Monthly Archives: January 2024

Book Review Still Life by Sarah Winman

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About the book

1944, in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa, as bombs fall around them, two strangers meet and share an extraordinary evening.

Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner is a sexagenarian art historian and possible spy. She has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the wreckage and relive memories of the time she encountered EM Forster and had her heart stolen by an Italian maid in a particular Florentine room with a view.

Evelyn’s talk of truth and beauty plants a seed in Ulysses’ mind that will shape the trajectory of his life – and of those who love him – for the next four decades.

Moving from the Tuscan Hills and piazzas of Florence, to the smog of London’s East End, Still Life is a sweeping, joyful novel about beauty, love, family and fate.

Comments

Most of our readers loved this book.

We found it to be a long epic story that weaves through the lives of diverse characters. These many characters, with their exposed personal faults and their redeeming personal traits, were discussed animatedly and at length by our group.

The main character, Ulysses Temper, was a much-loved character in the book.

One reader summed up the story well by saying “this is a story about flawed characters adapting to kinder versions of themselves and it seems to be by the influence of one man, Ulysses Temper.”

The story begins in Italy during the last stages of the second world war and moves from 1944 through to 1979. The descriptive narrative contrasts between the dirty smog of Londen’s east end and the Italian city of Florence. The beautiful food and piazzas, the history of magnificent art and the wonderful Tuscan countryside.

Our readers described the story as being about friendship, love, art and community.

A wonderful story of historical fiction. Beautifully written and researched by the author Sarah Winman. Highly recommended. A criticism of the book from some readers was that it was hard to read for them due to small copy print. This did not allow the story to flow easily and fatigued some due to the concentration required.

Read by MJ Readers

Book Review Readers of the Broken Wheel Recommend

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About the book

Sara has never left Sweden but at the age of 28 she decides it’s time. She cashes in her savings, packs a suitcase full of books and sets off for Broken Wheel, Iowa, a town where she knows nobody.

Sara quickly realises that Broken Wheel is in desperate need of some adventure, a dose of self-help and perhaps a little romance, too. In short, this is a town in need of a bookshop.

With a little help from the locals, Sara sets up Broken Wheel’s first bookstore. The shop might be a little quirky but then again, so is Sara. And as Broken Wheel’s story begins to take shape, there are some surprises in store for Sara too.

Comments

We had a range of opinions between 2 & 7 out of 10. Some of us like the fact that is was a believable story but we would not want to live in this town in the middle of nowhere.

We liked the way the letters gave structure to the story. Sara knew a lot about the people in the town and they knew all there was to know about her, because the old lady had told the towns people all about Sara; the old lady felt Sara would be good for the town.

Read by Winsmead Readers

Book Review Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

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About the book

A family gathering

This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal–to avoid their well-meaning family’s endless stream of prying questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.

An uninvited guest

Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone and the prospect of losing her job. Unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller, the season promises to be anything but festive. She’ll just deliver her proposal to his family home and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller family’s perfect Christmas.

A Christmas to remember

When Lucy appears on the Miller family’s snow-covered Highland doorstep, she’s mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. By the time the confusion is cleared up, they’re snowed in–she can’t leave, even if she wants to! But does she want to? As secrets spill out like presents from an overstuffed stocking and the chemistry between her and Ross ignites, this is going to be either Lucy’s worst Christmas ever or the best mistake of her life.

Comments

A light hearted enjoyable read!

I loved the writing style of this book. It was nice to read a light hearted book. I sometimes find my reading can be quite deep. The character build-up was really good. Mainly, character growth over plot for this book.

Read by Maria – [Library Member, City of Parramatta Libraries]

Book Review The Jane Austen Remedy by Ruth Wilson

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About the book

At the age of seventy, Ruth Wilson blew up her life. Confronting feelings of regret and unhappiness, she left her husband, bought a sunshine-yellow cottage in the Southern Highlands and resolved to re-read the books that had shaped her formative years: Jane Austen’s six novels.

Over the next ten years, as Ruth read between the lines of both the novels and her own life, she slowly began to reclaim her identity.

Now aged ninety, Ruth shares her beautiful, life-affirming lessons in love, self-acceptance and the curative power of reading, as well as a timely reminder that it’s never too late to seize a second chance.

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Book Review The Rising Tide by Anne Cleeves

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About the book

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island, forging a bond that has lasted a lifetime. Now, they still return every five years to celebrate their friendship, and remember the friend they lost to the rising waters of the causeway at the first reunion.

Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now . . .

But with the tide rising, secrets long-hidden are finding their way to the surface, and Vera and the team may find themselves in more danger than they could have believed possible . .

Comments

This book was enjoyed by all of our readers.

For a murder mystery there were many Red Herrings with multiple character storylines to keep readers enthralled and guessing as to who the “villain” was.

Each change of story line evoked another possible suspect and probable cause for the murders.

Most readers found the book compelling reading. The character development of the police investigation team was absorbing, and the exposure of each team member’s character flaws was enjoyed by our readers.

The sudden twist at the end of the book was found by all to be a real shock that nobody saw coming.

This book has encouraged many in our group to read more of the “Vera” books.

Read by the MJ Readers