Tag Archives: family

Y: Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan #atozchallenge

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

YELLOWCAKE
BY
MARGO LANAGAN

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

This is a book of ten short stories written by Australian novelist Margo Lanagan. Yellowcake is classified as young adult fantasy, but to me that isn’t really a correct classification, as not all stories in this book are fantasy. The stories range from fantasy to horror and much in between. The stories are all different from each other, and some I found absolutely heart breaking. There is a strong sense of family and the need to belong, that runs through many of the stories.

The author has written an afterword about where she found her inspiration for these stories, which I found very interesting and really did add to the stories.

My Thoughts

I’m not generally a short story fan but do occasionally like to read a short story. Usually, I would just read one story now and then in a short story book, but I read each story in Yellow Cake, one after the other. For this review, I felt that I needed to experience the entire book, as I would a longer novel. I picked this up only because I was looking for a book to read for the letter ‘Y’. I didn’t realise until I’d finished reading the book that it is classified as young adult. I would say that the stories in this book are suitable for both young adult and adults, as I have found is often the case with young adult in recent times.

The author has an unusual view of the world, and of people, and why they do what they do. I found most of the stories to be compelling. A couple of the stories are the author’s version of classic fairy tales.

My favourite story is Shroud of Gold, a vague rewrite of he classic fairy tale, Rapunzel. It begins when Rapunzel has had her hair cut off, and is the story of the Prince’s rescue of her, and his love for her. Parts of the original Rapunzel can be recognised during the story, as they appear in the new version. This is my favourite of the short stories in Yellowcake. That could perhaps be because I have loved the story of Rapunzel since I was a child.

I’d recommend this book as a way of dipping into fantasy, if it’s not a regularly read genre, but remembering that this book is about much more than fantasy.

All books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library, unless otherwise stated.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

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Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

O: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout #atozchallenge

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-38.png

OH WILLIAM!
BY
ELIZABETH STROUT

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

“Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are.

So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret—one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. What happens next is nothing less than another example of what Hilary Mantel has called Elizabeth Strout’s “perfect attunement to the human condition.” There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us together—even after we’ve grown apart.

At the heart of this story is the indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. “This is the way of life,” Lucy says: “the many things we do not know until it is too late.” – Goodreads

Published in 2021. 240 pages

MY THOUGHTS

This is a quite a short novel, but that doesn’t at all detract from it’s substance, or my enjoyment of the story. Elizabeth Strout has created characters who are flawed, and are totally relatable. The story of Lucy who is in her sixties, is also the story of her ex husband William. Lucy and William have been divorced for years, but have remained friends. This is a lovely story about relationships, the worries of ageing, memories, family, and the thoughts we have that worry us.

Perhaps it’s because Lucy and William are very close in age to me, but I really did identify with these characters. I felt their pain and their joy. I also understood the importance of their memories to them, at this stage of their lives. Perhaps this was also due to the excellent writing of the author.

I didn’t realise until I finished Oh William! that it is book three in the Lucy Barton series. Not having read the first two, didn’t make Oh William! any less enjoyable. However, I now have the other three books on my TBR list. Below is a photo of the books in order.

Image – Penguin Publishing

All books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library, unless otherwise stated.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

J: Just An Ordinary Family by Fiona Lowe #atozchallenge

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example, April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief, and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-10.png

JUST AN ORDINARY FAMILY
BY
FIONA LOWE

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Summary

“Alice Hunter is smarting from the raw deal life has thrown her way: suddenly single, jobless and forced to move home to her parents’ tiny seaside town. And now she faces an uncomfortable truth. She wants her twin sister Libby’s enviable life.

Libby’s closest friend Jess Dekic has been around the Hunter family for so long she might as well be blood. She’s always considered herself a sister closer to Libby than Alice ever could be…

Libby Hunter has all of life’s boxes ticked: prominent small-town doctor, gorgeous husband and two young daughters. But when she is betrayed by those she loves most, it reveals how tenuous her world is…

For Karen Hunter, her children are a double-edged sword of pain and pride. She’s always tried to guide her girls through life’s pitfalls, but how do you protect your children when they’re adults?

As the family implodes, the fallout for these four women will be inescapable…” – Goodreads

Published in 2020
Paperback,

My Thoughts

I don’t usually pick up books about relationships, especially family relationships, but surprising to me, I enjoyed reading about the family, the women and the secrets in this story. The secrets and conflicts seemed very real and believable to me.

There are many tears and laughters in the story, as there were for me. As the story went on, I found that I kept changing my mind about who’s side I was on, and who was the more honest and deserving of a happy ending. This is also a story about kindness and forgiveness. Nobody is perfect, as is the case in real life. A very real and relatable read, that I would recommend.

Star Rating
Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book. For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

#AtoZChallenge W: We were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

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10

 

#AtoZChallenge 2019 Tenth Anniversary blogging from A to Z challenge letter

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted.

Summary

The Mulvaneys of High Point Farm in Mount Ephraim, New York, are a large happy family, who have been blessed with good looks and a happy, future full of certainty. But as time evolves, things don’t go to plan for the Mulvaneys. On Valentine’s Day in 1976, an incident, involving a member of the family, causes upset and reverberation through the family for the rest of their lives.

The story spans twenty five years, and is told years later by Judd, the youngest son, as he attempts to make sense of the past and the events that destroyed his happy family.

My Thoughts

We Are The Mulvaneys is a story of the rise and fall of a family. Of how quickly the perfect life can become a tragic life. The first few chapters contain quite long character introductions, which some may find tedious as I did at first. But they grew on me, and later in the book, I was thankful for such thorough introductions, as they helped me understand why certain characters did what they did, and why they reacted the way they did to unexpected circumstances.

Recommendation

It was the title that had me hooked immediately, making me want to read this book. We WERE the Mulvaney’s. Why ‘were’? Immediately I wanted to know more about what happened to this family.

I say every reader out there should read this book, but I may be biased because I love love this story of the Mulvaney family. I was totally enthralled from start to finish and couldn’t get enough of this slightly wacky family and their wacky ways. Perhaps this book means more to me because of events beyond my control that destroyed my own happy family life. I did feel a connection and sympathy towards the Mulvanney Mum, even though many times, I felt like shaking her and telling her to wake up and do something to bring her family back together. 

“It is a book that will break your heart, heal it, then break it again” – Los Angeles Times
“One of our most audaciously talented writers: – Erica Jong
“Novelists such as John Updike, Philip Roth, Tom Wolfe and Norman Mailer slug it out for the title of the Great American Novelist. But maybe they are wrong. Maybe, just maybe, the Great American Novelist is a woman” – The Herald

Star Rating 4.5 star

About The Author

Oates in 2014

 

Joyce Carol Oates is a prolific American author, born in 1938. Her first novel was published in 1962 and she has since published a further 42 book. She has won many American and international awards for her writing and her books. We Were The Mulvaneys became a best seller after being selected as an Oprah’s Book Club book.

Published by Harper Perennial, Harper Collins Publishers in 2007.
First published by Fourth Estate in 2001. Paperback – 454 pages

Have you read this book. If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

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 Images: Goodreads