The Greengage Summer | 
pick3⭐️ This is not as a simple coming-of-age story as I expected. Growing up is not a simple process, especially if it‘s in Les Oeillets, with chatacters like Elliot, Zizi, etc. I would‘ve enjoyed it more if there were not too many French sentences.
Almost Christmas
Eloquently told, an exquisite coming of age tale. A mysterious stranger befriends a family of stranded children.
Highly recommended.
On and off, all that hot French August, we made ourselves ill from eating the greengages.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pickInspired by @LeahBergen to read this of course 😊 What a delight! Somehow Godden manages to take what feels like a children‘s story, a family of down on their luck English children adventuring around an old French hotel, and then slowly turns it darker and more adult - without making the reader jolt or cringe at the change. The descriptions and sense of a summer holiday are so warm and vivid and then a real chill sets in. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One last #summerinthetitle for me. This one was mentioned by @LeahBergen and it was on my shelf so I had to pick it up and before long I read the whole thing (again, I read it years ago). Definitely worth the reread. I love Rumer Godden, fiction and memoir. Thanks for making me do it, Leah! 😉
Opening line: “On and off, all that hot French August, we made ourselves ill from eating the greengages.”
Well, I think I have time to read another summer book before the snow flies here in Canada (😉) and I‘ve had this one sitting on my shelves for YEARS. Here goes.
#FolioSociety
My first book crush was Elliott. He was just the right mix of caring, unobtainable, and wicked. Funny how characters are somehow alive and living somewhere you can‘t quite reach them
"Two tears fell on the pillow, only two; it was as if she were bleeding, not crying."
"To wake for the first time in a new place can be like another birth."
"Privately I thought her very beautiful, with her heavy dark-red hair and eyes that seemed almost too enormous—like a sunflower‘s."
""You never think of anyone but yourselves." We stared. Whom else should we think of?"
An adolescent cluster B mood.
"We were odd, belonging and not belonging, and odd is an uncomfortable thing to be; we did not want to belong but were humiliated that we did not."
An adolescent mood.
"Most grown people are like icebergs, three-tenths showing, seven-tenths submerged—that is why a collision with one of them is unexpectedly hurtful—but Mother was like a child transparently above board and open, "To any scallywag," said Uncle William."
I love greengages so this book has been on my TBR pile for a whole. This morning i woke to the dounf of rosellas (parrots) fighting /feasting on my greengages
A #blameitonlitsy, for sure. Although to be honest, I've mostly been reading the Kindle version on my phone during my commute, which is great because i can translate the French bits.
#LMPBC #groupG #catsoflitsy
Clearly Em did not want me reading tonight. Managed to get her off Margot‘s book! No damage!
Ashley, got it this week,forgot to post. 🤪
pickI finally finished The Greengage Summer. It was kind of a slow read until the end. @kspenmoll I will be mailing this to you by the end of the week. Sorry it's late.
#LMPBC Group G @suvata
I received The Greengage Summer and a lovely postcard from @merelybookish today for #LMPBC @suvata 😸 I'm looking forward to starting it.
#IHeardARumor (well, make that a "Rumer").
This one is still TBR for me.
#AugustGrrrl
#FolioSociety
#FolioFriday
pickWhat a wonderful, perfect August book! It took a little while to get into the story but it was one of those books that starts slowly and draws you in so that you just want to inhale it. A bit coming-of-age, a bit mystery, incredibly atmospheric, wonderful characters, and apparently all based on an experience the author had as a teen. So glad I read this! I'd love to hear from anyone who has read other books by Godden...What should I read next?
Next up! Moving from the modern-day American South to English children in France in the 1950's (I think...). Takes place in the "hot French August". Sounds perfect...
Phew! Made it to the cafe in time ☔️☔️ #sundaywalk #sydneystorm #warmanddryinside
