Sunday Salon, The Outcast

I'm somewhat confused today... thought it was Sunday, it's only Saturday.
Don't tell my kids, they'll put me on a list for a Nursing Home.

 This past week I've been reading   The Outcast, by Sadie Jones, beautifully written, heart wrenching story of a young man struggling with life.   I think the most ridiculous thing/feeling someone could have said to this young man was that "he was loved too much as a young child" is there such a thing.  Can you love your child too much. I'm so glad we've come out of that stiff parenting style.  I can't identify with Lewis, I don't think I've ever felt unloved, and what a horrible feeling that must be.

From Publishers Weekly....Set in post WWII suburban London, this superb debut novel charts the downward spiral and tortured redemption of a young man shattered by loss. The war is over, and Lewis Aldridge is getting used to having his father, Gilbert, back in the house. Things hum along splendidly until Lewis's mother drowns, casting the 10-year-old into deep isolation. Lewis is ignored by grief-stricken Gilbert, who remarries a year after the death, and Lewis's sadness festers during his adolescence until he boils over and torches a church. After serving two years in prison, Lewis returns home seeking redemption and forgiveness, only to find himself ostracized. The town's most prominent family, the Carmichaels, poses particular danger: terrifying, abusive patriarch Dicky (who is also Gilbert's boss) wants to humiliate him; beautiful 21-year-old Tamsin possesses an insidious coquettishness; and patient, innocent Kit—not quite 16 years old—confounds him with her youthful affection. Mutual distrust between Lewis and the locals grows, but Kit may be able to save Lewis. Jones's prose is fluid, and Lewis's suffering comes across as achingly real.

March Wrap up...

I've had a not so good reading month, not sure why, but I've only just finished an Inspector Banks Mystery by Peter Robinson.  Interesting and somewhat confusing, I almost wanted to take a highlighter out and sort things out.  Eventually I got it!  I've not read much of Inspector Banks, I like him, but I don't know him.

A piece of my Heart, was a scary trip back to the time of the Manson Murders.  It was a very scary time, all that LOUD music, drugs and free love.  I'm so glad I wasn't part of that.  Never been to a rock concert, even though I did wear bell bottoms.

From Publishers Weekly

Det. Insp. Alan Banks investigates the apparently motiveless murder of Nicholas Barber, a rock journalist from London visiting a small town near Banks's Yorkshire police precinct, in Robinson's less-than-stellar 14th novel to feature the Yorkshire police detective. Meanwhile, another mystery unfolds in a parallel narrative, the fatal stabbing of a young woman at a local rock festival back in 1969. Needless to say, the cases are intertwined—as Banks puts it, "the past is never over"—and part of the pleasure is trying to piece together the links. Unfortunately, Robinson takes too long to connect the two stories, and the earlier thread suffers from the lack of Banks's engaging presence (though it does capture, with great fidelity, that odd mixture of self-absorption and idealism of the late 1960s and the whole hippie/rock music scene). As always, the author's prose is clear, observant and intelligent, but the story itself is not nearly as compelling as 2005's Strange Affair. 6-city author tour. (June)

It's Monday what are you reading...The Forgotten Seamstress, Liz Trenow

 It's Monday What are you reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

from the back cover:
She kept her secret for a lifetime...
A shy girl with no family, Maria knows she's lucky to have landed in the sewing room of the royal household.  Before World War I casts it's shadow, she catches the eye of the Prince of Wales, a glamorous and intense gentleman (not sure about that statement).  but her life takes a far darker turn, and soon all she has left is a fantastical story about her time at Buckingham Palace. 

Decades later, Caroline Meadows discovers a beautiful quilt in her mother's attic.  When she can't figure out the meaning...


It's Monday already.  I finished reading The Forgotten Seamstress ,Liz Trenow.  It's a neat little story,I found the historical facts quite interesting.  I also loved learning about the different fabrics used in Royal garments, not sure that still happens.  I was also heartbroken at the treatment of Maria, what a sad turn of events.    I didn't continue in the back of the book with book club questions for discussion.  I think the only thing that ticked me off and is still ticking me off is the "jumping into bed" with men you've just met, and after the recent medical issue.  I found that part not only in poor taste, but very unnecessary, it added nothing to the storyline, and if I were the editor... relationships aren't built in bedrooms, as we should have learned from Maria and the King.

A great little read for those of us who love a  little Royal  mystery

What's next... Alzheimer's 911, Frena Gray-Davidson.  I'm reading this book to decide if it should be on the shelf for the caregivers of the residents, in who's library I volunteer.  I sure could have used more available resources when my Mom was changing.  This is a MYSTERY that is ever evolving.


Photo of the book I own.

I read this book to tie off my War Through the Generations Challenge WWI and WWII combined. 

Sunday Salon...A Change of Climate

Sunday Salon finds me frustrated.  My lap top has had issues, so I'm forced to wait till one of the guys is not using their computers to do "anything" .  My husband has some weird program on that keeps asking me if I'm him.  Way too much security, wait till he sees I've "fixed that".  It's been an unusual week, other than I'm still waiting for workmen to get to me and do things they have been paid for.  I told my husband that it was his job to wait, but then again I can't exactly have him staying home from work to wait.  So it's me... that means I'll be missing my watercolour workshop tomorrow.  DANG! The inside job is very SLOW! and there are no inside fairies at work.  A dear friend is not doing well, and I suspect she'll give up.  SAD, all around story.  Why do some people just have it so hard? 

The rest of the week I imagine will be a bit of this and a bit of that.  It is suppose to cool down, so I'm hoping to use "pesticides" on my lillies, imagine a bug eating my beautiful lillies, one day they were there and then they weren't. 

I try really hard not to use pesticides, but this did it, between the red spider bite, and no I'm not radioactive, but I still have a hard unhealed spot in the area where I was bitten, so pesticides it is.  We here in the GTA are not permitted to use harsh chemicals so I'm not sure what I bought will be very effective, but dish liquid just didn't do it.

On the reading front,  I finished Change of Climate, Hilary Mantel,  a good story, which I enjoyed reading, even if it left me very sad.  I can't remember who reviewed it, but thank you for suggesting it.  It was well worth the trip to the library. 
from amazon.ca

Ralph and Anna Eldred are an exemplary couple, devoting themselves to doing good. Thirty years ago as missionaries in Africa, the worst that could happen did. Shattered by their encounter with inexplicable evil, they returned to England, never to speak of it again. But when Ralph falls into an affair, Anna finds no forgiveness in her heart, and thirty years of repressed rage and grief explode, destroying not only a marriage but also their love, their faith, and everything they thought they were.

My young niece is a missionary, and we worry. 

up next,  The Wives of Los Alamos, Tarashea Nesbit.  I'm not quite half way through, but so far all I can say is "we've come a long way baby..." or have we?

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The Glass Room... Ann Cleeves

I didn't write a real review of this great book when I read it, mostly because Margaret from Books Please did such a great job.  I must say this was a really good mystery, I truly didn't have a clue who dunit until the end.  I also like the investigative teams dynamics, and the mystery in some of their characters.

Certainly a candidate for the Best New Author to me.  Ann Cleeves does a outstanding job.

book description from Amazon.ca

This is the new novel in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope crime series. DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation so she has more tolerance for them than most. When one of them goes missing she feels duty-bound to find out what happened. But her path leads her to more than a missing friend...It's an easy job to track the young woman down to the Writer's House, a country retreat where aspiring authors gather to workshop and work through their novels. It gets complicated when a body is discovered and Vera's neighbour is found with a knife in her hand. Calling in the team, Vera knows that she should hand the case over to someone else. She's too close to the main suspect. But the investigation is too tempting and she's never been one to follow the rules. There seems to be no motive. No meaning to the crime. Then another body is found, and Vera suspects that someone is playing games with her. Somewhere there is a killer who has taken murder off the page and is making it real...

The Best of new Authors is hosted by Mysteries in Paradise

I will certainly be looking to read more of this authors works.

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Teaser Tuesday... Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English

My Teaser today is not from a book, it's from the mailman. He's such a tease. I deduced that a large envelope meant some kind of offer for further study, I phoned my eldest to discuss, and we concluded at 10 p.m. (yes I waited all day, the tease arrived unusually early) Yes, my son received a large envelope with a return address that was most acceptable. (Usually it's Amazon.ca, he orders a great # of books.) Since it's a federal offense to open mail not addressed to you,or so my boys keep telling me,  and I really wanted him to get the good news first, I had to watch it sitting there ALL DAY.  YES it is good news.  He's been offered admission to a Graduate Studies Program.  WOO HOO! his mother is delighted I think he is too. I will enjoy yet another first day of school.  After grade eight they really didn't want to pose for pictures, but knew their mother would nag the cr_p out of them if they didn't.  WOO HOO again.

On the other front of reading, I've finished reading Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, Natasha Solomon.  I REALLY enjoyed this story.  I don't know why I have a link to refugees, and England but I do. Perhaps it's my parents being refugees and the many stories we listened to about their encounters throughout those years in their lives we will never really understand, or perhaps it's a previous life I'm remembering (time travel you know).   I loved all the characters and the story line delightful.  I know how Sadie felt trying to remember her mother and father, and holding on to the past that was so sacred to her.  How brave refugees are,imagine leaving everything you know to trade it in for a life that you thought would be a whole lot safer and happier and then to find out it was not all that you thought it would be AND never being able to go back. I remember some forty years ago, when my parents first returned to their homeland for a short visit.  I was with my mom, she hadn't seen her brother since he was twelve and here he was middle aged, she knew little about them and yet the visit seem to flow together as though they had been together all those years.  She darn near died when she saw the shambles her family home was in.  WAR is such a waste of everything.  My parents, just like the Rosenblums, rebuilt their lives and became proud Canadians, but one wonders?

I read Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English as part of my Regan Arthur Challenge
I'm also reading off my shelves this summer, no new books for at least June, July and August and I'd like to say part of the War Through the Generations Challenge WWII, but I'm a couple of years late on that one, so we'll say it's part of my What's in a Name.


Up next, The Wisdom of Hair, Kim Boykin.

Snapshot Saturday...

On one of our many visits to the green house in Niagara we were delighted with the hydrangea exhibit.  This particular one is quite different from the one's in my garden it's more lacey.  Apparently the ones I have in my garden don't or are suppose to not flower, well guess what? they do very well all summer long and well into the fall.  I'm a negligent gardener, and perhaps they appreciate that.

On the reading front, I finished The Glass Room, well!  I didn't have a clue who dunnit... until the very last chapter.  Well done.

I'm now reading The Sunshine When She's Gone, Thea Goodman. (different)
My sister's are reminiscing their trip to Barbados, wonder if they met up with Monika and the gang? This is a holiday weekend here in Canada, so I'm home alone, with the laundry and my paint brushes.  Wish I could download my photos to show you.  Stripped a  rocker yesterday and today off with the layers of paint, and pulling dandelions.  I have baby rabbits in my yard, so I don't want to spray the weeds.  They are such a delight to watch in the morning, they run around chasing each other, and then I suppose they are off for a nap. We don't see them again until late in the day/or early evening.  The cat of course is going bonkers watching and running from window to window.  My poppies have finally spread enough to my liking, they look great with the purple tulips and lillium.  I always think the lillium looks like a firecracker. It's growing up between the car parts, reaching for the sun.  Have a great weekend.


Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce over at home with books.