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WHAT I DID Paperback – June 29, 2012

3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 91 ratings

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“This is family life today at its most believable: warm and messy, bored and raging….I LOVED IT.”
—Emma Donoghue, author of the
New York Times bestseller Room
 
What I Did by Christopher Wakling is a truly astonishing novel—the chronicle of a family crisis that is equal parts hilarity, poignancy, and horror, told in the singular voice of a most precocious youngster.  Room meets The Slap meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Wakling’s tour de force concerns one rash act that pitches a six-year-old boy and his hapless parents into the center of a social services maelstrom. What I Did is contemporary fiction at its most enthrallingly original—poignant, powerful, and extremely funny—a miraculous work that prompted London’s Daily Mail to declare it “the novel that should have won the Booker prize.”
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Much in the vein of Atonement, a well-intentioned innocent threatens to destroy the people he loves most . . . affecting.” — Publishers Weekly

“Like Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap, [WHAT I DID] documents one family’s attempt to cope with the aftermath of a public outburst and the failure of their own innocent attempts to put things right . . . an affecting, thought-provoking tale of parent-child relations.” — Booklist

“Warm, hilarious, eye-wateringly moving, with the cleverest use of point of view since Jane Austen . . . WHAT I DID is the novel that should have won the Booker prize.” — Daily Mail (London), "Christmas Pick" in the literary fiction category

“A child’s view of the actions and attitudes of adults has seldom been so compellingly or tenaciously illustrated as by Wakling in this perfect little book.” — Irish Times

“Gripping, hilarious, tender and a whole lot more, this is, without doubt, one of the books of the year.” — Daily Mail (London)

“This is family life today at its most believable: warm and messy, bored and raging, and above all, self-conscious. WHAT I DID is every parent’s nightmare, but will make you burst out laughing too. I loved it.” — Emma Donoghue

“A powerful, poignant and funny novel, perched on the precarious line between protecting children and destroying families.” — Melbourne Age

“Amusing and unsettling . . . What I Did lets us into the mind of a child who is comically literal and utterly at sea in the world of adults.” — The Guardian

“Horribly plausible . . . [What I Did] brilliantly captures parent-child relations in the raw.” — The Independent

“Wakling creates believable conflict from the everyday facts of a child going just too far and a parent losing it . . . The novel is a strong depiction of a family in crisis.” — Sunday Age (Melbourne)

“A powerful parable of 21st century society . . . a fine, challenging novel.” — Mail on Sunday

“I loved it! Staggeringly good. Terrifyingly good.” — Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of Ralph's Party

“Hugely impressive, gripping, funny and thought provoking.” — Emily Barr, bestselling author of Backpack

“Excellent . . . Dark but uplifting.” — Alex Preston, author of This Bleeding City

From the Back Cover

"This is a story about a terrible thing which happens to me. I have to warn you that nobody is bad or good here, or rather everyone is a bit bad and a bit good and the bad and the good moluscules get mixed up against each other and produce terrible chemical reactions. Did you know cheetahs cannot retract their claws?"

Six-year-old Billy loves animals, David Attenborough documentaries, and sneakers that flash when he runs. He does not love sitting still, the blood-soaked sky in Watership Down, or his father's cell phone.

When Billy runs into a busy street, ignoring his father's commands, he sets in motion a series of unexpected, family-altering events. What I Did is a heart-wrenching reminder of how best intentions can lead to disastrous consequences, and how one rash decision can take on a life of its own.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MorrowPb; Original edition (June 29, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 282 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062121693
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062121691
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.72 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 91 ratings

About the author

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Christopher Wakling
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Christopher Wakling grew up in California and England. He won a scholarship at Oxford University, and has since worked as a travel writer, farm hand and litigator. In 2001 he moved to Australia, learned to surf and fly a plane, and wrote his first novel, The Immortal Part. He now lives in Bristol, England with his wife and children; What I Did is his sixth book.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
91 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2013
    If there was ever book written from a child's perspective, this is it. But not only is the perspective spot on, but the
    wit and humor that accompany it is priceless. The hilarity ( and misfortune ) that result from a major misunderstanding will keep you laughing and on the edge of your seat!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2014
    Was disappointed in the book in general . Found it depressing . would not reccommend it to my fellow readers .
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013
    Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
    Billy is a six year old boy, living with his parents. Billy loves animals, to the point of being fixated on them. He intersperses animal facts into everyday conversations. On a trip to a local park, Billy, while acting like an animal, runs away from his father. This incident escalates when a stranger, disapproving of the method Billy's father chooses for reprimanding the boy, turns the family in to child protective services. From there, things escalate at an alarming rate.

    I really wanted to like this book. The concept of the book was pretty brilliant, I think, in showing the story from the child's point of view. However, Billy proves to be an unreliable, and often unlikable, narrator. Aspects of the narration that are meant to be charming, such as Billy's word confusion and his inability to stay on topic, end up being very annoying and distracting. I have read other books using a child as a narrator where it is done in an engaging and endearing way. This leads me to believe it is not the child as narrator technique I dislike, but rather the way it is executed in this book.

    I find it very hard to connect with Billy as a character, despite the fact that his is the main voice in the story. His fixation on animals made the narrative rather sprawling, and at times difficult to follow, because he would go off on frequent tangents. Also, I found the child to be a bit of a brat and rather tiresome.

    I am left torn regarding the action of the story. I am unable to determine if I should be angry that the family is put through this ordeal based simply on the nonsensical ramblings of a child and the observations of a stranger, or whether the child protection agency handles the situation appropriately. Since Billy proves to be an unreliable narrator, I am left wondering what really did happen in this family. But then I realize I was never engaged enough in the book to actually care.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2012
    This story is written entirely in the voice of a six year old boy and for my money achieves an uncanny insight into a child's view of the world, in all its simplicity, complexity and incomprehensibility. Billy is passionate about natural history and wildlife and his narration is peppered with entertaining facts ("Did you know that Galapagos iguanas have black skin to absorb heat from rocks, but I only have a radiator") and misheard or misused phrases ("Galapagos iguanas are hard to draw but I person veer"). He lives - as many children do - in a world that is partially of his own creation. His unsophisticated grasp of adult realities lead him to make statements and omit explanations whose consequences for his family are dire.

    The dynamics of his family life are cleverly rendered (given that we can only see them through his eyes)and reflect a lot of modern realities and sensibilities. There is humour, conveyed cynicism and poignancy.

    Given the constraints imposed on plot by the single viewpoint, I thought this was very cleverly executed. I rushed through the final pages with my heart in my mouth.

    I am happy to recommend this book and will be seeking more of the author's work.

    Incidentally, if you enjoy narration from a child's point of view, Stephen Kelman's 'Pigeon English' is another (different) but excellent example.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014
    Good read
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2012
    I was excited to read this for our book club because it had gotten such great reviews, but as I started it I found it SO hard to follow. It is supposed to be written from the perspective of a six year old child. In my opinion, it's written from a six year old schizophrenic because this child doesn't have a single cohesive thought in the entire book. I'm glad it was a very long book or I wouldn't have been able to finish it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2013
    Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
    What an amazing book! Christopher Wakling has captured the true essence of child-speak. Anyone who has ever spent time with young children, like the six-year-old main character, will know that they are not especially engaged in linear thinking. Their sense of the world and events are explained through vivid imagination and stories based on their own experience, which is full of both real and imagined characters. At the same time, like our main character, children are extremely sensitive to the moods, emotions, and body language of others, especially adults.

    Wakling has wonderfully told a tragic story of love and misunderstanding through the eyes of a child. This child's view of the world and ability to explain or tell events is typical of children in that the story is sometimes linear, sometimes circular, and always divergent and imaginative.

    At times the child's story and diversions are a little tedious to follow, but this is typical of most children who are telling a story. We adults are often impatient and want them to get to the point, but Wakling has taken the time to remain true to the character.

    This is just an excellent and powerful story.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2012
    Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
    "What I Did" is as amusing as it is terrifying and heartbreaking at times.

    The language is very interesting, stemming from the overactive imagination of the 6-year-old narrator.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • J. Hart
    5.0 out of 5 stars JUST READ IT
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2011
    As an adult (and parent) I become totally gripped by the story - and the characters -and time and again I was deeply moved by the twists and turns it took. The genius of the piece is that blow me down, it's a six year old telling the story !! You are missing out if you let that prospect put you off, you really are, because here it was an integral part of the confusion, misunderstanding, poor communication and heartbreak that made this novel work. Of COURSE what the six year old says is sometimes silly and irritating; 6 year olds sometimes are! But the point seemed to me to be that even though adults - parents, in-laws, social worker, lawyers - are meant to be much better at communicating they aren't ...and that's why Billy's story is what it is. Even when Billy's dad does appear to really connect with another adult it is through his mobile phone which is permanently with him as a source of comfort (and achingly familiar) work stress. This story held up a mirror to me and I think it will to anyone who is sometimes a bit tired, a bit grumpy and not Mary Poppins. The other really clever thing about the book is that no-one is judged. and no part of the 'system' is hung out to try. This is not a socio - political polemic; it's just a blimmin' good story. so just read it.
  • Avid Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars lovely book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2012
    Very moving and enjoyable read, skilfully written. Amusingly told from the point of view of a child, with a page turning ending.
  • Chlo
    3.0 out of 5 stars An easy read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2011
    An easy to read book. Believeable at the start but less so as story goes on. Entertaining though and interesting to read a book in the eyes of a 6 year old (especially when you have a 6 year old child!)
  • Ikebana
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2013
    I skipped so much of this boring fantasy dialogue by the six years old boy. Maybe the plot would have been more meaningful if I had been a mother with a six year old to compare to the main character. Didn't enjoy it at all.
  • The Earnest Critic
    4.0 out of 5 stars Inside the mind of a six year old
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2012
    This is a v good book, both unsettling and laugh out loud funny in parts. The real horror of this situation is that the child has no concept of the damage he is causing to himself or those around him and this is nimbly, starkly and humorously expressed by the writer all through the eyes of the natural history obsessed six year old. I am going to order some of this writer's other work and would definitely recommend it, although it might give some parents even more sleepless nights!