karteabooks's reviews
526 reviews

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

3.0

 

This was another book that I picked up as it was on the Booker longlist and as it was the summer holidays, I felt I needed to read something that I wouldn’t usually pick up, something out of my ‘comfort zone’ and after an interesting chat with the bookseller in Daunt Books in Cheapside, this was the reasoning behind this book choice. 

It is a historical novel whose focus is on a group of remarkable and ground-breaking women, some of them well known (Virginia Woolf, Colette, Vita Sackville-West) and some rather less so (notably Lina Poletti whose story both opens and closes the book). Like the surviving remnants of the work of the Greek poet Sappho who inspired them, their stories are told in short episodic fragments mostly shorter than a page, but there is a loose chronology than runs from the 1870s to the late 1920s, and the fragmentary nature of the story made it quite difficult for me  to follow, and at times, I admit that I was speed reading some of the exerts to move onto the more well-known women. 

So, here are my thoughts, …this is HARD, I want to say positive things as it is a book about women and I really wanted to like this, maybe I will come back to this in a few months and see it through new eyes and write a completely different review. 

This was from a small press, Galley Beggar, and I am all for supporting small innovative businesses, so I suppose this is one of the few positives I have about this book, but you, on the other hand may completely disagree with my thoughts and absolutely love this book, there’s only one way to find out… 

Jump! by Jg Nolan

5.0

 

I jumped at the chance when I was asked to read and review this book for so many, many reasons. Even though, I admit, I’m not really a football fan, the whole premise of this book perked my interest. 

I really enjoyed the story of Robbie, a young footballer with it all to play for and everything pointing in the direction of him becoming a famous footballer when, the inevitable happens and he is injured. Unfortunately for him though, this keeps happening and after breaking his leg for the third time, he is given a devastating diagnosis. 

Written so thoughtfully and considerately for all the characters, this real life / historical / memoir book just ticks so many boxes. It made me cry, laugh, and gasp out loud as I read this engaging, evocative and emotive story. The accompanying illustrations took this book to another level. 

 I look forward to reading more of this author’s work soon. 

This is a book that should be made into a movie or a TV series, as this is a story of hope, faith, and determination that everyone and I mean EVERYONE can achieve their dreams, when everything seems to be lost. 

Thank you to @literallyPR for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Heatwave by Victor Jestin

3.0

 

I picked this book up as I had seen it all over Instagram, oh yes and we were also in heatwave#3 so it just had to be purchased and read! 

I admit that I hadn’t read the blurb properly, I just plunged headfirst into this book and wasn’t aware of the premise at all until I started. I read this in a day. The setting of France, in a heatwave was so relevant as I was reading this in our very own heatwave. Unfortunately for me though, that wasn’t enough, I just didn’t think this book was anything special, and at times I found it all quite unbelievable. Maybe I am not the target audience for this book and someone younger might find this more their cup of tea. 

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

 I picked this book up as it perked my interest as it is one of the books on the Booker longlist this year. 

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. 

Having read this during a heatwave, I feel that I can’t quite give it all the stars, maybe if I’d read this around Christmas, it would have felt all that more atmospheric and it would have gained another star. But conversely, it did give me lots of mouth dropping moments as I read about women’s struggles and the way that they were treated for things that weren’t always within their control, or they had no way to protect themselves against the consequences. All the hurt and suffering with the blessing of the Church and ‘ordinary’ people just turning a blind eye, as that was what happened then. I was starkly reminded as I read that this was still happening, within my living memory, up until 1996! That just left me speechless, and for me there were just no words. Thankfully the main character, Bill decides to start to make a difference, and give everyone the chance to have their own voice. 

 This novella was beautifully and poignantly written, and the ending gave me just a flicker of hope for their futures. 

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

5.0

 

Having just finished Harold Fry, this was the next book to pick up, that yes, has been sitting on my tbr for too long. 

 

This is the second instalment in a trilogy, in my opinion, you must read Harold Fry first, as you need Harold’s story to fully understand Queenie’s. 

 

Told through a series of letters, that Queenie’s companion (trying to go for NO Spoilers!) encouraged her to write as Queenie was unable to speak. A heartfelt story of ordinary people trying to lead their normal lives whilst faced with so many challenges. 

 

Just like Harold, this is full of laugh out loud and teary moments, so alongside your cup of tea / beverage of choice, I suggest that you have some tissues close by as you will more than likely need them. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

5.0

 

Having previously read Miss Benson’s Beetle and meeting the author virtually at the Tasting Notes book club, I purchased this book straight away, but then left it on my bookshelf for far too long. 

 

Harold is retired and is a bit bored and stuck in his ways and then one day he receives a letter from an old work colleague containing bad news. Harold pens a reply and sets off to the post box, but when he reaches the post box, he makes a life changing decision. No spoilers as you in my opinion, you must read this book for yourself. 

 

Yes, it will make you laugh, cry and question Harold’s choices, but I found it was a great escape from the ‘real’ world as it is currently. 

 

I highly recommend this, just make sure you have some tissues close by as you will more than likely need them. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

5.0

 

This is my first book by this author, I have several others on my tbr, and after reading this I will certainly be reading more. 

 

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. 

 

I’m writing this a few days after finishing the book as I’m still trying to put into words just how this book has made me feel. 

 

This is an amazing story that I’m encouraging everyone that enjoys historical fiction to read and I have already gifted several of my friends copies of this book. 

 

I highly recommend this. 

Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait

5.0

 

This book was recommended to me by @busymammabookclub and I really wish that I hadn’t left it on my tbr shelf for so long! 

I must admit though, that I didn’t read the blurb before I chose to read this book, so was completely taken aback by the premise and content, but boy am I glad that I did pick this up. 

What kind of man kills his own family? When Tom was eight years old, his father took a shotgun and shot his family: his wife, his son and baby daughter, before turning the gun on himself. Only Tom survived. He left his tiny, shocked community on the island of Litta and the strained silence of his Uncle Malcolm's house while still a young boy. For twenty years he's tried to escape his past. Until now. Without knowing how to ask, he needs answers - from his uncle, who should have known. From his neighbours, who think his father a decent man who 'just snapped'. From the memories that haunt the wild landscape of the Hebrides. And from the silent ones who know more about what happened - and why - than they have ever dared admit. By turns gripping, beautiful, devastating and tender, Our Fathers is a story about violence and redemption, control, and love. With understated compassion and humour, Rebecca Wait gives a voice to the silenced and to the silences between men of few words. 

A deeply moving, thought provoking and so beautifully written story that it sent shivers down my spine. 

The opening chapters of this book are breath-taking and really set the scene for the whole book. Thus unfolds a story in which we see the community try to come to terms with the aftermath of a terrible tragedy and also how memory can play a cruel part in the healing process. 

Beautifully written with both compassion and humour, this is a book that will stay with me for a long time. 

I highly recommend this very believable and heart–breaking fictional account. 

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter

4.0

 I was so lucky to be part of a Tandem Readalong for this book and met some lovely bookish people whilst reading this. Unbelievably, this is my first Karin Slaughter book… 

In Girl, Forgotten Andrea is completing her training to become a US Marshal. Her first job sees her assigned to be part of the team looking after a Judge in her biological father’s hometown. Whilst she is there she tries to discover if her father was responsible for the murder of the judge’s teenage daughter in the early ‘80s. 

This is a dual timeline book; I liked the before / after the original crime. It was great to be able to unpick Emily, the murdered girl, and try to understand how hurtful and painful it was for her to be pushed out and abandoned by both her friends and her family.
 
 A great story, which I have now discovered is part of a series, so I’m off to read the first part soon. 

Thank you to @tandemcollectiveuk, @harperfiction and the author for a gifted copy of this book 

The Island Home by Libby Page

4.0

 Having previously read The Lido by this author, I knew that when I picked this book up, I was in for a real treat and this book certainly didn’t disappoint. 

 

Lorna's world is small but safe. She loves her daughter, and the two of them is all that matters. But after nearly twenty years, she and Ella are suddenly leaving London for the Isle of Kip, the tiny remote Scottish island where Lorna grew up. Alice's world is tiny but full. She loves the community on Kip, her yoga classes drawing women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna's arrival might help their family finally mend itself - even if forgiveness means returning to the past... So with two decades, hundreds of miles and a lifetime's worth of secrets between Lorna and the island, can coming home mean starting again? 

 

What a warm hug of a book, the author has painted a beautiful, detailed picture of the Isle of Kip, her descriptions of the landscape, the unpredictable weather were so vivid that I felt like I was actually there. 

 

I enjoyed getting to know al of the different characters and with living in such a close-knit community how all their lives inevitably wove into together. 

 The Island Home is a story about love, families, forgiveness, and the importance of friendship. 

 

I highly recommend this book, even though it is set in the summer, this is a book that can be read either lounging on a sun bed with a cold drink to hand or curled up under a blanket with a nice cup of tea close by. Wherever you do decide to settle down, I suggest you may need a box of tissues close to hand too.