Tag Archive | book review

Went To London, Took The Dog by Nina Stibbe

Nov9

Very Engaging

Went To London, Took The Dog by Nina Stibbe is a very engaging book that is set over a year, starting in March 2022. It is written in the form of a diary.

The reader draws close to Nina Stibbe as she writes in a very personable style. Reading this book is equivalent to reading a letter from a close friend. She is easy to empathise with as a sixty-one-year-old woman with a love of books.

During the year, we see her settling into London life after leaving her house in the South West. We hear of her success at pub quizzes, and her interactions with her family and friends.

The whole book is easy to read and very humorous. There are pearls of wisdom too. My favourite is: “The best things in life aren’t things.”

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Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank

Nov6

Choices

Small Acts Of Resistance by Anita Frank is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in a village in Northern France that is occupied by the Germans in 1915. We witness what life is like for a grandmother and her two granddaughters who are hiding a British airman, at the same time as having two Germans billeted with them.

We witness the bravery of ordinary folk to do the right thing. “That is my duty; to resist, however and wherever I can.” Hiding a British airman takes guts and ingenuity. Hiding in plain sight does produce raised heart rates at times!

With occupation, people have choices to make. “The day will come when we will all be held accountable for our actions.” Any collaborators would have to answer for their actions later.

We see that not all Germans are hard-hearted, cruel masters. There are those who still retain their humanity. When faced with hard choices, he will pass muster, doing what is right rather than what is expected of him.

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Jacob’s Bell by John Snyder

Nov6

Rescued By An Angel

Jacob’s Bell by John Snyder is a powerful Christmas Christian novel that I loved.

The story is set in 1944 but also has flashbacks to the 1920’s as we follow a lead character who is estranged from his family.

Life was hard in America between the wars. A character slowly slides downwards as he keeps dubious company and seeks solace in alcohol and cigarettes. “His life quickly transformed from one of power and privilege, and respect to one of chaos and darkness.” A personal tragedy was the springboard to a life unravelling.

As we join the character in 1944, we see him regretting his choices. “Haunted by memories of the past, filled with regrets and what-ifs, he longed for love.” We cannot change the past but we can learn lessons from it.

We witness that there is power in forgiveness. “He realised the importance of forgiveness.” We forgive because we have been forgiven. Forgiveness is not a one-off event; it is a journey. “His journey towards forgiveness.” I loved this description: “Forgiveness is a gift that can’t be demanded, only requested through prayer and grace… I feel at peace with myself.”

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Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave

Nov6

Sisterhood

Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave is a powerful contemporary novel that consumed me from the start.

Graffiti Girls is set in Scotland and surrounds four female friends in their forties. The book is about sisterhood and supporting each other. The four have felt marginalised all their life but now they are in their forties, they seem invisible too. “The feeling of being useless as a shadow, and as insubstantial as one too, had crept up on her.” Together they highlight some of the wrongs in society.

Society has always been a patriarchal one. Even as children, they were exploited by a male teacher, feeling that they had to do as he said without question. “The way old Mouldy put it, it felt like we had no choice.”

Graffiti Girls is about having a voice and using it. “It is about striking back, making our voices heard.” They want to break out of society’s traditions and be free to be themselves. “We’re worth something, our lives matter.”

Each of the women is unique and with a very different home set up. What unites them is the way that they are all treated by the males they come across. “We’re here, we’re over forty but we’re still here. We won’t be ignored; we won’t be airbrushed out of the picture.” Graffiti Girls is about taking control – and as they do this, their lives are enriched. “It’s taken Graffiti Girls to wake me up and make me realise I need more from life.” The friends empower each other, and the wider female population too.

There are some very moving scenes where the women individually touch the lives of others. They see the lost and the hurting. They do not walk on without stopping and touching lives whatever the personal cost to them.

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