All reputable publications run a review of the past year; and, reputable or not, this blog is no exception. I referred to my little lilac leather book book (thank you, Caroline) to see what we had read only to find that my note taking was deficient in 2010. So I will need some help to fill in the blanks where both memory and notebook fail me.
Most recently, and perhaps most enjoyably, we read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. A brilliant recommendation (Alison's I think). I was sorry to miss the discussion on this one as I am sure that Catherine's medical insights would have been illuminating. These sweeping family histories in unfamiliar locations can make for a fascinating, sometimes gruelling but often uplifting read (think Half a Yellow Sun, The Glass Palace and A Thousand Setting Suns). I have emerged, fully sated, from Cutting for Stone with an enhanced knowledge of and interest in Ethiopia and its post-colonial history, women's health issues, immigrant life in the USA and, curiously, surgery. Whilst the pace of the book was sometimes a little awry (it took about 4 chapters for the twins to be born - necessary perhaps for the plot but a too protracted for my taste), I thought that the surgical descriptions were extraordinary; what a feat to make the details of abdominal surgery not gory but beautiful.
In September 2010, many of us enjoyed Jean Rhys' prequel to Jane Eyre, Wild Sargasso Sea. Its evocative and steamy atmosphere enveloped me page after page; it is a well constructed and moving novel reflective of Jean Rhys' own interesting history.
Whilst, as a group, we have dabbled in short stories, we concluded in February 2010 that Kazu Ishuguro didn't quite hit the mark with Noctures, which we gave a fairly lukewarm review in general. I would like to try again though..... it's an interesting and challenging genre.
We must have read some less memorable books in 2010 as I have no recollection of them. What was the book about John Clare (other than dull)? And the one about the fashion obsessed girl from Thornton Heath set in the early 1960s which I have since given to Oxfam? And which classic did we read? Sally D and her list need to come to my rescue.
1 comment:
Hi Ros. Glad to see you've now become a fellow blogger!
I am in the middle of Cutting for Stone at the moment and agree with what you said about 'pace'. It took me a long time to map-out all the characters, their relationships and geographical locations but since the birth of the twins things are a little clearer and I will persevere! Looking forward to seeing you this weekend. xx
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