A heart-breaking story about how a family is affected by early onset Alzheimer's disease. It tells the story from several characters' perspectives and shows how distraught a patient is, when life seems to slip away. A lovely story about love and motherhood.
Showing posts with label book club book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book club book. Show all posts
Monday, 18 May 2015
Rowan Coleman: The memory book
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Monday, 16 March 2015
Karen Perry: The boy that never was
This is another story about communication or the lack thereof in a relationship. Both Harry and Robin have their secrets and actually tear their relationship apart rather than attempting to fix it. The story is told from Robin's and Harry's perspective so that the reader can identify with both quite easily. I must admit that I do not really like Harry for his unfaithfulness, but his conviction and obsession to find the dead boy is amazing. Interesting story.
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Emma Healey: Elizabeth is missing
This was a fantastic story. Maud is a loveable character and her difficulties with her memory cause her and thus the reader great distress. The storyline is gripping, and as a reader I was keen to find out more about Elizabeth and why she is missing. The way the story is written is unique and it actually makes the reader feel as if you were the one that has got dementia, which is somehow a little disturbing, as it shows how other people around you will react to you, and how you feel when you are lost like Maud. A fantastic read!
Monday, 9 March 2015
Celeste Ng: Everything I never told you
This is an interesting story about a family whose members keep their own wishes, wants and needs secret from everybody else. And so it happens that wishes are imposed on others and actions are interpreted wrongly, which in turn leads to further complications. A heart-felt story about communicating with your loved ones and how important it is to stay true to yourself. Hannah, who is the youngest and therefore not quite as adept at playing emotional games, turns out to be the most perceptive and honest character of them all. But then she also doesn't struggle to fit in, unlike Nath and Lydia whose looks make them stand out quite prominently. A great story.
Friday, 6 March 2015
Karen Joy Fowler: We are completely beside ourselves
I was ready to give up on this story. I had gotten to page 75 or so, and I still couldn't really understand why this book had been praised so much recently. Well on page 77 came the revelation and this changed the nature of the book so that actually I was eager to find out the full story about Rosemary, Lowell and Fern. A fantastic read and I would love to be able to discuss this with a range of people in a book club or so.
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
John Green: The fault in our stars
What a fantastic YA read. This is a funny, poignant tear-jerker about Hazel, Isaac and Augustus. The storyline was somehow predictable in a way, and yet this is still a fascinating read and very insightful as far as the Professionally Sick are concerned...
Sunday, 19 October 2014
Nathan Filer: The Shock of the Fall
This book reminded me of Mark Haddon's "Incident with the dog in the night-time" in that we are given a perspective that we cannot usually see - that of a person suffering from a mental health issue. The story is easy to follow despite the many voices and jumps, as we grow used to the workings of Matthew's mind. A fascinating, but sad and yet strangely uplifting read.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Jane Shemlit: Daughter
After "Before I go to sleep" this book was not as chilling and thrilling, but the characters were well developed and you could identify with the family and each member. I was disappointed with the ending though, as this was a little too stilted and unrealistic in my view.
Monday, 22 September 2014
S J Watson: Before I go to sleep
A fantastic read and great thriller. I woke up one night thinking I was Christine myself. This really was chilling. And the ending is just as great....
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Lucie Whitehouse: Before we met
This was a fast-paced novel about love and how love makes us blind and careless at times. Hannah is an interesting and in no way naive woman whose marriage starts to fall to pieces when she realizes the lies her husband is telling.
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Jane Fallon: Getting rid of Matthew
This was a funny chick-lit story told from the perspective of a mistress who suddenly no longer wants the responsibility of a relationship, when her boyfriend suddenly leaves his wife and children. The characters are well described and it is easy to identify with all characters apart from Matthew who is a cheat and a liar, who never changes his ways. Having read "Sekeletons" I knew that I would enjoy this unusual perspective, too.
Saturday, 8 March 2014
Saskia Sarginson: The Twins
Although I found the changing perspectives slightly confusing at the beginning, I genuinely enjoyed the story and was keen to find out more about Issy and Viola. The stories around their mother Rose, their friends Michael and John and their little step-sister Polly were gripping and some twists weren't foreseeable either. The fact that the story is set in 1972 and 1987 makes for an interesting change, as modern technology hadn't got the hold it has nowadays. Some questions remain unanswered, but that makes the story more credible and less clichéd.
Friday, 11 January 2013
JK Rowling: Casual Vacancy
After all the reviews and critiques I was keen to see for myself, what everyone was talking about. At times the story is hard to take, especially where Krystal and her family are concerned. But Somehow the book was written in such a way that I was keen to find out more about each of the 34 characters in the book. Very different from Harry Potter, but still a great read in my view.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
William P Young: The Shack
A fantastic read. I wasn't too sure as it was advertised as a "Christian" book, but in a way it reminded me of "Sophie's world", where difficult concepts were also simplified to be more accessible to the public. I fully identified with Mack and found the ending particularly emotional and tearful. This is a book to keep and re-read.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Rachel Hore: A place of secrets
Advertised as a great mystery story, this was slightly disappointing. The historical storyline was great, but the storyline set in the present was flat and didn't really add to the mystery, but slowed the pace down too much. A shame...
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Clare Morrall: The Man Who Disappeared
A fascinating read about how a family's life is shattered by one member's bad decision. Felix eventually comes back, but actually causes more disruption to his family whose members have by then rebuilt their lives without him. A wonderful book!
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Katherine Webb: The Legacy
This was a good mystery story about family history and how individuals can impact future generations within a family. Erica and Beth were very believable and the story was interesting, but it would have been better to discover Beth protecting Erica, as this would have been more surprising to find the weaker character actually turning out to be the stronger one. The story about Caroline's life was, however, well-developed and particularly gripping.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Rebecca Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
What an unbelievable story! The way Skloot put together hundreds of hours of interviews with factual research into medical trials and research projects and the private story of one poor family made for great reading. I would have wished for more details about the Lacks family and less of a discussion about the ethics of clinical trials. However, it still makes for good reading.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Rosamund Lupton: Sister
What a gripping family story about sisters with a thrilling mystery included. The ending was particularly surprising but somehow slightly disappointing. A great story!
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