The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

I've been looking out for more Alice Hoffman, ever since Faithful this time last year, which I loved. 

I picked up The Rules of Magic, written in 2017, but a prequel to Practical Magic, which is her most famous book, and has been made into a movie. Even though this was written later, I thought I'd read it first.

The Owens family know they're different. Not just unique in an 'everyone is special' way. Really very different. Talented. Which makes them awkward. And odd. This may be easier for the adults, it's the children who have to navigate a world that expects them to be normal. Franny, who has skin as pale as milk, blood red hair and communicates with birds; Jet, who reads everyone's thoughts yet is shy and reserved and Vincent, who is highly musical, and so charismatic - even as a baby, someone tried to steal him, must figure out the "rules". Mom, Susanna helps by giving them some - we meet her in the first sentences.

"Once upon a time, before the whole world changed, it was possible to run away from home, disguise who you were , and fit into polite society. The children's mother had done exactly that."

So what are the Rules? No walking in the moonlight, no Ouija boards, no candles, no red shoes, no wearing black, no going shoeless, no amulets, no night-blooming flowers, no reading novels about magic, no cats, no crows and no venturing beyond Fourteenth Street. Of course, normal children don't obey any rules, so that's problematic, what with them trying to be ever so normal. 

"Yet no matter how Susanna tried to enforce these rules, the children continued to thwart her."

And it's the family curse that gets them - don't ever fall in love.

This is a delightful charming tale of unusual proportions. The writing is beautiful, and I fell in love with all the children and their friends. Alice Hoffman says she writes for the same reason she reads - to escape into a world that is completely different. She allows us to do that here. I loved it.

4 stars.

ISBN: 9781471157677

You may also enjoy Faithful by Alice Hoffman, or what about Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin?

More books

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Agnes Magnúsdóttir and Friðrik Sigurðsson have been sentenced to death, for the murder of Natan Ketilsson. Welcome to Iceland, 1830. 

“They said I must die. They said that I stole the breath from men, and now they must steal mine.”

And so it begins. A beautiful, haunting story of a young woman sentenced, the naive priest - Tóti - whose duty it is  to counsel her to see the error of her ways, and the upright family, upon whom she is thrust, who must provide her with food and shelter in her final weeks.

“They will say ‘Agnes’ and see the spider, the witch caught in the webbing of her own fateful weaving. They might see the lamb circled by ravens, bleating for a lost mother. But they will not see me. I will not be there.”

Add caption

Hannah Kent, in this debut, which took her ten years of research - information on the last woman sentenced to death in Iceland was difficult to come by - creates a realistic world for Agnes. You will weep for her lost childhood, ache with her pain, feel her anger and desperation, and realise there is no escape from her desolation. It's brilliantly done. There is no remorse in the bleak, dire landscape, neither in the hearts of those who condemn her too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narration by Morven Christie is superb, and it's one of those that will stay with me for a long time. 

Not a happy tale but well worth the reading.

4 stars.

ISBN:9781447233176

This reminded me of another atmospheric tale - The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton. Or for more good historical fiction, try His Bloody Tale by Graeme Macrae Burnet.

More books.

SaveSaveSaveSave

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

Who wouldn't love a classic, narrated by the delightful Colin Firth?

Well, maybe me, actually. I'm not sure, I'm fence-sitting on this one.

Maurice Bendrix is a writer, respected and liked. He has an affair with Sarah Miles, who is married to   Henry - a boring old fart, who is Maurice's friend. It's World War II, and Sarah ends the affair, abruptly, which drives Maurice rather mad. I'm going to stop right there, because even though this book is a classic, therefore old, and spoilable, I think I would have found it even more tiresome had someone spoiled it for me.

But maybe tiresome is a bit harsh. The writing was good- it flowed and it was very likeable. Thoughts on love, jealousy, faith, belief, doubt - all woven together for a pleasant experience. The narration was superb. Clearly not everyone has the same problems I had with the book, and either Colin Firth loved it too, or his acting is even better than I thought it was.

So what was the problem? Well, it was so flipping unbelievable. And Sarah, not half as well-written as Maurice, nor understood, nor unpacked, just annoyed me. I just couldn't relate to the flip-flopping faith/love/hate/war themes. They didn't resonate, and for that reason, after the events described above, everything felt false and wrong and weirdly silly. I'm not addicted to happy endings either, so it wasn't that. It just didn't hang together and irritated me. Loads.

You should still read it though. It's worth it, not least of all to be able to say that you've read it. And download the Audible version. Colin Firth does redeem the experience.

ISBN: 9780140184952

2 stars

More Books

You may also enjoy The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, narrated by Claire Danes. Or what about Emile Zola's Thérèse Raquin?

Ten of the Best #110

Morning peeps, it's time for your Ten. And it's been such a busy, busy week, I don't know where to start.

James summarised January 2018 for us. It's all here, neatly wrapped.

Apparently the State of the Union address was not a night for facts, though. Even Melania didn't look impressed.

2017 also had some good books

So how many other book bloggers do you know that publish the best books of 2017 in February 2018? February! Yes, I know that I've been in a bit of a blogging slump recently, and found very little time to do this. If it makes you feel any better, it's so much worse for me - just imagine having gone without your favourite treat for a long time, and you'll get how profoundly grumpy, tired and sad I am.

But enough about me, let's get to those books. Because I know you guys. You've been waiting for these so that you can buy for book club, and that's on Monday (or it's happened already, and you're mad - sorry). Ok, let's get to it.

First, the rules: All these books were read in 2017. And I get to choose my favourites. That's about it. On this page there's a short description of why they're my favourites, but if you click the covers of the books you'll link through to my detailed reviews. At the end of this post is a link to the full page of books I read in 2017. All 100 of them. 

Usually in this post I do a little recap with some Goodreads statistics - how many, shortest, longest, most popular, number of pages, but I missed my "Year in Books" - it's disappeared off their site already, so that's one good thing (for you) about me only doing this in February. (Don't sigh so loudly, I can hear you.)

I may even do a little categorisation, to make things more interesting.

The best book of 2017, hands down, and in fact the best book I ever have read in my lifetime was Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. 

I'm sure that's got a few of you frowning and scratching things (hopefully your heads), but it's true. Never before have I read a book that resonated with so many places in me that I didn't know were there, and that sprung to life afterwards, and then that resonance echoed through the year. Honestly, every time I remember the story and my reading experience, I get chills and thrills and I start thinking about all the issues again. This one wins BOOK OF ALL TIME.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

From Goodreads: "Smart, warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her heart"

When a friend whose opinion I rate wrote that this book made her sob, my interest was piqued. There wasn't much else to go on. The title didn't exactly draw me, and I've never read Gail Honeyman before. (This is her debut, so I suppose that is understandable.)

Eleanor lives alone, and works - mainly alone  - doing admin in a small office. When the annoying IT guy, Raymond needs to be called, things get interesting. Then, perchance, they stumble upon and assist an elderly man, Sam, who has collapsed and needs an ambulance, and suddenly they are almost friends. It's all rather nice - what with Eleanor's frozen pizza, lots of vodka so she can face her regular calls to her dreadful mother and plan to woo and win a famous singer - she needs some support sometimes.

The writing is somewhat wry and dry, which adds to the charm of the book. It's also moving - though maybe not quite "sob-worthy".

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is more than completely fine. It's warm, unique, well plotted, has delightful characters and will have you smiling on every page. I loved it.

Read it, before Reese Witherspoon makes it into a movie.

5 stars

ISBN: 9780735220683

You may also enjoy A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman.

More Books

SaveSave

65 Years of Friendship by George Bizos

George Bizos became a friend to Nelson Mandela at university, a friendship that lasted (as most of Mandela’s did) for the rest of his life. Mandela referred to George as the “father of my family”, and clearly in the many accounts of their escapades through their common education in law and resistance to the apartheid government, relationships like these were forged in fire, and left deep and lasting impressions.

This book is like that. In language appropriate to an advocate, which does make for a level of detail that won’t appeal to all, this account is accurate, carefully thought through, observed from first-hand experience, and true. Not much of what we read today, from online and media sources can fit that description. It’s powerful.

And the friendship shines on every page. Told with humour, insight and deep fondness, this is a book I will return to often, to remember the nobility of the early ANC – their goals, ideals and aspirations were paid for with personal sacrifices and lived out with passion and purpose. It’s a great pity so little of that remains today.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

4 Stars

ISBN: 9781415207581

More books

What are you waiting for?

It's been a while, right?

You've been running without me. And I've been running too, without you.

I'm back here, though and today, I have excellent news for you. No more excuses. We're doing this. Today is the perfect day for a run.

Just look at that tree-lined street. I'm fortunate enough to live in a city where the suburbs are green, leafy, cool. And there's even a pavement most places, so we don't need to dodge traffic. 

So we have no reason not to get out there and pump the tarmac. It's been raining, and there is still that lingering cool. The birds are filling the fresh morning with tweets, gurgles and songs. The dampness of the leaves and grass smells rainy, dirty and fresh. And if we go now, we'll be back before the sun bakes down too hard, but we'll have worked our bodies to that perfect ache that makes sitting down at a desk the rest of the day so much easier to face.

I've even got a song to fit our mood. It's Ed Sheeran's Perfect. And it is.

So what are you waiting for. Let's go.

I found a love for me

Darling just dive right in

And follow my lead

Well I found a girl beautiful and sweet

I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love....

.....Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath

But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

Here are some more Monday Motivations.

See you here next week. Have a great run.

A Column of Fire by Ken Follett

From Goodreads: "In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love. 

Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country’s first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasion plans. Over a turbulent half-century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Elizabeth clings to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents.

The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else—no matter what the cost."

 A Column of Fire is the third in the series, and I read the first many moons ago, so can't really compare the two, it was too long ago. From what I do recall, this one contains fewer details on the construction of the cathedrals, not so many ups and downs for the characters, and is less focussed on the particular history of the town than the broader story of the world at the time. 

It's also set in a historical time about which so many books have been written. In a history we all know so well it's hard to be different, but Ken Follett does this part well. The religious tolerance in the centre of a world charged with overbearing egos and too much passion about was a different take. 

I loved Ned and Margery's story. It was long, but also unique in its content and strangely satisfying - maybe that's just me.

Hence three stars - probably four if Ken Follett hadn't written better books before. But immensely worthwhile. The Audible narration was excellent - John Lee does a superb performance.

3 stars

ISBN: 9780525954972

You may also enjoy Dancing the Death Drill by Fred Khumalo or The Constant Queen by Joanna Courtney.

More books

Ten of the Best #109

Good morning everybody. It's the weekend. And yes, it's been a while since I've done a Ten of the Best. But we're back, with bells on. Here's my summary of what I enjoyed on social media feeds this week. Have fun, click the pictures for the links, and don't forget the back button to come back for more.

Since we've got a lot of catching up to do. we'll start with James Corden who summarizes the mood so well. Here he is on the "always fake news".

Speaking of The Lying Times of President Trump, someone is documenting it. Yip. Read and weep.