Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
With daughter Blair away in Peru, ignoring Christmas seems like a good idea to Luther and Nora Krank. Why spend all that money for just one day when they could be enjoying a Caribbean cruise instead? So they set about telling everyone that they won’t be doing Christmas this year. Eyebrows are raised, heads are shaken and scowls exchanged. The Krank house sits dismal and lonely amongst the twinkling lights and plastic snowmen in the neighbourhood. Of course, all comes right in the end in this unashamedly schmaltzy story. Not Grisham’s usual gritty courtroom drama, but a funny, feelgood fable.
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aliirv
member
Reged: 15/05/2007
Posts: 245
Loc: northern ireland
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The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Told in flashback by Grace in 1999, we follow the story of the Hartfield sisters Hannah and Emmeline during the 1st World War and into the 1920's. Aged 14, Grace starts working for the family as a housemaid and forms a strong attachment to them. We know at the outset of the book that the sisters are witnesses to the suicide of a young war poet one summer evening. The slowly meandering story takes us from Graces early days as a servant to the final shocking truth about that hot, summer night. This is a delightful book which brings the class system of the early 20th century alive, whilst always reminding us of the impending tragedy.
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Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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The Perfect Summer by Juliet Nicolson
Industrial strikes and the possibility of war did nothing to stop the hedonistic upper classes from enjoying the uninterrupted sunshine of summer 1911. While they revelled in the celebrations surrounding the coronation of George V, the working classes sweated in the heat to cater to their whims. The thoughts of a Queen and a butler, a debutante and a trade unionist conspire to give us an insight into what was a perfect summer for some, but less so for others. Funny as well as informative, this is a smashing read!
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sallyj
member
Reged: 10/12/2006
Posts: 71
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Anybody Out There? By Marian Keyes
Reading Marian Keyes' ‘Anybody Out There?’ is like drinking a pint of Guinness; light froth on the top but immensely satisfying beneath.
Join Irish ex-pat Anna in the glitzy world of New York cosmetics PR as she attempts to contact her beloved absent husband, Aidan, and struggles to live without him.
Stir in a mad private detective sister and a dose of air guitar and watch the bubbles rise. Drop in Anna’s raw anguish at Aidan’s silence and plumb the depth of black emotion that a sudden separation brings.
This book will make you laugh, cry and reflect.
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Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepulveda
Recommended to me by another Book Club member, this novella is an uplifting read. Short as it is, it has many facets, telling the tale of an old man living in the Amazonian jungle. Although almost illiterate, Antonio adores love stories and laboriously reads the romantic novels given to him. His life is, however, turned upside down when he is forced to hunt a jaguar which has turned into a man killer after her cubs have been savagely and needlessly murdered. I loved this wonderfully haunting fable that is as sweet as it is bitter.
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Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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My Lover’s Lover by Maggie O’Farrell
Can’t decide what kind of books you like? Try this! Part ghost story, part love story, part psychological drama, part tale of deceit and betrayal, all these elements coming together to make an engrossing read. Does Lily imagine the ghostly presence of Marcus’s ex-girlfriend, Sinead, when she moves into his flat? Why is flatmate Aidan so uncommunicative and sullen? What is the truth about Sinead? Was she murdered? Is Marcus’s professed love for Lily real? What is the secret that Aidan is keeping from Lily? This atmospheric story twists and turns in myriad ways, luring you to a stunning conclusion.
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Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
But for a blizzard on the night that Norah Henry gave birth to twins, many lives would have been different. Norah’s surgeon husband, David, delivers the babes, a healthy boy and Phoebe, who has Down’s syndrome. Appalled, he begs nurse Caroline Gill to take the tiny girl to an institution and leave her there, telling Norah that the baby died. Caroline, unwilling to abandon Phoebe, raises her as her own. Not until Phoebe is an adult does Norah learn that her daughter did not die. A remarkable story of how lives may be changed by the simple falling of snow.
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Sealover
member
Reged: 31/08/2006
Posts: 1271
Loc: Devon
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Over by Margaret Forster
This is the story of a family unravelling when they should be drawn together. Miranda, the 18-year-old daughter of Don and Louise, twin to Molly and older sister of Finn, is drowned in a sailing accident. Determined that someone must be held culpable, Don abandons his career in an obsessive search for details of the boat in which Miranda died and the reasons why she, an inexperienced sailor, was alone at sea. While Louise and her children deal with Miranda’s death in their own ways, the family is torn apart by Don’s fixation. This powerful chronicle of love, grief and loyalty is both moving and thought provoking.
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DebbieWhite
member
Reged: 07/09/2007
Posts: 7
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The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Pan priced at £7.99)
A beautifully written story which follows the life of Grace, a young girl in service as a housemaid. Duty, self sacrifice and loyalty give way to secrets and despair as we are transported from 1999, the present, back to the early 1900s, the devastating Great War years and then to the decadent 1920s. With overtones of Gosford Park, Kate Morton captures the mood of English society in the early 20th century taking the reader through wonderful scenes of garden parties, debutante balls and staid dinner parties. Atmospheric and gripping with the final secret revealed on the very last page. Brilliant!
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saragrland
member
Reged: 14/10/2007
Posts: 2
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review - the irresistible inheritance of Wilberforce
This intriguing book chronicles the life of a somewhat isolated and complex individual from present to past. It manages to cleverly depict from the character’s perspective what it is like to live with the ill effects of alcohol addiction, which is novel, insightful and impressive. Whilst the first part of the book is inspiring and compulsive reading, during the middle chapters the book struggles to provide enough new and discerning information about the characters and past situations to keep you as hooked as at the outset; but it does offer a ménage of eccentric characters, flawed relationships and captures how an person’s future can turn out far different than as expected. Once finished it will also leave you with some food for thought about the way we live our lives in general.
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Susiesue
member
Reged: 16/10/2007
Posts: 14
Loc: Cardiff
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This thought provoking book leads us on an endearing, emotional journey. We travel through what might some think of as an unconventional heaven. Eddie 83, died heroically trying to saving a young girl from a fairground accident.
Arriving in heaven he is met by five people, who had not obviously crossed his path but have definitely influenced the pattern his life took.
Each interaction is transfixing, you're eager to continue the journey to the final destination and outcome.
Moved to tears, unable to put the book down, it made me reassess my life and the possible outcomes of any actions
From
Susan Lang
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Nameless
member
Reged: 21/10/2007
Posts: 5
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The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw
This unusual story is the first novel by Tash Aw. Set in Malaya around the 1940s, it concerns Johnny Lim, who rises from humble beginnings to a position of power and influence. He marries a woman called Snow, who dies giving birth to a son, Jasper.
The first part is written by Jasper, who has a low opinion of Johnny;apparently he committed many terrible crimes. The second part is a diary kept by Snow before she died: in this we see a completely different picture. The final part, by their mutual friend Peter, makes everything clear at last.
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waterbaby
member
Reged: 23/08/2006
Posts: 42
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The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
This is a light easy read following the setting up of a knitting club. We learn of the women's lives, hopes and dreams and see them come to fruition. A lesson in the comradeship of women, good times and bad, support and trust. Brave Georgia who owns the knitting shop while bringing up her daughter. Cat, her schoolfriend, from years past who reappears Darwin who cannot knit. Anita with her words of wisdom. All different ages, all with their own problems, all being there for each other.
A different version of the Supper Club perhaps.
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lynne
member
Reged: 13/03/2006
Posts: 937
Loc: The Far North Of England
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Relentless. Simon Kernick
This pacey thriller hooked me on page one. It’s a breakneck speed read with more twists and turns than the final of Strictly Come Dancing.
Decent, law abiding John Merron receives a phone call from a friend, screaming for help. The last words he hears are his home address.
He scoops up his children and runs from the house not knowing that within minutes he will be hurtled into a world of violence. He will be very lucky to escape with his life…and where is his wife?
This book should come with a health warning.
Pick up this book late at night and sleep becomes unimportant. I stayed awake until 3 am to finish it and could not put it down.
Even if George Clooney had been giving me a foot massage I probably wouldn’t have noticed !
This would be an exciting distraction from Christmas preparations. I am definitely asking Santa for Simon Kendrick’s other books.
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VickiH
member
Reged: 31/10/2007
Posts: 12
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Anyone but him, Sheila O'Flanagan
What would you do if your mother came home from a cruise with more than a tan to remember the holiday by? That's the question 2 sisters are left pondering when their Mother returns home, complete with a toy boy in tow. What does he want? Money? Somewhere to live? Surely he has an alterior motive?
The sisters set out to dig through his past, convinced they'll find a way to get rid of him. After all, anyone would be more suitable as a potential step father than him... anyone but him...
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tizliz
member
Reged: 02/11/2007
Posts: 1
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Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Though all Terry Pratchett books can be read as stand alone books you will enjoy this one more if you have read Going Postal where Moist von Lipwig given another chance uses his wiles as a con man to save the post office. Now he is ‘persuaded’ to do the same for the banking system.
There are all the usual jokes, vampires, werewolves, assassin’s guild but this series of books (Raising Taxes is next) is not as good as his witches books even though he does include the unseen university as he needs the advice of a dead wizard.
There is the usual sub-plot of having a dig at society i.e. that the banking system runs on trust and can be easily toppled (very topical).
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sallyj
member
Reged: 10/12/2006
Posts: 71
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Can Any Mother Help Me? Jenna Bailey
This book tells the true story of a group of lonely but intelligent mothers from across England, who formed the 1930s equivalent to the Woman and Home internet forums.
The Cooperative Correspondence Club was a private magazine to which all the women contributed and it was circulated by post as a ‘round robin’.
Within this supportive network the women discussed everything from childbirth to war and eventually, widowhood and old age. Through sharing the details of their lives they became close and started to meet up whenever possible.
A collection of ordinary yet compelling stories that deserves to be read.
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jose01
member
Reged: 10/11/2007
Posts: 1
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Murder Most Fab by Julian Clary
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was well written, but a little risque, well quite a lot risque, not for people who are likely to be embarrassed. Not my usual kind of read.
Its about a male prostitute Johnny Debonair living with a female prostitute and she encourages him to murder. (I know what an odd combination.) The first murder was because the gentleman he was servicing claimed he had Cancer and wanted to end his life. Unfortunately this claim was untrue, it then goes on to other murders to cover tracks, but in the end he cannot get away with it.
It is well worth a read. I did not buy this book, it was loaned to me.
I would be encouraged to buy another book written by Julian Clary and felt this first attempt at being an author was very good.
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Bobby
member
Reged: 17/11/2007
Posts: 1
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The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
A young girl is murdered and spends many years watching the activities of her former life as 'life' moves on. The book shares my theory on heaven, basically there are different 'planes' and you do what you do best! Wonder how many of 'us' identify with Franny!
Had the same kind of feeling as the 'chicken soup for the...' books - or 'Doris Stokes' books. Tugged on the heart strings that the cosmic balance is inevitable ... like the cable show 'touched by an angel' it gives the same 'pit of the stomach' understanding.
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BC41
member
Reged: 05/11/2006
Posts: 226
Loc: England
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On Writing - Stephen King
If you're turned off by horror and gore, you may not read this book because it's by SK. Shame. You're missing out on an excellent book which not only contains practical tips for writers but also a brief biography which explains his love of the dark. It also details the accident that nearly killed one of the world's most popular authors, and how his love of the written word kept him going. Fascinating.
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