Bookish Chatter | Swept Away by Books

Happy Wednesday, friends! First of all – I want to say thank you to everyone who left such encouraging and kind comments on post on Monday night. I feel so lucky to have found you all!

Today I’m sharing the books that have swept me away this week. I have traveled to a small village in England and stayed in a possibly haunted and crumbling down cottage, a top-notch estate in the far north (which I’m choosing to believe is Scotland) surrounded by suspicious locals, and to Gibraltar during the Spanish Civil War. I’ve also hopped a freight car in Cincinnati and escaped jail. It’s been quite a week for me and I can’t wait to share these books with you!

Books Finished This Week:

Pearl hooked me almost immediately. I loved Marianne’s story and following her life as she grieved her missing mother. There were moments in this book that I laughed out loud and others when I wanted to give the main character a hug and a cup of tea. And there were some really scary moments too! Pearl is full of emotion and hope and I’m so glad I discovered this book. Last week I described it as a combination of a Claire Fuller novel and one of my favorite books, A Ghost in the Throat. And I still think that’s an accurate description!

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When I started, I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish Study for Obedience. But I stuck it out and was glad I made it through. It’s a short novel, less than 200 pages, and benefits from close reading. In this story, the unnamed main character moves in with her brother in the “far north” to become his housekeeper after his wife leaves him. She’s the youngest of many children and has spent her life trying to be invisible and docile. And when strange things start happening in the village, the residents are quick to blame the newcomer.

This book was full of unsettling scenes that were almost funny, but mostly surreal. It was almost as if the narrator was clueless to how she was being perceived? But at other times it was crystal clear. This book was such a mind trip! I’m still trying to unpack everything the author was trying to say, I know for sure she was tackling our fears about new people and the Me Too movement. I will need to reread to begin to grasp it all!

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I also finished the eleventh Maisie Dobbs this week! I wasn’t expecting the tragedy that unfolded in the opening pages of A Dangerous Place and was flabbergasted. And poor Maisie, I don’t think we’ve ever seen her so aimless and bereft. But a murder in Gibraltar is exactly what she needed to find her feet and to begin to shake off the fog she’s been living in.

And here in Gibraltar, she’s seeing the effects of the Spanish Civil War firsthand as people flee the country and flood the streets of this British garrison town. And given that it’s 1937, the news of Hitler is never very far off. I’m looking forward to the twelfth in this series because things have moved in unforeseeable directions for me!

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Bronwyn and I finished Kit Saves the Day this week. Whoa – I was so disappointed in Kit’s decisions in this book! Thanks to the Depression and how hard everyone has to work to survive, Kit is itching for an adventure. And when a kind hobo named Will helps them in their garden in exchange for a little food, she’s happy to make a new friend. But when Kit and Stirling want to give Will a little bit of extra food, they’re convinced by an unkind person to hitch a ride on a boxcar. This was not the adventure that Kit was expecting!

Although Kit could have made better decisions in this book, I liked the ending. While visiting Will in the camp that he and his fellow travelers have set up, she saw the conditions that other children were subjected to. She knew that it was her duty to share this with the world and I’m looking forward to seeing how she does it in the next book.

Booker Update:

Despite my rough start with the Booker prize (I abandoned two books almost right away), I have been enjoying my time with the titles on this list! I have decided that I’m not going to force anything and will abandon whatever doesn’t hold my attention. I don’t want to get bogged down on any of these titles because they’re all difficult in their own way and aren’t meant for every reader. Here’s where I stand so far:

❒ A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ – abandoned; difficult for me to get started
❒ Old God’s Time by Sebastian Berry
✔️ Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
❒ If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery – abandoned; difficult to get started
❒ How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney – currently reading
❒ This Other Eden by Paul Harding
✔️ Pearl by Siân Hughes
❒ All the Little Bird Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
❒ Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
❒ In Ascension by Martin Macinnes
❒ Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
❒ The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
✔️ The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

I’m reading How to Build a Boat right now and am in love with it. I hope to share more about it next week!

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I have been so thankful for reading lately. Taking on these prize lists are an endeavor for me. They sweep me up and challenge me in so many ways. It’s a very good thing!

I hope the rest of the week treats you kindly. I’m planning to be back on Friday with a fun update — I have two finished knitting projects to share! Until then – take good care.