Memoir of friendships that stray and how we move away from place of birth to seek better lives. What happens to those who settle, who lack aspirations or opportunities.
Touching and raw at times, her account of how rural poverty affects women is sobering.

My secret Santa book from Christmas Eve.
S series of vignette style chapters, concerning her relationship and marriage and some life with her husband, recounted through small sections.
Sometimes hard to follow as it's not linear but an insight into her mind.

Blimey, this book has had me cackling, crying, smiling and weeping. A rollercoaster. But beautiful.
Easy to read as she's got that style yet so sad.
But read it!

I do like her writing, even when from 1977!
It was such a different era, yet within my memory.
This looks at how history plays out, our wavering perspective and how it changes with adult views. Morality and the right thing.

Unusual!
What starts as a woman from rural Pakistan marrying to move to the city suddenly becomes a tale of social class, desire, wealth and family.
Rather interesting!!!

Brilliant.
Very keen to read and do glad I did.
Really made me think, to feel sad but hopeful and to appreciate how a life can journey.

Probably the wrong demographic to read this but it's had so much pressure.
I almost bailed third of the way through but glad I persevered. Odd, dark and amusing but also stayed on my mind...

Id had this on the pile for ages and it was time to read it!
Obviously a classic and important in literature, it was understandable why.

Absolutely brilliant.
Her plot, the characters and their imperfections are gorgeous in her writing.
Id found Monkey Grip really challenging so very relieved this was so good.

A library book club pick and one which reminds me why I belong to book groups.
I've read one other by Allende which was also a book club pick!
This was an interesting story, good character relationships and historically important. I appreciated finding out about the Spanish civil war and subsequent emigration.
I do find it's told rather than shown which made some of it feel forced along.

Cosy book, cosy candle.
Id rather enjoyed her first novel and picked this as I needed some heart warming plot.
It didn't fail!

I read an extract of this in a shared reading group and had to read the whole book!
Written in 1924 yet full of contemporary themes, Lester is left disabled after an accident and Eva has to go out to employment. He looks after the house and children and the changes are documented in this fascinating story.

Hugely anticipated this and then it felt odd.
I had a brief idea of the plot but not enough to pre empt what it would read like.
I think I need a book club focus on it?

In depth account of Daisy's life, from her peculiar birth to an uneventful death.
It's full of family and friends, work, love and life as it ticks along.
A reminder that life is each person and not an ordinary life.

A novel in verse format, each poem reflected the narrator and her experience as a twelve year old sent to Canada in the early twentieth century, supposedly as a home helper but often abused and neglected.
It was written in black country dialect which reminded me of my friend's parents.
Short but powerful.

Cor, this kept me reading and guessing! Nice short chapters from various perspectives and so many timelines.

Thank the goddesses I'd not planned much today.
I picked this up from the library Monday and finished it today. She's so sublimely brilliant at writing from the soul yet no saccharin or twee paragraphs to contend with.
Her use of characters and normal life is wonderful.
Close to tears throughout much of this novel.

Needed a lighter read and she never disappoints with female solidarity and relationship.
I liked the usual dual story and the Russian history included.

As a Plath afficianado in my youth, this appealed hugely and it was clever in delivery. She's used parts of poems to bulk out the fictional account of the final year of her life, alongside facts and biographical statement.
It did play with mental health a lot, as we read of Plath's emotional state and inner turmoil. I had to take breaks...

I liked it!
The style of reporting was suited and the introduction of philosophy and nature was interesting.
I'm glad it didn't become too Hollywood and that there's still intrigued in the world.

Being honest, I'm unsure how this became a Booker longlsit... Neither the writing nor the plot felt better than many books I've read this year. Nothing leapt out at me.

Amazing!
I didn't realise it was in verse and was intimidated but it's absolutely all absorbing and I couldn't put it down!
The story is one as women, we're familiar with. But her imagery and verse is so creative.

This is one that's always on my radar but never made it to TBR pile. Until book club picked it!
I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd anticipated. I wasn't keen on TH White biographies, I'd rather read about her life, and her late father's.
Her prise on landscape and country was beautiful.
I struggled with the taming of Mabel as it's not something I support and see it as cruel.

This was a true surprise, a good one.
I'd chanced it on a 99p kindle deal and thought it might be a bit light for me but was totally absorbed in the story of the sisters and William.
Excellent use of chapter and timeline, plus the multiple perspectives.

Taken a while to get round to reading this and a few re starts.
However, once id established first names and family names and nicknames, very readable though harrowing in content.
Gorgeous story of banned love, hidden male adoration and the acceptance of others.

Very interestingly written history of Algeria and France throughout the twentieth century, using his father as the focus.
At times shocking but not dwelling on the horrors of colonialism.

Whilst very slow moving, it plods along like his horse and his days. I liked the rhythm and the gentle language against the unforgiving weather and coast, and the beginning of friendship.

She writes perfectly.
This is the final one of hers I had and feel bereft now I've read it
It's atmospheric without preamble and detail, simple in prose and sparse yet complete.

My goodness, I feel honoured to have read this book. Full of beautiful writing and inner thoughts yet bursting with male friendships and family ties. I had to keep stopping and considering the current situations throughout the world, the tragedies that occur for countries and their individuals.
Wonderful writer.

Short and written in small paragraphs, reminiscent in style (but definitely not content) to Nobody is Talking About This.
It offers glimpses into her mind, her thoughts and musings, as she works through her divorce and cancer diagnosis.
I appreciated the lack of back filling, that it was only used as necessary. I also felt so warm towards her friendship. Really heartwarming.

Fed up with trying to add images on here as I have to use the desktop on my phone, android, the app isn't supported.
So anyway! Worth the wait and hype, excellent weaving of every myth, faith and philosophical thoughts I could name and so academically done. R F Kuang does what she does in a unique and enviable ease.
It's taken me down rabbit hole and text book, such a brilliant book.

A short book, no real plot but a period of time in The narrator's life as she contemplates a decision made 40 years ago and how her life is now.
I'm a bit ambivalent, no real opinion about either the plot, characters or writing.

Oooh, after a slow start, I couldn't get enough of this.
I've been down a long rabbit hole on secret religious texts and Venice churches... Excellent read.

I listened to this on radio 4 after a friend mentioned it.
So gut wrenching and so important that Persephone Books have republished.
I can't believe she wrote it before WW2. But also terrifying that it was so clear to her the outcomes.
We need so desperately to learn from history 😔

Cor, I loved this debut novel, full of ritual, customs and intrigue.
Her use of nature based descriptions was so evocative, and the way she used the weather to whip up emotional uncertainty.
Her portrayal of the Inions was subtle but it always felt sinister which contributed to the island's inward focus.
I'm tempted by her collection of essays...

Great memoir told through the streets of New York.
I like the multiple vignettes she writes,based on memory and utilising the city and its streets. Her gentle musings on relationship and the inhabitants of the places she walks.

I was so excited to read this and picked it for book club. I even bought a new copy 😂.
I'm not enamoured.
The sentences were so short they seemed to lack emotion and weight. The characters frustrated me hugely in indecisive ditherings and lack of respect for anyone else.
I reckon if he follows it with twenty years later, it'll still have them all pondering.

Somehow I got this brand new hardback edition in a charity shop! It's almost poetry really. Sublime prose, short chapters that brim with thoughts and subtly written detail. I've not read anything as beautiful in a long time. It's full of love, sadness and frustration yet understanding and acceptance. It illustrates the limited number of words needed.

I read this a few weeks ago but forgot to upload. She's a fantastic writer, she has a way of showing the characters in an objective way yet it's clear her intention. These four women, all from African countries, living in USA and interacting with each other. They tell back stories and truths about expectations of women, if marriage and maternal instinct. Very good.

No words. What can I type to give it enough?
It's the most cleverly written, harrowing and amusing tongue in cheek novel. Yet it's deeply disturbing. It's respectful whilst mocking. He is a master of words. He's an absolute necessity in drawing attention to the atrocities of black histories.

Hmm, I've not read All Fours and this is hailed as the male equivalent. It's not enticed me to read the latter either.
Just not a hugely likeable character, his portrayal of his family and friends isn't as you'd imagine being. He is indecisive and unreliable. Yes, his wife did the dirty but he's had years to consider this.
Not worthy of the Booker, IMO.

Terrible photo, excellent fantasy novel!
It did not disappoint. Yes, it's a bit repetitive, yes, it's obviously not believable but it is fun and has super vocabulary and descriptive language. Plus, you know, toxic lesbian vampires!!

How amazingly brilliantly epic was this?! I loved it, the deeper meanings, the gorgeous relationships and that terrifying instability of the world.

Oh my, I cannot put into words the power of this book.
I've read her other two, both excellent, especially Migration. This went up another level.
Told by the inhabitants of the island, the family plus the woman, the truth is partially and carefully revealed in stages.
But with vast emotions and pulls at heartstrings and reminds us of the fragility of the environment, biodiversity and human life.
And it pulls as far as it can. Brilliant.

Well, that was a new book and whilst some of it irritated me, I liked the overall theme of love, family and belonging.

Teeny novella which I purchased in Amsterdam, following holiday tradition.
Id be interested in reading others by Cather as this wasn't as I'd expected although nicely written.

Very slim memoir, her first of three, exploring women as writers in the patriarchal world.
Interesting account of her South African childhood and her subsequent years.

Not gonna lie, after reading very mixed reviews and seeing the length of both the entire book and each chapter, I almost bailed before I started.
But .. I'd adored Fleischman and dove in.
So worth it! No way I'd have seen all the plot, and such a brilliant tone of narration, slightly judging but also explaining.
Very impressive.

An unexpected treat of a novel. Told by five women, the plot unravels in an unhurried fashion but we're kept contemplating the choices made, the misogyny of business and how we judge people.
Very readable.

I thought this would be quite serious in tone and was so in parts. Other chapters were much less so.
I liked the way the story was told by the women and how we came to understand their dynamics and ancestry. It was interesting to read about different areas of USA in the last century and about Iran especially.