Customer Rating: 
Summary: Poignant and funny
Comment: I am a fan of poetry by Simon Armitage, and also his previous novels, All Points North, and The Green Man. 'The White Stuff' is equally enjoyable. It is a moving, enjoyable read, at times a little uncomfortable, yet funny, and the relationship drawn between Abbie and Felix is realistic and loving. I enjoyed and understood Abbie's need to try and understand her past and find out who she really is. The final twist is a nice resolution.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Simon: what's gone wrong?
Comment: I really rate Simon Armitage. Have followed him avidly since his first appearances on the Mark Radcliffe show in the early 1990s. Loved the poems, the readings, the dodgy trips to Iceland, even his first novel.But this one really stinks. It's a story by numbers, and it doesn't make sense. The themes are one dimensional: limited to blokish solidarity and how we're all so complicated. There are too many characters: most of whom don't make sense and some of whom are really frustrating (girl called Miss Moffat - has a fear of spiders - geddit??). The ending is soggy and lazy.
