General discussion about books recently enjoyed
This brought a range of comments on a wide variety of books. If anyone would like to write a sentence or two about a book they have enjoyed recently, please email me janet.bayliss@esneft.nhs.uk – so we can post to the book group part of the ESNEFT book group website.
Our original book choice, All the names by Jose Saramago was only tackled by a couple of members, finding it challenging but intriguing. The only person who finished it liked the main character and got into the rhythm of the story, but felt really let down with a very non-descript ending.
Another book that was enjoyed was The girl behind the gates by Brenda Davis, based on the author’s experience as a psychiatrist, about what happens when a girl is taken into psychiatric care as a result of pregnancy labelled as a moral defective. Gripping and gut wrenching in places, this is well worth a read. Related to this is the “Whispering Hope” series of books about the Magdalene Laundry women in Ireland in the twentieth century, including Whispering Hope – Marina’s story, about how she was confined in a convent at the age of 12 as a ‘petulent child’. The book tells her story and subsequent fight for justice.
In a different vein, the series of books starting with A discovery of witches by Deborah Harkness was found to be a gripping trilogy in the fantasy field, but with current relevance, focussing as the books do on how vampires, demons and witches cannot mix; with discussion of controlling and abusive behaviour. The books have also been adapted for television. Still in the world of fantasy, Among the burning flowers by Samantha Shannon, the prequel to The priory of the orange tree was also enjoyed, especially as the author studied middle English at university so giving the book an extra feature of believability in terms of language and cultural references. Similarly, years ago, while researching her “Earth’s children” series about prehistoric humans, Jean M. Auel took part in archaeological digs.
Moving on to the genre of mystery thrillers, The maid by Nita Prose was recommended as part of an intriguing new series where a maid in a hotel finds a body and then has to navigate this and other incidents in her life on her own. A more horrific type read is The hotel by Daisy Johnson, a series of short stories that are gruesome, dark and gritty as they cover different periods in one hotel – a suitable Halloween read, perhaps?
Turning to non-fiction, Project mushroom by Lorraine Caley also deals with things that like the dark: in this case fungi. It is a readable and engaging introduction to the subject. Also in the non-fiction category was The happiness project by Gretchen Rubin, which charts one woman’s search to find happiness by all modern means over the period of a year.
Finally, In memoriam by Alice Winn, about two friends at an English boarding school and their subsequent love during the First World War received an honourable mention from at least one book group member.
Various suggestions came up: The hallmarked man by Robert Galbraith, the latest Cormoran Strike book. We also noted the appearance of the new Richard Osman book in the “Thursday murder club” series: The impossible fortune.
Samantha Shannon has also written A day of fallen night, another story from the universe of The priory of the orange tree.
We were drawn to Alchemy: the surprising power of ideas that don’t make sense by Rory Sutherland, but less sure about The let them theory by Mel Robbins, a book that seems to rather plagiarise a poem by Cassie Phillips.
Several of the above are on Libby, check them out at the ESNEFT Libby pages.