Do you like to read but have difficulty selecting the next book to read? As an avid reader, I often depend on recommendations from friends as to what to read next. I therefore thought I would share with you some of my recent reads. I’ve rated them out of five with five stars being the best.
Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire – five stars
I love reading a book set in Northern Ireland. The location was a fictional village called Ballybrady on the Irish Sea coast. It was written at the time of the first Covid-19 lockdown.
The main character was Evan, a townie who had recently had a breakdown following the sudden death of his baby Jessie. He rented a little cottage just before Covid-19 struck. He was then forced to stay during the lockdown and was later joined by his deaf son, Luca. They grew to love life by the sea under the watchful eye of landlady Grace who occasionally enjoyed nocturnal swimming in the sea. But there were a few mishaps along the way!
This book is well worth reading and is full of beautiful character descriptions. I almost felt that I was one of the locals living in Ballybrady!
Frankie by Graham Norton – four stars
Frankie Howe is aged 84 and living in London. After a fall when she broke her ankle, a young gay man called Damian is employed to be her carer. As they were both Irish, they quickly formed a bond and Frankie shares her life story with Damian.
Born in west Cork, Frankie’s parents died in a tragic accident when she was ten. Her aunt and her husband, a Church of Ireland rector, then looked after her until she was married off to a nearby Canon. This was a loveless marriage which ended abruptly with Frankie being shipped off to London in disgrace to live with her childhood friend Norah.
After a brief spell in London, Frankie ended up in New York where she fell in love and married Italian Joe who was an aspiring artist. She worked in a French restaurant as a chef and she eventually owned it. Many of her employees were gay and she watched as the AIDS epidemic hit the gay community in the early 80s. When Joe dies, Frankie is forced to make a speedy exit to London. Throughout her lifetime, Frankie’s friendship with Norah prevails.
As ever with Graham Norton, this is a great read right to the end.
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins – three stars
Paula Hawkins is the author of “The Girl on the Train” , a bestseller which was turned into a movie. “Into the Water” was Paula’s second book and I had hopes for it as her first book was excellent. Alas I was disappointed.
“Into the Water” is based around a river in the fictitious town of Beckford which is in the north of England. More specifically, it focuses on the Drowning Pool where many women lost their lives, both by suicide or by accident.
The book is centred around Lena, a 15 year old schoolgirl. In 2015, she lost her best friend Katie and her mum Nel in the river. The police believe that both deaths were suicides but Lena is adamant that foul play was involved.
The plot is very twisted and at times, it is hard to follow. The biggest downfall is that there are too many characters which doesn’t help the enjoyment of the story. A helpful list of characters with a brief description of each is provided at the start of the book – I referred to it frequently.
This book was overly complicated and I didn’t particularly like it.
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbitt – five stars
This is a wonderful book which brought me down memory lane when I read the book and watched the film as a child. Even though it was written by Edith Nesbitt in 1906, many of its values are still applicable in the 21st century.
The book centres around three children – Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis. They were living a happy life in suburban London when suddenly their father is taken away by two men. This forces their mother to relocate the children to a country cottage near to a railway line. They were now poor with Mother forced to write short stories to make ends meet.
Living beside the railway line was a novelty for the children and they quickly made friends with the Station Master, Perks the Porter and the Old Gentleman who travelled on the 915 train every morning. They had many adventures including witnessing a landslide which left rubble on the railway line. They ingeniously used their red petticoats to make flags to warn the next train of the danger ahead thus averting a disaster.
The three siblings are very loyal to each other and they love their struggling mother dearly. Kindness permeates each page and the children show this repeatedly throughout the book as they look after a sick Russian man and Jim, the schoolboy who breaks his leg in a tunnel.
Even though it’s a children’s book, it was a welcome change from my usual fiction and it reminded me that there are still some good people in the world.
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers – four stars
Set in the southeast suburbs of London in 1957, the story centres around Jean who is a journalist with the North Kent Echo. Jean is 39, is single and lives with her cantankerous mother who barely lets her leave the house except for work.
After a surprise letter received by the newspaper from Gretchen Tilbury, Jean was asked to investigate. Gretchen claimed that her ten year old daughter Margaret had been born “without the involvement of any man” ie it was a virgin birth. At the time of the supposed conception, Gretchen was bedridden with rheumatoid arthritis and was a patient in a private clinic with three young women.
Jean meets the whole family – Swiss Gretchen, her husband Howard and daughter Margaret. While she is investigating the case, she forms a strong bond with them. Jean’s research brings her to meet the clinic staff plus the other patients in the clinic. Gretchen and Margaret had to undergo various hospital tests to see if Gretchen’s claim of a virgin birth was true.
It took me a while to “get into” this book but soon I was hooked as I got to know Jean better and felt for her as she struggled through her mundane life in post-war Britain. Gretchen’s tale certainly broadened Jean’s horizons but the book ended rather abruptly and I was left to think what happened next! Perhaps that is the sign of a good book.
Hopefully I have given you some inspiration about what to read next and if you have any ideas as to what I could read next, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts.
Lynda
The Author
Lynda Willis lives in Co Armagh and writes blogs about her rambles in nature as well as rambling about topics close to her heart. This year, she is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer so please click here if you’d like to donate.
