General Chat

nudge for Newday...

Sorry, "little miss late" reporting in :))
Was unable to get Five people you meet in Heaven but in the UK soon so will look out for it
The second book did get me confused (easy done) as was forever putting it down to other things and having to restart bits as the time shifts got to me a bit. I also found that some bits just seemed to disappear and not be followed through,such as the parents.
I really think I need to reread, poss on trip back to UK when I can sit and read from start to finish.
Sorry for such a dismal review

xx Jill

thanks Michelle. have you changed your name??

Ann
Glos

Right, well I did managed to finish The River today as it was due back at the library and even though I stuck it out to the end, I stand by my earlier comments, I was hoping that I would find it easier to get into the story as it went along, but alas all the jumping around of timelines was annoying. I don't think I would ever read anything by this author again.

Michelle

Sorry review a bit short.

Five people you meet in Heaven ..
Loved the start and thought that the charecter of Eddie was well drawn.
Was disappointed when reading about The Phillipines (and coal mining?). As food (or the lack of it) was an issue, surley the prisoners would have been put to work cultivating it.
Then the Ruby part of the story plus death of Eddie's father just didn't ring true at all.
The premise though was quite interesting. Just felt that the aurthor had run out of ideas trying to find the five people.
Will probably not read another book by the same author.

The River .....
I enjoyed reading this book. Did have to keep checking the date and doing my sums as to who would be how old when.
Thought that Isabell was the sort of person who appears to be coping yo the uninformed outside world but was still affected badly by the deaths of her children.

amused by Robert and his family having broad feet and not wearing shoes. I can relate to this. My feet are broad too and I hate to wear shoes. (Maybe I have some as yet undiscovered St Kilda Blood!!!)
I thought that it was a good first Novel by Tricia Wastvedt and will look out for more books written by her.
Perhaps too it would make a good tetevision-movie.

Tess

Masie i have also read Call the Midwife. A fantastic book. I was reading its the first of three books that Jennifer Worth is writing. Her next one is Shadow of The Workhouse so that will be on my agenda.
Cathy

They do the Books Quarterly Magazine in Waterstones. I think its about £3 but if you have a loyalty card you get it free. I have been getting it for the last couple of issues and its great.
It reviews all the new books coming out , so i then make lists of all the books i want to read..which is ever growing!
Cathy

I didn't read either of the books chosen as I could not get them so I read A Thousand splendid suns..... I enjoyed this book but must admit there were a couple of times that I did not. It opens your eyes to how the women are treated in Afghanistan. I would recommend this book but, won't say too much as I notice someone has put it up for a suggested book this time.

2nd book I read was Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. It's a true story written by author on her experiences as a midwife in the east end of London in the 50's and they were a lot in the slums of that area,

For those of us to remember the 50's you will enjoy this book. For those of you born much later you will appreciate how lucky you are.
The Midwives going to their patients on their bikes, and how the men of the east end respected them as they cycled down their road.
A truly lovely read.

No, don't think i have seen that one cathy.

Ann
Glos

Very true Ann, thats why i wanted to join the book club. I found i was sticking to authors i knew and never knew which new ones to try. By doing this in a way the choice is made for you even though you participate and the results can be quite surprising.
Today i picked up the new Book Quarterl magazine. Does anyone else get this?
Cathy

Well, nobody can say we don't try different authors can they?

Five people.
Thought provoking quick and easy to read, a touching quality to it.
my son tells me its going to be made into a film....

his next book 'one more day', is also a good read.

The River,
had to pay full price for this from waterstones, as I couldnt find it anywhere....
well I dont know what to say, I had to really stick at it. the way it flipped from one time to another, annoyed me a little....
two years ago my hubby and I went to scotland and I brought a book about St Kilda, which told of how the islanders lived and then how they were asked to leave, so when I was reading about Robert, I could understand the person he may have been, and the struggle he had at times, (walking barefoot etc, ).
I also had to read the ending twice, because I thought I'd missed something!...
didnt quite get the sarah, and josef relationship... and what really happened to his parents, they had a big entrance, and then miserably dissappeared....or was that me......
the discriptions of parts were fine........ the explanations of events seemed a bit wishy washy.
it was ok. but not a book I would keep like Five people...

look forward to next read.....
soz this quick, a bit busy at the moment
xxxxcmdxx

The 5 People you meet in Heaven

I was really pleased this was chosen as I have had it on my shelf for ages. However I found it quite disappointing really. Eddie was a likeable enough character but the book did not really grab my attention. I think the concept of the book was great but somehow it all seemed a bit shallow - it was hard to get to know the characters other than Eddie and for the book to work you needed to identify more with how Eddie had impacted their lives.
It was an easy book to read but, having read it once it won't get back on the shelf to be reread at a later date.

The River
I agree with others who have said this book took a lot of getting into I found the constant change of time really confusing and, just when I thought I had sorted the characters out, another one seemed to pop up. I did make it to the end but it wasn't a book I particularly enjoyed so I won't be looking to read others by the same author.

Kate

that is what the book club is all about Cathy, reading books we would not normally read.

Ann
Glos

The River

Initially i found this book quite awkward. There seemed to be a large cast of characters and lots of leaping backwards and forwards between the years.
I managed to get settled and then i was quite eager to get to each persons chapter to see what was happening to them.
So many people were affcted by the tragic deaths of Catherine and Jack and Isobel coped dreadfully with repurcussions still happening so many years later.
I felt sorry for Robert and how he retreated to an almost womblike existence.
I liked Anna and felt sorry for her trying to cope with a break up, a new baby and Isobel.
I though the author wove a wonderful cast for us, all intertwined, and each with their own part to play.
I enjoyed this book very much considering i would never normally have picked it up.

Cathy

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I loved this book. Eddie was a lovely old man and had lived an ordinary life, like any of us, but had'nt realised the importance of himself and how he would affect the lives of others (do any of us?)
The love he felt for his wife was immense and he had missed her terribly after her death.
The devastation when he realised the little girl had been in the hut and had burned to death and the forgiveness of the little girl and that he had saved the girl at the fair moments before his death was very heaven like and i think hopeful thinking on the part of the author.
All in all though enjoyed the book

Cathy

Thank you Any more??

Five people you meet in Heaven.

Agree a lot on what has already been said.Enjoyed this quick reading book,easy to read,no swearing,no sex,.
Interesting title,moving story.

Being new,i did not have time to read the second book! Helenx

yes it makes sense Michelle. I found by the time I was halfway through I had got it OK and the story then unfolded.

ann

Five People You Meet In Heaven

I really enjoyed this book and had it finished in four days, I do have to say that I was not looking for any revelation from this book and was just looking for a well written story, which it was. I found Eddie the lead character easy to relate to and could feel his frustration and trying to find out whether he had saved the little girl or not upon his own death.

The River - I have only got about a quarter of the way through it so far and am not sure it is going to get finished before it has to go back to the library. The way this book is written so far is so one of my pet peeves about stories, I hate the jumping around with timelines and characters, one of the reasons it is taking me so long to read is that I have to keep working out which characters I am reading about in relation to other parts of the story I have read so far (I do hope this makes sense).

Michelle