Back in Brilliant-ness!

I am back!
Thank you for hanging around (once again!) and waiting for me to sort of my life (once again!). It is much appreciated and I am very grateful for the pieces of my life, like this online bit of mine, that doesn’t change. Those of you that have read this blog for long enough or know me personally, will know that I have moved around one time too many and it is not always easy. However, as I have always said, home is where my library card is addressed at!

Anyway, new place (new country, new continent), new job, new role, new office, new flat, new flatmate! Phew! Can you imagine everything changing at the same time? Don’t even get me started on bank accounts, income tax, doctors, public transport etc. Suffice it to say that my absence was, well, completely unintentional. If you’re worried, don’t be. I’m all right, most of the time. And hopefully, you’ll all come back and read along as I write about reading. Here’s to that! To wrap up, I’ll leave you with this photo of a space that I created to preserve my sanity. Heck, I have a cat, I’ll survive!

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories … a review

This is a book of fairytales, yes, the real kind! I picked it up at the book fair this year judging by it’s beautiful hardback cover. Yes, I am guilty! Anyway, apparently the author Susanna Clarke is quite famous from having written another series of such tales, but I must confess I had never heard of her. So the book has short stories set in strange and mysterious villages, where women weave magic or are woven into it, from time to time. As another reviewer on Goodreads puts it better “She is so good at making a whole world out of hints and references. Notice that she never has to get out of character and explain anything to the reader, she is always able to make the dialogue and the situations do the work for her, letting the action of her scenes reveal everything. This not only creates a strong, confident authorial voice, it also means that she is never obliged to break her pacing to ‘catch us up’, and so the thick, vibrant tone of her stories is never interrupted or betrayed.”

The scenes are usually commonplace and ordinary, but magic, like we all know, lurks behind every other corner. My personal opinion is – read the book if you are fond of fantasy. The style of writing is a bit strange. Not to say that it isn’t good, it is just a little unusual. The plot travels sloooowwwly, and then something quite exciting happens and the pattern is the same for all the stories and that was the thing that kept me going. But the illustrations are beautiful, so beautiful!

Best Kept Secret … a review

This is the third book of Jeffery Archer’s Clifton Chronicles series, and mind you, as of now, this is as far as the series has been written. The story of Harry Clifton, Giles, and Emma Barrington continues as there is a vote in the House of Lords to decide who will inherit the Barrington estate. And while this bit is kind of predictable, it is still written up in a very interesting way. ntense courtroom scenes and everything. While the rest of the plot has moved on to include Harry and Emma’s son Sebastian, the older generations still play very important parts, and the novel becomes an interesting medley of stories old and new, of both generations.

Harry is in America promoting his novels and Emma is out solving mysteries that plague her own family. Giles Barrington is defending his seat in the House of Commons and if you can guess, you’ll know soon enough who’s out to thwart his efforts. But thanks to Sebastian Clifton, Giles is successful.

In 1957, Sebastian wins a scholarship to Cambridge, much like his Aunt Grace did all those years ago. But, you and innocent as he is, he is lured into a trap to smuggle a statue into Britain. Going to Cambridge becomes a really distant possibility as he ends up on a ship for South America and to be honest, till the end of the book, he hasn’t actually ended up in Cambridge yet. The ending is quite exciting, what with the Government’s interference to nab the smugglers and Sebastian’s parents pitching in to make it happen.

Does Sebastian go to Cambridge? Is his life in danger? Gosh, have to wait longer to find out!

The Sins of the Father … a review

This is the second book of Jeffery Archer’s Clifton Chronicles trilogy. The story of Harry Clifton, Giles, and Emma Barrington continues as Britain is at war with Germany and Harry, as one, well acquainted with his character from the previous book, would expect, decides to sign up. But fortune is not on his side, as his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. Harry and an American, Bradshaw are subsequently rescued by an American ship. Bradshaw doesn’t survive and Harry, seizing this great opportunity to start afresh, steps into America as Tom Bradshaw.

But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York. Now he’s in a fix and the story continues in full steam. Emma, even though informed of Harry’s ‘death’, manages to know enough to believe otherwise and pursues the father of her child across seas, in the midst of war. What a girl!

Giles is now trying to go into politics to become an elected Member of Parliament and when the plot pans out, his friendship with Harry is going to be tested to a great limit. As the previous book, smaller characters like Maisie Clifton, Old Jack, Sir Walter, and Lord Harvey never fail to bring in drama and intensity! Great read, even better than Book 1.

Only Time Will Tell … a review

In between travelling, dealing with tonsilitis, and hours of lying in the pale winter sun; I asked Mum, my go-to person for books, for a fast paced solid read. And, as always, she did not disappoint as she handed me the first book of the Clifton Chronicles trilogy. The story of Harry Clifton, son of Maisie Clifton, takes off in a superb fashion as Harry wins a prestigious scholarship to study in a posh school and his Mum works hard to make ends meet. As with Jeffrey Archer’s some other books, Harry has been told that his father was killed in the First World War.

However, that certainly is not the case… as Harry is soon to find out in a very bizzare (trust me, really bizarre) fashion. But the pace of the novel is good. From his life at the boarding school and friendships that last to crossroads of life where he may either join the army or go to Uni, Harry’s life is fraught with love and deceit, both in equal measure.

The book draws to a close with his final decision (which I won’t tell you) and ends at such an excruciating stage that I was thanking stars that Mum had the entire set of books in hand! And I’m now hooked on to the second book, tracing Harry, his best friend Giles, and his love Emma, through troubled times and across troubled lands. Embark on this series, you won’t be disappointed!

The Cone Gatherers … a review

Two brothers, Neil and Calum, are gathering cones from the wooded area of a large estate. The cones have seeds in them which will be used later to plant new forests. The time is during the world war and the scene is Scotland. The brothers have not had to enlist as Calum is a hunchback and a simpleton, and as his only relation Neil is his guardian. The estate’s owner is at war and in his absence, the figure of authority is his wife, the Lady. Other characters include the gamekeeper Duror and the Lady’s young son and heir, Roderick.

Duror’s wife is an invalid. And he has a problem with Calum, who, in his opinion is a cripple, and therefore evil. During the course of the novel, Duror progressively becomes obsessed with hatred, his health quickly fails, and he turns into an incoherent bumbling man twisted by his notions of Christianity, good, and right. These events lead to a brilliant climax that brings together all the characters at a tranquil spot, by a loch, in the pines; each engaged in a struggle with himself and his maker. According to Wiki,

“The novel is filled with heavy symbolism, including some of the following:

• The woods, representing the Garden of Eden. While the outside world is filled with the death and destruction of the ongoing war, the woods are filled with life and colour.
• Calum, embodying innocence and purity.
• Duror, embodying darkness, and a parallel for the serpent in the Garden of Eden
• Roderick, demonstrating social equality
• Lady Runcie-Campbell & Neil, both epitomising their polarised views of the social class division
• The cones – symbolising renewal, regeneration”

Now, I picked up this book only because it is set in Scotland and it was available at the library. I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a tale dripping with rich prose and symbolism. A story, that just like massively popular classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal Farm, makes us question our faith in forced goodness and inherent evil in men. Concepts of class, superiority, and constant internal wars are delivered in a matter-of-fact way, just as they always are, in everyday life. It is every individual engaging in his/her own personal battles against the dogma fed to us by religion and history. I do not know why I had never heard of the book or the author, Robin Jenkins, but this book should be on the reading lists in schools everywhere. I found out then, that it is, in Scotland. I highly recommend this book, especially for 15 – 20 year olds. Good Christmas present for those kids, nieces, nephews!

Teaser Tuesday (September 17)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers:

“I am planning his death… A terrible… spectacular… bloody and painful death. Actually, make that a double death – after all there are two of them in this relationship.”

From My Life Chapter Seven (continued) (The Other Publishing Company 2013) of The Brinkmeyers by Michael Cameron.

Enjoy!

Top 15

For unnamed reasons, I tried to come up with my list of top fifteen books, ever. Understandably, it is not a fair list, it is just a list of names that popped into my head when someone said the word ‘Books!’ Probably, these are books that wouldn’t leave me long after I finished reading them…

My top fifteen, in no particular order
1. Moby Dick
2. The Fountainhead
3. Lord of the Rings
4. 1984
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Lolita
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
8. Sophie’s World
9. One Hundred Years of Solitude
10. Mister God, This is Anna
11. Sputnik Sweetheart
12. Orkney
13. Of Love and Other Demons
14. Illusions
15. The Hungry Tide

Do you have a favourite book/movie? Which one? Which would make it to your top 10?

Teaser Tuesday (September 10)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers:

“It was a warm enough day – much warmer than one would expect for early September – and this must have encouraged the nudists to go ahead with their picnic. But the weather in Edinburgh was notoriously changeable and sunlight could within minutes become deep gloom, empty skies become heavy with rain, snow give way to warm breezes.”

From Chapter 82 (Anchor 2007) of Espresso Tales (44 Scotland Street #2) by Alexander McCall Smith.

Enjoy!

Teaser Tuesday (August 20)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers:

“Safta has found a doctor to sign the papers. She has leave from the hospital to take him herself to the sanatorium in the mountains.”

From Page 215 (Bloomsbury 2012) of Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding.

Enjoy!