Category: Wenvoe Page Turners

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“The Fortune Men” by Nadifa Mohammed

The Fortune Men portrays life in the racial, cultural hub of Cardiff’s Tiger Bay in the early fifties. It centres on the plight of a Somali man, Mahmood Mattan, who finds himself on trial for the murder of a local shopkeeper.

Mahmood is a chancer, a father and a petty criminal who is innocent of the crime, but as the local paper of the day described, “Almost within a stone’s throw in which he lived in Cardiff, Mahmood Mattan was executed…” He was the last man to be hung in Cardiff prison. Many years later, the conviction and execution of Mahmood became the first miscarriage of justice case ever investigated by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and in 1998 Mahmood was exonerated by the Court of Appeal.

Nadifa Mohammed, whose father knew Mahmood, is herself a British Somali and seems well placed to write Mahmood’s story. Nadifa manages to paint a credible picture of life and the events in the 50’s that led to the wrongful conviction of Mahmood for the murder of a white woman just because of the colour of his skin. It is a story of racism, discrimination, police corruption, conspiracy and cruelty.

The Page Turners thought it was an important story that needed telling, as racism remains an issue today, and on a regular basis there seem to be reports of miscarriages of justice when wrongly convicted people are freed.

Many book club members thought the writing style and language used was difficult, especially when there were many words in foreign languages that were not translated. Some felt that sentences and

descriptions were overly long and descriptive passages tedious to read. Some readers did not like the fictionalised account of this historical event and would have preferred to read a biography of Mahmood.

Everyone agreed it was an important event that needed to be told; the discussion was mainly around the telling. Have a read and judge for yourself! The Page Turners average score was 6.5!

 

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, red roses for love.. But for Victoria Jones it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After her childhood spent in the foster care system she finds she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. The story follows Victoria’s blossoming into adult life as she haphazardly learns to trust and be trusted, to love and be loved.

This book was well received by the majority of us. It was agreed that the effects of the care system upon young people was very well understood (the author had herself been a foster parent). Victoria’s difficulty emerging into independent life was palpable; we wanted her to succeed in life.

The history of flowers and their changing language was beautifully versed. The inclusion in the book of a dictionary of flowers and their language made for fascinating study, although there was disappointment when favourite flowers of our own turned out to have negative attributes (eg sunflower: false riches, yellow rose: infidelity) There was relief by most that the book ended on an optimistic yet realistic note. This enjoyable book scored an average of 7/10.

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“Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight “- An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

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Alexandra Fuller gives an insight into growing up within a dysfunctional family in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe at the time of the bush wars. She tells us about her experiences – many of which are harrowing. She gives details of an unruly and chaotic life; her mother was an emotionally remote woman, who was eventually diagnosed with manic depression. However, the author tells her story with humour and honesty and her memoirs are fascinating. It does include references to the family’s racism and their attitude to the black community in which they were living.

Most of the group felt that the book was well written and that the author recalled her childhood memories in detail. We talked about the lives of the family and the author’s relationship with other family members. A few of our group had lived as ex-pats in African countries and this led to a full discussion about their experiences while living there. It was generally felt, however, that although Fuller had lived with and

accepted apartheid as a child, she made no reference in the book to it being unacceptable now that she is an adult and living in another country. The book received mixed reviews from the group and these views were reflected by our overall scoring a of 6/10.

 

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“The Songbirds” By Christy Lefteri

Nisha is from Sri Lanka. She is a nanny/domestic help in Nicosia, sending money home to support her daughter. Nisha has disappeared and her story is written through the eyes of her lover Yannis, and her employer Petra. Petra struggles being a mother to Aliki with whom Nisha has a strong loving bond. Yannis adores Nisha, but we uncover his secret life of hunting and trapping of songbirds, a delicacy at wealthy tables.

This beautiful book provoked a lively discussion, particularly about modern day slavery. All of us would recommend it even though the subject matter was quite harrowing. It was written in compassionate and eloquent language and this compelling novel scored a unanimous 9.

Our meeting concluded with delicious homemade strawberry ice cream. Thank you, Helen

 

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“The Lake of Dreams” by Kim Edwards

This book tells the story of Lucy’s homecoming to New York State a decade after her father’s unresolved death. Family secrets are uncovered, past passions rekindled and an heirloom tapestry and fascinating stained glass designs all contribute to a reconfiguring of her family history.

We Page Turners made widely varying comments about this novel. Some said it did nothing for them whilst others enjoyed the unfolding mystery and interesting characters. More negatives included “storyline too coincidental”, “superficial”, “ boring”. Positives included “ an easy read” “believable” “ a pleasant leisure time read”.

We universally agreed that the subjects of glass-blowing and stained glass design were very well researched and described as were the insights into the American suffrage movement.

We scored between three and nine out of ten, and agreed to differ!

 

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Apeirogon by Colum McCann

This novel brought out many different emotions from the group. The book is based on a true story of a friendship of two men – an Israeli and a Palestinian – who were brought up to hate each other’s race but who were united by the grief of the killing of their daughters in the Israel / Palestine conflict by the opposite side. It shows how the two men are now journeying together, because of their grief, and striving to find the road to a peaceful future.

The book has a large number of stories weaving through it and describes the limitations under which both sides live daily, both emotionally and physically. It is written in 1001 chapters; some are only one single sentence long and some of the group felt it took a while to get used to this fragmented structure. The group’s opinion was divided about the book itself, with some members describing it as beautifully written, very creative and a wondrous read which had them thinking deeply about all aspects of it. Other members, whilst acknowledging the skill of the author in his writing and research, felt it was a very harrowing and difficult book to read and that some of descriptions were given in graphic detail.

It is a hard hitting and powerfully written book and the group were divided in recommending it; some recommended it very highly and others recommended it only to those people who had done some research before starting it. The groups average score for the book was 7.

 

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While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart

Nobody had time to sleep at the latest Page Turners meeting as the latest novel was vociferously discussed.

The book is set in two timelines, 1944 and 1953, and tells the story of a baby given away by a mother as she boards the train to Auschwitz and the consequences of this action.

Some people thought the Holocaust section of the book was dealt with in a “shallow” and “trivial “manner. Others thought the book was “banal” and “unbelievable ” with characters that could not be related to. Most people finished the book, and wanted to see how the moral and emotional dilemma at the core of the book, would end. No spoilers here…you will have to read the book! However, with scores ranging from 7 to 2, and an average of 4.5, you will be reading a book not received with huge plaudits by the Page Turners!

 

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About Grace by Anthony Doerr

 

This is the author’s first novel.

David Winkler is 59 and is going home for the first time after 25 years. He has been a lover, a husband, a father and a hydrologist. Since he was a child he has been plagued by premonitions. In one he dreamt of a flood; dreamt that he failed to save his baby, Grace, and so left before he had to see it happen. The consequences of this decision marks the rest of David’s life, first as an exile on a Caribbean island, then as an old man, come back to Alaska to find his daughter. Throughout he is determined to photograph the ephemeral beauty of snowflakes.

We had all read All the Light We Cannot See, one of the author’s later books. We loved this and found About Grace what we can only describe as a ‘let down’ and a disappointment. We didn’t warm to David as a character, he seemed fickle and strange in his decision making.

There was some wonderful prose describing the warmth of the Caribbean and the incredible cold of Alaska. The Aurora Borealis with its ‘shivering emeralds and blues trimmed with red, jade, violets and an eerie green’ But this prose was so protracted and went on and on. Just how many ways can you describe a snowflake, we asked ourselves!

The score for this book was one of our lower ones, a 5, and we were unanimous in not recommending it as a good read.

 

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Snap by Belinda Bauer

On a stifling summer’s day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. ‘Jack’s in charge,’ she said. ‘I won’t be long.’

But she doesn’t come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed for ever.

Three years later, mum-to-be Catherine wakes to find a knife beside her bed, and a note that says: I could have killed you.

Meanwhile Jack is still in charge of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure nobody knows they’re alone in the house, and – quite suddenly – of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother.

 

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But the truth can be a dangerous thing …

A taut, suspenseful new novel from award-winning thriller author Belinda Bauer in which a woman being menaced by a knife-wielding home invader is connected to a string of burglaries in a quaint bedroom community, and the brutal murder that left three children motherless three years before.

The group scored an average of 7 for this quirky and well written thriller. Overall, it was described as an easy, enjoyable read.

There were a number of threads which initially some found quite confusing but it was interesting to see how these all came together at the end. Good descriptions of characters and environments in the story although there were also a number of unrealistic situations. A number of the group would recommend it to others to read

 

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Welsh Government Covid restrictions meant the Page Turners had their first meeting of 2022 outdoors. The group gathered under unbelievably blue skies and strolled towards Watchtower Bay. Whilst sitting on the wall in the winter sun, the group were invited to comment on books they had received from Secret Santa at the Christmas meeting.

Nicola thought her Christmas in Wales, by Dewi Roberts had some diverse material but wouldn’t recommend it as a Page Turners monthly read.

Diane was enjoying the intense Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles but recommended reading it in small sections.

Jill’s House of Windows by Barbara Newhall Follett required a huge suspension of belief…and a

belief in fairies. The author wrote the book when she was 12…what were you writing when you were 12?

A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins was Helen’s selection and highly recommended this account of the British penal system.

A Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards was a novel Jenny couldn’t get into.

May’s gift of the Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell was hugely interesting to May, especially how the author attempted to describe why the Danish are amongst the happiest people in the world!

Lynne found Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed an enjoyable read based on the Tempest.

Babs book, Snap by Belinda Bauer was selected by the group as their next monthly read…so more details will follow in next month’s What’s On!!

Sandra was happy to have received The Survivors by Jane Harper, a novel set in Tasmania, which she considered a good read.

Is there a book in this list you would have liked to have received from Secret Santa? Santa certainly had a very diverse choice in his sack!

Happy reading in 2022.

 

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.  Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A life Unstrung

By Min Kym

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At 7 years old Min Kym was a prodigy, the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music. At 11 she won her first international prize. She worked with many violins, waiting for the day she would play ‘the one’. At 21 she found it: a rare 1696 Stradivarius, perfectly suited to her build and temperament. Her career soared. She recorded the Brahms concerto, and a world tour was planned. Then, in a train station café, her violin was stolen. In an instant her world collapsed. She descended into a terrifying limbo land, unable to play another note.

This is Min’s extraordinary story of a young woman staring into the void, wondering who she was, who she had been. It is a story of isolation and dependence, of love, loss and betrayal, and the intense, almost human bond that a musician has with their instrument. Above all it’s a story of hope through a journey back to music.

This is a book that most of the group said they would not have read if it hadn’t been recommended by a musician in the group. Having said that, there was overwhelming praise for the book despite over half saying that they found it full of sadness and loss – the violin, her childhood, the lack of a paternal presence in her life – with many gaps and things unsaid in relation to Min’s family and her recovery from depression. Many felt they were left with questions after finishing the book.

There was some discussion about whether the pressures Min was put under to play and excel, her acquiescence with male domineering figures in her life might have been in some part due to her cultural background. It was agreed that the book was brilliantly written and gave a fascinating insight into the relationship between a musician and her instrument, the life of a musical prodigy and solo performer. The book may well have been written as a cathartic process for Min coming to terms with her loss.

Average score 8.

It was interesting to learn that many musicians are always self critical of their own performance and that for musicians, music always comes first.

Many thanks to our host for the toasty warm fire and cakes!

 

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