Stoke Book Chat - June
The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey
Duffy Sinclair is 88 years old and lives at Centennial Assisted Living, where he shares a room with his pal Carl. Duffy and Carl, and others at Centennial Assisted Living appreciate their modest, predictable pattern of life – even more desirable, when the alternative is the roach infested nursing home down the road. Then one evening Carl’s granddaughter turns up complete with a black eye and bare feet and in need of somewhere to stay. Will Carl and Duffy risk eviction by breaking the rules to help Josie? A really nice book about relationships.
The Purgatory Poisoning by Rebecca Rogers
Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory – a youth hostel from when he was a child, then he discovers that not only is he dead, but that he’s been murdered! With the help of two rogue angels, he must solve his own murder. Our reader thought the concept was interesting, but the work was a little unpolished.
My History a Memoir of Growing Up by Antonia Fraser, audiobook read by Penelope Wilton
Historian Antonia Fraser’s memoir describes growing up in the 1930s and ‘40s, and her growing love of history, sparked when as a child she was evacuated to an Elizabethan manor house. She writes ‘for me, the study of History has always been an essential part of the enjoyment of life’. Very good – an enjoyable and humorous read!
The Secret Pianist by Andie Newton
Based on true events – the allies used messenger pigeons during World War 2.
This fictitious story follows three sisters, the Cotillards, who live on the French coast. One of the sisters is forced to teach piano to the step-daughter of a German Commandant, which sparks nasty gossip about the sisters’ allegiance. When one of the sisters discovers a spy messenger pigeon, after a British plane comes under fire, they are faced with a risky opportunity – can they open a lifeline or is the risk too great?
No Ocean too Wide: A Novel, by Carrie Turansky
Based on true events – in which over 100,000 impoverished children were sent from the UK to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, as British Home Children. When lady’s maid, Laura McAllister learns that her three younger siblings have been taken from their mother and emigrated to Canada without her mother’s knowledge, Laura decides to search for them, with the aim of reuniting the family. A turn of fate throws Laura and her employer’s son onto the same ship, and from there an unlikely friendship ensues as Andrew, who is a lawyer, helps Laura in her mission.
The story of Tim Pankhurst, his wife Sue, and former Wellington mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast’s expedition to do the Araroa – a trail that spans the length of Aotearoa from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The book’s name originates from a question they were asked when planning the trip - were they going to do the EFI (every ******* inch).
Full of humour – albeit a bit graphic at times especially around blisters! Very readable.
None but the Dead by Lin Anderson
Set on Sanday Island – off Orkney Island, and one of Britain’s northernmost points.
When human remains are found at the back of the local school, forensic expert Dr Rhona MacLeod and her assistant arrive to excavate the grave. It’s approaching midwinter and the island is at its most inhospitable, literally, and metaphorically, when DS Michael McNab is dispatched to investigate.
The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz (Lost Night Files series number 2.)
Three women bonded by a night none of them have any memory of. They suspect that they were subjects for some sort of test, and that there are other test subjects like them out there – all they need to do is find the list of others who took the same test.
The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning
This story flicks between 1940s Austria, and present-day Australia. In 1940s Austria, Mateo Baca, a concentration camp prisoner and photographer, is ordered to process images of the camp for five photo books for presentation to top Nazi figures, but Mateo manages to make a sixth book, which is hidden with the help of a local woman. Skip forward about eighty years to present day Australia, when thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell’s Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov arrives to visit his family and brings with him a strange looking parcel wrapped in a flour sack, which Roza, Hannah’s mother quickly hides.
Based on a true story of courage.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
After a family tragedy nine-year-old Alice Hart finds herself living with her grandmother June, a flower farmer who raises Alice on the language of Australian native flowers, as a way to say things that are too hard to speak. Later, now in her 20s, Alice suffers further loss, and flees to the beautiful central Australian desert, where she believes she has found solace until she meets a charismatic and ultimately dangerous man.
A memorable and affecting book that deals with trauma and healing.
Another deeply memorable book. Room tells the story of Jack, who lives with his Ma in ‘Room’ which has a locked door, one skylight and measures 11 by 11 feet. Jack loves watching TV, and it’s about to be his birthday, which he’s excited about. Room tells the story of a woman held captive, with such sensitivity and skill – all through the eyes of her son, born during her time as captive. A shocking yet hopeful story that retains the innocence of Jack’s outlook on life.
In Search of Mr. Darcy : Lessons learnt in the pursuit of Happily Ever After by Christina Ford.
Christina Ford, former TV and film executive, writes about her love life and her pursuit of ‘Happily Ever After’. As the cover says, she takes us on a real-life Sex and the City-like journey.
