Poppyshake's Reading Year 2014

[chesilbeach]

I was rather disappointed with Mrs Ames, as I've read all the Mapp and Lucia series and thought they were much better.  Having said that, there are a lot of similarities between the story in Mrs Ames, and I looked it up afterwards, and Benson wrote it before the Mapp and Lucia books, and it seems like he liked the idea and maybe thought he could make it funnier and more satirical, and when you then look at the later books, you can see this is where they've come from.

[poppyshake]

Heading Out To Wonderful by Robert Goolrick

Amazon's Synopsis: It is the summer of 1948 when a handsome, charismatic stranger, Charlie Beale, back from war in Europe, shows up in the sleepy town of Brownsburg, Virginia. All he has with him are two suitcases: one contains a fine set of butcher knives; the other is full of money. Charlie should have turned around and walked back the other way, for what follows - the most passionate and tragic story of a forbidden love affair - will threaten to destroy everything and everyone in its path. Told through the eyes of Sam, a young boy in the town whose world is changed forever by the events of that single year, Heading Out to Wonderful is a suspenseful masterpiece, a haunting, heart-stopping novel of obsession and love gone terribly wrong in a place where once upon a time such things could happen.

Review: I really enjoyed this, it had that same sense of anticipation and drama that you get from reading Steinbeck (I've only read one but this put me in mind of it). Everything so well described that you can see it, smell it and taste it. The tension almost suffocates you. Charlie is a loner, a new man in town. He's unconventional, preferring to sleep under the stars .. beds and sheets and even houses feel restrictive. He's a skilled butcher and persuades local business man Will Haislett to hire him in his butcher's shop which is how he meets the narrator of this story .. five year old Sam who is Mr Haislett's son. It's also where he first sets eyes on the beautiful Sylvan and from that moment onwards, Charlie is on a collision course with disaster. You know within two pages that it's not going to end well

Sylvan is also fairly new to town. Her husband (possibly one of the world's fattest, meanest and most obnoxious men) Boaty Glass, has literally bought her. He rode around the countryside looking for a suitable wife (his preference being for a fourteen/fifteen year old girl .. Sylvan at seventeen is a little old for his tastes but she is beautiful and her family don't immediately threaten murder so it's a definite improvement) after his attempts to get one in the usual way failed miserably. In exchange for their daughter's hand in marriage, Boaty will buy their farm from them .. in cash .. and they can continue to live there tax free. But Sylvan must stay married to him, if she leaves or divorces him then he will throw them out. They do have some pangs about it I'm glad to say. They are incredibly poor but still they have scruples and one of these is that Sylvan herself must agree to it. As it turns out she's not as anti as you might suppose .. she is desperate to escape and so offers herself up pretty willingly all things considered. One of the first things Boaty introduces her to (well .. perhaps the second thing  ) is the cinema and from that moment on Sylvan is hooked. Now she has money she enlists the help of local seamstress Claudie and is soon wearing exact replicas of the costumes worn by her favourite screen goddesses .. a temptation for any man .. and a deadly one for Charlie. For Sylvan, Charlie is a dead ringer for one of her matinee idols. For Charlie, she is the sun, moon and stars.

There is not much 'will she/won't she' about their love affair .. considering the probable consequences they both seem to almost rush into it headlong and with very little discretion. Sam, who has become Charlie's constant and doting companion, is ever present during these clandestine meetings. They attempt to occupy him with crayons and picture books whilst they hurry away to another room. It confuses him, he knows something is going on .. he's not sure what .. though curiosity gets the better of him and he does go looking .. and what he finds devastates him. Charlie is penitent but he doesn't alter his behaviour ... the pull of Sylvan is too strong. He exacts a promise from Sam that he will never tell a soul (though the town folk miss nothing and they're not fooled now). Charlie is someone the reader grows to like pretty much from the beginning (though we know hardly anything about him previous to this story starting) but he tests this somewhat over his failure to properly look after Sam .. whose young mind is in turmoil from the things he's seen, the secrets he's keeping and the things he's imagining. Sylvan is a difficult one, not sure the reader ever gets anywhere near to understanding her but then she's a mystery to herself let alone anyone else. The heat between the couple rises and the tension builds on the page .. the reader is aware that it's all going to explode sooner or later but the writer has some surprises in store.

A great page turner. I see I've given it 4/5 .. which is the same rating as some other books that I didn't enjoy half as well. This is a 4 heading out towards a 5 though and they were going the other way

[poppyshake]

I was rather disappointed with Mrs Ames, as I've read all the Mapp and Lucia series and thought they were much better.  Having said that, there are a lot of similarities between the story in Mrs Ames, and I looked it up afterwards, and Benson wrote it before the Mapp and Lucia books, and it seems like he liked the idea and maybe thought he could make it funnier and more satirical, and when you then look at the later books, you can see this is where they've come from.

He was practicing Claire I didn't really have any expectations so they weren't dashed. I enjoyed it in a cup of tea, slice of toast, comfy slippers type way. Like a sit-com that doesn't make you roar but does make you smile often. I'm quite happy with that at the moment .. it suits my present abilities  

[frankie]

Hellooooo Kay! 

 

I realize I haven't been to this thread to comment in ages I've read your posts every now and then but at a time when I haven't had the time to really post and comment, and now that I've looked back, I've last commented in February I guess I've always postponed getting into it because I know there would be so much to say and I know how long that would take me!  

 

This year's New Year's ( ) resolution of mine shall be that I will never again let things accumulate on here but shall respond to posts when reading threads. I will not wait for a 'better time' or for 'more time'. I will stop being all lazy arse! 

 

So please excuse me for now, I can't natter, I want to get down to book business! And after this post is done, I will get back to natter mode  

 

I've been reading through the reviews now (great as always!), and the following books will go on my wishlist: High Rising by Angela Thirkell, Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake (coincidentally I've been again thinking about Gormenghast a lot lately. I really want to start reading it now but I fear the moving hassle would get in the way   ), Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes and Mrs Ames by E.F. Benson. 

 

 

Oh! And great review on Paperboy! There are no copies at the Joensuu library, will check Espoo out... Lemme, hold on a sec... Ah, no such luck. Well I can't have them all! They already have so many titles the Joensuu libraries don't, that I can't be sorry

 

Oooh! And Idiopathy! I read the review on that earlier already and I added it on my wishlist at the time. Gotta love the cover

 

Wow. Have you ever seen me do such a concise, clear response on your reading log posts. Never in a million years. 

[poppyshake]

The Misinterpretation Of Tara Jupp by Eva Rice

Synopsis: Country girl Tara is whisked off to Sixties London to become a pop star; there she is dressed, she is shown off at Chelsea parties, photographed by the best. She meets songwriters, singers, designers, and records her song, and falls in love. But behind the buzz and excitement of her success, concern about her beautiful, wild sister Lucy and the bitter relationship with their friend Matilda haunts Tara. Their past friendship is broken, and among the deceptions and the strangeness of both their marriages, the buried secrets keep on reappearing. The brilliant new world of fashion and music, of mini skirts and rock 'n' roll, of the Marquee Club and The Palladium, is also one of love and heartache.

Review: I really, really, wanted to love this. I liked the title a lot and the cover  (not so crucial here as I listened to it but if all had gone well then a paper copy would be on the wishlist) and these things are important to me as you know and I also firmly believe that I can spot a 'me' book a million miles away .. this alas was one of the occasions where such wisdom fell flat on it's face  I hated it!!  .. and if it wasn't for the beginning few chapters (the bit before the plot really got going) which I was really rather enjoying I would give it a 1 (solely for the cover) because to me it was unoriginal, predictable and cliched (so there! )

 

Tara narrates and she is likeable enough. She tells us all about her life in Cornwall, she comes from a big family of brothers and sisters, her father is a vicar, her mother is sadly dead .. she died in childbirth a few years before this story starts. Her older sister Lucy is very beautiful ... an absolute stunner who has all the local boys in a tizz. Tara is a brilliant singer, she can impersonate all the jazz greats which is a bit of a rarity for a teenage girl from the West Country. It's not long before she's spotted and whisked off to to the bright lights of London with her sister. Tara is set to become a pop star! It's here where the story fell apart for me .. maybe it's because I don't get along with too much excitement but then I didn't find it exciting I just found it unconvincing.

 

There's a man Tara likes .. Inigo Wallace .. now a famous songwriter but at one time just a boy she had a crush on. He doesn't remember her from that time (and she's loath to remind him because of an embarrassing incident connected with it). He's lived in America for many years and has had enormous success (his nickname is .... wait for it ... Father Hitmas   ) .. and has now been asked to write some hits for Tara (or shall we call her Cherry Merrywell because .. that's what she's been renamed) and, make no mistake, they will be hits .. and that was one of the problems. Everyone in the story seemed to become an overnight success .. you're an aspiring singer/model/art historian/novelist/ ... then sure as eggs are eggs you will be famous by the time you get up tomorrow and the whole nation will be talking about you. In fact not only will your book be amazingly popular but they will be talking about the films rights about ten secs after you've posted off the manuscript. There was never any struggle (there was even a mention of a child of five serving aces who they hoped would be Wimbledon bound .. thankfully he was still five when the book finished so I didn't have to hear about him lifting the trophy ).

 

There were a few heart stopping moments, moments where disaster was imminent but by the time they occurred you were well aware that there was not the slightest chance of you getting anywhere near the edge of your seat. Total anti-climaxes. A man is dangling over the edge of a precipice with only one finger clinging on to terra firma .. then that man will be saved ... possibly by our heroine riding bare back with a convenient lasso clenched between her teeth (this didn't happen by the way  ) I didn't mind it with Lassie but I must have grown cynical since. Anyhow Inigo is not that impressed .. Tara overhears him making a disparaging remark about her and from that moment on they are a bit cool with one another .. not to say downright snotty .. leaving the reader in no doubt that they will of course end up head over heels in love.

There is a lot more to the story but most of it fell on deaf ears as after I got halfway I was just willing for it to be over (and as the book is 592 pages long I had a long wait  ). It was like candy floss .. it looked nice and was quite sweet but there was no substance. I thought it was ridiculously OTT too.

What I will say though is read the blurb and if you like the sound of it then read other reviews because it is universally loved as far as I can see so perhaps my reaction to it is a very personal one and subject to my unique set of prejudices. All I can say is that it made me want to chew my own arm off so that I couldn't press play .. that's how much I hated it. 2/5 (generous  )

[poppyshake]

Hellooooo Kay!

Hello Gorgeous! 

I realize I haven't been to this thread to comment in ages. I've read your posts every now and then but at a time when I haven't had the time to really post and comment, and now that I've looked back, I've last commented in February. I guess I've always postponed getting into it because I know there would be so much to say and I know how long that would take me!

Not to worry at all .. it's just me wittering on as usual and I know you've had a busy, busy time of it. I'm always very happy to see you when you do come =)

This year's New Year's resolution of mine shall be that I will never again let things accumulate on here but shall respond to posts when reading threads. I will not wait for a 'better time' or for 'more time'. I will stop being all lazy arse!

Not at all ..  you don't want to get regimented about it .. that's for toast eating etc (and I'm fairly relaxed about that too except .. it has to be done at some point during the day =D ) Never let a toast craving accumulate =D

So please excuse me for now, I can't natter, I want to get down to book business! And after this post is done, I will get back to natter mode.

There is a time for nattering and a time to get down to business! =D Wish I had learnt that .. I could have been someone!    

I've been reading through the reviews now (great as always!), and the following books will go on my wishlist: High Rising by Angela Thirkell, Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake (coincidentally I've been again thinking about Gormenghast a lot lately. I really want to start reading it now but I fear the moving hassle would get in the way ), Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes and Mrs Ames by E.F. Benson.

Thank you =) I hope you enjoy them when and if you get around to procuring them. I think you'll particularly enjoy Look Who's Back .. it's clever and also thought provoking. I must read the sequel to Titus Groan or else I will have forgotten it .. it's so involved .. not sure I haven't forgotten at least half of it already   Oh bother! I really should have just gone from one to the other but I rarely do that .. it would help enormously with the Thursday Next's too .. but I am determined to make life hard. Well done me!  

Oh! And great review on Paperboy! There are no copies at the Joensuu library, will check Espoo out... Lemme, hold on a sec... Ah, no such luck. Well I can't have them all! They already have so many titles the Joensuu libraries don't, that I can't be sorry.

Isn't it the most exciting thing about moving? .. you have a new library to explore   I have exhausted all the books in my horrible library .. there weren't many to begin with and I swear they're all the same ones as when I moved in four years ago. Bit drastic to move just to be near a better library but if it wasn't for the fact that the Swindon libraries are not far away then I would definitely consider it   Paperboy is well worth seeking out .. I'm happy to send my copy once you get to Espoo but don't want to overcrowd you with stuff five mins after you've moved in. Let me know anyhow.

Oooh! And Idiopathy! I read the review on that earlier already and I added it on my wishlist at the time. Gotta love the cover

Yes .. another good one =) (and the cover didn't let me down this time =D ) I've lent it to Claire .. hope she likes it too. 

Wow. Have you ever seen me do such a concise, clear response on your reading log posts. Never in a million years.

 I love your responses, whether they're clear and concise, fuzzy and rambling or anything in between. We talk the same language (well of course .. officially we don't .. well you do .. but I have not a hope in hell of speaking yours   .. it's as complicated as they come and I have a terrible memory. I learnt a few rabbit words when reading Watership Down .. just the basics .. but blow me if I can remember the word they used when coming up from the burrow to stuff food .. I know there was one but I've not used it and it's gone  I tried to recollect it the other day when in the supermarket. What is the opposite of a retentive memory? =D Of course, the problem is that I've never had an occasion to converse with a rabbit .. shame =D )

 

Yes .. what were we saying about clear and concise responses?   

[bobblybear]

Heading Out To Wonderful sounds.....errr...wonderful!   I've added it to my wishlist.

[Janet]

"Oh .. we're all different .. some people put baked beans in their shepherd's pie Janet

 

That's nearly grounds for divorce in some quarters!

[poppyshake]

Heading Out To Wonderful sounds.....errr...wonderful!   I've added it to my wishlist.

Good .. I'm fairly confident about this one bobbs

That's nearly grounds for divorce in some quarters!

Too right .. I remember falling to the ground crying 'why?' when I heard about it

[poppyshake]

I've sadly neglected my book blog and my reading in general. It's mostly Kate Bush's fault as I found myself on the Eventim site nearly every day in September refreshing the ticket page in desperation   I hardly read a thing   Just a couple of books and Kate's programme over and over again .. which is quite wordy and as such should really count towards my reading total .. yes .. I think I will add it to the list!

 

Last week we took a trip up to Yorkshire .. all too short a trip alas but still it's whetted our appetite for a future visit. Number one priority was to see the Bronte Parsonage and we stayed in Haworth itself and so went every day as your ticket allows you entry for up to a year and it's such an inspiring place. Had a good wander around the surrounding area and visited the church where their father was curate (and where all of them .. bar Anne .. are buried) and also the little school where Charlotte taught and the surrounding moors. Such a beautiful landscape .. no wonder the girls were inspired. Didn't get to see the ruins at Top Withens though which is said to have inspired Emily when describing Wuthering Heights. It's a couple of miles away from Haworth and we decided to do it on our last morning but the weather turned awful and we couldn't see two feet in front of us. It was just too wuthering and we had to abandon In a way it would have been good to have kept going, might have had a better understanding of how Mr Lockwood fared when trying and failing to find Thrushcross Grange. However, giving yourself double pneu (with complications) is going a bit too far even for literary authenticity and anyway I am never properly attired for that sort of thing. We sat in a tea shop instead (which I'm always attired for   )

 

Thinking that whilst in Yorkshire we may as well visit some other literary places (without having any understanding of how vast Yorkshire is .. even though I have looked at maps of the UK ever since I could focus) we decided to drive over to Whitby which has a Dracula connection. Bram was said to have been so taken with the ruined abbey and the coastline there that he wrote it into his gothic masterpiece. Hmph! .. it turned out to be a two and a half hours drive away which is too far on a short break but still, the weather was glorious and so we didn't really regret it, and Whitby is very pretty in the sunshine and very atmospheric.

 

We also did (part of .. again the weather intervened) a Railway Children walk which takes you on a six mile hike around the Yorkshire countryside taking in some of the locations used in the film. As walks go it's pretty tough going and a dry day was needed really to appreciate it fully. There's one stile you come across that just about admits of one leg to pass through it. Very awkward. Had terrible visions of being on Helicopter Rescue and embarrassing my whole family  I did come home with some nice goodies like a book on Charlotte Bronte but also had a humongous bruise to remind me of the walk The best part of the walk takes you to Oakworth station .. alas though it's only open at weekends out of season so we had to peer at it from a little distance. Thankfully the neighbouring station at Haworth is very similar and that was open (we bought a platform ticket .. how quaint ) so we were able to get a close up look. I believe the line is one of the shortest in the country or is the shortest .. not sure? I wanted to wave my red petticoat at a train but thankfully there were no trains running. I kept a suspicious eye on all the trees though. 

 

Apologies to those who have already seen these pics, I put them on my members blog even though they really belong here. I bought a copy of Elizabeth Gaskell's biog of Charlotte Bronte when in Yorkshire. This is going to be very insightful .. a lot of the info on show at the museum is based on Elizabeth's observations (she had met Charlotte) though I know it gets criticized for being a too sanitised view. Charlotte's father was still living at the time I think and therefore possibly it was done to protect him. I will try and read between the lines however

[poppyshake]

Yorkshire, the Bronte Parsonage, trying on bonnets (of course), the cemetery, the church, wuthering on the moors and Charlotte's school.

[poppyshake]

The 199 steps in Whitby, Whitby Abbey ruins, graveyard and The Dracula Experience which was alas shut. Even though I've been told it's monumentally awful .. I would still have loved to go in. The awfuller the better imo (I don't actually want to be scared )

[poppyshake]

From the Railway Children: Oakworth station, neighbouring Haworth station, bridge and crossing en route, Three Chimneys (where the children lived), the stile outside Three Chimneys (this is not the thin one .. this one looks generous in comparison ) and Perks' cottage. 

[Athena]

I've already seen some of these photos, but they're still lovely ! I'm glad you had a great time.

 

How's your reading been, lately?

Edited October 6, 2014 by Athena

[poppyshake]

I know .. sorry to bombard you .. on Facebook too   My reading was going woefully but Claire lent me a great book (Frost Hollow Hall) and I whizzed through it so possibly things are looking up. Will try and go careful with my next choice ... I want to try and continue momentum. 

[Athena]

I hope it'll go well . It's never nice when mojo takes a break..

 

Don't worry about the pictures, I enjoyed seeing them .

[chesilbeach]

I know .. sorry to bombard you .. on Facebook too   My reading was going woefully but Claire lent me a great book (Frost Hollow Hall) and I whizzed through it so possibly things are looking up. Will try and go careful with my next choice ... I want to try and continue momentum. 

 

So pleased you enjoyed Frost Hollow Hall!  Her second book is just as good, although a completely different story - it's called The Girl Who Walked On Air.

[Devi]

Wow amazing pictures! I would love to do a book tour myself one day.

[poppyshake]

 

So pleased you enjoyed Frost Hollow Hall!  Her second book is just as good, although a completely different story - it's called The Girl Who Walked On Air.

That's good to hear .. definitely will look into that She kept my interest throughout which is no mean feat at the moment   

[poppyshake]

Wow amazing pictures! I would love to do a book tour myself one day.

Thanks Deborah It's great when you go to places that have inspired books or writer's homes etc .. especially if they are books/authors you love  

[poppyshake]

Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles by Clare Balding

Synopsis: In the Balding family, walking just took too long - Clare galloped through the countryside and she galloped through life. Then, starting out in her broadcasting career, she was asked to present a series of walks with interesting people. Some fifteen hundred miles of footpaths later, she's discovered the true glories of Britain and caught the walking bug. Now she wants to get her whole family hooked, by taking them on the 71-mile footpath that runs past their home on the Hampshire Downs. 'It will be a great family adventure,' she declares. 'Won't it?' This is a story of paths and people, of discovering the glories of Britain and Ireland, and of (mis)adventures with the family. Along the way there are charming diversions and life-changing rambles, including her take on the 2012 Olympics. And, finally, this is Clare's story of walking home.

Review: I really enjoyed Clare's previous book but was slightly disappointed in this one. Not that it's not good .. it's quite similar in style and I love the subject matter .. it's just that it was a little boring in places (she rambles on too much ha ha  ) and also she's occasionally a bit sniffy about some of the people who have taken part in her radio programme 'Ramblings' which I thought was bad form. Only the people that annoyed her though and they were few and far between but all the same. I felt their friends and family would know and was therefore embarrassed for them (even if they were major pains in the a*ses ) Part of the book is about her attempting the Wayfarer's Walk in Hampshire with various members of her family. She had seen the signposts for it for as long as she can remember as it runs past her childhood home but had never attempted it until now. I liked this part probably better than the chats about the walks she took for 'Ramblings' though she has met some fascinating people (like David Sedaris .. whose mission it is to pick up every piece of litter dropped .. an exhausting and depressing past-time actually as he can no longer see beauty when he looks at the countryside .. even if it's a far off view .. he just sees piles and piles of litter.) Also interesting was her commentary on what it was like to be a big part of London 2012 .. perhaps a little bit too back-patty (that's not a term is it?  ) but then she did do a remarkably good job.

Enjoyable but not quite as top notch as My Animals and Other Family .. imo of course

3/5

[poppyshake]

Ronnie by Ronnie Wood

 

Synopsis:  Ronnie Wood is one of rock’s true originals. This is his story, in his own words, about his life, loves, family, friends, music, art and survival against the odds. It’s a roller-coaster ride of unbelievable highs and unimaginable lows. From a small boy growing up on a working class council estate not far from Heathrow Airport who wanted to play music and paint - the first generation of his "water gypsy" family to be born on dry land - to becoming one of the most famous musicians in the world, Ronnie Wood toured the world with his Rolling Stone bandmates - Mick, Keith, Charlie and, for a while, Bill. And the five of them have, arguably, been seen in person by more people on this planet than anyone else in the history of mankind. But as mayhem and hysteria invariably followed on Ronnie's adventure through the excesses of rock ‘n roll, the drugs got harder and his relationships - especially with Mick, Keith, various women and his family - became increasingly more complex. This is Ronnie the husband, father, grandfather and rock star the way you have never seen any rock star before. RONNIE is an up-front and personal look at life as a Rolling Stone, from the inside, and at the Stones as the rest of the world has never seen them. After RONNIE, drugs, sex and rock ‘n roll will never be the same again.

 

Review: Contrary to my expectations this book started well but got more and more boring. I found his childhood fascinating and that part of the story he told well. His family are complete characters. But as Ronnie becomes more famous he gets less interesting .. perhaps his memories are hazy at this point It's all one big drugs and booze fest topped off with a great deal of name dropping and narcissism (how many times do I want to hear how everyone idolises the Stones and Ronnie? I know that! Though he did have the good grace to remark that people often mistake him for Keith ) Also, this was a book written before he broke up with Jo and you can't help .. with the benefit of hindsight .. but feel cynical about the relationship and his professed devotion. Anyone interested in rock music will probably love it but there are better biographies out there I think. This one was a bit too self serving and I wasn't 100% convinced. One thing I did like though were his drawings .. he's a very talented artist. Also photo's .. I always love flicking through the photo's.

 

3/5

[poppyshake]

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Synopsis: Fiercely romantic and hugely influential, The Scarlet Letter is the tale of Hester Prynne, imprisoned, publicly shamed, and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' for committing adultery and bearing an illegitimate child, Pearl. In their small, Puritan village, Hester and pearl struggle to survive, but in this searing stufy of the tension between private and public existence, Hester Prynne's inner strength and quiet dignity means she has frequently been seen as one of the first great heroines of American fiction.

Review: Not an easy book to get into .. I struggled with it to begin with and didn't know if I could continue. Nathaniel loves words .. that's clear from the start and you have to give the story your full concentration to avoid losing your way amongst the sentences but I dealt with it by reading it aloud to myself and quite soon it began to sink in and I grew to love it. It's very beautifully told but very leisurely told and very subtle  .. perhaps too leisurely for some. It kind of meanders but it also builds. At the beginning we're not told who Hester has committed adultery with. As part of her punishment, before she is released from prison, she has to stand (with her baby) on the scaffold and is asked there to reveal the name of her partner in sin but she won't. The reader (or this reader) has their suspicions quite early on. I was mentally patting myself on the back but when the reveal came I realised that the author was well aware that I'd already twigged .. indeed that was his intention .. because it wasn't so much a reveal as a confirmation (bother!! .. I thought my sleuthing had improved ) 

 

Hester is a difficult person to get to know. She's a million miles away from anyone I've ever encountered (though not in print .. there are plenty of long suffering, noble, steadfast women in print .. you know .. the ones you want to shake until their teeth rattle ) She doesn't rant and rave as some might in her position, or indeed feel any animosity towards those Puritans who have castigated her and made her wear a big scarlet A on her frocks for ever more. She thinks it's no more than she deserves and is determined to atone. Pearl .. the illegitimate daughter .. is more headstrong. She's very inquisitive and wilful and becomes more so as she grows up. The real meat in this story arrives when Hester's (much older) husband, Roger Chillingworth, turns up. He had left to join her in America some time before but had not arrived as promised. Hester had long given him up and obviously, at some point, been tempted into the arms of another. Roger arrives just in time to witness her ordeal on the scaffold. This is obviously not the reunion he was hoping for (and what terrible timing  ) They agree to tell no-one about their connection but he is intent on revenge .. especially against the man in question .. if he can discover his identity.

 

It's not a quick read or something you can pick up to entertain you on a Sunday afternoon but it is a beautifully written piece which is very rewarding .. or at least I thought so   I read the beautiful Penguin Classics Deluxe edition which enhanced the enjoyment enormously (and was probably responsible for me not throwing it to one side during the introduction .. which is part of the story and is forty pages long ) 

 

5/5

[chesilbeach]

.. perhaps a little bit too back-patty (that's not a term is it? )

If it's not, then it bloomin' well should be! Do you listen to 'Ramblings'? It's one of my favourite radio programmes, so I'm a bit disappointed that she's talked down some of the participants, but it won't stop me reading it! I'm waiting for the paperback, or at least the Kindle edition to be on offer.

 

I like your review of The Scarlet Letter - I've been interested in reading it for a while, but as you can imagine, I have a very long wish list to get through! Glad it was worth the effort though. It moved up my wish list a couple of years ago, as the book and the story are heavily referenced in the film Easy A which I absolutely loved, but since then it's wormed it's way back down a bit. Maybe I'll move it up a few notches now.

[poppyshake]

If it's not, then it bloomin' well should be! Do you listen to 'Ramblings'? It's one of my favourite radio programmes, so I'm a bit disappointed that she's talked down some of the participants, but it won't stop me reading it! I'm waiting for the paperback, or at least the Kindle edition to be on offer.

She hasn't really .. it was just one or two people that I think were rude to her (or she felt were dismissive or overbearing.) It's just I always think those people are best ignored .. just talk about the good ones (which she did of course .. and very uplifting tales too.) She didn't name the people but the walk/walks were named so it isn't going to be difficult for them to work it out   I haven't heard the programme but the book has made me want to tune in. It's only half an hour isn't it? I'm sure I'll have trouble remembering it as I'm hopeless and don't have a routine as such for radio or TV. Sometimes I forget it's the weekend (this is due to Alan's weird shifts) and don't remember Strictly's on  

I think you'll love it Claire .. especially as you love the programme anyway .. it's just her first book is a hard act to follow. I like it more when it's about her and her family.

 

Yes .. 'back-patty' is now an official BCF term   

I like your review of The Scarlet Letter - I've been interested in reading it for a while, but as you can imagine, I have a very long wish list to get through! Glad it was worth the effort though. It moved up my wish list a couple of years ago, as the book and the story are heavily referenced in the film Easy A which I absolutely loved, but since then it's wormed it's way back down a bit. Maybe I'll move it up a few notches now.

 Thanks Claire .. hope you do get around to it and what's more enjoy it. I haven't heard of the film Easy A .. I'll look out for it.