Welcome to Litsy!

Well it certainly unsettled me! It's a powerful reminder of how rapidly everything can unravel, in an inescapable disaster-cascade, for people who are already marginal. (The fact that Jeanie and Julius are exactly my age upped the anxiety, too.) I do think it tipped into bathos about three quarters of the way through, and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but otherwise it was a top-notch read.

After a slightly slow and unsure (on my part), it picked up and I was riveted. Beautiful writing, quite sad but also hopeful. I loved Jeanie but I think Maude the dog is my favorite character 😂♥️

Thank you, @TheQuietQuill for my #muglove23 package. Unfortunately the very cute mug did not survive the journey : ( Still looking forward to a cozy time, with the books, chocolate, and fuzzy socks. Happy Valentine's! And thanks to @Cinfhen and @TheKidUpstairs for bringing back this lovely swap.

I wasn't sure I liked where the story was headed, but then it took a turn and surprised me. I liked the change of reading about characters who struggle with finances and literacy. The layers of secrecy were so life changing for Jeanie, but were small, intimate, and believable. Loved the ending.

This was my #bookspin for December.

This is not an uplifting book as the main character Jeanie is challenged with poverty, illiteracy, and stubborn pride. There is love, music and companionship, but ultimately will a lack of honesty and transparency among people she thinks she knows be possible to overcome?

Interesting so far🌝

Wow 🤩 this book blew me away ! It made me sad 😢 it made me angry 😤 it made me cry 😭 it made me laugh 😂 I absolutely loved 🥰 it ! Definitely one of my favourite books of the year . Fantastic bookclub pick -highly recommended !

It‘s good 👍 but oh my goodness it‘s depressing !

This book was brilliant. The story and characters are beautifully developed. Unsettled is a great word for how I felt throughout. The two main characters are 51 yr old twins, my age at the moment. It‘s a sad story that made me think about being that age and homeless. Also how different circumstances can put your life on a completely different path, missed opportunities.

Jeanie and Julius are 51 year old twins when their mother dies. Living an isolated life on the edge of society, they now have to piece things together to survive when things start falling apart.

Beautifully sad story with hopeful ending. Although, I can‘t get over the things that have been lost, the lives that they could have had. I enjoyed the simplicity and realness of the story, struggles people have to go through that are overseen by many.

I really enjoyed this one ❤️ sad and a bit heart breaking. But very atmospheric and realistic, though to be fair, no one wants this version of life.

Hairdresser reading 😁 a couple of hours peace from the office move!

#kindledailydeal
After @JillR review last week was really interested in this one! Happy to see this deal 😁

What a book. It starts off with some drama but quietly done, and I thought I knew where this was going, but then the blows kept on coming. I was completely riveted and couldn‘t put it down, my heart in my mouth, raging with anger, and maybe some ugly crying. A snapshot of rural life that is far from the bucolic idyll but more a battle against lack of regular work, poverty, prejudice, cruelty and the whims of landowners. Sad, yet quietly uplifting

It was good. The thing with Fuller‘s books is that they always leave you thinking about them after you‘ve finished. Which is the case here for sure, but overall I thought it was okay, good. It‘s a pretty sad and unsettling story, and I have been thinking about it still after I‘ve finished, but I only always felt it was okay while reading.

I settled on Unsettled Ground to read.

This story is stressing me out!
It is good though.
Daisy not so stressed.

Claire/Clare + fruit on the cover + Women's prize listed = me never remembering which book is which.

Think I'll try the tagged one first.

Aggghhh! I wish I‘d never picked up this book. Time wasted. Writing ok but ordinary at best. Hackneyed Plot. Misery porn. This is probably not the author for me. Sooo many better books out there.

Just starting this and I see at the beginning a verse from ‘Scarborough Fair‘
I‘ve always loved that song so much ❤️💔..... memories 💫

5⭐️ This was such an uncomfortable read that I could not stop reading it! I had to know how the story resolved. Contemporary world, but with a set of adult twins who do not live a modern mainstream lifestyle. I cannot say why without spoiling the plot.

Totally compulsive!

Confession - I ordered all of Fuller‘s backlist before I even finished this one. 😆

I have been ~ influenced ~ to read #UnsettledGround because it popped up on so many nomination lists 📕. It‘s sad and also depressing. Wonderful writing ✍️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️,5 /5

#ClaireFuller

I have a sneaking suspicion I‘m going to go on a Claire Fuller buying binge. 🤞🏾🤞🏾I hope so! I‘m halfway through and I love her writing.

What a first chapter! Amazing writing. Totally sucked in.

2021 Women's Prize shortlist, I am so glad this was brought to my attention! This is not a book for everyone. It is dark, a bit depressing, & a bit infuriating. It explores human nature in a way not often seen, as usually authors do not tackle homelessness and this is a complex look at 2 characters, homeless, but filled with pride and often treated poorly in their village, all with a suitcase full of mom's secrets to uncover Gorgeously done.

Mrs. Claus has been out shopping for her stocking stuffer. 😉

After really not being sure whether I was interested in reading this, I suddenly became vested in finding out what happened! Slow plot that trickles along then rushes. I disliked many of the characters which fitted with the overall storyline.

Started this strange novel... No clue where it's going!

Very interesting. Well written. It was hard to imagine someone without any agency, like the main character, but perhaps being so sheltered and deceived by your parent would cause that. I liked how she got what she wanted in the end, even if it didn‘t look exactly like she imagined

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/unsettled-ground-clare-fuller/

The Women's prize winner was announced yesterday this one wasn't it. Although not my favourite of the nominees I read so far, it would've more than deserved the prize as well because it's a beautiful book.
The word "unsettled" in the title is very apt because it's how I felt after finishing this. It's just a little bit heartbreaking. It's a study in how the choices of our parents can affect our life. Pain and beauty combined in this one.

Lives uprooted by the sudden death of their mother, (adult) twins Julius & Jeanie are left to cope with the aftermath. The evocative language of the book really contrasted with the harsh poverty of its world, and made both all the more striking. Love and loss are made real as the protagonists face challenge after challenge. “It is hard to rewrite your own history,” Jeanie says, but really, that‘s what the book—and adulthood—is all about.

Looking forward to this one, whose gorgeous cover drew me in just as much as it‘s brief, tantalizing blurb…

Unsettled Ground is a reflective novel that touches on poverty, grief, and siblings relationship. Adult twins Jeanie and Julius struggle financially after their mother‘s sudden death. Old secrets are revealed and lies untangled as they try to cope with their meagre resources. A soft Pick, and I don‘t think the book should be marketed under the mystery/thriller genre.

As with her previous works, I did like atmosphere in the story and captivating prose, but I wasn‘t seduced by the story. Too many eyes rolling moments in it, for my taste …

Twins Jeanie and Julius are still living at home with their mother at 51 yr. Then their mother dies, and they learn that things isn‘t as they always thought.

I was a little disappointed in this book. I read Swimming Lessons a few yrs ago and loved it, but I never got involved in this one. I felt that I was on the outside looking in, and never cared about that would happen with the twins.

You know that feeling when you read a book, and you just can't put your finger on it, as to what is compelling you forward, to finish the book? That's how Unsettled Ground was for me. Claire Fuller has written a book that is silently captivating; one slow, page at a time. But, it makes perfect sense. She has written a story that has such an excellent sense of place, rural England.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4037712038

I think if you liked Swimming Lessons then you will love Unsettled Ground. This was an AMAZING book. Jeanie was my favorite character. Her ability to adapt & overcome was so invigorating. She struggled & failed & succeeded. I really loved watching her become her own woman on her own terms despite the complications of homelessness & poverty. Overcoming a lifetime of lies, she becomes a force. I would HIGHLY recommend this book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

A slow burn tale of modern running parallel to tradition. A truly heartbreaking rendition of poverty, pain, and country life. While I can‘t give this five stars as it wasn‘t compelling to keep picking up, it does get four stars from me for its importance in portraying characters like the ones I grew up around. Survival is key, and Julius and Jeanie show you how.

#pop2021 #pop21 #somethingbrokenonthecover

Lovely writing, very moving and terribly sad. My heart felt so heavy reading about the cruelty, loss and poverty experienced by the twins. As a result, it did make it tough to keep picking up. But I loved the use of folk songs throughout the narrative, and the sense of place was captured flawlessly. Tough read, and not my favorite of hers, but Claire Fuller‘s writing is always just beautiful. 4⭐️

So I get to page 42…the book is really getting good…and then the book starts over again. There are about 30-40 pages missing when it picks up again on page 75. Craziness. I‘ll have to order a copy from overseas.

Stunning. Not an easy book to read for sure - there is poverty, injustice upon injustice, cruelty that takes your breath away. But Claire Fuller has created characters with extraordinary resilience, and hope, and strength, and therein lies this book‘s glory. And the writing is drop-dead gorgeous. The fact that it‘s set in Wiltshire, where I grew up, didn‘t hurt, either. Fabulous.

Absolutely fabulous. Well written and heartfelt. Truly worthy of being an award nominee

Today‘s vibe. Sipping on a cider on a patio on Main Street. Can‘t wait to start this new book. I feel like I‘ve been waiting forever for my hold to come in.
*Last night I finished OLD HERBACEOUS, and it was so good! A little sad at the end, but so much fun! Makes me want to garden.

I just finished this gem of a book and I am speechless. Jeanie and Julius are twins whose mother has died and in the aftermath, they come to learn about many secrets she was hiding before her death. They soon become homeless and each deals with their losses in ways that drive them apart - until an accident brings them back together in unexpected ways. This is certainly a slow build: it's dark, sad, but also full of grace and growth. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of the six shortlisted books for the Women's Price for Fiction. I really enjoyed it. Jeanie and Julius are twins live with their mother, but she dies very suddenly. They are left to fend with their shattered lives. Their mother kept them very sheltered and they need to adapt to the new situation. I felt for both siblings, and annoyed that the mother didn't let them get on with their own life. Well written and it flowed easily for me!

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Greatly enjoyed another on the Shortlist. Claire Fuller never disappoints. I have to admit, I still have so many questions though.

Like the title this book, this was one of the most unsettling books I have ever read. Claire Fuller writes a story that makes us all realize we are never to far away from being pushed over the edge.