Ahhh, so I know there’s a lot of fuss about Nicholls’ ‘One Day’ at the moment because of the Netflix series, but that’s not what brought me to this book. I absolutely loved Nicholls’ ‘Starter for Ten’ (great book, lovely film) and hoped for more of the same.
I can confirm that ‘You Are Here’ is also a great book. Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
This book alternates chapters told by Marnie (long term single and lonely Londoner) and Michael (getting divorced, keen walker and countryside-lover). They’re brought together by a mutual friend on a loooooong walk across the Lake District and then – who knows? – maybe even over to the opposite coast. The epic journey starts with a group of unlikely walkers setting off from the west coast of the UK with accommodation booked along the way. The weather isn’t great, the walkers aren’t all very keen, and gradually the numbers dwindle – allowing new friendships to be built between unlikely characters.
I loved ‘Miss Aldridge Regrets’, the first novel by Louise Hare to throw singer Lena Aldridge into a new role as detective on board a transatlantic liner bound for New York in 1936. This second book, ‘Harlem after Midnight’, picks up the story of Lena’s arrival in New York with new beau and ship-board musician Will Goodman.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I read and loved Rachel Rhys’ ‘A Dangerous Crossing’ so I had high hopes for this one! Thanks to Random Things Tours for my copy of the book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ by Emily Bell. This gorgeous, festive romance is out now.
Thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions, as always, are my own. Thanks for also inviting me on the tour!
Something a bit different for me today – an audiobook!
I’ll admit to not always getting on brilliantly with audiobooks at times in the past, but I really couldn’t resist the sound of this one after I saw Polly Samson read sections of it during a Hay Festival online event. I found she had a really soothing voice and I was intrigued by the story that she described, plus the fact that she had written music to accompany the novel with her husband, Dave Gilmour.
The story is told by a fictional character, Erica, who arrives on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. Her mother has died and she is visiting her mother’s friend, Charmian Clift, who lives on the island with her husband, George Johnston (a writer) and their children. Erica arrives with her boyfriend, Jimmy, and what follows is a glorious time in which Erica learns about love, loss, her mother’s past, art and writing.
Erica’s time on Hydra introduces us to a massive cast of characters, some of whom were real people – including Charmian and George, Leonard Cohen, Axel Jensen and Marianne Ihlen. This is one book where you will be constantly googling the people to find out the reality behind the fiction! The only issue I had was the fact that the novel serves us with a massive cast and I couldn’t always remember who was who!
Thanks to Nemanja .O. for sharing their work on Unsplash.
One of the main stars of the novel is Hydra itself and the reader is treated to the sun-soaked, heady, irresistible charms of the island throughout. It sounds like a beautiful place and absolutely perfect for this tale of 1960s free spirits in what was essentially a big artistic community of expats.
Another draw for the novel is Charmian Clift herself who becomes a mother-figure to Erica but is hiding her own secrets. Indeed, it is Erica’s relationship with Charmian that drives a lot of the narrative, so it was no surprise to learn that it was Charmian’s own writing that led Polly Samson to write this book.
I think this is a novel definitely enhanced by the audiobook format. It was lovely to hear Polly Samson read the book as I got a real sense of how she imagined the characters to speak. I also thought that the little musical interludes between chapters and the song at the end enhanced the narrative – it gave more of a taste of the time and music and added depth to the novel. As already mentioned, Polly Samson’s voice is extremely relaxing to listen to and I really enjoyed being caught up in her world of artists, poets and novelists on Hydra as related to me in her hypnotic voice! Although I found the narrative a bit sprawling and long in places, I found I enjoyed the way it was presented.
I would highly recommend this audiobook – it really does offer more than just an audio recording of the novel and I liked the story of the intertwined lives and the lasting impact of the events of 1960.
With thanks to NetGalley who gave me a copy of the audiobook in return for an honest review.
If you’d like to buy a copy, the Amazon link is below – I may receive commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you (excellent!)
Header image with thanks to Dominik Gawlik for sharing their work on Unsplash.
