Silas Marner by George Eliot (Review #25)

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Blurb

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot, published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, it is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.

Review

This is one of the books off my Classics Club list but it is also a book that is one of my all time favourite books. I have read this book quite a few times but I thought it was time for a reread.

This wonderful little book is in my humble opinion Eliot at her best. Silas Marner is a beautifully written character and one you can’t help but love. Silas had a hard start in life and was cruelly mistreated and it is because of this he finds himself in Raveloe. In Raveloe Silas keeps away from his fellow villagers and works hard. He weaves day and night and the one joy he has is his gold but then a series of events take place and Silas’ life changes forever.

This book is only short but contains so many different themes. There is the theme of religion and how different denominations of Christianity are treated with fear and misunderstanding. We witness industrialisation taking away the work of cottage industries. How newcomers are treated in communities. There is so much within this tiny book but the main theme is the power of love and it is a wonderful theme within this book.

I will be honest there are certain characters within this book I have never been keen on and the main for me is Nancy. I’m not really sure why I dislike her so much but for some reason she just grates against my nerves. Godfrey Cass is also one who annoys me, he has good points but he also has bad points and I find the bad points outweigh the good.

I just love this book and will happily reread it again. I give this book a big 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She was born in 1819 at a farmstead in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, where her father was estate manager. Mary Ann, the youngest child and a favourite of her father’s, received a good education for a young woman of her day. Influenced by a favourite governess, she became a religious evangelical as an adolescent.

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The Dancer at Gai-Moulin by Georges Simenon (Review #24)

The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin by Georges Simenon

Blurb

The city of Simenon’s youth comes to life in this new translation of this disturbing novel set in Liège, book ten in the new Penguin Maigret series.

In the darkness, the main room is as vast as a cathedral. A great empty space. Some warmth is still seeps from the radiators. Delfosse strikes a match. They stop a moment to catch their breath, and work out how far they have still to go. And suddenly the match falls to the ground, as Delfosse gives a sharp cry and rushes back towards the washroom door. In the dark, he loses his way, returns and bumps into Chabot.

Review

Another fantastic Maigret book and one which was quite strange because Maigret didn’t actually make his presence known until about half way through the book. The book is set in the rougher part of Liege which was in fact Simenon’s home town.

The story is centred around two useless teenagers who are doing their very best at ruining their lives. Delfosse is from a wealthy family and Chabot is from a poor family but he has a good job in an office. However, the pair are living way beyond their means and spending all their time out partying and to keep funding this they have taken to stealing.

Whilst trying to rob another location the two boys find something very unexpected and from that night everything starts to go wrong for them. The mysteries also keep mounting up from that night.

I will be honest I missed Maigret’s presence in this book and found it lacked a special something by not having him appear until later. The case is rather tangled and I never knew what to expect next but that just made the book a real page turner. I really enjoyed this book but I did miss Maigret so I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

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An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (Review #23) #20BooksofSummer23 3/20

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

Blurb

It was first serialised in the Merry’s Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter “Six Years Afterwards” and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book revolves around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live–but also left out because of her “countrified” manners and outdated clothes.

Review

I was really excited to read this because I love Little Women and the sequels and have always wanted to read more books by Alcott. The version of the book that I bought was a big mistake though. Sadly I got a printed by Amazon edition and it was bizarre to say the least. The book contained weird pictures that didn’t entirely relate to the story and they were all badly pixelated. The layout of the book was also terrible which made the book difficult to read and I found myself wondering who random people were because new names had suddenly appeared but then realised that yet again it was just a wrong name for one of the characters.

Anyway, ignoring all the terrible faults with the publishing I really enjoyed this little story of the adorable Polly. The story begins with Polly visiting her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw and her family. Fanny lives in the city and is fashionable and surrounded by wealthy and fashionable friends. These friends find Polly countrified and old fashioned and this also means that poor Polly feels left out at times. However, Polly soon makes an impression on the Shaw family.

The Shaw family comprises Mr and Mrs Shaw, Grandma, Maud, Tom and of course Fanny. Each of these characters need some sort of help and comfort and little Polly in her own way sees this and helps them.

As the book goes on we see Polly getting older and eventually moving to the city herself and we see her struggles, her loneliness and isolation. However, we also see her grow, we see her learn and appreciate every little thing around her. Polly shows us that there are things to be thankful for everywhere even things we don’t normally consider or even think about Polly considers them and appreciates them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but for me it was nowhere near as good as Little Women and it just felt less sophisticated in the way it was written than Little Women and the sequels. Whether it is because the book was originally written in a serialised format I don’t know but I didn’t gel with the writing as I usually do. However, I still give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels.

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The Persephone Book of Short Stories (Review #22) #20BooksofSummer23 2/20

The Persephone Book of Short Stories

Blurb

Most of these stories focus on the small, quiet or unspoken intricacies of human relationships rather than grand dramas. The use of metaphor is delicate and subtle; often the women are strong and capable and the men less so; shallow and selfish motives are exposed.

The dates of these stories range from 1909 to 1986 and there are thirty in all. The ten stories which are already in print in Persephone editions of their work are by Katherine Mansfield, Irène Némirovsky, Mollie Panter-Downes (twice), Elizabeth Berridge, Dorothy Whipple, Frances Towers, Margaret Bonham, Diana Gardner and Diana Athill.

The ten stories which have already been published in the Quarterly and Biannually are by EM Delafield; Dorothy Parker; Dorothy Whipple; Edith Wharton; Phyllis Bentley; Dorothy Canfield Fisher; Norah Hoult; Angelica Gibbs; Penelope Mortimer; and Georgina Hammick. And lastly the ten stories which are new are by Susan Glaspell, Pauline Smith, Malachi Whitaker, Betty Miller, Helen Hull, Kay Boyle, Shirley Jackson, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Elizabeth Spencer and Penelope Fitzgerald.

Review

To celebrate Persephone Books’ one hundredth book, the publisher decided to issue this book of short stories all written by women. Some of the authors are more well-known than others but they all deserve to be in this book and also deserve to be more widely read.

I loved the variety of stories within this book and I had already read a couple of them from other Persephone Books publications but I didn’t mind reading them again. These stories cover first jobs, first loves, marriages, affairs (quite a few affairs), illness and death and many other themes which are either obvious or subtle.

I loved this book and I couldn’t put it down as I just loved the variety of the stories and I also really enjoyed the mixture of longer and shorter stories within the book. I also loved the phrase ‘skin food’ that was used in quite a few stories to describe facial moisturiser and I am now using the phrase myself as I think it sounds far more fun than moisturiser.

There was only one story in this book that I found hard to read which was the last story. The last story within this book I found rather harrowing and to be honest it was a big surprise after the other stories.

The thing I loved most about this book was it explores the small parts in women’s lives. The stories are about everyday people with everyday lives and problems. It explores the basic and tiny moments in different women’s lives which don’t usually get explored in books. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Foyles | Waterstones

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Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (Review #21) #20BooksofSummer23 1/20

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

Blurb

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

Just one more night. Then I’ll end it.

Alison drinks too much. She’s neglecting her family. And she’s having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.

Alison’s client doesn’t deny that she stabbed her husband – she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing.

But someone knows Alison’s secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who won’t stop until she’s lost everything….

Review

This has been sat on one of my TBR trolleys (I have many) for a very long time. In fact I remember buying it on an Amazon deal during one of the many lockdowns but I never seemed to get around to reading it. Thankfully, along came the amazing 20 Books of Summer Challenge and this was the first book I read off my list.

The first thing I will say is that once I started this book I could not put it down. I just loved Tyce’s writing and for a debut novel I was pleasantly surprised by how excellently written this book was. However, there was main problem for me and that was that I hated the main character! I just could not get on with the character of Alison and yes I know she was written that way but gosh she drove me mad! Thankfully, I didn’t let this put me off and carried on reading.

Alison was not the only character I did not like. I really did not like her husband who just felt off from the start. In fact most of the characters in this book I disliked but I loved the storyline and that is what kept me reading and not giving up with this book.

As we are reading about Alison’s chaotic life we also meet Madeleine who Alison is defending. Madeleine is accused of murder and as we learn more about the case we see many parallels between Alison and Madeleine’s lives and situations.

This book made me quite uncomfortable at times but it didn’t put me off and gave me a great deal to think about. It’s also a book that I think will stay with me for a long time and that shows just what a great author Tyce is. This book was a difficult book to rate for me because I loved the way it was written and the storyline but I just could not get on with the characters so in the end I decided to give it 3 out of 5 Dragons. I am really looking forward to reading Tyne’s other books soon and hopefully they won’t sit on my TBR pile for quite so long this time.

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Purchase Link

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Harriet Tyce (1972) is a Scottish barrister and novelist, the author of Blood Orange, The Lies you Told and It ends at midnight.

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The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (Review #20)

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Blurb

During a vicious persecution of the clergy in Mexico, a worldly priest, the ‘whisky priest’, is on the run. With the police closing in, his routes of escape are being shut off, his chances getting fewer. But compassion and humanity force him along the road to his destiny, reluctant to abandon those who need him, and those he cares for.

Review

I really like Graham Greene and this had been sat on my TBR pile for quite a while so I picked it up when I fancied reading a short book. I have read that this book is considered one of Greene’s greatest books but I must admit I have read better books by Greene than this one.

The book is set in the 1930’s in Mexico during the time when the church was under persecution and the Catholic priests either had to marry and renounce being a priest or face execution if they refused. This leads us to follow the “Whiskey priest” who is on the run from the authorities and who I think is my least favourite character I have ever come across. The “Whiskey Priest” is lazy, arrogant and clearly only a priest because he wants a cushy life and not because he wants to help the people.

The story follows the priest on the run and also the authorities trying to find him. In particular the incorruptible lieutenant who is willing to cross any line to capture the priest.

There are so many themes in this book. There is hatred, foreboding, fear, greed and very little joy. As usual the book is excellently written and even if I didn’t know the author I would be able to tell it was Greene from his style and finesse but I just did not like the characters. I knew it wouldn’t be a happy read and the “Whiskey priest” was clearly written to be an unlikeable character but I hated him. I hated the lieutenant and the only good thing about this book was how well it was written. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Henry Graham Greene (1904-1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded as one of the leading English novelistsof the20th century.

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A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon (Review #19)

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Blurb

In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory’s purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother’s past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.

Review

I was so excited to read this book because I really enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree and thankfully I was not disappointed. As a prequel I was hoping to learn a lot more about the Priory of the Orange Tree and the world it is set in. The prequel takes place 500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

This book is a slower read than The Priory of the Orange Tree but I liked that aspect because I learned so much more. The history is more fleshed out and I learnt so much more about the different cultures featured in the book and their different beliefs. I learnt so much about the four different geographical regions, the history and the religious and political beliefs of the different cultures. It really gave me so much more detail into how and why certain changes occur within this book and The Priory of the Orange Tree.

The other element I thoroughly enjoyed was the multi person point of view, although I soon found myself wanting certain characters’ chapters to come around quicker than others because I had favourite characters. The different points of view all flow through each other and we see how they connect but at the same time it felt like reading several books because each storyline was so rich and detailed.

My favourite characters were by far Wulf, Glorian and Tunuva, especially Tunuva. I really hope Shannon writes more books in this series and fast because I would love to learn more about The Priory. I would love a book about the founding of The Priory but I will have to wait and see what Shannon comes up with next. I found this a hard book to rate as in my mind it wasn’t quite a 5 out of 5 Dragon book so I think I will go with a first half rating of 4.5 Dragons out of 5.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Samantha Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. She currently lives in London.

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The Doll by Daphne du Maurier (Review #18)

The Doll: Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier

Blurb

In ‘The Doll’, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore, its pages telling a dark story of obsession and jealousy.

Many of the stories in this chilling collection were written early in Daphne du Maurier’s career, before she wrote the masterpieces that would cement her reputation as one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers: Rebecca, ‘The Birds’ and ‘Don’t Look Now’. These thirteen tales of human frailty and obsession demonstrate du Maurier’s extraordinary storytelling ability and her deep understanding of human nature.

Review

Having never read a book by Maurier before I did not know what to expect when reading this book of short stories. I also knew that these short stories had been written early in Maurier’s career so I approached the book with an open mind and also with the decision that if I didn’t enjoy the short stories I would still read some of Maurier’s full length books to see whether I liked her work.

Although these stories were written early in Maurier’s career you can see she has excellent skill in setting a dramatic scene. For me this is shown at its best in The Doll. The Doll is dark, vivid and mysterious and quite disturbing. Although the story I found the most disturbing was the last story in the book called The Limpet. I hated the main character of this story but it was clear that was what Maurier wanted. The character in my opinion was pure evil and a master manipulator.

There are many themes within this set of short stories but the main theme was love and all the extras love brings. There was adultery, sexuality, crimes of passion, jealousy, sadism and obsession. Some of the stories also showed she had little faith in a man being faithful in marriage.

I enjoyed this book and it is clear Maurier was ahead of her time especially with the story of The Doll but I found myself wanting more from the stories. I often struggle with short stories as I much prefer a full book. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons and hope to read a full length novel soon.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones

About the author

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Some of Maurier’s notable works are Rebecca, The Birds, Jamaica inn and The Scapegoat.

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The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (Review #17)

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Blurb

A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix.

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

Review

It has been many years since I have read a Garth Nix book but when I saw this I was intrigued and had to buy it. I am so glad I did and I have also bought the sequel.

I basically read this book in one day as I just couldn’t put it down and it is by far my favourite read of 2023 so far. The book is set in 1983 but not quite the 1983 we all know there are some differences. The book centres around Susan Arkshaw a girl who just wants to find out who her father is and to study art after the Summer holidays.

On her quest to find her father Susan meets Merlin. Merlin is clearly an interesting character who has a fantastic dress sense and who also has some special skills that Susan has not seen before. By meeting Merlin Susan is thrown into the world of the booksellers. The booksellers come in three categories, they are either left handed like Merlin which means they are warriors with superior strength and speed, right handed who are more studious and use magic and then there are the even handed booksellers who are clearly very powerful but we don’t get to find out the full extent of their abilities.

As Susan, Merlin and Vivien start to work out what is going on we soon learn that Susan’s and the booksellers’ quests overlap in more ways than they originally thought. This leads to one adventure after another.

I love the idea of the booksellers hiding behind their bookshops and books so nobody knows their true identities and abilities. Their network is huge and the police have a special unit to work with the booksellers. It would appear the booksellers have power over everyone but they have to have many fingers in many pies to keep everyone safe from the Old World.

I loved this book! My favourite character is by far Merlin who is eccentric and a laugh a minute but at the same time caring and protective. I will be starting the next book in the series straight away and I will definitely be catching up on my Garth Nix reading. I give this book a massive 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Foyles | Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Wordery

About the author

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia, to the sound of the Salvation Army band outside playing ‘Hail the Conquering Hero Comes’ or possibly ‘Roll Out the Barrel’. Garth left Melbourne at an early age for Canberra (the federal capital) and stayed there till he was nineteen, when he left to drive around the UK in a beat-up Austin with a boot full of books and a Silver-Reed typewriter.

Despite a wheel literally falling off the Austin, Garth survived to return to Australia and study at the University of Canberra. After finishing his degree in 1986 he worked in a bookshop, then as a book publicist, a publisher’s sales representative, and editor. Along the way he was also a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve, serving in an Assault Pioneer platoon for four years. Garth left publishing to work as a public relations and marketing consultant from 1994-1997, till he became a full-time writer in 1998. He did that for a year before joining Curtis Brown Australia as a part-time literary agent in 1999. In January 2002 Garth went back to dedicated writer again, despite his belief that full-time writing explains the strange behaviour of many authors.

He now lives in Sydney with his wife, two sons and lots of books.

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A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths (Review #16)

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths

Blurb

Set in Norfolk, England, A Room Full of Bonesembroils, once again, our brainy heroine in a crime tinged by occult forces. On Halloween night, the Smith Museum in King’s Lynn is preparing for an unusual event — the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop. But when forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway arrives to supervise, she finds the curator, Neil Topham, dead beside the coffin. Topham’s death seems to be related to other uncanny incidents, including the arcane and suspect methods of a group called the Elginists, which aims to repatriate the museum’s extensive collection of Aborigine skulls; the untimely demise of the museum’s owner, Lord Smith; and the sudden illness of DCI Harry Nelson, who Ruth’s friend Cathbad believes is lost in The Dreaming — a hallucinogenic state central to some Indigenous Australian beliefs. Tensions build as Nelson’s life hangs in the balance. Something must be done to set matters right and lift Nelson out of the clutches of death, but will Ruth be able to muster herself out of a state of guilt and foreboding in order to do what she does best?

Review

I will be honest this was the first Dr Ruth Galloway book that didn’t have me completely gripped. I still loved the book but I didn’t find it as engaging as the other books I have read from the series. The storyline of this book was rather disturbing to me especially the room of bones and certain scenes at the riding stables.

I found the whole thing of Ruth being depressed about being overweight and struggling to be a mom and have a career rather repetitive from the previous book. And yes I know Ruth probably wouldn’t have changed her mind on these things from the last book but it almost felt copy and pasted sadly.

I also found it interesting how Ruth could identify the sex of the skeleton so quickly. I know there are ways to tell the sex of an adult skeleton but she was straight out with an answer having only had a cursory glance at the skeleton because she was on the phone whilst the lid of the coffin was lifted. Having studied some archaeology during my Masters I know that identifying the sex of a skeleton is nowhere near as easy. I also wonder how Ruth gets any work done at the university as she always seems to be dashing off to one thing or another.

To be honest I guessed what was happening with the random people dropping down dead or being really ill and I found how Griffiths was dragging it out with the Australian mysticism rather dull.

The thing that saved this book for me was of course Cathbad. Cathbad is the best character in this series and as long as he is in the books I will be a fan. I love how he is there to support Ruth and Kate. He is always there for people no matter what and doesn’t care a fig what people think of him. Due to Cathbad I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Foyles | Waterstones | Wordery

About the author

Elly Griffiths was born in London and began her career in publishing, she then turned to writing full time. In 2016 she won the CWA Dagger in the Library for her work. Griffiths lives in Brighton with her family.