“the most important thing for me above everything else are the characters and the story” confides author, Carole Cadwalladr, during a book review by The Daily Mail. Her first book ‘The Family Tree’ was the first book our group chose to review.
It was agreed generally that the plot was good because it was realistic and unpredictable, but not everyone enjoyed reading it. Cadwalladr herself admits:
“I'm a very impatient reader and if I'm not dragged into the story very early on I'm inclined to give up and I really held this in mind when I was writing The Family Tree.”
One group member never made it past page 60 and most readers agreed that they might not have preserved with the lengthy book if it had not been on the group’s review list. The consensus was ‘too much book and not enough plot’.
The descriptive passages were useful, not overly emotional and not over-laboured. Structurally the book was not helped by the use of extensive footnotes and an erratic chronological order of events in the short chapters. Sudden, short bursts of information were hard to digest.
Major themes in the story are the dysfunctional family, nature or nurture and racial prejudice. The ending is effective and unexpected. This makes the book a worthwhile read.
The main character, Rebecca, is actually part of her husband Alistair’s research. His behaviour and attitudes do not change in the course of the book, but hers do.
Rebecca’s mother, Doreen, has manic depression (bi-polar disorder). This is made apparent through Doreen’s response to the royal wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. Therefore the story had to be set in England.
Most members of the group would recommend ‘The Family Tree’ to a friend. They said it is enjoyable although it takes a while for the reader to establish a rapport with the characters.

Cadwalladr has published no further books. The group mainly agreed that she put so much work into this manuscript that she would have to write about a different subject completely with any subsequent novel.

Gwenni Morgan, the main character, is a young girl living in a Welsh-speaking village in North Wales. One of our group members had a similar up bringing and described this version of it as ‘Absolutely brilliant!’ She especially appreciated the recollection of Sundays with Chapel in the morning and Sunday School in the afternoon stating: ‘Mari has it absolutely spot on about this.’


One reader, who stopped reading the book very early on, said it seemed to be ‘whimsy’ and therefore had not interested her at all. She disliked the use of a present tense narrative and the contradiction of using sophisticated words in a ‘child’s voice’.

Conversely, the majority of us felt this was a compelling novel and reviewing it developed into a variety of lively discussions. This is our third book in succession about ‘odd’ people. The issue of mental illness and its being inherited, possibly through the female line, runs thoughout the narrative. Gwenni’s mother, Mrs Morgan, is obsessed with the idea that her neighbours will dub Gwenni ‘odd’ and conveniently ignores the fact that she, herself, is most peculiar. Everyone knows what goes on, but it is rare for someone to gossip publicly.



The villagers really have little choice, but to be integrated fully into the social and spiritual influences of their Church. Gwenni, however, seems more interested in knowing who made the egg sandwiches, because they are her favourites and they won’t upset ‘the family stomach’.


We discussed the 1950s era and how they were remembered as ‘dark’ times. Big families were normal, offering someone to confide in, but Gwenni has a poor relationship with her Mother and older sister. The kind-hearted, but misguided Mr Morgan dotes on his ungrateful, unstable wife. Gwenni escapes in daydream ‘flights of fancy’ from distressing realities.


Gwenni finds herself giving evidence to the police and is forced to do this in English. She is uncomfortable about it, because she cannot express herself as clearly as in Welsh. We discussed how Welsh language is so very much part of our local culture and not exclusive to North Wales. The incident reinforces the idea that she often finds herself stuck in an adult world, craving her childhood.


Average score was 6/10.

The book review discussion began with particularly scathing comments: ‘Where’s the bonfire?’ and ‘Burn the book!’


We wondered whether it was now fashionable to write in a child’s voice because it is becoming a regular feature in our group's reading list.


Only one of our members actually finished reading to the last page. She declared that no conclusions were ever reached in the book and as far as halfway through it she accepted this fact and this enabled her to finish it. She felt that midway through the story the reader ceased to wait for the discovery of the missing child.


The group agreed that the story would have been based on some factual evidence. Briefly we discussed survivor guilt and mentioned the tragedy at Aberfan. (On the 21 October 1966, 144 people, 116 of them children, were killed when a tip of coal waste slid onto the village of Aberfan in South Wales, United Kingdom.)


An average mark of 3 out of 10 was given.

The element of surprise worked until the end for the majority of our members and that was what made the story so enjoyable. Most of us agreed the book improved as it continued, one member did not make it very far into the book at all. Others who have seen the Bruce Willis film ‘The Sixth Sense’ anticipated the ending early on.

We wondered about the most suitable age group for this book. The book sleeves differ and there appear to be at least three versions. The original from 2005 shows two boys playing with a rope swing. The 2010 version features a pose from the film with Zac Efron (of High School Musical fame) and Amanda Crew. We agreed that the new cover might have appealed to early or mid teens, but it would have discouraged us to buy the book and not encouraged any of us to read it or to borrow that edition from the library. We felt that the book is neither twee nor tacky and does not merit being cheapened with a cheesy cover.

We discussed the loss of a loved one and wondered if someone who was recently bereaved would be offended or comforted by the plot. Charlie St Cloud has cultivated an existence that revolves around working in a graveyard and chatting to the graveside mourners who are not what they first appear to be. His meeting up with his younger brother every day after work excludes him from intimacy with anyone else. His obsession is based on guilt because he feels responsible for killing his brother. They meet year after year and whilst Charlie finds it impossible to move on, his brother remains a ghost.

The majority vote was that this was an easy, quick and cosy ‘fireside’ read.

Book Review by Burry Port Bookworms:


There is trouble in Paradise, where this drama unfolds. Under investigation within an Amish community is the murder of a newborn baby, most likely by its teenage mother. There is a whole lot of not telling the truth in East Paradise (Pennsylvania) where these reclusive ‘Plain People’ are weaving convenient lies.


The Amish culture skirts around a modern existence and embraces a patriarchal society of traditional farming with its own distinct community values and rules. No time is spent by the author analysing strengths and weaknesses of this particular way of life and its values and there is no defence or criticism of the evident hypocrisy of people who live secret and parallel lives within it. As a group, we asked if the ‘Plain Truth’ was based on their truth or the author’s perception of it.


The abundance of research for this novel, in respect of the Amish was felt highly commendable. We learnt about their day to day existence, their dependence on farming for their income and how their religious beliefs affected their behaviour.


Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the morality issues involved, this novel is lightweight. We agreed that the characters are inconsequential and uninspiring.


To us, it was frustrating that no moral stand was taken on either the lawyer representing guilty clients to achieve verdicts of innocence, or the lawyer making a conscious decision to conceal the truth and leave a killer unpunished. The author also skirts around offering a conclusion to the story which made us wonder if she was allowing herself an opportunity to pursue a sequel.


Jodi Picoult, as a very popular successful author, appears undaunted in her vast range of subject matter. Unfortunately her plot for ‘Plain Truth’ appears shallow under our book worms’ scrutiny and reviewing it undervalues the effort made in its development. Some of us have read other (if not all) of her books and agreed that this was one of her weakest. It lacks punch, drama and limps towards an unimpressive, uninspired ending.


We gave it an average mark of 5.5

There was no doubt in our minds that this was something a little different. Those whose interest it managed to hold found it worthwhile the time it took to become comfortable with a very large book in which ‘Death’ was the narrator.
Living amongst the ordinary population of war-time Nazi Germany, the main characters include a young girl, Leisel, who is taken in by a foster family. The father teaches her to read when she reaches bottom of her class at school.
There is much to follow as the stories of loss of life in different circumstances are revealed. Whilst the Nazis are burning books by authors they despise, Leisel develops a love of reading and steals books as entertainment. ‘Death’ visits her 3 times during the story and one time she survives as she is reading in the cellar when a bomb drops on the building. We wondered why, with the threat of starvation, Leisel is not also stealing food as well as reading material.
Other supporting background information includes references to how the Germans are under pressure to join the Nazi party, the consequences of bombing by the British and how Leisel’s foster family hides a Jewish fugitive in their home.
Our group was certain that the gimmicky disjointed style of writing was an unnecessary distraction. Possibly it was introduced to attract the adolescent reader, but if Zusak, this established writer of children’s books, was looking to engage 12 year old readers, why stretch out the book with such elaborate descriptive passages to fill over 500 pages?
There are many vivid descriptions that show the contrast between the colourless perspective of ‘Death’ and the amazing colour spectrum of life. Colours are a major influence on description passages, but this then overshadows the chronological focus. It becomes confusing at times, especially when noteworthy highlights are revealed prematurely. A comparison to the genius of The Diary of Anne Frank, on the book cover, appears to be a random and totally misguided until other themes of this book are discussed. Parallels could be seen regarding the enduring influence of the written word and how censorship and limiting freedom of speech can badly affect a person’s survival instinct and undermine their strength to fight death.
Having stayed on track through to the final pages were our readers rewarded with a satisfactory ending? Well, perhaps you should try reading ‘The Book Thief’ yourselves?
Our average mark was 6.5 out of 10.

Lily is 14 years old when the book begins and has been brought up by her father T-Ray who is a tyrant, never showing any affection for the girl. She is a constant reminder of his wife and the strange circumstances surrounding her death.
Lily runs away from home on a mission to find out more about her mother and the journey she takes, along with their black housekeeper Rosaleen, leads her to a honey farm and the three black sisters who keep it in business. There is emphasis on the importance of Christianity in the life of the sisters and their iconic ‘Black Madonna’ that features on the labels for the honey.
May Boatwright is the most sensitive and fragile of the sisters. Her twin died and she has found solace from the pain she feels personally and for others by building a wailing wall to post notes. August Boatwright, the eldest of the sisters at the honey farm, binds the women together. She understands her family and the weaknesses of human nature. We discussed the interpretation of ‘Queen Bee’. Was August, as the matriarch of the family keeping everyone focussed on their responsibilities ‘Queen Bee’ because people automatically did what they were asked by her? Or was it her position because she was the one responsible for the productivity of the family unit/the hive. Perhaps there is not really much difference?
We also talked about the tendency for women to gather in insular social groups and get to know each other very well. It was felt that men were probably more competitive by nature and generally interested in discussing a limited range of subjects such as sports.
Lots of ‘firsts’ in the story make extremely convenient highlights: votes for blacks, colleges for blacks and the forbidden fruit - Lily’s first love, a crush on August Boatwright’s godson, Zach. Our group all perservered with this book to the end and most of us agreed that it was worthwhile. With stereo-typical characters, a methodical & predictable plot it could have been just another novel about a tortured, adolescent genius during the racial disharmony of 1960s southern states of America.
We ended by talking about the possibility of a future relationship between Lily and her father. It would probably hinge on them forgiving each other for huge mistakes in their past. T-Ray not only tormented his daughter physically, but he said that she was abandoned by Deborah before her death and makes the accusation that, as a four year old, Lily pulled the trigger that caused her mother’s death.
Our average vote gave this book 6/10.

This classic work, written in 1939, depicts a familiar tale of tragic and shocking events at that time. Greedy, heartless property owners oust tenants from their homes with promises of a fruitful, happy life far away.
These people were used to relentless hardships and were already down-trodden, having fallen on hard times before due to droughts, flooding and ‘acts of God’. They had managed before to pick themselves back up and stand to fight them again. However, there was no winning this time, as the poorest of tenant farmers they were left defenceless against deception and betrayal inflicted, without restriction, through the power of money.
This story is depicted with methodically slow descriptions of increasingly depressing circumstances that were beyond these people’s control. The plight of similar communities within supposedly ‘civilised’ society and the many thousands who migrated are seen here through the eyes of the Joad family from Oklahoma. We learn much about Ma, Pa, Tom and Casy and share their helpless frustration and ineffectual acts of desperation. The recurring theme is that people will make do, accept and survive.
Ma Joad develops throughout the narrative as a strong matriarchal character who keeps the family together, fed and alive. She advocates selflessness, dignity and principle. In contrast, Pa Joad, who was a strong person, is worn down through their misadventures. He loses his spirit on their journey and retires into the background leaving his wife little choice, but to take the leadership role.
The book starts just after their son, Tom has been released from jail for murder. We experience his traumatic return, with the insightful Casy (a former preacher) to a derelict, empty wasteland that was once the family farm.
Our group found this a ‘powerful read’ that was frustrating and hard-going at times like the trials endured by the families, particularly in the first 150 pages. After that, the regional accent becomes familiar and the style of writing intrigues rather than frustrates. The relentless repetition might be off putting for the less determined reader. Some of us who had encountered ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ decades ago still found it very interesting and absorbing. It was agreed that some effort is needed to continue reading and not everyone in the group managed to finish the book.

Our average mark was 6.5 out of 10.

The dialogue is purposefully set with the voice of a child, Jack. He has lived a very short and contented life in isolation from anything and anyone outside his immediate surroundings. This man-made environment is ‘Room’. As Jack starts to find out how confusing it can be to uncover the difference between truths and lies, we puzzle over the unique relationships Jack has with the adults around him. Slowly the bizarre background to his situation is revealed and we recoil in horror.
Without a hint that his lifestyle is about to completely up-end it becomes essential for him to understand that he has been living a lie. Everything he thinks he knows is wrong and everything he believes to be true is false. We discover that his existence maintains someone else’s sanity. What really dictates his familiar daily and weekly schedules is the need to keep him alive, calm and happy. His range of activities and hunger for knowledge has been restricted to the smallest database, but now his tiny world is about to go global!
This novel succeeds where others have failed since, although the story is distressing, all those in our group who started it, finished it. However we felt the story was not totally convincing. Some of us found the immature and invented language quite irritating in view of his advanced reading age and apparent intelligence. Unfortunately Jack failed to gain our sympathy.
We gave it an average score of 5 out of 10.

There is nothing like an inflated ego to spice up the profile of a self-righteous lunatic. Perhaps it is a good thing that some of our members did not venture into this account of how it is possible to exist without a conscience and remain unaffected about killing someone.

Probation Officer Cate Austin, returning from ‘The Woman Before Me’ by the same author, attempts to second-guess and outwit Alice Mariani, who has responded enthusiastically to a personal advert searching for someone romantic to assist in a suicide.

In order to achieve a recommendation to keep her out of prison, the selfish, very twisted Alice must win the sympathy of Cate who is only too aware of the defendant’s over-critical, egocentric nature. Alice tries show-case to the professionals that she is insane, but it is her love for the unreachable ‘Smith’ that needs to be believed. This is the man who needs so much adoration that his lover will help him achieve a truly memorable death.

The main characters are undeniably intriguing, but not in the least bit likeable. They seem to take interesting turns in being dangerous or sympathetic, dominant or submissive, evil or misunderstood. There is more than one twist in the tale that makes this a difficult book to put down.

Compared to the average horror story this is mild, but that does not mean it is not both peculiar and disturbing. The book does not seek to preach or educate on the subject of assisted suicide. It is more about outlining how manipulative and calculating narcissistic people can be. The subject matter might put some readers off, but most of our group were engaged immediately by it and felt almost guilty to have ‘enjoyed’ reading it.

The average mark was 7.5 out of 10.

This particularly complex sequence of events on a seemingly endless journey of discovery has been brought to life in an action-packed adventure very recently. It might be a likely assumption that this book has been made into a successful movie because it is made of ‘best seller’ material.
It was felt that there was no absorbing build-up to an exceptional account of endurance involving a young boy called ‘Pi’ and, amongst other animals from a zoo collection, a Bengal tiger.
Within the context of an extended sea voyage the reader could have developed empathy with a frightened, desperate young survivor of a tragic misadventure. The circumstances of the plot might have offered an entertaining and insightful zoologist’s perspective.
Despite finishing ‘Life of Pi’ and agreeing that the alternative ending compounds a confusing, inconsistent narrative, a couple of readers from our group gave it a second chance. They re-read some of it and began making a little more sense of the disparity between the first part and the last. Within our group, Man Booker Prize entries have a reputation for weirdness and unfathomability.
Whilst we discussed the realities of survival, one group member suggested that the mind of a very distressed child could morph humans into animals and that within this hallucination the main character ‘Pi’ could have been propelled towards uncharacteristic savagery .
This book failed to offer up the bones of a good read because of the long explanations of childhood non-events, detailed zoological miscellanea and an unnecessary level of brutality towards captive animals.
Average score of 6.5 out of 10

This is a debut novel for Native Alaskan Eowyn Ivey, a journalist who has grown up hunting bears and loving the snow that surrounds her family for up to nine months each year. The novel, set in 1920s Alaska, is a reworked traditional Russian fairy tale with life breathed into it from her own experience.
When Mabel and Jack move to Alaska they struggle to build up a derelict site into a working farm. Battling against the isolation and the extreme climate put major strains on their relationship. Following the still-birth of a baby they have been unable to regain an intimacy that allows them to talk through the tragedy. The absence of a child profoundly affects their daily lives and as a farmer’s wife going about her daily chores Mabel, particularly, has time to brood. Her role changes and she finds more purpose taking on manual farm work when Jack has a bad accident.
In a rare moment of playfulness they build a snow child. It vanishes in the night leaving a trail of footprints leading towards the trees where they glimpse a young girl. She calls herself Faina and in what seems to be a first half of the story this blonde-haired hunter with a red fox companion is like a fairy and a character from the couple’s imagination. They come to adore her as if she were their own child. In what can be thought of as a second half to the book, Faina is seen by other people, so there is an assumption that she is a real person.
There is no doubt of the sadness and pathos of the situation; the coldness, loneliness and isolation effectively portray the brutalities of living in a wilderness. There are vivid descriptions of the incredible beauty of the region and a clear vision of the strange frailty and endurance of mysterious Faina and the admirable capacity of Mabel and Jack to survive and endure.
The group gave this 6/10 as an average score.

Finding love late in life has turned Ernest Pettigrew’s world upside down. This respectable gentleman is facing previously unknown and unexpected challenges because he falls for the village’s ‘Pakistani’ shopkeeper.
Lonely and retired widower, Major Pettigrew shares a love of literature with a widow in her mid-fifties, Mrs Ali. It leads to romance and straight into the path of conflict with their respectively prejudiced families and the neighbours who used to be their friends. The stereotypical characters’ genteelness is just a facade and racialism is highlighted from all the different cultures.
The story is modern day with an old-fashioned style to it where the main characters are called ‘Mrs’ and ‘Major’. The minor characters were quirky and in some ways more intriguing, because light work was made of side issues and introductions were done through quick cameos.
We felt that the cover with its bright colours, flowing text and teacups was set to appeal to women and would compensate for the title that might appeal more to men.
The half British and half American vocabulary and splashes of humour reveal the author’s roots in England and her home across the Atlantic.
This is a lightweight book with a predictable plot. It did not prove much of a challenge to finish. Group members who were very critical about the overuse of adjectives, similes and metaphors could visualise this narrative as a film because it almost reads like a screenplay with flowing visualisations and detailed descriptions of scenery. These fill the pages, but dilute the enjoyment of them. One member summed it up saying that we should not have to skip half a book to enjoy it.

Our average mark was 5.5/10

Larry Ott is a lonely man whose isolated life leaves him little more to do than methodically tend to his hens and turn up at his car workshop that rarely attracts customers. No evidence could put him behind bars, but the nearest community in a tiny hamlet of hottest, dustiest Mississippi has condemned and ostracised Larry the schoolboy for murdering Cindy Walker who was in his class.
Silas Jones, the local policeman, returned to the area after a long absence. Years after the alleged crime a body is found in a disused shack on Larry’s land, but it is another woman who has been murdered. The most likely suspect is in no position to provide an alibi; Larry Ott lies in a critical state in hospital having been shot in the chest by a masked intruder.
Everyone in our group who started this book finished it, despite the awkwardness of reading the colloquial language. Most agreed it was predictable and slow paced. We doubted that Silas would have kept his secret safe and this is what weakens the plot most. It felt like the author was unsure what type of book he was writing and that he added one final chapter too many.
We discussed how the main characters might not represent stereo-typical images in novels of blacks and whites of the 1980s in Southern America. A brief childhood friendship provokes the misgivings of their parents. Silas evolves into a popular and successful black retired sportsman now policeman, who has done well for himself despite his humble beginnings. White-skinned Larry, son of the owner of substantial amounts of land, is the ‘born victim’, friendless and fat, he grows old prematurely.
The book handles time changes poorly and this makes them confusing and disjointed. Many peripheral characters in the story seem twisted and unpleasant but only Wallace Stringfellow, who forces his company on the infamous Larry, contributes something memorable to the plot. If this violent weirdo had been born much earlier then he might have been a suspect for the murder of Cindy, himself.
One group member has spent time in the Mississippi and vouched for the authentic descriptions of the heat, dust and small town mentality. We may not be rushing out to buy other books by Tom Franklin, but it is tempting to read reviews of future books published to see if he moves on from this lacklustre imitation of the legacies left by John Steinbeck and Harper Lee.
Score 5.5/10

Allan Karlsson, whose skills include creating Vodka out of goat’s milk and making an atom bomb, steals a suitcase at a bus station. This proves to be the catalyst for a steam-roller ride of adventures without fear of consequences, time limitations or financial constraints.
The repercussions of Allan’s vanishing from the party celebrating his hundredth birthday were combined with his well-timed recollections of the most amazing course of events. The switch from past to present was not confusing and the interludes from the present day adventures and misadventures, for the most part, fought off tedium This is one of a number of popular books that outline how elderly people who may have been ‘written off’ have unexpectedly broken free from an institutionalised existence and started afresh.
This reading group wondered if autism might explain how the main character is saved from the restrictions of morals, legality and conscience. For example when Allan settles into life in a frozen Russian internment camp it suits his limited needs well until he craves Vodka so much that he exploits another ‘window of opportunity’ and escapes, once again.
It was felt that the central themes, some involving historical events that were well researched, were a good basis for expressing the excess of political conspiracies and imbalances of world power during the last century. We mentioned how such changes of leadership would have affected our parents or grandparents. The author introduced us to wonderful and amusing characters and showed the idiosyncrasies of some notorious megalomaniacs. The stereotyping of ‘thick’ and infamous political leaders made us laugh.
None of us abandoned this long book with its long cast of characters. Some thought it should have been condensed during translation from its Swedish origins and some skipped about fifty of the final pages looking for a conclusion to this contemporary fairy tale.

The story explores difficulties in a family relationship between two very different sisters (Della and Adie) and their father. It also looks at how Adie falls in love during a mid-life crisis. This is Kathleen MacMahon’s first published novel and it has been translated into twenty-five languages after a successful introduction at The London Book Fair 2011.

Della has four children so Adie, who is an out of work architect, ends up nursing their consultant father, Hugh, who has broken wrists and is awaiting the repercussions of a works tribunal. Hugh is unable to show his love for his Adie. Perhaps she reminds him of his deceased wife?

Bruno is from America and his life in finance has ground to an untimely halt when he arrives in the neighbourhood, following in his sister’s footsteps looking to form some family bonds in Ireland. After he ends up in Adie’s bed, regular updates on U.S. politics give the impression that Bruno is about to fly home any day if the right candidate wins the election.

Some members of our group really enjoyed the book. It offered them a pleasant distraction from real life. However even they agreed that it was an uninspired title to an uninspired book. It seems to offer little substance and no depth to most of the characters. Our main concern was whether Adie’s dog had actually died. If you are looking for a cheerful read then this is not one for you and most of us hoped there will not be a sequel.

We gave it an average 4/10

‘What the hell was this book about?’ was one of the first responses in our group review of this tale of nature versus nurture and its successive character assassinations.
Eight years of pining for her dead new-born baby has left Gen distanced from her husband Art. He insists that a subsequent child via IVF treatment will solve all their problems. She never had the chance to hold or say goodbye to ‘Beth’ and the life-like dreams show their daughter maturing as the years pass.
It is easy to condemn the two-dimensional characters, the awkward and contrived character’s names and the implausible ‘accidental’ murders. However, since quite a few of us liked it and found it absorbing despite its disjointedness and most of us finished reading it, it must have appealed to us enough to want to learn about the young person writing in italics even if the main characters failed to gain any sympathy.
Some of us found the flashbacks difficult to set into a time frame and would not have identified who it was without it being made so obvious at the end. We discussed the difference between wanting to know the outcome and caring what happens.
The book is set in England and the names are presumably based on the King Arthur legends, but since the ‘voices’ are distinctly American it has evidently been aimed at readers from the U.S.A. Sophie McKenzie’s transition from a children’s book author to this level of sinister and unbelievable nonsense is very surprising.
One group member suggested a fitting sequel to this might be ‘I’ve had my eyes opened’ but many of us would not be rushing out see what she sees next.
Average score 5/10

Most of us quite enjoyed this book, but it was felt that it was possibly aimed at the teenage market. Some felt that it was reminiscent of the Angela Brazil school stories. It was written by a man only two years ago and the response to it was very mixed ‘it was easy read / boring / difficult to remember and also peppered with Americanisms’.
When the bird was found on the doorstep, then the murdered man, Flavia decided to investigate. It seemed odd that Flavia was not even a little scared of a dead body. The book was set in 1950’s countryside, so she would have had much more freedom to wander than she would now. When her father was arrested for the murder, she hopped on her bike (Gladys) and took it on herself to investigate. She predictably kept one step in front of the police and solved the mystery.
The pie in the title seemed to have little to do with the crime even though it had a slice out of it and Flavia thought it could have been poisoned. The point was that the pie tasted so bad that none of the family would dream of eating it.
We felt the children well drawn and the loneliness of Flavia came across. There was much jealousy in the relationship between the sisters, as the other two girls had known their mother a little before she died. None of the children received much love from anywhere, although Flavia was friendly with Dogger, an old family retainer now a gardener and he kept an eye out for her. He had been damaged in the war and drifted into his own world at times. Flavia lived in her head a lot too, as she had no company. The book was predictable as was Flavia herself.
The mystery was in fact not very mysterious. Most of our number seemed to have favourite parts to quote and these tended to be amusing. Flavia was a strange child; she had this obsession with chemistry and was obviously very much more intelligent than her siblings. Her father was a stamp collector, which summed him up.
Flavia solved the mystery and her father was released from prison. He was not at all grateful and unfortunately nothing was going to change in their household as a result of the adventure.
Our marking for the book swung from 3 to 7 – 4 of us hated it, 4 loved it and the others were somewhere in between. We averaged out at 6 out of 10.

Our group members generally agreed that although the start and the end of this novel proved enjoyable, it was rather confusing in the middle. This disjointedness might be explained by some of the characters disappearing early on and showing up again, quite unexpectedly, near the end.
There were many layers of the story and since this is a book with nearly 800 pages it took a lot of reading. One group member listened to this book on audio tape and found it very enjoyable. Most of us finished it.
The main character Theo Decker is a 13 year old whose mother has been blown up in an attack on a gallery they were visiting. Theo had been excluded from school and throughout the story he continues to blame himself for them being there on that day.
To compound these feelings of guilt there is the problem of his keeping hold of a little painting; the celebrated 1654 Carel Fabritius The Goldfinch, which under duress he takes home from the unstable ruins of the building. Theo spends much of his time and energy worrying about keeping it safe, presumably, because it is the only thing left to link him with his deceased mother.
Theo is given no option but to live with his estranged father and, during the next 14 years, he moves to a variety of places meeting a diverse group of people. Most of the characters are not very likeable and his life experiences include drug taking, stealing and a lot of alcohol. One good and steady influence on him, at the start at least, is the craftsman furniture restorer ‘Hobie’ who instigates Theo’s interest in buying and selling antiques.
Until the review some of our readers had not realised that this painting actually exists. The Goldfinch is only Donna Tartt’s third published book since 1992 and it won her the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. Perhaps the bird’s symbolism of resurrection better reflects her life than that of Theo Decker?

This was a book that inspired one of our readers to research online about British ‘woolly pigs’ in Wiltshire. For a narrative about a wartime refugee, who is struggling with the concept of xenophobia, that is not a classic recommendation.
It was a refreshing synopsis for the story; Mr Jack Rosenblum, a Jewish man who flees his home in wartime Germany and so desperately wants to assimilate into British society that he moves to the middle of nowhere to pursue his plans to build a classic golf course. The list, in the title, is given to refugees as a guide to ‘Englishness’ and it becomes Mr Rosenblum’s bible and mantra despite the misgivings of his long-suffering wife, Sadie and their daughter, Elizabeth.
Jack Rosenblum is, without doubt, one of the stupidest men our reading group has encountered. This is a successful businessman, the founder and owner of a London-based carpet manufacturer who invests in a country cottage without ever seeing it, writes a succession of invitations/letters to someone who never answers them and is regularly made to look foolish by locals who are canny about ways to make this heavily-accented stranger lighten the wad in his wallet.
Initially his one redeeming quality is his stamina, particularly during the early stages of creating the golf course. His tenacity, however, is also undeniable and unfortunately spurred on his obsessional behaviour. We were curious to know where his seemingly endless cash flow originated (although we acknowledged that buying Sadie golf clubs nearly bankrupted him at one stage.)
One of our readers mentioned that on the ‘Kindle’ version the notes at the back of the hard copy are missing and these introduce the author’s own family wartime history (also the source for her recipe information) and the essential point that the list was, in fact, genuine. With or without this knowledge the book, for the majority of our readers, was not that funny, or interesting and was therefore a disappointment.
Selling under a variety of names and in a choice of languages; ‘Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English’ and ‘The Perfect Gentleman’, this is far from unique in its treatment of cultural assimilation and there are other books that might be more useful for asylum seekers. Our average score was 5.5 out of 10

At the start of this crazy farce we are introduced to a latrine cleaner from Soweto in South Africa. This young lady, Nombeko, has natural leadership skills that fuel her ambitions and offer her way out of the township’s slums.
There are many less interesting characters in the plot including the twins who are both called Holger. It was felt that the eldest twin would not have been missed by any of our group members if he had been killed off in early childhood.
A written slapstick comedy only comes alive if the plot and the humour work. The mix of factual but hard to believe historic information, alongside the poisoning of dogs to effect an escape and a fragmented storyline did not make it a memorable or enjoyable read. Perhaps in its original language this might have been a better book.
Jonas Jonasson has made himself a name in Sweden as a journalist, consultant in the world of media and he also produces television programmes. A previous review by our group offered 7 out of 10 for his first book and best seller, ‘The Hundred Year Old Man who climbed out of the window and disappeared’. With this, his second book which is similar in some ways, we were not so generous with our praise. We only gave it 4 out 10.

Our book club had quite a wide diversity of views on this book with some really enjoying it and others finding it unmemorable. The explicit and violent parts were unexpected on the whole and felt to be unnecessary.

The inconsistent style of writing made it confusing and although the story was intense the main characters Greg and Alice were stereotypical and unbelievable. Their families are dysfunctional and every one of them has their own demons to fight.
Greg’s father is a plastic surgeon who escapes from everyday reality into the arms of his secretary. By studying x-rays of breast tissue at the kitchen table he can drown out the voice of his wife fully outlining her next majorly expensive decorating project, or pretend not to notice the meal has been exactly same and inedible for a week while she perfects her next dinner party menu.

Alice’s father is a butcher and Greg works in his shop. It is left to the imagination what awful things Alice has to endure at home, but it seemed clear that the relationship between her and her father was abusive. When Greg starts to spy on her at home it does not take him long to form his own damning conclusions.

Greg’s mental health instability seems to resemble epilepsy more than the diagnosed schizophrenia. We found it surprising that he was allowed so much freedom in spite of it. He is basically labelled a ‘Psycho’ by his schoolmates and his family who either ignore him or plead with him to be ‘normal’. He is allowed to travel to school and is left to get on with school life since he is academically sound, except a well-meaning teacher tries unsuccessfully to provide some help. This takes the form of after school talking sessions – “psychotherapy” for which she is not qualified.

There is a police transcript that explains a major incident through the responses of the different characters in the story. Without this most of the group’s readers said they would have struggled to finish the book. We wondered if its target audience who we thought might be young adults might have enjoyed it more than most of us did.

Average score 5/10