Tag Archives: Reading

Book Review: Whistler by Ann Patchett

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An intriguing story about Daphne who unexpectantly runs into her mother’s second husband, Eddie at a museum. He had only been married a year but had left a lasting impact on nine-year-old Daphne who believed the break up was her fault. The last time she’d seen him was when they were in a car accident and she had  trudged through snow to save him.

This is a beautifully told story about love and loss and how two people can have a profound impact on each other. Both Daphne and Eddie are propelled back to their once loving relationship almost immediately their bond barely broken

Daphne relays the story of the accident to her sister in snippets. Yet her sister being younger, didn’t have quite the same relationship and at times disappears in the story while Daphne and Eddie reignite their love for one another.

The characters are endearing and thoughtful even Jonathan, Daphne’s husband. Daphne herself is complicated as she is likeable. The story told through her eyes, reveals her pain and loss as well as her heartfelt relationships.

This is a lovely gentle story. Check it out.

Book Review: Strangers by Belle Burden

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You would think the story line of a wife who comes home and finds her husband has been unfaithful to be of little interest to anyone.

Except this memoir is a highly compelling and voyeuristic look inside a world of privilege and the disintegration of a relationship.

I was captured hook, line, sinker with this one. The writing is truly beautiful and the author engages the reader about her life, the tragedy, and the fallout affecting her friends, family and neighbours. It shines a light on the societal norms of the nuclear family and the class structure she experiences in her Martha Vineyard home all while with Covid lurks in the sidelines.

The author is no celebrity but she does have wealth which was taken advantage of by her philandering husband who kept his obscene hedge fund salary a secret. To be fair, she admitted she had no interest in their finances trusting him completely. And many relationships do that and it’s all fine until it isn’t. Every person should understand their financial situation and it’s got nothing to do with trust. If he’d died suddenly, she would have had to face it anyway—lesson learned.

I was captivated with this story, how the husband managed a double life and it played on my mind as to how these men actually think. We get no more of an explanation of this betrayal than Burden did. But the signs were there. He leaves the parenting to her, wants the prenup changed, convinces her that his long hours at work is for the family, agrees that her trust fund should be used to buy property in joint names without contribution from him. Is it hindsight or her ignorance about what their relationship truly looked like?

The disintegration of one woman’s life and how she picked up the pieces was engaging enough. Check this one out.

Book Review: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

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Whoa this book has really done my head in and I’ve needed time to digest and process what just happened.

Natalie is an influencer raising her large family on a farm and posting about her daily life with her handsome cowboy husband and her perfectly styled kitchen and well-behaved children. It seems she has it all and her followers lap it up despite the fact Natalie has lots of paid help.

However, she wakes one morning cast back into the 1800’s with her same family, same farm house and same husband. But something isn’t quite right.

The story is told in two timelines: her life in the present as a traditional wife and her backstory. The other tells how she navigates her life back in history. From the first page I was hooked because all I wanted to know was how she had time travelled back to the 1800’s.

I loved the two-time line structure and her backstory. The writing was very good too. However, her life in the 1800’s was quite brutal and confronting. Was she held a prisoner, had she time travelled or was she merely suffering some sort of nightmare dream? I won’t put any spoilers in here but there were quite a few holes when I looked back on that second timeline e.g she suffers an injury but no help is called. I couldn’t buy into the callousness of that.

Nevertheless, it’s a wild ride and I can see why it’s captured many readers. I did come away feeling very little for Natalie’s character. Her husband even more so. She really was the angry woman and the question is why she put up with it all for so long. I did wonder though if she was an unreliable narrator and when you consider that, the whole thing is barely believable. If anything it’s quite a sad story.

This would be a great book club pick because it would no doubt ignite a lot of debate. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Book Review: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

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A delightful and easy read with heart.

Sybil has spent a lifetime writing letters to people. Some of the letters are to friends, family, authors of books she’s read, indeed anyone she feels deserves written correspondence.

Evans has crafted a story about Sybil and through those letters we glimpse into her life, loves and losses both past and present. The letters reveal a complex character which is compelling as it is enticing. Sybil built a life as a lawyer, divorced and raised three children. In her late seventies, we glimpse who she is and who she interacts with through her correspondence even down to thank you notes with her neighbour.

I love the story revealed in letters and have used them in my own writing. Sybil laments that with the internet, messaging and email, letter writing has all but died but she clings onto hers as it is part of her history, one which may be read by others in the future.

In my own case I hold precious letters between both sets of grandparents more than one hundred years ago and what a story those snippets tell. But they don’t give me a picture of my grandparents inner most feelings nor are they particularly reflective like Sybil’s letters.

There were only a couple of points when my attention waned with letters to people, I wasn’t that interested in eg the University Dean. There are a lot of characters and because I read this book quickly I kept up, but if you’re the sort of person who reads a chapter a week then you might get a little lost. The good news is that are no real chapters, just letters, some long and some just a few lines.

Nevertheless, this one is completely engaging and immersive.

Book Review: Heart the Lover by Lily King

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There’s been a bit of hype around this one.

The story is about Jordan (not her real name) and her relationship with Sam and Yash. The three meet as students in their final year of college and they are serious about 17th century Literature. Jordan begins a love affair with Sam but there is something unrequited with Yash. The story is in three parts and navigates their lives during school and thereafter.

A coming-of-age story it reminded me so much of Normal People by Sally Rooney but better in my opinion. The writing is good and I enjoyed the characters. The decisions they make shaped their lives with emotional consequences. The themes of love, betrayal and frustrating lack of communication together with jealously and deceit all make for riveting reading.

The only thing which readers may not be able to relate to is the 17th century literature which if you’re not familiar can be lost. It certainly did for me.

In fact this one was a page turner for me. I’ve heard it is a tear-jerker for many although not for me.

Check this one out.

Book Review: Before I knew I Loved You by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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I hadn’t realised until too late that this book is the sixth in the series and perhaps I should have read the first one instead.

I’d heard only great things about the series and so was very surprised with this short novel which was a collection of stories set in a café in Japan. The stories centre around four people who come to the café to take a special seat which transports them into the future or the past. It  is only for the amount of time a cup of coffee turns cold. The stories themselves were charming and heartfelt giving the reason why visitors were there and their backstories. The theme is mostly about love and each character is supported by the owner of the café and his sister. There are some other visitors who help navigate the narrative but they add little value.

It’s a lovely idea and I believe the series concentrates on the various people who come to the café. However, I did find it repetitive in parts such as the rules of the café. It also was not very well written, and the dialogue awkward. This may have been a problem with the translation.

I almost gave up after the second story. But I persisted and found the writing to improve during the third story. I’m not sure why it is such a best seller given the standard . The reader has to be quite tolerant. Perhaps it is riding on the coat tails of the original book and that’s what keeps the readers coming back. I’m not sure if I’d bother reading anymore if the standard of writing is that poor.

Book Review: The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

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Wilbur, an eighty-one-year-old man lives alone in a big sprawling house. When he collapses his gardener finds him but is too late to revive him.

Wilbur finds himself on the Midnight Train where he is given the chance to travel through his life reflecting on his regrets notably his true love with Maggie who left him more than twenty years earlier.

I’d read Midnight Library based on a similar idea where a woman is given a chance to do the things she had most regretted not doing. I’d enjoyed that one but this one didn’t leave me with the same excitement. Wilbur travels on the train and gets off during various scenes of his life. He can only observe but not intervene although he is very tempted to because he can see where things for awry for him. He was a selfish and self centered man during his life reminding me a little of Scrooge.

I did hope for more from this one but I simply could not feel much of a connection to the characters especially Wilbur. I didn’t care about his regrets or the events of his life. It just wasn’t that interesting. I was wishing for the end and thankful that it wasn’t a long book.

It might be a little harsh perhaps, but it wasn’t for me.