This book made me laugh out loud as I finished reading it on my train journey to Bath. I don‘t think it is as fine a book as Excellent Women but its eminently quotable shrewd observations on male/female relationships and Jane‘s perplexity at every day conventions were very rewarding and entertaining!

Oh but it was splendid the things women were doing for men all the time,thought Jane. Making them feel, perhaps sometimes by no more than a casual glance, that they were loved and admired and desired when they weee worthy of none of those things- enabling them to preen themselves and puff out their plumage like birds and bask in the sunshine of love, real or imagined, it didn‘t matter which.

The passion of those early days,the fragments of Donne and Marvell and Jane‘s obscure seventeenth century poets, the objects of her abortive research, all these faded away into mild kindly looks and spectacles. There came a day when one didn‘t quote poetry to one‘s husband anymore. When had that day been? Could she have noted it and mourned it if she had been more observant?

A sad and bleak book which looks at the damage of colonisation through the story of a summer on an island just off the coast of Ireland in a year of murder and mayhem on the mainland. Colonial appropriation of language culture and identity are represented as well as the empty promises of the powerful. Worth reading

I raced through this well written and clever book which made me think a lot about what it means to be human and live a good life. I was lucky enough to read it without knowing anything of the story so the plot twist had a real impact. Well worth reading!

Lots of layered stories covering many generations all of which are compelling. They come together in a unique and satisfying way. Women‘s resilience and powers are as important as their vulnerability Very enjoyable

Very much enjoyed this anti rom com of excellent women and weak and disappointing men. Mildred Lathbury is unmarried in her thirties living on a small income in post war London. She is an excellent woman, dependable competent and unassuming. She is forced to observe the romantic antics of various men whilst she herself is overlooked and taken for granted. Her sharp observations and wry self deprecations make this both amusing and desperately sad

‘I have to share a bathroom‘., I had so often murmured, almost with shame, as if I personally had been found unworthy of a bathroom of my own.

I read this in preparation for reading gaudy night as it is the first of the Harriet Vane series. The plot is obvious and you hear little from Harriet herself other than she is an oddball. But what you get is an insight into womens experiences in post ww1 England. You can tell this is a frustrated clever woman writing about the limits on womens lives with bitter insight. I loved The Cattery. It was just a shame it was set up and funded by a man

The male detective,particularly when dressed as a workman, an errand-boy, or a telegraph-messenger, is favourably placed for ‘shadowing‘. He can loaf without attracting attention. The female detective must not loaf On the other hand she can stare into shop windows for ever.

I loved this immersive clever and compassionate novel. The wit and generosity of Emily St. John Mandel are extraordinary. She lets the reader share in her self referential humour at the same time as spinning a fantastic time travelling yarn and making thoughtful reflections on covid 19. I loved station eleven and the glass hotel. Sea of tranquility is not only a great read in itself but it also enhances the other two books. How wonderful is that!

‘But all of this raises an interesting question‘ Olive said. ‘What if it always is the end of the world?‘ She paused for effect. Before her, the holographic audience was almost perfectly still. ‘Because we might reasonably think of the end of the world ‘ Olive said ‘as a continuous and never ending process‘.

After all of the hype I was a bit disappointed. It was a pretty formulaic oddball girl meets oddball boy story. Tragedy hits and she has the remake her life. And whilst i share the feminist and humanist values there was a lack of empathy with the less clever and the less good. Maggie shipsteads comment on the cover ‘I had no problem choosing a side‘ sums up my problem with the book. Having said that there were some fun scenes.

What happens when a bullying mother dies? Things don‘t just get put right. There are consequences. Here siblings Helen, 52 and Edward 49 reflect on life passing them by, the subtle cruelty of their mother and make mistakes as they adjust to life without her. Reflective perceptive and perfectly written.

Mother was not a nice woman. I have always known that, and I can say it ,because I am her daughter and so in the nature of things came nearer to loving her than anyone else ever did.

A brilliant and compassionate book about women‘s bodies,women‘s complicity in the ceding of control over those bodies, but also about how we do lose control through ageing and disease. Bodies prevail. I loved how the novel plays with knowledge and perspective through a very simple well told story. And Elena is a remarkable character. I loved it!

Half way through this and it‘s an unexpected and highly original journey!

I predict this book will win the women‘s prize. It‘s not a perfect book - at times the writing was clunky and I was not always persuaded by Ada. But this book is so timely. Its themes of love in a time of war and it‘s tender portrayal of the trauma of war and the terrible cost paid by ordinary people could not be more powerfully relevant

Love is the bold affirmation of hope. You don‘t embrace hope when death and destruction are in command. You don‘t put on your best dress and tuck a flower in your hair when you are surrounded by ruins and shards. You don‘t lose your heart at a time when hearts are supposed to remain sealed, especially for those who are not of your religion, not of your language, not of your blood.

This was my first Erdrich novel and I am pleased to have been prompted to read it by the women‘s prize. It covered important themes of identity indigeneity abuse and neglect in the context of the pandemic and BLM. It was a good read - I loved the book store setting and the haunting and Tookie is unforgettable. But I felt there was just too much being tackled to make it great.

That‘s what books are for,after all, to tell your stories,to hold them and keep them safe between our covers for as long as we‘re able. We do our best to bring you pleasure and sustain your belief in the gravity of being human. We care about your feelings and believe in you completely.

This book is very good but I don‘t think it is great. It‘s not super original although exploring the lives of an intellectual middle class black family was unusual and rewarding. It‘s beautifully written but I thought dragged a bit towards the end. Nonetheless there is so much to admire and enjoy in this novel

This accessible thought provoking account of a woman‘s life and experience of mental illness is uplifting as well as insightful. Absorbing funny and very sad. Surely it will be shortlisted for the women‘s prize

I thought this book quite brilliant I loved the slipping from first to third person. That is just like what it is to recall the past. Highly recommended

Longlisted for the womens prize this is the story of survival despite a lifetime of abuse and lies written in Trinidadian it is a good if tough read

I am so looking forward to starting this. 800 pages! A four page family tree! Great Litsy reviews. What‘s not to enjoy?

A lyrical and allegorical story deeply rooted in the landscape of rural Ireland this is in many ways the antithesis of a novel From the moment of the initial incident the characters become suffused by trauma and depression that only intensifies as the story progresses. There is passivity and a sense that the characters in some way deserve their fate that is only redeemed finally by acceptance and a small reconciliation. A good but strange read.

The book comprises two novellas. Feathered Glory is about the implosion of a long marriage because of a past transgression by the husband. The more powerful Afternoon of a faun is also about an event in the past, an alleged rape, and the impact this has on the accused the accuser and the narrator who becomes complicit. The writing is strong and its engagement with male incomprehension of female trauma exemplary. Highly recommended

Took me a bit to get into this audiobook. At the beginning I didn‘t really care about the characters. By the end I very much enjoyed the story and had empathy will all the main characters. A warm and generous story The picture is of a tree uprooted by storm Eunice last month

This has been sitting on my TBR for a good few months. The first page is instantly gripping and the language crystal clear. So I am giving it a try!

This scholarly and beautifully written novel highlights the remarkable coincidence of the publication of Lady Chatterley‘s Lover and the election of a young progressive President making it clear that nothing was inevitable about either and that progress comes with hard work intelligence and not a little luck. But most of all the novel highlights the beauty and tenderness of Lawrence‘s work and the passion that great literature inspires

This was a good read. Three black women come to Sweden looking for a future. They face white privilege of the most extreme kind and experience multiple exclusions. Each has to decide on fight flight or surrender. I agree the unraveling was very rapid but overall a good read

There may have been no trains but at least FOYLES at Waterloo was open during storm Eunice!

This book was very enjoyable company as I spent 12 hours travelling home across the south of England during yesterday‘s storms

Stayed up far too late on a school night to finish this. A slow burn tragedy which is an indictment of the many forms of misogyny The book is really about the disposability of women. It may be fiction but it is grounded in all too bleak reality

My February audio read!

Loved this memoir which explored some of the complexity of her relationship with her mother as well as her grief after her mother‘s death The link between mothering belonging g and food was beautifully explored as well as the search for identity when you are dual heritage

Controversial opinion I know but for me the best of Rooney‘s novels to date. It was pitch perfect on negotiating sexual relationships when the norm of heterosexual marriage has lost power and on engaging with meta politics when individual young people feel so powerless. Beautifully written eminently quotable and important.

It‘s pretty daunting starting a 600 page book particularly when a fellow Litsy reader bailed in chapter one. But armed with recommendations from Elif Shafak Madeline Miller and the lonesome reader I am giving it a try. It is another of my half price hardback Waterstones sale picks. And of all the books I chose this is the chunkiest. A good warm up for To Paradise?

Readers are keepers of secrets:as an illicit page is turned, as a dangerous truth is inferred. The pulse quickens. Something explosive ticks between the lines. There is an intake of breath; the voyeur‘s silent flare of recognition. All the while, his or her face is impassive, unresponsive even, because like all subversives readers lead careful double lives.

This was engrossing and compelling. The characters were beautifully crafted. The 1970s setting was so credible. I loved my immersion into the complicated flawed lives of the family and the resonances between their lives and the big issues of the time- war, religion, sexual liberation and drugs. Whilst they have not become friends exactly I do want to know what happens next and how if at all they resolve their demons. Roll on part 2.

One of my favourite topics for a novel is the writing process. In Loitering with Intent Spark provides tantalising insights into the creative process, the porous line between truth and fiction and where inspiration comes from. A wonderful novella clever , funny, kind and insightful

So pleased to have picked this up in a charity shop. Just started reading it on my commute and I am thrilled by the premise! And the picture is of a neighbour celebrating Chinese New Year

What an enjoyable read! And so glad to read this debut novel after reading Tin Man and Still Life. Her passion for food and landscape, her concern with family in the broadest sense and the intergenerational interplay are all there. And a talking animal! I particularly enjoyed the childhood part of the book that at times made me laugh out loud.

Had to have something to read for my commute as Franzen‘s Freedom is too big to carry around. I had bought this as a gift for my brother in law but he had already read it. So far it‘s doing very well!

It‘s a very long time since I read franzen. I loved The Corrections but nothing else really appealed. Then in the Waterstones hardback sale I chose this. After a slow start I am loving it. Only problem is it‘s too heavy to carry on my commute!

I am afraid this was too chick lit for me. Whilst it was entertaining and I enjoyed the passion for food I found the characters two dimensional and parts of the plot were unbelievable.

I thought this was brilliant. So much pathos in such a short book. I loved her exposure of the fragility of youth heightened by war and poverty and the playfulness with time. And then the ironic tone. A gem!

Very enjoyable read which demonstrates Kingsolver‘s great skills and commitment to social justice from the very beginnings of her writing career. The photo is homage to Turtle‘s love of vegetables!

Having read enthusiastic reports on Litsy I thought I would try kingsolver‘s debut novel. Her commitment to social justice the environment and great storytelling are immediately clear.