Sometimes the blurb of a book can be a tad off putting. I remember when I first became aware of Wild : a journey from lost to found a few years ago. It became very popular at the library and we had a fair few requests for it. But the description did absolutely nothing for […]
I read this because it was my bookclub selection for March. I am afraid that it certainly was not my cup of tea. It appeared to be set in modern times, but the attitudes of the people seemed to belong in the fifties. Or maybe little England really is like that? If so I despair […]
translated by Michael Hofman Given all the tragedy, destruction, and horrors of World War II I don’t often stop to consider what life was like for “normal people” under the Nazis. But of course Hitler was a dictator and a tyrant, the Nazis were made up of people who supported him and his rise to […]
The French trilogy ; 2 Set before, during, and after World War 1 Birdsong tells the story of a young Englishman. Staring before the war in France where he starts a passionate affair with a married woman. There is a jump in time and we meet Stephen in the trenches, and that storyline is then […]
This book. I just. Okay, to start with I wasn’t sure I was even going to finish it. Tomás and his fridged wife and his walking backwards. And his troubles with the car. But midway through his story it seemed to click with me and I really started to enjoy it. In a way I […]
I started reading this book because my book club chose it. I don’t think that I would have picked it up based on the blurb. And at first I thought that I wouldn’t like it at all. I found Eleanor irritating and annoying, and the way she was written didn’t make me interested in finding […]
Where to start talking about this book? Well, I didn’t get off to a great start with it, because something about it style of writing just didn’t agree with me. And then in chapter three someone was described as having an “Asian accent”, and that threw me out of the book as I wondered what […]
Detective Lottie Parker Book 1 When a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair […]
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written […]
Imagine a room. Eleven feet by eleven. Bed. Bath. Wardrobe. Table. Chair. Rocker. Stove. Television. No windows. Only Skylight. Door is locked. Always. Imagine this is your home. The only home you’ve ever known. Meet Jack. It’s his birthday. He’s five. Jack lives in Room with Ma. Jack has never been Outside. I’ve been meaning […]
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; mother of two Brid Riordan hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste. So when human remains are discovered on […]