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TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Pearl in the Sand in Books
Feb 24, 2021
Have you ever read a story so deep and touching that it is hard to put into words? Honestly, that is what I felt after reading Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar. The writing, the way she phrased things, the historical detail… it all made me feel like I had woken up from a dream after I finished it.
Rahab is a character that I think lots of women can associate with (although not for the obvious reason of Rahab’s profession). I think most women are plagued by guilt, trauma, or some type of sorrow and we are always looking for reassurance that we are walking the path that God wants us to be on. Tessa Afshar took this thought process and brought it to life in the story of Rahab. I thought Rahab was very well developed from beginning to end and I enjoyed getting to read this story from a perspective that I had not previously thought of before.
I was so intrigued by the storyline of this book as I had never read anything like it before. It certainly lived up to what I had hoped for. Tessa Afshar did a great job explaining Rahab’s time period and the historical time she lived in that I felt like I was there. Combine that with a unique plot and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
I will say that I also appreciated how Tessa Afshar covered Rahab's profession without going into to much detail. It's something I am sure we can all imagine the horrors of without having to put words to the thoughts and/or feelings.
I highly recommend this story if you like historically accurate, well written, moving stories that cause you to feel and think. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
Rahab is a character that I think lots of women can associate with (although not for the obvious reason of Rahab’s profession). I think most women are plagued by guilt, trauma, or some type of sorrow and we are always looking for reassurance that we are walking the path that God wants us to be on. Tessa Afshar took this thought process and brought it to life in the story of Rahab. I thought Rahab was very well developed from beginning to end and I enjoyed getting to read this story from a perspective that I had not previously thought of before.
I was so intrigued by the storyline of this book as I had never read anything like it before. It certainly lived up to what I had hoped for. Tessa Afshar did a great job explaining Rahab’s time period and the historical time she lived in that I felt like I was there. Combine that with a unique plot and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
I will say that I also appreciated how Tessa Afshar covered Rahab's profession without going into to much detail. It's something I am sure we can all imagine the horrors of without having to put words to the thoughts and/or feelings.
I highly recommend this story if you like historically accurate, well written, moving stories that cause you to feel and think. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
ClareR (5955 KP) rated The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story in Books
Oct 5, 2020 (Updated Oct 5, 2020)
The Haunting of Alma Fielding is the non-fiction account of Nando Fodor and his investigation in to the haunting of a London housewife. Fodor was a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and worked for the International Institute for Psychical Research. When Fodor was tipped off about a possible poltergeist haunting, he rushed to Alma’s house to try and work out what exactly was going on. He was scrupulous. He involved trusted mediums, wrote detailed notes (lucky for us!) and whilst reading the book, it became obvious that Fodor became obsessed. His obsession however, had a deleterious effect on Alma. The more access to her that he had, the more physically ill she seemed to become and the more she seemed to be haunted.
There does seem to be a theme of obsession running through this with regards to Fodor. I was never quite sure if his obsession was with Alma’s haunting, or with Alma herself. She was an attractive woman, after all. He would certainly have been stopped a lot sooner if this had happened today (but I do wonder whether this would have happened at all).
The historical background and the build up to the Second World War was very interesting, and I enjoyed the historical detail throughout. I also liked that there was an ending. Summerscale researched up to the deaths of those involved - I appreciated that closure. But what interesting lives these people had!
This was a great story for a sceptic like me. Ghost stories fascinate me. I don’t believe that there are ghosts, but I still like that they have the ability to unnerve and scare me! And this was certainly unnerving!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book. I probably would have gone on the waiting list at the library because of the (well-deserved) buzz around it, but I really do much prefer not having to wait and reading along with my fellow pigeons!
There does seem to be a theme of obsession running through this with regards to Fodor. I was never quite sure if his obsession was with Alma’s haunting, or with Alma herself. She was an attractive woman, after all. He would certainly have been stopped a lot sooner if this had happened today (but I do wonder whether this would have happened at all).
The historical background and the build up to the Second World War was very interesting, and I enjoyed the historical detail throughout. I also liked that there was an ending. Summerscale researched up to the deaths of those involved - I appreciated that closure. But what interesting lives these people had!
This was a great story for a sceptic like me. Ghost stories fascinate me. I don’t believe that there are ghosts, but I still like that they have the ability to unnerve and scare me! And this was certainly unnerving!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book. I probably would have gone on the waiting list at the library because of the (well-deserved) buzz around it, but I really do much prefer not having to wait and reading along with my fellow pigeons!
ClareR (5955 KP) rated The Burning Chambers (The Burning Chambers #1) in Books
Jan 26, 2021
This book is an immersive experience! I found myself drawn in to the world of 16th Century France - and to be fair, it was all pretty exciting stuff! Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, one of my ‘go-to’s’, and this did not disappoint one bit. It’s a story of religion, conflict, ambition, with a bit of a love story thrown in for good measure.
It’s all history that I know little about - my history education being that of the carefully selected English type. I’ve always tried to find out more about European history (ahem, German degree) and further afield if I can, and historical fiction makes it a bit more interesting than a dry history book. This book taught me a lot about the tensions between the catholic majority, and the Huguenot minority.
Minou is the 19 year old daughter of a bookseller, and lives in Carcassonne with her family. She meets Piet, a Huguenot convert, and helps him to escape from the town. Later, in Toulouse, they meet again in far more dangerous circumstances. They become trapped in a city at war - Catholic against Huguenot - and someone that Piet believes is a friend is very far from that. In Puivert, the chatelaine of the castle has a secret that she wants to keep hidden, and the only way to do that is for her to find Minou.
First, the most obvious thing: this is one big book. It’s the kind of book that I would buy on my kindle, because at 600+ pages, it definitely won’t fit in my handbag! The Pigeonhole is great for these circumstances!
Secondly, although this book is a serious whopper, it didn’t feel that way when I was reading it. It’s an exciting, fast-paced, delight of a read. It has it all: action, history, romance. Everything that makes for a compulsive read! The heroes and heroines are good, and the villains are thoroughly bad, and I loved them all!
It’s all history that I know little about - my history education being that of the carefully selected English type. I’ve always tried to find out more about European history (ahem, German degree) and further afield if I can, and historical fiction makes it a bit more interesting than a dry history book. This book taught me a lot about the tensions between the catholic majority, and the Huguenot minority.
Minou is the 19 year old daughter of a bookseller, and lives in Carcassonne with her family. She meets Piet, a Huguenot convert, and helps him to escape from the town. Later, in Toulouse, they meet again in far more dangerous circumstances. They become trapped in a city at war - Catholic against Huguenot - and someone that Piet believes is a friend is very far from that. In Puivert, the chatelaine of the castle has a secret that she wants to keep hidden, and the only way to do that is for her to find Minou.
First, the most obvious thing: this is one big book. It’s the kind of book that I would buy on my kindle, because at 600+ pages, it definitely won’t fit in my handbag! The Pigeonhole is great for these circumstances!
Secondly, although this book is a serious whopper, it didn’t feel that way when I was reading it. It’s an exciting, fast-paced, delight of a read. It has it all: action, history, romance. Everything that makes for a compulsive read! The heroes and heroines are good, and the villains are thoroughly bad, and I loved them all!
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Dig (2021) in Movies
Jan 31, 2021
Acting from Fiennes and Mulligan - top notch (1 more)
Cinematography is gorgeous
Why make it so "man heavy" when history was otherwise? (1 more)
Found the asynchronous editing irritating
Archaeology with no fedora required
It’s 1939, and as World War 2 approaches, widower Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) hires rough and ready excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to dig into one of the ancient earth mounds on her property at the site that will become famous as Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Requesting the help of her cousin Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn) to photograph the effort, the site slowly gives up its Anglo-Saxon treasures attracting the attention of first the Ipswich museum and then the pompous Charles Phillips (Ken Stott) of the British Museum. A battle is on for both the control of the site and the resting place for the treasures found.
Against this backdrop there is a critical illness emerging, a son (Archie Barnes) and his attachment to the father figure of Brown and a potential romance between Rory and archaeologist Peggy Piggott, trapped in a loveless marriage.
Talent:
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Flynn, Lily James, Archie Barnes, Ken Stott, Monica Donlan.
Directed by: Simon Stone.
Written by: Moira Buffini (from the novel by John Preston).
Bullet points of my thoughts:
+ Superb acting by Mulligan and Fiennes – Oscar noms for both?
+ Young Archie Barnes impresses as the son Robert
+ Cinematography by Mike Eley shows the open Suffolk skies at their best
+ Based on fact, a fascinating historical record of the real excitement of uncovering the past
o The script deftly melds the archeology with the love story subplot: but was the latter really necessary?
– Curious “man heavy” script, replacing some of the historical female characters with men and making Peggy Piggott (Lily James) a bit of a klutz
– Asynchronous editing decision I found to be distracting and unnecessary.
For my full review, please see the video at https://youtu.be/m8Ad8B8dkSY .
Against this backdrop there is a critical illness emerging, a son (Archie Barnes) and his attachment to the father figure of Brown and a potential romance between Rory and archaeologist Peggy Piggott, trapped in a loveless marriage.
Talent:
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Flynn, Lily James, Archie Barnes, Ken Stott, Monica Donlan.
Directed by: Simon Stone.
Written by: Moira Buffini (from the novel by John Preston).
Bullet points of my thoughts:
+ Superb acting by Mulligan and Fiennes – Oscar noms for both?
+ Young Archie Barnes impresses as the son Robert
+ Cinematography by Mike Eley shows the open Suffolk skies at their best
+ Based on fact, a fascinating historical record of the real excitement of uncovering the past
o The script deftly melds the archeology with the love story subplot: but was the latter really necessary?
– Curious “man heavy” script, replacing some of the historical female characters with men and making Peggy Piggott (Lily James) a bit of a klutz
– Asynchronous editing decision I found to be distracting and unnecessary.
For my full review, please see the video at https://youtu.be/m8Ad8B8dkSY .
Execution is the sixth book set in Elizabethan world of Giordano Bruno. I have read the first book in this series, so it was definitely on my radar, but as so often happens with me, I got distracted by other books 🤯
The fact that I haven’t (yet) read books 2-5 has made no difference at all to my great reading enjoyment, so this can be read as a one off (but why would you do that? Books 1 and 6 are fab, so I’ll be reading books 2-5 without a doubt).
Bruno is working undercover for Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and they hope to stop what becomes known as The Babington Plot - a plot to kill Elizabeth I, break Mary Queen of Scots out of prison and put her on England’s throne instead. This is all about Elizabeth’s claim to be queen. Henry VIII has disowned her as illegitimate when Anne was beheaded, and she was a Protestant to boot! Babington and his crew are staunch catholics, and they want a catholic on the throne. Mary fits the bill.
Francis Walsingham is desperate to find an excuse to dispose of Mary, and Babington is providing the goods. There is a secret letter exchange going on between the plotters and that Walsingham knows about, but he needs to catch them in the act - and he needs to ensure that Mary implicates herself completely.
This is all historical fact, as is Bruno’s existence, and I think that’s what puts the icing on the cake for me. I love historical fiction that brings real characters to life on the page. Bruno is a great character - he’s intelligent, funny and emotional. Basically, he’s a great character to build a story around.
So much research must have gone in to this book, and I really appreciate that. The side characters add couloir and substance to the whole story.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and I’ve now given myself the rather enjoyable task of catching up with Bruno!
The fact that I haven’t (yet) read books 2-5 has made no difference at all to my great reading enjoyment, so this can be read as a one off (but why would you do that? Books 1 and 6 are fab, so I’ll be reading books 2-5 without a doubt).
Bruno is working undercover for Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and they hope to stop what becomes known as The Babington Plot - a plot to kill Elizabeth I, break Mary Queen of Scots out of prison and put her on England’s throne instead. This is all about Elizabeth’s claim to be queen. Henry VIII has disowned her as illegitimate when Anne was beheaded, and she was a Protestant to boot! Babington and his crew are staunch catholics, and they want a catholic on the throne. Mary fits the bill.
Francis Walsingham is desperate to find an excuse to dispose of Mary, and Babington is providing the goods. There is a secret letter exchange going on between the plotters and that Walsingham knows about, but he needs to catch them in the act - and he needs to ensure that Mary implicates herself completely.
This is all historical fact, as is Bruno’s existence, and I think that’s what puts the icing on the cake for me. I love historical fiction that brings real characters to life on the page. Bruno is a great character - he’s intelligent, funny and emotional. Basically, he’s a great character to build a story around.
So much research must have gone in to this book, and I really appreciate that. The side characters add couloir and substance to the whole story.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and I’ve now given myself the rather enjoyable task of catching up with Bruno!
This is a book that starts off in a pretty harmless, if tragic way, and goes on to weave the stories of the Titanic and the Britannic together. Annie Hebley is an ex-stewardess from the Titanic, and when we first meet her she is a patient in an asylum. A fellow stewardess invites her to work on the Britannic some years later (1916), after it has been converted in to a hospital ship. Without any nursing experience, other than what she has watched the nurses do in the asylum, Annie accepts the job.
As soon as she sets foot on the Britannic, the memories of that fateful Titanic journey come flooding back to her. The atmosphere on the voyage in the lead up to the Titanic's destruction, can only be described as menacing. The passengers are fascinating - there's a real mix of people that we learn about. There is something definitely not quite right about the ship, but I was never able to put my finger on it (and I think that was intended). And that feeling follows Annie on to the Britannic.
I always think the unseen menace is far more frightening than what can be seen, and I really enjoyed this approach. I loved learning the backstories of the passengers, and the eventual reveal of Annie's story too. It really is historical fiction with a twist (that twist leaving me with a reluctance to ever get on a ship, if I'm honest). How Annie ever gets up the courage to board the Britannic, I'll never know.
If you know your history surrounding these two boats, you'll have a pretty good idea how this all ends, but it's the journey, isn't it? And it's also the way in which Alma Katsu manipulates that history that I really enjoyed. If you like your historical fiction a bit dark, a bit gothic, then you'll really like this. I did.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
As soon as she sets foot on the Britannic, the memories of that fateful Titanic journey come flooding back to her. The atmosphere on the voyage in the lead up to the Titanic's destruction, can only be described as menacing. The passengers are fascinating - there's a real mix of people that we learn about. There is something definitely not quite right about the ship, but I was never able to put my finger on it (and I think that was intended). And that feeling follows Annie on to the Britannic.
I always think the unseen menace is far more frightening than what can be seen, and I really enjoyed this approach. I loved learning the backstories of the passengers, and the eventual reveal of Annie's story too. It really is historical fiction with a twist (that twist leaving me with a reluctance to ever get on a ship, if I'm honest). How Annie ever gets up the courage to board the Britannic, I'll never know.
If you know your history surrounding these two boats, you'll have a pretty good idea how this all ends, but it's the journey, isn't it? And it's also the way in which Alma Katsu manipulates that history that I really enjoyed. If you like your historical fiction a bit dark, a bit gothic, then you'll really like this. I did.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
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