Not for me. Tried so hard - almost finished it, but ultimately gave up. A couple of good paragraphs where the author describes her relationship with the hawk. The rest of the story is circular, repetitive and seemingly deep while actually skimming the surface of any real emotion or meaning.
Ghost stories, fantasy, history, surrealism - all usually fine with me. But this was plotless and insubstantial. Paice has an annoying habit of not writing enough about minor characters' backgrounds and motivations. I kept hoping it would get better because there were some good parts - but it didn't. This felt like a waste of time.
I enjoy ghost narrators, and the writing was great, but this was just so slow. Over 100 pages in I was still being teased with tiny bits of info about the ghost’s past life and reading about her analysis of the passengers at the station and descriptions of the light quality for what felt like the thousandth time. By that stage, I was no longer interested enough to find out any more.
Far better than I thought it would be. Excellent use of oral history to create what feels like a merging of memoirs and a novel. I laughed and cried (although to be fair, I was a bit hormonal). Would love to see this made into a tv series.
Jane puzzles over the origin of the phrase 'lashings of ginger beer' as she's sure it's not found in any Enid Blyton books. I suspect it was first used in The Comic Strip's spoof Five Go Mad in Dorset in the early 1980s. A fun book - I felt exactly the same as Jane about Heidi, and the Chalet School stories. Will definitely try making some of the jammier treats.
It's taken two weeks of train rides to read this, and I'm going to miss Laura so much now I've finished. A sweet, nostalgic view of a girlhood that is surprisingly modern-feeling despite the fact it was first published in 1945. It struck me just how many changes have happened in the period following the 1880s - horse-drawn carriages, bicycles and motor cars all followed each other with what must have seemed alarming speed for someone of Laura's generation. When I started reading Laura/Flora was just a character in a memoir but by the time I finished she'd become a welcome companion.
I speed read this last night when I couldn't sleep. It was really slow to get moving, partly because it's narrated by a woman with amnesia so bad she starts over every day and keeps repeating what the reader already knows. I did read it to the end though, and it left me feeling a bit scared. Had to cuddle partner the rest of the night and took ages to get to sleep. Not recommended for late night reading!
A rare thing - a non-fiction title so well written it's unputdownable. Harrowing at times, but also fascinating.
An amazing story by an amazing woman who is able to articulate both the wonder and the pain of her life in an honest and beautiful way. I'm not ready to give up my ghosts yet, but Mantel has done a wonderful thing in setting down how she has lived through one of the most difficult losses a woman can suffer.
Read this just because I love Sesame Street and found a new hero - Joan Ganz Cooney. So easy to forget how far women have come in the business world in a relatively short time.
I loved this book. I didn't want it to end and I really believed in the character. Simple things, but they make for a good read and a truly brilliant book.
I kept reading, but this woman struck me as more than a little insane.