After a month away I couldn't wait to visit the library this week. I have a very long list of books I want to read and was hoping I might find one or two sitting on the shelves. It was my lucky day - too much so - and I had to seriously restrain myself from bringing home too many. It took some deciding but this is what I chose.
The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna......An Englishwoman arrives in a small Croatian village and sets about restoring an old house as a summer holiday home. She hires a local man to help with the repairs. Opinions were divided on Aminatta Forna's previous novel The Memory of Love but I really liked it. I'm halfway through this one now and enjoying it very much although I can see it may be a bit quiet and slow for some readers.
Harvest by Jim Crace.......As late summer steals in and the final pearls of barley are gleaned, a village comes under threat. A trio of outsiders - two men and a dangerously magnetic woman - arrives on the woodland borders and puts up a makeshift camp. I haven't read this author before but he has won numerous literary prizes and Harvest is longlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize. It's not a list I usually rush to read but this one sounds interesting.
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.....'the riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed and betrayed by a desire for a world beyond her own.' Not sure whether I'm in the mood for an angry story and I have a feeling I will either like it or loathe it.
Every Contact Leaves a Trace by Elanor Dymott.....if you believe the blurb it's an 'exquisite, creepy and unexpectedly sexy murder mystery' about a man seeking answers to his wife's death. Worth a try!
What's in your loot this week?
The Other Typist was so odd. I don't think I finished it but I did read the end and it was even stranger, if that's possible. Not familiar with the rest.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think there's something wrong about that blurb? ''exquisite, creepy and unexpectedly sexy murder mystery' Haha perhaps it's just me! :p
It is this 'oddness' that intrigues me - I'm going to read it next to satisfy my curiousity.
DeleteIt is a very strange blurb and what caught my eye originally. Will be interesting to see if the story lives up to it.
I have been intrigued by The Other Typist. I'm not in a hurry to read it though. Enjoy your loot.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the sort of book I would normally be in a hurry to read but all these comments about 'odd' make me want to find out why. Hope to read it this weekend.
DeleteI love that cover on The Woman Upstairs. I'm not sure I'll ever read it but I think that design is just perfect. Enjoy your loot!
ReplyDeleteIIt is a wonderful cover but to be honest I'm not sure I want to read it either.
DeleteI've read Every Contact, and that blurb is completely wrong. It's a rather more subtle, rather more mature story. I wasn't brave enough to read The Memory of Love, but you might just be able to inspire me to pick up my copy of The Hired Man.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed The Hired Man - same theme as Memory but shorter and more focused. I suspected as much about that blurb. :-)
DeleteI read The Woman Upstairs and really liked it. It is angry, but it is not intense, more a quiet rage. I think The Hired Man sounds really good - I hadn't heard of it before, so thanks for bringing it to our attention!
ReplyDeleteOpinions seem so varied about The Woman Upstairs which really does make one want to try it.
DeleteI've seen a few good reviews for the other typist. Enjoy !
ReplyDelete