It has been 32C / 90F in the shade again (45C / 114F!! in direct sunshine) and I have stayed indoors reading for most of the last five days. Happily, our Victorian semi stays cool even in such extreme heat.
I have read two very different, and each unputdownable, books where the characters drew me in so completely. The first was The Distant Shores by Santa Montefiore, a family history told through the eyes of an historian writing a biography of said family. It’s a good summer read, not too demanding but nevertheless, a proper page turner.
The second, quite different, a Booker prize winner last year, The Promise by Damon Galgut. This one was utterly compelling, set in South Africa over four decades with all the political backdrop of those years and again, is a family saga but told from a very unusual standpoint where the narrator pops from one character to another sometimes taking first person but mostly as an observer. Utterly fascinating and one of those novels that stays in your head……
Thank you very much to the two friends, H and J, who kindly lent me these to read.
nrhatch
August 15, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Glad you found good books to keep you cool!
mybeautfulthings
August 15, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Me too. It seems very indulgent to read all day but I had no energy for anything else while it was so hot so took advantage…. 🙂
Ravi Walters
August 14, 2022 at 7:40 pm
I also read The Promise and was very captivated by it. Beautiful writing, heartbreaking and at time hopefully.
mybeautfulthings
August 15, 2022 at 9:58 am
I agree, beautifully written. The version I borrowed had an interview with the author at the end and that was fascinating too, to read his intent and the way he speaks about the structure as well as the characters. Thank you for commenting, good to hear from you. 🙂