Old Girls Behaving Badly by Kate Galley

May18

Life Is For Living

Old Girls Behaving Badly by Kate Galley is an intriguing contemporary novel that kept me amused for a few hours.

The leading ladies are seventy one and eighty nine. They suddenly find that their twilight years are anything but calm and peaceful as the pair search for a stolen painting. Add a thirteen year old into the mix and the action ramps up as her enthusiasm knows no bounds.

We follow the characters to a family wedding in Norfolk where an uncle has thrown open his large, old house. There are elements of Agatha Christie as the family descends and three members are practicing their amateur sleuthing skills.

Society has written off ladies of a certain age, meaning they are practically invisible in their antics. Women over sixty are seen as beige, boring and staid – but they prove themselves to be far from this assumption. A sense of adventure is awakened in them as they prove that life is for living, whatever your age.

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Fire Music by Connie Hampton Connally

May17

Light Shining In The Darkness

Fire Music by Connie Hampton Connally is a powerful dual timeline novel surrounding a Hungarian family. The novel concentrates on the years 1945 and 2013 as we alternate between the two time periods.

Most of the action is set in Budapest. The two time periods are united by a sixteen year old in 1945 who becomes a grandfather in 2013.

We meet a young American searching for her roots, after her grandparents passing. She wants to know her story and where she comes from.

1945 was a terrible time for Hungarians. First there were the Nazis and then the Russians moved in. Both were brutal. Women were not safe as they could be attacked and far worse.

We follow a family who had very little but had a tremendous musical talent. Music breaks down barriers, uniting those from all walks of life. Music can be passed down the years to future generations. Music also sends us back down the years to a moment in time. As talents unite, beautiful music is made.

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My Friend The Enemy by Dan Smith

May16

The Souvenir

My Friend The Enemy by Dan Smith is a powerful children’s historical novel that completely consumed me. It is perfect for ages ten years and over. Whatever your age, this is a great read.

The book is set in 1941 in a village in the north east of England. All the action is seen through the eyes of twelve year old Peter, and is written in the first person. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with him. For the duration of the novel, I ‘became’ Peter.

We see how hard war is for everyone. Peter’s father is away at war; his friend Kim’s brother is fighting; and a German plane crashes near the village. Plus, there are raids and rationing. War touches everyone.

Peter’s mother functions as a single parent whilst his father is away. We witness the difficulty of trying to feed herself and Peter, and of being both mother and father to him.

The air raids are vividly portrayed. Bombs fall on the village as German planes shed their loads before flying home. A plane crashing in a field causes panic amongst the locals as a parachutist was seen minutes before but is nowhere to be seen. Hunt the Nazi becomes the latest craze.

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Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

May15

Serenely Unique

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is a beautiful contemporary novel surrounding the life of the convenience store woman.

This is a very serene novel that soothes the reader’s heart and soul.

We see how convenience store woman mimics others in order to fit in. She lives to work in the convenience store. Her heart and soul desire the routine and predictability of the nature of her work.

In her desire to fit in, convenience store woman tries to be what society tells her she should be – but she was not made to conform to society. Her goal is to simply be a convenience store woman.

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