apfopd United Kingdom

Rating

4 stars - an ejoyable read

Description from Amazon

From the bestselling author of THE RED TENT come a contemporary novel that explores the burden of secrets, the weight of grief and the healing power of female friendship When Kathleen meets Joyce, each woman has come to a turning point in her life. Kathleen, whose sister died of breast cancer fifteen years earlier, has just been diagnosed herself and finds her world abruptly thrown into terrifying turmoil. While Joyce, increasingly distant from her awkward, adolescent daughter, is taking stock of her marriage and family, and struggling to get to grips with a burgeoning career as a novelist. Neither realises that their chance meeting will result in a life-altering friendship. A mutual appreciation of books initially brings the women together and they rapidly fall into friendship, taking long walks along Good Harbor beach and talking about their lives. Piece by piece, they begin to share their personal histories and acknowledge how much they can learn from each other.

Why did you choose to read this book?

I had read and enjoyed The Red Tent so when Good Harbor was released I was keen to get hold of a copy - so keen in fact that I bought it in hardback. Luckily I bought it for 1/2 price (the sticker is still on the cover) as according to the receipt tucked inside I bought this book in December 2002! I’m actually quite embarrased that it has taken me more than 5 years to actually read it - and am vowing never to buy a hardback copy of anything again - this isn’t the first time I’ve left a book sitting on the shelf so long I could have just bought the paperback version and saved some ££ ;0)

A review of the book

The novel centres around Kathleen, resident of Gloucester, who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer - and Joyce a budding novelist who has just bought a summerhouse in the area.

The two women meet at a Jewish Temple and become fast friends - taking long walks along the beach at Good Harbor, sharing the stories of their lives - an act which helps them both discover more about themselves and ultimately come to accept the paths that they have taken.

Could you relate to the characters? Did you empathise with them and their plight?

I found it quite hard to relate to the characters in this book - they are both much older than me and I have no experience with many of the novel’s themes; motherhood, breast cancer, religion. Despite this I was able to empathise with them as Diamant does a good job of describing their experiences and their thoughts and feelings.

There was a central theme to which I think we can all relate - that of keeping thoughts and feelings to yourself and not sharing with those closest to you for fear of hurting their feelings, or fear of making them think less of you.

How realistic was the characterisation? Would you want to meet any of the characters? Did you like them? Hate them?

I really enjoyed spending time with Kathleen and Joyce - and feel I have become to know them well and would like to meet similar souls in real life - if you have a few hours to spare one Sunday afternoon and want a good book to curl up with then I recommend you pick up a copy of Good Harbor.

Rating

5 stars - a book so comfortable you’ll want to read it more than once

Description - from Amazon

Compulsively neat, obsessively organised, Lily is a writer who writes about writers. When she is asked to contribute to a book on lost icons, she visits Rita Boothe - photographer, journalist and wit - who took LSD when she was forty and never lived up to her promise. Rita shows Lily some of her photographs, including one of a beautiful, sexy creature drinking Jack Daniels in a white limousine. It is Mattie, Lily’s mother. Lily stares in wonder and with envy - she wishes she could live with such abandon. But Mattie is no longer the woman in the limo, and she and Lily’s father live in a neglected house with their neglected marriage. Lily and her siblings want to mend their parents’ rift, but Marie’s husband has walked out, and Rory avoids coming home altogether. Unless something happens, the family’s going to fade away. But something is about to happen…

Why did you choose to read this book?

The honest answer? I put my TBR books in alphabetical order and this one was next! I picked it up from the shelf and really didn’t want to read it - but that was the rule I set and so I did. Of course you could ask why I have the book on my TBR pile - and I honestly have no idea - the cover isn’t too inspiring and the blurb on the back could be more inviting - so i can only think it must have been on sale and found it’s way into my shopping basket some time ago!

A review of the book

So I’ve admitted I wasn’t too keen on reading this - and it was a little slow to start so I nearly gave in - but I forced myself to stick it out and I’m glad I did - for I really enjoyed this book. Despite the fact that the description focuses on Lily, this book doesn’t really have a main character - or a plot for that matter - rather it is a year in the life of a family, told from the point of view of each and every family member - as they go through normal life events.

It’s heart warming, it’s friendly, it’s comfortable - and it’s oh so true to life that you’ll find yourself smiling as you realise that you do these things too.

If you are part of a family, you’ve ever gone to bed on an argument, or looked at another person and assumed their life was better than yours - then you need to go and buy a copy of this book today.

And now for the book exploration

If you haven’t read this book - and plan to do so - do not read any further for there will be spoilers. If you have read it and would like to share your views then keep reading…

Could you relate to the characters? Did you empathise with them and their plight?

While the changing voices of the characters threw me at first I really enjoyed learning about each of the characters - the way they were thinking and feeling - and could empathise with each of them. Mattie - the mother - is a worrier - when someone says they have a problem she instantly fears the worse and her imagination runs away with her. Lily can be quite paranoid - and thinks that people are saying negative things about her, completely misunderstanding their words and actions.

It was interesting to see the same plot from the different points of view - to see that perceptions and assumptions are not always right - and that this can often stop you doing things that will make you happy for fear of what other people will think.

Is this book driven by the plot or the characters?

The book is definitely driven by the characters - the plot isn’t at all obvious - it’s not like a crime novel where there’s a murder to be solved, or a action adventure where there’s treasure to be found - it’s simply a year in the life of an everyday family, experiencing everyday events.

Share a quote from the book

“She still thought this family like starlings, flying together, whooshing apart, then joining one another again, milling and calling, coming back to where they’d started. She knew, of course, that she’d never truly be one of them; she just hoped that now and then they’d invite her to stand back and observe their flight”

I’m rather sad that this book has come to an end - I feel like I know these characters so well and I’m going to miss them!

Rating

4 stars - a really enjoyable read

Description

At the age of twenty-nine, Sydney has already been once divorced and once widowed. Trying to regain her footing, she has answered an ad to tutor the teenage daughter of a well-to-do couple as they spend a sultry summer in their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage.

But when the Edwardses two grown sons, Ben and Jeff, arrive at the beach house, Sydney finds herself caught up in a destructive web of old tensions and bitter divisions. As the brothers vie for her affections, the fragile existence Sydney has rebuilt is threatened.

Reason for reading

I’ve been a big fan of Anita Shreve since reading Eden Close many years ago and was avidly awaiting this novel’s paperback release.

First line

“Three o’clock, the dead hour. The faint irritation of sand grit between bare foot and floorboards.”

Review

I was happy to see the Beach House that has been a theme of Sheve’s earlier novels make another appearance - it’s interesting to read about the history of a house and the people who lived there lives within it in such different ways.

This particular tale revolves around Sydney, a woman twice married, once divorced and once widowed - who spends the summer at the Summer House tutoring the Edwardses teenage daughter.

The themes of the novel are family dynamics and secrets, love, marriage and deceit - and all are thrown together in a novel made up of broken paragraphs containing disjointed snippets of information, conversations, feelings and beautiful descriptions of Sydney’s thoughts and surroundings.

The novel explores Sydney’s relationship with Mrs Edwards - an awkward one - and the love that develops with Mr Edwards and Julie - as they welcome her into their family. And then of course their are the sons, Ben and Jeff who between them weave a web in which Sydney becomes entangled.

It’s hard to review this novel without giving away the story line - and there are so many twists and turns along the way I’d hate to reveal any secrets. It’s a beautiful book, well written and thought provoking - but one which can be devoured in a couple of sittings. Buy yourself a copy - you won’t be disappointed.

The Beach House

Some fellow readers have asked which Anita Shreve novels I’d recommend and in which order they should be read. Personally I’ve enjoyed all of them, although A Wedding in December is my least favourite. The Beach House that is owned by the Edwards family in Body Surfing also makes an appearance in the following novels:

1. Fortune’s Rocks
2. Sea Glass
3. The Pilot’s Wife
4. Body Surfing

I’d suggest starting with Fortune’s Rocks and reading on from there - and then visiting some of her other novels.

I picked this book up on impulse at Downtown Disney back in 2006 - Virgin have these great stands with books just sitting there looking inviting and asking to be bought. My husband thought I was mad as this being a hardback - and 800 pages long - is quite a hefty tome! Of course it has since been gathering dust on a shelf for as much as I wanted to read it the sheer weight put me off (I like to read at lunch times and it just looked too heavy to carry to work each day!)

But I finally decided to get stuck in - and it was worth waiting for…

The novel tells the story of Cordelia Kenn, a 19 year old girl, heavily pregnant with her first child - who is writing the story of her youth to present to her daughter when she turns 16. The narrative is broken up with excerpts from Cordelia’s *pillow book* - a collection of journals and poems that she had written during the time.

The story focuses on relationships in Cordelia’s life, from her first love, to her father, her best friend and those she turns to in times of need and desperation.

I found the book very easy to read - I liked the way the narrative was broken up - it was just like reading journal extracts - or a blog - and I felt I really got to know - and like - Cordelia.

I was slightly confused when reaching book 2 - 200 pages in - when the pages didn’t seem to follow on properly… and I realised that this pillow book was actually two - one on the left facing pages and one on the right. With no guidance on how to read it I chose to read the left pages first (mostly abstract journal entries) and then go back and read the right pages (more of a normal novel narrative). This worked well - although it was quite hard to read in such a way - and a bit disheartening to get half way through the book - physically - and then have to go back some 200 pages!

One *warning* I should give is that the book is quite graphic in places - especially when dealing with Cordelia’s sexual history. It reminded me of the shock factor of Judy Blume’s Forever. While reading I wondered whether I had led a particularly sheltered childhood - or whether the author was letting his imagination run away with him. Yep - slightly odd that such an in depth novel of female teenage years should be written by a man…

But I decided not to dwell on this or it may have put me off!

All in all this was a very enjoyable and insightful novel - and one I would recommend to those with strong enough muscles to tackle it! The good news is that after two years it is finally coming to stores in paperback format in March.

Rating

5 stars - I’ve put it on the re-read list

I’m not sure I’ve confessed to this before, but I’m a bit of a fan of Richard & Judy’s book club - I don’t read everything they recommend but I have discovered some great books thanks to them. My latest read comes from their 2008 reading list - and once again I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve not come across Patrick Gale before so had no idea what to expect from this novel - it took a while to get into it but once I was I really enjoyed it.

The novel tells the story of Rachel Kelly - an artist whose genius stems from her being bipolar. Rachel dies early on in the book and the remaining chapters are presented alongside notes from an exhibition detailing her life’s works. Each note sheds new light on a story that twists and turns as we are introduced to her husband, each of her four children and finally her sister. Through the words of each family member we learn more about Rachel’s life - interestingly each person sees her in a different light, and sometimes perceptions differ quite significantly from the truth.

This book isn’t written in a linear fashion - instead it jumps back and forth in time as each person shares a part of the tale that you as a reader must piece together to understand the bigger picture; to understand how Rachel’s’ illness affects each family member in a different way, to appreciate how events and her mental state impact on her art, and to empathise with Rachel as her illness affects her relationship with her children and her husband.

As well as learning more about Rachel’s life Gale also makes you think about wider themes; mental illness, art, Quakerism and family.

I wasn’t sure how much I liked this book as I was reading it - but now I’m done I think I did enjoy it - and perhaps it would be best read in a single sitting or two - perfect for a transatlantic flight perhaps.

This is the third Koomson novel I’ve read, following The Cupid Effect and My Best Friend’s Girl, and I really enjoyed it - stormed through it in a weekend in fact - it’s just ne of those books that’s easy to read and keeps you wanting to find out more.

Koomson covers some hard hitting issues - alchoholism, divorce and rape - and she deals with them sensitively - don’t write this book off as pure *chick-lit*!

As the story unfolded I felt like I knew the characters; the twins are just adorable and it is heart-breaking at times the way they have to deal with their mother’s addiction. I have to admit that I hoped at times that Kendra and Kyle would get together to make the *perfect family* but Koomson went in the other - more realistic direction - and the ending was so much better for it.

This really is an enjoyable novel - and one that I highly recommend.

Rating

5 stars - hard-hitting issues covered in a sensitive way - it’s going on my *read again* pile