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aliciagriggs's review against another edition
4.0
A great book on love, loss, and family. I loved the descriptions of Egypt, both past and more recent times, and to read about the passions that the young had during the second world war.
This book also made me hungry throughout, with its descriptions of Middle-Eastern food (not the meat, but all the plant foods sounded delicious) and has made me want to explore those flavours myself.
This book also made me hungry throughout, with its descriptions of Middle-Eastern food (not the meat, but all the plant foods sounded delicious) and has made me want to explore those flavours myself.
hoserlauren's review against another edition
3.0
Ruby is a rebellious teenager who runs away from home in England to visit her grandmother in Cairo. She has basically no relationship with her grandmother, but is desperate to leave and try something new. Showing up on the doorstep of her grandmother, the manservent Mamdooh is none too pleased to see her. She eventually convinces her way in and finds Iris, her grandmother, who is old, ailing, and struggling to remember her past. Ruby offers to help Iris document her history so that it is not forgotten and Iris can't pass that up.
Iris came of age in Cairo during WWII. She fell in love with a soldier and got engaged, working as a secretary to the British government. It was times of high stress but lots of partying and lots of love. People did things quickly for fear that war would wipe out everything.
As Ruby pieces together her grandmother's past, she also finds her own love story in Cairo. She starts to fall for the brother of the taxi driver that took her from the airport to Iris' house. This boy shows her around the city and she starts to love both Cairo and him.
This was a great coming of age story from two different generation's perspective. We learn about Iris' journey to adulthood during the war and we see Ruby's as she grows up in Cairo. Ruby is a believable teenager, starting off a little annoying but coming in to her own. I'm not sure I ever really understand her relationship with her mom, or her mom's relationship with Iris. They tried to flush out the latter in the book but it was a fairly short conversation near the end of the book and not really sufficient for me to understand or believe it.
The event that finally brings everyone together seemed a bit drastic but I guess typical to a coming of age fictional story. I've been having bad luck with books recently, unable to get through a few of them before giving up, so I was happy to be able to easily get through this one.
Iris came of age in Cairo during WWII. She fell in love with a soldier and got engaged, working as a secretary to the British government. It was times of high stress but lots of partying and lots of love. People did things quickly for fear that war would wipe out everything.
As Ruby pieces together her grandmother's past, she also finds her own love story in Cairo. She starts to fall for the brother of the taxi driver that took her from the airport to Iris' house. This boy shows her around the city and she starts to love both Cairo and him.
This was a great coming of age story from two different generation's perspective. We learn about Iris' journey to adulthood during the war and we see Ruby's as she grows up in Cairo. Ruby is a believable teenager, starting off a little annoying but coming in to her own. I'm not sure I ever really understand her relationship with her mom, or her mom's relationship with Iris. They tried to flush out the latter in the book but it was a fairly short conversation near the end of the book and not really sufficient for me to understand or believe it.
The event that finally brings everyone together seemed a bit drastic but I guess typical to a coming of age fictional story. I've been having bad luck with books recently, unable to get through a few of them before giving up, so I was happy to be able to easily get through this one.
ibarr514's review against another edition
5.0
What brought my attention to this book was that my name is Iris and my beautiful "child" (miniature pinscher!) is named Ruby. I had to have this book
However, family dramas with the trifecta problems of Crone (Grandmother), Mother (Daughter/Mom), and young Girl (Daughter/Granddaughter) always reach to my heart. This book was well worth the read and we understood why the grandmother was very tough. Her descriptions of her past life in Egypt is exceptionally beautiful, and I can see myself in the story...
Always a good read.
However, family dramas with the trifecta problems of Crone (Grandmother), Mother (Daughter/Mom), and young Girl (Daughter/Granddaughter) always reach to my heart. This book was well worth the read and we understood why the grandmother was very tough. Her descriptions of her past life in Egypt is exceptionally beautiful, and I can see myself in the story...
Always a good read.
music3x143's review against another edition
5.0
What brought my attention to this book was that my name is Iris and my beautiful "child" (miniature pinscher!) is named Ruby. I had to have this book
However, family dramas with the trifecta problems of Crone (Grandmother), Mother (Daughter/Mom), and young Girl (Daughter/Granddaughter) always reach to my heart. This book was well worth the read and we understood why the grandmother was very tough. Her descriptions of her past life in Egypt is exceptionally beautiful, and I can see myself in the story...
Always a good read.
However, family dramas with the trifecta problems of Crone (Grandmother), Mother (Daughter/Mom), and young Girl (Daughter/Granddaughter) always reach to my heart. This book was well worth the read and we understood why the grandmother was very tough. Her descriptions of her past life in Egypt is exceptionally beautiful, and I can see myself in the story...
Always a good read.
missymouse's review against another edition
1.0
Rubbish story. The characters were all unlikeable. Writing was good overall, but the general story was just dreadful.
rachel_burgess's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
debc's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy the way Rosie Thomas takes you on into a different time and place. I enjoyed Kashmir Shawl for the same reason. I now have The Illusionists on my tbr shelf.
I felt like I was on a journey with the Iris.
I liked the way the you could see Iris and Lesley's perspectives change over the passage of time.
It made me want to capture all my precious memories so I can hold them in the future.
What will you do with the cups on your shelf?
I felt like I was on a journey with the Iris.
I liked the way the you could see Iris and Lesley's perspectives change over the passage of time.
It made me want to capture all my precious memories so I can hold them in the future.
What will you do with the cups on your shelf?
chalkletters's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Iris & Ruby has been on my bookshelf for over a decade. I've read it once before, at a time in my life when I had a lot more space for books, and so didn't need to worry about whether they deserved a place on my 'keeper' shelf of not. To be honest, I reread Iris & Ruby thinking that, after this, I would donate it and make space for a new book. Except... then I enjoyed it a lot more than I remember enjoying it.
The premise of Iris & Ruby is nothing particularly special. It starts out very much in the same way as The Lightkeeper's Daughters, and other multi-generational twining narratives, to the extent that Ruby's entrance to the narrative reminded me immediately of Morgan's. The plot is fairly predictable, though it's still satisfying to see Ruby's relationships with various family members develop. As the daughter of a 'travelling family', it was recognise Iris as a fellow daughter-of-diplomats. It's a character type I haven't encountered too often in fiction. That, alone, might be reason enough to earn Iris & Ruby a place on my keeper shelf.
I enjoyed Rosie Thomas's descriptions of Egypt, and how she varied them depending on the character's state of mind and progress through the plot. I even added Khan el-Khalili bazaar as a 'place to visit' on my new list of described places to see in real life.
Both the beginning and the ending of Iris & Ruby could have been stronger, but the middle was solidly enjoyable. I don't think I'll need to return to it anytime soon, but I'll keep it on my shelf for at least a little while longer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Minor: War, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Medical content, Abortion, Dementia, and Drug use
katherineep's review against another edition
5.0
I don't even know where to begin with this book! There's so so so much that I loved and connected too and just truly felt.
I didn't particularly like Iris or Ruby at the beginning. Ruby is trying so hard to be shocking that it's tiresome. She's angry and immature and is really like a child in the midst of a temper tantrum. Iris is angry too. She's angry that she can't do what she used to do, she's angry that she can't remember what she wants to remember and she's angry that scared. She's used to being on her own and isn't overly thrilled to have this child that she doesn't know come crashing into her very controlled home. But then something happens and slowly - so slowly that you don't notice at first - Iris and Ruby begin to connect and form a rapport. With that connection comes change Iris relaxes, she learns how to talk again and remembers how to laugh. The change in Ruby especially is wonderful. She finds interests outside of her self-pity and rebellion, she begins to listen. Really she begins to grow up. We also meet Lesley, Iris's daughter and Ruby's mother. Lesley's relationship with both her daughter and her mother is not what she wants them to be and she has no idea how to fix it. The harder she tries to hold on the harder they pull away. In many ways I was able to relate to all the characters in this book. There is the relationship between Iris and Ruby which is so special and so separate from Lesley, Lesley trying to navigate the waters of having a daughter who is technically an adult but still seems like such a child and also having to really look at herself and figure out what she wants for the first time.
Then there's the setting. Cairo isn't just a label slapped on as window dressing. The story really takes place in Cairo. After reading this I felt like I'd been there - I driven through mazes of narrow streets and alleys, wandered around the market with awe, and toured the museum with all the wonders of Ancient Egypt. I saw glamorous parties where people danced and drank and ignored the fact the war was looming over them.
The pacing was so wonderful. I was immediately pulled into the story and the characters and the city really just came alive for me. While there is a lot of heavy emotions going on and some drama I never felt like it was overwrought or that I just wanted to put the book down. These were characters that really just wanted to spend more time with and continue watching them evolve. The ending was an ending which made me happy. Books that just stop just drive me crazy. There was some open-endedness but there was also so much growth from all the characters that things felt resolved. I cannot believe this is the first book I've read by Rosie Thomas but it definitely won't be last.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/04/iris-and-ruby-blog-tour-review-interview.html
I didn't particularly like Iris or Ruby at the beginning. Ruby is trying so hard to be shocking that it's tiresome. She's angry and immature and is really like a child in the midst of a temper tantrum. Iris is angry too. She's angry that she can't do what she used to do, she's angry that she can't remember what she wants to remember and she's angry that scared. She's used to being on her own and isn't overly thrilled to have this child that she doesn't know come crashing into her very controlled home. But then something happens and slowly - so slowly that you don't notice at first - Iris and Ruby begin to connect and form a rapport. With that connection comes change Iris relaxes, she learns how to talk again and remembers how to laugh. The change in Ruby especially is wonderful. She finds interests outside of her self-pity and rebellion, she begins to listen. Really she begins to grow up. We also meet Lesley, Iris's daughter and Ruby's mother. Lesley's relationship with both her daughter and her mother is not what she wants them to be and she has no idea how to fix it. The harder she tries to hold on the harder they pull away. In many ways I was able to relate to all the characters in this book. There is the relationship between Iris and Ruby which is so special and so separate from Lesley, Lesley trying to navigate the waters of having a daughter who is technically an adult but still seems like such a child and also having to really look at herself and figure out what she wants for the first time.
Then there's the setting. Cairo isn't just a label slapped on as window dressing. The story really takes place in Cairo. After reading this I felt like I'd been there - I driven through mazes of narrow streets and alleys, wandered around the market with awe, and toured the museum with all the wonders of Ancient Egypt. I saw glamorous parties where people danced and drank and ignored the fact the war was looming over them.
The pacing was so wonderful. I was immediately pulled into the story and the characters and the city really just came alive for me. While there is a lot of heavy emotions going on and some drama I never felt like it was overwrought or that I just wanted to put the book down. These were characters that really just wanted to spend more time with and continue watching them evolve. The ending was an ending which made me happy. Books that just stop just drive me crazy. There was some open-endedness but there was also so much growth from all the characters that things felt resolved. I cannot believe this is the first book I've read by Rosie Thomas but it definitely won't be last.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/04/iris-and-ruby-blog-tour-review-interview.html