A real mixture this month.
First, is Sophie Heawood’s “The Hungover Games” – not the book that was made into a film. This is a more modern version of Bridget Jones’ diary, an amusing memoir about what happens when you are more at home on the dance floor than in the kitchen and have an unplanned pregnancy in your mid-thirties before you have even worked out how to look after yourself, let alone a child. Emotionally raw – finding love where you would least expect it. I enjoyed the book.
Next, is fiction – Susan Lewis’ “Forgotten”, which was billed as a romantic drama. My personal view is that the descriptions of places and clothes were OTT, that it was longwinded and quite predictable. Having said that, I was more interested in the subject matter than the characters – can’t go into detail for fear of giving away the plot, you’ll have to read it for yourself.
Keeping the best to last, the deeply moving book by Bart van Es’ “The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family Lost and Found”, which won the Costa Book Award in 2018. This is the story of a young Jewish girl in Holland during WW2 who hides from the Nazis in the homes of an underground network of foster families, one of them the author’s grandparents. She was raised as one of their own and then post-war there was a falling out: what was the story? The author makes contact with Lientje and a remarkable friendship blossoms and is recorded in the book bringing together Lientje’s personal account and the author’s efforts to piece the story together. I recommend this book.
If you would like to borrow any of the books, please contact Debra Thatcher on 01572 823910 or email debrathatcher@hotmail.com.
