Postcards from the past, the present and what might have been
Really a novella that could be called a day in the life of Isabelle (sometimes known as Belly or Bell, depending on chronology and the speaker). Isabelle was born in Alaska but now finds herself in Portland working in a library. She loves thrift shops, memories of childhood and her collegue Spoke. A
... (continue)
Really a novella that could be called a day in the life of Isabelle (sometimes known as Belly or Bell, depending on chronology and the speaker). Isabelle was born in Alaska but now finds herself in Portland working in a library. She loves thrift shops, memories of childhood and her collegue Spoke. A lovely dip into Isabelle's psyche and history with some interesting reflections on war, memories and love.
Jonathan Dee can write, so some of A Thousand Pardons is funny, reglective, well constructed like The Privileges. But,the story stalls. Helen, the mother, after loosing her status as suburban housewife when husband Ben implodes with a truly fabulous midlife crisis, becomes a crisis specialist in get
... (continue)
Jonathan Dee can write, so some of A Thousand Pardons is funny, reglective, well constructed like The Privileges. But,the story stalls. Helen, the mother, after loosing her status as suburban housewife when husband Ben implodes with a truly fabulous midlife crisis, becomes a crisis specialist in getting people to say they are sorry (hence the title). But there is not much else to it, her relationship witih her obnoxious teen daughter, her chance meeting with a movie star she knew as a child!!! So good airplane reading but not much else
! Ursulla is born on a snowy day in 1910. Or she is not. Atkinson gives us a variety of choices of what Ursulla"s life is or will be. Does she get married? Does she meet Hiltler? Does she die in the blitz? Or does she die at birth? Atkinson gets what must be a writer's dream: the do over - instead o
... (continue)
! Ursulla is born on a snowy day in 1910. Or she is not. Atkinson gives us a variety of choices of what Ursulla"s life is or will be. Does she get married? Does she meet Hiltler? Does she die in the blitz? Or does she die at birth? Atkinson gets what must be a writer's dream: the do over - instead of choosing a single path for our heroine, we get multiple possibilities. Only draw back is sometimes you want a particular tale to be the real one! Good read though!
Book 3 of the Patrick Melrose series, our hero is finally done with drugs and during a ghastly (but so well depicted) high society weekend in the country, gets some closure on his relationship with his horrible, thankfully deceased, father. Like walking into a prism of English society, so many chara
... (continue)
Book 3 of the Patrick Melrose series, our hero is finally done with drugs and during a ghastly (but so well depicted) high society weekend in the country, gets some closure on his relationship with his horrible, thankfully deceased, father. Like walking into a prism of English society, so many characters buzzing about being witty and so mean that you would swear you have been there and barefly lived through it. With an appearance of Princess Margaret that is cruelly delightful (in America she would have sued!).
Heard a lot about this book before decided to read it. Wasnt sure that another climbing the mountain and finding oneself was for me. But i'm glad i did. Not that i now want to treck for 3 months virtually alone through snow and heat with little ir no money but glad Cheryl Strayed did! After loosing
... (continue)
Heard a lot about this book before decided to read it. Wasnt sure that another climbing the mountain and finding oneself was for me. But i'm glad i did. Not that i now want to treck for 3 months virtually alone through snow and heat with little ir no money but glad Cheryl Strayed did! After loosing her mother, Strayed truely did stray from the path but through this amazing trip she truly found her way. A treat to follow
Glaciers
Postcards from the past, the present and what might have beenReally a novella that could be called a day in the life of Isabelle (sometimes known as Belly or Bell, depending on chronology and the speaker). Isabelle was born in Alaska but now finds herself in Portland working in a library. She loves thrift shops, memories of childhood and her collegue Spoke. A ... (continue)
Really a novella that could be called a day in the life of Isabelle (sometimes known as Belly or Bell, depending on chronology and the speaker). Isabelle was born in Alaska but now finds herself in Portland working in a library. She loves thrift shops, memories of childhood and her collegue Spoke. A lovely dip into Isabelle's psyche and history with some interesting reflections on war, memories and love.
A Thousand Pardons
So sorry for everything over and overJonathan Dee can write, so some of A Thousand Pardons is funny, reglective, well constructed like The Privileges. But,the story stalls. Helen, the mother, after loosing her status as suburban housewife when husband Ben implodes with a truly fabulous midlife crisis, becomes a crisis specialist in get ... (continue)
Jonathan Dee can write, so some of A Thousand Pardons is funny, reglective, well constructed like The Privileges. But,the story stalls. Helen, the mother, after loosing her status as suburban housewife when husband Ben implodes with a truly fabulous midlife crisis, becomes a crisis specialist in getting people to say they are sorry (hence the title). But there is not much else to it, her relationship witih her obnoxious teen daughter, her chance meeting with a movie star she knew as a child!!! So good airplane reading but not much else
Life After Life
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Ground hog day for the literary set! Ursulla is born on a snowy day in 1910. Or she is not. Atkinson gives us a variety of choices of what Ursulla"s life is or will be. Does she get married? Does she meet Hiltler? Does she die in the blitz? Or does she die at birth? Atkinson gets what must be a writer's dream: the do over - instead o ... (continue)
! Ursulla is born on a snowy day in 1910. Or she is not. Atkinson gives us a variety of choices of what Ursulla"s life is or will be. Does she get married? Does she meet Hiltler? Does she die in the blitz? Or does she die at birth? Atkinson gets what must be a writer's dream: the do over - instead of choosing a single path for our heroine, we get multiple possibilities. Only draw back is sometimes you want a particular tale to be the real one! Good read though!
Some Hope
Daddy dearest (book 3)Book 3 of the Patrick Melrose series, our hero is finally done with drugs and during a ghastly (but so well depicted) high society weekend in the country, gets some closure on his relationship with his horrible, thankfully deceased, father. Like walking into a prism of English society, so many chara ... (continue)
Book 3 of the Patrick Melrose series, our hero is finally done with drugs and during a ghastly (but so well depicted) high society weekend in the country, gets some closure on his relationship with his horrible, thankfully deceased, father. Like walking into a prism of English society, so many characters buzzing about being witty and so mean that you would swear you have been there and barefly lived through it. With an appearance of Princess Margaret that is cruelly delightful (in America she would have sued!).
Wild
Heard a lot about this book before decided to read it. Wasnt sure that another climbing the mountain and finding oneself was for me. But i'm glad i did. Not that i now want to treck for 3 months virtually alone through snow and heat with little ir no money but glad Cheryl Strayed did! After loosing ... (continue)
Heard a lot about this book before decided to read it. Wasnt sure that another climbing the mountain and finding oneself was for me. But i'm glad i did. Not that i now want to treck for 3 months virtually alone through snow and heat with little ir no money but glad Cheryl Strayed did! After loosing her mother, Strayed truely did stray from the path but through this amazing trip she truly found her way. A treat to follow