15-MAR-2010
The Remorseful Day
by Colin Dexter
I loved Inspector Morse: firstly on reading the Colin Dexter books
as they were published and subsequently as John Thaw
took on his character in the television series.
I loved his crankiness, his cleverness, his obsession with crosswords,
his passion for music, and his vulnerability in his human relationships.
While the Morse novels appeared to be crime novels they were far more than that.
They had the ability to touch the reader deeply.
This one is the last in the series, and is a truly absorbing read for all lovers of the Morse series.
Colin Dexter has served his readers well.
15-MAR-2010
Rain on the Wind
by Walter Macken
This much-handled copy of Rain on the Wind is the third novel
of the west of Ireland writer,Walter Macken.
It was published in 1950 and brought him international recognition.
His ability to portray a sense of place is well utilised in this novel
where he constructs a passionate and dramatic story set
among the fishing community in Galway city.
In it there is life and death, love and loss, the hardship of poverty,
with the all-pervasive influence of the social and political mores of those years of post-independence Ireland.
It is a novel that many Irish people,at home and abroad, have read and enjoyed and often say that they must re-read.
A romantic and moving story of its time, it is one
that will always find a special place on the bookshelves of our home,
not just for the fact that it is a good old-fashioned page-turner
but also because its late author is my children's grandfather.
15-MAR-2010
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
This is the story of an evangelical missionary family who have been uprooted from their American home when their preacher father takes on an assignment in a Congo mission. He is presented as a harsh, strict man who sees his mission as enlightening the savage pagans and ruling his family with a huge lack of understanding. The story is told through the voices of his wife Orleanna and their four daughters in alternating chapters that reflect their individual interpretations of the experiences they undergo. The father is not given a voice in the book, and the mother's voice is one of retrospection as she looks back on a time that caused major upheaval in the Congo and in their own lives.
There is a wonderful story between the pages of this novel, told with great sensitivity and in a manner that allows you to get know all the characters in the book. Barbara Kingsolver has woven the affairs of the state they live in with the life events of this family in a complex and skilful way.
15-MAR-2010
Part of the Furniture
by Mary Wesley
This Mary Wesley novel , which has been passed around to many readers in my family and is now back on my shelves looking a little the worse for wear, is a fascinating story of a young woman, Juno, whose complicated family and love life leaves her to fend for herself as the single mother of twins during the harsh period of the second world war.
Mary Wesley herself was a woman who would encourage those who enter their "troisieme age" to believe that there can be many good things ahead for them. Her first adult novel, "The Camomile Lawn" was published when she was in her seventies, and she followed that with nine others before her death.
All her novels are very readable, with vibrant characters and strong plots that draw on her own life experiences, especially during the period of World War II. Her own fascinating life was documented by Patrick Marnham, and her story is even more interesting than the fiction she produced.
For a glimpse at her turbulent and interesting life see this summary and a review of Marnham's book click
HERE.
14-MAR-2010
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan
This is one of the few books that I discovered by first seeing its film adaptation. The book is more intricate than the film but equally enjoyable.
Amy Tan has a rare talent to draw the reader into her complex tales, and this one is no exception.
It explores the life and culture of Chinese immigrant families in America, and has enjoyed much critical acclaim. It is many years since I read this book, but it is one of the few that I know I could read a second time, and will probably do so soon.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
This book was a runaway success when first published in French.
It has translated excellently into English, and explores the lives and minds of its two main characters: Renée, the 53 year old concierge in an upmarket Paris apartment building, and Paloma, a 12 year old daughter of one of the wealthy bourgeois families in the building. These two very different characters have more in common than they might realise, and the book leads the reader slowly through the events that draw them together.
It has also been made into a film with Josiane Balasko in the lead role. While adaptations of books into films frequently disappoint, the ingenuity of the casting of the actors and the devices used to allow the viewer enter into the minds of the principal characters ensure that the person who reads the book before seeing the film will be pleasantly surprised.
Mis by Biddy Jenkinson
A very fine work in poetry
based on the ancient Irish tale
of the doomed lovers
Mis and Dubhros
Yellow (Buí) 1
The Irish language translation of John Lawrence's wonderful children's book This Little Chick
Resolution
Resolutions for 2008
• To practise what I’ve read in the books I’ve bought –hence the notebook!
• To lose my reluctance to learn properly the use of layers in Photoshop
• To shoot the moon
• To take candids of strangers with their permission
• To conquer my sense of the ridiculous when I try to take SPs
• To leave a little fuel in my energy reserve tank!
My country in books
This image of a quick random choice from my shelves represents a lot of what my country symbolises for me:
Celtic Ireland and the Book of Kells to indicate our pagan and christian origins
Poetry in the Irish language, represented by Michael Davitt’s final collection Seimeing Soir, published shortly before his untimely death
Poetry in the English language, represented by Seamus Heaney, now a Nobel Laureate
Reflections on a Life by Teresita Durkan, a woman of formidable intelligence who continues to represent a tradition of missionary work which goes back hundreds of years
An Irish Adventure with Food – one of the myriad of new food movements in Ireland in the last decade
Slanguage: an amusing and very true documentation of modern language development here
Irish in the Primary Schools: a report that analyses its current status
The RSA Rules of the Road: in my house because of those doing driving tests here. There is an enormous waiting list for tests for learner drivers, a fresh tightening up of laws: all part of the effort to deal with unacceptable levels of road accidents.
This choice was made in about five minutes. If I were to do it again I’d probably have a completely different set.
For the Up Close and Personal Challenge
Sometimes a higgledy piggledy bookcase can give you an up close and personal peek into the reading activity in a house. This is one such peek at one of our bookcases.
Night Ride
One of my all time favourite children's books, given to me by a good friend some years back when my grand-daughter was a toddler. We read it every night for weeks, and it still has pride of place on her bookshelves.