We enjoyed another of our friendly gatherings in the lounge at the Westlands Entertainment Venue. We greeted our friendly booklovers and chatting soon commenced as we unloaded all the books we’d read and enjoyed this month. Apologies came from Siobhan and poor Chip, who was caught up in traffic and had to turn around and go back home. Fortunately his emailed comments will follow.
We had chosen two books for enjoying and reviewing this month; ‘Midnight in Vienna‘ by Jane Thynne and ‘The Berlin Sisters‘ by Soraya M. Lane. Shall we start with the first book?
‘Midnight in Vienna’ by Jane Thynne
Ruth liked the balance of the two main locations for the novel; the elegance of Vienna and the tension of pre-war London. This novel had its strengths, but it was found to be predictable.
Sandra asked if it had been made into a film or television series as it felt familiar? The subject matter certainly had been dealt with in many ways but not sure if this particular book had made it to the screens.
Faye read it twice! She enjoyed the first half but questioned the plot of how a girl could actually, at that time, get into Chartwell and meet Churchill. She felt it wandered into the realms of disbelief. She did enjoy parts of this book and liked the feel of it in general.
Mark enjoyed this novel, but thought it might have been even better if the characters had been different. In the spying game with real people he thought the characters could have been switched, as girls made excellent spies. Now that’s a thought!
Liz enjoyed it but, having read many ‘Golden Age’ novels, she felt that the ones written at the time by women authors of their day – Persephone books have many – were more ‘of their time’ and that this trying to emulate the style of novels of the pre-War period was a little pedestrian. Having said that, she enjoyed it and said it was a good book.
Chip emailed that he had two books which he hadn’t really enjoyed – one having small print and had to be bought on Kindle – but ‘The Woman in Black‘ by Susan Hill was excellent.
‘The Berlin Sisters’ by Soraya M. Lane
Faye enjoyed reading about life in Berlin during the WWII and seeing the two sisters taking alternative views. Some parts not as believable as hoped with one spying for the Resistance. Overall a little light as not a gripping novel.
Mark thought it of the Mill and Boon vein. Only good in parts as a Nazi convert would be dead if written by a German. Too light.
We discussed the hiding of Jews during the war and Corrie ten Boom in Haarlem was mentioned. There are books on her selfless life and the generous hiding of people. A good conversation on this subject.
Other November Reads
Bob has read ‘James‘ by Percival Everett. It is a reimagining of Hucklebury Finn from the perspective of James, the enslaved person who escapes with Finn. Written as an enslaved African might talk, it is laugh out loud in places but also has quite a gripping setting in the American Civil War. Bob highly recommends this novel and enjoyed the Audible version.
Bob also read ‘The Final Minute‘ by Simon Kernick, but didn’t enjoy it as far too many deaths. Not recommended.
Carol had finished ‘This Motherless Land‘ by Nikki May and found it excellent.
She also read ‘North Woods‘ by Daniel Mason. She enjoyed this book and told us to be prepared to be amazed. There is a house in the woods and episodes of people living in the U.S. woods before immigrants from Europe and it covers four centuries. Some surprising endings to episodes full of characters each with a story to tell.
She also read ‘Why Mummy Swears‘ by Gill Sims. The synopsis is excellent with language a little fruity but rings bells from own experience! Recommended for a laugh.
Theresa enjoys the writing of Kate Mosse, and says ‘The Map of Bones’ is an excellent read. This is a really good page-turner written succinctly with good descriptions.
She also enjoyed ‘The Killing Song‘ by Lesley McEnvoy. A Yorkshire crime thriller with a forensic profiler. An excellent read.
Theresa also had ‘Murder by Candlelight‘ by Faith Martin, a 1924 crime novel with similarities to P.G Wodehouse. Also read was ‘Geneva‘ by Richard Armitage. She was hooked by the first page of this espionage thriller with a female main character. We will read this next month.
Mark read ‘Enlightenment‘ by Sarah Perry. A lot of astronomy unravelling and unrequited love. A newspaper extract at the end of each chapter. Lots of emotion. Not recommended by Mark and Theresa.
Eddie is reading Alan Johnson’s ‘Death on the Thames‘ and is finding it a really good read.
Sandra has been reading Joanne Harris’ ‘Gentlemen and Players‘ (prior to ‘A Narrow Door‘). A boy sneaks between the comprehensive and public school undetected until…. A really good read with a twist at the end.
Ruth finished Alan Johnson’s second of his biographies, and also ‘The Sheep’s Tale‘ by John Lewis-Stempel. She also recommended Donal Ryan, a speaker she saw at the Yeovil Literary Festival, and is reading his latest book. She is also reading Martin Amis’ ‘The Zone of Interest‘ after seeing the film at Cinemateque. She will persevere with the book but not her author.
Liz has read ‘The Glassmaker‘ by Tracy Chevalier. This was a clever way of illustrating Venetian history through the life of a female maker of glass beads among the rivalries of Murano families. This is a memorable read as are all of Tracy’s novels.
Liz also read ‘The Silence Factory‘ by Bridget Collins. She found this particularly interesting as there is a weaving factory or mill less than five miles from Yeovil, in Sherborne. Historically, there was a link with a weaver in North Devon. This made the book even more enjoyable and Liz interviewed Bridget at the Yeovil Literary Festival, so to hear Bridget talk about the thoughts behind her writing was fascinating. Another highly recommended book.
Another proof book arrived for Liz this week. It is ‘The Grapevine’ by Kate Kemp. It will be published in March 2025. It was originally an entry in the Yeovil Literary Prize, and it stuck in her memory as it was set in Australia. Look out for Kate’s book next year.
Coming Next month
Our two books to read this coming month are
- ‘James’ by Percival Everett.
- ‘Geneva’ by Richard Armitage.
It’s also time for our Secret Santa! We will each wrap up an anonymous, previously read book and place on the table for other people to take home for Christmas reading. We will then discuss our Secret Santas at our January meeting. Happy reading ahead!
Our next meeting will be at 12 noon on Tuesday 10th December at the Lounge at the Westlands Entertainment Venue.
We look forward to welcoming you!