rainbow
member
Reged: 28/05/2008
Posts: 16
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Rainbow's End, by Lauren St John (Hamish Hamilton, £17.99)
Told through the eyes of a child growing up in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia then) in the 1970's, Lauren St John's autobiographical account is about extremes.
On the one hand, we have the beauty of Africa, the freedom of a white childhood on an idyllic farm with wildlife and privilege all around.
On the other, we have the impact of war, terror and ever-present fear which shape and limit her childhood experience.
And through the intertwining of these perspectives , St John increasingly questions everything she has been told about race, hierarchy and birthright.
The vividness and directness of this book capture the essence of the Zimbabwe conundrum.
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rainbow
member
Reged: 28/05/2008
Posts: 16
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The Woman in the Fifth, by Douglas Kennedy (arrow books, £6.99)
Following an 'incident' at the American college where he taught, Harry Ricks escapes to Paris to write a novel.
The story unfolds amidst the squalor and underworld of the Turkish district of Paris as Harry sinks to rock-bottom.
Then he meets the elegant, smouldering Margit, a cultured Hungarian who seems to read his innermost thoughts, and Harry becomes inescapably entangled.
So far, this is almost predictable, but Kennedy surprises us until our disbelief is challenged to the extreme.
I can't say more- you have to read it for yourself. Love it, hate it, you won't want to put it down.
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dryad
member
Reged: 11/02/2008
Posts: 243
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THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Mary Ann Shaffer
How does a roast pig dinner suddenly become a literary society? A clue – the German Occupation of Guernsey. Is potato peel pie a joke? Certainly not – it is a reminder of the hardships endured by the Islanders.
In 1946 a mutual love of the writer Charles Lamb sparks the correspondence between a Guernsey farmer and Juliet, a London author. Soon other members of this extraordinary book group are also writing to her about their literary tastes and their experiences. Later, when Juliet visits Guernsey to continue research for her new book, she sends friends at home a lively commentary on life on the island.
The letters are fascinating – funny, tragic, uplifting – fine evidence of the strong bonds of love and friendship forged in war time . . . and afterwards. This book is a gem.
Edited by jdm (10/08/2008 21:37)
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cherys
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Reged: 15/08/2008
Posts: 1
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WHAT WAS LOST by Catherine O'Flynn
This stunning debut, set in a shopping centre, focuses on the disappearance of schoolgirl Kate Meany. O'Flynn’s warmth and gut-wrenching humour in handling this bleak subject have won her a batch of well-deserved awards.
The novel opens with Kate's spy-log on shoppers, training for the detective work she longs to do. It then leaps twenty years: Kate’s vanishing cast long shadows on people she never even met. When narcoleptic security guard Kurt spots her on his CCTV and store manager Lisa finds Kate’s toy they are brought together, solving her mystery and laying their own ghosts. Unmissable.
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dryad
member
Reged: 11/02/2008
Posts: 243
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OF MERCHANTS AND HEROES Paul Waters
A passion for Ancient History drew me to this novel which is set at the end of the third century BC. The narrator of the exciting story is a young Roman. His father’s tragic death sets him on a path to revenge; along the way he meets men driven by greed, vanity and power and others who strive for what is honourable in life, particularly in politics and war. This quest for excellence encourages the reader to consider what mattered then, what matters now and whether time has made any difference at all. Paul Waters writes with remarkable eloquence; his debut novel is a joy to read.
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zennor
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1586
Loc: Falmouth in Cornwall
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A SWEET OBSCURITY
Patrick Gayle
Following on from the immense pleasure of Notes From An Exhibition I discovered this intriguing tale of the musical and gifted Eliza and her precocious niece Dido and their gradual transition from grimy London to God's Own Country in West Cornwall..
This is another totally compelling novel by the addictive Patrick Gayle which leaves you hungry for more ...
I am overwhelmed by his talent and cannot wait to read his next book ..
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billie
member
Reged: 21/11/2007
Posts: 149
Loc: Derbyshire
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Divas Don't Knit by Gil McNeil
This modern day story really warmed my heart with the true to life happenings. Jo and her two boys Jack and Archie have to rebuild their lives again after losing her husband and their dad. So they move to the seaside and take over her Grans wool shop. The story unfolds with lots of humour, touches of sadness but best of all the feeling of being at her side the whole time and cheering her on!It also started me knitting again and searching for new projects to do.
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dryad
member
Reged: 11/02/2008
Posts: 243
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FIRMIN Sam Savage
Firmin is a rat, charming, intelligent, imaginative and literary too. Born in a bookshop – the runt of the litter – he survives by chewing books. Miraculously he learns to read and later develops an insatiable hunger for literature. He dares to be different, preferring humans to rats; his attempts to make friends with the bookshop owner nearly end in tragedy but happily he has more success with a local writer. Firmin is saddened by plans to replace the bookshop, bars and stores with grey concrete and government buildings. Alas, sometimes there is a downside to change. This illustrated book is highly original and very entertaining.
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dryad
member
Reged: 11/02/2008
Posts: 243
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A LIFE IN TIME AND SPACE – THE BIOGRAPHY OF DAVID TENNANT
Nigel Goodall
I rarely read biographies but when I saw David Tennant smiling at me from the bookshelf, how could I resist? I had my purse out faster than you could say ‘Doctor Who’. The book presents fascinating information about David’s career in film, television and theatre, as well as amazing photographs dating back to 1994. However, what I enjoyed most was David’s comments on a wide variety of roles. Whether he is Casanova or Doctor Who, a Shakespeare prince or a Nicci French villain, he shows dazzling enthusiasm and passion for his work. This biography captures the essence of a truly charismatic actor.
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rainbow
member
Reged: 28/05/2008
Posts: 16
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Life Class, by Pat Barker (Penguin, £7.99)
The young Paul Tarrant and his fellow students at Slade School of art not only discover how to draw in their life class, but are quickly thrust into the harrowing lessons of life that they experience during the First World war, both in London and in Belgium.
As always, Barker conveys the awful immediacy of war in the trenches in unremitting detail and authenticity. Who could possibly emerge unchanged after this life class?
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rainbow
member
Reged: 28/05/2008
Posts: 16
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Exit Music, by Ian Rankin (Orion, £7.99)
Fans of Rebus will probably feel mixed emotions as they read this eighteenth and final novel about Edinburgh's most famous Detective Inspector.
As always, Rankin draws us into the murky underworld which simmers beneath Edinburgh's gentile facade. We encounter the intermingling of wealthy Russian entrepreneurs, the seedy world of porno tapes, one of Rebus's old enemies, 'Bid Ger' Caffery, and... Members of the Scottish Parliament.
Throughout his quest to find the murderer of a dissident Russian poet, we commiserate with Rebus as his life as a D.I. comes to an end.
How can he face his exit music?
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waterbaby
member
Reged: 23/08/2006
Posts: 42
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Vanish by Tess Gerritsen
Dr Maura Isles is in the cold room of the morgue when she hears a noise. Your nerves tingle as you read how one body is still breathing. Thus starts a story about murder and blackmail and how people in the higher realms of power can physically abuse and scare others. Your heart will beat faster as you experience a hostage situation, it will break in sympathy with a young girl's fear and you will pray for a newborn baby's safety. The scarey thing is that life can really be like this. An unputdownable read.
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Brenda1948
member
Reged: 12/01/2008
Posts: 575
Loc: West Sussex
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The Pain and the Privilege by Ffion Hague
Did you know that, during his marriage to Margaret, Lloyd George had a 30-year affair with his secretary? Ffion tells the story of Lloyd George's complex relationships, and at the same time tells us a great deal about his political life and the social mores of the time.
As a former political secretary, and now a politician's wife, Ffion was well placed to write this book, and she has written and researched it beautifully. She is scrupulously fair in the way she deals with each of the women, and with Lloyd George himself.
A great book for the long dark evenings ahead.
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billie
member
Reged: 21/11/2007
Posts: 149
Loc: Derbyshire
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"Can't Wait to Get to Heaven"
by Fannie Flagg
This is a wonderful story about "Elner" who resides in Elmwood Springs America. Elner gets stung by wasps and falls out of a tree whilst picking figs and ultimately dies in the first chapter, but then she sets off on a journey to meet her maker, leaving her friends on earth devastated. I found myself wishing I'd known "Elner" and all her friends in the story. There were parts in the book when I laughed out loud. The characters came to life inside my head from the very beginning.This is a book to keep and treasure.
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rainbow
member
Reged: 28/05/2008
Posts: 16
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The Careful Use of Compliments, by Alexander McCall Smith (Little, Brown, £16.99)
Straightaway, we enter the genteel world inhabited by Isabel Dalhousie, editor of Review of Appied Ethics, and we can almost hear her 'doux' Edinburgh accent as she grapples with the philosophical issues presented by both her professional and personal life.
Isabel's domestic situation is more complicated now with the arrival of baby, Charlie, whose father, the handsome (and much younger) Jamie, is an ex-boyfriend of Isabel's niece, Cat.
To add to Isabel's entanglements, she is confronted by the possibility of having been offered fake paintings.
McCall Smith is at his most winsome in this novel.
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Ninette
member
Reged: 04/10/2008
Posts: 2
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The Faces of Angels by Lucretia Grindle
Honeymooning in Florence isn’t the dolce vita Mary Warren hoped; then she’s attacked – with devastating consequences. Courageously, a year later, she returns to lay her ghosts and start anew, only her attacker remains at large – with Mary determined to bring them to justice. In an evocative mixture of art, travelogue, bitter-sweet romance and the politics of religion, it’s hard for the reader not to look-up and wonder that they aren’t in Italy. An undeniably clever, atmospheric whodunit with a real difference, this powerful novel, like the haunting beauty of an angel in a renaissance painting, remains with the reader forever.
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Ninette
member
Reged: 04/10/2008
Posts: 2
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A Tangled Summer by Caroline Kington
For a humorous and intriguing summer read, forget the beach: head for the country.
Tangled perfectly describes the lives of the Tucker family: Jenny, who knits and dreams, stage-struck Stephen, scheming Charlie and studious Alison, longing for freedom. Ruling them is wily Grandma and Nemesis, Elsie with ultimatums and secrets of her own. As if that isn’t enough, their home, Marsh Farm, is threatened. Will the Tuckers pull themselves together and save it? More importantly, will they save themselves? This entertaining tale is a ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ for the twenty-first century and there’s plenty of comfort – and joy in that.
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freddie
member
Reged: 05/10/2008
Posts: 2
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Having just seen the film The Duchess I wanted to read the book. It is a great book packed with so much more than the film could ever take on. Even though you may have seen the film the book is well worth tackling and has loads of historical quotes and extracts from letters etc. It is a truly amazing story of a lady ahead of her time and obvious comparisons to the Princess of Wales - diana must be in your mind. She was a lady who wanted to be herself in a time when that was not possible. Do read it as so much better than the film although I thoroughly enjoyed that.
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freddie
member
Reged: 05/10/2008
Posts: 2
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Tess of the D'Urbevilles is a truly great read. well all of Thomas Hardy books are but this one will enrapture you all the way through with Tess. also extra inspiring if you have seen the BBC production recently. As usual the book is far better and fuller with the haracters being larger than life. A real page turner you cannot fail to enjoy.
Edited by freddie (05/10/2008 19:11)
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Ginnie
member
Reged: 24/06/2008
Posts: 1061
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
This is a sensitively written book for older children. It is about two boys, who are exactly the same age, on either side of the fence at Auschwitz.
The story is seen through the eyes of Bruno, a German boy, who has to relocate to Poland when his father is promoted by Hitler. He feels that his situation is equal to Shmuel's, a Jewish prisoner, as they are both in places they don't want to be. The end for the friends is shocking.
All ages will learn from this book and parents should read it before giving it to children.
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