The Little Paris Bookshop

This is a sweet story, The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, which I enjoyed.  Jean Perdu runs a bookshop on a barge moored in Paris.  He still loves Manon who left him 20 years before, leaving him a letter which he's never read.  When he does read it, he changes his life, taking his barge on a "road trip" along the rivers heading south with a young author and two cats, picking up people along the way.  It is a love story, more than one love story.  Jean loves his books and prescribes books for his customers which will make them feel better whatever their circumstances - such is the power of books.  A delightful read. 31/2/5

This Sweet Sickness

I very much enjoyed This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith, first published in 1960.  The edition I read was published in 2016 with an introduction by Sarah Hilary.  The story is set in late 1950s USA where the main character, David, is still obsessively in love with a former girlfriend, Annabelle, who has married someone else.  He buys a home in the name of another man and decorates the house as if Annabelle will one day live there with him.  During the week, he lives in a boarding house and goes to his house in another town on weekends, telling people he is visiting his sick mother.  We meet other characters along the way, but the reader is drawn to David's mind as he becomes increasingly obsessed.  This is a great psychological crime story.  What will David do next?  I'd never read Patricia Highsmith before but when Jennifer Byrne's Book Club featured this and the whole panel loved it, I had to read it.  However, it wasn't easy to find.  Fortunately, I found it had been recently re-published.  I'll be looking for more of her books now.  Highly recommended. 5/5

October Book Club

We had a very enjoyable meeting at our hostess' home last night.  She had family visiting and it was lovely to meet them.  Three of  members weren't able to come as they are travelling interstate or overseas.  Our hostess bought some great books for us to read and I'm looking forward to reading a couple of them.  We had a delicious supper - see the beautiful and scrumptious Raspberry Ricotta Cake. It's always so good to get together with these ladies, sharing stories.  We're now of an age when most of us are grandmothers and how wonderful is that.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven

I very much enjoyed Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave which is set in London and Malta during World War II.  The main characters are Mary who has had a privileged life but wants to make a worthwhile contribution to the War effort.  In London, although unqualified, Mary is given a school to teach children who have not been evacuated in to the countryside (children that the country people don't want).  Mary matures here in a hostile environment.  The other main character is Alistair who has enlisted in the Army and is sent to Malta.  These characters become people we get to know and we care about what happens to them.  It is a horrific insight in to the terror and the matter of fact way people deal with these terrible situations when they could die at any moment.  There are a number of minor characters that we meet along the way and they are all interesting.  I enjoyed the banter between Alistair and his superior officer in Malta where they were under siege and starving.  Highly recommended. 5/5

Our Souls At Night

I very much enjoyed Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf (his last novel).  Set in a small American town with two elderly people Louis and Addie developing a strong friendship.  Addie approached Louis inviting him to stay the night and talk.  They acknowledged they were both lonely and they each welcomed the friendship.  They did not try to hide that they were meeting and ignored those who tut-tutted about it.  This is such a beautiful well-written story.  It is only a small book, 179 pages, so easy to read and enjoy.  This book featured on Jennifer Byrne's Book Club (this link to iView - Series 10, episode 12) and it is one of the few books which the whole panel loved.  Highly recommended. 5/5

The Strays

I very much enjoyed The Strays by Emily Bitto, a new Australian author.  The story is mainly set in an "artists' retreat" in 1930s Victoria.  The narrator is Lily who in 1985 receives an invitation to a "retrospective" of a prominent artist.  She looks back on her first day at school when she met Eva who became her best friend.  Eva's father was the artist, Evan.  Due to a set of circumstances within her family, Lily goes to live with Eva and her family.  Evan and his wife Helena are quite well off for the time and invited a group of artists to live and work on their property.  It was a sort of Bohemian lifestyle which Lily found very attractive.  But there were hidden secrets within the household which impacted on Lily and cause a long estrangement.  So Lily is conflicted when she receives the invitation after so many years.  This is a beautifully written story.  The author won the Stella Prize in 2015. 41/2/5