Latest Reads

Room with A View by EM Forster
An entertaining tale of romance and mildly critical of English Edwardian society, this is the story of Lucy who in the first part is touring Italy with her overbearing spinster cousin when she falls in love with a slightly 'unsuitable' man. it was much easier to read than i expected and i shall follow up with some of Forster's other classic tales.
7/10




Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
I really enjoyed this tale which takes place both in modern day and 13th century Carcassone on France. A thrilling adventure which despite its nearly 700 pages, i read within a few days because i didn't want to put it down. it has also had the unexpected effect of making me want to visit the places it mentions. with a backdrop of real events in the medieval sections, i was amazed that a crusade was fought within Europe to other 'christians', a fact i didn't know before.
fantastic 9/10



The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The more of these classics i read the more i realise why they are called classic! despite being aware of the pivotal point of the book - that the two characters are one and the same person - i still found this gripping. its very short, just 54 pages in my edition, so its quite quick to read and beautifully written. 8/10






Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
For a book written in the 1930s, this felt remarkably modern. it is a parody of the over dramatic novels that were popular at the time, but i found it hilarious and loved every minute. it is the story of orphaned Flora who descends on her quirky relatives at the farm of the title, and sets about putting things in order.
brilliant! 10/10





Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
This is such a classic that I'm glad i was forced to read it by it being our book club pick of the month. its quite wordy and not particularly easy to read, Hardy assumes a high level of education in his readers and constantly quotes things in a slightly pretentious way. once you get down to the actual story of what happens to Tess, it is a sad tale of innocence ruined and love betrayed. Worth its title of classic. 8/10





Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
Burning bright takes its title from the poem Tyger Tyger by William Blake and features him as a character. it is supposed to be an imaged idea of how Blake wrote the poem, through watching a developing relationship between country boy Jem, and city girl Maggie. To be honest, i couldn't see how it was related. the book did a fabulous job at vividly describing 18th century London, but nothing really happened in it and it didn't really fulfill the blurb on the back. easy to read. 4/10




Brick Lane by Monica Ali
THis is the story of Nazneen, Bangladeshi by birth who moves to England at 18 to marry a man twice her age. this was nominated for the man booker prize, but i'm learning this doesn't seem to mean anything. I found it completely depressing and somewhat contrived. i didn't find the actions of the character believable. i really struglled to finish this, only bothered because it was our book club read again. miserable. 5/10





Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Set in the trenches of WW1, this was gripping right until the end, which i found disappointing. Beautifully descriptive. 8/10









Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A tale of a dystopian future planet earth, where children are made in batches in labs, and raised to do specific jobs that they are designed and indoctrinated for, this was fascinating, although it did leave me somewhat afraid for Huxley's mental state when he wrote it. it portrays a very bleak future where stability is the utmost so people are only allowed to be 'happy' as sadness and extreme emotion cause problems. its somewhat depressing, but thankfully its so far from any reality that you can read it as an interesting idea. 8/10



Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
this is an autobiographical tale of Lee's childhood in rural England just after WW1, in a disappeared world. while it wasn't dramatic and eventful, i found it really interesting as a historical social study. 6/10