"the Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht

A new year and a new book for bookclub this month. 

"the Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht

It's a debut novel as was "The Language of Flowers" that we read last month.  Tea Obreht won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011 - not bad for a debut book.  Although I've read a couple of other Orange prize winning books and have wondered how they won, so we'll see what this one is like.

The blurb:

"A tiger escapes from the local zoo, padding through ruined streets and onwards, to a ridge above the Balkan village of Galina.  His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in terrified thrall.  But for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic - Shere Khan awoken from the pages of The Jungle Book.

Natalia is the granddaugher of that boy.  Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages after another war has devastated the Balkans.  On this journey, she receives word of her beloved grandfather's death, far from their home, in circumstances shrouded in mystery.

From fragments of stories her grandfather told her as a child, Natalia realises he may have died searching for the 'deathless man', a vagabond who was said to be immortal.  Struggling to understand why a man of science would undertake such a quest, she stumbles upon a clue that will lead her to a tattered copy of 'The Jungle Book', and then to the extraordinary story of the tiger's wife."

I'm halfway through the book (much to the detriment of my messy house) and I'm finding the tale intriguing so far. I think I've worked out who the tiger's wife is and I'm definitely wanting to know more about the deathless man, one meeting so far isn't enough.  I do have to put it down tho, because I don't think take away tea two nights in a row is a good thing.

The Language of flowers

Thursday night was our Bookclub's monthly get together to discuss The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

5 out of the 6 of us loved it - yay!!! always a relief when you're the person who has chosen the book. The 6th thought the story was a bit contrived - also a comment on some of the reviews online - and yes there were a couple of convenient turns but then I didn't think they were too bad.

What we did enjoy most about the book was the meaning of the flowers and how they were incorporated into the storyline.  

After finishing the book one of us saw a wedding and checked out the bride's bouquet only to see that she was carrying yellow roses which mean infidelity. Not a good choice for your bridal flowers.  J resisted the urge to take the flowers away - haha. 

I must check with my sister if she thought of meanings when she made my bridal bouquet - a traditional tussie mussie.

For dessert I tried something new - a triple chocolate mousse cone - mmm tasted good but maybe next time a little bit more Baileys in the middle layer.

"The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Thanks to Duchess Declutter for making my choice for bookclub easy.  After her recommendation I borrowed "The Language of Flowers" from the library and after reading it ended up buying my own copy. 

The blurb:-

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey what words could not, from declarations of admiration to confessions of betryal.

For Victoria Jones, alone after a childhood in foster care, it is her way of expressing a legacy of grief and guilt.  Believing she is damaged beyond hope, she trusts nobody, connecting with the world only through message-laden bouquets.

But when a mysterious man at the flower market responds in kind, Victoria is caught between fascination and fear, and must decide if she can open herself to the possibilities of happiness...and forgiveness.

Bookclub is at my house next week and I'm looking forward to hearing what the girls thought of the book.

There's also a great section at the back of the book which tells you what some flowers and herbs mean...must say I'm a bit concerned that basil (which I love) signifies hate.  I'll have to make sure I don't share any from the garden with friends.

"The elegance of the hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery

A new book for bookclub and already I'm putting off reading it.  Two people I know have already read "The elegance of the hedgehog" and neither had kind words to say about it.  The Mum at work said she refused to finish reading it for her bookclub and Judy in our bookclub said we would definitely need an extra week to get it finished.  Hardly inspiring reviews are they?

So what's it about -

"Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building on the Left Bank.  To the residents she is honest, reliable and uncultivated - an ideal concierge.  But Renee has a secret.  Beneath this convential facade she is passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her self-important employers.

Down in her lodge, Renee is resigned to living a lie; meanwhile, several floors up, twelve year old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid a predictably bourgeois future, and plans to commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday.

But the death of one of their privileged neighbours will bring dramatic change to number 7, Rue de Grenelle, altering the course of both their lives forever."

Now do I start this book straight away or do I finish the book I'm half way through and loving?  Actually I might see if the library has an audio of "The elegance of the hedgehog" then I could listen to it...might be a tad quicker that way.

"A spot of bother" - Mark Haddon

It is Mandy's choice this month for bookclub so we're all reading "A spot of bother" by Mark Haddon.  He also wrote "The curious incident of the dog in the night-time" - a book I started but never finished. 

One of the good things about bookclub is that you do feel obliged to finish reading each month's book.  There's only been one book I didn't complete - well I read the start and I did read the end but just skipped over the middle - and that was "The boy in the striped pyjamas" by John Boyne.  I couldn't read it once I realised that it was about children and concentration camps.  Apparently I read the worse bits and the middle wasn't too bad, but back the new book.

The blurb says:

George Hall doesn't understand the modern obsession with talking about everything.  "The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely".  Some thing in life, however, can't be ignored.

At 57, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz.  Then Katie, his tempetuous daughter, announces that she is getting remarried, to Ray.  Her family is not pleased - as her brother Jamie observes, Ray has "strangler hands".  Katie can't decide if she loves Ray, or love the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob, and her mother Jean is a bit put out by all the planning and arguing the wedding has occasioned, which get in the way of her quite fulfilling late-life affair with one of her husband's former colleagues.  And the tidy and pleasant life Jamie has created crumbles when he fails to invite his lover, Tony, to the dreaded nuptials.

Unnoticed in the uproar, George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip and quietly begins to lose his mind.

I've read 82 pages so far and everything the blurb says has happened, so I wonder what the other 305 pages are going to be about???

"Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout

Picked up the next book for bookclub today.  I love it when I can borrow it from the library, although sometimes I wish I had bought it so I could keep it.

This month's book is - "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout.

Back cover says:

"Olive Kitteridge:  indomitable, compassionate and often unpredictable.  A retired schoolteacher in a small coastal town in Maine, struggling to make sense of the changes in her life as she grows older.  She is a woman who sees into the hearts of other, discerning their triumphs and tragedies.

We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and a young man who aches for the mother he lost - and whom Olive comforts by her mere presence, while her own son feels tyrannized by her overbearing sensitivities.

A penetrating, vibrant exploration of the human soul in need, Olive Kitteridge will make you laugh, nod in recognition, wince in pain and shed a tear or two."

Apparently the book is a collection of 13 connected stories about Olive and her immediate family and friends so it will be interesting to see how it flows as I read it.

It has been published under another name as well "On the Coast of Maine". It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2009, and was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award.

As usual I'm looking forward to reading it but...the print size is really small and while I don't have glasses yet sometimes I think the time is getting near when I will need them.

Bookclub - "Prohibited Zone"

Bookclub last night.  We finally got to talk about our friend's book "Prohibited Zone".  I did wonder how honest we would all be given that his wife, Judy, is in our bookclub.  Before the first comment was even made Judy encouraged us to be honest and assured us she would be ok with whatever we had to say.  But still it would hardly be polite to say you hated the book, would it?  Fortunately I didn't have to say any such thing.

It's the blokiest adventure story I've read for awhile, and I'm not sure if I would of continued with reading it if it had been written by anyone else.  The spelling of words to sound like the Australian accent was annoying (but how else do you get the accent across in a book) and I'm not a big fan of books with swearing either

BUT

once I had settled into the story I had to know the ending - always a good sign I think.  If I had put the book aside before finishing, it would of definitely been my loss.  Thank goodness Carol chose it for bookclub because I had no choice but finish it.

Our friend has been asked by the publisher to write another book - let's hope Steve West finds his way into another adventure/thriller.

Next book for bookclub

We're up to Carol's choice for bookclub this month.  With 6 of us in our group we get to choose 2 books each a year, which is ideal.

Carol's chosen "Prohibited Zone" by Alastair Sarre (our friend's book).  His wife Judy who's in our bookclub said she felt a bit funny choosing his book so Carol has.

To read about this book go to my previous post.

 

 

Bookclub - "Monique and the Mango Rains"

Bookclub came around so quickly this month, that I was still furiously reading the book all afternoon before heading off to our get together.

The blurb said...

Monique Dembele saves lives and dispenses hope in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. Her unquenchable passion to improve the lot of the women and children in her West African village is matched by her buoyant humour in the face of an unhappy marriage and backbreaking work.
This is the deeply affecting story of the rare friendship between a young aid volunteer and an inspirational midwife who defies tradition and becomes - too early in her life - a legend.

It's a non fiction written by Kris Holloway.  Non-fictions usually aren't my cup of tea but this book was not so much about the author but the people in the village where she'd been sent as a volunteer with the Peace Corps.

For 2 years Kris worked alongside the village midwife, Monique.  Kris lived in a "house" the villagers built for her but became part of Monique's family.

It was a great book to read and one that I would recommend.  I loved reading about their friendship and all they shared together.  Many parts reasonated with me but the one part that hit me the most (besides female circumsion) was talking about pets in our society and pets in theirs.

Kris points out that we have whole aisles in our supermarkets dedicated to our pets needs and in this small village pets are inconsequential. 

Our blue heeler, Julius, had emergency surgery on Monday.  The silly boy swallowed part of his rubber ball, after much difficulty the vet managed to retrieve a piece 6cm x 2.5cm x 1 cm big.  There was no way it was coming up or out the other end.  I think we all know what would of happened to Julius in the village, they don't have a doctor let alone a vet but then I doubt dogs have rubber balls to play with either. 

Kris' time in this small village in Mali not only changed her life but the lives of many others, she continues to make a difference in this village even though she lives miles away.  A percentage of the book's sales go towards a clinic named for Monique. 

I think you should put it on your list to read. Living in our society where everything we need can be bought, there were many "oh, didn't think about that" thoughts going through my head.  I mean just for a trivial thought, how many babies from these countries do you see wearing nappies? We all know no-one's baby comes toilet trained so what happens?  Happy reading when you get your copy.

For more information and photos go to this website.

"Monique and the mango rains" by Kris Holloway

Our new book for bookclub this month is "Monique and the mango rains" by Kris Holloway. 

The story:

"Monique Dembele saves lives and dispenses hope in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter.  Her unquenchable passion to improve the lot of the women and children in her West African village is matched by her buoyant humour in the face of an unhappy marriage and backbreaking work.

This is the deeply affecting story of the rare friendship between a young aid volunteer and an inspirational midwife who defies tradition and becomes - too early in her own life - a legend."

I don't usually enjoy non-fiction books, so we'll see what this one is like.

I haven't done much reading lately so my goal these holidays is to read a minimum of 2 books...and tidy the study...and paint the family room/kitchen area...and...and...and...the list is endless - shame the holidays only go for 2 weeks.

Bookclub - "Day after Night"

We had bookclub at Louise's last night to discuss "Day after Night" by Anita Diamant.  I think we all agreed that it was disappointing book.  The characters and storyline promised so much but failed to deliver.  All of us had to refer back to the blurb to remember which character was which.  We'd previously read "The Red Tent" by the same author and were expecting "Day after Night" to have the same depth.  Sadly it didn't...the only good thing was most of us managed to borrow a copy and not buy one.  Would we recommend it - no, not even if you managed to borrow a copy.

What wasn't disappointing (of course) was the company and dessert.  Louise had made the smoothest cheesecake ever.  It just slid off the spoon and melted in our mouths.  Mmmmmmmm.  We celebrated holding bookclub in Louise's new house for the first time and Carol's birthday.  It was another lovely evening. 

After dessert came the bit that we all eagery await...the title of the next book.  It was Mandy's choice - "The Shack" by William Paul Young.  I've already read this one but it was a while ago and I'm more than happy to read it again.

Can't wait for the next bookclub.  I don't think we've had a book that talks about God...

My time flies...

Cover of Day After Night: A Novel

Can't believe it's nearly a month since I posted anything.  Wish I could say that time flies when you're having fun but I've just been doing the everyday ordinary things.  Really wish someone else would come and do all that boring stuff for me.

Well we finished the book for bookclub "The Help".  It was really interesting and I'm not so sure I could ever be as brave as the women portrayed in the book.  It was one of those books that I did have to peek ahead every so often to check that the characters were ok.  If you come across it, it's definitely worth a read.

This month we're reading "Day after Night" by Anita Diamant.  I'm finding it easy to read so far - up to page 75.  We've read another of Anita's books - "The Red Tent".  Which we all enjoyed.  So hopefully this one will be a good read.  Although I'm hoping there's no graphic descriptions.

Oh no...

2 more sleeps to bookclub and it's my turn pick the next book.

Oh no I haven't finished this book.

Oh no I haven't chosen the next book.

Aaaahhhhhh