REVIEW - A NOVEL BOOKSTORE BY LAURENCE COSSE

Someone who loves books will love this book - its about books and more books and only books
revolves around a wealthy Frenchwoman and a n avid book seller who decide to set up the idyllic bookshop which will only sell good novels.  Now what is a good novel and who is going to decide what is what? A committee of eight members all anonymous, all known only to the two above named members of the bookshop and all going under a pseudonym to add to the mystery. Each member gives his recommendations (six hundred if you please! my mind was boggling at this stage) and these should be ratified and agreed on by all. Sounds good upto now and the bookshop is set up in a beautiful setting which allows people not to just buy but to browse and read for hours if they wish (10 pm closing time - I wish I had one like that!).

Enter a book mafia - small insidious incidents at the beginning. Little prickles of disgruntlement by people on choices. Who is to say Dan Brown is not good or Harry Potter for example. Why the highbrow tone? Authors themselves get into the attack as they are sidelined and what about the all important book publishers who publish the said authors. From small incidents big ones and then murder, several attempted murders, character  assassination by the score and finally opening of of rival bookstores mocking the word "good" and by the way on the same street. All with one aim of ruining the reputation of the book store and pushing it to close down.

This was an intriguing book - very philosophical at times, mystery, lots of fantasy and almost a puzzle but nice. I thought the author was male but only later learnt its a she! thats just btw information.

On a non book note, I am leaving tomorrow for Mannar to my orphanage which has 11 girls right now. Taking with me Christmas pressies plus new clothes and new shoes for all the girls. It is just a short trip but I needed to get everything out early.

Just some of the children - its been over five months since my last visit so looking forward to visiting them again.

REVIEW - ANNE PERRY'S BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS

This was my second Anne Perry book and I liked it even more than the first! Set in Victorian England the murder mystery has so many ups and downs - all the while our detective pitting himself against the combined power of the aristocracy at its very height - Queen Victoria's son who seems ineffectual, puny and very aristocratic.

A prostitute is found dead with her throat slashed - in a linen cupboard of all places. But and this is the significant but - it is no ordinary linen cupboard - it is a cupboard at Buckingham Palace and the prostitute was brought in (along with another two ladies) to entertain the Prince and two others. So she was there officially and accounted for. Then she was discovered naked, murdered and wrapped in monogrammed sheets of the Queen. The only suspects are HRH The Prince and his four friends. All four influential, rich and aristocratic and all needing a kick in the ass. The men are infuriating, condescending in the extreme and all intent on fixing the blame for the murder on someone other than their exalted selves. They are also rude and crude to the detectives who are trying within very narrow parameters to solve this crime.

Fortunately we have Pitt, a man of ordinary, simple beginnings, not intimidated by any of them and determined to solve the murder. The only Royal who saves the day is the Princess - known for her humanitarian approach and kindness as against the pomposity and priggishness of the other characters.  I liked the twists and turns of the book and I admired Pitt's tenacity along with Phipps (who was a housemaid in Phipps's own house)  who became the eyes and ears of Pitt inside the palace acting as a housemaid in order to uncover any hidden agenda amongst the staff.

Another interesting facet of Anne Perry is that she herself was convicted for murder - a particularly brutal one - where she and her friend repeatedly hit her friend's mother (49 times) with a brick, so that they could kill her. Escaping the death penalty Perry whose actual name is Juliet Hulme was sentenced for five years and then released. Whether her knowledge of crime and prison and detection aided her in her prolific career is anyone's guess.

I am back in Sri Lanka after a three week stay in Melbourne. Glad to be back home returning to hubby, but very sad to leave the three children behind. Such is life!

REVIEW - GOOD TO A FAULT - MARINA ENDICOTT

This was a strange book for me. Half the time I wanted to shake Clara well and ask her to snap out of it and the balance half I was admiring her tenacity in doing what she was doing.

Totally self absorbed Clara crashes into Lorraine's car - the car is damaged badly and Clara takes on the family
lock, stock and babies and all as she feels at that moment that there is nothing else that could be done as the family was (a) homeless and (b) used the car as their sleeping/living space.

Fast forward a couple of weeks - Lorraine is ill, seriously ill in hospital and her no good husband realizes that he is on to a gold mine with Clara. He vanishes taking with him as much as he could leaving behind three children including a baby and a grumpy, grasping mother in law who only wants to take as much as she can, when she can.  Clara 43 years old living an orderly, regular life, who has  never handled children is thrown into the deep end. Knowing that Social Services would take over if she did call on them she never does. She enjoys the experience of motherhood second hand, she gets exasperated and angry like mothers all do, but she does box on.

At the end of the day Lorraine realizes that a comfortable, settled lifestyle is becoming attractive to her children and that she is going to lose them if she does not get back on her feet and claim them. This was the part that was sad, because for Lorraine there was no simple way of cutting Clara out of the children's lives. She was brutal and Clara found it a horrible loss specially the loss of the baby from her life. After everything that Clara did not just for Lorraine's children, but even tracking down the lost husband, to taking over the grasping mother in law - Lorraine just wanted out and there was a lot of resentment on her side when she saw how attached the children were to Clara.

The book showed all variations of human behaviour - love, greed, resentment, anger, animosity, anxiety, humour in fact everything that having such a mixed bunch of characters would involve. An interesting read.

REVIEW - ROOPA FAROOKI'S THE WAY THINGS LOOK TO ME

I have been lax in blogging/reviewing books as whatever free time I have I want to spend reading!!!! Returning on Sunday to Sri Lanka with a brief stop over in Singapore.

Roopa Farooki is an author I have read once before - this was a wonderful read. Asif, Lila and Yasmin three young adult children thrown together after the sudden death of both parents find themselves adrift and not knowing exactly how to cope. Asif feels responsible for Yasmin who has Aspergers Syndrome and becomes Mother. Lila absconds from home finding it impossible to cope with her sibling who has she felt taken over her entire life by focussing her mother's attention and love only on her to the exclusion of the other two children.

How a mother tries to manage single handedly with a child who has such a disability is part of the story. But, only a little part as she dies very early in the story. However, how her handling and inter-action of this one child excludes the other sibling totally and alienates her from the family is an important part of the story. The intense almost hatred that Lila develops against Yasmin who she feels is almost a parasite on the family is so very well told. Although we do know that it is "not quite right" for Lila to act like this, we also understand and accept her attitude/her feelings/her rejection almost from the family so that she does not end up as the black sheep of this family. This is the brilliance of the story.

Asif seems stifled by his responsibilities - to the exclusion of any kind of life outside going to office and returning. home to a fixed routine determined by Yasmin who decides even what is for breakfast. His selflessness even goes to the extent of not drinking coffee because the color of coffee disturbs Yasmin who wants everything just so with absolutely no changes to a fixed routine.

Lila seems promiscuous but is actually looking for someone who would love her for herself not just a quick jump into bed. Her resentment of Yasmin is so deep that you feel that this is going to be forever. Thankfully the story does not end in hatred and bitterness. Both Asif and Lila find love and with that comes healing specially for Lila and a reconciliation of some kind is on the cards.

My knowledge of this illness was zero before I read this book and my sympathies were totally with Asif and Lila not with Yasmin . Both siblings were victims of Yasmin's illness and their coping skills were wonderful (in totally differing ways).

I enjoyed this book very much and would love to recommend it as a good read.

MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Marcia.  The meme links one to what comes into other bloggers mailboxes during the week. Enormously interesting!

The first one for this week is

A family story set in England - mixed parentage children - Asperger's Syndrome and people trying to balance life and relationships. A good one I think.

Hearts & Minds by Rosy Thornton. Love her books and saw this review on The Captive Reader and was captivated!

Next was influenced by Cornflower Books. The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I have been trying to get this book for simply ages and was delighted to find this during my last week in Melbourne.

 

The next book was influenced by a review on Savidge Reads. Catherine O'Flynn's The News where you are.

The last book for my Mailbox this week was one I picked up since I liked the last one I read by the same author.
Anne Perry's Buckingham Palace Gardens.

It's Monday - What are you Reading is hosted by Book Journey.

It is a mammoth job this last week in Melbourne to squeeze in as much reading as I can. Right now I am reading the Catherine O'Flynn book and then hope to go on to Hearts & Minds.

Leaving Melbourne on Sunday - been a short visit this time and sad to leave but nice to get back to Sri Lanka as well.

REVIEW - WATERMARK BY VANITHA SANKARAN

I had been trying to get this book for a long while. When I was last in Melbourne it was on order so this time around I got lucky.

Set in 1320 in a world full of superstition Auda is set apart from others by the fact that she is mute, an albino and strange for the time - knowledgeable of the written word. In an age of inquisition, the very fact that you are different is enough to be viewed with suspicion and distrust. Violence against anything new is the order of the day and the fact that Auda is determined to not just survive but also to flourish is a testament to her strong will and mind.

The book is hugely emotional and the first scene of the birth of Auda and its horrifying sequences set the tone for the whole story. Supported strongly by her father Auda reaches womanhood safely but it is at this time that she is tested again and again for the mere fact that she is different. The sheer determination to survive against overwhelming odds puts Auda in situations which would have drowned anyone else - the fear and panic of the inquisition, coupled with the loss of her father and the very fact that she was a young woman all alone make one root for her from the beginning.

Added to this is the detailed history of papermaking as well as how paper was made, step by step details of how paper was made, watermarks, their significance  - I did not know that making paper was such a dangerous occupation till I read this book. Ignorance of the masses and how it was fostered further by those in authority was also a feature of this book. All done with ulterior motives of keeping people submissive and in their power of course.

A very heart warming read and one I was so very glad I got to (eventually)!

REVIEW - A MEETING POINT - LUCY CALDWELL

The story starts in Ireland where Ruth who has fallen in love with Euan a minister of the church with a infant daughter. The background of Ruth's life is prosaic. Born on a dairy farm to average hard working parents Ruth has always yearned for the exotic and far flung places which were always places in a book. Now she has the chance to see the wider world out there when her husband decides to head a missionary group based in Bahrain.

Fast forward to Bahrain - a strange mix of the ancient and modern. Ancient civilization, ancient rules and trying to steer a moderate path in the face of its strong Islamic neighbours. Ruth believes their purpose in Bahrain is to look after the Catholic flock there - a mix of Indian, Bangladeshi, Filipino and the Western expatriates who are all members of the church but she is in for a rude awakening when Euan informs her that his actual purpose is to infiltrate Saudi Arabia (with its zero tolerance policy on conversion) with taking tracts of the bible hidden in pens so that those who are interested in the faith would have an opportunity of reading something about it.

Added to the mix of this story are a couple of characters - Noor who is of English and Bahraini parentage - not really fitting into either world and at odds with her father, Farid her cousin who falls in love with Ruth - and Ruth with him who is initially told by Noor's father to help Ruth with her sightseeing. (I thought this was rather unlikely - traditional families encouraging a young man to take a Western woman out for a drive - a bit unlikely scenario for me) but this is the story here.

I liked the descriptive manner which the author used to describe Bahrain, as well as Ireland - very evocative of both countries. The story in itself was a good one - whether East and West can ever meet is something that would be questionable from this book but it gets one thinking anyway - but the characters were weak. How Ruth lost her faith so very easily and whether Euan could give up all responsibility to his wife and baby daughter without any thought for their safety was something I could not fathom.

On the other hand characters like Noor's father reverting back to the traditional Muslim male as he gets older and the depiction of housemaids - was so very true to form. But then again these are just minor characters of the story whereas Ruth and Euan were the main ones and their behaviour was questionable. I expected more from this book so maybe that is why I felt a bit dejected by the end.