Unpleasant. That's all I'll say.
I liked the anthropology involved and the science around the island but not the relationships formed.

Clever memoir style with incredible detail and footnote! Very impressive but just not what I'd wanted to read about.

I don't think I'm clever enough for her writing! I like how she writes, and adored George's story, although it flipped about, but struggled with the 14th century half :/

She's great, not just at singing/making music but also as a writer, a chronicler and making sense of stuff.
I was a late comer to EBTG in the 90s so this was good to understand her, and their, beginnings and journey.

Interesting kind of love story that is about love in different guises, romance and teenage infatuation, familial love and care, denied love and all!
I couldn't determine the era, maybe as it was such a remote setting.
I'd be inclined to read some more of his books.

I picked this up from a charity box as I always try books published by these guys (they are based in Bath and independent through Mr B's Bookshop). And I'm always uncertain if I'll like them yet I always do!
I couldn't read two pages of this as it was so brutal but very necessarily told.
An interesting account of women in society, perspective and expectations that are placed on them by men, families and themselves. And female solidarity.

Less than a hundred pages and crammed with urlew facts, spottings and demise... yet told through the last few countries to have tracked or sighted one.
The detrimental impact of human and so called progress on the natural world 🗺 :(

She's a good writer, a long book but didn't feel so.
Rachel is tasked with wolf reintroduction and thus follows the tale, the relationships she encounters and her own journey in all of this. I like how it all works together, her career path kind of exists with the borders of her family life and the friends she makes within this world. Lots of metaphorical links here, really made me appreciate her thoroughness.

Oh what a perfectly timed book to read.
I have a real soft spot for this kind of book, japanese setting, a truly magical quality and an underlying message.
This actually spoke to me in a deeper sense, some emotions I'm trying to work through, and came at an unexpected time.

Nice and nostalgic but with some abject realism about rural farming and extreme weather... plus the highs and lows of marriage, divorce, family and community.

I'm becoming quite a fan of this chap.
He boards an ice breaker to follow a few days of their work, along the Finnish coast.
Comments on climate change and politics are important, and the history included with Russia and Sweden rulings was very new to me.

Gosh. I'm at a loss... so very detailed and engrossing but hurt my brain and my thoughts so very much.
In awe of his capacity to write such am epic story which has deep truths.
On Saturday I'm attending the March for Nature rally. It feels timely.

A book club read which I probably wouldn't have chosen but very pleased to have been pushed to read it! At times quite tough content but nicely written with a different family member writing each chapter over about 50 years. The story of displacement and not feeling belonging in your place. Poignant to read against thr current Middle East war.

Lovely heartwarming book, five characters each seeking new direction and the Librarian who points them into soul searching in a subtle manner.

Very clever and superb prose. I'm not sure I understood some of the interwoven dialogue...
I liked his relationship with his mother, and the backwsrd glimpses of early life.

She always writes a good tale, her historical perspective is varied and I learn a great deal of American history through her novels.
This Vietnam story has taught me about women nurses, trauma and the American angle on Vietnam and its tragedies.

What an unusual and well presented novel. The top layer of storyline was good enough in itself but to then have an underlying uncertainty made it truly thoughtful and i questioned what would happen a lot.
I've no idea who recommended it but I'm seeking out her others!

Flippin heck, what a book.
I feel despondent and sad but also in awe that she's conjured up such a terrifyingly possibility which should be prevalent in our minds and actions at all times.

Much better than I'd expected and clever weaving of Stories.
I liked her referencing to climate emergency and human interference in the natural world.
Her notes were important to read.

Book club pick, easy to read and no unexpected plot twists. I found it simple to predict and it included a vast amount. Possibly tried too much.
Nice descriptions of natural world and of the farmer community. I was interested to note that in the first section, all the female characters were broken in some way, and the men were all, save two, of a similar upbringing, employment and shared casual racism and sexism. Maybe of the era or locality.

Definitely one of my top books this year.
Great writing, obviously, and a tale of the almost now in political uncertainty, climate emergency and lack of positive action. The father son relationship is touching and the science parts blew my (unknowing) mind.
Brilliant book.

Gosh, what an interesting and unique style of novel.
I don't feel I can say much without giving details away.
But not at all what I expected and very cleverly done. I'm still mulling it over...

The third novel I've read by her and I didn't find it as flowing as her other two.
I liked the idea but found it too disjointed in content and thus unbelievable.

Brilliant book.
Nature and people, a patch if park and lonely characters.
Really gentle.

Cor, I liked this book.
I judged the author very wrongly at first but realised how wrong I was.
I learnt so much from his travels, about African nations, immigration and perspective. I was fascinated by the nature he wrote about, not just swallows. And I adored the unexpected romance! ❤️
One that will stay with me ☺️🙂

Tagged book is the cut off in the image!
A busy month but still time to read. And a true diversity of books too!

Nice read, three narrators who all live in one village. The ways of the countryside and how they each see and inhabit it.

Rather like Kate Grenville and this was no exception.
Whilst I feel it lacked some of the depth of her previous novels, this became a bit clearer on reading her notes.
Dolly is always on the move, looking for new opportunities. She's frustrated at the dependency of women at the time. And so her life pans out.

Lovely little novella about the author's years in Kyoto.
Really good description and detail.

This was a gift from an Australian friend as she knows how much I adored some other Australian authors.

I found this one more of a young person story but equally it's almost too gritty for YA. Horrid in the poverty, the neglect and abuse but heartwarming in the friendship and family developed through these.

Hmm. Quite unpleasant. But oddly compelling. Shudder!

Brilliant.
Such a great story with really good lessons and social commentary whilst drawing us into the world of the characters.

Sweet little exchange of letters between two strangers who share their thoughts, hopes and daily or weekly goings on.

I've kept meaning to read this for years and have finally done so!
I'm still mulling it over, the message contained in such a slim yet dense novel.

Am stuck for words.
I read a lot of speculative dystopia style fiction but this is one of those that is set now but is becoming dystopia because it's seemingly an end to a society we inhabit.
But it's on the brink of possibility. And it's happening in other countries.
The balance of beautiful lyrical prose against the immense terror is incredible. And the greyness throughout, the realms of knowing and speculated fear.
Such talent.

February in 📚.
Loved Birnam Wood and Lexicon hugely.

Oh my, what a fascinating story. I'm so glad I read the notes and understood its based on real people and events.
A truly fantastic book, woven in friendship, dreams, glittering Hollywood and reality.

Nicely eerie and uncertain in images.
The narrator is a researcher in the 1800's, travelling to the Arctic. On board are a wealth of troubled characters.
I didn't like the slaughter and massacre of wild animals but appreciated the commentary about humankind creating extinction.

Birthday eve visit to Victoria Art Gallery in Bath for the Vintage Ladybird Book exhibition. Really nostalgic look at the artists and illustration behind these iconic books.
Followed by pizza and beer and wine!

Godd grief, epic and exciting and totally gripping.
Unpredictable.
Brilliant!

Another slim Japanese translation which always appeals. Nicely descriptive of the natural area around the town in comparison to the busyness of Tokyo. I liked how he changes over the year, his developing understanding of life and the people who are important in his world.

I'd saved this to read as I've read a few of hers and loved them.
This wasn't as riveting, it felt quite chatty and light in prose. The story is good, I appreciated the focus on each character, but there were so many!
The last few chapters were a sensible way to tie it all up.
Interesting author's note, her wish to avoid criticism about the truth behind it... surely fiction doesn't need that pre empt.

Blimey, bought in error and such serendipity!
This was fantastic, I don't know why it's not better known?
Not just clever in concept but also in imagery and telling. It was like reading a film...

Ah, nice tale with a moral undertone. I do like these Japanese novels.
But who knew there's a whole genre called feline fantasy fiction?!!! Could be properly misinterpreted!

Not as interesting as I'd hoped. It felt disjointed. Maybe the translation?
But I dud learn about the French colonialism in Algiers.

A slim and poetic novel which I read in two sittings.
Her lyrical prose is of such contrast to the climate emergency. Cleverly written.

One of the most intriguing books I've ever read!
I was quite intimidated about reading it but it was incredibly written.
There were some important ideas about dualism between human and nature to consider...

Wow! That was immense and full of so much wonder and explanation yet left enough for us to decide ourselves.
Very clever in the way he traced family tree against historical natural events, and the trees themselves.
I was totally gripped throughout.

Distracting myself from assignments and housework with this book club choice. I've read a few by her, I quite like the gentle pace with character revelations. This is slightly dated, of the early 2000s, and there's a few cringey bits...

Amazing!
Absolutely fantastic in content and style.

Goodness, such a depressing account of rural poverty and neglect. It was shocking but an element of understanding...
I only kept reading because it was beautifully written and such an amass of metaphor, simile and peculiar description.