October’s book

 

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

This is a classic novel, written in 1868 and declared to be the first detective story. It is number 19 in the 100 best books on the Guardian list.

To quote Carolyn G Heilbrun from Goodreads. “The Moonstone unfolds its amazing story through the recounting of several narrators, all of them enticing and singular. Wilkie Collin’s spellbinding tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired a hugely popular genre – the detective mystery. Hanging on the theft of an enormous diamond originally stolen from an Indian shrine, the novel features the innovative Sgt Cuff, the hilarious house steward Gabriel Betteridge, a lovesick housemaid and a mysterious band of Indian jugglers.”

The majority of us thoroughly enjoyed it. Our descriptions were:- Each character really well drawn; intricate, fascinating with its old use of language; style of different narrators interesting. At times it felt too wordy and simplistic but the humour was good and the weaving of detail was excellent. There is a happy ending, always heartening. It has all the ingredients for a good read: wit, romance, theft, murder, a bit fanciful and lovely language.

There were 2 dissenters who felt their heart wasn’t in it, it was slow, verbose and difficult to get through to the end.

Our scores were mainly good, we had one 9, the overall score came out as 7. That is definitely a recommended read. The Moonstone was made into a film in 1934 and a BBC TV film was made in 1997 starring Greg Wise and Keeley Hawes so good reading or good viewing ahead!.

 



 

The Year of the Runaways

The Year of the Runaways
by Sanjeev Sahota

This Booker-short listed novel traces the lives of three Indian immigrants over a year.

The three young men, Tarlochan Kumar (Tochi), Avtar Nijjar and Randeep Sanghera, move into a house in Sheffield which is shared by numerous migrant workers. The fourth character in this story, Narinder Kaur, is a young British-raised devout Sikh girl, the visa-wife of Randeep, who moves separately into a flat in Sheffield. The author tells the story of each character’s past in India, the events that bring them to this country as immigrants and the struggle they then face in the daily fight for work, money and survival in England, as their lives become entwined.

The majority of the group agreed that the book is superbly written, simply expressed and a real page turner. It is thought provoking with clearly drawn characters and incidences. We are given good insights to Indian culture and the Sikh religion. Although the story-lines were tragic and moving at time, harsh details were not unduly dwelled upon. Unusually, the view was expressed that this is a book people need to read as it opens our eyes to a greater understanding of why people want to come to our country as immigrants.

One member of our group listened to this novel on Audio and expressed her delight at the way in which the background sounds really enriched the story and helped bring the culture alive.

However not all opinions were positive and a view that the book was depressing with continual hardships was also expressed. Additionally, it was agreed that a Glossary would be useful as the author has included many foreign words and phrases which were a bit daunting a times.

After a lively discussion the overall score was a positive 8 out of 10 and therefore a highly recommend.

The evening was pleasantly rounded off as we enjoyed tea, coffee and delicious snacks and cakes courtesy of Val.

 

 



 

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter

 

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jefferies.

We met on 8th August to discuss it, and for once our stars aligned and all ten of us were present!

We agreed that it was an amazing and captivating story, historical fiction maybe but we all learned a lot about French Indo-China in the early 1950s. Our average score for the book was 8 out of 10.

The book is set in Hanoi, Vietnam, in the early 50s and focuses on Nicole and her struggles with identity and belonging. With a French father and a (late) Vietnamese mother, Nicole has inherited her mother's looks so she is often called "métisse", something that makes her feel uncomfortable and out of place. Her older sister though has their father's looks and seems to be the preferred daughter. Nicole's self doubts only increase as the story unfolds and Vietnam becomes a very dangerous place. The French government is loosing its power as the nationalist Vietminh gain power and support. And soon, Nicole finds herself having to decide which side she is going to support.

Between all this turmoil, there's also space for romance. Early in the story, Nicole meets a dashing American that makes her heart flutter. But he seems to have many secrets and a special connection with her sister. So when an enthusiastic and persuasive young Vietnamese enters her life, she must decide, once more, which life she is going to choose.

The Silk Merchant's Daughter is a story with many layers. There's war but also love, betrayal but also forgiveness, doubts but also certainties. It captures perfectly what it means being part of two completely different cultures but not belonging to either. It's something that has made me think a lot and I'm sure this story will stay with us for a long tim

 

 

 



 

June Books Review

 

 

We had no set book this month, so we all chose a good read, some very successfully, others not quite so.

The one 10/10 was by Rohinton Mistry “A Fine Balance” – an exceptional novel about India during The Emergency. (We as a group had read this author’s “Family Matters” and had loved it)

Several highly recommended 9/10s:

 “Four Seasons in Rome, On Twins, Insomnia and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World” – a delightfully funny memoir by Anthony Duerr (chosen because of the group’s recent unanimous admiration of Duerr’s novel “All the Light we Cannot See”).

 “The Golden Hill” by Francis Spufford – rich in language and history. Compulsively readable.

 “Exposure” by Helen Dunmore – a spy come love story. Thoroughly enjoyable.

 “Human Croquet” by Kate Atkinson – a gripping surreal mystery. Wonderfully written.

 

A 7/10, and recommended.

 “The Reader on the 6.27” by Jean Paul Didierlaurent- a very enjoyable quirky read.

 “Murder at the Vicarage” by Agatha Christie – part of a mammoth task to read all Christie works. Enjoying so far…

 

Not quite such successful choices were:

 “The Power” by Naomi Alderman – (science fiction) not particularly enjoyed, nor recommended .

 “Death of an Avid Reader” by Francis Brodie – not enjoyed.

 

We return to concentrating on one book next month.

 

 



 

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay.

 

No Time for Goodbye is a "thriller" novel written by Canadian author Linwood Barclay.

Married and with a daughter of her own, it has been twenty five years since her family vanished without a trace but Cynthia Archer has never given up hope that they might one day all return and, as a result, has not been able to bring herself to move out of the town that she grew up in. Just in case. When a reality television show offers to go over the events of that fateful night, taking Cynthia back to her childhood home, she jumps at the chance. What if a television special jogs somebody's memory? What if her parents and brother are still alive and see it?

When the show airs and nothing more than a few cranks and side-show freaks come out of the woodwork, Cynthia begins to give in to despair. Then the 'messages' begin to appear, followed by strange phone calls and the feeling that she is very definitely being followed. Is this just a strange coincidence or could someone know something about that night? Is there someone shadowing Cynthia and her family or is she just so desperate to discover the truth, that her mind is playing tricks on her?

Points made by the group were:-

 This book does have some page turning quality, but any hint of excitement at the mystery unfolding was completely overshadowed by the terribly poorly executed and unbelievable narrative.

 There was no connection to the characters or their stories.

 The story is told by the husband, Terry and he is quite possibly the most uninteresting character. Dry, drab and monotone in his dialogue where any hint of feeling is executed in a cliche and considered fashion. There were points where it was exasperating because of the terrible writing, considering he was an English language teacher.

 What lies at the heart of the mystery is totally ridiculous and unbelievable.

 The tone slips. When Vince comes on stage, we move from creepiness to slapstick

 The reason the ending is surprising is because it's improbable not because it's surprising.

 

The storyline did, I suppose, have some merit as the book was finished by all members of the group despite the painful narrative. However nothing about it was actually believable. I understand thrillers often are not of the truthful nature, but I feel that no character was developed enough for the reader to understand motive or action. We only gave the book a 3 out of a possible10.

As usual we spent the remainder of the evening enjoying tea, coffee and cake provided by Helen.

 

 



 

All The Light We Cannot see” by Anthony Doerr

All The Light We Cannot see” by Anthony Doerr 

"This is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer whose sentences never fail to thrall" The Guardian.

Remarkably our whole group concurred with this quotation and during our discussion we ran out of superlatives to describe this brilliantly written book. The story is set in Nazi Germany where we follow the story of Werner Pfenning during his years in an orphanage with his sister Jutta and subsequently, having displayed exceptional talent for wiring electronics Werner wins a place at an elite but brutal academy for the training of The Hitler Youth. It is at the academy that he befriends Frederick who as a gentle character is bullied and finally brutalised.

Doerr cleverly intertwines Werner’s life with the story of a blind girl, Marie — Laure and her father, who live originally in Paris from where during the Nazi Occupation they flee to her uncle’s home in Saint Malo. Her father is deported to a work camp in Germany and she is left behind during the intense bombing of Saint Malo following the D Day landings. Doerr’s commitment to detail to the travails of a blind youngster surviving the difficulties of relocating to a new area is quite remarkable and the group felt that her character gave us an insight into life for so many people in Europe in the later stages of the Second World War. It is in Saint Malo that the paths of the two main characters collide as they both struggle to survive the devastation of the war.

The only detrimental part of the story was Doerr’s over use of Americanisms and perhaps owing to an overuse of adjectives the book may be over long. Ten years in the writing this book deserved to win The Pulitzer Prize and having awarded the book ten out of ten we would recommend it as a real page turner.

As usual we concluded our meeting with great hospitality and superb ginger cake!

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

 

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.

March Book

 

 

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.

 

 

 



 

February’s Books

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.

 

 

 

 



 

January’s Books

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pageturners

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.

 

 

 

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