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Dear Millie: Diary of a Seven Year Old with Cancer
Book
"Dear Millie, I am writing you this letter in the hope that life has afforded you the opportunity to...
My Father, Frank: Unresting Spirit of Everest
Book
Frank Smythe's mountaineering achievements in the decade before the Second World War became a part...
The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
Book
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett's The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone is the...
A Distant Heart
Book
Born to her parents in Mumbai as a result of prayer, pilgrimage, and every fertility treatment known...
fiction
AI
An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry
Book
For many people, taking some form of medication is part of everyday life, whether for mild or severe...
SC
Stop Caretaking the Borderline or Narcissist: How to End the Drama and Get On with Life
Book
People with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorders have a serious mental illness that...
TI
There is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love
Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell
Book
The creator of the viral hit "Empathy Cards" teams up with a compassion expert to produce a visually...
ClareR (5542 KP) rated Unsettled Ground in Books
Feb 21, 2021
I make no secret of the fact that I’m a huge Claire Fuller fan, and Unsettled Ground gave me no reason at all to think otherwise - it’s a beautiful book.
The characters Jeanie and Julius are vulnerable people who just need someone to guide them when their mother dies, even though they are fiercely independent. This is a family that has always lived on the edge of their community - both their actual geographical location and socially. They live hand to mouth, and when Doris their mother dies, the twins have to go without food at times, when it transpires that Doris has left them with no money and debts. The cost of her funeral is the least of their problems (and they overcome that problem reasonably easily anyway).
There is a feeling that the twins are trapped by circumstance and by each other. Jeanie has never recovered from a childhood illness and is illiterate, and Julius is not only expected to look after her, but is trapped in their local area because he has severe travel sickness linked to their fathers terrible death. Their one comfort is their joint love of folk music (I wish I could have actually listened to these songs - I shall have to google them, and I hope they really exist!).
Claire Fullers use of language makes the everyday seem more lifelike in her books. I read most, if not all, of this with my heart in my mouth. How could I not? Jeanie and Julius are people who are shunned by society, taken advantage of and treated terribly. I feel I can’t leave this quite like this though: there are the good people, the ones that help.
I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll stop here, but what I will say is that this is another gorgeously written novel by Claire Fuller, and you should most definitely read it!
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this book through NetGalley to read and review.
The characters Jeanie and Julius are vulnerable people who just need someone to guide them when their mother dies, even though they are fiercely independent. This is a family that has always lived on the edge of their community - both their actual geographical location and socially. They live hand to mouth, and when Doris their mother dies, the twins have to go without food at times, when it transpires that Doris has left them with no money and debts. The cost of her funeral is the least of their problems (and they overcome that problem reasonably easily anyway).
There is a feeling that the twins are trapped by circumstance and by each other. Jeanie has never recovered from a childhood illness and is illiterate, and Julius is not only expected to look after her, but is trapped in their local area because he has severe travel sickness linked to their fathers terrible death. Their one comfort is their joint love of folk music (I wish I could have actually listened to these songs - I shall have to google them, and I hope they really exist!).
Claire Fullers use of language makes the everyday seem more lifelike in her books. I read most, if not all, of this with my heart in my mouth. How could I not? Jeanie and Julius are people who are shunned by society, taken advantage of and treated terribly. I feel I can’t leave this quite like this though: there are the good people, the ones that help.
I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll stop here, but what I will say is that this is another gorgeously written novel by Claire Fuller, and you should most definitely read it!
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this book through NetGalley to read and review.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Love Me to Death in Books
Sep 24, 2020 (Updated Jan 26, 2021)
There are two main characters in this book, and the book is told from their perspectives. Mr Anderson is a loner, living in a house that everyone is calling a “freak house”, all he wants is his own family, and he is ready to kill for it. Jacob is a teenager, that has lost his mother and is bullied by his stepmother. Jacob has only one friend- Maggie, but after her cousin sister is murdered, he is about to lose her as well. The characters in this book were not my favourite ones, and I found it difficult to connect with them. I liked Mr Anderson’s parts in this novel, I found his thoughts very amusing and very disturbed. The man has a very damaged personality, that is pretty dark and scary. Jacob’s parts in this book were very repetitive and dull, and I found myself skimming the text on many occasions.
The narrative of this book didn’t really have to offer anything. Yes, it discusses important topics, such as bullying, mental illness, loneliness, child abuse etc. But the way it was incorporated just didn’t work for me. The plot kind of plodded along, without any interesting twists or turns, and I didn’t feel any suspense whatsoever. I kept reading in hope of something major to happen, but it never did. 😦
The writing style wasn’t to my liking as well, I feel the book was expanded with the repetitive thoughts about Maggie. The setting of the book felt dark and gloomy, as well as the characters. The chapters have a medium length but Jacob’s parts really dragged to me. The book has some gory details regarding murders, and creepy thoughts of a killer as well. I liked the ending of the book, it did leave me satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, this book was not my cup of tea. I loved the killer, his strangeness and his thoughts, but other than that the characters and the plot felt bleak and boring.
The narrative of this book didn’t really have to offer anything. Yes, it discusses important topics, such as bullying, mental illness, loneliness, child abuse etc. But the way it was incorporated just didn’t work for me. The plot kind of plodded along, without any interesting twists or turns, and I didn’t feel any suspense whatsoever. I kept reading in hope of something major to happen, but it never did. 😦
The writing style wasn’t to my liking as well, I feel the book was expanded with the repetitive thoughts about Maggie. The setting of the book felt dark and gloomy, as well as the characters. The chapters have a medium length but Jacob’s parts really dragged to me. The book has some gory details regarding murders, and creepy thoughts of a killer as well. I liked the ending of the book, it did leave me satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, this book was not my cup of tea. I loved the killer, his strangeness and his thoughts, but other than that the characters and the plot felt bleak and boring.
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 .
