Category Archives: Fiction

And the Mountains Echoed

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and-the-mountains-echoed

And the Mountains Echoed

Khaled Hosseini

Summary

Ten-year-old Abdullah would do anything for his younger sister. In a life of poverty and struggle, with no mother to care for them, Pari is the only person who brings Abdullah happiness. For her, he will trade his only pair of shoes to give her a feather for her treasured collection. When their father sets off with Pari across the desert to Kabul in search of work, Abdullah is determined not to be separated from her. Neither brother nor sister know what this fateful journey will bring them. And the Mountains Echoed is a deeply moving epic of heartache, hope and, above all, the unbreakable bonds of love.
Comments
The groups opinions were divided. Half really liked the book and the other half didn’t really enjoy it. All agreed it was well written and most people like the characters.
Read by – The Last Thursday Book Group

 

Paper chains – a Book Club Review

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paper chainsPaper chains – Nicola Moriarty

Summary

A heart-warming story of love, friendship and forgiveness – and the crazy twists of fate that shape our lives…Hannah and India are new best friends. Although true friendship means always telling each other the truth, doesn’t it…? Hannah, you see, is running from her life back in Sydney. Now in London, she’s trying to put the past behind her, and finding this amazing new friend is a positive step forward. If only she could stop punishing herself for what she did. India knows Hannah is hiding something big, and she’s determined to figure it out. Fast. Because India has a secret of her own… One that is currently sealed in a love letter that’s making its journey across Europe in the most unconventional way. Before it reaches its destination, can India help Hannah learn to forgive herself? And will Hannah wake up and realise that India needs rescuing too …?

Comments

A story of two friends, hiding two very big secrets from each other.  While India is helping Hannah, Hannah is unknowingly helping India, in turn, face her demons too.

A great, easy, holiday break read.  Another believable plot with well written characters that pull you in from the start.  As a group, we all related to Hannah’s story.  We found it a very realistic, honest, thought-provoking storyline that we could all relate to on some level. Another writer that, for us, writes everyday, suburban Australia extremely well, without cliches and kitsch.

Rating – 8/10        Read by – Cultcha Club Book Club

A Spool of Blue Thread

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A Spool of Blue Thread

Anne Tyler

xa-spool-of-blue-thread.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Dd5z9gazgOAbout the book

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN’S FICTION PRIZE A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK’It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon…’ This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that summer’s day in 1959. The whole family on the porch, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before. From that porch we spool back through the generations, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define the family. From Red’s father and mother, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red’s grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century – four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their home..

 

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The husband’s secret – a Book Club review

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husbands secretThe husband’s secret by Liane Moriarty

Abstract
The story of a woman who finds a letter from her husband. It says: For my wife, Cecilia Fitzpatrick. To be opened only in the event of my death. Her husband is very much alive. Should she open it? Would YOU open it?

Comments
A very readable book – it includes all the ingredients of a good story; a believable plot, characters that are well developed and writing that pulls the reader in from the first page. The book focuses on strong female characters who had dealt or were dealing with tragedy in their lives. The story lines made us contemplate -what if?
This is the second book we have reviewed by Lianne Moriarty. She writes every day, suburban Australia really well.

Rating – 8/10         Read by – Cultcha Club Book Club