The Story of the Lost Child (Neapolitan Novel book 4) by Elena Ferrante.

I read this, the fourth story of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet, in 2 days because I couldn't wait to find out what had happened to all the characters.It is quite a sad book without moving you to tears. It leaves a lot for you to think about after.

I loved the way the character'slives are so well-drawn, their emotions and experiences are so real, and the history and neighborhoods of Italy are so well-described that this book feels more like an autobiography than a novel

It feels almost Tolstion in the number of characters who keep cropping up.


Each of the four volumes has an established theme: the development of resentment and friendship in childhood, the limitations of social boundaries, the compromises and confinements of marriage, and the establishment of regrets in old age. 

I would like to read another by her.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This is the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

I liked the beautiful imagery. Both in the literal sense - the physical world of 1940s Paris/Germany - and the metaphorical. It's woven with scientific and philosophical references to light, to seeing and not seeing, and the differences between the hearing sense and the seeing sense.


I did find the flipping back and forth between different time periods a little confusing.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Neapolitan Novels Book 3) by Elena Ferrante

 

This is the third book in the series... it felt like the middle, not a stand alone book.

I enjoyed reading about feminism and politics, through the story, we get a course in the riots and protests that occurred in the 1960s and '70s as communists fought fascists.

I liked the way the plot referenced incidents that had happened in the previous book.

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

This has been recently dramatised on the BEEB - I didn't really enjoy the TV adaptation, I much preferred the book (although it is not my favourite Christie!)


IT is not a usual Christie mystery, more a John Buchan style ripping yarn with light-weight espionage and a heavy emphasis on adventure. I suppose a grown up famous 5.

There are many twists and turns. The start is a bit slow but I did enjoy the end!

Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

 
This is the second book in the My Brilliant Friend series, featuring the two friends Lila and Elena set in the girls twenties.
Ferrante is a very powerful writer. yet she does it in such a simple way - the book moves slowly but at the end of it you think WOW.
I love the way it reads like the private inner thoughts of Elena with the mechanics of friendship and growing up with the added pressures of deeply ingrained habits and customs of a different culture and generation.
I love the characters because they seem very real with ambition, but yet are flawed.
The book contains incidents of domestic abuse and rape  acceptable in a culture for men to beat women and makes pertinent social and political observations of that time. 

Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin

I loved this book with its descriptions of the people who love trees and have let their lives be shaped by the woods around them. Some of these are artists, such as Margaret Mellis who fashions collages out of driftwood or David Nash who creates large scale sculpture in wood.

Deakin gives a glimpse as well into the relationship between mankind and the woods on a global scale in his travels, from New South Wales to Kazakhstan.

The chapters are very diverse in subject matter, while still being linked by the overall theme of wood/trees. 

It is beautifully written, deeply insightful and dotted with captivating anecdotes!

Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield

This was published in book form in 1934, the “Diary of a Provincial Lady,” but it actually started life in 1930 as a serial in “Time and Tide.”. It is mostly  autobiographical; with the author substituting the names “Robin” and “Vicky” for her own children, called Lionel and Rosamund, but, aside from name changes, this is very much a light hearted diary of country life and based upon the author’s own experiences. 

I loved all the domestic disasters, the W.I., a monosyllabic husband, mutinous staff and the bossy and opinionated Lady Boxe. There are struggles with indoor bulbs and financial worries, tales of friends visits and reciprocal trips to see them – including shopping in London and a rash holiday to the South of France - it felt similar to life today - especially the musings of parenting, her statements on social snobbery, her opinions about neighbours, worrying about how she looks and feeling left out of discussions about shows she has not seen or books she has not read!

It wasn't a laugh out loud book but it was cheery and lighthearted!  A very enjoyable read.