Set in the 1920s, this book tells the story of four women from England that rent a castle in Italy for a month, and the profound changes that this vacation has upon their lives. The story starts with Mrs. Wilkins spotting an ad for a castle for rent in Italy while she’s visiting her women’s […]
The Enchanted April – Elizabeth Von Arnim Read More »
Read for the 2011 TBR Lite Reading Challenge. My previous reads of Byatt’s work have been of Possession, and her books of fairy tales – all later works. The Shadow of the Sun was her first novel, and while I’ve loved everything else I’ve read by the author, I wasn’t a big fan of this
The Shadow of the Sun – A. S. Byatt Read More »
This has got to be the most meta Jane Austen adaptation I’ve ever read. Jasmin Field is a columnist for a moderately successful women’s magazine, and has just enough clout to get invited to audition for a charity play being directed by Harry Noble, the most famous, handsome and sought over actor in England. They’re
Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field – Melissa Nathan Read More »
Read for the 2010 Complete Booker Challenge. The Stone Carvers tells of the lives of a number of residents of the Canadian village of Shoneval – most especially a brother and sister, Tilman and Klara Becker. The books shifts about in time a bit, and I’ll admit to some trepidation going in, when Klara is
The Stone Carvers – Jane Urquhart Read More »
Read for the Complete Booker 2010 Reading Challenge. Christopher Boone is a boy somewhere on the autism spectrum – he’s clearly a mathematical genius, but he needs his routine, and can get into a bit of trouble when thrust into situations outside of his element. One day, he’s the first one to find the neighbor’s
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon Read More »
In 1913, a young girl is abandoned in London on a ship headed to Australia. She was brought there by a woman she knows only as the Authoress, who never comes back, despite having told the little girl to wait for her. Eventually, the little girl makes it to Australia, where the harbormaster of the
The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton Read More »
This book begins as a recollection typed out by Jake Mishkin, an intellectual property lawyer, who is holed up in a cabin on a lake in upstate New York, waiting for some very bad men to come and fetch something that must be very important. Mishkin’s story contrasts with the more straightforward narrative of Albert
The Book of Air and Shadows – Michael Gruber Read More »
Read for the RIP V Reading Challenge. A man is involved in a horrifying car accident, and is burned so badly he faces a long recovery in the burn ward of the hospital. While there, he meets a woman named Marianne Engel. Marianne insists that they’ve met before – that they were lovers in medieval
The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson Read More »
Read for the Complete Booker 2010 and TBR Lite 2010 Reading Challenges. The Welsh Girl is the story of Esther, a girl from northern Wales, whose village is home to a POW camp during WWII, as well as Karsten, a German soldier who ends up in the camp after surrendering during the invasion of Normandy.
The Welsh Girl – Peter Ho Davies Read More »
I started The Mulberry Empire for the Complete Booker Reading challenge. It seemed like a promising story: the events surrounding the failed British invasion of Afghanistan in the early 19th century. I’ve abandoned the book a quarter of the way into it (first abandoned book since 2007). I just couldn’t get into the story. There
The Mulberry Empire – Philip Hensher Read More »