beautifully written tale of Greek gods, goddesses and mortals, focussing on Circe, the witch of the island of Aiaia
Fairly lighthearted. A Parisian translator of Arabic for the drug squad who goes rogue.
Multiple very loosely intertwined stories of women and their lives. Extraordinarily well told.
It follows the life of the Count living in a hotel in Moscow. Somehow his voice is maintained throughout the entire book. There is the occasion time when he is reflected back through his interactions with other, particularly his daughter Sophie. He has standards, and there are ways that things should be done, because they are the right way to do them, as anybody with any breeding knows. There are some lovely twists along the way.
Well written look at the unbuilding of the World Trade Centre, some of the politics on the pile, how groups work, leadership styles
A rather dark tale of a convict woman in Tasmania in the 1820s, quite landscape driven and impressionistic. It feels like an accurate portrayal of the frontier times, politics and personalities.
Another deep look inside Saudi Arabia. A page turner of a whodunnit with layers of stories and characters. A missing girlfriend and a serial killer.
A fun, upbeat, light novel about an ex-nun beekeeper, a murder and the messiness of families and friends. It was fun, the bees were great.
Amusing and fairly light. Two brothers own and operate a B&B on an island off Canada's west coast. In amongst Virgil and Hector's tales of playing basoons, Altona Winkler and the local newspaper, Waffle the cat, Mrs Rochester the parrot, etc., a picture of a slightly wacky but close local community is built along with a strong, independent mother. And there are several vignettes from 'guests', also book lists, often with a Canadian flavour to them. Full of acerbic wordplay.
Kya is the Marsh Girl. A difficult father. And then living by herself, watching and learning the rhythms and life of the marsh, while trying to find meaningful human relationships. It is a whodunnit, switching between the past and the present until they meet. I raced through the second half of the book. Owens paints the marsh and Kya's time in it very sympathetically and with a beautiful, gentle touch. And I just want to go out and hug Jumpin', he's such a beautiful character.
An intelligent, deeply introspective look at what it means to find out your father is not actually your father, what it means to who you are, what you hold true about yourself and your wider beliefs.
A lot of fun. Humour, good characters, empathy, a page turning plot. And Reggie Chase is a wonderful character (16 yo, resourceful, tenacious).
A biting commentary on modern politics. Her depiction of Tasmania is deft and spot on. At its core it is a farcical whodunnit however it also has depth and substance.
A really interesting look at the long term effects of war, and what it means to be bilingual (and learning another language). Beautifully written in places, in others it feels more like cobbled together writing 'projects' or experiments that don't necessarily fit with the flow of the book.
A sweeping but intimate view of medieval Normay (1320s-1340s). Several things set this apart. The obvious love the author has for the landscape. She portrays it as it changes through the seasons, with water constantly present in the landscape in some form and surrounded by mountains and their shadows. The other is deeply knowledgable portrayal of medieval life - the huge influence of the church on one's thinking and approach to everyday life while sitting alongside the still present pagan influences; the laws, the politics; the importance of kinship and ties and obligations it brings; how landownership works; the everyday workings of a farm and household; the clothes; how they travelled, etc., etc. A huge book (over 1000 pages) but worth it for being so wholly transported into that age and place in a believable manner.
Amusing, fun, light and in need of a bit more editing. Corinna is a large baker who lives in a building of interesting people. There are also interesting things going on with junkies, nerds, Wiccan witches, Goths and obnoxious graffiti. Corinna asks questions and ends up in some interesting situations.
The story is told by Jaxie, young teenager. It's mostly his recounting what is in his head and his thoughts about the his past, his mother, his stepfather, his cousin Lee, and Fintan McGillas, the guy at the shepherd's hut. His resilience and response to the landscape are notable. It feels like not a lot happens, but it's not slow moving. Jaxie's voice is well captured, as is Fintan's.
A roaming, tangential novel around the storyline of a writer's reflection on the death of a friend, and the meaning that a dog brings to her life
light but funny and entertaining
Very well written, really evokes the Australia of the era (early '80s). But I found its really hard to get into, worth it once I did, just a bit of a slog.
An easy, humorous mish-mash of cop story and ghost / supernatural story, with London featuring heavily and fondly.
Beautifully written episode in Helen Macdonald's life, where she trains Mabel the goshawk, but also deals with her dad's death and meditates on TH White training a goshawk decades earlier. And wanders through the Cambridge countryside and other various topics. She writes like a poet, playing with words, using unexpected but fitting words.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
An important book. The data will date fast, but the underlying message won't. Similarly how we should look at data is a timeless message we should all heed.
An elliptical, lyrical exploration of family, corruption and living in southern Italy. The translation was not the best but the writing still shone through.
A naked woman is run over in the night. Clara is found dead after jumping off a multi-storey car park. Her brother Michele starts asking questions and examining himself and his family.
A naked woman is run over in the night. Clara is found dead after jumping off a multi-storey car park. Her brother Michele starts asking questions and examining himself and his family.
A rollicking good read. A whodunnit with wit and empathy. Kindergarten mums in a close knit community, small actions blow out of proportion and build and build. Beautifully paced and wryly observed.
I'm imagining some of this is fictional, but his portrayal of Bill is pretty amazing.
An interesting look at libraries worldwide, big, small, travelling, static. Essentially a well-put-together picture book.
I was enjoying it til about half way through, then somehow it seemed to lose steam. Interesting look at the war through Juliet Armstrong's eyes, on the fringes of MI5 as a transcriber.
Olive, the stern, contrary, complex school teacher, is the connecting thread through what are essentially a series of short stories. A snapshot of a small Maine town, the people that live there and the events that shape them.