I had this on my shelves for at least 11 years and never noticed the Ophrah's Book Club bubble. I'm not sorry I finally read it but the blurb on the back uses words like "sweet" and "tender" and for me it was brutal! Women trapped in awful marriages with no love. I wonder what I would have made of this if I read it long before I left my own marriage. It was another book from the 90s where the 10/11-year-old acts very much more grown up ⬇️

This was a random library loan for me and I kept postponing it but when I read it, I ended up really enjoying it. Based on true events in Ireland in the late 1800s, the story is told from the dual perspectives of the landowner's wife in prison and one of the servant girls who worked in the house, told in 1968. The events themselves are sad and the writing gets a bit flowery at the end but overall is beautiful and insightful.

It was quite weird but mostly in a good way! The writing was beautiful, of course. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was just wonderful. An 80-year-old man ends up taking his great-nephew, who he has never met, with him on a trip to Nice, where he was born. Together they unravel the story behind some photographs taken by his mother and discover her role in World War II. The writing flows easily and there is humour and poignancy but all done with a masterful touch, not too heavy. Just beautiful. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I have devoured this book and am literally so sad that there is so little left. Will be posting my 5-star review far too soon 😢

I'm desperately in need of a year that is better than this past one. At times I struggled with this book because reading about Maisie's pain reminded me of my own (very different) pain. But in the end the intricate (convoluted?) storyline drew me in and distracted me. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I ended up enjoying this a lot although words fail me a bit to describe why. Maybe it was being able to relate so closely to the descriptions of love and longing; he also has a gift to state some truth about a characters' life in a beautiful and startling way. Altogether, though, I wish the story was a bit less bleak!

I never posted about this and forgot that I read it. The hopeful parts were good but the deep recollection of childhood trauma was a bit upsetting to read at times. It looks like the other books in the series are better?

I need to pick my next read - maybe one of the unknowns instead of having no self control with the Maisie Dobbs. The top two are both wildcards from the library that looked interesting but could be a total bust. I liked Autumn and am fairly confident I'll like Winter...

This was an enjoyable, distracting, quick read. The writing isn't brilliant IMO but the events drive the book along nicely. I'm keen to read the others!

I loved this. The story unfolds slowly, bit by bit, and the detailed descriptions of motherhood, of colours and sensations and experiences are beautiful. I really really hate Margot! A book to make you hold your own child(ren) tightly and appreciate anew the privilege and joy of being their mother. I miss my babies!

I'm giving this a go although I didn't see any of the others on the shelf. I don't really understand how this library branch groups their fantasy and scifi. Anyway, I've had a headache since Friday night, tomorrow is an incredibly welcome public holiday, my babies are going on a long holiday with their dad and on my bed under the fan is where I will be until further notice.

I still haven't completely made up my mind whether I hate the bits where people blame God for all bad things, or simplistically and irrationally see his hands in events, but I do love the general feel and writing of the book. I laughed out loud once and cried multiple times. It made me think a lot about my life right now and my hopes and dreams, and what gives true joy. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this one as I do all the others. It's strange how India is a theme in my life right now. I look forward to the next one!

At times I feel like this book should be called "How many horrible things can happen to one family".

From the connecting train being delayed this morning to finding out I would be spending the whole of the afternoon and evening alone instead of seeing a friend, I was quite low by the time I got off the aeroplane in Cape Town. And my book, my one book I had idiotically packed, was nearly finished. So I consoled myself...

On the train to the airport - > Cape Town for 3 nights. Year-end function and meeting as a team.

You know I'm hard-up for light reading when I dig out the AC. I never noticed this racist aside before 😂

I just finished this but I wish I had another one 😢 They've been such a comfort. My ex-husband is starting radiation therapy tomorrow and my girls can't see him for at least 22 days. I've gotten very used to my divorced life and my week off in which I work extra hard at my job and get a bit more exercise and sleep. I already don't read that much but seeing even less happening the next week. What lies ahead for us all, nobody knows.

I really loved this latest novel so much. It was a tiny bit like a racier Maisie Dobbs 😂 but of course also very different. She brings all the different threads together so well. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm starting to really love Kate Grenville. The novel is a tiny bit heavy-handed here and there and to be honest I think one entire storyline could have been left out, but I loved Harley and Dennis, the setting, the detail, the beautiful descriptions. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

For someone who almost always scans the shelves in libraries and bookstores for Ish..., I've actually read shockingly few of his books. I wasn't crazy about Never let me go and I also didn't love this one, sadly. Some ideas were fascinating but the conversations were exhausting to read and the premise a bit lacking to me.

I really enjoy anything by Kate Atkinson and these stories were her wonderful sort of weirdness. I especially liked Blithe Spirit. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is each Maisie Dobbs just better than the last? This was so excellent. I could barely put it down and finished it way too quickly 😢

I was excited to come across this book, plus there was a sequel on the shelf written something like 30 years later, but... The sex. I couldn't handle all the writing about prostitution and fellow travellers talking about their sexual adventures in these countries. I'm sad that I wasted 4 days of reading time before realising it was just going to get worse.

I have a cold (surprise surprise after two horrible weeks at work) and it's my week without my girls so I'm trying to force myself to rest. I bought this because it was heavily discounted and I had been browsing in a bookshop to pass the time and it seemed depressing to buy nothing at all - does that sound demented? I just don't have the budget for new books when even simple children's books cost what I used to pay for new books for myself.

I loved this! The MC is in a coma and the reason why unravels in a non-linear way throughout the book (which sometimes irritates but was done so well). Her explorations of love and connection always touch me deeply. One fact that seems highly improbable to me was the only thing I didn't like. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thought I was going to return this to the library unfinished - I found the beginning of Elizabeth's marriage terribly depressing. I'm so glad I gave it one more shot! It turned out to be absolutely beautiful and comforting and challenging and I loved it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

This is for sure an example of a movie taking the basic idea of a book and running wildly in different directions wirh it. It's for the better, though, I think. The clumsy treatment of class differences, the depressing reflections on married life and the unappealing character of Sonny are all vastly improved in the movie.

Well, now I can say I've read it, I guess. I unfortunately found the writing corny and heavy-handed, but it's a compelling story and I can understand why it's popular. Just not my kind of writing.

I really liked this one, maybe even more than Messenger of Truth, although there is no need to compare. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was so beautiful. It made me very sad in places but I loved it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed this! I loved the characters, their pain and challenges and also their enjoyment of life. I found the plot quite complicated but maybe my brain is just fried from work 😅 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Why oh why is the use of commas in this book so bad?

I did a 5 km hike this morning on a beautiful mild winter's day and ran some errands. So far I'm enjoying the tagged book and reading and resting are my main plans for the rest of the day.

The layers she builds are complex and so well done. I loved seeing more development in Maisie, even when she has to make hard choices. Such an enjoyable but also deep read.

I wanted to read this for so so long and my trip to the fancier library in one of our malls finally gave me the chance. I loved it; it was absolutely my kind of literary historical fiction, if that is even a genre 🙂 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I went through a big Margaret Atwood phase about 15 years ago but I never came across this one. Her books are always unique and this one can even be called weird but it's marvellously written; I can never quite pinpoint what is so masterful about the way she writes about her characters' inner lives. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've seen this movie several times for reasons I can't really explain and I found it 100% impossible not to run it through my head while reading the book. I loved certain parts, certain angles in the book - after everything, the movie doesn't convey as strongly how much Matt pursues Brian out of love for his wife.

Question: are American 10-year-olds really this precocious or is the author's perspective messed up? Scottie is way worse than in 👇

This was my first JG in I don't know how long, possibly since high school. Randomly selected at the library. I found it entertaining and informative (I never knew how much drug use there was among soldiers during Vietnam) but the flow was strange - a lot of it was like little vignette of life in this town. Hard to explain. It won't blow you away but it's an enjoyable read.

This was frankly better than I expected. For one thing, I always thought it was like a cabin in the woods 😂😂😂😂

My only gripe, because I don't drink, is that I'm so sick of the narrators of thrillers drinking constantly and the whole book taking place in an alcoholic haze.

This was very good, as always. Right now all the timelines with Max and Leon are confusing me... Very interesting parts of history were covered - her ability to imagine these is amazing.

I can't lie to myself anymore. I have a cold 😭

My children are with their dad so it's me and these babies and bed, I guess. I'm trying Cabin 10 after reading about the millionth review of it on Litsy this morning - I really hope I like it!

I've never read Jennifer Weiner before aside from starting Big Summer and not really getting into it, but this was a lot of fun! Her writing is good and I was sucked into the storyline. Recommend as a light, distracting read 😉

This is a beautiful autobiographical Afrikaans novel about the author's childhood as the child of parents who were left-leaning during apartheid and good to black people, but not always the best or most loving parents, + her relationship with her older brother who eventually could not overcome his drug habit, despite all his nonconfirmist beliefs + his writing talent. It's about family roots + the lengths people will go to for those they love.

I was really engrossed in this beautiful book. It's about a difficult physical and mental challenge, about dreaming of wild success, and about the way unresolved trauma stays with us and shapes our lives. I couldn't wait to pick it up at night once my youngest was asleep and all my chores done. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I started this a long time ago - two years? - and couldn't get into it at the time. I gave it another shot and was continually surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Maybe I had just needed a break from other feminist reimaginings I had read. Her portrayal of Jesus's humanity is unique and beautiful and definitely provides food for thought.

I stuck it out and was rewarded with the book just getting more and more depressing! All the different groups fighting for different things never stopped confusing me. Yet I did learn a lot and I don't know if I can say I'm sorry I read it. Just don't expect it to be anything like The Sparrow. Unfortunately some of her characters come off cheesy rather than profound and moving in this book.

I wanted to like a book about a nerdy translator but I just can't with this one. The writing style is just not for me.

Another really good read. I flew through this far too quickly! ⭐⭐⭐⭐