Micro Review 4

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (trans. Philip Gabriel)

This is a whimsical tale of one man and his cat, mostly told from the viewpoint of the incredibly intelligent cat, Nana.

It sounds trite but I was swept away by the writing and the descriptions of Japan through the seasons and by the end was an emotional wreck. This book was a master class in showing how to write/translate a book that appears simple but is in fact profound and deeply moving.

Busy life

I'm not sure why I open every post on my own blog with an apology for not writing more - after all it is my own blog and my progress isn't monitored by anyone!

I am still reading for various projects that I can't talk about and I am also reading a lot of books that aren't published until later in the year so hopefully I'll remember to come back and talk about them nearer to publication, although to be honest I really wouldn't hold you breath over that!

In addition to the reading projects I am also currently trying to tie up the loose ends of my current job *and* learn my new one.  This all feels overwhelming at times and means much of my reading has become turning to old favourites, and generally children's books at that as they are nice and familiar but in some cases I had forgotten how good they were - this week's rediscovery was The Secret Garden.

A book that did come along at just the right moment recently was Sarah Baxter's Literary Places.

I'd not heard of the book but the publisher contacted me through NetGalley to let me know it was available for review and I am so glad that the email didn't end up in my junk folder.

This book is a guide to the locations in many books and talks a little bit about the book/author and then the location.  It isn't particularly deep or even in depth but the chapters are wonderfully short and moreover beautifully illustrated and it felt a little like having a holiday just reading through it, which is funny as right now I can't leave the country as my passport is away being renewed.

To be honest I would have liked more written detail about each book/place as it just didn't go into enough depth for me to fall in love with books that were new to me, but I spent ages gazing at the pictures and it reminded me just how special an illustrated book could be however old you are!

It seems funny to be reviewing and praising a book that initially didn't seem like it was for me, but I have found myself returning to the proof just to look at the art work, and at a busy time in life it was great to find just the right book.

Many thanks to Quarto for alerting me to this book, and as ever I was under no obligation to read and review it.

Postcards from a happy place in book form

Book review: Cartes Postales from Greece by Victoria Hislop

A couple of years ago I read and reviewed Victoria Hislop's last book The Sunrise and was left a little wanting at the end.  I was therefore looking forward to this one nervously.

A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to get a beautiful sampler to this book and my fears were allayed. This book made me think I was back in Greece throughout.

It has a clever structure that allows Hislop to pull together all of the little stories you hear in a place (but aren't enough for a full plot) along with the stories of two other people - all linked thought postcards.

The ending was a little too predictable and trite for me but it didn't ruin the overall effect and the whole time I was reading this book I felt like I was sitting on a harbour-side taverna in the Greek sunshine.  My copy came from the library and  I loved this so much I've asked for a copy for Christmas.  Greece is my happy place and this book took me there on a day I didn't feel well (and had to miss a trip to London).