Reviews of Books
Posted in Serious on Feb 2nd, 2010
Atwood is one of my favourite authors. I was amazed I found one of her novels that I hadn’t read. This is one of her earlier works – her second novel first published in 1972. Plot summary from Wikipedia … The book tells the story of a woman who returns to her hometown in Canada [...]
Posted in Serious on Feb 1st, 2010
I got this book from the library – I’m not sure why I chose it. I think I felt that she was a novelist that one should read. A lay community of thoroughly mixed-up people is encamped outside Imber Abbey, home of an order of sequestered nuns. A new bell is being installed when suddenly [...]
Posted in Serious on Jan 25th, 2010
I received this novel as a Christmas gift. I’m a keen Kingsolver fan so I did suggest it as a present idea. From the publisher … In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Dec 31st, 2009
While reading this novel I got the feeling that I’ve read it before, but I couldn’t remember what happened so I kept going. This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God’s elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Dec 12th, 2009
I bought this book years ago while on holiday in Sydney. I was quite keen to read it again when it was suggested at book club. Plus it’s the perfect read in the lead up to the busy Christmas season (short). Here is the stuff from the back … At the staid Marcia Blaine School [...]
Posted in Serious on Nov 26th, 2009
I bought this book from my local second hand book store. Cather was one of those authors I felt I should read, but hadn’t yet got around to it. An enduring literary masterpiece first published in 1918, this hauntingly eloquent classic is an inspiring reminder of the rich past we have inherited. Willa Cather’s lustrous [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Nov 15th, 2009
I found this book in a second hand book store while on holiday. I do like Elizabeth Taylor novels – such understated, character driven stories. “Spending the holiday with friends, as she has for many years, Camilla finds that their private absorptions – Frances with he painting and Liz with her baby – seem to [...]
Posted in Serious on Nov 4th, 2009
I’m not sure why I picked this one – I have read The Time Traveller’s Wife but I wouldn’t have thought enough to buy her next book. Perhaps I got caught up in the hype? Anyway I have read it. This is the information from the publisher … Audrey Niffenegger’s spectacularly compelling second novel opens [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Oct 27th, 2009
I’m a keen Margaret Atwood fan so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this week. Being slightly more organised that normal, I re-read Oryx and Crake (although I think The Year of the Flood can be read without having first read Oryx and Crake). The way Atwood uses language is breath taking – [...]
Posted in Recommended, Serious on Oct 26th, 2009
I’ve been making an effort to get books from the library and this is one I found while browsing (I was looking for Sarah Waters). It one the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I liked this one – Maggie is so annoying. She interferes with the best of intentions and then just makes every thing [...]