by Louise | Aug 20, 2016 | historical, novel, review
Really enjoyed this – the level of research about India in the early 19thC was evident in the rich detail, and the precarious relationship between the main characters, although a little formulaic in the early sections of the book, developed nicely. The story...
by Louise | Jun 28, 2013 | book club, novel, review
This book is a long way from one that I would choose for myself. I read it for a book club, but I don’t think I’ll be picking up anything else by Kate Morton. The central character is Laurel, a famous actress who witnessed a terrible event during an...
by Louise | Jun 6, 2013 | modern, novel, review
I read this because I enjoyed The Historian, Kostova’s first novel, and I wasn’t disappointed. A psychoanalyst becomes deeply involved in the life story of his patient, who is a world-renowned artist but also (evidently) a world-class fruitloop with an...
by Louise | Jun 2, 2013 | book club, modern, novel
Oddly disappointed with this, influenced (I think) by reading Maya Angelou immediately before. The story of black domestics and their relationships with their white employers in 1960s Mississippi was well told, the characters beautifully differentiated and the events...
by Louise | May 24, 2013 | book club, novel, review
I first read this as a teenager – I thought everyone did, but it seems not, because the members of my book club hadn’t, and none of them liked it. At all. It’s a good thing I missed that meeting, because things might have got ugly. This book has lost...
by Louise | Apr 1, 2013 | novel, review, thriller
This book, due for publication on 11 April, was sent to me as a review copy, and I’m really glad it was. I know Claire as an acquaintance on Twitter, and I have to admit I’m always a little chary of reviewing or reading for people I know, in case the book...