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Thanks Ooshie, that does actually help! I'm dying to read it but I scare easily when it comes to ghosts and the paranormal! You wouldn't think I'm a 32 year old school teacher!! But if it's more atmosphere than fear it creates then I'll give it a go!

I'm a twenty-five year old spinster with a prominent chin, who has relocated to Lyme with my two spinster sisters. I've become fascinated with fossils on the beach and befriended a local girl with a similar passion, who was struck by lightning as a baby.

!I've read Fingersmith and The Night Watch and loved them! Very engrossing books, with great plots and believable characters. I keep picking up The Little Stranger in my local bookshop.... but putting it down again because it looks like it'd scare the bejeezers out of me!!

Oops... I've spotted a spelling mistake!! In the blurb, it's meant to say that Salley Vickers writes with a poise and a wit which belies the novel's deeper themes...

Hi everyone, I've searched for this book on here and couldn't find it, so I hope I'm not duplicating another thread! I've just finished reading this book for a second time, and really want to share it with people!! The blurb from the back: 'When a friend dies, Julia Garnet goes to stay in Venice, where a lifetime of caution is challenged. She encounters the paintings in the local church which tell the story of Tobias and the Angel. The ancient tale of Tobias, who travels to Media unaware he is accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, unfolds alongside Julia Garnet's contemporary journey. As she unravels the story's history, Julia's own life is thrown into question - for, like the shifting sea-light of Venice, nothing here is quite as it seems. Salley Vickers writes with a poise and a wait which belies the novel's deeper themes: love, death and the growth of the human spirit. This many-layered novel truly defies the usual categories.' This is such a beautiful, gentle, affecting tale! At first glance it may sound dull - an elderly virgin spinster who moves to Venice almost on a whim. But it is really quite extraordinary how you gradually see this character transformed, without it being spelt out explicitly by the author. To begin with I didn't care much for this brittle woman who has spent her entire life being afraid of letting people in and as a result is cold and barbed, and who seems to look on the entire world with disdain. But as she experiences a completely new culture it has a much bigger impact on her than she expected, and I started to grow really fond of her! The way in which Vicker's describes it is beautiful and subtle. I actually enjoyed this book more the second time round because I noticed more and more hints of her transformation - the fact that, in a church, she actually ducks under a rope to get into a part of the building forbidden to the public. A small, seemingly insignificant act, that actually speaks volumes! As someone who has always adhered to the rules she would previously have been shocked if anyone did this! The characters are mostly believable and appealing and all have some kind of impact on Julia Garnet. The story of Tobias and the Angel is also told throughout, which is just as fascinating. It's made me more interested in religious stories and their origins - and much more interested in angels!! I recently posted a thread on here asking if anyone knew of any stories of people who had moved abroad to start a new life (as I'm about to do the same) and then suddenly rediscovered this one! It's so lovely and life-affirming and I really really want everyone to read it to see if you enjoyed it as much as me!!! Go on, go on!!

I started reading it a year or two ago, and am ashamed to say I gave it up pretty early on. More because life was too crazy at the time and I couldn't commit to it. It's been on my list to try again soon as I have heard only good things about it. Plus, apparently the film's coming out soon. And we all know that the books are usually better than the film adaptation!!

Thanks Janet, I'm used to using other forums where it's normal to post the thread in different 'areas' to get opinions from different audiences, if that makes sense!!!

Hi everybody, I'm about to move to New Zealand to start a new life and wondered if there might be any books out there with characters in similar situations. I remember reading one a few years ago about a girl that moved abroad after a failed relationship, and I loved it. I'd prefer fiction... and prefer it to have a happy ending!! I am getting nervous about my own move and so it'd be good to read something encouraging!

I used to buy typical women's magazines like Cosmopolitan and Glamour but after a year abroad I've decided that my interests have changed and don't really find them interesting anymore. I've often bought 'Psychologies' which is my guilty pleasure I guess! I'm genuinely interested people, and how they tick! I also buy travel magazines and .... gulp.... have caught myself looking at nature/wildlife magazines. I must be getting old!!

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson is fantastic!! It's not so much surviving in the wild, as surviving after a near-fatal accident. You probably know of the film.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I'll definitely look into some of those! I like the sound of the American Brat! I've actually been reading 'Brooklyn' by Colm Toibin which I am nearly at the end of (I only started it three days ago!) but have really enjoyed. It's quite old fashioned in it's style but is a gentle and beautiful story, and as the heroine prepares to leave Ireland for Brooklyn it definitely resonated with my own emotions!! I'd recommend it as an easy but enjoyable book to read!

This is one of the most haunting, beautiful and gripping books I've read!! I'm dying for Susanna Clark to write more! It is a big read, and i can see why some people would not enjoy it so much, but for me it was one of those books where you feel as if you are consuming the story, rather than reading it! I read it a few years ago now and still get flashes of scenes from the book that are very vivid. The only other books that have done that for me are The Little Friend by Donna Tartt and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I'd say, if you like fairy stories and fantasy told in a complex grown up way then keep going, otherwise it might not be your thing!

Hi everyone, I'm about to move to NZ to take up a job, and quite fancy reading about similar experiences - either fiction, or biographical. I'm getting the nerves now, so it'd be good to read something encouraging! I remember reading something a few years ago - fictional - about an American girl that moved to Switzerland or somewhere after a break up. It was really good, can't remember what it was called, but anything similar would be great! Can anyone recommend anything? Thanks! Gemma