A Moment of War by Laurie Lee

This is the last book in Laurie Lee’s Autobiographical trilogy.  In December 1937 Laurie Lee crossed the Pyrenees from France to join the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.  He joined the war as part of the International Brigade.  The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries.  He didn’t see much action as he spent a lot of his time in the training camp in Albacete and in Tarazona, waiting for orders.   The winter of 1937 was extremely harsh.   He was eventually deployed to Teruel and found himself fighting just when the Republicans were being forced to retreat.  The prose is full of vivid descriptions, but he doesn’t gloss over the cruelty and senselessness of war.  It’s a short book and one which I will read again.

Invisible Thread by Maree Giles

This is a story about a young girl in Sydney, Australia in 1970 and the dreadful Parramatta Girls’ Training School.  The main character is fourteen-year-old Ellen Russell who has been living with her boyfriend Robbie and as such, is deemed to have put herself in moral danger.  For this reason, Ellen is arrested and sent to Parramatta Girls' Training School.  She is pregnant and her baby is forcibly taken from her at birth.  I expected the story to concentrate on Ellen’s time in the Girls' Training School, but the main focus is on the loss of her baby and how Ellen struggles to come to terms with this.     In writing the novel, which was published in 2001, Maree Giles called on her real life experience of the Parramatta Girls’ Training School where she was incarcerated for several months as a sixteen-year-old.  

Bruno Chief of Police by Martin Walker

Bruno Courreges is such a successful character that Martin Walker has now written six books in the series.  Martin’s love of the Perigord area of France shines through in his writing.  I found myself chuckling at the way some of the characters were portrayed, especially Bruno.    The story gently unravels as the reader is introduced to the charming town of St Denis and the local inhabitants.  Then the body of an old Algerian man is discovered shattering the peace of St Denis.  The story-line touches on the days of the Resistance and Vichy France.  The book was an entertaining read.  There is a fun website too:- http://www.brunochiefofpolice.com/

Seven-Week Itch by Victoria Corby

The Seven-Week Itch was a fun read.  It is not your usual chick lit as it has a plot with a twist.  The story opens at Rose’s wedding and Susie, who is Rose’s best friend and chief bridesmaid, is the narrator. Rose is a self-absorbed character whom I detested, but I loved the character of Susie from the start.  The other characters were full of life and colour.  I wasn’t sure if this was going to be my kind of book, but in the end I couldn’t put the book down.  I have now sent off for “Up To No Good” on Kindle!   

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.”