Marie Browne

Marie only intended to write three books about family and their life on a narrow boat. We are onto the forth but I'm not complaining.

This books picks up with Marie her husband Geoff and son Sam moving to moorings in Cambridge. They need to paint Minerva and that's not going to be an easy or straight forward task. Given the stress levels they take a couple of holidays and this is one of the underlying stories this book. That and the fact that Marie is sure to be facing empty nest syndrome in the not too distant future and needs a plan and that plan involves another narrow boat.

I do like these little snapshots into life on a boat as I once considered it until the expense hit home. So its the land life for me and settled for living by a river.… (more)

This book is OK. The author and her husband have a successful business and upper middle class life in Britain, and through some misfortune (which I don't remember), the business goes under and they start going under. The hit upon the plan of selling everything and moving into a boat. The only boat they can fine is an old barge, which they slowly fix up and modernize as they float through England's canals and waterways. They have children and dogs, and adjust to the change. Then they sell the renovated boat for a profit and try to decide what to do next.

The adventure is pleasant enough, but there's no substance. The family never really gels into distinct characters, and the writing, while good enough, isn't really vivid or interesting enough to compensate. The adventures and mishaps aren't all that exciting. In fact the ending was confusing. On one hand, we are repeatedly told that the children aren't doing well with home schooling for a host of legitimate reasons, and therefore they need to be in a regular school. Then, suddenly, the author gets all enthusiastic about buying an ocean going ship and taking off for parts unknown. Then the book ends.

Meh.… (more)

I loved this book. It's an interesting and fun take on the fall. The mythos is well thought out, and different enough to stand out. If you like your demon and angel action then you need to check this out.

The story itself is well paced building to a unexpected climax. The main character (Joe) is ambiguous and has a wry humour about him that I wasn't sure about at first, but won me over before the end. The action is well written and there from the very start.

It has a strong metaphysical element, which I enjoyed. It's revealed step by step drawing you deeper into the world.

Highly recommended.… (more)