The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore - #BookReview

"England, March 2010

The muffle of cloud that had settled over Badley Compton Harbour was so dense that the little fishing boats tethered to the buoys in the middle of the bay had completely vanished."

A cookery course in the heart of Tuscany proves irresistible to Gracie Burton. She decides to plough her life savings into the week-long trip, leaving her daughter and granddaughter baffled by her impulsiveness. But having grown apart over the years, in many ways the three women barely know each other.

Travelling together from Devon to the breathtakingly beautiful Italian countryside, they take up residence at a castle belonging to the elusive Count Tancredi. Yet everything is not as it appears, and quickly Gracie's family begin to suspect that this is not Gracie's first visit.....

What secret in Gracies's past is drawing her to this small hillside town? Will she let the magic of Italy revive her adventurous past and open her heart once more? And in doing so, will it reunite the three generations of her family?

Ms. Montefiore is an excellent storyteller and it was very easy to get swept along on the current of this story. Gracie is such a lovable character and I warmed to her from the very first page.

This book deals with many issues and I was really involved in the changing relationship of Gracie, her daughter Carina and her granddaughter Anastasia. They initially present as a fairly dysfunctional bunch and I was fascinated to observe the change in their relationship as the story progressed.

Italy was almost a character in itself. I was lucky enough to take a holiday there the year before last so I was really able to place myself within this book quite easily. However, even if you have never visited Italy the author describes it in such vivid detail that you will feel as though you were there. She clearly has a real love for the place and it shines through in her writing.

The dual narrative moves in time from the present day to the 1950's when Gracie was growing up and I found myself impatient to move from one era to the next to progress the story in both timelines. In addition, the narrative also occasionally takes us back to Gracie's English village in order that we can keep up with the present day village story at the same time. For me, this elevated this book into something much more as the minor characters were pure gems in their own right.

The final chapter catches up with the self appointed village matriarch, Flappy Scott-Booth. She is a wonderful character and had me in fits of laughter and demonstrates the authors skill of being able to flesh out even her more minor characters.

I enjoyed this book very much and highly encourage you to read it for yourself. I would love to hear your thoughts on this book. Have you read anything else by Santa Montefiore?

ISBN: 978 1471169618

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

About the Author:

Born in England in 1970 Santa Montefiore grew up on a farm in Hampshire and was educated at Sherborne School for Girls. She read Spanish and Italian at Exeter University and spent much of the 90's in Buenos Aires, where her mother grew up. She converted to Judaism in 1998 and married historian Simon Sebag Montefiore in the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London. They live with their two children, Lily and Sasha in London.

Santa Montefiore's novels have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than three million copies in England and Europe.

(author details courtesy of Goodreads)

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson - #BookReview

"9th April 1975, Leeds: The Bay City Rollers at number one. IRA bombs all over the country. Margaret Thatcher is the new leader of the Conservative Party. At the beginning of the month, in Albuquerque, Bill Gates founds what will become Microsoft........... In the middle of it all, Tracy Waterhouse was only concerned with the hole in one of the toes of her tights. It was growing bigger with every step she took. They were new on this morning as well."

A day like any other for security chief Tracy Waterhouse, until she makes a shocking impulse purchase. That one moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.

Witnesses to Tracy's outrageous exchange in the Merrion Centre in Leeds are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie, who has returned to his home county in search of someone else's roots. All three characters learn that the past is never history and that no good deed goes unpunished.

I am so enjoying this series of books, of which, this is the fourth in the Jackson Brodie series. I always like to read a series of books in order and so have previously read Case Histories, One Good Turn and When Will There Be Good News; all of which have been great reads. Of course, these books would read very well out of order and my need to read books chronologically probably says more about my anally retentive personality than about the books themselves.

 I think it must be difficult to keep up the momentum of a series of books but the writing and plot are every bit as good as the earlier novels. In addition to Jackson Brodie I thought Tracy Waterhouse was a really good character. Ms. Atkinson's characters are very easy to engage with and which make this series a real treat to read. I already have the next book, Big Sky, lined up to read.

The narrative changes from the present day to the 1970's seamlessly and between Jackson and Tracy's voices. The voices are distinct and very easy to follow. Having been young during the 1970's (yes, I too, was a Bay City Rollers fan) I enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.

The author is remarkably skilled at mixing mystery and murder interwoven with good humour in a way which feels totally authentic. This series of books are a joy to read and I highly recommend them.

ISBN: 978 0552 772464

Publisher: Black Swan

About the Author:

Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.

She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories and One Good Turn.

Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.

When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard and Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.

Memento Park by Mark Sarvas - #BookReview

"My name, the name I use, is Matt Santos. The name I was born with is Mathias Santos. The name I might well have been born with is Matyas Szantos. I am none of these people and I am all of them."

An unexpected call from the Australian consulate makes Matt Santos aware of a painting he believes was looted from his family in Hungary during World War II. To recover it, he must repair his relationship with his judgmental father, uncover his family history, and reconnect with his own Judaism. 

Along the way, Matt is torn between his doting girlfriend, Tracy, and his alluring attorney, Rachel, with whom he travels to Budapest to unearth the truth and confront the central question: How do we move forward when the past looms unreasonably large?

It pleases me enormously when the first book I read in a new year, decade in this case, is such a good read. I enjoyed this book immensely as it is full of complex characters which always appeals to me in a novel.

The novel centres around Matt, a successful actor and who's girlfriend, Tracy, is an equally successful swimwear model. They both jet around the world to various filming and modelling locations and seem to be living the American dream.

However, Matt's whole world is turned upside down upon the discovery of a painting which belonged to his family in prewar Hungary. This proves to be the opening of a whole can of worms for Matt as he seeks to make sense of the past and which forces him to confront the difficulties he has in his relationship with his father.

Matt is a very complex character and his father is equally so. Matt knows little of his fathers past, a deliberate act on the part of his father to spare his son from the horrors he experienced in Hungary during the war at the hands of the Nazi's.

For Matt the painting comes to embody a life and faith that he feels his father has denied him. The relationship between Matt and his father were the kingpin in this novel for me. We see his father through Matt's eyes and are able to sympathise with him. However, Tracy's communications with him enable us to see him from her perspective and it made me question how reliable Matt's view of his father was. It was certainly a very complex relationship and it was this that made this novel so gripping for me. As a reader, I was longing for a reconnection between them and it was this hope that kept me enthralled by this book.

It is a very intelligently written novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading this authors other work, Harry, Revised.

ISBN: 978 037420637

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

About the Author:

Mark Sarvas is the author of the novel Harry, Revised, which was published in more than a dozen countries around the world. His book reviews and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Threepenny Review, Bookforum, and many other publications. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, PEN America, and PEN Centre USA, and teaches novel writing at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. A reformed blogger, he lives in Santa Monica, California.

Happy New Year 2020

Happy New Year to all of my lovely readers. I wish you health and happiness in abundance during 2020.

I am aware that my blog was rather quiet for the latter half of 2019. I have had some major technological issues which are still ongoing and have caused me much frustration, not to mention feeling that I would have liked to hurl my computer in the air at some points (we've all been there!)

So, I am going to apologise upfront that my reviews at the moment will be imageless. I will, however, be writing many more book reviews and hope that you will forgive the lack of book covers. The blog page won't look as pretty as usual but I hope you will understand.

In the meantime, I hope that 2020 has got off to a marvellous start for you all. Have you set yourself any bookish resolutions this new year? I would love to hear all about them.

In the words of the wonderful Jane Austen:

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."