My latest book reviews on Goodreads:
I absolutely adored this book. I think the author was born just a couple of months before I made my own appearance into the world so it took me right back to my own childhood in 1970s Britain. The detail and nuance of this particular time is very well evoked with many references that had me squealing 'ohh, I remember that' or 'yes that happened to me too' - favourite music, TV programmes, playground games etc. are recollected viscerally.
There are extremely sad and depressing elements to the story and these are told with clarity and grace. The realities of life for anyone who felt different from the norm in any way as a child, and the often horrifying difficulties that resulted, are not swept under the carpet in this memoir, but exposed deliberately, with sensitivity and without denying the deep disappointment that Life and the decisions made by people around us, can enact upon us.. continue reading..
The Madonna Secret by Sophie Strand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
So much to love in Sophie Strand's The Madonna Secret. Here is the story you've been yearning for, the missing pieces to a confusing, bedraggled, ancient jigsaw which though it will always remain incomplete, can now, thanks to Sophie and other writers like her, at least give a sense of clarity if not a conclusion.
I listened to the audiobook version which is narrated by Sophie herself and so beautifully captures the feeling of living, loving and being in that potent time, of Miriam / Mary's passions, desires, fears, anguish, love and joy, of her deep knowing and connection to the land around her, the ecology, wildlife and memories of the women who came before and those yet to come.. continue reading.
