Sincerely, Loree

Book Blurb

Tom Birkin, a damaged survivor of the First World War, finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby, where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life, he experiences a sense of renewal and belief in the future. Now an old man, Birkin looks back on the idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change, a precious moment he has carried with him through the disappointments of the years.

My Review

This is a wonderful little book with a great sense of time and place. The author writes beautifully about an era that is long since forgotten. His evocative descriptions conjure images of a bucolic existence that calms the senses and soothes away the weariness and irritability that seem to be a normal facet of modern existence. A Month In The Country is seeped with layers of nostalgia that remind us of a simpler, more wholesale time, when men who had been broken by the horrors of war, who had faced the hell that was Passchendaele and Flanders and the Somme, felt again the stirring of hope and a belief in themselves and their fellow men.

“The first breath of autumn was in the air, a prodigal feeling, a feeling of wanting, taking, and keeping before it is too late.”

This is not a plot driven story but it is a superb and satisfying read with moments of poignancy that will be appreciated by more mature readers. It is a story about an idyllic summer, a moment in time that will never be forgotten but which will never come again; an invitation to think back on our own past summers and to gather the memories, like beads on a bracelet, and hold them close to our hearts.

“We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever—the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, the touch of a hand, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass."

From beginning to end I loved this gentle, tender book. I know it will be one that I return to when the woes of this modern world seem too hard to bear and I can look back at these contemporaries of my great-grandparents, trying to reach out across the chasm of time by letting the words of this book act as a bridge to that all but forgotten time.

I highly recommend this book. Please read it if you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.

Genre: historical fiction

First published: 1980

Location: Oxgody (fictional), England

Awards: Booker Prize Nominee (1980), Guardian Fiction Award (1980)

Goodreads rating: 4.12 ⭐

My rating: 4.9 ⭐

Book Blurb

I Am Forbidden is a multi-generational portrayal of family, faith and history which takes the reader across continents, from pre-war Transylvania to modern-day New York via Paris and England. This novel explores what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law and centuries of tradition collide.

Opening in 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard and is rescued by a Christian maid to be raised as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues a young girl, Mila, after her parents are killed while running to meet the Rebbe they hoped would save them. Josef helps Mila reach Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community, in whose home Mila is raised as a sister to Zalman's daughter, Atara. With the rise of communism in central Europe, the family moves to Paris, to the Marais, where Zalman tries to raise his children apart from the city in which they live.

 Mila's faith intensifies, while her beloved sister Atara discovers a world of books and learning that she cannot ignore. A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide, I Am Forbidden opens a startling window on a world closed to most of us.

My review

This book was a Goodreads recommendation so I went in without any expectations and ended up being blown away by the beauty of the writing. Everything about it ticked all the right boxes: the poetic, mesmerising style of its prose, the restrained nature of the narrative, the flawed by relatable, characters that the author was able to create with such conviction. I was in turns sad, angry and hopeful but the overall feeling I came away with was one of intense heartbreak: for Mila and Josef; for what was and what could have been. It is a book about dogma and traditions; about what is allowed and what is forbidden.

“We've always known that a marriage our parents approved meant giving up Paris and its bells.”

But it might not be for everyone. If you're a proud feminist, don't read this book. It will anger you. If you hate restrictive orthodox doctrine, don't read this book. It will make you feel trapped and powerless. But if you want to understand a different culture, one so different from what we are used to that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was all made up, then give this book a chance. It will shock you. It will break you into tiny pieces and devastate you, and then make you whole again. A different whole than before. One that is more open to other culture and beliefs. I Am Forbidden does what every good book should do. It challenges your status quo and ingrained misconceptions and shatters them forever.

“Mila found comfort in this ordered world where sin explained suffering.”

Genre: historical fiction

First published: 2012

Location: Szatmar, Romania; Paris, France; Brooklyn, New York

Awards: Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize Nominee (2014)

Goodreads rating: 3.69 ⭐

My rating: 5 ⭐

About the author

Anouk Markovits grew up in France, in an ultra-orthodox Satmar home. She attended a religious seminary in England instead of high school, and left the fold at the age of nineteen to avoid an arranged marriage. She went on to receive a bachelor of science from Columbia University, a master of architecture from Harvard, and a PhD in Romance Studies from Cornell. I Am Forbidden is her English Language debut. A more in-depth background about Anouk Markovits and the reason why she wrote this book can be found in Martha Schulman's article Inside Out: Anouk Markovits published in Publisher's Weekly (March 2012).

Book review: The Stray Cats of Homs by Eva Nour, translated by Agnes Broomé

From the book blurb

Sami's childhood is much like any other - school with his friends, dinners with his family, playing with his pets (stray cats and dogs, and the turtle he keeps on the roof).

But with Syria at war with itself, nothing is really normal. And Sami's hopes for a better future are about to be ripped away.

Inspired by extraordinary true events, The Stray Cats of Homs is the breathtaking story of a young man who will do anything to keep the dream of home alive.

My review

We are all familiar with refugees, with people who flee conflicts and revolutions to seek shelter in distant lands. But The Stray Cats Of Homs is not a story about refugees. It is a story about those who decided to stay. 

If you are looking for a story with a complicated plot and lots of convoluted twists, then this book isn't for you. But if you want an insight into the Syrian revolution and how it affected ordinary citizens, then please give this book a try. Some parts are definitely not for the squeamish but it's a book that definitely needs to be read, especially by people like me who rarely watch the news or read the papers. My instinct when things get bad 'out there' is to cocoon myself and stay firmly inside my comfort zone. This book pushed me right out of it. It was poignant, heart-breaking, and horrifying, made even more so by the knowledge that this conflict isn't over yet.

Genre: modern historical fiction (Syrian civil war)

First published: 11 October 2018

Location of narrative: Homs, Syria; Paris, France

My rating: 4.8⭐

On birthdays

Three weeks ago, I celebrated my 52nd birthday. I am grateful for all the years given to me but can’t help feeling a bit sad from time to time about the fleeting passage of time. I am even more aware of it when I look at our son. He turned 17 just over a week ago. Next year he will no longer be considered a minor in the eyes of the law. In my eyes though, he is still the mischievous toddler trailing after me and talking incessantly about dinosaurs, volcanos, airplanes and trains. There are moments when I think I am ready to sell everything except my soul just to have one of those days back. But life never goes backwards, so I will look forward to the time ahead with excitement instead of trepidation. 

On reading

As I mentioned in my last post, I plan to read 23 books from 23 different countries this year. I don’t yet have 23 books from 23 different countries but I will get there. My goal for 2023 is a total of 40 books, so there is ample time for me to search for books from around the globe. You may think I’m crazy, but I’ve joined a ‘Read The World’ challenge that includes 196 countries from around the globe. The nice thing about this challenge is that you can start or finish whenever you like. So my start date is 2023 but I could continue this challenge until it is completed several years in the future. There are book suggestions for nearly every country (except for some countries that I have never even heard of). I am very excited about this and keep hunting for the more elusive countries whenever I am buying books. Up to now, I’ve ‘done and dusted’ three countries: Syria (The Stray Cats of Homs by Eva Nour – I will post a review of this remarkable book soon), the UK (The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro) and Greece (Ariadne by Jennifer Saint). For some reason, ticking countries off the list just makes me smile. I could cheat and add books I read in the past to increase my tally quicker, but I’ve never cheated in my life and don’t plan to start now. After all, this challenge gives me the perfect excuse to beg for, borrow or buy more books.

The perfect storm

After a very mild autumn, the first 4 weeks of winter were also quite warm and sunny. Then it turned cold on my birthday weekend (which was the perfect present) and has continued to be so. Last week though, storm Helios battered our shores. We had constant rain for 24 hours and gale-force winds. Friday was a public holiday and the sun came out for a while. My husband and I went for a walk along Dingli Cliffs, where I was scared the wind would blow us into the sea, and then spent some time reading in the car. The sunlight warmed it up and it was perfect for a while (although the wind kept buffeting and shaking our car). After some time, dark clouds started to form on the horizon and by the time we drove home, the rain started coming down again. People in Malta have got so unused to storms (we haven’t had a major one since 2019) that anytime one hits our shores, it becomes the main topic of conversation for at least 10 days. I wonder how we would all survive if the weather was bad a bit more frequently. Of course, I relished it and now I wonder whether we will get a few more storms before winter is over.

There are already quite a few signs of spring here in Malta. The daylight hours are, like everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, noticeably longer. Some wildflowers, like the crown daisy, yellow wall rocket and asphodel, are already blooming, while buds are starting to form on the giant fennel. Soon the garigue and the countryside will be humming with bees and that somnolent feeling which I always associate with spring will be in the air.

I want to try and keep my posts as short as possible because I know how busy life gets and I don’t want to take up more of your time than necessary (and I have to get back to my books :)). So that's all for this week except for one small question: I would like to write some posts about sustainable living and making simple environmentally-friendly choices but I wanted to know whether anyone would be interested. Thanks in advance for any feedback. 

Have a wonderful week.

As I’ve been doing these past 3 years, today I will be taking a look at the books I read during 2022. I had shared the books I read between January and June, part 1 here and part 2 here ,but I never got round to doing the same for the books I read between July and December due to the blogging slump I fell into during the second half of the year.

Overall, I had a very good reading year. Out of the 41 books I read, 34 were by authors who were new to me. My most-read genre remained historical fiction, followed by literary fiction and classics. Out of the 41 books I read, 9 were non-fiction and five of these were memoirs (which remain my favourite type of non-fiction genre).

According to The Storygraph, which gives a very detailed insight into the reading patterns of members, last year I mostly read emotional, reflective and sad books that were slow-paced.

MY YEAR IN BOOKS 2022

• Number of books read: 41 (2 more than the 39 I read in 2021)
• Total number of pages read: 13 097 (down from 15 316 in 2021 but I had a bit of a reading slump in the last 3 months of 2022)
• Average book length: 319 pages
• Shortest book: A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar at 128 pages
• Longest book: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly at 502 pages
• Most popular (i.e. most read): The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (which was marked as read 3 508 805 times)
• Least popular: The Adventures of a Curious Cat  by Curious Zelda (which was read 542 times)
• Highest rated by Goodreads readers: Lalechka by Amira Keidar with a 4.00 average

• My average rating for 2022: 3.6 stars which is a bit better than it was last year (3.4)
• The first book I read: A Thousand Days In Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi 
• The last book I read: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• The book I read that has been published longest: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte in 1847
• The most recently published book I read: The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin in April 2021
• My top 5 fiction reads: The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (4.8), Suite Française  by Irene Nemirovsky (4.5), Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (4.4), The Absolutist by John Boyne (4.3) and Fresh Water For  Flowers by Valerie Perrin (4.2). 
• My top 5 non-fiction reads: The Twins of Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor (4.5), The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Aushwitz by Jeremy Dronfield (4.25), A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar (4), 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (4) and A Thousand  Days in Tuscany and The Lady in the Palazzo by Marlena de Blasi (4) – I know that makes 6 books but I really enjoyed all the 4 star reads so I couldn’t really leave one of them out.

• The book I enjoyed least: this was a tie between The Virgins by Pamela Erens and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (both of which received a 2.6 star rating)
• Most disappointing book: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - there was a lot of hype around this book and it got many rave reviews but I felt it just did not live up to its promise. Here’s a small extract from my review: ‘Everything about Evelyn’s life seemed very superficial, including her love life. I felt that if we scratched beneath the surface we wouldn’t find any substance. And therein lies my biggest issue with this book.’
• Best suited for a book club: The Absolutist by John Boyne which deals with the subjects of absolutism, conscientious objection, and unrequited love.
• Month in which I read most (based on the number of pages): February
• Month in which I read least (based on the number of pages): October (no surprise, it happens every year) and December (let’s blame Christmas)

For today I’ll end it here because books are my favourite topic and I could go on forever. I am just going to add the list of books I read between July and October, my respective rating and the genre. If there are any that you have any questions about, please let me know in the comments.

The Absolutist by John Boyne (4.3) - historical fiction WW1

The Virgins by Pamela Erens  (2.6) - campus fiction

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (3) - psychological thriller

Life Of Pi by Yann Patel (2.9) - philosophical fiction

The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield (4.25) - memoir

The Lady In The Palazzo by Marlena de Blasi (4) - memoir

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi (3.4) - historical fiction

The Room On Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel (2.8) - historical fiction WW2

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (4.2) – historical fiction

Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky (4.5) - historical fiction WW2

The Island by Victoria Hislop (2.8) - historical fiction

All We Left Behind by Danielle R. Graham (3) - historical fiction WW2

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (2.9) modernist fiction

In today's edition of Book Talk I will be reviewing Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Book Review: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky, translated by Sandra Smith

From the book blurb:

In June 1940 France fell to the Nazis. The effects of this momentous event on the lives of ordinary Parisians and the inhabitants of a small rural community under occupation are brilliantly explored in Irene Nemirovsky's gripping and heartbreaking novel. Nemirovsky herself was a tragic victim of the Nazi regime but she left behind her this exceptional masterpiece. In Suite Francaise she conjures up a vivid cast of wonderful characters who find themselves thrown together in ways they never expected. Amidst the mess of defeat, and all the hypocrisy and compromise, there is hope. True nobility and love exist, but often in surprising places.

My review

Suite Francaise was meant to consist of five inter-linked vignettes but only the first two, Storm in June and Dolce, were written as a rough draft before author Irene Nemirovsky was deported to Auschwitz in July 1942. She died there just a month later. The manuscript for Suite Francaise was hastily stuffed into a suitcase by the author's daughter Denise who couldn't bear to read it until many years later.

One of the most engaging aspects of this book is that we see World War 2 from the eyes of a contemporary. It took me a while to get into the story and it wasn't one of those fast-paced reads that I felt the need to keep picking up. On the contrary, it is slow and rather sad but it did have occasional moments of gentle humour. Suite Francaise is a very atmospheric book with a marvellous sense of place and wonderfully detailed descriptions. 

Storm In June  is a prime example of stark realism. The reader is immediately immersed in a world of panic and turmoil, A world that has been turned upside down. The characters, who are all trying to leave Paris with their most precious belongings, are flawed but real and we get a whole spectrum of them: the courageous, the cowardly, the rich, the poor, the landowners, the meek, the arrogant, the collaborators, the patriots. Every type of human virtue and vice that a catastrophic event like the war brings out in people is represented in the two short stories making up this novel. It attests to the author's keen observation of human nature that she was able to depict them so truthfully.

Dolce, on the other hand, is an almost dream-like interlude that takes place in an occupied town, far away from the bombs and chaos of Paris. Here, the conquerors and the defeated are forced to live in close proximity, forging fleeting friendships and fragile relationships.  It ends with the departure of the Germans for the Russian front.

Due to its unfinished state the book leaves us wondering what could have happened to the diverse characters we were introduced to. Since we will never know we may have to imagine an ending ourselves - although I felt that, in retrospect, these two fragments mimic the abruptness with which so many lives were cut short by war. So, in a heart-breaking way, I think that this novel is close to perfect just as it is.

Genre: historical fiction (WW2)

First published: 2004

Awards: Magnesia Litera for Translation (Litera za překladovou knihu) (2012), Prix Renaudot (2004), PEN Translation Prize for Sandra Smith (2007), French-American Foundation Translation Prize for Fiction (2006), Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize Nominee (2007)

Location of story: Paris & Boussy, France

Trigger warnings: death, violence

My rating: 4.5⭐

As promised in my last roundup featuring the books I read between March and June 2022 I am going to start reviewing books as soon as I read them. Then, when I do the roundup posts, I will be able to link to the actual review instead of to my Goodreads page which most of you probably can't even view anyway. Some will be short, like today's review, but other's will be a bit longer. It will depend on the book, of course. I hope that  if there are any bookworms reading my blog will enjoy them.

Book Review:  The Adventures of a Curious Cat by Curious Zelda with Matt Taghioff

From the book blurb:

Curious Zelda is social media star, agony aunt, yoga teacher, cat. In The Adventures of a Curious Cat she gives insight into her view of the world and dispenses unparalleled wisdom. Zelda explains, in her unique voice, how to handle humans, how to communicate with furniture, and most importantly how to live a life curiously. It's the ultimate self-help guide for any cat, or indeed, their human.

My review:

This is an amusing book. It made me chuckle in places but didn't have that laugh-out-loud factor that I was expecting nor did I feel the need to keep reaching out for it. It does drag in places and I kept getting distracted. However, it's a pleasant foray into the mind of a cat which, I'm sure, will be appreciated by cat lovers everywhere. 

Curious Zelda has her own Instagram page and you can find her here.

Genre: contemporary fiction

First published: 2019

Awards: n/a

Location of story: Zelda's house

Trigger warnings: n/a

My rating: 3 ⭐  

Books I read between April and June 2022

Between April and June I read 11 books. Two were non-fiction and all the rest were fiction. Unlike the first three months of the year the number of books that I rated 4 or more stars was disappointingly low. Only one book out of the eleven I read had a score over 4. Below is the full list of books I read and their respective rating. I have linked each book to Goodreads so that you can have a better idea how other people rated them. However, I've found out that you probably cannot read my personal review unless you are a member of Goodreads. So, what I'm thinking of doing in the future, is sharing the same review here on the blog each time I finish a book. This means I will share a review of all books not just the ones that score 4 stars or more. Let me know whether you think you will enjoy reading them. I promise you that you should be able to read the reviews in about five minutes. Anyway, without any more blubbering on my part, here is the list of books I read last Spring.

1. Lucrezia Borgia by Maria Bellonci 3⭐
2. The Almond by Nedjma (translated from Arabic by C. Jane Hunter) 3.6⭐
3. The Book Of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel 2.8⭐
4. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes 3.5⭐
5. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 4.4⭐
6. Honour by Elif Shafak 3.7⭐
7. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 2.6⭐
8. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly 3⭐
9. Watermark by Joseph Brodsky 3⭐
10. The Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker 3.6⭐
11. The Women At Hitler's Table by Rosella Postorino (translated from Italian by Leah Janeczko) 3⭐

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

A compelling and whimsical portrayal of a woman who has been consigned to the shadows by history.

Honourable mention:

Honour by Elif Shafak

This is the story of a young Turkish family that emigrated to London in the 1970s and their struggle to integrate into Western society while trying to keep their traditions alive. But it is also a story about internalised misogyny, about the cultural perception that still exists in some countries that there is a set of weights and measures for men and another one for women. 

Books I read between January and  March 2022

I started the year on a reading binge totalling 15 books in three months. Out of these, ten scored 4 stars or over in my complicated rating system. Below is the full list of books I read and their respective rating. I have linked each book to Goodreads where you can compare the average book rating with my own, read more detailed reviews (including mine - look for Lorna Dykstra) and get a better idea whether you will like the book or not. As you know, I am not the easiest reader to please. So any rating over four means the book was beautifully written and definitely worth my time. 

1. A Thousand Days In Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi 4⭐
2. A Month In Siena by Hisham  Matar 4⭐
3. Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote 4.1⭐
4. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson 4⭐
5. The Twins of Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor 4.5⭐
6. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain 4.8⭐
7. Circe by Madeline Miller 4⭐
8. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff 4.5⭐
9. Fresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin 4.2⭐
10. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 3.2⭐
11. Where The Forest Meets The Stars by Glendy Vanderah 3.2⭐
12. A Room With A View by E.M. Forster 4.1⭐
13. The Day The Nazis Came by Stephen Matthews 3.75⭐
14. The Last Bookshop In London by Medline Martin 3.5⭐
15. The Postman Always Rings Twice my James M. Cain 3.3⭐

A Thousand Days In Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi

A Month In Siena by Hisham Matar

Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

The Twins of Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

Circe by Madeline Miller

84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff

Fresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin

A Room With A View by E.M. Forster

 Book Review: The Red  Notebook by Antoine Laurain (translated by Jane Aitken)

Plot summary

Laure Valadier gets mugged on her way home one night and suffers severe trauma to the head. The next morning, her stolen handbag is found by Laurent Letellier, a bookshop owner. There is nothing inside the bag with which to identify the owner but Laurent makes it his quest to do so because he is intrigued by the contents of the bag, especially by the random thoughts jotted down in a little red notebook.

My thoughts about The Red Notebook

This book is, essentially, a love story for grown ups since the main characters are over forty years old. I generally do not read romance but there is nothing soppy or overly saccharine about this story. Unexpectedly, or perhaps not, it is a book I enjoyed immensely. The characters were people I could identify with, normal people with a few flaws, the kind of people you can be friends with.

The Red Notebook, with its brief but succint forays into small independent bookstores and daily visits to the local cafe`, is quintessentially French and easily transports the reader to daily life in one of Paris's quieter arrondissements. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a moderately-paced story with pleasant characters and the advantage of going to Paris without actually having to fly there. Amusing, distracting and highly entertaining, this is truly a gem of a little book and is, by far, one of my favourite reads this year. It was highly recommended by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who described it as 'Parisian Perfection, on her Instagram page The Duchess of Cornwall's Reading Room. If you're an avid reader I suggest you follow HRH who not only recommends books but invites the authors to talk about their writing experience, often delving into the particular moment when the idea, or the urge, to write the book first came into their mind.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (in a nutshell)

Genre: contemporary romance

First published: 2014

Location of story: Paris, France

Length: 159 pages

My rating: 5⭐

You can read more about Paris in these posts from my old blog:

• Wednesday Wanderings: The Streets of Montmartre
• Wednesday Wanderings:Art Overdose At The Louvre
• Wednesday Wanderings: A Walk On The Champs Elysees

Book Review: A Thousand Days In Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi

Book summary

After three years living in Venice, Marlena and her husband Fernando, move to the small village of San Casciano dei Bagni in a remote corner of southern Tuscany that borders Umbria and Lazio. San Casciano is the antithesis of Venice: a community of just 200 people living in an area surrounded by hills, hot springs and ancient olive groves; a tranquil, out-of-the-way place in the rural heart of Italy. Marlena and Fernando befriend Barlozzo, a sort of self-appointed village elder, who teaches them how to live in harmony with the land, introduces then to the culinary traditions of the region and lets them in on a secret or two. 

My thoughts about A Thousand Days In Tuscany

While in de Blasi's first book Venice takes centre stage, in  A Thousand Days In Tuscany it is the Tuscan people she befriends and the produce of the land who are the protagonists. She writes at length, and with much warmth, about both. It made my heart ache to read how the tenacious inhabitants of this region made a life out of whatever the land provided, especially in the midst of hard times like during and right after WW2. They managed to survive through sheer force of will and by finding joy in the simplest ingredients: wild garlic, chestnuts, berries. Nothing went to waste and whatever the humans could not eat was fed to the animals. A Thousand Days In Tuscany was written around twenty years ago and things may have changed a lot since then, but de Blasi was able to capture Tuscany right at the cusp of this change. It truly made me look differently at this region of Italy and made me realise what a romanticised view we have of it. Tuscany isn't just Florence, Siena and Pisa. It is also these remote towns and villages crowning hilltops or hanging precariously to the edge of mountains - places where traditions are strong and the ties of family and friends even stronger.

I really enjoyed this slow-paced memoir that meanders through the seasons that make up a Tuscan year. It was the first book that I read this year and it was just what I needed, a book that filled me with joy but which also made me shed a tear or two. Marlena de Blasi is a food writer and this comes across very strongly in the prose. She loves to cook and to feed people, even if it's only a few pieces of humble bruschetta and, as an added bonus for the culinary-inclined, each chapter includes a recipe from the author's  private collection.

And, yes, sometimes her language is a bit flowery and romantic and it may not be to everyone's taste but I happened to like it and I am now looking forward to reading her third memoir: The Lady In The Palazzo.

A Thousand Days In Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi

Genre: memoir

First published: 2004

Setting of narrative: San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany

⚠️ death of a friend

My rating: 4⭐

Just as I did in 2019 and 2020, I will be sharing some insights and fun statistics from my reading year. I will not be sharing the full list of books I read in 2021 in this post. You can find the lists and reviews here, here, here and here. So let's see how my reading fared in 2021.

My year in books 2021

• Number of books read: 39 (1 less than the 40 I read in 2020 - but I did read some very long books last year)
• Total number of pages read: 15 316 (up from 13 977 in 2020)
• Average book length: 392 pages
• Shortest book: Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel at 222 pages
• Longest book: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon at 850 pages

• Most popular (i.e. most read): The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins (which was shelved 3 936 518 times)
•  Least popular: Violette Szabo: The Life That I Have by Susan Ottaway (shelved 493 times)
• Highest rated by Goodreads readers: The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell with an incredible 4.49 average
• My average rating for 2021: 3.4 stars which was rather low but I read quite a few books that didn't quite live up to my expectations and Goodreads doesn't do half stars so it does skew the ratings somewhat
• The first book I read: Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
• The last book I read: My Name Is Eva by by Suzanne Goldring
• The book I read that has been published longest: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim in 1922
• The most recently published book I read: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman in September 2020

• My 5 star reads: sadly, no book I read in 2021 made the five start mark but these came the closest: Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres (4.5 stars), The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell (4.5 stars) and The Pianist by Wladislaw Szpilman (4.5 stars)
• My favourite fiction book: Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres  - it is so very different and so much more moving than the movie
• My favourite non-fiction book: this was a tie between The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell and The Pianist by Wladislaw Szpilman
• The book I enjoyed least: Lord Robert by Jean Plaidy (1.8 stars) - this was quite unusual as I generally love her books
• Most disappointing book: Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - there was a lot of hype around this book and it got many rave reviews but I felt it just didn't live up to its promise.
• Best suited for a book club: Lea by Pascal Mercier, The  Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain and The Collector by John Fowles all explore themes that can generate numerous interesting discussions
• Number of non-fiction reads: 5
• Month in which I read most: June (5 books)
• Month in which I read least: July and October (2 books) but the total number of pages I read in October is much lower than in July. Strangely enough, October was also the month in which I read the least amount of books is 2020. I was starting to wonder whether something strange happens to me in October but that I remembered that last October we were in Tuscany for a week and I didn't have much time to do a lot of reading while we were there. We'll see how October 2022 fares.

Today I'll be sharing an overview of the books that I read between October and December 2021. I read a total of nine books that were, for the most part, considerably different from each other. Unsrprisingly,  historical fiction was again the most common genre that I read but there were also a few books with a magical realism or fantastical theme. I also finished a biography about Violette Szabo, an SOE agent during WW2. As has now become my habit, I will share a little bit about each book and hope you will find a few to add to your own 'to be read' list.

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

This book is narrated from the point of view of  Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, or creature as he is called in this book, that was fist made known to the world by Mary Shelley in her epic novel Frankenstein. 

In a deserted pottery in Limehouse, Victor carries out experiments on newly-dead corpses in the hope of resurrecting them. The result of his experiments is the creature that is famously, though erroneously, known as Frankenstein.

Genres: science fiction. horror

My rating: 2 ⭐

Leopard At The Door by Jennifer McVeigh

This story is told from the perspective of Rachel Fullsmith who returns to Kenya after spending six years in a boarding school in England. She finds the country much changed and feels like an outsider in the only place she considered home. As the story progresses we see that her sympathies clash with those of her immediate family and that her outlook is very different from that of the previous generation.

I definitely needed to read this book because it took me outside my usual comfort zone (books set in Western Europe and North America). This book about colonial Kenya and the Mau May revolts in the 1950s gave me a lot to think about, especially by considering the different perspectives and ideologies of the characters. Jennifer McVeigh was able to effortlessly transport me to a place I have never been. I could almost feel the heat of Africa rising through the soles of my feet.

⚠️ Attempted rape, violence, death of a parent, casual racism

Genres: historical fiction, Africa

My rating: 4⭐

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

In the autumn of 1686, Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin life as the wife of the wealthy trader Johannes Brandt. Johannes is kind but distant and seeks to make up for this by giving Nella a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of an elusive miniaturist whose tiny creations soon start to mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways. 

I feel rather ambivalent about this book. I didn't love it or hate it. I thought that the descriptions of late 17th century Amsterdam were well done and it is clear that the author has researched this time period well, which is always a bonus. This novel had a good sense of place, it was fast-paced and there were enough secrets and hints of mystery thrown in to keep me reading on. The first two parts of the book were intriguing and definitely drew me in. But after that it went a bit downhill as there were too many loose ends. I've learnt that there is no be a sequel so it could be that many of my questions will be answered if I decide to read it and that may change my overall opinion of the story. 

Genres: fiction, mystery, fantasy

My rating: 3.1⭐

The Secret  Life Of  Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Lily Owens has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother. Her father is abusive and she only has one friend: Rosaleen, a black servant with a sharp exterior and tender heart. In the Sixties in South Carolina, segregation was still practised and racial tensions explode one hot summer afternoon. Rosaleen is arrested and beaten and Lily helps her to flee from jail. Now fugitives from justice they find sanctuary in the home of the Boatwright sisters who are beekeepers but also so much more.

This book is a wholesome, if rather slow, read. I would have liked it more if I could have identified a bit better with Lily Owens. But I'm not fond of liars, even in fiction. And Lily is a pathological liar alsmot until the end.

August Boatwright definitely kept the book going for me and, in spite of her faults, I was glad that there was a happy ending for Lily. I enjoyed all the facts about the bees and have decided that everyone needs someone like August Boatwright in their lives. The Secret Life Of Bees borders on fantasy in many places, which is fine for me, but other readers may find they have to suspend their disbelief to make the story work.

Genres: coming of age, fiction

My rating: 3⭐

Violette Szabo: The Life That I Have by Susan Ottaway

A comprehensive, if sometimes dry, biography of SOE agent Violette Szabo. Susan Ottaway clearly did a lot of research to write this book about one of WW2's most famous heroines and, in doing so, has shed new light on aspects of Violette's life and work that may not be so well known. She has also righted some myths surrounding Violette that have persisted for decades. However, there were times when the author kept going off at a tangent, describing events and people that had little to no connection to Violette, and this somewhat marred my enjoyment of this book.

Violette Szabo (born Violette Bushell) was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War. On her second mission into occupied France, Szabo was captured by the German army, interrogated, tortured and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany, where she was executed on 05 February 1945 at the age of 23. She was posthumously aware the George Cross, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de la Résistance.

Genres: non-fiction, biography, WW2

My rating: 3⭐

In The Company Of The Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

Bucino Teodoldi, a dwarf, and his mistress, the beautiful courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini, escape the sack of Rome in 1527 and settle in Venice. With very little money and no friends, except for the enigmatic healer known as la Draga, they must use their wits to establish themselves in this city on the water.

This story is narrated by Bucino and, unfortunately, there are pages and pages when we are inside his head. Bucino is not just a pimp but a philosopher and, although I initially found him endearing, in the end it was all a bit too much. I was very much intrigued by Fiammetta and she made the story come alive but the author chose to focus on Bucino leaving Fiammetta very much in the background and I think the plot suffered because of this because she seemed like a highly interesting character. For example, I would have loved to learn more about the dynamics between Fiammetta and La Draga and the friendship that developed between them but we only ever get to see the healer through Bucino's eyes and his opinion is often not very kind. I enjoyed the first two parts of this book but the third veered off into a totally unexpected direction that I am not sure worked very well.

Genres: historical fiction, Italy

My rating: 3⭐

The Collector by John Fowles

Frederick Clegg collects butterflies and takes photographs. He is reclusive and is obsessed with young art student Miranda. Frederick abducts Miranda and locks her up in his cellar, hoping she will eventually grow to love him. Miranda does try to understand him and even feels compassion for him but, inevitably, things do not end well.

There's a lot to say about this book but I'll try to keep it brief. It's dark and shocking and definitely not your average read. But there's a lot to think about and much to discuss. It made me feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic, which is probably what the author was aiming for, and Frederick Clegg is perfectly portrayed as utterly despicable. We're inside his head for more than half of the book so it's not a pleasant read. But it's definitely an interesting one - although not for the faint-hearted.

Genres: thriller, fiction, horror (psychological)

My rating: 3.6⭐

Dark Aemelia by Sally O'Reilly

Aemelia Bassano, the daughter of a Venetian musician, is a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. She had a love of  poetry and learning and develops into a beautiful woman with a sharp mind and quick tongue. Aemelia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon until her path crosses that of the impetuous young playwright William Shakespeare and they begin a passionate but ill-fated affair,

I enjoyed this book that was inspired by Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady'. It is a fantastical tale in which magic, the supernatural and superstition abound and the narrative manages to intertwine the lives of Aemelia and Will with the bard's notorious Scottish Play. Aemelia Bassano Lanyer is an intriguing figure. Maybe she comes across as a little bit crazy at times but I genuinely cared about her.

The whole story is based on supposition as there is no historical evidence to suggest that Aemilia was, in fact, Shakespeare's ' Dark Lady' but I never look for facts in a work of fiction. I thought that this novel was entertaining and that it really brought to life early 17th century London. The squalor and disease leap off the pages, as does the low esteem in which women were held. It was heartbreaking to realise what few rights women had and how they were pretty much the property of their fathers or husbands. Aemelia did not fit into this mould very well and chafed against it but was close to helpless to do anything to change it. Dark Aemelia is an unusual book that will probably not appeal to everyone due to some of its subject matter.

Genres: historical fiction, fantasy, supernatural, romance

My rating: 4⭐

My  Name Is Eva by Suzanne Goldring

Evelyn Taylor-Clarke, now in her 90s, lives in a care home and pretends to have dementia to cover up some past actions that are about to catch up with her. I found the whole premise that the novel is based on to be very flimsy. The story leaps back and forth through multiple timelines but we only ever get to see Evelyn's point of view through a series of flashbacks and various letters to her dead husband, Hugh.

Young Evelyn seems pleasant, if rather naive, but her actions later on in life are extremely questionable. Older Evelyn, with her constant insistence on how she is outwitting everyone, eventually becomes rather tiresome. Throughout the book I could do nothing to suspend my disbelief in the plot. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for Evelyn and just felt sorry for her as it did not seem like she had a very fulfilling life: no friends and no family, except for a niece she disliked, and all because she wanted to exact revenge on Stephen Robinson, the man who she felt was responsible (without any actual proof) for the death of her husband during WW2. Undeniably, Robinson was a nasty piece of work but I thought that her actions only put Evelyn in the same league as him.

I suppose I wanted Evelyn to be a heroine but all I got was a caricature of a person that I couldn't connect with. There are many people who have enjoyed this book and my opinion seems to be in the minority. Maybe this book was just not for me.

Genres: historical fiction, WW2

My rating: 2.2 ⭐

With that I've summed up the list of books that I read during 2021. They were a diverse kettle of fish with The Collector and Dark Aemelia standing out in the fiction category due to their subject matter. I now have 22 books already waiting for me to dig my teeth into in 2022 (what a coincidence, 22 in 22). In the meantime, I am passing the time reading a couple of books from the Narnia Chronicles since I think that this time of the year is made for easy reading, especially when you're stuck in quarantine like we are. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers of this blog a very happy new year. May we all pull together to defeat this microbe that has been wreaking havoc with our lives since 2020. Wishing you all health and joy. I will be back with more to say in 2022 and I hope you will be here to read it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!