22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The story alternates between the present and past.   It is about the survival of a Polish family during and after the Second World War.   It tells the story of Janusz, Silvana and their son Aurek, separated at the start of the war and reunited seen years later in England.  The chapters alternate between their life at 22 Britannia Road, Ipswich and their separate ordeals during the war.  This structure works well and we get to hear both Janusz and Silvana’s individual voices.     I guessed early on what Silvana’s secret was, but that didn’t stop me wanting to read on as I cared enough about the characters to find out what was going to happen.  I loved the author’s attention to detail and the beautiful descriptions.  I look forward to reading more from this author. 

Amanda Hodgkinson is one of the authors appearing at the Parisot Literary Festival and I'm looking forward to going along and hearing her talk about her book.

 (Festival news can be found on festlitt.blogspot.fr/

The Magpies by Mark Edwards

I like a psychological thriller and this was a fast paced one.  The story follows Jamie and Kirsty as they settle in to their first new home together and start to plan their future.  Things soon turn sinister and their neighbours turn out to be the cause, although I did wonder if it was going to be more than that.  I enjoyed the book, but the ending seemed rushed and I was left asking many questions the main one being:- why didn’t Jamie go and speak to his other neighbours about the problems he was having.   I was waiting for a twist, which never happened!    

Toast by Nigel Slater

I knew Nigel Slater was a talented cook, but had no idea that he is also a talented writer.  His memoir, Toast, is based on a short story that was originally commissioned for the Observer.  It is a  wonderful portrayal of food in sixties suburban England.  He writes in an honest way, with nothing being “glossed” over.  At times his writing made me laugh, sigh and cringe!   Written in the form of short stories, each story uses a particular food as a framework and depicts his childhood and teenage years.  The descriptions are great – I particularly like the following (and I’m not even a big fan of bread and butter pudding!)  “You can’t smell a hug.  You can’t hear a cuddle.  But if you could, I reckon it would smell and sound of warm bread-and-butter pudding.”