On the day Diana marries James, he is recalled into service as a WWII fighter pilot and is then lost, presumed dead. 10 years later Diana hears a voice she thought she would never her again. It takes a while for the story to be build up and then it is suddeny over. I enjoyed the story, but there was a not a lot of depth to it, a quick read.
Month: September 2019
Lincoln in the bardo by George Saunders
I can see why people struggle with Lincoln in the Bardo; there were 166 narrators for the audiobook, and lots of references to historical texts. In the Georgetown cemetery dwell the former people who are not willing to move on, who think they will recover and return to where they were before, until young Willie Lincoln arrives. What follows is, indeed, bizarre, but it is also funny, profound, and moving with characters so endearing, their journeys so touching. I loved it.
The malice of waves by Mark Douglas-Home
After a bit of a slow start, or perhaps an uncomfortable one, I ended up enjoying this book. Cal MacGill is an expert on the ocean, and uses his knowledge to solve mysteries. In this case, which can be read without reading the earlier books, though they are referred to, a boy went missing on an island, five years ago, and his father is convinced of foul play. Atmospheric Scottish setting, small town secrets, and an intriguing mystery, along with likeable main characters, made this an enjoyable read. I would read more in the series.
The secret life of Luke Livingstone by Charity Norman
Covering a tough subject this story was written in a beautiful non-confronting and sympathetic voice. Luke had been living a lie all his life and when he makes the decision to live as he was meant to be – a woman – it has implications for his mother, wife, children, grandchildren, coworkers and friends. Luke needed courage to live the life he needed to, and it was the small kind words and actions from others that helped so much.
In pieces by Sally Field
I’m not quite if the right age to have grown up watching Gidget, or The Flying Nun, and really all I can remember watching her in is Steel Magnolias, which I loved. It can be risky to read any sort of biography about a person you are very attached to, or feel you know, and that not being the case, I was free to find Sally Field’s story fascinating. It isn’t a happy story, her childhood contained horrors, and she struggled a lot as an adult, too, but it is hopeful, and redemptive, as well as an eye-opening look at the realities of show business, and how complicated relationships can be.
The broken bridge by Philip Pullman
Ginny is sixteen, and lives with her widowed father in Wales. Her father is white, and her mother was Haitian, and Ginny is just beginning to grapple with her own identity one summer, when a series of events turn her life upside down. It’s about identity, art, secrets, and family, and has plenty of teenaged angst. I enjoyed the story and the narration (Welsh accents), but it didn’t enthral me as His Dark Materials, or the beginnings of The Book of Dust did.
The pool house by Tasmina Perry
Tension steadily builds in this mystery story – what really happened before Alice was found drowned in the pool of the Hamptons holiday house. It is a story of people who are always trying to go one better, to move up the social ladder, to always want more. Suffice to say this does not go well for anyone. A great weekend read.
Stone country by Nicole ALexander
Ross Grant is a man who has to do a lot of living to come to terms with his life. The story is set against the harsh landscape of the Northern Territory and was a fascinating read. I did not feel much sympathy for Ross, but this did not affect my enjoyment of the story – I had to keep reading and see this character and his relationships develop. A tale worth reading till the end.
The diary of a bookseller by Shaun Bythell
For bookish people, the idea of running a bookshop is something of a dream; kind of like running a cafe for people who enjoy baking. The reality, of course, doesn’t quite live up to the imagination. Shaun Bythell runs The Bookshop, for second-hand books, in Wigtown, Scotland. It’s often freezing, the part-time staff are eccentric, the customers frustrating, and the changing industry, worrying. Bythell is an amusing curmudgeon, and the day to day details of second-hand book selling are fascinating. He isn’t a fan of librarians, for very narrow, retail-related reasons, and, understandably, is far more concerned with the business of books, than their power in people’s lives, but on the whole this is a funny, heart-warming, and eye-opening year in the life of a small town Scottish bookseller.
The humans by Matt Haig
The Humans begins with the death of Cambridge mathematics professor, Andrew Martin, and the arrival of an alien who impersonates him, in order to destroy all evidence of his recent, stupendous, mathematical discovery. The alien’s discovery of how humans live, what motivates them, and gives their lives meaning, is hilarious, insightful, moving, and life-affirming. The audio version is very well done.
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