March 2011 - Book 6

The Venetian House by Mary Nickson

This book was one of those pleasant bookclub surprises - you know, the type of books you will never buy, but on recommendation take out at the bookclub and then thoroughly enjoy.

When Victoria's husband Richard, dies unexpectedly she goes back to Vrahos, the old family home where her grandmother lives on the island Corfu. It is her happy place - where she feels sheltered and share many happy memories. Patrick, a photographer of old and beautiful houses, manhandled by his selfish wife, is sent to document the magic of the Villa and it's owner.

A multi generational love story, it reads with ease and relatively fast for the thickness of the book. A good and easy middle of the road type of story, but well worth the read.

A super idea for a holiday read - 7/10

November 2010 - Book 30

House rules by Jodi Picoult
 Jodi Picault employs her much used style of varied persons to tell the story of Jacob, a young man with Aspergers syndrome, and his family. Fascinated by crime scene investigations, Jacob finds (or stages?) himself into the center of the murder investigation of his young tutor.

I found the facts surrounding Jacob and Aspergers syndrome fascinating and I have certainly in reading this story, gained a lot of sympathy for not only the sufferer but also the family. I can not help feeling extremely sympathetic towards other siblings and parents in this type of situation.

What I do love in Picault's work is the moral dilemmas lifted out which one often have to deal with while reading the book. On this book I found that element lacking. It was very  clear to me from very early on that Jacob could never have committed the murder and also why he did stage the scene. A bit disappointing.

Cat's opinion - a good read 7/10

June 2009 - Book 17

The Irreverent Mother's Guide by Sam Cowen and Lee van Loggerenberg

I read Sam's "Waiting for Christopher" when I just had the princess and thoroughly enjoyed it. This one is even funnier. Consisting out of emails between Sam and her BFF Lee, it covers nanny's, toddler sex education, newborn woes and second time around pregnancy thoughts.

A light must read for all of Sam's fans and all moms and moms to be.

Car's count: 7/10

November 2009; Book no 32

Book 32: Handle with care by Jodi Picoult
In general I enjoy Jodi Picoult's books that deal with controversial topics - like her most read "My sister's keeper" and "Nineteen minutes". This book has more than its fair share of controvercial and heart breaking topics.

The main character Willow never speaks for herself and the whole book is constructed from letters or conversations directed to Willow. This makes for interesting reading and an unique angle.

What I did find very uncomfortable, I can really find no other way to describe it, is that I really never got to like Charlotte, in a sense the hero of the book. She is portrayed in a way which evoked very little sympathy in me - maybe this is due to peronality on my side. On the other hand, I really liked sone of the other characters where the father, Sean, and the doctor, Piper attracted me immediately.

I really hated the end of this book and would have loved any other ending.

Cat's opinion : an ok Picoult - 7/10

January 2009 - Book 1

Things without a name by Joanne Fedler.

When I saw this book at the Bookclub I was immediately attracted to the cover (unfortunately no image available on Amazon) and that was the sole reason I chose it. The main character of the book works as a social worker with a woman's rescue centre and one is immediately struck by the sense of hopelessness that this type of work sometimes involve. Her personal and family life ill equipped her to deal with theses situations and at best, she is emotionally unstable herself.

However the book turns at a stage towards a positive message - as her personal life takes an upturn you spot the positive in her work as well. At the end of the book, a list of names used reflect real life abused people as a sort of eulogy which gives the book a new meaning. I found myself paging back and looking for the characters and reflecting on the connection with their real life counterparts.

This book really made me reflect on a subject that seems to only surface once in a while in a newspaper article or on the TV news. It makes these poor abused people so much more real in your mind.

In general, a good and provocative read. It does have the obligatory romance at the end, but in this case it serves well to turn towards the positive.

A solid 7/10