Sunday 20 November 2011

A week's gone by...

Time has simply flown by this week - but I have put my time to good use and have read some fascinating books ..







My rating: 5 of 5 stars
jaffa's rating 5paws - he is always happy when there is a cat somewhere in the story !


Remembrance read



Set on the island of Guernsey and during the German occupation of the island. This book tells the story of Vivienne de la Mare's illicit relationship with German officer Gunther.

It's the story of a strong woman and her determination to survive, and protect her family during difficult times.I thought that the book was well written with interesting characterisation and is beautifully descriptive of island life.

Enjoyed it.






My rating: 5 of 5 stars
jaffa's rating 5paws - he loved Joey too.


Remembrance read



Primarily Warhorse is a book for young adults, however, this is one of those stories that can cross the great divide, as it slips into an adult read quite seamlessly.


Joey doesn't get off to the best of starts when he taken away from his young master and forced to serve as a war horse during the worst battles of WW1.


During WW1 the life of an infantry horse was fraught with danger, Michael Morpurgo conveys this story in beautiful writing, which conjures the horror, depredation, and sheer waste of life, in such a strong and meaningful way.



This story was especially poignant as one of our family spent time in Northern France during WW1, and worked with horses in much the same way as those who looked after Joey.







My rating: 5 of 5 stars
jaffa's rating 5paws - he loves music and babies !

Max and Zoe Baxter have problems with infertility, and when one miscarriage too many spells the end of their marriage, Zoe takes refuge in her work as a music therapist. This means that she works with fragile and vulnerable people, but, it is her growing attraction to school counsellor Vanessa which complicates things - and Zoe's life is about to spiral out of control.

This is a difficult book to review as to do it justice would mean including spoilers, but it is safe to say that JP is a master story teller - she keeps you turning the pages long after you should really be off doing something else....



This is one of her best books to date - and believe me they're all darn good !







4 comments:

  1. I really liked The Collaborator too. I still have to read Sing You Home and War Horse!

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  2. Hi Lindsay - I hope you enjoy Sing You Home and War Horse when you finally get chance to read them!

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  3. Reading the description of The Collaborator reminded me a lot of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Although, they might be very different books. I haven't read The Collaborator and my library apparently does not have it. Maybe I can get it through ILL at some point, but there just isn't time for everything. :(

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  4. Hi ABL - Welcome to jaffareadstoo - great to have you here :)

    ...And I agree that The Collaborator is very similar to TGLPPPS story, as both stories have strong women as central characters. Incidentally, The Collaborator is also entitled The Soldiers Wife - which may help you with ILL in your part of the world..

    Come back and see us again soon:) x

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Thanks for taking the time to comment - Jaffareadstoo appreciates your interest.