elydy's reviews
115 reviews

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

4.5

CS Lewis is excellent. I was challenged by pretty much every chapter in this book, and entertained by all of them too. Especially when he turns into a caterpillar. So good. Again lots of 1940s gender roles but you can live with that.

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

3.5

Thought-provoking and challenging just like Ruthless Elimination. I don't always get on with JMC's style but that's almost besides the point. Has been interesting to read and discuss this in a group.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

4.0

Got obsessed after the most recent production I saw so had to re read. Maybe my favourite Shakespeare.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

4.0

Perfect nostalgic bedtime read. Just cosy and comforting all round

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt

3.5

I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first half. I liked the quirkiness of the seaside town, and Bob's dynamic with the care home residents once he knew them. I just felt a little sad in the first part. The writing style didn't grip me until the second half either. But very sweet, in the end.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

5.0

I love Anne Elliot so much. This is my joint favourite Austen alongside P+P. Beautifully written, witty, and I particularly love all the side characters!

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

4.5

I'm sure I reviewed this at the time but I can't find it. I loved the layers of this - compelling characters (I love the doctor in particular) and I enjoyed the mixture of narrative styles. I really don't understand his decision making at the end! A beautiful book - I liked it a lot.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

3.5

Such a dark, atmospheric novel with some really beautiful passages. Pretty much all the characters are dislikable but Nelly Dean is the saving grace of this for me. I was really gripped by the latter third in par icular, and I liked the ending a lot. Great taking it with me on a trip up north - very fitting.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

3.0

"Best not to try to explain it, even to yourself" !

A mostly strange but a points strangely beautiful & prof und novel - a reflection on the will to live, on memories, on love. I found some of it quite  disturbing (the Johnnie Walker chapter and all the sex scenes) but I particularly loved Mr Nakata and Hoshino. Someone online said that it feels like reading a dream, which I think is very fitting!

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

4.5

Absolutely excellent - the characters are complex and portrayed with compassion, their lives intertwine in beautiful and interesting ways, and you are fully drawn into this world through them. I loved Digby and Mariamma in particular, but their ending is a little uncomfortable to me, hence the not-quite-5-stars.