Leigh & District

Book Reading Archive

MARCH 2024 MEETING

Our Reading Group gathered on Monday 4th March at the Family Welfare Centre. Under discussion were the thrillers we’d read over the past month. We’re a mixed group with some of us enjoying the twists and turns of a thriller whilst others are out of their comfort zone with murder and mayhem.

The first book on offer was Keeping the Dead’ by the bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. It is part of the Rizzoli and Isles series, with Rizzoli being the detective and Isles the blunt medical examiner. It is about finding old bodily remains, looking at ancient cultures and bizarre people, but things are not quite as they seem. It’s Gerritsen’s usual gruesome style and she draws on her past life as a doctor, making autopsy scenes very realistic. She explores how the dead are kept and things that can happen. There is a father and son relationship, with one of them having psychopathic tendencies, but we’re not revealing which one! After hearing the feedback, we had a brief discussion about women like Val McDurmid and Patricia Cornwell, who write gruesome books, often with gratuitous violence.

American writer Robert B. Parker’s novel ‘Old Black Magic’ was described as a well written good story with a complex plot and a definite page turner. The main protagonist is a hard boiled Private Investigator along the lines of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Parker is an admirer of Chandler’s work and uses humour in a sharp manner. However, our PI is just too perfect. He has the best dog, the most beautiful girlfriend and he gets the best hunch to solve the crime. This makes his character annoying at times as he’s just too clever and the book fails as a true homage to Marlowe. On the plus side, the book is not overtly violent. We followed this up with a discussion about making characters believable and the skill needed to progress a plot line by dropping hints in the right places.

Next was a blast from the past, ‘Morning, Noon and Night’ by Sydney Sheldon, written in 1995. The book was as you’d expect, fast paced with lots going on, making it a keen read. A billionaire is jetting around Europe doing deals and he dies. There is intrigue surrounding his death and his four children fight over his fortune. It is a good read, even though you can work out which is the evil child and sibling. It was entertaining and a good diversion from normal reading choices.

In ‘The Murder after the Night Before’, by Katy Brent, Molly wakes up with the hangover from hell after a drunken night at the office Christmas party. There is a strange man in her bed, fully dressed. When she makes it into work, she realises that everybody seems to be talking about her, sniggering, or giving her disgusted looks, but she can't remember anything about last night. She's called into the manager's office and sent home in disgrace after being shown that she's been humiliated by having a sexually explicit video of her posted on social media. Feeling disgusted with herself, the only person she wants to comfort her is her flatmate, Posey. But she's not answering her calls and hasn't turned in for work. After sleeping off the worst of her hangover, Molly explores Posey's room, and looks for clues as to where she might have gone. Just when she's feeling at the worst point in her life, and things couldn't get any worse, she finds Posey dead in the bath. The police think this is an accidental drowning, but Molly starts to investigate and finds there's a lot about Posey that she never knew and the story develops from there. There are a lot of references to patriarchy, and men who always know best. There is a great twist at the end, but the author could have made more of it. It was an enjoyable read and not too complicated.

Denise Mina is undoubtedly a good writer as she switches from novellas to a full book. In ‘Confidence’, Mina writes a modern book that relies on the use of the internet and social media. The story revolves around the game URBEX which is urban exploring, going where you want. Participants are not allowed to take anything from the places they go to and must not leave anything behind. A woman enters a property in France and takes pictures of two items, a photograph and a casket. She becomes obsessed with these related items and there are links to theft and murder. She then disappears and the items come up for sale in an auction. Two bloggers try to find her. There is little violence, showing that it can be done and the novel is a return to Mina’s first literary genre.

A popular writer is Harlan Coben and his book ‘I Will Find You’ is his usual style of too many people and too many twists. A man allegedly batters to death his 3 year old son with a baseball bat but wakes up knowing nothing of what has happened. A neighbour claims to have seen him burying the bat and he is found guilty and sent to prison. His wife divorces him and remarries. His sister-in-law visits him in prison and shows him a photograph of a family and he is certain that the child is his son. The prison governor happens to be a friend of his father and helps him to escape. With his sister-in-law, he begins looking into what happened and learns that the neighbour was told to lie about seeing him bury the bat. So, what really happened? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

Terry Hayes, author of ‘I Am Pilgrim’ is a novelist and screen writer. His book ‘The Year of the Locust’ is a terrifying novel about an undercover agent in a ‘denied access’ area of the middle east, setting itself within ISA and Afghanistan. A quarter of the book tells of his previous time there and the believability is what makes it so frightening. It is a large book, with dense but great writing. It is complex but very compelling and this is why the reader stick with it.
Stevie Shaw’s ‘The Anniversary Killer’ was written by a member of the group. Set partly in Fuerteventura it is the story of a serial killer who also taunts the partners of those he murders. Much effort goes into keeping a potential victim safe and detective Shelly King nearly pays the price. There is a love interest between Shelly and a female police officer in Fuerteventura and maybe their flirting adds a little softness to the plot. Some characters are likeable and others start off this way but rapidly fall from grace. There is violence against men and women in the telling but overall, it was a page turner that hooked the reader.

Mick Herron of The Sunday Times has created a list of the 100 best thrillers. Have a look and see how many you’ve read.

As well as reading a thriller, we all read other books of a variety of genres.
‘The Key in the Lock’ by Beth Underdown is historical fiction set in Cornwall and it has more than a hint of the gothic. Ivy loses her son in the Great War and by day she mourns for him but by night she mourns for another boy who died in a fire and who still haunts her many years later. There is a truth to be untangled in order to be free of the nightmares. The story covers loss, love, betrayal, infidelity and if you like Sarah Waters and Diane Setterfield then add this to your reading list.

Karen Campbell is a wonderful writer who can transform the ordinary into something very special. Her novel ‘This is where I am’ is set in Glasgow and explores the growing friendship between a widow and a Somalian refugee and his daughter. It is a novel about loss and survival but most importantly it also looks at hope. It is beautifully and sensitively written without being mawkish or without skimming over the trauma of the refugee’s journey or the journey of bereavement.
From Glasgow we travel to World War II Malaysia and the Japanese invasion. In Vaness Chan’s ‘The Storm we Made’, a mother makes the decision to spy for the invaders but the consequences for her family unravel into disaster and death. It is a well written book and a good read, providing that blend of fact and fiction.

It’s been a while since Stephen Fry wrote a novel and ‘The Stars’ Tennis Balls’ was worth the wait. It is the story of revenge long and well planned. An ordinary 17 year old plays cricket and falls in love but some of the young men at school with him despise him for his wealth and his ‘niceness’ and because he once read a secret diary. He is kidnapped, unwittingly caught up in an IRA cell and disappears to a private sanitorium. He is drugged and made to believe that his memories are lies. However, he forms a friendship with another patient who is a former MI5 spy who teaches him languages, history and a whole host of useful information. Between them they unravel the truth and many years later our protagonist escapes. He returns to the UK and brings about the fall of those who betrayed him. The ending will surprise you. James Webster was a Jacobean dramatist and the quotation that forms the title is an accurate description of poor young protagonist’s life.

‘After You'd Gone’, by Maggie O'Farrell was picked up by a member when we did a book swap last month. There is great skill in this debut novel. It is beautifully written, with great descriptive language and plenty to learn from if you’re a writer or aspiring to be one. The description of some sexual scenes was very explicit, which is something to struggle with because many writers overdo things and should let our imaginations fill in the gaps! The story skipped randomly back and forward through time, with the narration frequently changing, telling the story from different perspectives. Whilst this can be a good device to use, it didn’t seem to work here. There was a predictable reveal at the very end, one not worth the wait. The writing itself was beautiful but the story was a disappointment.

The wonderful Sarah Winman’s book ‘Tin Man’ is a beautifully written piece of contemporary literature. Ellis and Michael become friends when they are 12 years old and they cycle around Oxford, learn to swim, find poetry. and need no other company. Many years later, Ellis is married to Anne but Michael’s whereabouts are unknown. What happened to break them apart and what happened in those missing years? The book almost reads like a love story but is actually far more.

World War II and Anthony Doerr’s book ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ is set in a costal region of occupied France. A father and his visually impaired daughter move from Paris to the coast to escape the worst of the conflict. She learns to navigate her way around her new home and town. A connection made through music brings her into the sights of a young German soldier and a game of cat and mouse ensues. It is a book that explores the impact of war on the individual and Doerr gives us the importance of how, against the odds, people can be good to each other.

‘Wandering Souls’ by Cecile Pin is another historical fiction novel based around war, this time in Vietnam. The government is looking for a man and he and his family must leave Saigon. The three eldest children are put on one boat and the rest of the family on another. The first boat makes it to Hong Kong but the second boat is attacked by fisherman acting like pirates and tragedy follows. The three siblings eventually settle in the UK and their refugee status is set against social inequality and strong anti-immigration feelings. Each sibling must negotiate the agony of survivors’ guilt. There is a strange element in the form of a brother who is ghost like and who seems to be on the outside looking in. In an effort to lay souls to rest, there is a funeral ceremony. Does it work? This is a debut novel that explores love, ancestry and the power of storytelling and its is clear from its depth that Pin has close connections with those we called ‘Vietnamese Boat People’.

After reading Jonathan Coe’s ‘The Rotters’ Club’, one group member has gone on to read the other books in the trilogy. The third is ‘Middle England’ which sees the characters from the 1970s as adults with children and grandchildren and brings us up to date with their lives and relationships. There is a poignancy in the book as it delves deeper into the relationship between siblings Benjamin and Lois who survived a bombing. There is also the backdrop of a turbulent time in the UK, a greater polarisation not helped by the BREXIT referendum. Coe’s inevitable humour shines through, ensuring the novel doesn’t get bogged down by the nitty gritty of its setting.

‘Hester’ by Laurie Lico Albanase takes us back to historical fiction. Isabel Gamble is a seamstress with secrets and Edward is an apothecary with an opium habit. Trying to create a new life, they leave Scotland in the early 1800s and sail to the USA. A few days after arriving in Salem, Edward boards a ship to act as a medic and Isabel is left alone and penniless. Isabel meets a young man called Nathaniel Hawthorne and they are drawn to each other. She is troubled by her strange gifts and he is haunted by the actions of his ancestors. Are these healthy obsessions? The story covers the complicated past of this new world; the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, the long history of seeing unusual women as witches and the men who try to shut down their creative powers.

We return to thrillers with Robert Galbraith’s ‘The Running Grave’, book 7 in the Strike series. This book grabs you right from the start. The characters of Cormorant Strike and Robin Ellacott are brilliantly written and neither is squeaky clean. A letter is received by the parents of a boy sucked into a cult. Robin goes undercover and meets the charismatic leader of the church. What happens makes you hold your breath as you try to figure out what is actually going on, especially when Robin stays longer than necessary. It is a gripping read and probably the best of the series so far. It is a well plotted thriller, with hints and teasers dropped in and by the end it is a totally believable story. The novel showcases that J. K. Rowling, writing here as Robert Galbraith is both creative and versatile.

Finally, we have a thriller that may not be a thriller! ‘The Travelling Companion’ by Ian Rankin is the tale of a Scottish Jekyll and Hyde superfan living in Paris. Ronald Hastie has a summer job in a bookshop and uses his spare time to explore Paris, a city once visited by Robert Louis Stevenson. He meets a book collector who claims to have the first and second drafts of Jekyll and Hide and the never published The Travelling Companion. The book explores what happens to Hastie as he follows his obsession. This is a departure from Rankin’s ‘Rebus’ novels but it is just as cunning and clever.

Next month we will be meeting at the Family Welfare Centre on Tuesday 2nd April at 1pm. Please note this is a change of day due to the Easter Monday bank holiday. Our book for discussion is the classic ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene.

FEBRUARY 2024 MEETING

Our meeting took place on Monday 5th February at the Family Welfare Centre. Once again, thanks to Leigh library Services for providing a group set of books.

The book under discussion was ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’ by Alix E. Harrow and it proved to be an unpopular choice, liked by only one member! Most of the group did not even finish it, claiming that there were better books to be read. Words like slow and tedious sum up most people’s reaction to the novel and it was thought that the same story has already been told in better ways. Our protagonist, January, must negotiate her way though several different doors that represent other worlds so that she can be reunited with her parents. Whilst it was easy to accept this type of travel in Phillip Pulman’s ‘Dark Materials’ series, in this book it felt clunky. Whilst there were common themes of an unknown mother, a father off doing his own thing and two young people who fall in love, this book does not inspire any sympathy for the characters. Some members said that even in a fantasy book, there must be an element of believability to the characters. There was too much repetition of the activities behind each door and the ending felt too simplistic. However, the book looked at themes of identity, love, loss, family and belonging and could be seen as an allegory. Those who travelled through doors brought back artefacts into their own worlds and this caused problems and distortions and this could be seen as the plundering of culture for personal gain and wealth, a real problem in Victorian England.

We move on to the books we read and enjoyed. Claire Keegan makes another appearance with her novella ‘So Late In The Day’. We agreed that her writing is astute and concise and Keegan can skewer people’s characters, draw you in to liking them and then she adds a clever twist. Her writing is almost poetic, it is efficient and she somehow manages to capture a whole world in a shorter story. You are always left imagining what happened next. As it is a novella, we decided not to give away any detail here so you will have to read it for yourself! Kate Atkinson’s ‘Normal Rules Don’t Apply’ is a collection of short stories that are either realistic or fairy tale/fantasy. Like Keegan, Atkinson can also write in a clever and sparing manner and she manages to interweave tales of weird families and witches and brings them together at the end.

Iris Murdoch is a great writer and must have a sliver of ice in her heart as she is tough on her characters. In ‘The Nice And The Good’, a Whitehall minister shoots himself. Or does he? This mystery is a good read and the scenes are so well written that you can imagine the settings. Another female writer was Sharon Cameron with ‘The Light In Hidden Places’, a book based on a real World War II story. In 1940s Poland, a young girl hides Jewish people in her attic and thanks to her conscious decision to act, every person sheltered survived. She feels she must go against the majority of people, a scary decision, even though she knew she was right. She had to make decisions that put her family at risk. Her neighbour has her nephew living with her and he is a member of the SS and two German nurses share our heroine’s house and all whilst thirteen Jewish refugees are hiding in the attic. Then the Russians arrive and the Germans are repelled.

‘Lessons In Chemistry’ by Bonnie Gamus was enjoyed by one group member who has a background in that science. It’s a book that is both funny and frustrating as we see a woman working in a male dominated setting, she is doing all the work but is the men who get the credit. It’s a story along the lines of ‘Hidden Figures’. A favourite author of some of the group is Kate Mosse and her book ‘The Ghost Ship’ is the third book of a trilogy. The novels follow a Huguenot family and their fortunes and losses as they try to navigate their way through the Netherlands and Catholic France. The previous books were better written and more believable but this offering is very atmospheric, especially the scenes describing the hold of the ship where people live on the six month journey to what is now Tasmania.

Florenteyna Leow’s ‘How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart’ is a novel set in Kyoto and Tokyo during the pandemic. There are interesting characters and the book explores the creation and loss of friendships. It is a book about grief. A second book by a Japanese writer was ‘What You Are Looking For Is In The Library’ by Michiko Aoyama. It is an uplifting tale of a library worker who finds life changing books for people.

Now to our male writers. Robert Gold’s ‘Eleven Liars’ is a crime thriller based around a journalist who sees a fire in a community centre and he rescues someone who then runs off. However, a body is found in the foundations of the building and it has been there a while. The identification of the body is a problem and our journalist learns that the whole village are deceitful liars. Following the reading of Jonathan Coe’s ‘The Rotters Club’, one group member decided to read the next book in the trilogy. ‘The Closed Circle’ brings us the same characters and is set in the late1990s/early 2000s and is less of a boy coming of age novel and more a broader perspective on the characters and world events; there is reference to the 9/11 attacks in USA. The book is dry and witty and is very relatable.

Our final male writer is Kazuo Ishiguro with ‘The Buried Giant’ which is set around 50 years after the death of King Arthur, with a now old Sir Gwain appearing as one of the characters. An old couple Axl and Beatice set of on a journey to find their missing son but their ideas of his whereabouts are unclear due to a mist that interferes with memories. They meet Gwain, a warrior and a young boy and have to avoid dragons and ogres. The story may be about the hidden giants we like to bury, those memories that we don’t like. Or it could be referring to the Dark Ages, a whole period of our history about which we know next to nothing. But then again, it could be something else and you are just left wondering!

‘The Discomfort Of Evening’ by Lucas Rijneveld was the winner of the International Booker prize. Rijneveld is the first Dutch author to win the prize and only the third Dutch writer to be nominated and is the first non-binary person to win. The eldest boy in a family delivers letters and he dies when skating over a frozen canal. The family falls apart and the parents do not take care of their remaining offspring. Jas is 9 years old when her brother dies and she develops weird rituals as a coping mechanism. One of these rituals is sticking a drawing pin into her belly button so it’s not a book for the faint hearted!

We are each going to read a thriller of choice and will bring our findings to the meeting on Monday 4th March at the Family Welfare Centre. See you then!

JANUARY 2024 MEETING

Our January Meeting took place on Friday 5th January at the Holiday Inn Express at Leigh Sports
Village, a change of day and venue. Once again, thanks to Leigh library Services for providing a group
set of books.

The book under scrutiny was Jonathan Coe’s ‘The Rotters Club’ which is part of a trilogy based around
pupils at and all boys grammar school in Birmingham. Opinions were divided with some of the group
finding it to be a difficult read due to its time setting of 1970s Britain with its strikes at British Leyland,
huge political division and racism and sexism and reference to the IRA bombing in Birmingham. There
were no strong female characters, with women being browbeaten and taken for granted which was
shocking and an indicator of how society has changed.

Others really liked its place as it brought back memories of music and places. It also reminded them of
Their own school days: we wondered if there was a gender divide. There was concern that we were
reading just another ‘teenage boy comes of age love story’. Some aspects of the book seemed
unlikely, for example when one character, 16 year old Doug goes to London to the NME offices. He is
left stranded and we are meant to believe he was picked up by an older woman and taken to her flat for
a night of debauchery!

To conclude, there were some comic moments, with Berni Inns being held up as a sign of
sophistication and we agreed that it was well written. Coe is worth another shot and ‘Bournville’ is
recommended, set in and around the Cadbury factory and village.

We heard about the other books people had read, including ‘Convictions’ by Denise Mina. It’s a thriller
with a slow burn and secrets are revealed as you progress. It’s an interesting and good read with an
amazing twist. Please be aware that the subject matter is a rape trial.

A non-fiction book by Joanna Cannon looked at the testimonies of people with mental health issues.
‘Will You Read This Please’ is based on the lives of real people and is not a cheerful read and nor is it
harrowing. Some of the people make it through and it can make you feel grateful for your own wellbeing
It is hard to read how individuals have to fight against the system to be heard and to get treatment.

David Ryan’s ‘The Spinning Heart’ covers accounts of life in Ireland after the financial crash. In a small
town, a building company goes bust and it is known for its corner cutting and corruption. The majority
of people in the town were employed by the company and now must suffer the shame of it and in the
meantime, the boss swans off abroad. Also set in Ireland is ‘The Prophet Song by Paul Lynch winner of
the Booker Prize last year. Ireland is living under a dictatorship where journalists disappear and there
are massive restrictions on everyday life. It is an accessible book but it is also extreme and depressing.

‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell is based in and around the Florence of the Di Medici era. A
young woman, free of spirit is forced into an arranged marriage but the groom is her deceased sister’s
fiancé. Her life is constricted and she soon realizes that she is in danger. This is an excellent read, its
very atmospheric and it makes you want to shout at the characters! Another historical fiction novel is
‘Devotion’ by Hannah Kent. It tells of the need for Lutherans to escape from Germany due to
persecution. It follows the (mis)fortunes of a few families, including two teenage girls who have no
name for what they feel between them. We experience life on board a small ship as it makes its six
month journey to Australia and learn how the families settle down under. Again, it is a wonderful read.

Our next meeting is on Monday 5th February at 1pm in the Family Welfare Centre. We gather in the
café area. Our book under discussion will be Alix E. Harrow’s ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’.
We are also going to do a book swap, so bring along those books that you’ve meaning to take to the
charity shop and pick up some more to take their place!

December Meeting

Our December meeting took place at the Family Welfare Centre and we discussed books we had chosen to link with disability awareness month.

First up was Rob Burrow’s book ‘Too many reasons to live’. Rob was a rugby player for Leeds Rhinos for just about the whole of his career. He retired at 35 after being diagnosed with MND and since then he’s gone very public about his struggle to raise awareness and funds for MND research. Two members of the group listened to Rob’s book on Borrowbox and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter series) made the perfect narrator as he is from Leeds and a lifelong Rhinos fan. Lewis’ voice made it seem like Rob himself was reading his life story. Rugby was his life, and this is a very detailed account of his life and professional career, season by season and so it is a more suitable book for those who have at least a passing interest in rugby. Rugby players can be how hard, crude, and how crazy but the rugby community can be like a family, and this comes across very strongly in Rob’s story. The book moves between Rob’s illustrious career and the present and we can see the contrast between the then and now. He was a tough, fit and determined player and now we see him as a frail, helpless man who is wasting away. We meet the characters who have been a large part of his life and who have shown him fantastic loyalty.

There’s is theme of ‘heroes’, beginning with Rob’s grandad, who idolized him and his parents who were so proud of all he achieved. We see the heroism of his childhood sweetheart wife, Lyndsey, a physiotherapist who understood his diagnosis more than Rob did. She does everything for Rob and their three young children and still holds down a job. She is embarrassed about her ‘Superwoman’ nickname, seeing herself as being and ordinary Yorkshire lass who loves her husband and who sticks to her marriage vows. Then there is Kevin Sinfield, Rob’s best mate, the best mate anyone could ever have. We are all aware of what Kevin has done in order to raise funds for MND research and his target of £7700, based on Rob’s shirt number, has been smashed and he has actually raised over £2 million.

Looking back on his life, which Rob knows is nearly over, he’s not mournful but rather appreciates the great times he’s had. He reflects on all the love and support he’s been shown by the rugby league community. His biggest sorrow is that he won’t get to play rugby in the back garden with his young son, the way he did with his Dad. He’s always positive, tries to pack in as much as possible, make as many memories as he can and raise funds to help future MND sufferers. Although not an easy read if you’re not a rugby fan, the fact that Rob is so obviously close to the end of his journey makes it an inspiring read.

We then had a discussion around being a carer for a loved one who is experiencing the impact of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. The wonderful Glenda Jackson played the lead role in the TV dramatization of ‘Elizabeth Is Missing’ by Emma Healy, a novel that highlights the suffering and confusion of those who are ill and that of their family. Maud is concerned about her friend, Elizabeth, as she has not been in touch with her. Maud mixes up the past and the present and her search for Elizabeth becomes obsessive and a murder is uncovered. There are some light and funny moments in the book, a reflection of reality. Another book picking up on this theme is ‘Three Things About Elsie’ by Joanna Cannon and there is a film, ‘The Father’ starring Anthony Hopkins.

The classic story ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson – Burnett is essentially a children’s book. It is important to remember when it was written as some words can be jarring but overall, it is a marvelous read. It tells the story of Mary, a young girl who is orphaned and is sent from India back to England to live with her uncle in Yorkshire. Mary comes across her cousin Dickon, a young boy confined to a wheelchair. Mary challenges him and the book is about the power of the human spirit and of positivity.

Tana French, an Irish writer who usually writes murder mysteries, provides a well written book in ‘The Witch Elm’. The main character has it all and lives a charmed life until he is beaten up and a head injury causes neurological damage. It is a story of what happens next and a reflection on his growing up years. It was a difficult to read as the characters are horrible and unsympathetic and so there is no investment in their lives, even to the point of not finishing the book!

‘Lark’ by Anthony McGowan is the story of two brothers, one of whom we assume has Down’s Syndrome. This brother is not named and whilst his comments are simplified, he does have the ability to analyze situations. The boys missed two buses and decided to walk. They have a makeshift map but no phone and it becomes dark and cold as they set off across the Yorkshire Moors. The able bodied brother has an accident and smashes his leg and the other brother has to set off to get help and succeeds in his mission. The book is the story of the walk and the love the brothers have for each other. It is a believable tale of ‘boys being boys’ going wrong.

If you want a bit of history then ‘The Village Healers Book Of Cures’ by Jennifer S. Roberts will be a good read. Set in the time of Matthew Hopkins, self-appointed Witchfinder General, it is the tale of a ‘cunning woman’ who experiences the fires of hatred, stoked by Hopkins himself. She has a brother with a club foot and he has a black crow as a pet, fueling claims that she is in fact a witch. She is suspected of killing, by magic, the husband of one of her ‘patients’, a man who was in fact poisoning his wife. His body is covered in symbols and our healer has to escape, heading for London. Here she meets male witches who are seen as being scientists with knowledge of alchemy but she continues to be seen as a witch. Each chapter opens with a recipe for a herbal cure

"One" by Sarah Casson is a Young Adult book about conjoined twins. It really brings home the problems and frustrations of adolescence and young love to someone physically linked to her sister. It's a very moving book and recommended to all ages.

If anyone wants to read around any of the above topic/books then here are some ideas. ‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’ by Beth Underdown links with ‘The Village Healers Book of Cures’ by Jennifer S. Roberts. ‘Three Things About Elsie’ by Joanna Cannon links to ‘Elizabeth Is Missing’ by Emma Healy.

Other books read include ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell, a great historical novel set in Florence during the time of the Di Medici family. From an early age, girls are taught how to be good wives and must enter politically arranged marriages. A girl in the family is engaged but dies unexpectedly and her sister marries the fiancé a year later. All is not as it seems in the marriage and we learn of court intrigue, loyalty and lack of the same. It is a very atmospheric read and links well with ‘Three Fires’ by Denise Mina which tackles the excesses of Florence in the same time period.

Celia Fremlin’s ‘Uncle Paul’ is billed as being the UK’s answer to Patricia High Smith and it did not disappoint. The start is innocuous and introduces us to a dysfunctional family of sisters. Nothing much seems to happen but the psychological element of the book ramps up, leaving the reader on edge and experiencing a sense of dread. It is an excellent story that lends itself to the power of the imagination and how that influences what the characters do and how they become suspicious of everyone around them.

Another foray into the classics had one group member dipping into Jane Austen again, with ‘Northanger Abbey’ proving to be more enjoyable than ‘Emma’. The writing is dense and a lack of punctuation and long sentences mean that you have to attune yourself to the prose.

‘The Couple Upstairs’ by Ann Girdharry is a crime thriller about a woman who moves into an apartment and how her life becomes entwined with a couple in the same building. The story is told well, with all of the characters have secrets from the past. As the book unfolds, the secrets are revealed, showing the characters as being human and fallible but not unlikeable.

Emily Edwards’ book ‘The Herd’ is the tale of two university friends. The daughter of one of the women contracts measles and loses her sight and the friends fall into a dispute as one blames the other for this misfortune. The plot thickens as the child who may have passed on the illness had not been vaccinated with the MMR jab, due to being concerned about the alleged side effects of the vaccine. Elizabeth’s Law is the background to the dispute, with carers having to give information about viruses and inoculation status. The case is picked up by the media and a grenade is put under the long standing friendship.

Claire Keegan is a virtuoso when it comes to writing novellas. ‘Foster’ is the tale of a small girl being sent to a foster family in rural Ireland. Once there, she finds love and affection in the farmhouse, a new experience and she begins to blossom. However, a secret is revealed and her new life becomes a fragile thing. Other Claire Keegan books include ‘Small Thins Like These’ and ‘So Late In The Day’ and both are worth reading.

The latest offering from Victoria Hislop is ‘The Figurine’, as always, it is set in Greece. The story is a love letter to modern Greek history and explores the theft and profiteering of ancient Greek artefacts. Hislop’s research is as good as ever, but the story is basically a Mills and Boons romance and not one of her best.

‘Dragged Up Proppa’ by Pip Fellows is a memoir of growing up in the northeast of England in the 1980s. Closure of pits meant that people had to live by their wits. Fallows looks at the collapse of the so-called ‘red wall’, how the broken promise of the past continues to blight communities as they have lost the once strong social ties. It is a good examination of the seismic shifts of the 1980s but he does get a bit ‘preachy’ towards the end.

And finally, Jilly Cooper’s ‘Tackle’ provides a bit of a romp and a light read. Set in the world of football, not her usual setting, it provides some unintentional humour as she far out of her comfort zone.

We will be reading Jonathan Coe’s ‘The Rotter’s Club’ and will be meeting on Friday 5th January at 11.30 in the Holiday Inn at Leigh Sports Village. After this we will be going to the Friday social at Leigh Miners’ as one of our members will be talking about his life as a crime and thriller writer.

November Meeting

A few of our members were away catching some sun but the rest of us struggled on through the rain and wind to get to our meeting at the Family Welfare Centre!
Our book under discussion, provided by Leigh library services, was Sara Gruen’s ‘Water For Elephants’. At last, a book we all loved, rated as well written and that held our attention from start to finish! There was a good balance between the telling of Jacob’s story as both a young and old man, which meant that flicking between the two was not irritating. The description of the action is vivid and yet fully conveys what goes on in a matter of seconds, fight scenes were particularly clear and dynamic as was the retelling of Marlena’s act with Rosie the elephant’s balancing act The book has a good pace and is easy to read. Set against the backdrop of the great depression, it shows the dog eat dog world of circus entertainment.

Several themes were explored, including the ageing process. The older Jacob is not one to obey the restrictions of life in a care home and his non-compliance leads to him being sedated. Life is easier for staff if residents are quiet but one staff member, Rosemary, tries to find out what he wants. We all agreed that eating pureed food would be unpleasant and that to see all residents in the same manner was not helpful or hopeful. Jacob and Rosemary build up a positive relationship and when he realizes that his memory is fading, it is with her that weeps and asks for help. She is a rare oasis of happiness and he is devastated when she announces that she is leaving. This proves to be the catalyst for Jacob’s choice at the end of the book. (No spoilers here!) There is a powerful scene where Jacob looks in a mirror and cannot recognise himself; he has sense of losing the self. Being in the home and isolated is a difficult experience for Jacob who had had his life full of people, animals and busy activity.

Another theme is the brutality of circus life. When workers are no longer considered to be useful and are a burden, they are ‘red lighted’, meaning that they are thrown off the moving train. This shows the precarious nature of circus life, one that is based on a type of class system with bosses at the top then performers and the workers at the bottom. The cultural apartheid extends as far as separate dinning rooms and train carriages. The workers could do nothing if they were not paid, they had nowhere to go, abandoned by family and anyway, too far from home. Yet, if you came as a visitor, you would be drawn in by the illusion of the circus and its bright lights. Would you see the tawdry underside where a tiger has had its teeth removed and a chimp thinks it’s human? Perhaps the need to escape the grind has stayed and only changed, with gaming, books, TV and theatre now providing the illusion.

In the middle of the hurly burly we witness moments of levity. After losing their ‘fat lady’, the circus is run out of town because they had asked the police chief’s wife if she would join them. We also read of great loyalty. Jacob and Walter keep an old hand hidden so he is not thrown off the train. Walter is a self-made man, rarely seen without a book in his hand. Jacob proves his loyalty to Marlena, a woman married to his boss August. He will not stand by and allow him to abuse Marlena and eventually they leave the circus together. Then there is the loyalty Jacob shows to the animals, especially Rosie the elephant, who only responds to the Polish language. It is Rosie who paves the way for Marlena and Jacob to have a future together. (Again, no spoilers!) We assume that they had a happy and fulfilled life, banking their positive memories to share with their many children.

Some characters were more likeable than others and we were all glad to see August get his just desserts. It is very much a feel good book but the level of violent realism stops it being mawkish. The ending could be a surprise but it was probably the only one that would work. We would all recommend this book to friends and family.

Other books read in November

Miles Hudson’s ‘The Cricketer’s Corpse’ is centered around Durham Cricket Club and was written by a self-published author. There are some weaknesses in the story, especially around police procedures and it is unlikely that the lead detective would use a civilian mate to assist in the investigations. An easy read overall. Also read was ‘One For Sorrow, Two For Joy’ by Marie-Claire Amuah. It is the story of a black Ghanian girl called Stella, growing up in Brixton during the 1990s. She is clever but troubled and is always obsessed with good or bad luck brought by seeing magpies. Her father is abusive, favouring her brother and yet when she retells her story, it is in a childlike way that does not criticise her father. She is jealous of the love her mother lavishes on the vulnerable babies she nurses. Stella works hard and ends up a barrister and has a tight group of female friends. She doesn’t have much luck with men, each relationship some part of her father’s abuse. The reader will want to warn her that looking for love can make us blind to a person’s faults. In her thirties, Stella moves towards self-acceptance.

A music memoir by Lucinda Williams provided a good read. Willaims had a bohemian upbringing and came late into the music industry. She is very successful as a singer song writer and is an incredible woman and performer. The good thing about the book is that you can tell that it’s not been ghost written. Another memoir read was ‘The Go Between’ by Osman Yousefzada, a telling of his life growing up in 80/90s Birmingham. There are many amusing moments as Osman and his family set up home on the edge of the redlight district. He is a young boy and so is able to move between the men’s room and the women’s room where they sit with their hair uncovered. He negotiates school life, eating non-halal sweets and the ever growing list of restrictions placed on the community’s lives by zealous religious leaders. The book is all the better to read if you were living in Birmingham or any other multi-cultural city at this time.

Two Anne Tyler books put in an appearance. The first was ‘A Slipping Down Life’ which was first published in 1969. It is the story of Evie Decker, a lonely and silent teenager whose life is turned upside down when she hears Drumstrings Casey on the radio. She bursts out of her shell and meets her idol. The book is written with Tyler’s wonderful knowledge of how people tick and the characters are highly relatable to the point you want to shout at them for the things they do. There is good humour in the book as it describes small town life and you want to believe that their lives continue after you have finished reading. The other book was ‘The Beginners Goodbye’, focused on a widower and is an insight into how differently people deal with grief. Aaron sees his wife and together they sort out their unresolved issues, put their relationship to bed and he feels released. An important part of the story is the lack of making the deceased a saint. Sticking with the theme of loss is ‘The Black Dress’ by Deborah Moggach. It is the story of a woman whose husband leaves to be with her best friend. As a way of coping and mayb meeting someone else, she starts attending funerals of complete strangers and soon becomes embroiled in their lives. There is a lot of humour and poignancy as we follow her adventures.

Reference was made to the Kate Moss trilogy ‘City of Tears’,’ The Burning Chambers’ and ‘Ghost Ship’. These books follow the Joubert family and span a number of generations and places. It is well worth reading the three book. Another group favourite is Kate Atkinson and her short stories collection ‘Normal Rules Don’t Apply’ shows her great skill as a writer and her wonderful turn of phrase. The stories are linked, unlike last month’s book and it is a good read. Yet another favourite Lucinda Riley’s seven sisters series and the book read this time was ‘Moon Sister’, the fifth in the series.
Other books included ‘Three Fires’ by Denise Mina which is a novella that tells the story of the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola. His tirades on sin led to ‘the bonfire of vanities’ in Florence when he calls for books, artworks etc. to be burned as a response to the lifestyles of the ruling Medici family. Mina is another author who can pack a punch without needing to write much more than a hundred pages. Jessie Burton is a writer we have come across before and her book was ‘Medusa. The Girl Behind The Myth’. It is a wonderfully illustrated book and was written to tell Medusa’s story to another generation, but she does change it slightly and this is a bit off putting. The final book to mention is ‘The Full English’ by Stuart Maconie, a great northern writer. As covid restrictions began to ease, Maconie takes a tour round England, following in the exact footsteps of J.B. Priestly’s ‘English Journey’ published in 1935. He writes with his usual dry wit and compares his own experiences with those of Priestly. The country has changed but at the heart of it all are the great people he meets along the way. The book is an interesting dip into our social history.

November’s focus is disability awareness month and we will be reading different books. Below is a list of some suggestions. This might be helpful to anyone who wants to join the group as you won’t feel left out.

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time Mark Haddon
Me before you JoJo Moyes
Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes
All the light we cannot see Anthony Doerr
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter Kim Edwards
My Left Foot Christy Brown
The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
A son of the circus John Irving
Three Things about Elsie Joanna Cannon
Elizabeth is missing Emma Healey
The Witch Elm Tana French
Get a life Chloe Brown
True Biz Sara Novic
Wonder R. J. Palacio
Too Many Reasons To Live Rob Burrow

October Meeting

The first Monday of the month found us at the Family Welfare Centre where we discussed the book ‘Hollow in the Land’ by James Clarke, kindly provided by Leigh library Services.

It’s not often that we are united in opinion of a book but this was one such occasion. The book seemed to present itself as a whole story about living in a valley in northern England but it turned out to be a series of short stories with a few interconnecting characters. There appears to be no narrative arc and we were left with stories that did not link and so it was hard for some to commit to reading the entire book. Add to this that people die in the first two stories, indeed in most of them, meant that not everyone finished the book. Short stories need to be well written to work but the theme of unrelenting misery wasn’t lightened by the famous northern humour. We briefly compared it to ‘Boys from The Black Stuff’ where there was misery and angst aplenty but also some great humour to ease the pain and indeed to make it more realistic.

The author seemed to have no civic pride in his roots and his work is not entirely representative of the area. He writes in a spare style and this seems to reflect the spare lives of the characters. Clarke can clearly write, the prose is powerful in parts, particularly the scene involving drug use, but he doesn’t capitalize on this ability and create characters you can like or care about. There is no doubt that post industrialization leaves devastation in its wake, issues of where to find work; a lack of ambition and the inability to move means it is hard to break free from poverty and helplessness. One character goes to university and is aiming to be a writer but he ends up back home and unable to relate to the friends of his youth. An autobiographical note perhaps?

We discussed whether our own lives have cosseted us against seeing and experiencing such despair. We considered whether we can be ‘held prisoner’ by the place of our birth and the bravery needed to look upwards and outwards and to step out of the mold. There may be invisible threads that tie us to the familiar and so we are drawn back home. What the book does do is highlight the lack of choices some people have and that the levelling up agenda is crucial to avoid further deprivation and desperation. This came across strongly in the story set in a children’s home.

There was a compelling tension in some of the stories, leaving us wondering where the narrative was going. If this had been sustained then the book may have been better but too often the tension faded out and we were left puzzled or else questioning what the story was about. The stylistic choice of not using speech marks was questioned and although it was clear where speech began and ended, it was a device that did not endear itself to the group. The book itself was not hard to read, what was difficult was the grinding misery. A sprinkling of levity would have improved the tales by giving some balance.

We went on to share what we had been reading since we met in September and proving to be a popular read with the group is the ‘Seven Sisters’ series by Lucinda Riley. The second in the series is ‘The Storm Sister’ which is a well researched book. It is romantic, interesting and there are good references to music throughout. The main character, Ally, is at home on the sea and is about to take part in the world’s hardest yacht race, however, the news of her adoptive father’s death sends her back to her family home where she is given clues about her true heritage. She then begins her search by heading off to Norway to discover her roots and she connects with Anna, a young singer. Could she be the missing seventh sister? The backstory creates a contrived connection between the women and this let’s the book down.

Award winning ‘Demon Copperhead’ by Barbara Kingsolver became another DNF (Did Not Finish). It’s a long book that is depressing and after ‘Hollow in the Land’, it was probably a good idea to let it go! It is a novel that emulates Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’ and its commentary on how hard it is for children to survive institutional poverty, with Kingsolver presenting us with another generation of lost children. It can be read without having looked at the Dickens novel.

Two members of the group read ‘Haven’ by Emma Donaghue, an historical novel set in 7th century Ireland. Three monks set off to find a remote island where they can build a new community. Like the island, the writing is stark and you wonder how the men will survive in such an inhospitable place. It is a tale of misguided leadership, vainglory hidden behind a cloak of religious fanaticism, trust and its breakdown and the need to survive. Emma Donaghue features again with ‘Learned By Heart’, a novel based on the earlier years of Anne Lister (‘Gentleman Jack’) and her relationship with Eliza Raine. Eliza is a mixed race girl banished to boarding school in England where she is lonely and isolated. A new pupil arrives, Anne Lister, and they are thrown together, turning Eliza’s life upside down. A prequel series perhaps?

Another historical novel was ‘The Colour’ by Rose Tremain. The book is set in the New Zealand goldrush and deals with the expectations of people arriving from all over the world to this far away land. The novel looks at love, friendship, the mania of seeking gold and the impact of a huge influx of people on the landscape and environment. The fourth novel of this genre was ‘The Honey and the Sting’ by Elizabeth Freemantle. It is a supernatural historical thriller that focuses on three orphaned sisters. They must protect each other but circumstances change and they must flee their family home. They are pursued by a rich and politically powerful man who wants to claim his illegitimate son to secure the family line. One of the sisters has a connection with bees, hence the title and both prove to be integral to the story.

In ‘Flight’ Lynne Steger - Strong gives a cameo of family life. Three siblings, their partners and children are spending their first Christmas without Mum, the glue of the family. Long held resentments spill out and the character weaknesses of each sibling are exposed. Tensions rise to a peak but the arrival of a stranger in need forces the family to put aside their squabbles and they pull together to help. The novel is an expose on the family and how this once strong institution is falling apart.

Anne Patchett comes up trumps again with ‘Tom Lake’, a novel set in the lockdown of spring 2020 but it doesn’t fall prey to the end of the world doom and gloom you might expect. There are subtle references to social distancing and mask wearing but this novel is about a mother, her daughters and a famous actor she had known and loved. Lara met Peter Duke when they were part of the Tom Lake theatre company and the story highlights the lives parents lead before meeting and having a family. Lara’s revelations force her daughters to look again at their relationship and they must reevaluate all they thought they knew. Pratchett shows us why she is one of the best at dissecting family life by giving us insight that is both subtle and sharp. Ultimately, this is a book about love in all its forms.

David Mitchell takes us back to the historical fiction genre with his ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ set at the end of the 18th century in Nagasaki, Japan. Here there is an island built especially to keep the western world from encroaching any further on to Japanese land; in essence it is a prison. Corrupt merchants, interpreters and natural disasters assail the island but Jacob de Zoet, a young Dutchman, is determined to earn enough money to marry his fiancée back in Holland. However, he strays from his plan and boundaries are broken after a chance meeting with the daughter of a samurai doctor. Is all hope lost for Jacob? The novel is described as a good story but one that can be hard to read at times.

Our final book offering is Jenny Jackson’s ‘Pineapple Street’, a contemporary novel about the elite 1% of New York’s population. The eldest daughter of the family gives up her trading job to be a mother but perhaps she has traded too much. A middle class New England girl marries into the family but is not seen in a favourable manner and the youngest daughter falls in love with someone who is not available. The book highlights the indulgent lifestyle of the elite through likeable yet flawed characters, it exposes the gap between the haves and have nots and explores love and family.

Our next meeting will be at the Family Welfare Centre at 1pm on Monday. We will be discussing ‘Water for Elephants’ by Sara Gruen.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

A small but happy band made up the numbers for our September meeting at the Family Welfare Centre. We had chosen our own books to read and here are some of the volumes that were read.

‘The Year 1000 - what life was like at the end of the first millennium', by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger.

Non-fiction – based on ‘The Julius Work Calendar’, which is the oldest surviving calendar in England, and is a kind of ancient handbook for farmers (which was most of the population back then) reminding them what tasks needed attending to at various times of the year. The book works through in 12 chapters, the 12 months of the year. It discusses where society had got up to in terms of agriculture, medicine, education, politics, law, construction, religion etc. As I was in the ancient ‘city’ of St David’s in Pembrokeshire at the time of reading, it was very appropriate, as I was able to look at the cathedral (built about 1180) and see it in the context of the sort of society that my book told me existed back then.

‘Opening Up’ - Mike Atherton’s autobiography.

The play on words relates to the fact that Mike Atherton (former England cricket captain) was an opening batsman, who opened up the innings for England. He tries to be quite humble, admitting his flaws as a player, but claiming to be a very decent and honest human being. He wants to be seen as a skilled and caring man-manager. Captaincy is regarded as an artform in top class cricket, and I think he wants to be seen as a good captain far more than a good player. At his peak, he was regarded as England's best batsman, but by the end of his career his statistics had deteriorated quite a bit, so that when his final career figures are compared with other top players, he looks very ordinary. The book is a bit disjointed; it tries to stay chronologically accurate, but does get side-tracked to discuss various personalities and conflicts, and strays off course. I'm a student of cricket history, so I found it interesting, but even I found that he sometimes made overly-optimistic assumptions about how much the reader would already know. He was critical of some other players, but in a way that assumed we already know all about their faults and personal problems. There's not much outside cricket discussed, so I don't think this would be of any interest to non-cricket-lovers.

'The Big House' - Helena McEwen.

A story about the childhood of Elizabeth, who had a very privileged upbringing with her brother James, in a huge country house with large gardens, gardeners, maids, servants, cooks etc. The story starts with the adult Elizabeth reflecting on the death of James and her sister Kitty, then goes back to tell stories of her childhood. It feels like an account set over a century ago (Downton Abbey comes to mind) but a couple of references show that her childhood was in the late 1960's - early 1970's, because she mentions Tony Blackburn and a couple of other big names of the time. I thought it was leading up to tell us of the dramatic events that caused James and Kitty to die, but it doesn't. It's just a rather wistful account of life in this large, slightly scary mansion. Rather disappointing end, with no real climax at all (unless I missed the point).

‘Blood and Sugar’ - Laura Shepherd- Robinson

Set around the pre-abolition slave trade the key events in this book are the murder of an abolitionist and the deliberate drowning of 300+ slaves. The slaves are not considered human, no murder charge can be brought but they are possession/cargo so an insurance claim can be made. The event is fictitious, but a similar event did occur and was documented in the Slavery section of the Liverpool Museum.

The characters, slaves both free and bonded, ship owners, politicians, local officials, captains and crew all have their own agenda. A friend of the murdered man is intent on finding the murderer as the authorities are making no efforts.

‘I Am Not Your Eve’ - Devika Ponnambalam

A fictitious account by Teha'aman, Tahitian muse and child bride of Paul Gauguin. Told as one complete account, with no chapter breaks, mainly by Teha'aman but there are other narrators. It is challenging to read from the point of view of its structure and content. Changes in narrator are not always obvious. The subject matter is disturbing, as the child's age is never clearly stated. The myths and legends of Tahiti are woven into the telling of her story.

‘A Gentleman In Moscow’ – Amor Towles

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is viewed as being an unrepentant aristocrat and he is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal. The novel takes us through his days and his relationships with staff and other guests and it spans a long period of time. It is a book of manners, of change and the need to adapt, of love in its various kinds. There is great humour and times to feel angry. Did the Count stay or did he escape?

‘Klara And The Sun’ - Kazou Ishiguri
Klara is an artificial intelligence friend who displays wonderful powers of observation. She notices who comes in and out of the shop where she waits to be bought and taken home. She is told to avoid becoming too attached to humans as their needs change and AI friends are discarded. The book looks at how AI is changing our world, but it also looks at a very important human question. What does it mean to love?

‘Paper Cup’ - Karen Campbell

This is a novel focused on a homeless woman in Glasgow. It is set at the time of a real accident when a bus crashed onto a pavement, leaving people dead and injured. Kelly witnesses the accident and saves a life. She has to get out of the city and tries to find the hen night bride who dropped her ring by Kelly’s park bench. The book is gritty but at the same time has a flavour of Rachel Joyce’s ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry’.

‘Stephen King’ - The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

This was chosen to meet the brief of reading a different genre and author. Trisha is on a hike with her brother and her recently divorced mother. Trisha wanders off the path to answer a call of nature and then discovers that she cannot find her family. She is lost for days, living on her wits and courage. She also listens to Boston Red Sox baseball games on her Walkman, focusing on one player, Tom Gordon. The batteries die and Trisha hallucinates, believing that Tom is protecting her from a real but hidden enemy. It was a disappointing read, not particularly frightening and it is unlikely that the member concerned will read anymore by King.

‘Living On Hop