She always writes a good tale, her historical perspective is varied and I learn a great deal of American history through her novels.
This Vietnam story has taught me about women nurses, trauma and the American angle on Vietnam and its tragedies.

What an unusual and well presented novel. The top layer of storyline was good enough in itself but to then have an underlying uncertainty made it truly thoughtful and i questioned what would happen a lot.
I've no idea who recommended it but I'm seeking out her others!

Flippin heck, what a book.
I feel despondent and sad but also in awe that she's conjured up such a terrifyingly possibility which should be prevalent in our minds and actions at all times.

Much better than I'd expected and clever weaving of Stories.
I liked her referencing to climate emergency and human interference in the natural world.
Her notes were important to read.

Book club pick, easy to read and no unexpected plot twists. I found it simple to predict and it included a vast amount. Possibly tried too much.
Nice descriptions of natural world and of the farmer community. I was interested to note that in the first section, all the female characters were broken in some way, and the men were all, save two, of a similar upbringing, employment and shared casual racism and sexism. Maybe of the era or locality.

Definitely one of my top books this year.
Great writing, obviously, and a tale of the almost now in political uncertainty, climate emergency and lack of positive action. The father son relationship is touching and the science parts blew my (unknowing) mind.
Brilliant book.

Gosh, what an interesting and unique style of novel.
I don't feel I can say much without giving details away.
But not at all what I expected and very cleverly done. I'm still mulling it over...

The third novel I've read by her and I didn't find it as flowing as her other two.
I liked the idea but found it too disjointed in content and thus unbelievable.

Brilliant book.
Nature and people, a patch if park and lonely characters.
Really gentle.

Cor, I liked this book.
I judged the author very wrongly at first but realised how wrong I was.
I learnt so much from his travels, about African nations, immigration and perspective. I was fascinated by the nature he wrote about, not just swallows. And I adored the unexpected romance! ❤️
One that will stay with me ☺️🙂

Tagged book is the cut off in the image!
A busy month but still time to read. And a true diversity of books too!

Nice read, three narrators who all live in one village. The ways of the countryside and how they each see and inhabit it.

Rather like Kate Grenville and this was no exception.
Whilst I feel it lacked some of the depth of her previous novels, this became a bit clearer on reading her notes.
Dolly is always on the move, looking for new opportunities. She's frustrated at the dependency of women at the time. And so her life pans out.

Lovely little novella about the author's years in Kyoto.
Really good description and detail.

This was a gift from an Australian friend as she knows how much I adored some other Australian authors.

I found this one more of a young person story but equally it's almost too gritty for YA. Horrid in the poverty, the neglect and abuse but heartwarming in the friendship and family developed through these.

Hmm. Quite unpleasant. But oddly compelling. Shudder!

Brilliant.
Such a great story with really good lessons and social commentary whilst drawing us into the world of the characters.

Sweet little exchange of letters between two strangers who share their thoughts, hopes and daily or weekly goings on.

I've kept meaning to read this for years and have finally done so!
I'm still mulling it over, the message contained in such a slim yet dense novel.

Am stuck for words.
I read a lot of speculative dystopia style fiction but this is one of those that is set now but is becoming dystopia because it's seemingly an end to a society we inhabit.
But it's on the brink of possibility. And it's happening in other countries.
The balance of beautiful lyrical prose against the immense terror is incredible. And the greyness throughout, the realms of knowing and speculated fear.
Such talent.

February in 📚.
Loved Birnam Wood and Lexicon hugely.

Oh my, what a fascinating story. I'm so glad I read the notes and understood its based on real people and events.
A truly fantastic book, woven in friendship, dreams, glittering Hollywood and reality.

Nicely eerie and uncertain in images.
The narrator is a researcher in the 1800's, travelling to the Arctic. On board are a wealth of troubled characters.
I didn't like the slaughter and massacre of wild animals but appreciated the commentary about humankind creating extinction.

Birthday eve visit to Victoria Art Gallery in Bath for the Vintage Ladybird Book exhibition. Really nostalgic look at the artists and illustration behind these iconic books.
Followed by pizza and beer and wine!

Godd grief, epic and exciting and totally gripping.
Unpredictable.
Brilliant!

Another slim Japanese translation which always appeals. Nicely descriptive of the natural area around the town in comparison to the busyness of Tokyo. I liked how he changes over the year, his developing understanding of life and the people who are important in his world.

I'd saved this to read as I've read a few of hers and loved them.
This wasn't as riveting, it felt quite chatty and light in prose. The story is good, I appreciated the focus on each character, but there were so many!
The last few chapters were a sensible way to tie it all up.
Interesting author's note, her wish to avoid criticism about the truth behind it... surely fiction doesn't need that pre empt.

Blimey, bought in error and such serendipity!
This was fantastic, I don't know why it's not better known?
Not just clever in concept but also in imagery and telling. It was like reading a film...

Ah, nice tale with a moral undertone. I do like these Japanese novels.
But who knew there's a whole genre called feline fantasy fiction?!!! Could be properly misinterpreted!

Not as interesting as I'd hoped. It felt disjointed. Maybe the translation?
But I dud learn about the French colonialism in Algiers.

A slim and poetic novel which I read in two sittings.
Her lyrical prose is of such contrast to the climate emergency. Cleverly written.

One of the most intriguing books I've ever read!
I was quite intimidated about reading it but it was incredibly written.
There were some important ideas about dualism between human and nature to consider...

Wow! That was immense and full of so much wonder and explanation yet left enough for us to decide ourselves.
Very clever in the way he traced family tree against historical natural events, and the trees themselves.
I was totally gripped throughout.

Distracting myself from assignments and housework with this book club choice. I've read a few by her, I quite like the gentle pace with character revelations. This is slightly dated, of the early 2000s, and there's a few cringey bits...

Amazing!
Absolutely fantastic in content and style.

Goodness, such a depressing account of rural poverty and neglect. It was shocking but an element of understanding...
I only kept reading because it was beautifully written and such an amass of metaphor, simile and peculiar description.

Nice story, not a huge amount of depth, possibly too many characters but still a readable book.

Parts of this were really well thought out and written to keep me thinking. Then it seemed less so. I wonder if this is indicative of it being written as a statement or account.
It has stayed in my mind a lot though... even dreamt about it :/

Such an evocative cover.

What a cover.
O adored Salt Path, wasn't as keen on her second then ravished this one! It felt like she was back to writing about their journey and the natural paths and ways they walked. I liked her historical and political references, especially when comparing Scotland with England.

Brilliant! Wonderfully descriptive and magical.prose with the gritty realustic story of children and parents, friends and fear. Very unputdownable!

Interesting blurb about five women finding their new or renewed identity in life.

This was a lovely, sweet novel about a dying woman who writes about her dead friends to tell her own story of life.

Liked the idea of this. In a similar fashion to one I read about New York I think. Anyway, it's reading well so far!

Light hearted view of a 13 year old as she finds herself in new situations. It was easy and what I needed. I rather liked the vicar's input.

I resisted buying one of hers a few months ago then regretted it. So I got this from the library to try. I'm not sure when it's set, it seems quite 80s, but it's an easy style with some deeper bits.

Two short stories which both use death to tell a story.
The first one was peculiar and set in one night with lots of remembering. Second is the sister of someone who is dying.
Both made me think about end of life and relationships, in a positive way.

Brilliant. Terrifying to consider but so cleverly written.

Amusingly I misread the title as Glade...
This is flippin good so far, the idea of climate change occurring as the story unfolds so we are in it with the characters.

Brrr. Not just cold but chilling. I'm not sure how much actually happened in this short book but it certainly had atmosphere and uncertainty.