Janet
23rd July 2008, 15:31
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/Bagpuss/Bagpuss_Books%202008/018-2008-Jul-23-EastoftheSun.jpg
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson (http://www.amazon.co.uk/East-Sun-Julia-Gregson/dp/1409102513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216824192&sr=8-1)
The ‘Blurb’
Autumn 1928. Three young women are on their way to India, each with a new life in mind. Rose, a beautiful but naïve bride-to-be, is anxious about leaving her family and marrying a man she hardly knows. Victoria, her bridesmaid couldn’t t be happier to get away from her overbearing mother, and is determined to find herself a husband. And Viva, their inexperienced chaperone, is in search of the India of her childhood, ghosts from the past and freedom.
Each of them has their own reason for leaving their homeland but the hopes and secrets they carry can do little to prepare them for what lies ahead in India.
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
For a start, there are a couple of obvious mistakes, including the reference on page 102 of someone being like a villain in an Abbott and Costello film. This book is set in 1928/29 and yet Abbott and Costello didn’t work together until 1935!
Another (page 106) talks about a parlour game “in which you wrote the name of somebody famous on a strip of paper and stuck it on your forehead. The others had to guess who you were”. Er, no - they could tell who you are by reading the paper stuck on your forehead! The game actually involves someone sticking a name on your head and you have to guess who your character is!
The characters are stereotypically upper class and it is quite hard to like someone who uses words like ripper, rotten and absolutely such a lot. They seem rather one-dimensional, especially at the start of the book.
However, I did grow to quite like the characters and the story was enjoyable, if predictable.
I enjoyed reading about India which seems such a colourful and vibrant country, and it was interesting reading about the problems that existed between some Indians and the Brits towards the end of Colonial rule. (Whilst calls for independence started in the 1920s, India didn’t declare independence until 1949).
I’d say this was a good book to read by the pool when you want something you don’t need to think about!
The paperback is 456 pages long and is published by Orion. The ISBN number is 978-1409102519.
6/10
(Read July 2008)
I didn't see this book discussed on Richard and Judy - does anyone know what their verdict was?
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson (http://www.amazon.co.uk/East-Sun-Julia-Gregson/dp/1409102513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216824192&sr=8-1)
The ‘Blurb’
Autumn 1928. Three young women are on their way to India, each with a new life in mind. Rose, a beautiful but naïve bride-to-be, is anxious about leaving her family and marrying a man she hardly knows. Victoria, her bridesmaid couldn’t t be happier to get away from her overbearing mother, and is determined to find herself a husband. And Viva, their inexperienced chaperone, is in search of the India of her childhood, ghosts from the past and freedom.
Each of them has their own reason for leaving their homeland but the hopes and secrets they carry can do little to prepare them for what lies ahead in India.
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
For a start, there are a couple of obvious mistakes, including the reference on page 102 of someone being like a villain in an Abbott and Costello film. This book is set in 1928/29 and yet Abbott and Costello didn’t work together until 1935!
Another (page 106) talks about a parlour game “in which you wrote the name of somebody famous on a strip of paper and stuck it on your forehead. The others had to guess who you were”. Er, no - they could tell who you are by reading the paper stuck on your forehead! The game actually involves someone sticking a name on your head and you have to guess who your character is!
The characters are stereotypically upper class and it is quite hard to like someone who uses words like ripper, rotten and absolutely such a lot. They seem rather one-dimensional, especially at the start of the book.
However, I did grow to quite like the characters and the story was enjoyable, if predictable.
I enjoyed reading about India which seems such a colourful and vibrant country, and it was interesting reading about the problems that existed between some Indians and the Brits towards the end of Colonial rule. (Whilst calls for independence started in the 1920s, India didn’t declare independence until 1949).
I’d say this was a good book to read by the pool when you want something you don’t need to think about!
The paperback is 456 pages long and is published by Orion. The ISBN number is 978-1409102519.
6/10
(Read July 2008)
I didn't see this book discussed on Richard and Judy - does anyone know what their verdict was?