Blog Tour ~ A Matter Of Interpretation by Elizabeth Mac Donald

🌠 Delighted to be part of this exciting Instagram and Blog Tour 🌠

Fairlight Books
5 September 2019

My thanks to Fairlight Books for my copy of this book
and to Claire at Maxwell PR

It’s thirteenth-century Europe and young monk, Michael Scot, has been asked by the Holy Roman Emperor to translate the works of Aristotle and recover his ‘lost’ knowledge.

The Scot sets to his task, travelling from the Emperor’s Italian court to the translation schools of Toledo and from there to the Moorish library of Córdoba. But when the Pope deems the translations heretical, the Scot refuses to desist. So begins a battle for power between Church and State – one that shaped how we view the world today..

What did I think about it..

A Matter of Interpretation is a complex historical story which takes a little while to get into as, initially, there's rather an abundance of characters to keep up with, however, once the narrative captured my imagination, I was definitely transported back to a rather unpredictable time in European history, and became involved in the complex struggle between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papacy. The main protagonist of the story is Michael Scot, a monk, who is tasked with the job of translating the works of Aristotle, but when the Pope declares these translations heretical it opens up a complicated power struggle.

A Matter of Interpretation is a difficult story to try to explain, so I guess the answer to that is not to try, that way I don't give too much away, or do the author a disservice by explaining her creation in a way that doesn't do it justice. However, what comes across is the author's passion for this period in history and her unique writing style brings the medieval world alive in quite a literary way. Whilst the story is, of course, a fictional account, Michael Scot is known to have existed and the author takes the facts of his life and weaves them into a fictional tale of historical complexity.

A Matter of Interpretation is a well presented book with a sumptuous cover which reminded me of a beautifully illustrated medieval manuscript. It's also a commendable debut novel by a talented historical fiction writer.

About the Author

Born in Dublin, Elizabeth is an academic who lives in Italy, where she teaches English at the University of Pisa. She is a widely published author of short stories, essays and translations of literary works into Italian. A Matter of Interpretation is her debut novel. In her spare time, Elizabeth sings in the choir of the Scuola Normale, Pisa.

Twitter @bizzieauthor #MatterOfInterpretation

@FairlightBooks

@crudites_

Blog Tour ~ The Light Keeper by Cole Moreton

Marylebone Books
15 August 2019

My thanks to the publishers and Maxwell PR for my copy of this book
and the invitation to be a part of this blog tour

Sarah stands on the brink, arms open wide as if to let the wind carry her away. 

Her partner Jack is desperate to find her before it is too late. But Sarah doesn’t want to be found. She’s run away to be alone, to face a moment of truth that will mean life or death. 

And someone else is seeking answers up here on the high cliffs near Beachy Head, where the seabirds soar – a man known only as the Keeper, living in an old lighthouse without a light, right on the cusp of a four-hundred-foot drop. 

He is also discovering that sometimes love takes you to the edge…

What did I think about it..

Sarah Bramer is desperate for a child but with her marriage struggling with the strain of infertility, and in a sense of hopelessness, she has run away from her husband, Jack. Jack starts a desperate search to find Sarah before her fractured mind causes her to do something dreadful.

Near to Beachy Head, a man known as the Keeper tends an unused lighthouse, where high above the cliffs he guards his own battered soul, searching for answers he can never find, about a loss so great his mind is numbed by it. And then the Keeper meets Sarah, and life is irrevocably changed for both of these troubled souls.

With strong themes about love, loss, infertility and suicide, this is sometimes a difficult book to 'enjoy' in the widest sense, however, the author's ability to get right into the heart of these characters turns this story into something quite special. Each word is carefully placed, and with never an emotion wasted, the author's passion for imaginative storytelling shines through.

The Light Keeper is an insightful and carefully constructed story around the power of loss and of the torment of struggling in a world where all hope of understanding seems to have disappeared. Emotional and tense the story runs through a myriad of emotions which are beautifully expressed, often quite stark in places, but always reminiscent of those individual hurts which can so easily threaten to overpower everything.

About the Author

Award-winning interviewer, writer and broadcaster Cole Moreton has covered many of the major news stories of our time, from 9/11 to the Olympics and the death of Nelson Mandela. He writes, talks and tells stories about the arts, politics, cultural identity, faith, spirituality and life - and above all, about people. Cole’s previous book, The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, told the moving true story of a modern medical miracle. His BBC Radio 4 series of the same name won Audio Moment of the Year at the Arias, and Best Writing at the World’s Best Radio awards. The Light Keeper is Cole’s first novel.

Twitter @ColeMoreton #TheLightKeeper

@crudites_