Glorious weather, good books and new ventures

It's been a busy couple of weeks around these parts - my friend Belinda opened her second Good Craic gift shop on very short notice a few weeks ago, and both Tom and I have been helping her until her staffing settles down.   Such a leap going from a sole trader to having several staff to manage.   She's doing brilliantly, the shop is a joy to be in and the location of the new place, at the Silent Valley Reservoir, has been simply lovely to go to during this fabulous spell of weather.   

driving past Slieve Binnian on the way to Silent Valley

Silent Valley is one of three reservoirs in the Mourne Mountains that feed the greater Belfast area and with people staycationing this year lots of people from all over NI and the South of Ireland have been discovering this beautiful part of the world.   

photo from Wikipedia

Its name is said to come from the notion that the birds all disappeared after the explosions to flood the valley.  Before that it was known as Happy Valley because of the singing of the Cornish quarrymen who worked on it.  The greatest achievement was the tunnel that was dug by hand by two teams from both sides of the mountain, guided by candles to keep straight lines and arriving just inches out when the two teams met.   

In the middle of all that excitement my Mum celebrated her 94th birthday out in her garden picking fruit.   We had a gorgeous two days with her - she's still living on her own and managing well.  

And a few members of my Singmarra singing group got together in the park yesterday for the first time since last March.  It was so lovely to hear voices in real life and share a few songs and chat with each other.  We could hear thunder across the hills and there were reports of flooding a few miles away, but our singing must have kept the rain away:) Now it's just about time to figure out if and when we can actually sing together in a group indoors and plan things for the Autumn - the government guidelines are so unclear to read and our regulations are different here than in England and different again from the South, so it's all very confusing.   

* * * * * * * * * *

I am so far behind with my round the world book journey and reviews that it'll take me ages to catch up.   However, I just had to write about Days Without End and its sequel A Thousand Moons written by Sebastien Barry.   

"Even when you come out of bloodshed and disaster in the end you have got to learn to live."

These stories are set in the run up to and during the American Civil War - a soldier called Thomas McNulty is the narrator in the first one, and Winona, the Indian girl he rescues is the narrator of the second.   And I can honestly say I've never come across such exquisite writing.   I could almost feel the scratchiness of his uniform and smell the dirt and experience his guilt and disgust at what he was being asked to do.  And Winona walking through nature celebrates such detail of the ordinary.   I normally race through books, following the story, but in Days Without End you have to wait and hear Thomas speaking - his colloquialisms, his pace of speech, his observations - he says once that the sky looked like someone had drawn it with a paint brush and that's what the language is like - a slow, luxurious painting.   For sure, the wider subject matter is not jolly, but rather than a grand depiction of the epic proportions of war, it's about living - the feelings and thoughts of one man, or girl.   

100% a 5* from me. 

* * * * * * * * * *

And in other happenings, the squirrels are still coming back to feed from time to time

A new mural has appeared in Rostrevor - lovely work - on the wall of one of our restaurants which  is unfortunately closed again due to a bad Covid outbreak in the area - but that will hopefully pass soon.  

We've had the most exquisite sunsets 

and I've been enjoying playing with paints and plants

 

I've been popping in to keep up to date with how you all are but regular blogging is still not top of my list at the minute - this slower pace is great and I have to say I'm getting a lot more done than before, but there are a few things still needing to get back onto the regular list.  

I hope you are well and staying safe.  

More Books Around the World Reviews

So ... I've now done 34 countries on my Round the World Reading Challenge - hooray for lockdown :)   Only another 160+ to go ... and I confess I am dipping into my normal repertoire of UK/Irish/American books and well.  You can check the link above to see how I'm going, but here's the rest of the recent ones.

Lebanon

A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi Ezri *****

Another 5 star book for me ... beautifully written.

Based on the writer's own experiences of growing up in a village on the outskirts of Beirut during the 1980s war.
It is told through the voice of 8 year old Ruba and the descriptions are absolutely gorgeous - it brought me right back to my own childhood, seeing flowers and trees and people in different ways.  And a child's view of the awfulness of war.   Can't recommend it highly enough.  

North China

The Teagirl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See *****

I loved this book - so brilliantly researched and beautifully written.  It tells the story of a young girl from an ethnic minority tribe who live in the tea producing mountains of north China and how the modern outside world encroaches on them.   Lisa See, the author is of Chinese/American ancestry and this is also explored in the story.  

 Estonia

The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirahk ****

It was a review on the cover of this book that drew me to it ... It said "Imagine it is the end of the world, and Tolkien, Beckett, Mark Twain, and Miyazaki (with Icelandic sagas and Asterix comic books stuffed under their arms) are getting together in a cabin to drink and tell stories around last bonfire the world will ever see."  Now wouldn't that make you want to at least open the book! lol 

While it is a strange book by any standards - sort of a fairytale, but not quite, again it is a tale of modern versus old ways.   And while it didn't send off any bells and whistles for me, it still kept me engaged right to the end.

Japan/America

The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana John ****1/2

Another historically well researched book, again about mixed race and the difficulties there in.   This is set in Japan after World War 2 and after the end of the American occupation there.  Very interesting and beautifully written.  A young Japanese woman falls in love with an American sailor which casts her into a world of not belonging.  

India/France/London 

Another Country by Anjali Joseph ***1/2

I don't normally enjoy coming of age books - getting too old I suppose - but this one held me to the end - as one reviewer said Joseph has an extraordinary ability to describe emotions and to describe what's unsaid - moods, feelings etc ... I could remember a lot of those feelings. 

Leela is a young Indian woman who has studied in Cambridge and is working in Paris trying to find herself.  

Burundi/Rwanda

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder ****

I'm entering this for two countries as the are both the subject of this book and truthfully I couldn't face reading more about this awful period in history.

This Pulitzer Prize winning book is an amazing story of hope and triumph and belief in human goodness.

It is the memoir of Deogratias 'Deo' Niyizonkiza who escaped the genocide in his native Burundi by first of all travelling to Rwanda, then back to Burundi and eventually to America where, with no English and only $200, he managed to survive, eventually studying at Columbia University, and travelling back home to set up a medical clinic near where he was born.
Burundi is one of the 3 poorest countries in the world and in the bottom 5 of GDP and as a teenager Deo tried to build a clinic in his village.  

My star system is really just a comparison thing for myself.   And I can't figure out how to put in a 1/2 star!!!

Books Around the World Update

And yet more titles from my reading challenge ticked off this year so far.


Malaya
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo ***

I picked this book up from looking at Reese Witherspoon's Book Club list and frankly it wasn't entirely my taste... however, it was a good enough story that kept me engaged until the end, even though it felt more like young adult fiction.

Set in Malaya in the 1930s,  Ren is an eleven year old houseboy who has a secret mission to find his dead master's severed finger and reunite it with its body.   He has 49 days to do this or else his master's soul will roam the earth for ever. 

Meanwhile Ji Lin, a dressmaker's apprentice, finds the finger while moonlighting as a dancehall hostess to help pay her mother's debts.   Their paths cross and we get a good insight into the tradions of both the colonial British in Malaya at the time and of the local beliefs, myths and traditions.


Cuba

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton ***

Again, another from Reese's book club and again a bit chic lit for my tastes ..

However, this was a good look at the lives of both the wealthy who fled Cuba when Castro took power as well as the lives of those who stayed behind.   It explained very well the life under Batista and the revolution that brought Castro and Che Guevara into the spotlight and the reality of what happened once they took power.  It also brought some much needed sunshine into the grey winter months.

As a border liver I understand the conflict of duality of those people who left the Cuba for America - the feelings of not knowing who or what they really are - are they American now or will they always be Cuban - that identity, and their wealth,  is tinged with the feelings of loss and guilt at what they left behind.

Even though I didn't like the writing in this book, it fulfilled its place in my challenge to teach me about another culture however it left me with the feeling that I never want to visit Cuba as it is now, something that would have been on my wish list of places to see.  Musicians have always been special in Cuba, but it was made clear in the story that they, the artist class, were treated in a way that the average Joe isn't.

Armenia/Turkey/Syria

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian ****
Another book set in Syria but really the story is about Turkey and Armenia.  

A very good, if harrowing story, set during the Armenian genocide in 1913-15 in Syria and Turkey.  This was a part of history that I had never heard of and the book was written to coincide with the centenary.

Elizabeth Endicott is a wealthy young American who arrives in Aleppo, Syria with her father on an aid mission to help deliver food and meidcal aid to refugees of the Genocide.  There she meets and falls in love with a young Armenian engineer who has lost his wife and infant daughter.

I've read a few books about the animosity between Turks and Armenians but didn't know any of the reasons.  This was a very good read. 

Luxembourg

The Expats by Chris Pavone ***

Not much to say about his one ... it's a bit of a romp spy story ... easy enough reading.
We visit Luxembourg quite often and play there most years so it was quite interesting for me visiting some of the landscape I know, but other than being set in the city there, it didn't add a lot to my knowledge of Luxembourg - might need to read something in French to get further into it.



I think that's enough for now .... on to my next batch.

What have you been reading recently?  Any suggestions to fit my journey, preferably lighter themes?   A lot of stories that make it to best of lists are set in conflict zones and I find it hard to constantly read heavy stories even though it is interesting to learn about history and geography through fiction.  Still there's times that a jolly good laugh or detective or a love story will do just as well.  

As always a huge thanks to Ash at Tale Away where I get lots of inspiration of new countries to visit and new writers from those countries.

Book Review: Books from the Middle East

Some more titles ticked off from my round the world reading challenge.

These are two more titles from the charity book club  ShelterBox which I wrote more about in my last book review post.  

Kuwait

 The Pact We Made by Layla Alammar  ****

Beautifully written debut novel about a wealthy young Kuwaiti woman struggling with a burgeoning anxiety disorder, who is being put under pressure from her mother to marry before she turns 30 but who only wants to escape her seemingly perfect life and live life on her own terms.   However she can't even leave the country without her father's permission. 

This is a really interesting insight into a way of life where traiditon and modern living are clashing. Very enjoyable read.






Oman

Celestial Bodies by  Jokha Alharthi ****

Set in Oman, this is the story of three sisters and their journey to get married - another story of traditional values in a modern world.  Beautifully written, it won the International Booker Prize in 2019.


When I was in my twenties I lived for a short while in Dubai and had the privilege once of being invited to a local wedding where I sat with the women as the bride was being painted wiht henna.  She was to be the fourth wife of a local sheikh which I found shocking - not sure if that's still a practice.   The older women were very curious about my freckles and wanted to examine my skin, while I was equally curious about being able to meet them without their face coverings and the traditions around the wedding but I was very young and didn't have the language to ask many questions.   

This book answers some of those questions - it is a behind the scenes look at an Arabic way of life and the  expectations on young women in that world. 

Book Review: The PIanist of Yarmouk

I've been getting through lots of books on my round the world reading challenge since the new year and the lockdown has been helping me get through the pile lying by my bedside.   I've updated the list on the dedicated page to include the new countries I"ve been to and thought I'd do a bit of a deeper review of some of them over the next while.

A while back I joined a charity book club called ShelterBox.   They send a book every 6 weeks or so from a new writer and there have been some very interesting titles in their selections including this one.  The donations to the charity help with their work with refugees around the world, particularly now with the coronavirus epidemic hitting so many places that are already in crisis. 

So my top book for this year so far has to be The Pianist of Yarmouk


Syria/Palestinian Refugee Camp 

 The Pianist of Yarmouk by Aeham Ahmad *****

You may remember seeing a picture in the news a few years back of a pianist playing in the middle of the rubble of one of the refugee camps in Damascus.   Well that was Aeham Ahmad and this book is his memoir - a truly inspiring story of hope in the most awful of places.

He grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, on the outskirts of Damascus, where Aeham's father, himself a musician, does everything in his power to give his very talented son a musical education.  It gives a very intimate account of the actualities of life in these conditions and gives a bitter sweet insight into the life of one of the people we saw walking in those terrible queues of people tyring to get into Europe a few years ago..   Thankfully Aeham survived to tell his story and is playing now in much more salubrious conditions with his family by his side.   I would love to meet him and shake his hand.

Five on Friday - Catching up on reading

I'm joining in today with Five on Friday run by Amy at Love Made My Home.

I haven't been out taking many photos over the past while, so I thought I'd focus on some recent reads - here are 5 I've really enjoyed.

The winter months are great for catching up on reading and I have been bingeing - both on my Kindle and in the lovely big juicy properly printed versions.  So here's a few  to mention in case you're looking for some reading ideas...

I have taken the synopsis on each book from Goodreads.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

I thought this was a superb book and I really enjoyed it.  A very detailed account of  some parts of World War II told from the point of view of two young characters both of whom were very well rounded and very human.  5/5

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. 

This book was so moving ... and gripping..   I couldn't put it down.  A story about consequences - can't recommend it highly enough.  5/5

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris
When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she allows the wind to blow her back to the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Lansquenet is different now: 

This follow up to Chocolat by Joanne Harris was a great read - a bit of a soap opera, not too taxing, and most enjoyable .... I wish now that I had read Chocolat rather than just watching the movie - Joanne has a great way of describing food - I've read several of her books over the years and they always make me hungry!!  This one is a very timely look at the divisions of immigrants and natives .... 4.5/5

The Reader on the 6.27 by Didier Laurent
An irresistible French sensation - Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore meets Amelie - The Reader on the 6.27 explores the power of books through the lives of the people they save. It is sure to capture the hearts of book lovers everywhere. Guylain Vignolles lives on the edge of existence. Working at a book pulping factory in a job he hates, he has but one pleasure in life ...Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain 
recites aloud from pages he has saved from the jaws of his monstrous pulping machine. 
A thoroughly enchanting read - I loved the characters and the snapshots of the stories he reads .... Lovely .. 4.5/5

Hello Is This Planet Earth? by Tim Peake
 This is a great coffee table book.  I bought it for Tom for Christmas although really I wanted to look at it myself.  It was so exciting to follow Major Tim's journey to the Space Station and back last year - he's such a likeable man and his enthusiasm for all he saw and did comes across in this collection of photos from the Space Station.   With the added bonus that all his proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Princes Trust to help young people get some of the opportunities he had in his early life.  And it was just announced that he's heading up into space again ... excellent.  5/5

Have a lovely week and if you have time, check out some of the other people participating in Five on Friday.  Thank you Amy for putting this together.

Love Made My Home