July meeting - The Tea Planter's Wife

The July meeting of The Low Fell Book Group took place on the 7th at Low Fell Rugby Club. We had the large room to ourselves overlooking the lush greenery of the pitch on a warm sunny evening. The setting complimented the discussions of June’s choice of The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies.

Most of the group agreed that it was an enjoyable if, an undemanding read. Several commented that they had to return to the book to remind themselves of the names of the central characters, however it was easy to continue with and good bedtime reading were other comments.

Joanne C was the book’s most ardent supporter and she has had the added advantage of having been to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Joan has also been lucky enough to visit this country and both agreed that the author’s descriptions of the countryside and culture were both accurate and powerful. With one notable exception - Joanne had actually visited a tea plantation and remarked: “They smell of tea not grass”!

Jeanette felt that the novel was a bit too laden with detailed descriptions, such as: “In the sweet-smelling, multiple- mirrored room, she splashed the repeated image of her face, and applied a dab of Apres L’Ondee, which luckily had been safely stowed in her small case.”

Jeanette was less critical of Gwen, who some of us felt came across as a bit wet. Jeanette felt her character did fit with the time and setting and that she did develop throughout the story. Perhaps on reflection that was fair as we may have been looking at her character through modern day eyes.

We also agreed that the narrative was guilty of giving the reader constant reminders of where and when it was set, which tended to become tedious. We were given numerous examples of the times, such as the sinking of Titanic and the Wall Street Crash.

Most of the group also agreed that the plot had echoes of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The young, newly married girl plunged into an unfamiliar life, the older, moody husband who keeps tootling off somewhere and the shadow of the dead former wife. Several members also guessed the secrets in the plot at an early stage, but heroically carried on with Gwen as she slowly and dramatically conceals her own secret.

Overall we gave the book a score of 3.5

It was nice to welcome a new member to the group and to have Joanne back from her fabulous time in Las Vegas with superb photographs of “Elvis” too.

Our next meeting will be on 4th August at 6.30pm, venue TBA.

Next month’s book choice is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

June meeting - The Glorious Heresies

The June meeting of the Low Fell Book Group was held on the 9th at Rosa Twelve, giving us an extra week to read the book. We had a large table upstairs where we discussed The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney and received attentive service ordering drinks.

It's safe to say that this month's novel was quite a departure from the other books we've read since the group formed last year. While some members found it difficult to get past the swearing, others thought it served a purpose and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The biggest cheerleader for The Glorious Heresies was Anne Marie, who said: "If I was a writer and that was my first book, I would die a happy person."

While we all agreed it was not a difficult book to read, the themes were pretty intense. All of the characters seemed completely incapable of escaping the circumstances of their birth. This was despite the aspirations they had for themselves and the next generation.

Jeanette pointed out that chapter eight provided a small amount of relief from the setting of the rest of the book. As the character of Georgie finds herself by the lake, we are taken away from the lives of the underworld of Cork city, although it is not long before we are plunged right back in.

It was agreed that the dialogue was central to the book and that this was really well written. Because of the use of swear words, however, it's worth thinking carefully about who you recommend it to. It turns out there's a good mix of reading mothers and mothers-in-law who come down on either side of the bad language line!

Comment was made about the fact that many reviews said the novel was hilarious, while most of us found it quite sad. Anne Marie did say she found some of the bits with Maureen's character, such as when she worried about not having enough bleach to clean up the murder scene, funny.

Coincidentally, the day before our meeting, McInerney won the Baileys Prize for Fiction for Glorious Heresies. I don't think any of us were aware it was even shortlisted when we decided to read it.

Our founder Joanne was unable to make the meeting, as friends from New Zealand she hadn't seen in 12 years had stopped by. While she was missed, we all agreed this was a good excuse.

We gave The Glorious Heresies 4 stars out of 5 - the highest rating since we introduced the star system.

The next Low Fell Book Group meeting will be held on July 7th, with the book to be discussed The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies. The venue is yet to be decided.

May meeting - 'The Saffron Trail'

For the May meeting we met in the back room of the Victoria in Low Fell.  Our book for discussion was Rosanna Ley’s ‘The Saffron Trail’.  Joan very kindly started the meeting by distributing fruit cake (many thanks to her winning first prize at the last Fells Angels WI meeting).

The response to ‘The Saffron Trail’ began with a Simon Cowell (Britain’s Got Talent) ‘I didn’t like it’, but sadly didn’t progress to the pregnant pause and unexpected reveal; ‘I loved it’.  Fair to say the closest positive endorsement was ‘I quite liked it’.

The unravelling of the story of Amy and Nell was found to be ‘predictable’ by most readers.  The alluring and heady promise of intrigue, magic, mystery, secrets of the tarot and the labyrinthine medina was more of a Rough Guide to Morocco with some rather nice tagine dishes to pause and enjoy along the route.

The research undertaken by Rosanna Ley into saffron, Moroccan cuisine and design did not go unappreciated.  Memories of holidays and time spent living in the Middle East were shared with enthusiasm in the group, but it was felt that nothing much ‘went off the beaten track’ in terms of both locations visited and the relationships between the characters.

Little moments of nodding connections with readers were enjoyed:  Hideous Kinky (‘seen that’), Catcher in the Rye (‘read that’) Leonard Cohen (‘heard that’) but there wasn’t enough to draw the readers in with any sense of excitement for the trail.

The interweaving of plot lines and the juxtaposition particularly of World War II and Vietnam conflicts was regarded as technically adept rather than being engaging.

Many members of the group thought it difficult to empathize with the main characters of Nell and Amy, finding that that the characterizations ‘lacked depth’, and were ‘too shallow’.  The similarity of the one syllable names did little to distinguish the women. Readers nipped back in the text to establish if Aunt Lillian was related to Amy or Nell (however given the connection between the women perhaps this was intentional.)

The male love interests were thought to be equally indistinguishable and unsupportive to their partners. It was difficult to remember who smelled of ‘grapefruit and leather’ and who has a whiff of ‘toothpaste and autumn leaves’. And incidentally why did Jake ‘always smell of grapefruit?’ (The unanswered question raised by Amy at the very end of the book.) Google suggests the answer lies with Dior Homme Sport by Christian Dior. Available on Amazon: £55.75 for 100ml.

The suicide (or was it?) of Nell’s mother seemed a rather gauche and ill researched plot line.  In the last few pages of the book we find out ‘she was ill’ and ‘she didn’t want surgery’. As someone who works in mental health I find suicide distinctly unromantic and left curious as to why this had to be the character’s death.

As a ‘skimming along the surface of a quite an interesting plot with a bit of a twist that you might see approaching from quite a distance’ type of read ‘The Saffron Trail’ fitted the bill.  Members were a little disappointed in the ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ ending, likening the loved up closing scene to a Mills and Boon storyline. But there again, the book is marketed as a holiday read and likely is ideal for this. ‘It’s an easy read’ was the feeling of the group, but possibly left in the hotel lobby for others to try rather than brought home with the intent of suggesting your best friend would enjoy it. One member of the group felt that the proof reading had been poor and the book contained a number of mistakes. I felt the ending seemed rather rushed, almost as if now the characters were back in Cornwall the author had lost interest and wanted to get things tied up as soon as possible.

However, finding something I enjoy reading is not necessarily my focus for joining a book group. Together with my enjoyment of the ‘collective consciousness’ experience of reading a book at the same time as others, my pleasure comes from being with the group. I’m at rather an unexpected stage in my life, where my prediction that a reduction in parenting responsibilities (daughter going to university) would lead to greater freedom in my social life has been somewhat upended by caring responsibilities for my mother moving into that space.

During this difficult period of losing my mother to Alzheimer’s disease it’s lovely to have the book group in my diary.

How wonderful to share cake and to take a moment out to hear about members of the group going to Las Vegas, sharing amusing stories about the latest WI meeting and commenting on favourite BGT acts. For me the joy of the book club is as much about the company of others as it is about reflecting on our reading. I’ll be happy to spend as much time viewing photographs of Elvis at our next meeting as I will be discussing ‘Glorious Heresies’. And I now know how to upload information onto a blog!

Group star rating for ‘The Saffron Trail’ 2 out of 5.

7th April 2016 - April Meeting

Another warm and cosy welcome from Lesley, the landlady at The Aletaster, and after refreshments and catch-up chats we settled to give our views on this month's book, "The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George. It was a translation from the German.

Members felt that the premise was a good one. It tells a tale of lost love, grief and guilt through the protagonist, Jean Perdu, a "literary apothecary", who runs a bookshop on a beautifully restored barge on the Seine. He helps people solve their personal problems by providing them with an appropriate book to read. However, the only person he is unable to cure is himself. He has been nursing a broken heart since the night, twenty one years ago,when the love of his life, Manon, fled Paris, leaving behind a handwritten letter that he has never dared read until now....

It was felt that some of the other characters were sketchily drawn so that it was difficult to identify with them and this could make the read rather laborious in places. Others expressed the view that the relationships which developed as the plot progressed ought to have been more deeply developed and the characters more intricately drawn. Their transience was frustrating and made the narrative seem bitty and the plot disjointed. It was suggested that the male characters were created from a female perspective and therefore seemed over-emotional. Also, that the nuance, in places, might have been lost or at least displaced in translation.

However we each felt that we had been treated to some colourful vignettes and deeply meaningful moments. These are afforded to us when Jean escapes from his misery by unmooring his barge and setting off in search of recapturing his memories and come to terms with his loss. Author Max Jordan joins him on his quest and they travel on the canals of France towards the Provencal south in search of Manon's story. Later he invites Cuneo and Samy into his life to travel with him. They all play a part in forcing him to face his demons, but sadly we thought them irrelevant contrivances which proved, in some instances, a distraction.

Viewed as a travelogue the members felt the book would have had a more positive response. The descriptions were well drawn and powerful, such as the harrowing account of a young deer which had fallen in the canal. The author's portrayal of the French countryside made the Francophiles amongst us long to plan our next holidays! The imagery was often lyrically and poetically atmospheric.

It's worth mentioning that there were some interesting titles which Jean Perdu kept on board and one in particular, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" really interested Emma, so she "Googled" it and found it exists. So, Emma, we look forward to hearing your opinion of this tome next time we meet!

"The Little Paris Bookshop" was awarded 3* and we voted "The Saffron Trail" by Rosanna Ley to be our next book.

March Meeting

Our March Book Club meeting was held at The Nest on Durham Road, Low Fell. It was a lovely venue and we were provided with very nice coffee, tea and cake! There were 11 of us to discuss the book Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon.

Only 5 had completed the book and it received mixed reviews. Some felt that there were too many characters. It was agreed that the subject of the novel was interesting and that researching the Cold War helped to understand the book.

Those of us who didn't read the book felt it was too difficult to get into. Some felt there was little descriptive writing and maybe too much dialogue. It may have been better to have more of a background into Alex's family life in America at the beginning of the book to create an image.

Joanne recommended 'The North Waters'. Joanne B said she had read 'We Are Liars' from a previous list of books and said she had enjoyed it.

Sue shared a list of 7 choices for our next book and we all agreed on 'The Little Paris Bookshop' by Nina George.

We gave 'Leaving Berlin' 3-4 stars.

Emma offered to choose our list for our next meeting which will be April 7th venue to be decided.

The Nest was a very suitable venue. We ensured all dishes were washed and we left the room as we found it. Hopefully we will be able to use the place again!

February meeting - A Man Called Ove

The February meeting of the Low Fell Book Group was held at The Stone Trough on the 4th and we discussed Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove. It's safe to say that this novel was universally enjoyed by the group, even if a few people had reservations to begin with.

As a character, Ove starts out as a cantankerous old man, but as the novel unfolds and the reader gets to know more about his past and his ways, it's almost impossible not to fall for his somewhat unconventional charms. Some members of the group even saw people they know in the idiosyncrasies of Ove, including one person's husband (we better not mention any names here!).

Several people mentioned that Backman's novel reminds them of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - a book that many of us have read outside of the group. This may help to give potential readers an idea of the sort of tale they are embarking on and how it shows lovely character development over time.

5 stars

If you have read A Man Called Ove and would like to share what you thought of it with us, please feel free to leave a comment below.

The next book the group will be discussing is Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon. Feel free to read along with us online or join our meeting on February 3rd at The Nest on Durham Road.

Christmas gift ideas for book lovers

Christmas is getting closer and we all know that sometimes the special people in our lives need a nod in the right direction. Here are a few ideas to give them inspiration. Or if you are the present purchaser, some suggestions to help save your skin and get it spot on!

Canvas book bag

There are some great book bags out there, featuring quotes, beautiful artwork and brilliant puns. For us, the funnier the better, like this particular offering from Cafe Press.

Vintage book, tea and stationery subscription set

Nothing goes as well with a good book as a properly brewed cup of tea and all book worms need to be kept in a proper supply. This can easily be arranged with a gift subscription that ensures all of these things are delivered to the book lover in question's door on a monthly basis.

Check out the details here.

Go away I'm reading mug

Every book lover has thought it at some point, but many are far too polite to say: "Go away I'm reading", so let them do it in a fairly passive aggressive way with this wonderful mug. It can be bought at Book-ish.

A special edition of a favourite book

This gift idea requires a little work on the part of the giver, but when executed well is the perfect present. Finding an old edition or a specially-illustration version of a beloved book will certainly put a smile on their face and give them something to treasure forever. It does test how well the giver and receiver know each other, but for those who are confident it can be great.

Anything from the Literary Gift Company

That's right, we don't just love reading books, but we also love talking about them and quoting them and toting a bag telling the world of our passion. Or a mug or a pen... quite literally anything from the Literary Gift Company is likely to go down well with your book-loving friend or other half.

Wicked Witch bookmark

There are some wonderful and creative bookmarks available and it is just a case of matching the right concept to your book lover. It may be one that highlights the exact line they were up to when they fell asleep with a little rubber hand or one that also acts as a reading light. We love this one that depicts the Wicked Witch's legs sticking out of the book as if she's been squashed, complete with adorable red shoes.

It's available from Etsy

Solar Kindle charger

Not all readers would want a Kindle, but those who use them can be pretty evangelical about them. For book lovers who travel a lot, the solar-powered Kindle charger is a great way to get into their good books (get it?!)

Gift vouchers for their favourite bookshop

That way they can buy all of the titles included in the Low Fell Book Group reading list throughout the year without having to splash out a penny of their own money.

Have you spotted any other great gift ideas for book lovers? If so, share them in the comments.