over a plan to free the sea turtles at the city zoo in this touching novel from a cult-favorite author who has drawn comparisons to J.D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut.
A wise and touching classic that “crackles with witty detail, mordant intelligence and self-deprecating irony,” from the author of Riddley Walker (Time)
Life in a city can be atomizing, isolating. And it certainly is for William G. and Neaera H., the strangers at the center of Russell Hoban’s surprisingly heartwarming novel Turtle Diary.
William, a clerk at a used bookstore, lives in a rooming house after a divorce that has left him without home or family. Neaera is a successful writer of children’s books, who, in her own estimation, “looks like the sort of spinster who doesn’t keep cats and is not a vegetarian. Looks…like a man’s woman who hasn’t got a man.”
Entirely unknown to each other, they are both drawn to the turtle tank at the London Zoo with “minds full of turtle thoughts,” wondering how the turtles might be freed. And then comes the day when Neaera walks into William’s bookstore, and together they form an unlikely partnership to make what seemed a crazy dream become a reality.
A wise and touching classic that “crackles with witty detail, mordant intelligence and self-deprecating irony,” from the author of Riddley Walker (Time)
Life in a city can be atomizing, isolating. And it certainly is for William G. and Neaera H., the strangers at the center of Russell Hoban’s surprisingly heartwarming novel Turtle Diary.
William, a clerk at a used bookstore, lives in a rooming house after a divorce that has left him without home or family. Neaera is a successful writer of children’s books, who, in her own estimation, “looks like the sort of spinster who doesn’t keep cats and is not a vegetarian. Looks…like a man’s woman who hasn’t got a man.”
Entirely unknown to each other, they are both drawn to the turtle tank at the London Zoo with “minds full of turtle thoughts,” wondering how the turtles might be freed. And then comes the day when Neaera walks into William’s bookstore, and together they form an unlikely partnership to make what seemed a crazy dream become a reality.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesTurtle Diary Reviews
3.5
“Two lonely middle aged people become interested in the sea turtles at the zoo and eventually get together to take the turtles and release them in the sea. A plot that suggests possible romance and lightheartedness but it’s not, it’s more a story of loneliness, isolation and the banalities of life and issues of living in a city, so a lot deeper and darker than I initially expected (an incident near the end was quite shocking for me). A little bit weird and wonderful too.”
“This was one of those books I finished feeling more neutral than moved. I could see what it was trying to do, and I appreciated the quiet, reflective tone, but it never fully clicked for me emotionally.
The pacing was slow in a deliberate way, which suited the story, but it also made it harder for me to feel invested in the characters. They felt believable enough, but I never really connected to them on a deeper level. I found myself observing the book more than experiencing it.
The turtle plan itself was probably the most interesting part for me. It had a symbolic and slightly absurd charm that hinted at something meaningful beneath the surface. I just wish the emotional impact around it had landed more strongly.
Overall, this feels like a book for a very specific mood and reader. If you love quiet, introspective stories about ordinary lives and small acts of meaning, it may resonate more than it did for me. I respected what it was doing, but it didn’t linger with me the way I hoped it would.”
“Beautifully written. Relatable and real characters. A great mixture of emotions and introspection while turning the pages.”
“I loved this. I enjoyed both the story and the writing style.”About Russell Hoban
Russell Hoban (1925–2011) was the author of more than seventy books for children and adults. Hoban worked as a commercial artist and advertising copywriter before embarking on a career as a children’s author while in his early thirties. During the 1960s Hoban and his wife, Lillian, worked at a prodigious rate, producing as many as six books in a single year—many inspired by life with their own children—including six stories about Frances the badger, The Little Brute Family, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, and The Sorely Trying Day (published by the New York Review Children’s Collection). Among Hoban’s novels for adults are Turtle Diary, Riddley Walker, The Bat Tattoo, and My Tango with Barbara Strozzi. He lived in London from 1968 until his death in December 2011.
Ed Park is a founding editor of The Believer and a former editor of the Voice Literary Supplement and the Poetry Foundation. His debut novel, Personal Days, was published in 2008 and was a finalist for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He is currently an editor at Penguin Press. He lives in New York City.
Ed Park is a founding editor of The Believer and a former editor of the Voice Literary Supplement and the Poetry Foundation. His debut novel, Personal Days, was published in 2008 and was a finalist for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He is currently an editor at Penguin Press. He lives in New York City.
Other books by Russell Hoban
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