Archive | July 2023

Secrets Of The Monument by Arlene Pearson

Jul6

The Guiding Light

Secrets Of The Monument by Arlene Pearson is a wonderful dual timeline novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The action is set over 1946 and 2015. The parallel stories are similar but different as we follow characters linked by family. There are misconceptions about situations in both time periods. We witness the power of the mind to influence our responses.

1946 was a very different time to present day. It was a time dominated by men. Females had fewer choices, with the scales very much weighted towards the males. Women could be incarcerated in mental institutions, simply on the word of the man. This was dangled over them, as just the threat was enough to ensure compliance.

Health and safety were unheard of in 1946. Characters took risks, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

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Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

Jul6

A Marvellous Debut

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst is a marvellous contemporary debut novel that consumed me from the start.

The novel is written from the point of view of Mickey, a young black woman, who is searching for her place in society. Life is unfair as Mickey finds she has to work twice as hard to receive half as much, as the white women in her workplace. Life is not at all fair when the scales are already tipped against you.

As Mickey’s world tips on its axis, she returns to her grandmother’s house. Here, she feels loved, and starts to heal bit by bit.

Mickey’s hometown is full of memories which she re-visits both physically and mentally.

In New York Mickey felt invisible. In her hometown she is seen.

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This Child Of Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson

Jul6

A Work Of Great Beauty

This Child Of Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson is a simply beautiful contemporary tale that will tug at your heart. Tissues will be needed.

The story is told in the first person from the point of view of the leading lady. We can ‘feel’ her pain and her fears. We understand her tears.

Receiving the best and the worst of news on the same day, is enough to tear anyone apart. We see a rift appearing as a character decides to take control of the only thing she can – her choices. Life moves from ‘our’ to ‘my’, and as it does, journeys of isolation begin.

On our hardest days, we need not travel alone, as those who love us will journey beside us, if we let them. “Grief is a path best walked in company.” We can never take away the pain but we can hold hands and walk together.

There has been much loss in the lives of both leading characters. “We were falling apart, in separate places.” In our hurt and pain, we sometimes pull away. The hurt and pain that we are pushing down, never goes away, it is just hidden. Those who know us, offer tea, sympathy and “the I get it hugs and the it gets easier smiles” – except it doesn’t get easier, we just learn to cope – or not.

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The Curious Kidnapping Of Nora W by Cate Green

Jul4

Journey To The Past

The Curious Kidnapping Of Nora W by Cate Green is a marvellous novel that drew me in from the start.

It is a book about survival as Nora is just eighteen days away from being the world’s oldest women at 122 years and 165 days in 2018 as the novel opens. Nora is a survivor. She was born in Lodz into a Jewish family. She survived the Nazi occupation. She has known love, pain and hard work. She wants to celebrate her special day in her unique way and not be bamboozled into an organized party.

This is a story about a mother’s love. We see the unique mother-daughter bond between several characters, and we witness the huge pain of loss.

Generations separate Nora and her carer but they are united by their shared experiences of war, love and loss.

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