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October 2014 Newsletter (view source)
Revision as of 10:16, 16 October 2014
, 10:16, 16 October 2014no edit summary
And on to to the new...
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In fiction, Patricia couldn't speak highly enough of [[By Night The Mountain Burns byJuan by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel]]. It's an outstanding novel based on the author’s memories of growing up in Equatorial Guinea. Reading this book, it’s hard not to feel the excitement that comes with discovering a great author; the rare exhilaration that strikes once every few hundred books, amid the indifferent, the simply good or the cleverly fashionable. It raises so many issues, both political and economic, caused by the dictatorship in Equatorial Guinea, that it attracts attention for its scope alone. The story transcends the small island and its protagonists. It is the classic and ever tragic tale of a wealthy and repressive elite keeping its subjects in poverty and isolation.
Ani is recommending [[Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald]]. 1850s India: Laura Hewitt accompanies her newly married cousin Emily Flood and Emily's husband Charles to the exotic sub-continent for a visit to Charles' half-brother Oliver Erskine. Although none of the travellers have ever met Oliver, many of the people they encounter have heard of him and the way he rules his small fiefdom as its Zemindar. These stories tantalise Laura as the information conflicts and she's unable to develop a mental picture of the man. That's not all that's conflicting: there's an increasing feeling of unrest in this furthest outpost of Queen Victoria's empire which will eventually lead to one of the bloodiest episodes in Indo-British history. Laura, Emily and Charles are naïve, but that won't save them from what's to come – something beyond their worst nightmares. This novel juxtaposes a love story and the immense hatreds of the First Indian War of Independence, without ever compromising either. It's wonderful stuff so get your tissues at the ready!
In non-fiction, Louise thinks you should go with some popular science for children. [[The Human Body in 30 Seconds byAnna by Anna Claybourne]] is a fabulous little volume from a series that tries to make the complex simple and succeeds very well. Our body is an amazing machine, capable of performing a myriad of tasks simultaneously. Even when we are sleeping, our body is busy processing information, pumping blood, regulating temperature and filtering waste. The 3-minute-missions in this book form a useful, hands-on way to help readers understand how the body works. And who wouldn't want to make an eardrum out of a bowl of rice and some clingfilm?!
For teens, Jill fell in love with [[A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond]]. Claire and her friend Ella Grey are inseparable. Ella is dreamy and strange and Claire thinks she is the most beautiful girl alive. The two are part of arty friendship group who are studying literature and getting ready for university. They wear vintage clothes and drink wine together, dreaming of freedom and future lives full of art and song and creativity. And then, one day, Orpheus appears. His music entrances them all but none more than Ella. And Claire, with a cold lump of dread inside, can see her beloved friend slipping away. It's a desperately romantic and deeply lyrical re-imagining of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Full of the hums and thrums of emotions, landscape, music and poetry, it's David Almond at his best.