Bad blogger

Yes once again I am here to apologise for neglecting my blog and hoping there are still a few people out there who check in now and again!

In the long time between blogs I have actually read 4 books - all very different but only one I really loved.

First cab off the rank was Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes

264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imagined.

The book took ages to grow on me and it was a complicated family saga, but provided a fascinating insight into various periods and locations (Odessa, Paris, Vienna and Tokyo) around the world. Beautifully written but certainly not a book I cruised through.

Next book was The Weekend by Bernhard Schlink.

Old friends and lovers reunite for a weekend in a secluded country home after spending decades apart. They plumb their memories of each other and pass quiet judgments on the life decisions each has made since their youth. This isn't, however, just any old reunion, and their conversations of the old days aren't typical reminiscences. After 24 years, Joerg - a convicted murderer and terrorist, is released from prison on a pardon. A former member of the Red Army Faction (or Baader-Meinhof Group), the announcement of Joerg's release is sure to send shock waves throughout Germany. But before this happens, his group of friends - most of whom were RAF sympathizers - gather for his first weekend of freedom.

I had been hoping for a lighter read after the saga of the Hare with Amber Eyes - although this book was an easy enough read, the topic was dreadfully depressing and the characters didn't resonate with me. Bernhard Schlink is the same author who wrote 'The Reader' so it is a beautifully written book but I found it oppressive.

So the next book was purchased in the airport bookshop and was definitely chosen to be a very light, easy read that would not distract from my holiday fun. The book A Long Way Down by Nick Hornsby did not disappoint.

'For disgraced TV presenter MArtin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve he's going to end it all...But not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons.'

The book was such a great ride even though it touched on some very sad topics and situations - I couldn't put it down and wanted to keep reading till the end. Good trashy novel.

My FINAL book was fantastic and if you've managed to read this far - well done, because this is the best book I've read for a while. When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman was so different and beautiful that I read it in the space of two (quite long!) nights.

WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT is an incredibly exciting debut from an extraordinary new voice in fiction. Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to its bare bones, it's about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

Just when you think you know where the book is going and what will happen to each of the (really likable, complex and interesting) characters, the book veers off into an unexpected, yet perfect way. I really recommend this book as something quite unique and lovely.

Happy reading all.

Sister

I have been a very bad blogger of late.

Two books I have read lately that were very different from each other but were both good - not amazing, but I did enjoy both.

Firstly, Sister by Rosamund Lupton. I had been seeing this book in several book shops and finally got around to buying it - and reading it.

Its a great mystery, crime story involving two sisters. At the premise of the story is the notion of 'how well do you really know your sister / brother etc'? The book has a great twist in it, that I didn't see coming and it was a very enjoyable, easy read.

Nothing can break the bond between sisters ...When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face. The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.


I would recommend this book - not overly intellectual or trying, just a hard to put down page turner.


The next book I read was the Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. You may remember I reviewed her previous book, The Shifting Fog and had enjoyed the romantic, English setting and the easy story.


I think this book, the Forgotten Garden was better.

The brief outline of this story is that a young girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She is raised in Australia and on her twenty-first birthday the family she thinks of as her own explain the truth. "Nell" then sets out to discover who she really is and how she came to be abandoned. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the quest that the mystery is solved.


It was a lovely book with lots of whimsy, mystery and a multi-generational saga to keep the pages turning. Once again, not an overly intellectual read, but a lovely escape. 


I'm sorry these are terribly short reviews of these books and I did have great thoughts about discussing the bonds of sisterhood etc, but I just don't seem to have the time at the moment!


I am now reading a book that I am REALLY struggling with - The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. God knows what possessed me to buy it as I'm finding it very hard going and I am however perservering as it has won literary awards so it must be good... I will let you know how it goes and whether my opinion changes!