Kategorie: Novel

The Bookshop on the Shore – Jenny Colgan

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AuthorJenny Colgan
PublisherSphere
Date13 June 2019
EditionPaperback
Pages432
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-0751575583

“They went past dark hedgerows and low-roofed outhouses, before The Beeches finally revealed itself. It was the spookiest place Zoe had ever seen in her life.” (quotation page 62)

Content

Zoe, a single mother of four-years-old Hari desperately needs a job and somewhere to live, because she cannot afford her flat in London any more. That is why she comes to Inverness to assist pregnant Nina with the bookshop in the vintage van. There also are the children of her new landlord Ramsay Urquart, two boys, twelve and five years old, and nine years old Mary. Zoe has to look after them in the morning and evenings, until the housekeeper arrives. The children are special, the house, more a castle, is dark and cold, but the nature was just breathtaking and her son Hari adores five years old Patrick. Would Zoe be able to bring about some changes, definitely needed in her new place?

Theme and Genre

Another chick-lit novel with substance and depth, a special genre, the author is famous for. It is about being different from others, about family, motherhood, fathers and children. Books are only a second theme.

Characters

Zoe is likeable, mostly down-to-earth and strong in there own way. We also meet again Nina, still known as the main character from “The Bookshop on the corner”, but she is now quite bossy. The characters are well described with realistic behavior, especially the children.

Plot and Writing

There are enjoyable descriptions of the beautiful Scottish landscape and the old, aristocratic country house, in urgent need of any kind of warmth and renovation. The story is well developed, gripping and has the right touch of romance and wit, but there are other novels by Jenny Colgan, I liked more.

Conclusion

An enjoyable read for cosy afternoons.

Novel, Reviews, Romance , , ,

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club – Sophie Green

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AuthorSophie Green
PublisherSphere
Date1 March 2018
EditionKindle
Pages432 (Print edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB072JFG5X5

“Kate smiled brightly at Sallyanne and Sybil felt something click inside her: she would like to think it was the sound of things shifting into place but perhaps it was merely relief.” (Quotation pos. 833)

Content

In 1978, Sybil Baxter is fifty-one years old, married to Joe and since twenty-six years lives on Fairvale, in Australia’s Northern Territory, a remote vastness with difficult climate conditions. Her new book club brings together five very different women: herself, her British daughter-in-law Kate, her old friend Rita, nurse and member of the Flying Doctors, Sallyanne, mother of three children and Della from Texas, doing a man’s job just to feel free. They soon learn that their group is much more than just books, its female friendship and helping each other through difficult times.

Theme and Genre

A brilliant novel about friendship and the strength of women under adverse conditions and in a rough environment in the late seventies and early eighties. It is also about changes and the possibilities life could offer. Important topics are books and Australia’s North.

Characters

Every single main character is well described, individual, authentic with edges and contours, and definitely loveable. In these few years they have to cope with decisions and changes, new developments, not always voluntarily chosen.

Plot and Writing

Each year starts with a summary of international events happened during the year. The life of the five female protagonists is told chronologically with memories and flashbacks. There are chapters and each is mainly focusing on one of the main characters, on more only if they meet. The story is gripping and the descriptions of the rural life and the beautiful but rough environment are very well researched, detailed and the perfect, interesting addition to the story.  The books read by the Fairvale Book Club invite to further backlist reading about the topic.

Conclusion

An enjoyable, gripping read with loveable characters and captivating descriptions of the landscape and lifestyles marked by nature and the different seasons. At the end of the story it feals like leaving well-known friends.

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The Girl in the Letter – Emily Gunnis

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AuthorEmily Gunnis
PublisherReview
Date1 August 2018
EditionKindle
Pages384 (Print edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB079RMFFCJ

„They said it was good all the records had been destroyed, because it was time to move on.“ (Quotation pos. 2149)

Content

Young journalist Sam, mother of four-years-old Emma, after a bad row with her husband Ben stays with her Grandmother, where she had grown up. Her Grandfather had died less than 12 months ago and Nana shows her a bundle of letters she had found. They are from a girl named Ivy, written a long time ago, in September 1956. Ivy had gotten pregnant and was sent to, a home for unmarried mothers, open until the mid seventies. Sam is deeply captured by this very sad, impressive story about Ivy and her baby Rose and determined to find out the truth. She has left only two days, because the old Victorian manor is going to be demolished and the persons involved are not ready to talk about St Margaret’s. Are the many mysterious, sudden deaths in the area somehow linked to the past?

Theme and Genre

A gripping novel about the situation of pregnant but unmarried poor young girls and women, sent away by their own families to Catholic institutions. Often their babies were given up for adoption, often against the mother’s will. The story, settled in England, is based on known facts about real, similar institutions in Ireland.

Characters

Sam is a modern woman, struggling to be taken serious as an investigative journalist. A working mom feeling guilty for leaving her little girl with Nana, but definitely not ready to give up to find out Ivy’s story.

Ivy too is strong and helpful under her own worst conditions of life, willing to fight for her baby.

Plot and Writing

The gripping story has many twists, turns and many characters involved from the past until today. Told in two different main time levels, Ivy’s story beginning in 1956 and Sam’s story in 2017, there are more steps into the past when it comes to events in the lives of persons involved. Although the reader from a certain moment on might have some assumptions about how some events are connected, the story remains exciting until the end.

Conclusion

An impressive, gripping story, empathically written – a book that is unputdownable.

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The Lost Vintage – Ann Mah

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AuthorAnn Mah
PublisherWilliam Morrow
Date19 June 2018
EditionHardcover
Pages384
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-0062823311

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about responsibility and what one generation owes to the next.” (Citation page 151)

Content

In September 2015 Kate, an ambitious sommelier living in San Francisco, returns to Meursault, Burgundy, where her family since generations owns a vineyard, famous for its wines. Years ago, she had left Burgundy and her fiancé Jean-Luc. Now she needs to freshen up her knowledge about Burgundy vintages, to pass the blind testing of the extremely difficult Master of Wine exam.

She stays in the old family landhouse and vineyard, now managed by her cousin Nico who is married to her best friend Heather. When she helps Heather to clean out the large, deep cellar, she discovers a hidden room, the traces leading back to WWII. Who was Hélène, a family member never mentioned? Should they reveal hidden family secrets?

Theme and Genre

This novel is about family, generations, friendship, love and about the passion of viniculture, Burgundy and French living style.

An important theme is the Second World War, the occupied France, Nazis and resistance and how people tried to survive and in the same time follow their conscience. There are family secrets, still hidden and never spoken about.

Plot and Writing

The story is told in two different timelines; both are chronological. They are interwoven and told alternately. There is the first story, told by Kate in the first person and set in modern France 2015. The second story is the diary of Hélène, written between 1939 and 1944. The headlines show the dates, so it is easy to follow the story.

Ann Mah has found the perfect balance between the French scenery of modern, but still traditional winemaking, framing a story about friendship and love, and the gripping story of the French Résistance, courageous people risking their lifes.

The author gives us wonderful descriptions about wine and Burgundy and shows a deep understanding of feelings and human character.

Conclusion

This admirably written novel about the violence of war and memoirs between generations of family members is both, a story of love and friendship in the beautiful scenery of a Burgundian vineyard and a gripping, breathtaking story about life in occupied France. A perfect page-turner to lose yourself.

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Our Souls At Night – Kent Haruf

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AuthorKent Haruf
PublisherPicador
Date5 May 2016
EditionPaperback
Pages192
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1447299370

„And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters. (quotation page 3)

Content

Addie Moore and Louis Waters are both widowed. The houses they live in are just one house apart,  in Cedar Street, in the small rural town Holt. One day in May Addie asks Louis that they could maybe spend some of the hours during the long, lonely nights together.

Theme and Genre

This poetic, beautiful novel is about ageing, loneliness and friendship. It is also about the problems between parents and their adult children, about life and love. Another important topic are the small-mindedness of small towns and conventions.

Characters

Kent Haruf definitely loves the characters he creates in his stories. Addie and Louis are both caring about each other and their families. Loveable, not perfect, just two normal persons who try to do things their way, and to not care about what people might think about them.

Plot and Writing

A story that will make you laugh and maybe also cry and leave you thoughtful. The positiveness between the lines will remain with you after the end of this book. The novel is writen in the known poetic, brilliant, quiet and specific style of the author.

Conclusion

A beautiful, deeply human story about understanding, friendship and love, about growing old but trying to make the best of it.

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The Haunted Bookshop – Christopher Morley

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AuthorChristopher Morley
PublisherJovian Press
Date19 January 2018
EditionKindle
Pages212 (Print edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB079559TY6

„That’s why I call this place the Haunted Bookshop. Haunted by the ghosts of the books I haven’t read.” (Original quotation pos. 1251)

Content

The main protagonists of Parnassus on Wheels, Roger Mifflin and Helen McGill, now are married and own a second-hand bookstore in Brooklyn. Roger Mifflin loves books and he definitely loves the art of bookselling. When Aubrey Gilbert, a young advertising agent visits the shop, he too fells under the spell of the books – and under the spell of Miss Titania Chapman, the new apprentice. Then some strange things happen – a special book Carlyle’s Oliver Cromwell, is missing, back the next day and missing again – is this bookstore really haunted?

Theme and Genre

This novel, published in 1919 as a sequel to Parnassus on Wheels, again is a story about books, readers, writers and literature. Again, there is also room for romantic, love and not only love for books and a mystic crime.

Characters

Roger and Helen are charming and likeable, as well as Titania and the sometimes a little bit clumsy Aubrey

Plot and Writing

The setting, Brooklyn just after the end of WWI, is described in a very vivid way, which makes this book an enjoyable, interesting read. A humorous authorial narrator tells the story, and the events that happen to our protagonists are unsettling but funny too.

Conclusion

A book that every booklover will enjoy, but also for readers who like a good story located in a bookstore.

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A Perfect Heritage – Penny Vincenzi

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AuthorPenny Vincenzi
PublisherReview
Date 19 June 2014
EditionKindle
Pages770 (Print)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00FAT9HD2

„The most important thing of all he said was to only do what I was good at, not to struggle with the rest.“ (Quotation page 224)

Content

The elegant, timeless and famous Athina Farrell is the figurehead of the House of Farrell. Once very famous cosmetic brand, but meanwhile a little bit old fashioned, is the company almost insolvent. A group of investors is ready to give the Farrell a new but last chance. Bianca Bailey, a smart businesswoman and very successful, high-profile financial expert, has the knowledge and brilliant ideas, but many changes are to be made in the family leaded company. The matriarch Athina Farrell is absolutely not open to new ideas, if not her own and she is still powerful – would she risk the future of the famous House of Farrell?

Theme and Genre

This interesting, thrilling story is about family lead companies, about cosmetics and new markets in our modern world. It is also about family, love, feelings, about social media and bullying, and the problems of very successful working moms.

Characters

The characters are interesting, well drawn and most of them likeable. Bianca, who wants to succeed in saving the company and who knows that it will work, has problems to connect her intense job with her family live as a mother of three. Florence Hamilton, director of the famous Farrell flagship store at Berkeley Arcade for many years, is just loveable. Athina Farrell, stylish but with traditional business ideas is a legend and still sees the House of Farrell as her own, not willing to cooperate with Bianca.

Plot and Writing

The story is intense, because it is much more than the exciting question, if and how the famous House of Farrell is saved. It is about decision-making and the twists, troubles and happiness in the personal lives of everybody intertwined. The author switches between the persons, and they all have their own stories. In my opinion, that is why this book is so unputdownable, together with the naturally flowing, readable language.

Conclusion

This book could be described as a saga and generational fiction of a family owned famous  cosmetic brand, but what it makes a really captivating and delightful reading are the personal stories of the members of the family Farrell, all the persons working at Farrell and in Bianca’s team. A perfect book for enjoyable, exciting hours of reading. 

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Bookends – Jane Green

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AuthorJane Green
PublisherPenguin
Date1 June 2000
EditionKindle
Pages370 (print version)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB002RUA4XY

“But as our eyes adjust to the gloom, lit by a solitary light bulb in each room, Lucy and I gasp, because the only thing this place is, it could ever have been, is a bookshop.” (Quotation page 70)

Content

They are friends since University: Cath, Si (Simon), Josh and stunning Portia. While Portia has left to find her own way, Lucy, married to Josh, perfectly fits into the circle. Cath, successfully working for a London advertising agency, has an almost lifelong dream, to open a bookshop including a café and Lucy loves to cook and bake. Together they find a shop that had been empty for a long time, but is just perfect for them. Soon Bookends is open and running. Cath is very close to Si, her best friend, but while Si is trying everything to finally find the man of his life, Cath is sure that she definitely is not made for relationships. Maybe meeting kind, understanding James, their estate agent and a very talented painter, could make her rethink the advantages of her single life. Then Portia is back and with her exciting times.

Theme and Genre

This is not a book about literature and bookshops, but about friendship that lasts from the lighthearted student’s life to the different circle of life of adults who have to earn money, start a family and want to live their dreams. It is about misunderstandings and the fact that dealing with problems is easier if one has friends for support.

Characters

Cath, the main character, is single and happy with it, a little bit messy, but really cares for her friends, especially for Si, as he needs her. She just has to learn to trust herself and take care for her own happiness. Si is the perfect best friend as he loves to go shopping and is very good company. Lucy is an optimistic, loveable person and every character, such as Babysitter Ingrid, is special and well developed.

Plot and writing

This romantic story is written in the first person and told by Cath and is located in Hampstead, London, with interesting, precise descriptions of the surroundings and the urban lifestyle in busy London. There are some foreseeable and some unexpected twists as serious topics are entwined in the story.

Conclusion

A romantic, easy to read story about friendship, love, dreams and life – and about a bookshop. Entertaining, but with some lengths, because main protagonist Cath is just too indecisive in her behavior, with her thoughts circling almost endlessly around her fear to fall on love. I would have enjoyed to read a little bit more about the bookshop, café and its customers.

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The Bookshop of Yesterdays – Amy Meyerson

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AuthorAmy Meyerson
PublisherHQ Digital
Date12 June 2018
EditionKindle
Pages368 (Print edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB078GBLX17

“Understanding prepares us for the future.” (Quotation pos. 433)

Content

When she was a child, Miranda Brooks loved it, when her Uncle Billy took her to his bookshop “Prospero Books”. The last time she saw him was on her twelfth birthday. After a serious argument with her mother, his sister, he just disappeared. After sixteen years, she gets a package with the book “The Tempest” inside. The same evening her mother tells her that Uncle Billy had died. He has left his bookshop to Miranda. She returns to Prospero Books, also to find out what had happened twelve years ago that had made Billy leave …

Theme and Genre

It is not only a story about reading, books (especially Shakespeare “The Tempest”) and the problems of independent bookstores, but about family and hidden secrets, lies and the importance to talk to one another. 

Characters

Miranda is a history teacher when she inherits Prospero Books and hopes to save it and not to have to close it down. She is a quite pleasant main character, but during the story going on, she got just too stubborn about the family secrets. Especially her conduct towards her mother was just too much drama for me and not understandable for a grown-up person. While Malcolm, the manager of the bookstore and the regular visitors of the store and included café are interesting and likeable.

Plot and Writing

The story is written in the first person, told by Miranda. There are some flashbacks included directly into to story, where necessary for better understanding. The family secret is slowly revealed during the plot and that makes the story interesting and gripping, even if the reader at a certain point might guess the truth. I definitely have enjoyed the parts about literature and books.

Conclusion

A fine-spun plot and gripping story about literature and family secrets buried in the past. Although not always happy with the main character, I really did enjoy the story that gives the reader some pleasant, entertaining reading hours.

Dieses Buch ist auch bereits in deutscher Übersetzung unter dem Titel „Ein Himmel voller Bücher“ erschienen. Schon der deutsche Titel macht für mich überhaupt keinen Sinn, wenn der Rest der Übersetzung von ähnlicher Qualität ist, sollte man wirklich das englische Original lesen. Es ist ein unterhaltsamer Frauenroman, sprachlich angenehm zu lesen.

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The Heart’s Invisible Furies – John Boyne

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AuthorJohn Boyne
PublisherBlack Swan
(Pengiun Random House UK)
Date14 December 2017
EditionPaperback
Pages736
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1784161002

„When was the exact moment that I might have found some courage and for once in my life done the right thing?“ (Quotation page 341)

Content

In 1945, sixteen years old Catherine Goggin gets pregnant. As she refuses to name the father of the child to the Catholic priest during Mass, she has to immediately leave her home village Goleen and goes to Dublin. After birth, she gives her baby to a nun who has found parents with money and status for the child, that adopt the boy, calling him Cyrus. He first meets Julian Woodbead in 1952, when he is seven years old. In 1959, they meet again as roommates at Belvedere College. He adores Julian but there are also strange feelings, which he thinks to be just some sentimental misinterpretation of a fourteen years old. However, neglecting the truth leads to many years of hiding his secret, misunderstandings, travelling, until he finds his identity and place in life …

Theme and Genre

This epic novel could also be a biography. Main theme is homosexuality in the years where it still was forbidden, especially in Ireland under the pressure of the very strict rules of the Catholic Church and society. Another topic is AIDS in a time when people believed that only gay people could get it. The story of Cyril is also about friendship, compassion and how a lie can have big consequences.

Characters

Cyril, the main protagonist, tries to hide his feelings for Julian and his sexual orientation and it takes him many years to accept, who he is. Sometimes the situation makes him weak, deeply hurting other persons instead of just telling the truth. On the other hand, destiny bringst some twists and hazards into his life which are not his fault and which he has to handle. Therefore he remains likeable to the reader. This novel is full of interesting characters, their friendship, their struggles and especially the short scenes when Cyril and his real mother meet during the years without knowing who they are, are touching.

Plot and Writing

The novel is written like a biography, with Cyril as the first person narrative. He tells the story of his life in chronological order, beginning with the story of his birth 1945, which his mother many years later had told him, until 2015. There are many twists, changes of location that make the book gripping to read, very interesting how some of the characters in different times come into the story again. John Boyne shows a great feeling for the language and a fantastic ability of plot building.

Conclusion

A gripping, heartwarming but also entertaining story, that gives the reader every feeling between laughing and crying. 

Deutsche Ausgabe: „Cyril Avery“ von John Boyne, Verlag: Piper, 2. Mai 2018, geb. Ausgabe 736 Seiten, ISBN-13: 978-3492058537

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Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan

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AuthorRobin Sloan
PublisherAtlantic Books
Date20 December 2012
EditionKindle
Pages304
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00A25NLOU

„All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.” (Pos. 3901)

Content

Clay Jannon, web-designer in San Francisco has lost his job and he finds a new one, working at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, but only the night shifts from 10 to 6. The shop looks quite small and offers a wide range of SF books, but deep in the background are huge shelves with very old, strange looking books. Clay notes that most clients do not buy books, but borrow one of these special books, bring it back and borrow another one. Therefore, this must be more than a normal bookstore. Together with his friends Mat and Neel, he begins with researches to reveal the story behind the bookshop that seems to be more a library, and its customers. However, not everybody likes these investigations and the organization in the background is powerful and dangerous.

Theme and Genre

This novel is not only about books and bookstores, but also about important knowledge and mysteries, hidden in books. IT market players like Google, the people and researches behind is also a topic.

Characters

Clay Jannon is more than a book-nerd and he definitely changes, his self-confidence growing with the dangers. He and his friends are witty, likeable specialists.

Plot and Writing

The novel is written in the first-person point of view, told by Clay Jannon. The language is enjoyable and humorous. The story is interesting and thrilling and there is some magic and mystery woven into the plot. This together makes the book a real page-turner.

The author has also written a short prequel pf 112 pages about how Mr. Penumbra came to the bookstore: “Ajax Penumbra: 1969”, Kindle Edition, which I have read first.

Conclusion

A gripping story for booklovers, with mysteries and exciting turns and likeable protagonists. Perfect for a weekend lost in a book.

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The Library at the Edge of the World – Felicity Hayes-McCoy

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AuthorFelicity Hayes-McCoy
PublisherHachette Books Ireland
Date 17 November 2016
EditionPaperback
Pages464
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-13978-1473621053

“Everything in life has its time to happen. A time to plant, a time to grow and a time to harvest. And if you take things steady, you´ll bring your harvest home.” (Citation pos. 3113)

Content

Hanna Casey had lived in London, when she divorced after almost 30 years of marriage. Therefore, she came back to Crossarra to live with her mother and she works as librarian of Lissbeg Library. Her great-aunt Maggie had left her old house to Hanna, and with the help of old Fury O’Shea, a local builder, she is going to restore it and make it her home.

Conor is Hanna’s assistant at the library and in his opinion, the library could be really changed and successful. But Hanna would have to change things, be more relaxed about her stringent rules and open to new ideas.

When the Government plans to invest in the area, to close the library and move it to Carrick everything changes. In the convent garden of her former school, Hanna meets Sister Michael and step-by-step plans are developed how to fight back …

Theme and Genre

This is the story about a small village somewhere at the west coast of Ireland and the people living there. Different Governmental ideas about town and area development together with property speculations are an issue too. It is also about family, relationships between parents and children, between neighbors and inhabitants of small places, gossip and misunderstandings. It definitely is a story about books, readers and book lovers and about the beauty of nature of an Irish landscape.

Characters

The author introduces the reader to a quite complicated main character, Hanna, who still mentally struggles about her failed marriage. But as the story continues, Hanna slowly changes, ready to be more open to other people and ready to call Crossarra the place where she now belongs. There may still be many misunderstandings between her and her mother, but family always sticks together, when necessary.

We also meet different people living in the village community: Conor, the young book lover with modern ideas about networking and libraries open to everybody, Fury the builder, an old individualist, special but with a great heart and Sister Michael, the old nun, a wise and excellent strategist, and many others. Each of the characters is understandable and likeable.

Plot and Writing

As the story develops, it is interesting to see how everybody in the area starts to get together, the old-fashioned social networking as it was found for centuries in rural structures comes to life again, but combined with modern social media.

Conclusion

I have enjoyed every page of the book, there are no lengths in this story. I really liked the different characters and recommend this enjoyable, cozy read for a pleasant weekend, ready to be carried off to an imaginary trip to libraries and a small village in Ireland.

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The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah

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AuthorKristin Hannah
PublisherMacmillan USA
Date2 February 2016
EditionKindle
Pages465 (Print edition)
LanguageEnglish
ASINB00NLFVVOU

„Two sisters. One must be brave. One should be afraid.“ (Quotation)

Content – Book cover

Bravery, courage, fear and love in a time of war                                                                     

Despite their differences, Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their child. But when the Second World War breaks out and Antoine is conscripted to fight, Isabelle is sent to the country by her father to help Vianne.

As war develops, the strength of the sisters‘ relationship is put to the test. With life changing, and confronted by unbelievable horrors, Vianne and Isabelle find themselves responding in ways they never thought possible, as bravery and resistance take differing forms for each of the two sisters.

Theme and Genre

The story is set in the time of the German occupation of France during WWII and tells the  life conditions of two sisters with quite different characters and how they react to what is happening to the country and people arount them. It is a gripping tale based on the well known events happening in France.

Conclusion

It is very interesting for the reader to follow the development of the main characters, the more cautious Vianne and rebellious Isabelle in this plot full of danger, thrilling action and suffering. A story, readers will remember for long time after turning the last page and closing the book.

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