Read, Reflect, Review...

You know how sometimes a topic seems to crop up in lots of different places at the same time? Well for the past few days, everywhere I turn, I bump into conversations about book reviews.

Review Round-Up

[Two short reviews for the price of one this month: one brand new book and one that’s been out for a couple of years; I gave them both five star reviews on Amazon.]

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

At the start of this book, we see Harold Fry sitting at the breakfast table “freshly shaved, in a clean shirt and tie”.

The Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup

Sapna Sinha has already seen more than her fair share of tragedy and hardship. The eldest daughter in a family of three, she has lost one sister and her father. She is the breadwinner and mainstay of the rest of her family: an ailing mother and a self-obsessed younger sister. When she is approached by one of the country’s richest men and offered an unbelievable opportunity, she is naturally sceptical. But circumstances conspire to draw her, against her will, into his scheme. She is told if she can pass seven tests from ‘the textbook of life’, she will become CEO of his company.
 
What follows is a thrilling, fast-paced chronicle of six months in Sapna’s life. She is challenged, overcomes obstacles, makes friends and discovers enemies. The ending is ingenious and although I picked up some of the clues along the way and guessed some of the minor points correctly, I was completely surprised by the final twist.  

Like most people, I have heard of Slumdog Millionaire and enjoyed the film. However, I had never read Q & A on which it is based. The Accidental Apprentice is Vikas Swarup’s third book and I suspect it is also heading for a film adaptation. Writing in the first person as a member of the opposite sex is not easy, but Swarup presents Sapna’s voice beautifully. We travel with her on her journey of discovery and self-development. We meet some great characters along the way. My favourite was the kleptomaniac Gandhian, Nirmala Ben. The vision of modern-day India is as believable as it is shocking.

This is one of those ‘can’t put it down’ books. I read it late into the night and then woke early in the morning to read the closing chapters. Highly recommended. 
[5* review]

[ If you enjoy the monthly reviews posted here, check-out all my books reviews on Elizabeth's Book Reviews.]

Tidewater Murder by C Hope Clark

This is the second in the Carolina Slade series of mysteries and anyone who’s read my review of Lowcountry Bribe will know how highly I rate Hope’s writing (not to mention the generous support she gives to writers everywhere via FundsforWriters). Her second novel does not disappoint.

Carolina Slade is moving home, with her two children, hoping to leave behind memories of a bad husband who turned out to be really dangerous. A call from co-worker and friend Savvy pitches Slade into another mystery, more danger and further trouble with friends, colleagues and part-time lover, Special Agent Wayne Largo.

Slade is impetuous, fiercely defensive of her friend – even when the evidence all points to Savvy being involved in crooked deals – and at times, downright irritating. But I guess that’s the point. Hope doesn’t write boring characters; she invents real-life, flawed individuals, then throws them into exciting situations.

If you are a fan of Lee Child, if you like Harlan Coben's thrillers, but especially if you love sassy female protagonists, this is a great read, highly recommended.


[In addition to the monthly posting, you can read more of my book reviews on Elizabeth's Book Reviews .]

The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy

[From this month, I'm introducing a book review into the monthly blog mix. From March, they will be new reviews, but I'm starting with one I posted elsewhere a few months ago; I loved this book and gave it a 5* rating.]

 

 

At the start of The Generation Game, it is 2006 and the central character Philippa has just given birth to her first child. We do not know whether Philippa is married, who the baby’s father is or whether they are still together. We do know, gradually, that the baby is unwell and as Philippa waits to find out whether her child will survive, she tells her own story in flashbacks.

 

We hear of her birth in a London hospital, to Helena, an unmarried mother who tries her best but is overwhelmed by having to take responsibility for another’s life. We see Helena flee with Philippa to Torquay and later, alone, to Canada. Philippa grows up with a variety of friends, some of whom she loses forever while some she loses and then finds again. There is Bob, who becomes her de facto guardian after Helena leaves. There is Lucas, the little boy who is her best friend even when he is no longer with her. There is the wonderful Wink, with her parrot, her front room that stinks of bird pee, and her addiction to Bruce Forsyth and the eponymous game show which was a part of so many people’s Saturday evenings. And there is Terry or TJ as he prefers to be called, who is always around in the background – and sometimes in the foreground as well.

 

I loved this book from the first page to the final word. Starting back in1965, it will strike a chord with readers who remember the sort of childhood that was common in the 1950s and 1960s: children present and observing but not fully understanding the goings-on of the adult world. There are some great cultural references: taking Blue Nun to dinner parties in the early 1970s; street parties for the Queen’s silver jubilee; that kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace when Charles married Diana. Each of the flashback chapters is headed with the name of a television programme from the era: This is Your Life; New Faces; Gladiators and so on. While these do not necessarily relate to the content of the chapter, they are additional links back to the period in question.

 

The Generation Game won Sophie Duffy both the Luke Bitmead Bursary and the Yeovil Literary Prize. It’s not difficult to understand why.

 

[In addition to the monthly posting, you can read more of my book reviews on Elizabeth's Book Reviews .]