Bonnie (brenzi) Gives It Another Go - 2

The reason the garden is secret is because it’s hidden under several inches of snow….still. I have high hopes though. Any day now Spring will break out, I’ll toss my boots aside, uncover my secret garden and take my treadmill walking outside. Finally.

Well it’s Saturday so it must be Rolly Pollies day. If you don’t know what that is you probably don’t have a toddler in your life. Mia loves this weekly foray into tumbling, jumping, rolling, swinging and just lots of fun provided by this kids gym. I don’t go every Saturday but when I can I do show up to help out. Cole hasn’t started yet but it won’t be long.

Books Read in 2018

January

Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie – eBook - 5 stars
Fateless - Imre Kertesz - OTS - 4.2 stars
Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann - eBook - 4.3 stars
Fire and Fury - Michael Wolff - eBook - 3.8 stars
Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin - OTS - 4.6 stars
The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson - OTS - 5 stars
The Good People - Hannah Kent - eBook - 4 stars
Bluebird, Bluebird - Attica Locke - eBook - 3.5 stars

February

The Last Crossing - Guy Vanderhaeghe - OTS - 4.5 stars
The Black Count - Tom Reiss - eBook - 3.7 stars
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee - eBook - 3.2 stars
In This House of Brede - Rumer Godden - OTS - 5 stars
Road Ends - Mary Lawson - eBook - 4.5 stars

March

Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck - OTS - 4.2 stars
White Houses - Amy Bloom - eBook - 4 stars
The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott - 4.8 stars
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - eBook - 4 stars
In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson - OTS - 4.1 stars
The Custom of the Country - Edith Wharton - eBook - 5 stars
The Vet's Daughter - Barbara Comyn - OTS - 4 stars
Go, Went, Gone - Jenny Erpenbeck - eBook - 4.3 stars

April

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing -eBook - 4.3 stars
The Dog Stars - Peter Heller - OTS - 4.2 stars
The Woman in the Window - A. J. Finn - eBook - 3.5 stars
The Day of the Scorpion - Paul Scott - OTS - 4.9 stars
Invitation to the Waltz - Rosamond Lehmann - OTS - 4 stars

May

The Light Years - Elizabeth Jane Howard - eBook - 4 stars
Sugar Money - Jane Harris - 4.2 stars
American Fire - Monica Hesse - eBook - 4.5 stars
The Post Office Girl - Stefan Zweig - OTS - 4.5 stars
The Towers of Silence - Paul Scott - OTS - 4.5 stars
Across the China Sea - Gaute Heivoll - L - 4.8 stars

June

Blue Monday - Nicci French - L - 3.8 stars
Circe - Madeline Miller - eBook - 4.5 stars
American Wolf - Nate Blakeslee - eBook - 4.5 stars
Anderby Wold - Winifred Holtby - OTS - 4 stars
A Division of the Spoils - Paul Scott - OTS - 5 stars
Black Swans - Eve Babitz - OTS - 4.4 stars
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston - OTS - 4.2 stars

July

Marking Time - Elizabeth Jane Howard - eBook - 4.3 stars

STATS (Idea borrowed from drneutron)

Total Books: 40

Author Gender
Male: 18
Female: 21
Joint: 1

Author Status
Living: 23
Dead: 17

Publication Medium
Hardback: 4
Trade: 16
Mass Market: 0
eBook: 20

Category
Fiction: 31
Nonfiction: 9

Source
Library: 20
Mine: 20

Translation: 4

Currently Reading:



Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Best of 2017

How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
The Timothy Wilde Trilogy: Gods of Gotham, Seven for a Secret, The Fatal Flame - Lyndsay Faye
The Beggar Maid - Alice Munro
Commonwealth - Ann Patchett
Late Nights on Air - Elizabeth Hay
Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
The North Water - Ian McGuire

Non-fiction

Red Notice: - A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice - Bill Browder
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 - R. A. Scotti

I’m wondering if anyone is watching a great show on Netflix called Babylon Berlin. If you can tolerate sub titles, the series takes place in 1929 during the Weimar Republic and follows police inspector Gereon Rath, who has been transferred from the city of Cologne to Berlin, and aspiring police inspector Charlotte Ritter. Best thing I’ve watched on Netflx since The Crown.

Happy new thread, Bonnie!

>7 brenzi: Babylon Berlin sounds good, I will keep an eye out for it.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Bonnie, and >7 brenzi: thanks. I'll add that to my list. I finished "Shetland" not too long ago and have been looking for a new one.

>8 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita

>9 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>10 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I find I have to watch Shetland with the subtitles on too lol.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie! Happy New Thread! Love the photo of the grandchildren. How special.

I have added "Babylon Berlin" to my Watchlist. Always interested in good Netflix fare.

Happy first new thread of your return, Bonnie.

>3 brenzi: Lovely photo. The joy and love of the three subjects to the photo is clear for all to see.

Happy new thread! Love the picture of the Littles!

Happy New Thread, Bonnie!

What a fun photo of you and Mia and Cole. :-)

Happy new thread and happy new week, Bonnie!

I had to snork at your Secret Garden.
Great pic with the grandkids. Hahaha, looks like Cole is eager to roll, won't be long!
Oooo, I'll have to tell my husband about Babylon Berlin. It sounds like his cuppa.

Happy new thread, Bonnie! What an adorable photo up top!!!

Happy new thread, Bonnie! The littles are so adorable!!
Your topper is so fitting as I just finished reading The Secret Garden and loved it. I have no aspirations to cultivate my own garden because my thumb is brown as brown can be, but I love to admire other people's gift and talent. :)

>12 msf59: Thanks Mark. I think you’d like Babylon Berlin.

>13 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. Don’t love anything as much as those two munchkins, I have to say.

>14 ChelleBearss: Thanks Chelle🤗

>15 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. It’s all fun all the time with those two lol.

>16 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda. I’m so anxious for warm weather and outside activities!

>17 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks so much Reba.

>18 jolerie: Thanks Valerie. The Secret Garden is my favorite childhood book.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thead! Mia and Cole are adorable.

>3 brenzi: What a great photo, Bonnie!

Hi, Bonnie! I have no hope of catching up, but I've been smiling to see you here in your rightful place. Those grands are precious! Enjoy! Enjoy!!
I'm reading a bio of Goebbels, so the Netflix series looks good to me. I won't get to it, but I very well may acquire and read Late Nights on Air. Thanks for mentioning it!

>20 thornton37814: Thanks Lori!

>21 tymfos: Thank you so much Terri.

>22 Copperskye: Thank you Joanne.

>23 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. So good to see you. Late Nights on Air was a great book brought to my attention by Suzanne I think.

18.

In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

4.1 stars

”Australia is just so full of surprises. There is always something just down the road---a treetop walk, a beach harboring ancient life-forms, museums celebrating improbable Dutch shipwrecks or naked telegraph repairmen, really nice people like Mike and Val Cantrell, a fishing village turning out to see a stricken ship limp home. You never know what it’s going to be but it is nearly always pretty good.”

I guess I wasn’t really aware of how immense the country/continent of Australia is but that is the foremost thing I took away from this very good and humorous travel book. I don’t know exactly how much time Bill Bryson spent there doing his research but I’m pretty sure it was considerable. He left no stone unturned, so to speak, and covered every corner of Australia from the largest city (Sydney) to its smallest, most remote and impossible to find woebegone backwater. But he finds something joyful and beautiful about every place he visits, whether it be the landscape, the view, the history, the etymology or the people and most of the time it’s a combination of these things. He includes references to oddities that a region may be known for on page after page. This all works very well for him and, therefore, for the reader.

The immense size of the country and the danger of being caught unprepared while in the brutally hot bush country is brought up many times with specific examples of those unfortunate souls who didn’t heed the warnings and paid the ultimate price. The same goes for the danger of various forms of wildlife, including crocodiles, sharks and stinging jelly fish.

He barely touches on the Aborigine history and justifies that because there’s really nothing he can do about it. Since he relates so much of the history of Australia though, this seems like a miscue. My only other slight objection is the lack of maps, or at least the poor quality of the maps that were provided. I love maps and its one of the reasons I try not to read non-fiction that would benefit from maps on my kindle, which is terrible for maps. But in this case, in a regular trade paperback, the quality just wasn’t very good.
This was a very enjoyable read, filled with humorous anecdotes and left me wanting to book my flight to Australia, maybe tomorrow. Highly recommended.

Up Next:



The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

I read In a Sunburned Country right before my husband and I took a trip to Australia for our 40th anniversary. I loved the book, and loved Australia (and NZ), and definitely want to go back.

Like you I was astonished at the size. Our trip called for several air flights between cities (Melbourne/Alice Springs; Alice Springs/Cairns; Cairns/Sydney), and before we left I couldn't understand because I thought these places had to have been close together. Not so. Australia is actually about the size of the continental US. We didn't get to the West Coast of Australia, which I regret.

That was my first Bill Bryson, and I've read a couple of others since, and have come to enjoy his trademark humor.

>26 brenzi: Really interested to see what you think of The Custom of the Country -- it appeals to me.

Happy new thread, Bonnie.

Good review of In a Sunburned Country, Bonnie. Thumbed. I remember cracking up over his reference to (what I remember as) a multi-volume set of encyclopedias about all the ways Australia can kill you. We did go to Australia's east coast after I read it, and loved our time there. You're right, the country's huge. I'd like to go back and see more of it.

>27 arubabookwoman: Hi Deborah, he brings a tremendous sense of humor to his writing. This was my second Bryson and I have another one on my Kindle, I’m a Stranger Here Myself that I’ll read ay some point. I do enjoy his writing.

>28 RebaRelishesReading: I’d been saving it Reba. I’m a big Wharton fan and this is the only major book of hers that I haven’t read yet.

>29 katiekrug: Thanks Katie.

>30 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I loved that he started the book by telling about the Prime Minister who went for a swim, got caught in a rip, and was never seen again. Just disappeared haha.

>25 brenzi: Good review of the Bryson, Bonnie. Thumb! I still have several of his to read and now this is on the list too.

I hope you enjoy the Wharton. That is the last one I have read by her and I loved it.

>26 brenzi: I loved The Custom of the Country. I’m looking forward to your comments.

>26 brenzi: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! The Custom of the Country! Best. Wharton. Ever. I can't wait to see what you think.

>34 lauralkeet: wow - what an endorsement from Laura! Now it's going to have to go on the list, even before Bonnie's review!

>32 msf59: Thanks Mark. I really like Bryson’s humor. I’ve loved the other four Wharton books that I’ve read so I am sure this one will be no different.

>33 NanaCC: I love Wharton Colleen so I am going to enjoy this one I’m sure.

>34 lauralkeet: Call the paramedics quick lol. I’ve been saving this one Laura because I’ve read all her other major novels and loved every one of them. I still have a short story collection Old New York and her autobiography A Backward Glance so I will slowly make my way through her less well known books. But I’m pretty sure I’m going to like this one for sure.

>35 vivians: Why wait Vivian haha.

>35 vivians:, >36 brenzi: I guess I freaked out a little bit there, huh? I guess I was over-caffeinated. But I do love that book!! I should read another Wharton soon, I have a few undress on my Virago shelves.

Hi Bonnie -- Happy new one! I love the photos up top, both of your hopeful Spring and your two grandmunchkins. And now I know what Rollie Pollie days are.

Eagerly awaiting your take on The Custom of the Country!

>37 lauralkeet: oh my....Undine

>38 Berly: Thanks Kim.

>39 richardderus: reading as fast as I can Richard but I’ll say it again, oh my....Undine.

>40 brenzi: Undine is the most memorable "character you love to hate" ever!

19.The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Five stars

”Even now, she was not always happy. She had everything she wanted but she still felt, at times, that there were other things she might want if she knew about them.”

Meet Undine Spragg, possibly the most unlikable woman in literature and that quote just about sums her up. She’s not completely happy because there may be something out there that she wants if only she actually knew about it. That quote comes up towards the end of the book but pretty much lays out the journey Wharton takes you on from the beginning. Undine cares about only one person. Undine. The rest of society is only there to supply her with an audience to note how beautiful and wonderful she is. She needs money; lots of it and beginning with her father, every man in her life needs to supply her with plenty of funds to buy the things she just has to have. I kept hoping someone was going to say, “Undine stop. There’s no money left for that.” But the bills just keep coming.

The fact that Edith Wharton is able to portray this self-centered social climber without making the reader throw the book against a wall is all to her credit. But isn’t that what Wharton always does? Whether it was Lily Bart in The House of Mirth or Ethan Frome and Zeena and Mattie she always manages a psychological portrait of her characters that will surprise, maybe shock, but will be in keeping with the ugly reality that is life, in this case life among the wealthy of New York and Paris in 1913. You know it’s satire but it’s all so believable I had to wonder if Wharton knew people like Undine.

The writing, as is always the case with Edith Wharton, is sublime and the pages practically turn themselves. Very highly recommended.

Undine = my mother. Also Narcissa Benbow from Flags in the Dust. Eternally dissatisfied and judgmental.

>43 richardderus: I considered reading Madame Bovary next to keep with the theme of deeply unsatisfied women Richard but have pretty much decided against it at this point.

Currently Reading



The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns

Over on Laura's thread the discussion turned to Virago collections and I realized I haven't read one in a couple of years so......

definitely going to get The Custom of the Country soon -- like in Portland next month. Thanks for the great review, Bonnie.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie. Good review of The Custom of the Country. 5 stars, sounds about right. Wharton rocks!

I am loving Arthur & George but it is going slowly, which is just fine.

>46 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. You won’t regret it.

>47 msf59: Thanks Mark. Have you ever seen the tv show based on Arthur and George? Martin Clunes is in it but I really only like him in Doc Martin.

>42 brenzi: The Custom of the Country is one of my favorite books ever. I’m so glad you enjoyed it too.

I just finished reading/rereading two Barbara Comyns books--Our Spoons Came From Woolworths (because it was published in 1950) and The Juniper Tree. I read The Vet's Daughter years and years ago, and remember very little about it, other than that it was similar in tone. Waiting to see what you think of it.

I read Our Spoons Came From Woolworths a few years ago. I did not review it, but I gave it 4 stars. I think part the charm for me was remembering back to Woolworths lunch counters , and shopping with my grandma and mom " back in the day."

I read Madame Bovary just so I could say I read it :-) It was shorter and more readable than I expected. It might have been a group read a few years back. It's fairly short, so that makes for an easy read. I confess I've never read anything by Edith Wharton. One day.

>49 NanaCC: what Colleen said. Bonnie, I know we have very, very similar taste in books but I still couldn't help being nervous while you were reading The Custom of the Country. I did a little happy dance when I saw five stars!!

Great review of the Wharton, Bonnie. I've only read some of her shorter works, but have most of her "major" novels sitting on the shelf, waiting patiently...

>49 NanaCC: You almost can’t miss with Edith Wharton can you Colleen? At least that’s been my experience.

>50 arubabookwoman: This is my first Comyns Deborah but I do have Our Spoons Came From Woolworths on my Virago shelf so I’ll read it at some point. I’m only about fifty pages into The Vet’s Daughter but if I had to choose one word to describe the writing it would be “spare.”

>51 vancouverdeb: Ahhh the Woolworths lunch counter. Brings back memories for me too Deborah. If I had one writer I would recommend to you it would be Edith Wharton. I’ve loved every one of her books that I’ve read. What are you waiting for?

>52 lauralkeet: No need to worry Laura. Wharton is a favorite of mine because of course she is lol. Almost any old time, deceased writer is sure to appeal to me lol. Don’t care much for modern quirky novels that stretch the imagination. My bad haha.

>53 katiekrug:. Drag those books out Katie. Don’t wait another minute lol. Wharton is wonderful.

Great comments on the Wharton, Bonnie. Custom of the Country is one I haven't read, so I have one to look forward to. And, yes, "you almost can't miss with Edith Wharton" for sure!

Thanks Beth. I can't get enough of Wharton and have been trying to save them before they're all done.

20.The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns
4 stars

”A man with small eyes and a ginger moustache came and spoke to me when I was thinking of something else. Together we walked down a street that was lined with privet hedges. He told me his wife belonged to the Plymouth Brethren, and I said I was sorry because that is what he seemed to need me to say and I saw he was a poor broken down sort of creature. If he had been a horse, he would have most likely worn kneecaps. We came to a great red railway arch that crossed the road like a heavy rainbow; and near this arch there was a vet’s house with a lamp outside. I said, ‘ You must excuse me ,’ and left this poor man among the privet hedges.”

This is the opening paragraph and I hope you get the feeling I did on reading it. The author has immediately draped the novel in darkness, which she maintains throughout. It also brought up a number of questions: who is this stranger? Who are the Plymouth Brethen? Why was he so despondent? It just seemed like such a stark way to start the narrative. This same man makes a brief appearance at the culminating events at the end of the novel with still no explanation of his significance. So I keep thinking about him.

I finished this novel yesterday but had to give it some time to simmer before I could write a few words about this very dark novel. I couldn’t really decide what I thought about it. I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Alice Rowland is the seventeen year old eponymous daughter and she faces many challenges. Her mother is gravely ill, her father is abusive and she would desperately like to be somewhere else when her mother dies and her father brings the local tart into the house to be his “housekeeper.” A savior attempts to save her by asking her to become a companion for his elderly mother in a distant village. Things continue to go downhill for her and she is faced with a Dickensian couple who maintain the woman’s residence and generally take advantage of her. Alice is forced to return home where her father continues his abuse of her until he discovers she has a gift he thinks he can capitalize on.

The horrifying culminating event presents Alice and her gift. This actually threw me for a loop and I find it interesting that some reviewers characterized this as Alice’s triumph. I didn’t see it that way at all but I did find the novel to be riveting and could hardly put it down. The writing is spare and the novel is stark. But absolutely fascinating. And I wonder when I’ll stop thinking about these well drawn characters.

Currently Reading



Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

Hi, Bonnie. It looks like I NEED to find the TV adaptation of Arthur & George. Loved the book.

Go, Went, Gone sounds really good.

Wow, what a superb review of The Vet's Daughter, Bonnie. You captured the tone perfectly and said enough to refresh my memory (LT says I read this one in 2012), but left a lot unsaid which makes it a very tempting read.

Barbara Comyns is quite a contrast to Edith Wharton though, huh?

I hope that you enjoy Go, Went, Gone as much as I did, Bonnie.

Great comments on The Vet's Daughter, Bonnie. Onto the list it goes. I loved Go, Went, Gone; I know you will, too, and I wait for your comments.

I just came back from Easter shopping, a FEW chocolates because my daughter doesn't want Scout to have too many sweets. And some eggs to hide, which is always fun.

>59 msf59: I hope you enjoy it Mark. It was a PBS thing when I saw it.

>60 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. I have to admit I’m still thinking about that book. And yes she’s quite different from Edith Wharton but let’s face it. No one is like Wharton.

>61 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. I am enjoying it very much.

>62 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I’m nearing the end of Go, Went, Gone and I have to say it’s a very timely read. I told my daughter that she could deal with the chocolates I put in Mia’s basket any way she wants lol. As long as they’re not in my house I don’t care. My son in law will probably eat most of them haha.

Trusting that you'll have a lovely holiday weekend, Bonnie. xx

Hope you had a great Easter weekend!

>64 PaulCranswick:; >65 ChelleBearss:. Hi Paul and Chelle, I had a great weekend filled with Easter bunny fun. Hope your weekend was great too.

21. Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

4.2 stars

”If this prosperity couldn’t be attributed to their own personal merit, then by the same token the refugees weren’t to blame for their reduced circumstances. Things might have turned out the other way around. For a moment, this thought opens its jaws wide, displaying its frightening teeth.”

Richard is a recently retired Classics professor living in Berlin. He was originally living in East Berlin, but since the wall came down he remains in the same house which he now owns rather than leases. His wife has passed on and he is looking for things to fill the long hours of the day when he notices a hunger strike being staged by what turns out to be black refugees from Africa. At first, he pays little attention to these men who refuse to identify themselves. Later, when he views the TV report about the strike he wonders why he didn’t notice it when he passed through the area. ”We become invisible.”

Soon Richard is drawn into the world of these refugees and when he hears their individual tragic stories he knows he needs to do what he can to help them.

This is a powerful story that points out the desperate state of refugees not only from Africa, but from many war-torn and despairing locations around the globe. The author has chosen to use poignant and touching vignettes to display the ways in which the struggle to find a safe home is transpiring in the world today. This book, which should touch all of us, depicts the racism and general lack of concern for these people often displayed by the residents of the country the refugees find themselves in. How can we put ourselves in their shoes? How can we help them to no longer be invisible, especially those of us residing in countries that were built by immigrants?

Highly recommended.

Currently Reading:



Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

>67 brenzi: - Nice review, Bonnie. I am looking forward to reading this one.

>68 brenzi: - Ooh, I read that (well, listened to) a couple of years ago, and it was gripping!

>68 brenzi: That one is heartrending.

>67 brenzi: Great review, Bonnie! I have that in my TBR piile. Thumbed. I hope you had a lovely Easter Weekend.

Great comments on Go, Went, Gone, Bonnie. I knew you would love it.

>68 brenzi: I too read the Shackleton book a few years ago. Absolutely amazing story.

Bonnie, I am sure that the author of Miss Burma shares your feeling about Aung San Suu Kyi, but of course I completely respect your not wanting to read it. It's on the long list of the Women's Literature List.

Good review of Go, Went, Gone, Bonnie. Thumb! I LOVED Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. I remember being blown away by just how good it was. I hope you feel the same way. I just started Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, which begins with an epigraph from Shackleton. Like minds...

>69 katiekrug: Gripping is a good descriptor Katie.

>70 richardderus: Noted Richard. Can’t say I didn’t expect it.

>71 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. I had a great weekend and hope you did as well.

>72 BLBera: Thanks Beth. You called it lol.

>73 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba. Good to know.

>74 vancouverdeb: I didn’t mean to spout off so much Deborah but whenever I see something about what’s gone on over there my blood just boils. Several years ago I read a few books about Aung San Suu Kyi and admired her greatly. So disappointing

>75 msf59: Thanks Mark. I’m only 25% of the way into the Shackleton book and they’ve just abandoned the ship. I love my Arctic explorations. I’ll look forward to what you think of the Kelly book.

>57 brenzi: Good review of The Vet's Daughter Bonnie. I've read a number of Comyns' novels to date but not that one (although I do have a copy on my shelves). I've enjoyed them a lot but she certainly has a unique writing style!

Thanks Heather. Unique is certainly one way to describe it. Dark and stark is another lol. But guess what? I’m still thinking about that book. I’ll be reading more of her books for sure.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

4.3 stars

”The order to abandon ship was given at 5 PM. For most of the men, however, no order was needed because by then everybody knew that the ship was done and that it was time to give up trying to save her. There was no show of fear or even apprehension. They had fought unceasingly for three days and they had lost. They accepted their defeat almost apathetically. They were simply too tired to care….The ship was being crushed. Not all at once, but slowly, a little at a time. The pressure of ten million tons of ice was driving in against her sides. And dying as she was, she cried in agony.”

And then, oddly enough, the realadventure began. Because these explorers, who were meant to cross the Antarctic continent overland from west to east, found that that goal was not going to happen because their voyage was doomed almost before it began.

I’ve read several books that deal with explorations into the coldest places on earth and it always amazes me how the men on these expeditions survive unlikely and brutal conditions. And I always ask myself the same question: How in the world is it possible to have so much courage, to go on when you are to the point of exhaustion, when you haven’t had any water to drink in way too long, when your hands and feet are probably suffering from frostbite? How do you just push yourself to go on? I can’t say this book answered this question but it was a stark reminder that there are people in this world who have demonstrated this uncanny ability. And the men on Shackleton’s expedition were among those men.

Using first-hand accounts in the diaries of the men on the expedition, Alfred Lansing has written a masterwork that details the horrendous conditions and the value of working together to accomplish a common goal. I don’t really know how not one person suffered from pneumonia or bronchitis as many of them were submerged in the arctic seas with little chance of drying out. Everything was cold and wet including the sleeping bags. But somehow these men survived, defying the odds.

”Though they had failed dismally even to come close to the expedition’s original objective, they knew now that somehow they had done much, much more than ever they set out to do.”

Indeed.

Up Next:



The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Great review of Endurance, Bonnie. Thumb! I loved this book, as well. Did you read In the Kingdom of Ice? If not, I highly recommend that one. Sides is one of my favorite NNF authors.

Hope you enjoy The Dog Stars.

Ooh - I loved The Dog Stars, despite not being a great fan of post-apocalypse literature. Hope you enjoy it.

>81 msf59: Thank you so much Mark. I did read In the Kingdom of Ice and Sides is one of my favorites as well. I also read Hellhound on His Trail which was terrific. And I have Ghost Soldiers and Blood and Thunder sitting on my shelf just waiting for me😉

>82 vivians: Hi Vivian. I’m not much of a fan of post-apocalyptic literature either but if Mark and Joanne are going to rave about it I doubt I can go wrong. And now I can add you to that list too😉

23. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

4.2 stars

”Did you ever read the Bible? I mean sit down and read it like it was a book? Check out Lamentations. That’s where we’re at, pretty much. Pretty much lamenting. Pretty much pouring our hearts out like water.” (Page 3)

Ahh the Book of Lamentations. The collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. contained in the Bible. Right away the author has set the stage for the reader to assume that something has been destroyed. Hig is living in an airplane hangar outside of Denver. He’s lost everything and exists alone except for his acquaintance Bangley, who lives in an abandoned mansion nearby. Together they maintain a need for each other sort of relationship. They are as different as night and day.

So this is a post-apocalyptic novel and I don’t read many of them but this one seems different from the few that I have read; somehow more hopeful. The author chose to write in choppy sentence fragments, making it clear to me that these lives have been chopped up. The few characters we meet are struggling to keep themselves together and carry on from one day to the next. They’re just trying to maintain their lives as well as they can in the face of having lost so much. Of course the reader can’t imagine it but Heller does a terrific job conveying what that might feel like.

Poignant, filled with emotion, and tough to read at times I found this novel to be a superb addition to the apocalyptic novels that came before it. Highly recommended.

Up Next:



The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

Good reviews, Bonnie!

I loved Endurance: Shackleton's (I loved Caroline Alexander's take on Shackleton's voyage, too, and I just started Go, Went, Gone.

Got me with The Dog Stars!

I'l be interested in what you think ofThe Woman in the Window. . According to my " TBR Files" , I have it on hand :-) I just finished Sing, Unburied , Sing and I'm looking for something lighter.

Hooray The Dog Stars! I am so glad you enjoyed it, Bonnie. I hope you had a lovely birthday, my friend.

I am also curious about The Woman in the Window. I am still wary on thrillers, so many fall short. Hope this one works for you.

>86 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I also have The Worst Journey in the World by Ansley Cherry-Garrard on my Kindle. I’m drawn to these Polar expedition books and I’m not sure why. It could be the courage that these men all seem to display. Incredible really and something I know I don’t possess.

>87 drneutron: Enjoy Jim😉

>88 vancouverdeb: I’m expecting it to be on the lines of Gone Girl or one of those sorts of novels that get wildly popular and then I’m ultimately disappointed with Deborah lol. I had an incredibly long wait for it through Overdrive but at least it’ll be a change from my recent reading.

.>89 msf59: I knew you wouldn’t steer me wrong Mark lol. I’ll just repeat what I said to Deborah re: The Woman in the Window: I’m expecting it to be on the lines of Gone Girl or one of those sorts of novels that get wildly popular and then I’m ultimately disappointed with. And thank you, I had a wonderful birthday.

Great comments on The Dog Stars, Bonnie. That is on my "read soon" list. Good to know I have something to look forward to.

I would have gotten on here to wish my Queen of Reviews a very Happy birthday but somehow you got the site to close down for a couple of days in honour of your festivities!

Happy belated birthday, Bonnie. xx

>85 brenzi: I am also interested to see what you think of The Woman in the Window. I have it in the stacks waiting for me.

So glad you enjoyed The Dog Stars, Bonnie and like a bunch of us, I’m looking forward to your reaction to The Woman in the Window. I have it on library hold and there is a longish wait.

>92 BLBera: I do hope you enjoy it Beth.

>93 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. You know I could never have disappointed all the LT friends by attempting to shut down our favorite website but thanks for thinking I had that ability lol.

>94 ChelleBearss: it starts out very interestingly Chelle. I really had no idea what the book was about, went into it blind as I so often do.

>95 Copperskye: I had an incredibly long wait on Overdrive Joanne.

>84 brenzi:: Yay! Another fan of The Dog Stars. I love Peter Heller's books despite my slight disappointment with Celine. I'll await your nod of approval for The Woman in the Window before I rush to read it. I was so disappointed with The Girl on the Train that I decided to boycott titles with Woman and Girl in them until the trend for unreliable female narrators spying on others runs its course. Oh, don't mind me and my pettiness, I'm just bummed because of the weekend forecast. I need some sunshine in my life!

Happy Friday, Bonnie. Ooh, I like the sound of Queen of Reviews! And it fits so perfectly.

I am just about finished with Frankenstein in Baghdad. I think this might just be your cuppa. Just sayin'...

>97 Donna828: Hope the sunshine arrives soon Bonnie!

>97 Donna828: Hi Donna. I loved Heller's The Painter even more than The Dog Stars. That's all I'e read by him but I liked what I read for sure. I'm probably going to skipCeline which seems to be getting panned by everyone. Unreliable narrators spying on their neighbors pretty much sums up The Woman in the Window lol. I'd love to see some sunshine rather than the ice storm we're having right now.

>98 msf59: Nice Mark. First you get me with a book you hdnt even reviewed and now you come over here and get me with one you haven't finished. I just added it to my Overdrive list so thanks.

>99 RebaRelishesReading: Me too Reba!!

24. The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

3.5 stars

Hmmmm, I don’t know why I always seem to get sucked into these “psychological thrillers.” I’m almost always disappointed. This one wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that good either. I mean, I figured out the first of two mysteries when I was just 25% into the book and I’m terrible at figuring these things out. And that left the main mystery left to determine but there just weren’t that many options so it really didn’t come as a shock when it was revealed. There is even a third mystery that was almost certainly going to have to be someone in the vicinity of the victim so no shock there.

Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad. The writing itself was very good. And the idea the author had of a woman suffering from agoraphobia and spending her hours spying on her neighbors from her perch at her window was an intriguing idea. But I guess the best word for it is predictable. Very predictable.

Now on to a book I know I'll love:



The Day of the Scorpion- Book 2 of The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott

>102 brenzi: It's great to find a book you know you'll love . Enjoy The Day of the Scorpion. For me, reading my last Maisie Dobbs books was like eating a bon bon. Great story, familiar characters and just all round good entertainment. I think we need a mix of " important books' and those we just plain enjoy.

Enjoy your time in Indian, Bonnie. I'm with you on the thrillers; I mostly don't enjoy them.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie. I hope you had a good weekend. Not really surprised by your thoughts on The Woman in the Window. I think I will take a pass on this one. Hope your next read will be much better.

>105 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. I robably should be reading the Maisie Dobbs series but I haven’t picked them up for some reason. I have enough trouble keeping up with the series I already follow. I’m looking at you Tana French. Lol. I think we should all read whatever appeals.

>106 BLBera: I am really loving The Raj Quartet Beth😁

>107 msf59: Hi Mark. We had an ice storm this past weekend but luckily I didn’t lose power. I can assure you my present read is much better.

Bonnie, I wouldn't worry about reading Maisie Dobbs, unless it suits you . I somehow ran across the series and fell right in love with it. I don't find that many series that I am crazy about, so when I do find one that I love , that's a real bonus.

>108 brenzi: I've read two of the Maisie Dobbs books. Nancy (@lit_chick) put me on to them. They are light reads and the mysteries are not too intense. The characters grow and develop over the life of the series, which is something I like. I'll read more of them but they are lower priority at the moment as I'm trying to catch up on Inspector Gamache.

>109 vancouverdeb: I’m not a prolific series reader either Deborah. Enjoy Maisie.

>110 lauralkeet: Well Laura, I’m caught up with Gamache so I could start another series I guess. But I also have the first few books of the Martin Walker series and the Susan Hill series sitting on my shelves right now so I’m more likely to start one of those. I won’t even talk about what resides on my Kindle😕

>3 brenzi: I love this happy photo. All good wishes to you Bonnie!

Thanks so much Linda.

>84 brenzi: Really nice review of Dog Stars -- loved that one. Have a great weekend. : )

Thanks Kim. Good to see you:)

25.The Day of the Scorpion, Book 2 of The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott

4.9 stars

”Sarah was conscious of belonging to a class engaged in small, continual acts whose purpose was survival through partial sharing in an evolution which, of all the family, only Aunt Lydia back in Bayswater had anticipated and closely witnessed the process of. It was a survival of exiles. Their enemy was light, not dark, the light of their own kind, of their own people at home from whom they had been too long cut off so that, returning there briefly, a deep and holy silence wrapped them and caused them to observe what was real as miniature….My history (Sarah thought, drinking her sweet gimlet, then drawing on her bitter cigarette), my history, rendered down to a colonnaded front, an architectural perfection of form and balance in the set and size of a window, and to a smoky resentment in my blood, a foolish contrivance for happiness in my heart against the evidence that tells me I never have been happy and can’t be while I live here. It’s time we were gone. Gone. Every last wise, stupid, cruel, fond or foolish one of us.” (Page 405)

For me there is so much satisfaction in sinking into a thick book written in exquisite prose that you just don’t see that often today. I scanned a review where the reader was put off by Scott’s long sentences. I love them. This kind of book takes time to read and appreciate and I love that about it.

This second volume of The Raj Quartet continues the story of the demise of British control of India, moving the story ahead to 1942-1944. D-Day has happened and everyone feels the European war will be over soon to be followed shortly by the Pacific war. The Laytons are a British family, new to the narrative, a longtime Military family who have traveled back and forth for brief visits to their homeland. Sarah is their oldest daughter and the only one who seems to have identified the need for the British to leave India.

Returning characters include Hari Kumar, who was accused of rape in the previous volume and Ronald Merrick, the police officer who lead the investigation. Hari has been jailed for political activities since they could not prove the rape charges. But he is being considered for release and the long section of the book devoted to his treatment by Merrick and other officials is brutal in its detail. Merrick is now an army officer and involved in a roadside assault. And also making an appearance is Lady Manners, aunt of the rape victim, but she is an enigma. The citizens know she’s there but no one has actually seen her.

I have to believe that Sarah, Merrick and Hari will be continuing characters in the next volume. I hope I can hold off until May to read it. This is a remarkable series.

Currently Reading


Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann

>116 brenzi: I'm glad you continue to enjoy the Raj Quartet, Bonnie.

>117 brenzi: Yay, a Virago!!

Great comments on the Raj books, Bonnie. You are tempting me to give them a reread.

>118 lauralkeet: 😀

>119 BLBera: I’m trying my best Beth lol.

26.Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann

4 stars

It’s the 1920s and Olivia Curtis is a shy seventeen year old who is going to her first dance. She’s lived a sheltered life and knows with a fair amount of certainty that she will be overshadowed by her older and more attractive sister. But she is looking forward to this opportunity to spread her wings and just maybe enjoy herself.

The night presents a mixed bag of results for her and the emotional roller coaster she has been on throughout the night culminates in two significant events that change Olivia in ways she had never anticipated and she begins to gather her emotions when she realizes that she was not prepared for the most important events of the night. This was a pretty straight forward coming of age story until she realizes the importance of the two events and that is what made this book so much more than that.

The writing itself was unlike any I’ve read recently. Lehmann would drastically change gears from short, static sentences to lovely constructions of nearly poetic prose. She describes the appearance of Olivia’s brother James along with Miss Mivart, returning from their nature walk in this way:

”Beside him stalked Miss Mivart, gaunt, refined in black velvet toque, astrakhan bolero, voluminous claret-colored skirt trimmed with rows of black braid, black galoshes: fantastic garb, persisting year in, year out, through summer heat and winter cold, proclaiming her status of gentlewoman in reduced circumstances as unmistakably as did her nose the chronic nature of her dyspepsia. Poor Miss Mivart; but poorer James, wretched little sacrifice!...incongruous pair yoked together by Mother’s implacable benevolence. For Miss Mivart and her friend Miss Toomer, relics cast up none knew whence, united none knew why---(by some past similar chronicle, one surmised, of drab reversal and disappointment, investments mismanaged, confidence misplaced, schemes miscarried, strokes, creeping deaths by cancer, drain of savings)---dwelt together in a cottage on the green, and eked out a totally inadequate income in various painful and ladylike ways.”

I just love that passage. Could it be more ironically descriptive? I don’t think so. Highly recommended.

Currently Reading



The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

>121 brenzi: that sounds like a good one, Bonnie. I definitely want to read more Rosamund Lehmann after this month's read. It seems most people have enjoyed her books, which has not always been the case with our monthly authors.

>122 brenzi: Oh Bonnie! The Cazalet Chronicles have been on my list for years! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think and will try to get to them after I finish this round of prize reading.

>101 brenzi: Oh darn! I loathe predictable thrillers :(

The Lehmann sounds wonderful, Bonnie. I loved the Cazalet books - I look forward to your comments.

>123 lauralkeet: This was another Virago that left me pondering it for a long time after I was done Laura. That’s always a good sign.

>124 vivians: it’s been on my list forever too Vivian. I was going to wait until I was done with The Raj Quartet but all a sudden I found myself downloading it and reading. Of course almost as soon as I had gotten into the story I got a library notice that Sugar Money was ready for pickup. Love love love Jane Harris so I have until next Thursday to pick it up but since I’m going to visit my son in Raleigh for a few days I won’t have much reading time. Good problem to have, I know.

>125 ChelleBearss: Me too Chelle. And of course they’re already at work on the movie.

>126 BLBera: It was surprisingly good Beth.

Happy Friday, Bonnie. A kind LT soul picked me up a copy of Sugar Money, so I have that to look forward to. I have not read Harris.

I am really enjoying Happiness. Forna is a terrific writer, with an impressive range.

>116 brenzi: Hi Bonnie. Your review of The Day of the Scorpion is wonderful Now, I want to read this trilogy. Years ago, when the incredible movie Ghandi was in theatres, I became obsessed with learning about British rule of India and the break away from the overwhelming power Britain held.

Now, seeing your review, I will get these books from the library.

Happy Weekend to you.

>128 msf59: I loved Forna’s The Memory of Love Mark so I’m looking forward to this new one too. You never read Harris’ Gillespie and I or The Observations? Oh my she has a way with words. I think you’d probably would love her work but especially G and I. Blew my mind.

>129 Whisper1: Thanks Linda. I’m loving learning about this time in history when the Raj undergoing such turmoil. And the writing is absolutely incredible. Have a great weekend,

I'll be interested in what you think of The Light Years, Bonnie. I have it buried somewhere in my TBR. I recall Nancy, aka Lit Chick really enjoyed the series.

I must go and find some books by Rosamond Lehman, Bonnie.

Have a lovely Sunday. xx

>132 vancouverdeb: Your wish is my command Deborah;-)

>133 PaulCranswick: Sher proved to be quite an interesting writer Paul. I hope your weekend has been great as well.

27. The Light Years (Cazelet Chronicle Volume 1) by Elizabeth Jane Howard
4 stars

This is the first of a five volume series about the Cazelet family of the U.K., which covers 1937-38. The family has taken to their summer home near Sussex amid the rumblings of Hitler’s attempts to invade Czechoslavakia and Chamberlain’s attempts to promote peace among the players. Among the characters are the Cazelet parents, William (The Brig) and Kitty (The Duchy), oldest son Hugh and wife Sybil, second son Edward and wife Villy, third son Rupert and second wife Zoe and spinster daughter Rachel. There are a number of children as a result of these marriages and a great deal of the narrating of this volume is done by the children. So not surprisingly, it’s a bit of a challenge to keep all of the characters straight but by the end of the book I was flying and actually was sorry to see it end.

I haven’t read a true family saga in ages but this one is looking like it will be a very good one. The story centers on the fear of another war and everyone, almost down to the youngest Cazelet, is living with this dread. Hugh still suffers the aftermath of his WWI injuries and is the most fearful of the brothers but they all feel the terror presented by Hitler. As Rachel Cazelet’s female love interest, Sid, explains:

”The Germans had just as bad a war as we did. But after it they were weakened, humiliated, prevented from being able to defend themselves and endured an economy which resulted in hysterical inflation. Then along comes somebody who says he can give them back their national pride and sense of identity. He’s a leader, a power maniac as most leaders are, and he sets about constructing an autocracy…another thing that tyrants usually need to keep their subjects united for them, is something for them to be against. And there’s always a convenient minority contained within the general population, defined by their race or their creed.”

NOTE: This book was written in 1990 and this reference is to Hitler, not any current political figure in the U.S. Ironic isn’t it?

This is no Raj Quartet but it was a very enjoyable read, with well-drawn characters and a thought-provoking plot with lots of twists and turns and I’m looking forward to the next volume. Highly recommended.

Currently Reading:



Sugar Money by Jane Harris

Great review of The Light Years, Bonnie. I'd better bump it up my TBR list.

As for the Royal family, ask around here on LT - I'll bet you'll get a lot of different opinions about the Royal Family :-) I hope Harry is doing the right thing, marrying Meghan. I'm a little anxious about her family ;-) Her half sister seems to really resent her, as does her half brother. I recently read that Meghan's mom gave a tell- all interview to Oprah. The thing about being a Royal is that of course you're completely ordinary, but ideally you pretend to be serene and majestic, but still " in touch " with the people. Let's hope Meghan's family can hold to that . LOL! The Royal family - my guilty pleasure.

Hi Bonnie - I also enjoyed the Cazelets. I still have the last volume to read, but it's been so long since I read the previous ones, I've been hesitating.

I'll watch for your comments on Sugar Money; that's on my WL.

>137 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. I doubt Meghan’s family will be in the news much once the wedding is over with. She seems lovely to me bu may face resistance because she’s not a Brit but it’s Harry’s choice. He seems absolutely down to earth.

>138 BLBera: I really enjoyed it Beth but it kind of dragged out because I was away for awhile and had no reading time.

I’m a big Jane Harris fan. I loved both The Observations and Gillespie and I and one of the things I love about her is her unusual take on her characters. She mastered the skill of the first person narrator in her first book and it continued right through this, her third book. A hundred pages in I’m really enjoying it.

Hi, Bonnie. I hope you had a good weekend. No, i have not read Harris before, so I look forward to your thoughts on Sugar Money. I think I also have Gillespie and I on shelf.

>140 msf59: Oh my, Gillespie and I was a stunning book Mark. Just mind blowing.

>140 msf59:, >141 brenzi: joining Bonnie's book warbling! I really enjoyed Gillespie and I, too. Read it, Mark !! 😀

I was just reading in my newspaper that Harry and Meghan seem so much more relevant to the millennial's. Perhaps I am just showing my age?

Hi, Bonnie! Just catching up here. : )

>142 lauralkeet: 👍

>143 vancouverdeb: Aren’t we all Deborah lol.

>144 Berly: Hi Kim😊

Sugar Money by Jane Harris

4.2 stars

”Cane is sugar. Sugar is money.”

Lucien is a thirteen year old slave boy in 1765 and lives on the island of Martinique when the head friar that he tends to the livestock for gives him and his much older brother Emile a task: travel by boat to (now English) Grenada and bring back the slaves that rightfully belong to the friars. They are especially suited for the task because Lucien speaks very good English and Emile knows the slaves very well, having been one of them.
Jane Harris’ new novel is based on a true story and it’s really a very good historical fiction. In Lucien, she has once again created a unique narrative voice with the lilt of the Caribbean and the innocence of a child. These two loving brothers face the daunting task with courage and great skill but the obstacles are extreme. A true adventure story develops as Emile explains the dangers to the slaves who would like nothing better than to return to Martinique and a plan is developed.

The descriptions of atrocities inflicted upon the slaves by the English are abominable and hard to stomach. Harris does not hold back. But it helps to explain the desperateness of these people who are willing to attempt an escape. Not that their life on Martinique will improve immensely. They will still be slaves, toiling in the cane fields for the friars who urgently need to increase their coffers by making the very profitable commodity, sugar, but apparently the French were preferable to the English.

So an adventure story ultimately. And that makes it very different from Harris’ two previous books, which had a bit of the unexpected, a bit of the surprising, a bit of the shocking. And while I enjoyed this story, for which she did meticulous research, (although she will undoubtedly be accused of appropriation) it’s not the Harris I have come to expect. Still highly recommended.

Happy Mother's Day Bonnie. xx

Happy Mother's Day, Bonnie! I only glanced at your review of Sugar Money, but it looks like I will be reading this one and Gillespie and I. My LT pals rarely steer me wrong. I hope you are having a great day.

>147 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. It was lovely

>148 msf59: Thanks Mark. And you my friend rarely steer me wrong. Yesterday I finished another book that you recommended, American Fire and it was excellent. Terrific non-fiction.

Sugar Money goes on my list as well, Bonnie. I hope you had a great mother's day, filled with some grandkids.

Hi Beth. Are you a Harris fan? Did you read Gillespie and I or The Observations? I had a great day with my two little munchkins. I sure you had a Scout filled Mothers Day.

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse

4.5 stars

I owe this one to Mark and he was right on target. I loved the way Hesse revealed the reasons that the economic downturn in this Virginia coastal community in turn caused the conditions that could make arson in 2012 and 2013 a veritable likelihood. She revealed who the arsonist was right away but the devil was in the details. Excellent narrative non-fiction.

Currently Reading:



The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

Bonnie - I am embarrassed to say that although I have both Harris books on my shelves, I haven't read either.

Great comments on American Fire; I must try to get to it this summer.

No need to be embarrassed Beth. We all have plenty of neglected books on our shelves although this year I’m trying to read more of the books on my shelves. I’m actually doing pretty good on that front😀

Sweet Thursday, Bonnie! Hooray for American Fire! I am glad we both felt the same way about this one and hopefully you'll get some one else on board. Excellent, NNF, indeed.

I also really enjoyed The Post Office Girl, although it has been some years. I NEED to read more Zweig.

Wow, three books in a row I have never heard of and they look good! Dangerous thread here...

Happy Friday!

>156 msf59: Hi Mark. This is my second Zweig and I have another one on my Kindle that I'll be reading at some point. American Fire was indeed a good one. Thanks for the rec.

>157 Berly: I aim to please Kim lol.

The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

4.5 stars

”The war has in fact ended, but poverty has not. It only ducked beneath the barrage of ordinances, crawled foxily behind the paper ramparts of war loans and banknotes with their ink still wet. Now it’s creeping back out, hollow-eyed, broad muzzled, hungry, and bold, eating what’s left in the gutters of the war. An entire winter of denominations and zeroes snows down from the sky, hundreds of thousands, millions, but every flake, every thousand melts in your hand. Money dissolves while you’re sleeping, it flies away while you’re changing your shoes (coming apart, with wooden heels) to run to the market for a second time; you never stop moving, but you’re always late. Life becomes mathematics, addition, multiplication, a mad whirl of figures and numbers, a vortex that snatches the last of your possessions into its black insatiable vacuum: your mother’s gold hair clasp off your neck, her wedding ring off her finger, the damask cloth off the table. But no matter how much you toss in, it’s no use, you can’t plug the black hellish hole, it does no good to stay up late knitting wool sweaters and rent all your rooms out and use the kitchen as a bedroom, doubling up with someone else.”

Stefan Zweig was a master at being able to make you feel what abject poverty really felt like. His descriptions of it literally tear your heart out. Set after WWI in the 1920s, Austria is a particularly harrowing place to be. The eponymous post office girl, Christine Hoflehner, is a civil servant who maintains the office in the inconsequential village of Klein-Reifling, two hours outside Vienna. Her meager salary allows her and her very ill mother to maintain a tiny attic space in the village. But she has an aunt who married a wealthy American and has extended an invitation to Christine to spend two weeks with them at a posh Swiss resort so Christine goes. Her aunt is at once cognizant of the fact that her niece has neither the clothes nor the bearing to be accepted by the clientele as ‘one of them’ so she takes her shopping and Christine is transformed. And Zweig switches gears and as deftly as he described poverty he now describes the world of the very wealthy ‘where unspoken wishes are granted. How could anyone be anything but happy here?’ But something happens. Someone she thought had become a friend has been inquiring into her background and apparently the jig is up. Christine is shocked when her aunt decides to check out of the hotel abruptly and go on to another posh spot and Christine is not invited along so she must return to her former life.

That is when she meets Ferdinand, a man whose experiences in captivity in Russia and his return to the very challenging employment opportunities in Austria have left him bitter and desperate. And Christine realizes that she is complete agreement with this sorry soul. Things are as bad as she thought they were. They hatch a scheme after a few meetings and the story ends on a sour note.

This may be the most depressing book I’ve ever read. But Zweig’s ability to make me feel extreme sadness in one moment and exhilaration the next is an ability not many authors have. And his command of language makes him an instant favorite with me. Just an astounding read and very highly recommended.

Currently Reading:



The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott

Happy Saturday, Bonnie. Great review of The Post Office Girl. Big Thumb! I need to read another Zweig this year.

I am currently really enjoying The Parking Lot Attendant. This might be your cuppa too. Just sayin'...

Thank you Mark. It was an incredible read and left me emotionally drained.

Hmmm The Parking Lot Attendant huh?

Nice reviews of Sugar Money and The Post Office Girl, Bonnie. I loved Jane Harris's earlier novel Gillespie and I, so I'll look for her latest book. I also enjoyed The Post Office Girl, which as you said was quite depressing.

>159 brenzi: I love visiting your thread for lots of reasons, Bonnie, not the least of which is validating my opinions on books LOL. I read The Post Office Girl several years ago and loved it. My husband got an itch to read Zweig so I pulled this book off the shelves and thrust it upon him. Sadly, he didn't like it one bit. Since it was such a long time since I read it, I wondered if it was one of those books that I would rate differently now. I can confidently say "no" because you gave it 4.5 stars, just as I did.

>163 kidzdoc: Thank you Darryl. Sugar Money is very different from Gillespie and I but it is a good historical fiction. And it’s also on the shortlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for historical fiction.

>164 lauralkeet: I had The Post Office Girl tagged “Laura” so I knew you had recommended it but I could see why it wouldn’t be for everyone. Very depressing. But the writing, the story and the ending....Wow. I didn’t realize until I finished the book that it was unfinished because Zweig committed suicide. I thought he wanted readers to come to their own conclusions.

Hi, Bonnie! A lot of interesting reading here. I've had American Fire on my radar for a while -- I think I may get to that one, eventually.

The Post Office Girl sounds good, but probably too depressing for me to read right now.

Hi Terri, I think American Fire would probably be the best choice.

You’ve been doing some good reading lately, Bonnie. There is no Zweig in my reading history. Looks like I need to fix that omission. Have a great weekend!

The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott Book 3 of The Raj Quartet
4.5 stars

”A Dakhma, also called a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation---that is, for dead bodies to be exposed to carrion birds, usually vultures.” ----From Wikipedia.

This third book of The Raj Quartet begins in 1939 when Barbie Batchelor’s shortcomings catch up with her and she is retired from the Mission that she has given her entire life to. She finds a place to live when Mildred Layton runs an ad in the Pankot paper advertising for a housemate. We have met both of these characters previously and really many of the events in the book are just a retelling of incidents that have been reported earlier. Most of the narrative takes place through Barbie’s point of view. And although this volume may be considered by some to be a rehash of what has already transpired, I found it to be just as compelling as the first two books.

Barbie is consumed by two deaths in particular; her friend Edwina Crane, who burned herself alive in 1942 in the first book and Mabel Layton’s eventual death in 1944. But really what Scott wants us to consider is the eventual death he is leading us up to: the death of The Raj. I cannot wait so see how he handles that in the fourth volume.

A great deal of the book is taken up by the doings of the women who are left behind in Pankot while their husbands are at the front. They are trying desperately to hang on to the world that they have become accustomed to. The most unusual tidbit I took away from their conversations is the length of time they would be away from their children. It would be unheard of today to go for four or five years without seeing your offspring but it was just an accepted part of this life.

But it’s death, both real and literal that this novel is concerned with. When we get to the end of the novel and Barbie has been consumed with watching the vultures gathered over the Dakhma for the Parsees she is asked by Sarah Layton if she doesn’t remember anything and Barbie thinks, ‘She remembered a great deal. But was unable to say what it was. The birds had picked the words clean.’

To say I’m blown away by Scott’s writing would be a complete understatement. His passages flow so beautifully that I caught myself holding my breath at times. I wish I hadn’t come to this series so late in life. I wonder how many times I would have reread it. Very highly recommended.

>168 Donna828: Hi Donna, yes I have read some great books. I had read one previous Zweig book, Chess Story and I have Beware of Pity on my Kindle so I might get to that before the end of the year. Enjoy your weekend.

Currently Reading:



Across the China Sea by Gaute Heivoll

Hi Bonnie, I’ve had The Post Office Girl on my shelf for a couple years now. Sound like I should get to it - thanks for the great review!

>172 Copperskye: Thanks Joanne. I hope you enjoy Zweig.

Across the China Sea by Gaute Heivoll

4.7 stars

”I was born in the autumn at the maternity clinic in Asker, and at first I slept in an old orange crate that once had been shipped across the China Sea. Papa had found the crate in the attic above the men’s unit along with old sedan chairs, straightjacket beds, and other paraphernalia from the past.”

This is the story of an unusual upbringing. In 1994, a man is clearing out his boyhood home in Norway after the death of his mother when he finds the contract his father had signed in the waning days of WWII. His parents had agreed to care for five mentally disabled children. They also cared for three mentally disabled men, all “in a Christlike spirit of love.” A house was built to accommodate these desperate individuals, along with the family of four. They became an extended family.

Heivoll writes in spare, poetic prose that maintained a feeling of melancholy throughout. Through beautiful poignant vignettes we learn of the normal interactions with these special individuals and what is possible when you let love lead the way. Even a tragedy that takes place some months after their arrival is handled with delicacy and love. Heivoll also creates a magnificent sense of place. I’ve never been to Norway but I have a picture in my mind now of the snow capped peaks, deep green forests, and icy blue waters. The innocence of childhood, compassionate adults and the power of memory make this an outstanding novel and one that will remain with me for a long time. Very highly recommended.

Currently Reading:

Blue Monday by Nicci French

Happy Memorial Day, Bonnie. Good review of Across the China Sea. Thumb! Not familiar with the book or author, but now I am. Smiles...

>176 msf59: Thanks Mark. A friend recommended it to me and I’m so glad I read it. I’m going to look for another of his that’s been translated into English.

Across the China Sea sounds fabulous! You got me with a book bullet!

Hi Terri, I’m still thinking about Across the China Sea and the characters that the author brought to life so brilliantly. I really hope you enjoy it.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

3.8 stars

Frieda Klein is a London psychiatrist who can’t sleep and, therefore, walks the city streets at all hours. She takes on a patient who is having dreams that he has a son with freckles and red hair. He doesn’t. So when five year old Matthew Farraday, who does have red hair and freckles, goes missing, Frieda begins to think that there may be a connection. She inserts herself into the police investigation and finds things are even more complicated than she imagined. The result is a good mystery with a lot of twists and turns. I did find it slow going at first, but by the mid-way point of the book I was hooked and not at all prepared for the knockout punch of an ending. I will look forward to the second book in the series.

Currently Reading:



Circe by Madeline Miller

Happy Saturday, Bonnie. I have Circe lined up on audio. I hope you are loving it. I was crazy about Song of Achilles.

>181 brenzi: ooh, I eagerly await your thoughts on this one!

Circe is next for me too!

>182 msf59: >183 lauralkeet:>184 i am 33% into Circe and enjoying it very much.

Hi Bonnie - What a lot of good reading you've been doing - I've added all of them to the list!

I know Beth. I seem to be picking a lot of good books this year😀

Circe by Madeline Miller

4.5 stars

”When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother and aunts and thousand cousins. Least of the lesser goddesses, our powers were so modest they could scarcely ensure our eternities."

In Circe, Madeline Miller has created, or adopted from what little was known about her, a fascinating character and given her the freedom to tell her incredible story. Best of all as far as I was concerned, and I think I speak for most women, was the fact that she was a very strong woman, a female character with courage and moral fiber, that we really need to see more of in our literature. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and do what she feels is right.

Her father, Helios, banishes her for the rest of time, with the help of Zeus, to an island where she further develops her witchcraft skills and eventually plays host to Odysseus, whom she has great feelings for and Daedalus, the true love of her life. She eventually bears a child on the island, and after a rough start feels her life is just about perfect. But not so fast. Nothing is perfect for Circe. She has to fight for every inch.

Miller’s prose is pristine and flows beautifully, reminiscent of her writing in her previous novel, The Song of Achilles. That book concentrated on male characters and that I think is the difference here. Circe is a woman you want to know. At least I did. And although I couldn’t go all the way to five stars this time, Miller’s latest is very highly recommended.

Currently Reading:



American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

>188 brenzi: my daughter is reading Circe right now, and posted on Instagram about how she almost missed her subway stop because she was so immersed in it. We'll be visiting her in mid-July and I've already asked to borrow the book.
(touchstones are not cooperating)

>190 lauralkeet: The book is absolutely a very compelling read Laura. I couldn’t believe how fast I read it especially since I’m normally a fairly slow reader.

Great comments on Circe, Bonnie. I'm # 10 on the library reserves list, so it might be a while.

Oh good, I'm glad you highly recommend Circe, Bonnie. It's in my future.

>192 BLBera: well Beth, I’m pretty sure you’ve got some other great books you can read in the meantime😏

>193 jnwelch: I think you’ll really like it Joe.

I know I’ve been AWOL for a bit but I’ve still been reading and enjoying what I’ve read. I’m nearly done with the last book in The Raj Quartet which is a 600 page tome that I will be very sad to see the end of. Just so, so good. I’ve also finished American Wolf which was also excellent. By concentrating on the story of one particular wolf at Yellowstone, Nate Blakeslee really brought the story of the plight of wolves and their endangerment to life. Very sad but so important. And I finished Anderby Wold by Winifred Holtby and that was also quite good, especially for a first novel. I loved Holtby’s South Riding and this one, though not nearly as compelling, was still a good view of the English rural area before WWI and the introduction of unions and how they affected both farmers and workers.

>195 brenzi: I'm delighted to see you enjoyed The Raj Quartet so much, Bonnie. Do you think you'll read Paul Scott's Staying On?

My Winifred Holtby book is Mandoa, Mandoa which I'm enjoying more than I expected. She was such a great writer.

Hi Bonnie: I have South Riding on my shelf. Maybe later this summer? It sounds like you've been reading great things. I felt the same way when I finished the Raj Quartet. I think it might be due for a reread.

I need to retire.

>196 lauralkeet: I will probably read Staying On next month Laura. I really liked Anderby Wold and have a couple more Holtby novels on my shelf so I will be reading more at some point.

>197 BLBera: I'm pretty sure you'll really enjoy South Riding Beth. It's wonderful.

A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott

Book 4 of The Raj Quartet

5 stars

I am at a loss for words. I have no idea what to write about this last volume of The Raj Quartet and about the entire series. Magnificent? Brilliant? Superb? They all fit but why? What has Scott done to rise to this level of superior literature, maybe the best thing I’ve ever read?

Character development is the first thing that comes to mind. Ronald Merrick may be the most evil character ever created. His self-serving smugness while he humiliates and destroys others is brilliantly depicted. Hari Kumar is the perfect foil. Soft-spoken, gentle, and protective of the white woman he has come to respect and admire, even though he knows how unacceptable this is in his homeland of India. Barbie Batchelor, retired mission administrator and teacher only wants what she believes is right and just. Edwina Crane, mission administrator realizes too late the value of her Indian teachers. The women, wives of the military men who are either serving in Europe or in the Far East, as their spouses literally hold down the fort in India. Their interactions and opinions are invaluable as they keep the plot moving. Guy Perron, historian at best, sifts all the facts and sorts things out at the end. Sarah Layton, one of the most complex women in literature, ponders whether she fits in India or should she be living in Great Britain, where she feels she really belongs. I could go on and on but I’ll stop there.

The historical significance of this series of novels is probably its most important aspect. I knew little to nothing about the machinations of the demise of the British in India in the years during WWII and leading up to the1947 partition and independence of India but Scott’s evocation of all that brought it about was incredibly haunting and yet brilliantly informative.

Make no mistake this series has a lot to love: police procedural, forbidden love, politics, military technique, murder, racism and history come alive, all carefully constructed in the making of a very complex narrative. Add to that the incredibly beautiful, almost poetic, prose employed by Scott which left me holding my breath at times. Very, very highly recommended.

Currently Reading:



Black Swans by Eve Babitz

>199 brenzi: sigh. sooo good. Brilliant review, Bonnie. Now, you absolutely MUST watch the television adaptation.

Thanks Laura. I’m going to have to search for the tv series. I’m not sure where I’ll find it.

ETA: I just checked and apparently I can watch it on Amazon Prime. Yippee!

I might be forced to start tonight but I want to watch the new season of Endeavor.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie! Hooray for American Wolf & Black Swans: Stories. Always glad to see that my incessant warbling pays off, a time or two.

I hope you had a great weekend.

>199 brenzi: Excellent review! So rare to have such abundant enthusiasm as that. : )

>204 msf59: I keep asking myself why it took this look for Eve Babitz to come to my attention Mark. She’s wonderful and I would compare her somewhat to Joan Didion but not as prolific. I’ll probably read everything she’s written.

>205 Berly: Thanks Kim. I did rather gush didn’t I? Lol

So much good reading going on, Bonnie!
I'm thrilled that you love the *Raj Quartet*. Laura's right: you need to watch the Granada video series - perfect casting!
I just bought a copy of Circe since it was a Kindle Daily Deal today. Your review encourages me to get to it.
I read and enjoyed 3 (?) of the Cazelet saga and then somehow let it lapse. I should get back to it. I read the Mary Hocking *Good Daughters* series at about the same time and liked it a bit better. It's also shorter and more modern. But I did like the Cazelets.
And Frieda Klein! I'm frantic that the publisher is not going to follow through with book 8, which I won with ER. I haven't received 3 of the last 5 I won. If I have to buy it, I will, but I'll think it's too expensive for a mystery/thriller.

>203 brenzi: We wanted to watch Endeavour, too, but our local PBS was airing it at 10pm this week instead of the usual 9pm. And it was a 90-minute episode. Nope nope nope, I just don't like staying up that late. We set the DVR so maybe we'll start watching tonight.

Meanwhile, I'm delighted to see The Jewel in the Crown is on Amazon. You are in for a treat. As Peggy said, perfect casting.

Happy Monday, Bonnie! Speaking of Monday, I recently read Nicci French's Dark Saturday. I skipped all the other days in the series because this one came to me thru Early Readers. I thought it terrific and hope to read the entire series....one of these days.

Hi Bonnie - thanks to your nudge I started the Cazalet Chronicles - so far I'm really enjoying The Light Years.

>207 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, I’m going to start watching the video series tonight. I’m very excited that I’m going to be able to see it although I can’t see how it can live up to the series. We’ll see.

I’ll start the next volume of the Cazalet series next week. It pales in comparison to The Raj Quartet but I did enjoy the first volume. Good luck getting your ER copy of the last Frieda Klein book. I know it’s pretty much hit or miss.

>208 lauralkeet: I hate when the local PBS station does that Laura. Mine did it with The Man in the Orange Shirt which I ended up recording and watching the other day. Well worth the wait btw. I pretty much go to bed at 10:00 and read for anywhere from ten minutes to an hour depending on how tired I am.

>209 Carmenere: Hi Lynda, I hope you get on track with Frieda Klein. I’m too much of a completist to read a series out of order I’m afraid lol. It’s a flaw I’ve learned to live with 😏

>210 vivians: oh good Vivian. I’m hoping to get to volume two very soon.

Black Swans by Eve Babitz

4.4 stars

Eve Babitz is a writer born and bred in L.A. She wrote exquisitely about the California lifestyle in the 70s and 80s and 90s. In the late 90s, she was horrifically burned in a fire at her home and has made a slow recovery over the past twenty years. Almost a recluse during this time, her publishers recently decided to reissue several of her books, including this delightful collection of short fiction. But is it fiction? It’s told in the first person and I got the idea that Babitz was telling her own story here. Not that it matters. She brilliantly portrays her beloved hometown on her own terms. With biting humor and an acerbic eye for detail, every cutting line adds fuel to the fire that propels the narrative forward. Whether she’s describing the AIDS epidemic, the casual drug use by Babitz and most people she came in contact with, her love of tango and learning to dance it herself, the diverse friends/lovers she managed to surround herself with, the Rodeo Gardens or a number of celebrities she just naturally hung around with, she manages to quickly draw you in. There is an obvious suggestion of the envy and jealousy underneath it all. And that’s the California Babitz loves.

I was marking passages like crazy because the writing is just so remarkable. The first page of the story titled “Slumming at the Rodeo Gardens” had me chuckling. It begins this way:

”It seems that the only people on TV who don’t dye their hair these days are recently released captives….This mentality, alas, is really bad in L.A., where the light is so pitiless….If you want to see all this striving against the ravages of being human in state-of-the-art proportions, go to the Rodeo Gardens on any Saturday afternoon; it is there that body lifts, skin peels, fat suctioning, teeth bonds and collagen flourish in the gracious noonday sun.”

California’s reputation is well-deserved I guess.

Literary references abound in this book. Apparently Babitz is just like us: a voracious reader. Proust, M.F.K. Fisher, Barbara Pym (that startled me. Only a reader like myself would mention the highly under rated Barbara Pym.), Virginia Woolf and….Joan Didion:

”I wanted to look up to and admire men, not be like Joan Didion, whose writing scared the hell out of most men I knew…Joan Didion, who knew how to wear clothes, was too brilliant and great for anyone to write like and too skinny and sultry to look like. I thought if I couldn’t be like Joan, then I’d have to be dowdy and/or crazy, like Virginia Woolf.”

I thought Babitz reminded me a little of Didion but I changed my mind. Didion never made me laugh out loud. I’ll be reading more by Eve Babitz. I’ve found a wonderful new writer who’s been writing for over thirty years.

Currently Reading:



Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

>212 brenzi: Excellent review, of Black Swans, Bonnie. Big Thumb! I am so glad this was a perfect fit for you and I agree with you on the Didion comparisons.

Is this your first go-around with Their Eyes Were Watching God? If so, it is quite the treat.

Hi Mark, thank you so much for introducing me to Eve Babitz. What a delight! And yes I’m late getting to Their Eyes Were Watching God but I’m really enjoying it about sixty pages in.

Bonnie, I am so glad you loved The Raj Quartet as much as I did. I read it several years ago and still imagine myself sitting in a wicker chair on a verandah sipping tea and soaking up all that history about the British control of India. I was also blown away by Their Eyes Were Watching God. Your books are making me nostalgic. I've been reading too many shiny new books from the library lately. I hope your summer is going well.

Hi, Bonnie! Just stopping by to catch up.

>216 Donna828: The Raj Quartet will stay with me for a long time Donna. Just wonderful reading. Im reading a lot of books off my shelf this year and that makes me very happy. I usually prefer older books. Contemporary fiction often leaves me cold.

>217 tymfos: Hi Terri!