February Reading

February's books were as stellar as January's.  

9. My Turquoise Years 

by M.A.C. Farrant

nonfiction 2004

Kindle

finished 2/1/14

I wrote about this book here.

10. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death - book 1 in the Grantchester Mystery series

by James Runcie

mystery 2012

library book

Kindle

finished 2/11/14

11. Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night - book 2 in the Grantchester Mystery series

by James Runcie

mystery 2013

Kindle

finished 2/18/14

I feel like I’ve been waiting for the Grantchester mysteries my whole reading life. For me, they are perfect. I loved every minute I spent inside the books. There’s a little feeling of Agatha Christie, a strong sense of England in the 1950s, a very human Anglican priest, and characters that aren’t caricatures or silly.

When I went searching for photos of Grantchester in the 1950s to add to these book notes, the page for the series came up. These pictures give the reader a sense of the place in those years. And on the site, you may take a walking tour along with Canon Sidney Chambers. This is one of the true wonders of the internet for a reader so far away. I can ‘see’ where the book takes place. This is a particularly wonderful website. Please do visit and find out about the series, the background, British history.

I read these books on my Kindle, but I’ve ordered them in paperback, and plan to buy the new one in the same form when it comes out. Some books I just have to have in the ‘real’ version.

12. Park Life

by Katharine D'Souza

fiction 2012

Kindle

finished 2/24/14

The only other time I’ve read a book set in Birmingham was Catherine O’Flynn’s What Was Lost. I thought it presented quite a gloomy view of a city that had seen better days. It was published five years before Park Life, and set a few years earlier. Birmingham seems transformed into a vibrant, appealing city. I think that if I were British, and younger, I might want to move there myself. 

The café stands on Poplar Road; perhaps why they've called it Tall Trees. The other businesses are an interesting, independent mix ranging from the niche market of Caribbean delicacies to the practicality of a launderette. A steady stream of cars and pedestrians flowed to and from the High Street and back.
I liked the road. Something about the atmosphere has elements of the familiar small town scale, but then there are hints of spice, undercurrents of exoticism: the contemporary, cosmopolitan attitude I want for myself.

Near the end of the book a park is described.

"What I like about parks like this, is they're one of the few places in the city where you see Birmingham's diverse population all in one space." ...
I looked around. He was right. All races were represented. All of the families were out enjoying the park in the same way - they wanted some space, some air, some greenery around them. In such a landlocked city, it made sense that everyone congregated there.

Often in the book, Birmingham was referred to as Brum. From wikipedia:

People from Birmingham are called 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of 'Brum'. This originates from the city's dialect name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'.

The two main characters are Susan and Craig. She is a woman in her mid-forties who has left her husband and a ‘cushy’ life in the suburbs, and he is a man of 25, who has quite a good job and his own flat. Their stories are told in alternating chapters. 

I was amazed at how Katharine D’Souza could get inside the head of such disparate characters. One might expect that a woman could imagine and express the thoughts and feelings of Susan, but she describes Craig as easily as if she were this young man. She’s got the language, and the seemingly shallow lifestyle, and the often hidden deeper concerns of Craig and so many like him down pat. If you are offended by swearing, you might be put off but the reality is that most people that age use particular words as just part of their lexicon. As I read once of the Irish, the ‘f’ word is expressed as all parts of speech - noun, verb, adjective. With Craig, it works and the story would be false without it. 

Like Mr. Lynch’s Holiday, Park Life is a new book with a cheerful spirit and a happy ending. Not that everything is pleasant or easy for the characters, but they are not overwhelmed with horrible life stories. The characters are people like most of us. 

I found out about this book here. I’ve also bought Katharine D'Souza's newest one Deeds Not Words.

And every time I read the title I’m reminded of the old Blur song which I love. Not that it has anything to do with the book, but it is great fun. The lyrics follow.

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur

Of what is known as

(Parklife)

And morning soup can be avoided

If you take a route straight through what is known as

(Parklife)

John's got brewers droop he gets intimidated

By the dirty pigeons, they love a bit of him

(Parklife)

Who's that gut lord marching?

You should cut down on your porklife mate, get some exercise

All the people

So many people

They all go hand in hand

Hand in hand through their parklife

Know what I mean?

I get up when I want except on Wednesdays

When I get rudely awakened by the dustmen

(Parklife)

I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea

And I think about leaving the house

(Parklife)

I feed the pigeons I sometimes feed the sparrows too

It gives me a sense of enormous well-being

(Parklife)

And then I'm happy for the rest of the day safe in the knowledge

There will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it

All the people

So many people

And they all go hand in hand

Hand in hand through their parklife

Parklife

(Parklife)

Parklife

(Parklife)

It's got nothing to do with

Vorsprung durch Technik you know

(Parklife)

And it's not about you joggers

Who go round and round and round

(Parklife)

All the people

So many people

And they all go hand in hand

Hand in hand through their parklife

All the people

So many people

And they all go hand in hand

Hand in hand through their parklife

13. Fancy Nancy 

by Jane O'Connor; illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser

children's book 2006

library book

finished 2/24//14

I wrote about this here.

14. The Violets of March

by Sarah Jio

fiction 2011

library book

Kindle

finished 2/28/14

I began this near the end of February, sure that I would be reading it in the month of March, but it was so enjoyable, I finished it before March even began. A lovely book. Life is not turning out as Emily expected it might. She wrote a highly successful book many years ago, and hasn't been able to write another one. Her husband had an affair, and the marriage ended in divorce. She's at what the British call, 'a loose end.' Her great-aunt Bee invites her to come spend the month of March on the beautiful Bainbridge Island in Washington state. 

Would that we all had such a place to go to when things weren't going our way. She finds inspiration for a new book, a decades old mystery to solve, and of course, romance. But the book is not facile. There is depth in the characters, and I found each of them interesting and appealing in their own ways. I love books that have connections between past and present. The Violets of March was wonderful, and I look forward to the other books Sarah Jio has written.