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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Other Stories
Nikolai Leskov and David McDuff
Book
The story of a passionate young woman who escapes her stifling marriage through adultery and murder,...
Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
Book
In this sweeping history of popular music in the United States, NPR's acclaimed music critic...
ClareR (5879 KP) rated Shrines of Gaiety in Books
Dec 5, 2022
What can I write to do this book justice, other than say “just read it?” I have to admit to not having read much Kate Atkinson before - only the first Jackson Brodie novel, which I loved - but I really feel I should read more of her books!
Shrines of Gaiety is set in the 1920’s, post First World War, and encompasses post war life with all of its excesses, poverty, grief and debauchery.
Nellie Coker is a self made woman who owns a series of nightclubs in London. She’s a single mother, and five of her six children help her to run her empire (the sixth is too young). How she came to own these clubs is a mystery. But the chances are that it wasn’t legal money!
Then there are the 14 year old runaways, Freda and Florence, who want to take to the stage to find fame and fortune.
Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher is determined to bring Nellie Coker and her corrupt empire down, as well as the corrupt police officers that support her. He also becomes involved in the search for the two runaways, thanks to Gwendoline Kelling, a librarian who has inherited a considerable amount of money. She’s a friend of one of the runaways sister, and vows to find her.
I won’t just regurgitate the story, that’s no fun, and you need to read this book for yourself! Needless to say, I loved these characters - the whole novel in fact! It’s a gripping, entertaining story, and it was a joy to read.
Very highly recommended.
Oh, and for the book cover fans, it’s a gorgeous one!
Shrines of Gaiety is set in the 1920’s, post First World War, and encompasses post war life with all of its excesses, poverty, grief and debauchery.
Nellie Coker is a self made woman who owns a series of nightclubs in London. She’s a single mother, and five of her six children help her to run her empire (the sixth is too young). How she came to own these clubs is a mystery. But the chances are that it wasn’t legal money!
Then there are the 14 year old runaways, Freda and Florence, who want to take to the stage to find fame and fortune.
Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher is determined to bring Nellie Coker and her corrupt empire down, as well as the corrupt police officers that support her. He also becomes involved in the search for the two runaways, thanks to Gwendoline Kelling, a librarian who has inherited a considerable amount of money. She’s a friend of one of the runaways sister, and vows to find her.
I won’t just regurgitate the story, that’s no fun, and you need to read this book for yourself! Needless to say, I loved these characters - the whole novel in fact! It’s a gripping, entertaining story, and it was a joy to read.
Very highly recommended.
Oh, and for the book cover fans, it’s a gorgeous one!
The Outsider
9.0
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Book
'My mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know.' In The Outsider (1942), his classic...
The Skin
Book
“It is a shameful thing to win a war.” The reliably unorthodox Curzio Malaparte’s own service...
Kristin (149 KP) rated Alice of the Rocks in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Elisa is a scullery maid in the castle’s kitchen in Florence, Italy, 1512. She is forbidden to speak to any of the nobles, and she must keep her face hidden and eyes downcast for fear of drawing attention to herself. But one evening, her path crosses with Count Claudio Moro who protects her from the roaming hands of another nobleman. It is highly improper for the two to converse, let alone have a relationship, but there is just something about Elisa which sticks in Claudio’s mind, and he must continue seeing her, even at a detriment to his own status.
Alice was orphaned as an infant at a convent in Italy in 2012, but she was adopted by the most wonderful couple. Now it is 2029, she is seventeen years old, and she and her parents are going on a family trip to her country of birth to visit family and see the sights. However, one of those sights for Alice comes by way of a strikingly-handsome young man who works at a villa where the family is staying. There is an instant attraction between the two, and it’s almost as if they have met one another before. Could this be just a simple summer fling, or is there more? And why is Alice suddenly having strange dreams and feelings of déjà vu?
This is a truly wonderful story told with love and care in every chapter. The characters pull you in from the very beginning, and it’s as if they are actually there with you, guiding you through each point in their lives. The transitions between time periods are flawless and unimposing, and the story flows in such a way that it’s almost like a movie. I could clearly see the entire novel playing in my head, making it very entertaining and fully engrossing, and the scenery of Italy is described so beautifully it sets a wonderful backdrop. I didn’t want to put it down, and I will admit running the gambit of emotions, from anger and sadness to joy and wonder.
If you fancy intrigue, romance, and a love which traverses both social and timely boundaries, I highly recommend this as your next read.
Elisa is a scullery maid in the castle’s kitchen in Florence, Italy, 1512. She is forbidden to speak to any of the nobles, and she must keep her face hidden and eyes downcast for fear of drawing attention to herself. But one evening, her path crosses with Count Claudio Moro who protects her from the roaming hands of another nobleman. It is highly improper for the two to converse, let alone have a relationship, but there is just something about Elisa which sticks in Claudio’s mind, and he must continue seeing her, even at a detriment to his own status.
Alice was orphaned as an infant at a convent in Italy in 2012, but she was adopted by the most wonderful couple. Now it is 2029, she is seventeen years old, and she and her parents are going on a family trip to her country of birth to visit family and see the sights. However, one of those sights for Alice comes by way of a strikingly-handsome young man who works at a villa where the family is staying. There is an instant attraction between the two, and it’s almost as if they have met one another before. Could this be just a simple summer fling, or is there more? And why is Alice suddenly having strange dreams and feelings of déjà vu?
This is a truly wonderful story told with love and care in every chapter. The characters pull you in from the very beginning, and it’s as if they are actually there with you, guiding you through each point in their lives. The transitions between time periods are flawless and unimposing, and the story flows in such a way that it’s almost like a movie. I could clearly see the entire novel playing in my head, making it very entertaining and fully engrossing, and the scenery of Italy is described so beautifully it sets a wonderful backdrop. I didn’t want to put it down, and I will admit running the gambit of emotions, from anger and sadness to joy and wonder.
If you fancy intrigue, romance, and a love which traverses both social and timely boundaries, I highly recommend this as your next read.
Sisters of the East End: A 1950s Nurse and Midwife
Book
Heart-warming tales of nursing and midwifery from the Sisters who worked with Jennifer Worth. "A...
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Assassin's Creed: Renaissance in Books
May 15, 2017
Descriptive writing (2 more)
Delving deeper into the story
Reading about plot points that weren't told until the sequel game
I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. And like my father before me I am an Assassin...
The story of the Assassin from Italy, who we followed for 3 of the 13 console games (9 in the main series, 4 other games on Xbox - 3 of which are the Assassins Creed Chronicles, and 1 being Assassin's Creed: Liberation). The story of Ezio Auditore is one of vengeance, and discovery.
We begin with the story following his father however, another great installment in this series that gives us more back story that you can only find fragments of within the game and other media such as the short film Assassin's Creed Lineage. Ezio's story begins shortly after, when his father and brothers are killed, due to a betrayal, leaving behind Ezio, his mother and his sister. Together they flee the city and Ezio's story begins to unfold as he learns more about his father's secret, and the order to which his father and their ancestors belonged to. The Assassins.
Set in the beautiful time of Renaissance Italy, we follow Ezio as he travels to and from multiple cities, including his home, Florence, but also to the famous cities of Venice, Tuscany, and Rome. Each city introduces him to new friends, new enemies and more secrets begin to reveal themselves to Ezio which allow the character to become wiser and more developed over the years.
Oliver Bowden let's his readers delve far deeper into the stories of the characters than the games. The games are enjoyed more so for their game play and the freedom of your actions as you run around these historical landscapes. The books that Bowden has written, let us enjoy the adventure and the twists and turns of each story, told to us as though we were in the animus ourselves watching over Ezio but with no control over what happens to him.
If you play the games, then you know that each video game, in each of the settings, you will meet a historical figure. One thing that makes the franchise so brilliant is that the historical settings, and some of the events that takes place are historically accurate to the dates they happen. For example in the first Assassin's Creed, you meet King Richard the Lionheart, during the crusades in Jerusalem. In Assassin's Creed 2, and this novel, we are introduced to none other than the famous painter and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci. Yes, THAT Leonardo Da Vinci, the same man that painted some of the world's most famous works of art such as The Mona Lisa.
As always Bowden's descriptive writing lets the reader truly feel the events unfold within our minds, and experience everything that the characters experience. The great joy of reading a book, is the imagination it can place into one's mind. As said before in my review on The Secret Crusade, the story is familiar and yet there are unfamiliar moments, that make the familiar story make more sense, and gives the readers and video game players a brand new experience.
We begin with the story following his father however, another great installment in this series that gives us more back story that you can only find fragments of within the game and other media such as the short film Assassin's Creed Lineage. Ezio's story begins shortly after, when his father and brothers are killed, due to a betrayal, leaving behind Ezio, his mother and his sister. Together they flee the city and Ezio's story begins to unfold as he learns more about his father's secret, and the order to which his father and their ancestors belonged to. The Assassins.
Set in the beautiful time of Renaissance Italy, we follow Ezio as he travels to and from multiple cities, including his home, Florence, but also to the famous cities of Venice, Tuscany, and Rome. Each city introduces him to new friends, new enemies and more secrets begin to reveal themselves to Ezio which allow the character to become wiser and more developed over the years.
Oliver Bowden let's his readers delve far deeper into the stories of the characters than the games. The games are enjoyed more so for their game play and the freedom of your actions as you run around these historical landscapes. The books that Bowden has written, let us enjoy the adventure and the twists and turns of each story, told to us as though we were in the animus ourselves watching over Ezio but with no control over what happens to him.
If you play the games, then you know that each video game, in each of the settings, you will meet a historical figure. One thing that makes the franchise so brilliant is that the historical settings, and some of the events that takes place are historically accurate to the dates they happen. For example in the first Assassin's Creed, you meet King Richard the Lionheart, during the crusades in Jerusalem. In Assassin's Creed 2, and this novel, we are introduced to none other than the famous painter and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci. Yes, THAT Leonardo Da Vinci, the same man that painted some of the world's most famous works of art such as The Mona Lisa.
As always Bowden's descriptive writing lets the reader truly feel the events unfold within our minds, and experience everything that the characters experience. The great joy of reading a book, is the imagination it can place into one's mind. As said before in my review on The Secret Crusade, the story is familiar and yet there are unfamiliar moments, that make the familiar story make more sense, and gives the readers and video game players a brand new experience.