A great historical novel based on the resettlement of Jewish refugees to Shanghai during World War II. I was amazed at how the human spirit can still shine in the most horrendous of situations. The descriptions of life in Shanghai were rich, with food featuring. The modern part of the dual storyline had a few unbelievable coincidences, but I could forgive the author as they made the story flow. I enjoyed the story, particularly learning about this unknown (to me) part of history.
Month: November 2018
In the woods by Tana French
When he was twelve, Adam Ryan went into the local wood with his friends, and something most terrible happened. His friends were never seen again, and Adam couldn’t remember a thing. Years later, Adam is called Rob and he is on the Dublin Murder Squad when a girl is found murdered in the same wood. I really enjoyed this story about two crimes, of course, but also about friendship, childhood and the mess we can make of relationships. It has a delightful Irishness to it, and the ending isn’t too neat.
Never mind by Edward St Aubyn
I revelled in the language, even if what it described was rarely lovely. Never Mind is one day in the life of the Melrose family and two sets of their friends. David Melrose is an extraordinarily cruel husband and father, Eleanor, a drunk to escape her reality, and five year old Patrick is trying to navigate his confusing world. It’s a deliciously nasty slice of British wealth, and snobbery, with some foreign viewpoints to critique this world of loathing. A fascinating visit; I wouldn’t want to live there.
Mockingbird songs by R.J. Ellory
A slow burning thriller with an undertone of menace throughout. A story of small town USA and broken families. Henry is released from prision and is asked to deliver a letter to his cell mate’s daughter. Through alternating chapters we follow Henry’s story of keeping his promise to deliver the letter and the story of Evan (his ex cell mate) and his brother Carson and what the contents of that letter may reveal. Loved this format of storytelling as the stories, secrets and carnage are exposed.
Shetland – Season 3
Wall to wall Scottish accents, the most gorgeous scenery (in Norway as well as Shetland), and a couple of complex mysteries to be solved over the whole season by a detective who isn’t dysfunctional – Shetland is my happy place. I might try one of the books next!
My year of rest and relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
A young, beautiful, wealthy, young woman lives an enviable life in New York City, but is miserable, so, with the help of her crazy psychiatrist, decides to enter drug induced sleep for a year, in the hope she will feel better. Quirky, horrid, funny and terribly black, this won’t be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.
Siracusa by Delia Ephron
I raced through this psychological thriller, where four people look back at a disastrous holiday, telling the tale of what went wrong when two couples, one with a daughter, go on holiday together to Siracusa. It’s an intriguing, compelling, and creepy story about marriage, secrets, perceptions, and Americans abroad.
The bookshop of the broken hearted by Robert Hillman
In 1960s rural Australia, kind and gentle farmer, Tom, wife has left him again, this time taking the young boy Tom raised, though the child wasn’t his. A glamorous older woman moves into town, a survivor of Auschwitz, determined to open a bookshop. Tom and Hannah find love, but making a new life is complicated. There is sweetness and humour here, and a lovely setting; I think it would make a popular movie. For me, there wasn’t enough character development, the villains were unconvincing (not the Nazis!) and I just wasn’t captured by this story.
The sisters’ song by Louise Allan
A heartbreaking family story. One sister wants a family she can’t have and another has a family she doesn’t want. The story is set in mid 20th century Tasmania and gives a glimpse into life at that time and the life choices women made. An enjoyable, but at times sad, read.
Mrs M by Luke Slattery
This is the story of Mrs Elizabeth MacQuarie, second wife of Lachlan MacQuarie, reformist Governor of New South Wales. The novel starts in Scotland at the end of Elizabeth’s story, not the beginning as you might imagine. So the story is a reflection of her journey and life in the colony and the shared dream of reform that Lachlan and Elizabeth planned when they came to Sydney.
This is a fictional account of historical figures and I am not sure of the reality of Elizabeth’s relationship with the architect who designed and built her famous ‘Chair’ at Sydney harbour. In the book her much older husband is often busy and distracted giving the younger architect the appeal that makes this story both romantic and intriguing. However there are personalities who wish to continue the brutal control that has been the norm of the colony , contradictory to the MacQuarie’s more benign influences which ultimately causes the downfall of the MacQuarie reign in the colonies.
rrlreads 