pick28-9 Jan 25 (audiobook)
I loved this gentle story of belonging, homesickness and regret.
Like so many Irish, Eilis leaves her home and family to seek work elsewhere, in this case, Brooklyn. She suffers tremendous isolation and homesickness but eventually starts to find her feet in her new home, excelling at work and at night school and maybe falling in love. But tragedy sees her return home to Ireland and reconsider the life she could have there.
A fascinating history which I know nothing. I had to watch the miniseries twice with captions in order not to confuse the characters. I decided to listen to the novel, and I am having the same trouble, but this time, I have a character map. The narrator has the best voice.
What intrigues me the most, that I think the adaptation misses, is the different definitions of bravery that the three different cultures have.
pick4.5/5
When Clem is kidnapped by Captain Mariel and her crew of Merry Men, she assumes it's because reputation as a healer who is experimenting with more effective treatments, instead it's to make sure her guardian understands that consequences of healing anyone associated with the Sheriff of Nottingham.
I thought this was a fun re-imagining of Robin Hood focused on his granddaughter.
pick“The door whispers shut behind us. Above us, the moon drives its sickle through the encumbrances of cloud. Beneath us, veils of mist blossom from the pavement, weave through the ochre day-fog, and bind it tight. The world is falling away.”
pickAnother good book from the #AuldLangSpine list I got from @Jerdencon this year. I always like stories about women making their way against the grain, which is what happens in this story of life for a young widow after World War II. She gets a job working in radio, and it deals with some of the issues of the time period that I hadn‘t read about in historical fiction before.
pickHalf the book is narrated by a sentient fig tree. This book isn't for everyone, but the poignant prose kept me hooked. 16-year-old Ada Kazantzakis in 2010s London, grappling with grief and cultural identity, and her parents, Defne and Kostas, navigating their forbidden love during the Turkish-Greek conflict in 1970s Cyprus.
Follow up to My Name Is Mary Sutter, about a determined young woman who serves as a doctor during the Civil War. It‘s several years later, and Mary is working in Albany, New York. When a surprise blizzard strikes and two young girls disappear, she doesn‘t rest until they get justice. I don‘t believe there will be a third book, but I‘ll look for others she has written. #serieslove2025
