Purple Poppy's Parlour

[madcow]

Good luck tomorrow PP.

[Purple Poppy]

Thanks Rennie and Jules. I hope that I will be back on here tomorrow evening, but I'm not good with anaesthetics, even tho' I think it will just be a local. So we'll see.

 

Bye for now.

[Purple Poppy]

Well, while I was waiting for my op in the hospital ward, I read the whole of Charlottes Web - E.B.White. I had heard so much about this book, that it was always going to be difficult to judge it without bias. I loved the story, the originality is admirable. Wish I had such imagination. The chararcters are believable, especially Charlotte. Having said that, there were times when I wondered about a pig who was a baby one minute, but had wonderful, mature insights the next...writers licence I guess. I had not realised that the author was American, in fact I'm ashamed to say that I had not heard of him, even though I had seen the Stuart Little films. This in itself was not a problem, but I disliked the authors style, the repitition, and the way he described a whole paragraph twice sometimes, once as what will happen, second as it happened. I didn't feel there was a need for it, a few words to establish that it was exactly as Charlotte had predicted would have sufficed.

A lovely and very sweet story, educational too. I have heard others say how they avoid stepping on spiders now. I can see why! I can also see that the story is great material for a film. I enjoyed the book, but I expected so much from it, before reading, that I think it was always going to be slightly disappointing. And yet I say that, but can't quite put my finger on why!!

[Polka Dot Rock]

That was very interesting summary, Susie

 

I never read Charlotte's Web because whenever anyone at school had read it, they were always in floods of tears for days!

[Purple Poppy]

I finished Sam Grossers book, Another time and Place, last night. It was a really enjoyable read, set in England and France at the end of WW2. There was lots of historical information, and it was obvious that the author had done her research, even to the point of finding which film was showing at the local cinema!

The story traces the love-at-first-sight meeting of Anna and Tom. Only together for a week, they are separated by the war, Tom failing to return from an air mission. Anna returns to the home she shares with her mother, Mrs Pilgrim, and we realise that their relationship is tenuous, to say the least. The author tells us, turn about, what is happening to Tom, after being shot down and wounded, and to Anna who waits for him. Gradually, we hear more about the week that they spent together, and can judge for ourselves as to whether their love will be strong enough to pull them through and bring them together again.

The character of Mrs Pilgrim stood out for me. She was a beautifully drawn character, with a personality that would sour milk at seven paces. There was an indication, once, (in a fleeting smile) that she had originally been a warmer and more generous person, but her husbands betrayal, following on from her fathers tyranical behaviour, was too much for her to bear, and she recoiled behind the security of her defensive armour, a battery of bitter insults, lies and vindictiveness. Using the welfare of her daughter as an excuse for her behaviour, she made Annas life a misery. I kept wondering, especially later, when Annas baby had been born, why Anna did not contact Toms parents and ask for help. If she had not been reunited with him, we are led to believe she would have done this. Mrs Pilgrims character is a masterpiece, illustrating the bitter twisted logic of an abused and oppressed woman, who can only look to others to find fault, but never to herself. Unfortunately, I have had the misfortune to know someone just like her, and for me, Mrs Pilgrim was very real and a very accurate portrayal of a battered and betrayed human life.

 

I liked Tom too. He was a gentle caring guy, who hadn't expected to fall in love, but when he did, was loyal to the last (except when he thought she had been disloyal to him). His family seemed to be nice ordinary decent folk, caring very much about each other, as did Annas friend Lottie and her family, who were the only lights in Anna's awful dark world.

 

Anna, I was not sure about. She came across as a lovely girl, with a warm personality and a good heart. But I felt a wee bit frustrated by her, as I wanted her to respond more openly to her mothers threats. It was very difficult in those days to go against the 'norm', or to even disagree with parents, and sure enough, Anna would have had nowhere to go. Also, her mother being the person she was, would not have listened to her, or considered her feelings. Having a baby out of wedlock was a huge degradation, but Anna battled through all that, and was a superb mother. But...somehow I was never convinced by her. I really don't know why. She proved that she was tough and determined and that she knew how to love, despite her upbringing (she was close to her father), so I have no idea why I feel this way about her. Its almost as if she is a transparent person, a foil for Mrs Pilgrim. I'm sure Sam didn't intend that, and I know its nothing to do with your wonderful writing Sam...its just my perception of her.

 

I loved the story, and Sam's style of writing flows beautifully, so that you can read very easily. I would recommend this book as a good read, exciting in parts, sad in parts, but always honest. I can't wait for the next one!

[JudyB]

Thanks PP - I've added this to my wish list on LibraryThing.

[Purple Poppy]

Karma, by Holly A. Harvey.

 

I managed to get a copy of Kerri's (Blossom) book Karma from Amazon. I like chick Lit, but I wouldn't count myself as a huge fan. Like many people, I have questioned why the heroines are always rich and wealthy, flaunting their life style of exotic holidays and designer label clothes, to those of us whose lives are more mundane. It becomes a bit irksome after a while, and you find yourself wishing that a book will feature a REAL person!

 

Well, look no further. Karma is about Paige, a twenty eight year old, whose life appears to be in complete disarray, with debts, dud jobs, no social scene to speak of and no boyfriend. She lives with her adorable dog (who, as dogs world wide is loyalty personified) and she spends much of her free time sleeping.

 

Gradually, as a response to an invitation to her schools re-union, Paige relates some of her history, the people who betrayed her trust and how as a consequence she has become a doormat, as she sees it. Then, she decides to take matters into her own hands and give Karma a bit of help.

 

As the story unfolds, we watch as Paige tries to make things better, but almost always ends up making them worse. Some of the situations are very original, others you can perhaps forsee, but not always guess the outcome. Through the ups and downs, Paige is supported by her best friend Sarah, who was at school with her. Paiges family are less supportive and do little to make her feel better about herself. Paige has always accepted that her older sister is the favourite. There are many twists and turns before the climax, but I will not reveal whether this has a good or bad ending.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I could not put it down. Paige was portrayed as a real person, someone that most of us can relate to, with the same loves, hates, worries, niggles and joys. She responded to situations as most of us would have, with honesty, but also a mixture of intolerance, annoyance and sometimes momentary wickedness, the latter always being swiftly dissipated before any action could follow. Paige is bright, intelligent, but very insecure, but she never loses her sense of humour. The book is very funny in places, for instance, in describing her appearance, Paige tells us that she played the rabbit in the school nativity. The rabbit you ask? Well, there is a reason...and its very funny in the telling.

Sometimes you want to shake Paige. Most of the time you want to hug her. It seems that everything she tries to do turns sour, but she always springs back and many of us could learn from her. The other characters were described well, and they behaved pretty much as people do, in real life, lying, cheating, and lots of pretence. But there were also lots of wonderful moments, where love ruled, and forgiveness was the order of the day. Some of the characters were wonderfully rich, almost springing off the page, and produced some very touching moments.

I loved this book. It was fresh and easy to read, the narrative flowing off the page in a way that most people would readily understand and relate to. The plot was full of intertwining stories, each of which combined with the others to keep you guessing the outcomes and yet each retaining their own individual purpose and resolution. It was very cleverly woven together to make an interesting and entertaining read. I thoroughly recommend this book, especially to those who love chicklit, but others should try it as the humour alone is worth the read.Considering this was a first novel, it very impressive.

Read it!

 

 

I am starting a book chain thread, and this book will be available for loan, if you would like to read it. See the new thread for details.

[Purple Poppy]

I haven't updated this thread for so long! How very remiss of me, but I thought I should make a list of what I have read. Unfortunately, although I have read quite a lot, not much has been taken off my 'Want to read' and TBR lists! I keep picking up books and borrowing books, and so it is difficult.

 

My reads so far this year...

 

Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

 

Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell

 

Johnny and the Bomb - Terry Pratchett

 

The cat who smelled a Rat - Lillian Jackson-Braun

 

The Debt - short story by Simon Kernick

 

Heavenly Date and other Flirtations - Alexander McCall-Smith

 

Maus - Art Speigelman

 

Who says Cats Can't Talk? - H. Boots (Audrey Hurry)

 

North East Passage - Poem anothology - Tom Bryan

 

Charlotte's Web - E.B.White

 

Another Time and Place - Sam Grosser

 

Karma - Holly A. Harvey

 

Birchwood - John Banville

 

Fluffy - Simone Lei

 

Love Among the Chickens - P.G.Wodehouse

 

Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

 

The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams

 

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

 

The Cat who turned on and off - Lillian Jackson-Braun

 

The History of Mr Polly - H.G.Wells.

 

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

 

A Child's War - Molly Bihet

 

The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham

 

A Riot of Writers-A Romp though English Literature - Terrance Dicks

 

Black Dahlia - James Ellroy

 

Thief of Always - Clive Barker

 

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy - Tim Burton

 

The town below the ground - Edinburghs Legendary Underground City - Jan Andrew Henderson

 

The Consort - Anthony Heskell-Smith

 

Rescuing the Spectacled Bear - Stephen Fry

 

Rapture - Carole Ann Duffy

 

Birders - Tales of a tribe - Mark Cocker

 

In the Blood - Andrew Motion

 

Perfume - Patrick Suskind

 

The Old Possums Book Of Practical Cats - T.S.Elliot

 

The Pearl - John Steinbeck

 

Sacred Elephant - Heathcote Williams

 

Too Many Mothers - Roberta Taylor

 

Pollyanna - Elinor H. Porter

 

One hundred ways to live with a Cat addict - Roger Payne

 

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

Favourite animal poems - an anthology.

 

Wow! Seems a lot, but bear in mind some of them are not very long!

 

Pp

[Purple Poppy]

Well it's is some months since I touched this thread, and that is putting it politely. I eventually managed 54 books by the end of the year, so I did reach my target of 50! This year I am aiming for 75...

 

So far I've read the following, and I am a little behind schedule. I have written reviews of some, and they are marked by the red *

 

1) Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling

 

2) Stamp Album - Terrence Stamp

 

3) The Real Life of Sebastien Knight - V.Nabokov *

 

4) Body Double - Tess Gerritsen

 

5) The Veiled One - Ruth Rendell

 

6) Blue Dahlia - Nora Roberts

 

7) The Fiction Class - Susan Breen *

 

8) Black Rose - Nora Roberts

 

9) Red Lily - Nora Roberts

 

10) Betjemin - A.N.Wilson *

 

11) C'est La Folie - Michael Wright *

 

12) Letter from America - Alistair Cooke

 

13) Ten Women who Shook the World - Sylvia Brownrigg.

 

Since this is week 12, I need to be a little further ahead, so I'd better look out some short books!

[Purple Poppy]

Well, thats another! I quite like biographys and learning about other folk.

 

The Autobiography - Johnny Walker/