This was our second read of a Terry Pratchett, and again feelings were mixed. Comedy is such an individual thing – some found it hilarious (the footnotes are something special – and you miss these on the kindle edition), others Read More …
by Margaret on 22/12/2020 in Book Club Hemingway — short stories — acknowledged master of the genre — Nobel prize winner. Let’s just say that he didn’t float the boat for most of us. I guess we should have expected it and maybe the choice Read More …
I struggled to get into ‘The Great Alone’ by Kirstin Hannah’ however the rest of the group had all enjoyed it – it was a story that moved with pace with much packed in. The comment was ‘What else can Read More …
‘Keeping the world away’ follows the life of a painting from creation through the hands of various owners – all women. The painting Margaret Forster has selected as the basis for the book is a real one – a simple Read More …
Kate Morton’s book ‘The clockmaker’s daughter’ is something of a door stopper – and the considered view was that she could have cut down on a few of the strands of her story without losing the essential plot – there Read More …
Once upon a river’ was a magical, fairy-tale read – Diane Setterfield’s storytelling is powerful and allows you to suspend disbelief. Set in the nineteenth century on the upper Thames it starts at the winter solstice, and whilst the regulars at Read More …
‘The silver dark sea’ by Susan Fletcher is a tale set on the island of Parla, a remote community a two hour ferry trip from the mainland. Although it isn’t made explicit it has the feel of a Scottish island. Read More …
We hadn’t read any short stories previously so Jane Gardam’s collection ‘The Stories’ was a departure for us. Gardam’s writing is lovely – full of detail and gentle humour and great insight. The stories are very English although covering a Read More …
The Century Girls by Tessa Dunlop was published to coincide with the anniversary of the first votes for women in this country. It interweaves the stories of six very different women mainly born during WW1 who have celebrated their 100th Read More …
We all enjoyed ‘The Baltimore Boys’ by Joel Dicker. It was originally written in French, but it still feels very rooted in its setting. It tells the tale of 3 boys – cousins Marcus and Hillel and Hillel’s adopted brother Read More …
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a very readable tale – despite the length (it definitely qualifies as a door stopper). It has been described as Dickensian – there is an immense amount of beautifully written detail capturing atmosphere and Read More …