"My God, its full of books"
Added to listMy favourite bookswith 31 books.
Added to listThe Guardian book of the day 2026with 81 books.
The meandering stream of conciousness thoughts of a Stalin obsessed 28 year old woman, teaching at a girl's school on the Eastern seaboard of the United states. It started well enough, but got increasingly bogged down and repetitive, with very little in the way of plot to sustain the interest. I wanted to like this, but sadly did not.
The meandering stream of conciousness thoughts of a Stalin obsessed 28 year old woman, teaching at a girl's school on the Eastern seaboard of the United states. It started well enough, but got increasingly bogged down and repetitive, with very little in the way of plot to sustain the interest. I wanted to like this, but sadly did not.
Added to listMy up next shortlistwith 9 books.
A gothic creepy house story that plays with ideas of time, infinity and permanence. It is a fairly long book and for me it lost its way a little in the last 100 pages or so, but still a fun read that never drags.
Not perfect (it has a lot of very bad poetry, and many of the secondary characters are a little one dimensional), but highly enjoyable overall.
A gothic creepy house story that plays with ideas of time, infinity and permanence. It is a fairly long book and for me it lost its way a little in the last 100 pages or so, but still a fun read that never drags.
Not perfect (it has a lot of very bad poetry, and many of the secondary characters are a little one dimensional), but highly enjoyable overall.
DNF. Just not doing it for me.
DNF. Just not doing it for me.
Added to listGoldsboro books Fresh ink subscriptionwith 6 books.
Added to listMy up next shortlistwith 9 books.
Added to listThe Guardian book of the day 2026with 80 books.
I have previously read Melissa Harrison's non fiction nature books (I loved The stubborn light of things), but this is the first of her novels that I have tried. Just like her non fiction work, this is beautifully written, with a deep understanding of the natural world, and with a wonderful empathetic humanity. It is tells the story of an English village over the course of six months, told through the linked narrative voices of the villagers (each chapter through the viewpoint of a different person). Clare, a woman who has lived all her life in the village is dying, but the village too is passing away in so many ways - everything is interconnected.
I have previously read Melissa Harrison's non fiction nature books (I loved The stubborn light of things), but this is the first of her novels that I have tried. Just like her non fiction work, this is beautifully written, with a deep understanding of the natural world, and with a wonderful empathetic humanity. It is tells the story of an English village over the course of six months, told through the linked narrative voices of the villagers (each chapter through the viewpoint of a different person). Clare, a woman who has lived all her life in the village is dying, but the village too is passing away in so many ways - everything is interconnected.
Added to listThe Guardian book of the day 2026with 81 books.
Added to listMy up next shortlistwith 10 books.
A competant re-imagining of the famous Pendle witch trials. A short and undemanding read. Perhaps lacking a little in depth, and the introduction of William Shakespeare as a character was not needed, but enjoyable overall.
A competant re-imagining of the famous Pendle witch trials. A short and undemanding read. Perhaps lacking a little in depth, and the introduction of William Shakespeare as a character was not needed, but enjoyable overall.
