Right so. This has all the makings of a very interesting autobiography. It is a charming story of a childhood in the 1930s/early 40s in the tenements of Dublin. This is a time before social welfare and the modern healthcare system. In those times the Community and not the State kept body and soul together. I believe the kindness and charity of neighbours described by the memoir are true, as they are also part of my mother's tales of Dublin. As is the reliance of Dublin women on the Pawnbrokers and the honest Jew Men. This is a time before credit cards and it was normal for households to have the Friday weekly wage spent by Sunday. Elaine’s childhood memories are sweet, sad and often funny. The mother is a tyrant, the father is an enigmatic cad and the nuns old biddies (as all the best nuns are). TB and poverty rule the city and overshadow everything.

Overall this is exactly what I wanted from this book (it is a piece of research for a story I am writing set in the same time period). I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who is interested in the social history of Dublin in the 1930’s/early 40s.

However, I am only rating this three stars as the book is not particularly well-written. I expected more from a novelist who had previously written six novels. I understand this is nonfiction but that does not prevent the author from using the techniques of good fiction writing. Personally, I would have expected that the first person narrative to be more compelling. Simple creative writing 101 techniques such as showing not telling would have helped immensely. Some more detailed descriptions of time and place would have been great. For example, don’t tell me you didn’t like the smell of the hospice and it put you off your dinner, describe it, please. The pacing throughout was inconsistent and sped up towards the end. The ending of this book (especially the last scene) is heartbreaking and, as it is true, I feel I would have cried if I had been fully engaged by the author.

Overall though I do like and recommend it.

This is a summer blockbuster of a novel. Or maybe it’s a top grossing video game? Anyway, it most definitely is action packed (boy is it action packed), with larger than life characters (some non-human) and despite a very high death count it’s a lot of fun.

Set in space, this is another book I read recently where the physical book as an object (see also my review of House of Leaves) is an important part of the narrative. The book itself is written in epistolary style. That is the story is told using a dossier prepared that includes emails, surveillance footage, ship diagrams, some information hacked from the ships Artificial Intelligence, letters, interviews, journal entries, “post it” notes and lots more. Some of the pages of the Dossier are coffee stained and other’s look like they might possibly be stained with blood...

Character wise there is a lot going on. We have a couple of cool hackers, one or two military types, some scientists, a couple of star ship captains and an intriguing AI (Artificial Intelligence) called AIDAN. Characters do not necessarily follow gender stereotypes, which makes them more interesting in my book. However, it’s a shame perhaps that the death toll is so high that we don’t get to know many of the characters well before their untimely demises?

The (compulsory in YA) romance is well drawn and one of the better ones I have seen in the genre.

Is there flaws? Well yes but this is pure entertainment and not literally fiction. Overall this book is fast paced and well fun and I am looking forward to the sequel.

I buddy red this with Christine. Thanks buddy.

Told from the perspective of the overweight retired cop and the psychopath killer. This is typical detective fair but with a very Stephen King opening.

I enjoyed the detective team of retired cop, mentally and emotionally unstable middle-aged woman and brilliant seventeen-year-old.

This is a good old-fashioned who-dun-it, with bodies dropping every few chapters. Set in 1537 and told in the first person, Matthew Shardlake (a King’s Commissioner) must investigate the brutal killing of the previous King's Commissioner, Robin Singleton at Scarnsea monastery. What is a good and reasonable Reformer to do amongst a bunch of deluded crazy Papist monks? With the fate of the Monastery at risk, everyone has something to cover up and nobody is to be believed!

The historical background is phenomenal in this book (the author really knows his stuff) and the murder mystery ain’t bad. The character of Mathew Sharldlake is charming but will probably need to be developed a little more (I assume this will happen in later books?).

Altogether recommended for those who like a slightly different murder mystery and for fans of historical fiction set in the Tudor period.

So I have finished my Easter Book. An anti-Sherlock Holmes set in 1895 London at the height of the notorious detective’s fame. The tagline on the book is "London Society takes its problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood."

Arrowood and his very capable assistant Norman Barnett investigate the seedy underside of London. Cases are brought to a conclusion (not solved) using hard graft, illegal means when necessary, amateurish psychology and a lot of luck (both bad and good). This particular story has the classical Crime Noir storyline. A beautiful Femme Fatale brings a compelling case to a down on his luck hard-boiled detective. Can she be trusted? Of Course not! The conclusion is gritty and not one Mr. Holmes would have been proud of, but more fool him.

I would have liked a little more character development - but this is the first novel so there is plenty of time.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys a mystery with their historic fiction and is not afraid to bash the snobbery of Detective Holmes :)

This book was intended by the author a great opus to the lives of the French during the occupation of World War II, a kind of War and Peace. It was mean’t to be a five part novel but was unfortunately never finished due to Némirovsky’s death in Auschwitz. It is never the less a fascinating insight into French society in 1940 and 1941.

Némirovsky creates characters that are flawed and nearly always both arrogant and selfish. However, each one is beautifully, beautifully drawn. She describes the innate selfishness of people trying to flourish and survive during world war II. She describes the people packing their valuables for the mass exodus out of Paris, linens, scripts, jewellery but in one memorable occasion they forgot their father in law. In the second part of the book “Dolce”, Némirovsky humanises the Germans as not just the enemy but as boys and men living among them (the French) and no different than the French conquerors in Germany after the first War.

The novel also tells of how life goes on despite war and tragedy. Mothers of dead and missing Sons compete over who has the worst Rheumatism, young French women and German soldiers ignore the fact they are in opposite sides and children play in the Gardens of abandoned houses.


Overall this unfinished piece of writing (particularly the first part – A Storm in June) had the potential to be something amazing

"I thought to myself that even if my shadow had drawn me deep into the woods, so deep that I never returned, someone would still have stuck flyers on the door, and pizzas would still have been sold."

The Fantasy elements in this novella are surreal and open to interpretation. I enjoyed it, for an urban fantasy novel, it's very grounded in reality.
This is a story set in Seoul and follows two young people called Eungyo and Mujae. Both of them work in an electronics market that is compared to a slum and that is being pulled down building by building. However, in this world your shadow can get away from you land even attack you if you are stressed, depressed etc.


The prose is simple and sparse and perfect for this little tale.

I really enjoyed this short story collection by Jaki McCarrick. The stories work as a collection and there are a lot of recurrent themes such as the draw of the Irish Borderlands (parts of Ireland on the border of Northern Ireland), the undercurrents of sadness the Troubles brought to everyday life (though no story is directly about the Troubles themselves) and our relationships (mostly familial relationships). Below are my thoughts on each story as I read them. Apologies, It didn’t occur to me to record my thoughts on the first two.

The Jailbird - This is the longest story in the collection and mostly I guess it’s about the difficulty of letting go and repeats some of the themes of children and parents seen in the other stories. 5 Star.

The Lagoon - Deep and Dark - 4 Star

The Hemingway Papers - more about the relationship between daughters and fathers. 4 Star

Stich Up - I found myself wholly immersed in the protagonist’s world in this one - 5 star

Trumpet City - I could picture New York/New Orleans and feel the fat sweet rain. 5 Star

The Stonemason's Wife - I really don't like that woman - 4 1/2 stars.

The Tribe - This one was a surprise in this collection. It's Sci-Fi and a touching story on the beauty of Mankind and the Planet we live on - 5 Stars."


The Visit- sometimes if you can't hold on for someone you just have to let them go. 3 1/2 Stars

Blood - Love this, especially after reading the Historian recently. A big whopping 5 stars. Will re-read this one."


"The Burning Woman - 'Wherever he went he would find her, or she would find him, as if she were not outside him at all, but inside him; an unshakeable phantom that had taken up residence in his imagination, eventually taking possession of it' - spooky and 4 stars."

1976 - A story written about the infamous hottest summer in Ireland and the UK. This story is about a family secret and childhood. Like all of Jaki's stories why it's not about "The Troubles" there is an undercurrent of sadness arising from them. 4 Star."


The Congo - a dark story about Gang Violence and revenge. 4 Star"


The Scattering - about how life and death can hang on a whisper of a moment's decision. 4 star

Painting, Smoking, Eating - which is best summarised by the Quote 'the ghosts that haunt our lives are handy with mirrors and wires' 5 stars"

Just finished 1975. It was on the same theme as Grief is a thing with Feathers. Though I think 1975 is a lot more relatable for me. So I am pretty much on a Mother dies and how do Dad and kids cope theme this morning."


By the Black Field and the Badminton court. I failed to record my thoughts on these and it is over two months since I read them. Apologies.

I bought this book as it had a Gold Shiny Cover and I was intrigued by the title. Yes, I am a book by the cover person:)

There is not a lot you can say about this one without spoiling it. It’s about the fifteen-year-old Annie who is the daughter of a female serial killer and child abuser. One day Annie is brave enough to tell the Police what is really happening at home. While Annie’s mother is awaiting trial, she is given a new name Milly and is sent to live with a foster family in London who have their own rather spoiled 15-year-old Phoebe. Nobody but her foster parents and school principal knows her true story and somehow Milly must try and fit in with an ordinary school and home life of a 15-year-old (difficult under normal circumstances). Meanwhile, she needs to cope with, her past childhood experiences, her mother's upcoming trial (in which she must testify) and Phoebe's jealousy of the attention Milly is receiving from Phoebe’s father. In the long run, will this bring out the best in Annie/Milly (Good Me) or worse (Bad Me)?

The story is a well written and quick read. The ending was not a huge surprise. The characterisation was good and the first person narrator as always was somewhat unreliable (that’s the point isn’t it?).

However overall the novel was probably not quite as good as Allegedly which had similar themes and also a first person narrator. As I had finished Allegedly a few days before and gave it five stars I could only give this one four. Nevertheless, this is a highly recommended read that proves you can judge a book by its cover.

Trigger warning in that Annie’s mother was a child abuser and killer.

Catching up on reading and will catch up on reviews soon I promise :)