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kairhone's reviews
250 reviews
Dear Mrs Bird by A.J. Pearce
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
It's really quite funny at first but it slows down and comes to a halt once Flora arrives at Cold Comfort. The dialect is difficult to understand and I'm a little disturbed by the old Adam's obsession with Elfine but I imagine that's a rural trope the author is playing on. I ended up being bored.
Funny parts:
"Mrs Smiling's second interest was her collection of brasiers, and her search for a perfect one. She was reputed to have the largest and finest collection of these garments in the world. It was hoped that on her death it would be left to the nation." | Regarding Mary Smiling
"...what did I care about?
So I said well, I was not quite sure, but on the whole I thought I liked having everything very tidy and calm all around me, and not being bothered to do things, and laughing at the kind of joke other people didn't think at all funny, and going for country walks, and not being asked to express opinions about things (like love)" | Flora Poste
"Do you truly mean that you don't ever want to work at anything?
Well, when I am 53 or so I would like to write a novel as good as Persuasion, but with a modern setting, of course. For the next 30 years or so I shall be collecting material for it. If anyone asks me what I work at, I shall say 'collecting material.' " | Mary's question, Flora's answer
Funny parts:
"Mrs Smiling's second interest was her collection of brasiers, and her search for a perfect one. She was reputed to have the largest and finest collection of these garments in the world. It was hoped that on her death it would be left to the nation." | Regarding Mary Smiling
"...what did I care about?
So I said well, I was not quite sure, but on the whole I thought I liked having everything very tidy and calm all around me, and not being bothered to do things, and laughing at the kind of joke other people didn't think at all funny, and going for country walks, and not being asked to express opinions about things (like love)" | Flora Poste
"Do you truly mean that you don't ever want to work at anything?
Well, when I am 53 or so I would like to write a novel as good as Persuasion, but with a modern setting, of course. For the next 30 years or so I shall be collecting material for it. If anyone asks me what I work at, I shall say 'collecting material.' " | Mary's question, Flora's answer
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
funny
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
The Garden of Reading by Michele Slung
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
As a whole the collection is incongruous. A handful of the authors made sense together: Doris Lessing, Edna O'Brien, Barbara Pym...but adding Stephen King and David Gutterson really makes no sense. An anthology benefits from a strong running thread, and gardens and gardening simply weren't strong enough to hold it all together. The editing is pretty poor, too. There are sentences without punctuation and some with missing words.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Stalking, Blood, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death
Winter in the Air by Sylvia Townsend Warner
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, War, and Classism
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Brilliant passages about the strained relationship between a mother and daughter and the fear of becoming the person who caused you trauma. But it was about 150 pages too long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Stalking
The White Book by Han Kang
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage