Category: Wenvoe Page Turners

 

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

The Doughty Family lives on the oddly named Scribbly Gum Island, a short ferry ride from Sydney Australia, and so called after the Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus trees that grow there.

The Island and the family becomes famous because 70 years previously, teenage sisters Connie and Rose Doughty had found an abandoned baby girl whose parents Alice and Jack Munro had mysteriously vanished. It created a media sensation which captivated Australians, and turned sleepy Scribbly Gum Island into a tourist attraction offering guided tours, cream teas, souvenirs and a carnival atmosphere. In time both Rose and the baby, who had been named Enigma, get married and have children and eventually grandchildren. The dynasty which becomes very wealthy but rather inward looking is held on a tight reign by matriarch Connie. The scene changes when Connie dies and bequeaths her beautiful home to Sophie Honeywell, an outsider, who she had met just twice. Family infighting starts and traditions begin to unravel.

The book was given a high score and enjoyed by one member. Another thought it readable and interesting as alongside the saga of the unconventional Doughty Clan, Moriarty allows us a peep into their thoughts, fantasies and secrets, giving us a somewhat surreal understanding of their characters.

However, this was not the opinion of the majority of the group who variously claimed it to be boring, written for teenagers, compared to an Enid Blyton children’s adventure story, naïve, rubbish, lightweight, predictable, with characters floating around disconnectedly. The average score was a miserable of 3 out of 10.

The evening was sweetened with a lovely fresh raspberry tart.

 

 

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

by Rachel Joyce

Rachel Joyce first introduces Queenie Hennessy in her debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, when Queenie writes to her old friend Harold, with whom she has had no contact for 20 years, telling him that she is dying of cancer. Harold replies that he is coming to see her and embarks upon a 600 mile journey on foot.

Following the success of that novel, Rachel Joyce had the brilliant concept that Queenie’s character and story had not been fully portrayed and thus, the book she describes as a companion novel was written.

Queenie tells her story of life and death as she awaits Harold’s arrival, whilst being cared for in a nursing home in Berwick upon Tweed run by nuns. She recounts her life with portraits of her childhood and her days as a Classics Scholar in University. When taking a new job she meets Harold, a married man with whom she secretly falls in love. Queenie’s sudden departure following the tragic death of Harold’s son David, for which she partly blames herself, results in her journey to Berwick upon Tweed, where she lives for the next 20 years creating her Sea Garden.

Between these recollections of previous years, life in the hospice is brilliantly portrayed. We are enthralled by the characters of Queenie’s fellow patients and the nuns caring for them, including imaginary characters who were a manifestation of the morphine induced haze in which Queenie was living her final days.

The Page Turners all agreed that the book was well written and extremely descriptive although some enjoyed it more than others. Following what was generally considered a slow start, the majority found that we warmed to the story, which was sad, funny and thought provoking. The scores ranged from 6 to 8.5 and averaged out to a score of 7.

 

 

 

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Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

by Tom Franklin

Smalltown Mississippi in the 1970s sets the scene for this story of an unlikely friendship between two young lads, Silas and Larry. They are from very different backgrounds of class and race, and neither of them fits in with the locals. They form a special bond; but this is tragically fractured when a local girl disappears without trace. Larry is suspected; but in the absence of any evidence or confession he is not charged. Instead he lives the life of a recluse, always under suspicion, whilst Silas becomes the local constable.

Then, decades later, there is another disappearance.

Some of the Page Turners were impressed with the plot, and the insights into poverty and racism of 70s Mississippi life. Others of us felt the story to be weak.

Tom Franklin’s style of prose gives a good feeling of place and does capture the sights and sounds, smells and heat of the deprived little town.

However we Page Turners could not agree about this book, and our scores ranged between 2 and 8 (averaging approximately 5).

Some of us do recommend it as a good easy read.

 

 

 

 

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There was no set book this month so members had free rein, some more successful than others. The diverse choices ranged from:-

* The power of the dog by Thomas Savage ( a Vintage Classic ) – powerful.

* A Dictionary of Misunderstanding by Jackie Copleton. – Excellent

* Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford – Fascinating Autobiography

* Anna Karenina by Tolstoy – a Masterpiece

* Death of a Busybody by George Bellaris. (set in a small village!!!) – Typical goings on !!

 

All the above came highly recommended by the individual Page Turners.

There were however two books which were not favourably reviewed :

* The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton – why was this a Booker Prize Winner?

* The Fat chance Diet Book- A very light read

A stimulating evening was had discussing the merits and otherwise of all these books. So we are off to a good start for 2017.

 

 

 

 

"Cranford"

By  Elizabeth Gaskell

 

Page Turners were greeted with mincepies. Mulled wine and Buck’s Fizz to ensure plenty of Christmas spirit at the final meeting of 2016.

Less palatable however, was the book the group had been offered for December. To continue the foodie theme, it was not easily digested by the group and left a bitter taste in the mouth!

“Cranford “ is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer, Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in eight instalments, between December 1851 and May 1853 and was a popular novel at the time. There is no plot, rather a collection of satirical sketches portraying small town customs and values in mid Victorian England.

Only one member made their way through the whole book. Readers did not like having to constantly refer to the book notes and some thought it was a punishment to have to read it! The only positive comment on the book was that people thought it made you appreciate life today, instead of having the anxiety that surrounded women in the 1850’s who had to worry about their choice of bonnets!

No scores were given and it was not a recommended read.

When the discussion was over, the more important business of the discussing the merits of the Yule log and the Malteser Christmas pudding could continue.

The group can now turn their thoughts to the next book and more happy discussions in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie’s first novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” was published in 1920 and introduced a new literary character in the form of Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who became the central figure in more than 30 of her novels.

The unfolding story line is narrated by Captain Hastings, a guest of Emily Inglethorp, the owner of Styles. Hastings has pretentions of becoming a detective and solicits the help of his friend Poirot to resolve the mystery of the subsequent death of the owner. The book is thoroughly enjoyable with the introduction of several intriguing characters, a page turning plot with numerous clues and red herrings which kept the reading group guessing as to the murderer until the final denouement.

 

The prose is relatively naive with one or two unexplained clues emerging and all agreed that in our imaginations we continually saw Poirot as portrayed by the television actor David Suchet However this did not deter from our enjoyment of an easy and relaxing novel which was awarded an overall mark of 7.5 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Our novel “Persuasion” was written in 1815 and published in 1817 six months after Jane Austen’s death. It was her last novel, and is still in print.

Through the eyes of the heroine, Anne Elliot, we learn of the intricacies of domestic and family lives involving her family, their friends and relations. The Elliot’s who enjoy the status of landed gentry live in Kellynch Hall, and are having financial problems because of Sir Walter’s vanity and spiralling debts. They socialise with the Musgroves whose son, Charles, is married to Mary Elliot, Sir Walter’s youngest daughter. Anne enjoys the company of the untitled and warm friendly Musgroves and their two daughters Henrietta and Louisa. Sir Walter is forced to rent his estate to Admiral Croft and Mrs Croft the sister of Captain Frederick Wentworth, to whom Anne was briefly engaged eight years earlier. She was advised and persuaded to break the engagement with Wentworth who was a naval officer at that time and of a lower status. Something she later regretted.

All human emotions (love, sadness, worries, joys) are experienced by Anne’s observations of the landed gentry, the landowner, and the naval families.

Bookclub review:-

Settled comfortably, we took ourselves back to the eighteen hundreds. This was not difficult with the help of Jane Austen.

With the beautiful language and long descriptive sentences we found that we were forced to read slower than usual and with care at first, but it did not take long to picture the locations of the events whether in Lyme Regis, where the group enjoyed the sea breezes, or Bath for the socialising and shopping.

Anne’s meticulous observations soon made us familiar with the interesting characters. Ann’s father and her older sister who were so preoccupied with class and the ‘right connections’ were outrageous and almost the opposite of the warmth, wit and comic situations of the Musgroves and Croft families.

Love was in the air for the young but Anne’s was not blooming at all.

Almost all in the group thoroughly enjoyed this novel giving it a score of 9 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

 

Fiona Maye is a successful, middle aged, High Court Judge in the Family Court, requiring her to make decisions about children and families in crisis.

Fiona and Jack have been married for 39 years when she is confronted with his revelation that he is about to embark on an affair with a younger woman, even though he says he still loves her and wishes to remain within the marriage.

Whilst dealing with this emotional turmoil within her private life she becomes involved with a court case involving a 17 year old boy, Adam, who is a Jehovah’s Witness and is suffering with aggressive Leukaemia. The Consultant treating him in hospital wishes to administer an emergency blood transfusion which the boy and his family are refusing due to their religious beliefs. Her subsequent ruling has far reaching unforeseen consequences.

The following opinions were unanimous::-

 Concise but extremely well written by one of our leading authors.

 Thought provoking yet poignant.

 Highlights the power that Family Court Judges have over the lives of children and their families where decisions can have far reaching consequences.

 Interesting insight into the religious beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 Two strong story lines, one concerning the law and the other about personal relationships.

 A very good read enjoyed by all with a score of 9.

 

Additionally this month it was decided that each of The Page Turners would read a book of their choice. The chosen books are listed below, together with a brief review:

Where My Heart Used to Beat by Sebastia Faulks. – Tedious and uninspiring. Would not recommend.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises: by Fredrik Backman, Henning Koch. – A pleasant holiday read but would not particularly recommend.

The Fishing Fleet. Husband-Hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy. – Historically well researched with some interesting parts but mostly boring. Would not recommend.

Oliver Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout. (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction) – Interesting, funny and enjoyable. Would recommend.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. (New York Times no.1.bestselling novel.) – Very well written, intense but an easy and enjoyable read. Would recommend.

Eagles by Cynthia Harrod – Well written but a light and easy read. Would recommend.

The Past by Tessa Hadley – A good summer read. Would recommend.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. – Historically well researched and paired with a good fictional story line. A good read. Would recommend

 

 

by Mohsin Hamid

At a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man talks with an uneasy American stranger. As the sun moves across the sky and shadows become darker, he begins the tale that brought them to this ominous meeting. This is a first- person novel where the narrator, Changez, establishes an enticing and gripping hold on the reader as he reveals his life story to this American.

We learn that Changez is a highly educated Pakistani who was top of his class at Princeton in America. He worked as a financial analyst for the prestigious firm of Underwood Samson in New York. But after a disastrous love affair and in the wake of September 11 Changez finds his position in his adopted country is not viable and he returns disenchanted to Pakistan..

Opinions by the Page Turners were unanimous.

 An eerie quite powerful story.

 There is a menace there and something is about to happen, and soon..

 It was an exciting novel written well and containing good language.

 There is tension as the novel unfolds and keeps the reader guessing and gives the novel depth and power.

 It was a seriously good book.

 The author has captured a particular reality.

 A great read.

 

It was good to have a book at last that everybody in the group felt was a good read, and one that we would recommend. The score was a 9.