Review - A Long Petal of The Sea

 

I like reading historical fiction - especially a book that teaches me something.

I was - of course - aware of the Spanish Civil War, but only in a vague sort of way. What I didn't know is that the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda commissioned ships to take Spanish refugees to re-settle and start new lives in Chile.

A Long Petal of the Sea starts with a family, who take in a musically talented girl, Roser to live with them. Roser grows up with them and falls in love with one of the sons, Guillem. The other son, Victor, is training to be a doctor.

When war breaks out, the brothers are called to different occupations - Guillem a soldier, and Victor a doctor.

However, when Guillem dies in the Spanish Civil War, Roser, Victor and Victor's mother Carme, begin a perilous journey to France to try and escape Franco's brutal regine.

Carme vanishes, and Roser and Victor end up in a concentration camp. Roser has Guillem's baby, and Victor is called away to work as a doctor once more. 

He finds out about Neruda's plan, marries Roser in order to secure them a place on one of the ships, and all three sail away to a new life in Chile. 

I have to admit - I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. The history is fascinating, and heart-breaking at times, as Roser and Victor find themselves subject to yet another fascist regime under Pinochet in Chile, but there's a remove with the story, almost.

Roser and Victor are the centre of the book, and every other character feels almost ... shadowy. Even their son Marcel in a way, and I wonder if that's why A Long Petal of the Sea didn't quite work for m. 

Still. An interesting read about some truly momentous - and horrific - periods in our history.

The Sunday Post 34; It's Monday! What are you reading? 34

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Last week .... well, the jaws of capitalism opened wide and trapped me in their maw again, so I had to go to work. 

We won again at quiz on Wednesday night - no tiebreaker required this time.

I had a work function on Thursday night as well, and for this slightly extroverted introvert, that was enough peopling for one week. Although it was fun. There was dinner and prizes to hand out for jobs well done (not to me, I need to make that clear) and entertainment. The entertainment was Jingo - https://playjingo.com/ - which is a LOT of fun to play.

But. On Friday all I wanted to do was nest on the couch and watch TV. Which I did and it was glorious.

Yesterday I went out on a quest to the secondhand shops to see if I could acquire salt and pepper shakers. I was not successful but I went to the library and tripped over a couple of books so the trip wasn't entirely wasted. 

I went to my friend's as usual last night, and we watched some episodes of Survivor UK.

I finished The Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. I'm still reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, and I've finally started Making it So by Patrick Stewart.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Review - Legends & Lattes

 

Gosh, I loved this. I loved this so much I almost started it again as soon as I had finished it, but it was due back at the library.

It's a cosy fantasy about a former mercenary Orc called Viv who hangs up her sword and opens a coffee shop.

That's it. That's the whole book. And it sounds like an incredibly slight premise, but you're with Viv the whole way - from buying the premise  to finding people to work on it/in  it - people who become Viv's second found family and it's just. 

It's a delight, honestly.

I know that what I usually expect from fantasy novels is high stakes - you know - world-ending, questy-type stuff and I do love that as well.

But. BUT. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a book that just goes "let's build a coffee house together" and it feels like a hot cup of tea on a cold day. 

It's comforting. And yes, the stakes are - in general - low, but I like that. I like that a lot. 

The Sunday Post 33; It's Monday! What are you reading? 33

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

The week that was. 

Capitalism still has me firmly in its jaws, so I went to work because apparently bills don't pay themselves. 

We won on a tiebreaker question at quiz on Wednesday night, which is somehow the most satisfying way to win. 

I tried to watch The Continental - the limited series set in the John Wick universe - but got bored halfway through the first episode. So I switched to re-watching episodes of Brooklyn 99 and Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

My old editor passed away a couple of weeks ago, and I wasn't able to go to the funeral, so a group of us who had worked with him gathered at a pub to raise a glass and reminisce on Saturday afternoon. I also went to the library, and to my friend's place as usual to do some stitching and TV watching.

It's Sunday morning now and I'm contemplating lunch and picking a movie to watch this afternoon while I get some stitching done. 

I finished Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree which I absolutely loved. 

I'm still reading Grace and Power (albeit very slowly) and I started Hell Bent - the sequel to Ninth House. 

I also still have A Long Petal of the Sea on the go, but I'm hoping to finish that this week. Up next I have Making it So by Patrick Stewart, which I'm very much looking forward to diving into.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Some works in progress

I’ve been meaning on and off to do a post on cross-stitch for a while. But I have so many works in progress (we’re not talking about that) so I figured I’d start with a couple and go from there.

The first one is called Monet Impressions  and I started in January 2004. It’s from designed by Sheila Hudson and was in a magazine called Cross Stitch Collection, I think. There’s a LOT of confetti stitches (single stitches of one colour scattered throughout the pattern) and colour changes so I’ve put it away many times but … last year? decided to pick it up again and chip away at it slowly so I don’t either throw it across the room or burn it. It’s coming along nicely.

 

The second one is Rivendell by CountryMagicStitch. I started it in …. 2019? I think? I have a yearly tradition at New Year’s where I re-watch Lord of the Rings and start a new project. Rivendell was 2019’s start. It’s progressing but slowly. I also have The Mines of Moria and Lothlorien by the same designer.  So far I’ve done one and a bit pages out of four. Slow progress is still progress.

That’s what I tell myself.

Two reviews

Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

If you have been here for some time you will know that Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors, so when I saw this biography in the library, I grabbed it to read.

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction as a rule, but I do like a good biography. And I did enjoy this one.

It goes into Dame Agatha Christie’s personal and professional life and places everything in a historical context – her marriages, her books, and her disappearance in 1926.

It’s written in a very readable and conversational style which I enjoyed.

Also, I need to re-read pretty much every single Agatha Christie book I own.

 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

This one was actually recommended to me by a workmate. So when I saw it was in at the library a few weeks ago, I took it as a sign.

And I’m so very glad I did, because it was so much fun to read. Galaxy (Alex) Stern has a particular gift – she can see dead people. This brings her to the attention of Lethe House at Yale, a type of oversight committee for the Ancient Eight Houses of the school who all specialize in different kinds of magic.

Alex has come to Yale carrying a dark past and an even darker secret, but she takes the chance to start over. However, when her mentor Darlington vanishes, she finds that she’s a bit more over her head than she realised.

It’s fast-paced, readable and honestly Alex is one of my most favourite fictional characters.

So much fun.

The Sunday Post 32; It's Monday, what are you reading? 32

 

The Sunday Post – a chance for bloggers to catch-up  - is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It’s Monday! What are you reading? Is hosted by Kathryn here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let’s see … it’s been a couple of weeks. What has been happening? Much the same honestly.

Work has happened as I’m just a tiny cog in the massive wheel of capitalism.

I did social-type things a couple of weeks ago – visited a friend who was laid up after ankle surgery, and went to a couple of craft fairs with other friends, which honestly filled my social meter up for quite some time.

I went to my friend’s place as usual on Saturday night for stitching and TV watching.

Spawn and I went to the library yesterday as I had many books to return and managed to restrain myself to only getting two out. Which I’m not sure I want to read. That always seems to be the way.

We won very decisively at quiz on Wednesday night which was nice. I’m somewhat competitive so I do like to win.

I finished Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley and also Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, both of which I enjoyed.

I’m still reading A Long Petal to the Sea by Isabel Allende, and I’m also reading Grace and Power by Sally Bedell Smith which is about the Kennedy administration. It’s interesting but also 900 pages long so it’s going to take a while. I also started Legends & Lattes by Travis Bardee which is a cosy fantasy about an orc who opens a coffee shop. So far it’s very fun.

How about you? How’s your week? What are you reading?