big book review

have been thinking about this for a few days and discovered i had failed to keep a list of books! so, from memory here are some titles that were obviously worth remembering, for good and bad reasons:



jane austen book club by karen joy fowler
loved this, great idea to write about a book club and the seemingly disparate group of readers. each book selection allows us to discover more about the individuals. a very good read.

jonathan strange and mr norrell by susanna clarke
this was marketed as a harry potter style book for grown-ups but what a fantastic read. it delves into the history of magic and the resurgence of its practice. long but really enjoyable.

harry potter and the half-blood prince by j.k rowling
worth the wait. lots of tension and excitement and revelations - j.k. had a lot of tying up loose ends to do here, can't wait for the next installment.

the greek for love by james chatto
shock, horrow, non-fiction! this book sent me off to the realms of the travel-writing section but this book far outclasses the others. chatto's understated, charming, eloquent style draws you in and lulls you into the relaxing greek life until it is shattered by a tragic event - had me weeping in the wee hours. a wonderful book.


not such a hit:
zorro by isabel allende
i am a big fan of allende, having read everything of hers, even that daft cookery book, but this never rang true for me. yes, it is full of adventure and exciting characters but the male voice just never seemed real enough. disappointing.

nights of rain and stars by maeve binchy
maeve moved this novel out of ireland and lost all sense of reality for me, there was little storyline and the characters were 2-dimensional. maeve binchy should stick to the irish settings and focus on the plot.

rococco by adriana trigiani
disappointing. main character is a male interior designer, too much focus on the design aspect, at points it reads more like a catalogue and not a very believable character. pass.