Category: 2016

Ferrante, Elena (2015) The Story of the Lost Child. Europa Editions. In Ferrante's final Neapolitan novel the protagonists are now mature women, once again domiciled on the mean streets of Naples. Elena is now a respected writer, and Lila an unstoppable entrepreneur. As they challenge and become more deeply bound to the ruthless anger and brutality of their neighbourhood they face serious consequences, for themselves and the ones they… Continue reading December Picks →

Donoghue, Emma (2016) The Wonder. Little Brown. Lib Wright, a legendary Nightingale nurse, is sent on a mission to an impoverished Irish village to 'watch' a child that has supposedly not eaten for four months. Lib expects to expose a hoax but she gets caught up in the fervour that surrounds the "living wonder".  Is Anna a miracle,… Continue reading November Picks →

Patchett, Ann (2016) Commonwealth. Bloomsbury. When Bert Cousins turns up uninvited at Franny Keating's christening party and kisses her mother, Beverly, the fate of two families is turned on its head. The kiss leads to a new blended family of the six Keating and Cousins children bouncing back and forth between Southern California and Virginia. Over the next five decades life unfolds,… Continue reading October Picks →

Quindlin, Anna (2016) Miller's Valley. Random House. Generations of Millers have lived in Millers Valley.  The valley is flood-prone and the government has plans to turn the valley into a reservoir.  We follow Mimi Miller through the assault on the people and land she loves - from her 1960s girlhood to the present day. As Mimi eavesdrops on her… Continue reading September Picks →

Ferrante, Elena (2014) Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. Europa.  The third book in the Neapolitan series is set in the period 1968-1976 and follows narrator Elena into marriage, after she has gained her degree and published her first novel. Living in relative affluence, in Florence, Elena is on the fringes of Italy’s social unrest. She is challenged by the sexual… Continue reading July Picks →

Church, Elizabeth J (2016) The Atomic Weight of Love. Algonquin Books.  In 1941 Meridian Wallace begins her ornithological studies but is soon entranced by physics professor Alden Whetstone. Deferring her own career path she marries Alden and follows him to Los Alamos where he is engaged in top secret work on the atomic bomb. As a wife she is… Continue reading June Picks →

Gilbert, Elizabeth (2015) Big Magic: Creative Living beyond Fear. Riverhead Books.  This is a book of empowerment and inspiration.  Drawing on her own generative writing experience Elizabeth Gilbert shares her wisdom and unique take on creativity. This empathetic guide provides us with lessons on how to unleash creativity and lead a creative life under big chapter headings  - Courage, Enchantment,… Continue reading May Picks →

Ferrante, Elena (2013) The Story of a New Name.  Europa Editions.  Book Two in Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, sequel to My Brilliant Friend, does not disappoint. Lila is now imprisoned in marriage, while Elena continues her studies beyond the stifling confines of the neighbourhood. Their bond is challenged by wilfulness, jealousy, family, freedom and loyalty. This sweeping epic… Continue reading March-April Picks →

Cleeves, Ann (2015) The Moth Catcher. Macmillan. In a quiet community in Northumberland there are three murders in rapid succession, with little evidence to connect them. DI Vera Stanhope and her team of detectives arrive on the scene shattering the retirement peace of a claustrophobic local country development. What deadly secrets are this cloistered community hiding?  In… Continue reading February Picks →