Reviews by Jenny (39)

Jenny 2023-10-03 The Guest House by the Sea

The Healing Power of Place

The Guest House by the Sea

Esme runs a guesthouse on the coast of Ireland. She is over 80 and has a fall which confines her to a seat in the lounge, from which she dispenses humour, warmth and wisdom to her summer guests. The guests are all in times of transition or difficulty and all find at The Willows, the time and space to recover and rediscover themselves. One has to forgive it for being a bit cliched and twee, because the characters are drawn with complexity and sensitivity, making it an uplifting read. Only after completing it did I discover that Faith Hogan is also the author of 'The Midnight Ladies' Swimming Club' which many of us enjoyed.

Jenny 2023-10-03 The Last Tree

Beautiful

The Last Tree

This is a simple story / poem that imagines a world without trees, and explores a young child's need to connect with nature. The drawings are exquisite and entrancing.

Jenny 2023-10-03 Why Women Grow

The women remain in the shadow of the author.

Why Women Grow

I could not engage with this book. The author interviews various women gardeners to discover why they enjoy their gardens and what led them to become gardeners. It has received glowing reviews and even been punted as giving an empowering voice to women who are 'silenced and overlooked' (Waterstones ). But I could not find any of that in her interviews. At first I thought I was not relating to it because all the plants discussed are foreign and unknown to me, but later realised there was more to my antipathy than that. I never really developed any lasting impression of any of the interviewees - the women all seemed incidental to the author's desire to express her own ideas and opinions. After 'The Well Gardened Mind' that we had before, this was a disappointing read.

Jenny 2022-01-24 The Wilderness between Us

Local adventure

The Wilderness between Us

This book was a lovely surprise. I expected a simple adventure story set in the familiar Tsitsikamma forest hiking trail. But this story is so much more than that. It explores the self-exploration that happens when we are immersed in a natural environment, through the life stories of the two main characters who land up in a very dangerous situation. They have to grow and draw on their own strengths, to come out on top. A feel-good, enjoyable and easy read.

Jenny 2022-01-24 The Nightingale

A Woman of the French Resistance

The Nightingale

The unrelenting suffering depicted in this story at times seemed melodramatic, which made it more bearable for me. The Nightingale is a young rebellious French girl who joins the Resistance and helps soldiers escape across the mountains to Spain. Her older sister stays at home with her daughter and has to cope with the German occupation and a husband who becomes a POW. As a confirmed non-fan of war fiction, I really enjoyed this novel mostly because the characters are so deeply and sympathetically written that the suffering and devastation become secondary to their private journeys.

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