Charlie Fletcher - The Stone Heart trilogy.
I can't remember what put me in mind of this; I read them about 10 years ago when I borrowed the first one from the year 6 library at one of the schools I was teaching in. It's at the top end of Yr 6, I would say, set in a parallel London where statues come to life, the evil ones and the good ones, and Jack and Edie have to somehow navigate this dangerous world and set things right. I've reread the first book, and am engrossed by the second.
A Fortnight in September - R C Sherriff
It's about an ordinary family, mother, father, older son, a clerk, and the daughter working for a dressmaker, all still unmarried and living at home, and the youngest, still a schoolboy. They always take the same two weeks at the same boarding house every year in Bognor Regis. It's set in 1930
I'm finding this a slow read, probably because I'm impatient with the characters... they are stuck in their lives, and yet each wanting more... I'll persevere though, as I'm hoping they will unstick themselves from their tiny, closed lives...
It's a bit like reading a Barbara Pym.
My Life on the Road - Gloria Steinem
Thanks for giving a short review on these.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome... if you like Anne of Green Gables I'm sure you would enjoy the Blue Castle,
DeleteYour descriptions make each book sound intriguing, especially The Stone Heart trilogy. I love how revisiting old favorites can bring back unexpected memories. I’m curious, which of these three would you recommend to someone looking for a book they won’t want to put down?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting question. I find the Stoneheart trilogy, in spite of them being young adult, gripping; if they were a well-made tv series I would probably binge watch. For a gentle read, the RC Sherriff which has a mesmerising quality.
DeleteWe had a holiday in a borrowed caravan in Bognor Regis once, when our children were quite small and our income very small. I cannot tell you how awful it was. There was a handwritten notice above the tap saying "Do not worry about the brown water. It is safe to drink. It has been passed by the council" (this was genuine, not a joke)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like Bognor! We went once for a visit...
DeleteOut of those I've only read A Fortnight in September, which I enjoyed, a lovely quiet read, probably how many people lived until the war shook up their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right in saying that's how many people lived... it's the binding nature of staying respectable in the eyes of their little world that saddens me.
DeleteI haven't put that very well... and it's mainly the father who is annoying me!
DeleteAs you say, the second world war changed so much in society.
DeleteI enjoyed A Fortnight in September, although I was impatient with the father. He worried too much about other people. I love The Blue Castle, and have re-read it many times.
ReplyDeleteIt's the father I'm impatient with too; all those little tiny markers of status and outward appearance...
DeleteI will definitely be rereading The Blue Castle!