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A review by greenreadsbooks
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
5.0
4.5 stars
This is the 3rd of Ruth Hogan's books that I have read and I have loved them all. I really adore her style of writing and ability to hook you in quickly even when dealing with the mundane issues of every day life.
I found this one slightly harder to get into than the others and was initially confused about the relevance of the Alice chapters but I was soon curious about the link and intrigued. Although I got the gist of the plot quite early on I felt that it developed at the right pace and held enough back to keep the questions coming.
I loved the descriptions of swimming and the drowning practice. Swimming is often used as a therapeutic tool and I have come across it in a few novels recently.
The characters were wonderful and I really enjoyed their development and the description of burgeoning friendships. The idea that you never know what is going on in people's lives and how we can make friends with the most unlikely people. The idea of names, nicknames and pseudonym was an interesting concept in the book too.
I loved the links to Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel and The idea of ghosts and talking to ghosts, which is a recurrent theme in Hogan's books. The main themes in the book were difficult - death, bereavement, illness, grief and loss, but I feel that Ruth handled them really well, especially the theme of recovery.
The ending was handled perfectly - it left me wanting more but ultimately satisfied.
This was a book that had me thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it and it's one I will definitely re-read.
This is the 3rd of Ruth Hogan's books that I have read and I have loved them all. I really adore her style of writing and ability to hook you in quickly even when dealing with the mundane issues of every day life.
I found this one slightly harder to get into than the others and was initially confused about the relevance of the Alice chapters but I was soon curious about the link and intrigued. Although I got the gist of the plot quite early on I felt that it developed at the right pace and held enough back to keep the questions coming.
I loved the descriptions of swimming and the drowning practice. Swimming is often used as a therapeutic tool and I have come across it in a few novels recently.
The characters were wonderful and I really enjoyed their development and the description of burgeoning friendships. The idea that you never know what is going on in people's lives and how we can make friends with the most unlikely people. The idea of names, nicknames and pseudonym was an interesting concept in the book too.
I loved the links to Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel and The idea of ghosts and talking to ghosts, which is a recurrent theme in Hogan's books. The main themes in the book were difficult - death, bereavement, illness, grief and loss, but I feel that Ruth handled them really well, especially the theme of recovery.
The ending was handled perfectly - it left me wanting more but ultimately satisfied.
This was a book that had me thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it and it's one I will definitely re-read.