Reviews by Jenny (39)

Jenny 2024-04-18 Northwoods

Nature on a slower timescale

Northwoods

This is the story of a piece of farm land - mostly woods - in America, and stretches from the time of slavery into the future. At first I was irritated by the way in which none of the characters who live in the old yellow house, are developed fully. They all remain quite ephemeral and their stories are not resolved. But later I realised that the effect of this device is to make the land the main protaganist of the novel and highlight the timelessness and resilience of the natural forest, and even the cultivated apple trees, in contrast to the brief fleeting lives of the human inhabitants. It is a clever story which I can highly recommend.

Jenny 2024-03-11 The last white man

Invitation to self-reflection

The last white man

Beautifully written with a musical cadence made of long sentences, this gentle story does evoke imaginings and feelings and becomes very personal. It was difficult to know what to make of it till I found this interview with the author and everything fell into place. I loved it. (Sorry you need to copy and paste because I don't have the links working in this program yet. ) https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0LDBISi9OzqkwYPSSzs3PKM7MU8hIzM1MUchJLC5RKM_ILElVyE3MAwBEiA8a&q=mohsin+hamid+last+white+man&rlz=1C1CHWA_enZA580ZA581&oq=mohsin+hamid+last+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEC4YgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQLhiABDIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoF0gEIODg0OGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&ip=1&vld=cid:6b905e1d,vid:s9etnCbimNg,st:0

Jenny 2024-02-19 Brief Answers to the Big Questions

On the edge, where science and spirituality meet.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

I was surprised to understand as much as I did - all credit to SH's chatty accessible manner and his ability to make these insanely abstract concepts a little bit understandable to us plebs. Even with only the vaguest glimmer of comprehension, I find it exciting to imagine how these big questions will be pursued in the future. The book was published posthumously and is our last gift from this brilliant and humble genius.

Jenny 2024-02-19 Covenant of Water

Epic family saga is tender and perceptive - wonderful read.

Covenant of Water

From the first sentence to the last, this amazing story holds your attention. It made me laugh and made me cry. There is grief and tragedy for the family who live with an inherited 'condition' that curses them with a predisposition for drowning. But also plenty warmth and humour. The author's deep insights into the problems of colonialism from an Indian perspective were illuminating and enhanced my understanding of African colonialism. The author is an Ethiopian born Indian now a professor of medicine at an American university. He has also written and been interviewed on medical and healthcare issues that I am now keen to investigate. Highly recommended enchanting read.

Jenny 2024-02-07 Seeing Other People

Relationship from a man's point of view.

Seeing Other People

I really enjoyed the way this book explores complex family relationships but from a man's point of view for a change - so many of this genre have women authors. This is the story of a man who makes a mistake and how he finds his way back to happiness. Mike Gayle (of The Museum of Ordinary People) is an interesting and prolific writer and I look forward to reading more of him - his gentle humour and self-deprecation are similar to novels by Stephen Boykey Sidley who is another male voice in this genre.

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