General Chat

Hi Ann the Kent choices are as follows ;-)) Labyrinth – Kate Mosse July 1209: in Carcassonne a seventeen year old girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe… July 2005; Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rocks, she realises she’s disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. Somehow a link to a horrific past – her past- has been revealed ______________________________________ Ireland – Frank Delaney One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller, the last of a fabled breed, arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. By the winter fireside he begins to tell the story of this extraordinary land. One of his listeners, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced that when the old man leaves he devotes his life to finding him again Ireland travels through the centuries by the way of story after story, from the savage grip of the Ice Age to the green and troubled land of tourist brochures and news headlines. Along the way, we meet foolish kings and innocent monks, god-heroes and great works of art, shrewd Norman raiders and strong tribal leaders, poets, politicians and lovers. A novel of huge ambition, beautifully told, Ireland is the unstoppably readable story of a remarkable nation ____________________________________ Classic North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell Set in the mid-nineteenth century and written from the author’s first hand experience, North and South follows the story of the heroine’s movement from the tranquil but moribund ways of southern England to the vital but turbulent north. Elizabeth Gaskelll’s skilful narrative uses an unusual love story to show how personal and public lives were woven together in a newly industrial society. This is a tale of hard won triumphs – of rational thought over prejudice and of humane care over blind deference to the market Readers in the twenty first century will find themselves absorbed as this Victorian novel traces the origins of problems and possibilities which are still challenging a hundred and fifty years later: the complex relationships, public and private, between men and women of different classes

My suggestions are: Elizabeth Noble The Tenko Club Rosie Thomas Sun at midnight In a quiet corner of Oxford Alice peel's life unfolds smoothly in the shadow of her pioneering Mother Margaret. but when Alice's relationship collapses & Margaret is taken seriously ill he world falls apart. She accepts an invitation to join a small team heading south to Antartica. There in her new home, a tiny research station she meets James Rooker a man on the run from his past. In this harsh silver and ice blue world a spark ignites between them. But as Alice experiences a momentous awakening that will change her life for ever, the barren beauty around them threatens the froup. & when they return to the everyday world can the fragile bond between them survive? CLASSIC Jane Austen Northanger Abbey Catherine Morland, an unremarkable tomboy as a child, is thrown amongst all the difficulties and dangers of Bath at the ripe age of 17. Armed with an unworldly charm and a vivid imagination, she must overcome the caprices of elegant society, encountering along the way such characters as the vacuous Mrs Allen, coquettish Isabella and the brash bully John Thorpe. Catherine's invitation to Northanger Abbey, in her eyes a haven of coffins, skeletons and other gothic devices, does lead to an adventure, though one she didn't expect, and her misjudgement of the ambitious, somewhat villainous General tilney is not wholly unjustified. However, with the sid of the romantic hero Henry Tilney, Catherine gradually progreses towards maturity and self knowledge. Ann Glos

At Dee's suggestion I am putting this up early. The idea is that we can then VOTE the same day we put up our reviews (24 FEB) Please give two ordinary books and one classic. The vote will also be for 2 of the ordinary ones plus one classic. The date of the next review will be 30th March as I will be away on the normal date, so you will have a week longer.