Book Review :: Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this read. I was interested in reading it as I'd just read The Bolter: Edwardian Heartbreak and High Society Scandal in Kenya which, in the further reading section, referred to this novel commenting that Nancy Mitford had based one of her characters on Idina Sackville (the original Bolter).



Set in England and Paris this novel charts the life of Linda, an upper class woman living in the 1920s / 1930s. I've read that much of the early parts of the novel are based on the home life of the Mitfords (so I will be interested in reading a biography / autobiography), whereas the later parts of the novel certainly seem to follow some of the Bolter's story. The narrator for this novel is Linda's cousin who lives with the family in the holidays but is looked after by her aunt because her own mother has abandoned her (again similar to the Bolter).



Linda is a romantic and wants a man and marriage and does get men and marriage which unfortunately are unsuitable. Eventually she makes a better choice...



Like others I found the novel very witty and an easy read. I read it over two train journeys and one night in the bath. It was that type of book. Un-put-down-able in some respects, and especially if you are interested in 1920s / 1930s age of excess. But, like others have commented, the ending is a little sudden and an little weak. My younger brother used to write stories in school, he'd get bored and then say "and then they died" and this novel by Nancy Mitford had something of that. I guess it was the choice she made but also meant there could be no follow-ups.



I'm looking forward to reading some of her other novels like Love in a Cold Climate and Wigs on the Green but at the moment I am interested in knowing more about her family so am reading an autobio by Diana Mitford Moseley (of the meeting Hitler fame).



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Book Review :: The Bolter by Frances Osbourne

The Bolter: Idina Sackville - The Woman Who Scandalised 1920s Society and Became White Mischief's Infamous Seductress by Frances Osborne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. My mum recommended I read it, I dismissed the idea but then got hooked on all things "between the wars" and read some reviews, remembered she had the book so started to read.



What a woman Idina was. Scandalising British upper class society with 5 marriages, she certainly led an "interesting" lifestyle. I can't imagine what her parties were like. Descriptions of them being cocaine and morphine induced, guests being greeted by a naked host and bathing in champagne are far beyond my sphere. It was the days of excess - well for those with land and privilege.



After Idina's first marriage and having had two children she disappears off to Kenya with new husband in tow. Sadly her two sons aren't allowed to join her and she doesn't see or contact them for another 15 years. Kenya is possibly the main focus of the story. To be honest I knew next to nothing about The Happy Valley set (I was more familiar with life in the Raj and Indian subcontinent where similarly the English upper class led a life of interesting times, in a similar time frame). It was quite illuminating to understand another aspect of British history. I also knew nothing of The White Mischief storyline and that fact that Joss was one of Idina's husbands. I will be reading The Temptress which describes in more detail some of the characters surrounding Joss and his murder. As the story progressed there were a number of sad incidents, not including her own demise. Quite tragic really.



Overall I suppose I like Idina. I think she had "balls" to break with convention. She might not have been party to women getting the vote, and I don't especially agree with her leaving her children as she did, but the "not giving a damn" attitude is kind of interesting.











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Book Review :: The Group by Mary McCarthy

The Group by Mary McCarthy

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I took this book out of the library and thought I would really like it but made it to 100 pages and didn't really enjoy the read. I actually found the text slightly difficult to follow. I'm not sure whether it's the mix of 7 main characters or just the writing style. Maybe it's a book I have to return to at a different time in my life...



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Book Review :: Short Stories of F Scott Fitzgerald

The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read three short stories in the bath tonight. They came from this book but were actually in a small gift sized book which came with the weekend newspaper a while back.

I'm not really a fan of short stories. I don't like that you don't get to engage with the characters. But, these stories did work and were all very good. My favourite was possibly The Cut Glass Bowl.



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Books :: Reading - Update

Have added a couple of sections to my Books :: Reading page. I'm participating in a couple of challenges on Goodreads so thought it might be good to document them.

Book Review :: The Unfortunates by Laurie Graham

The Unfortunates by Laurie Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Laurie Graham as an author - have read many of her books and found them very funny and this was no exception. This is a light-hearted review of the last century but the references to 1920s - -1930s I particularly liked. What I particularly liked was the way the book was written in what I assume is authentic language of the day.

I've got a bit of a thing for the 1920s - 1930s at the moment so this book was perfect for me. It told the story of a woman and her family who were Jewish, living in NYC. She was born pre-war, bit of a rebel, parents sort of practicised Judaism but were a bit lax (but later some members were much more dedicated). They are a wealthy family and so she enjoys the trappings of this wealth, travelling to Paris, the UK, becoming an aviatrix. References are made to various historical events including the sinking of the Titanic and WW1 / WW2 and effect it had on home front in NYC. The story then continued into the 1950s / 1960s / 1970s documenting the ups and downs in the life of the main character.



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Taking the Pledge

:: The E4 promo shot ::

Not I'm not joining a Sorority...much as they look fun from the recent E4 programme...

:: CILT logo ::

 I took a pledge to read the printed word. As the site says, e-books etc are fine but it's important we keep reading "real" books and "real" newspapers. I stopped for a while to do a little Kindle-ing but then I realised, because my budget is severally limited, that I was missing out on recent releases. So I revisit the local library...and was pleased with what I found.

So that sounds like I'm just using libraries for selfish reasons but actually I would hate to see libraries (and bookshops) disappear. My local libraries are the hub of the community. I know I have spent many a happy hour looking through the shelves. It can be a refuge. I have also spent  a lot of time working in libraries. The peace and quiet are great to get some work finished.

But libraries are also there to send  a message to kids which says "reading is cool" and not something just for clever people. I have worked with children with literacy issues who didn't like reading and saw no value in it. But progress could be made if a topic grabbed them. Then they wanted to know more and the library (as well as the internet, TV etc) was a really good starting point. When they recognise that there are books on a range of issues and interests then they seem less afraid of reading.

Library visit

As an update to my library visit...

I ventured into the YA section. I thought I'd try Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games but, alas, it wasn't to be. I think I will see if I can get the books secondhand or something.

But I did pick up some other books, namely:

• Ashes by Kathryn Lasky;
• Don't Tell by Sandra Glover;
• The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas by John Boyne;
• Disconnected by Sherry Ashworth.

 And as you can see they are all YA. I don't normally read YA but these titles appealed because they seem to be about more "realistic" subjects. They also seem to quite short reads so I think they won't take too long to get through.

Afternoon indulgence

Just visited the local library. Not been for 3+ months due to kindle adoption. But I decided to visit because I keep hearing so much about Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games so thought I should read it. I expected there to be at least one copy but instead there was a 30 person waiting list across my County library system.

So I had to choose some alternatives. More on that later when I have my laptop in front of me. But before I go...here's one of my guilty pleasures. Costa hot chocolate, plain not cream. Did a take away as I needed to get out of. the carpark in time. Liking the Christmassy cups.

Book challenges

I've been visiting a few book review blogs - some very good and reviewing books I would actually read; others are very much YA or paranormal / Vampire focused and really not me (well especially the paranormal / Vampire aspect).

On many of the blogs the bloggers are participating in reading challenges. A couple have appealed to me - Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge and City Reading Challenge but I'm kind of late to the party :-(

I shall have to keep my eye out for challenges next year but I do wonder about whether they would be something I'd enjoy or could participate in. Would I like having to read a book of a certain genre within a specified timeframe? I guess I would if the timeframe was long enough and I chose a genre I genuinely like. Whether I could participate is another matter. At the moment I'm reading stuff because it's free to Kindle. I am probably missing out on some amazing stuff, especially recent bestsellers etc, but budget constraints as they are mean this is the way it's got to be.