by Karin Smirnoff 'His route takes him along an animal path. Birch, alder andwillow have already lost their leaves. He grabs a handful of lingonberries and pulls a bittersweet face. Bittersweet also describes the smell of the lumps of meat left in the lidded plastic drum.' It is nearly twenty-five years since Lisbeth Salander burst …
Lessons In Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus 'There's nothing more irritating than witnessing someone else's unfair share of happiness, and to some of their colleagues at Hastings Research Institute, Elizabeth and Calvin had an unfair share. He, because he was brilliant; she, because she was beautiful.' Elizabeth Zott is a chemist -a good chemist. Her problem is, she is …
The Brother
by NV Peacock 'That's when all hope in me died. There was no chance they were going to let anyone live.' Fallon has a doctorate in psychology. She conducts on line therapy sessions. She is also the victim of a murderous assault in which people have died. And the leader of her attackers, Tyler Baker, …
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker 'Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.' So begins Alice Walker's brilliant, prize-winning epistolary novel, The Color Purple. It introduces Celie, a poor, black, badly-educated and ugly (in …
ITHACA
by Claire North 'Penelope, sixteen years old, left her father's court behind to marry a man she had known for three weeks. And, as she stood at the prow of the ship that carried her to Ithaca, she closed her eyes and repeated, I will love, I will love.' I used to read lots of …
Dawnlands
by Philippa Gregory '[Rowan] nodded and disappeared before his eyes. It was as if she had melted into air. One moment he held her warm hand and saw her confident smile under the shadow of her hat, and the next there were just shadows, not even the outline of her shadow, not even the whisper …
Reynard the Fox
A Very Old Story, retold by Anne Louise Avery Stories of the cunning fox, his escapades and his victims, have their origin in ancient Greece. The chief source is the Fables of Aesop which contain several fox stories, and these have been added to and embellished throughout Europe in the centuries ever since. Anne Louise …
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by Neil Gaiman On looking back on some of my reviews from 5-6 years ago, I found a couple on Neil Gaiman's books. However, the links to the original posts seem to be broken so I thought I'd do them again! They are a lot of fun to read. ‘I just looked up at her, …
Catch a Falling Star …
Stardust by Neil Gaiman On looking back on some of my reviews from 5-6 years ago, I found a couple on Neil Gaiman’s books. However, the links to the original posts seem to be broken so I thought I’d do them again! They are a lot of fun to read. ‘She was one of the …
Old Babes in the Wood
by Margaret Atwood What more can be said of Margaret Atwood, more than has been said already by countless readers? Novelist, poet, essayist, children's writer, it seems she has been around for a very long time. She has; her first book was published in 1961. And can she go on churning out these wonderful, inspirational, …
Bookheathen Scribblings 