Relief Reads 24 - A Girl named Disaster

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer

Charity Shop: St David's Hospice

Charity: St David’s Hospice is a local charity providing end of life care, free of charge, to adult patients from across North West Wales and supporting those closest to them.

Price: 50p bargain!

Book Blurb: Adventure and Survival in a world inhabited by wild animals, and by the spirits of the dead // Nhamo is an unloved and unwanted orphan who determines to flee her village rather than face a hateful marriage. Alone for the first time in her life, she paddles upriver towards Zimbabwe in her canoe. On her long and terrifying journey she is in constant danger from wild animals, and fears the spirits of the dead - both benign and destructive - that crowd around her and need to be appeased. // A girl named disaster is an enthralling adventure story. But it is also a deeply moving and heartwarming account of unquenchable courage against appaling odds, and of Nhamo's rite of passage from childhood in a traditional African village to independent young woman in the modern world.

Expectation: I chose this book because I thought I'd read it before. I was sure she ended up in the man made lake so big you couldn't see across it. However the blurb had no mention of that , so I might have been thinking of a different book.

Reality: A good adventure book, about half and half back story and journey. She does indeed end up in the lake but otherwise I didn't recognise the book. Nhamo is a girl who has extreme bad luck and extreme good luck in equal thus it is very obviously a fiction book set within a historical backdrop.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

As my Granny would say 'It was a bit far-fetched' but none-the-less a gripping read. I sat down to read one chapter and ended up reading half the book.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

It was an adventure story but I knew three things from the off 1) that she left her village, 2) that she ended up in the lake and 3) that she didn't die in the end. This meant that the big twists weren't all that surprising and although the story didn't go in a nice straight line nothing happened that was a huge surprise.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

There were definitely very sad bits in the story and maybe I just wasn't in the mood for emotional involvement but I stayed detached the whole way through, no tears here.

Main Character(s): Nhamo - an absolute genius orphan child. Incredible at picking up and learning survival tools. Never feeling fully included Nhamo enjoys her own company, particularly having tea parties with her dead mother. Although she chats away to her mother, Crocodile Guts and other spirits she is aware of her loneliness on her journey and has the very human desire to be part of a community.

Moral of the Story: All things spiritual can be explained away be coincidences and science but there are a few too many coincidences thus implying that the spiritual dimension could still exist... Imo the book doesn't make any conlusive judgement.

***

Coming up: Tune in next time to find out :-)

In my life: there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong... There's a place for Les Mis everywhere. Anyway, I've had my own adventure in my life this week. I not only fainted at work, but fainted from standing in an area full of people where I was pretty much the only female around, and managed to catch my head on the table on the way down. So if you think you've embarrassed yourself in the past, I may have just succeeded in embarrassing myself even more! I walked away from the incident with a superficial headwound requiring stapling (ouch) but nothing more serious.

Relief Reads 23 - The End of the Affair

The end of the affair by Graham Greene

Charity Shop: Better World Books

Charity: Better World Books is an online store that shares its profit with literary charities. The profits from this book went to Scottish Book Trust. In addition to this, for every book bought, BWB donate a book to someone in need through Books for Africa and Feed the Children

Price: N/A - Christmas present

Book Blurb: The novelist Maurice Bendrix's love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, had begun in London during the Blitz. One day, inexplicably and without warning, Sarah had broken off the relationship. // It seemed impossible that there could be a rival for her heart. Yet two years later, driven by obsessive jealousy and grief, Bendrix sends Parkix, a private detective, to follow Sarah and find out the truth.

Expectation: Fairly light hearted although possibly a bit deeper based on the whole jealous lover aspect.

Reality: Pretty deep, exploring the concepts of love and faith. It's written from the PoV of Maurice who is horrible, but he's aware of that and recognises his faults but then does nothing to change just gives up.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

I did get absorbed by this book. I was reading this when dining solo. It can be a bit awkward eating out alone, but I get so into this book I didn't care. Although if copying me, I should recommend some dish that only involves one hand to eat because then you eat and read simultaneously as reading requires one hand to hold the book unless you have superpowers.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

The reason Sarah had for breaking off the relationship I wouldn't have guessed. But then it is written from the PoV of Maurice who is so consumed with jealousy and insecurity who presents a warped view of Sarah. You get Sarah's PoV later in the book, I won't explain how. There are also parts where I was thinking surely he wouldn't do that and then he does.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

The ending is sad, but depressingly so rather than teary-eyed so. It's written from the PoV of Maurice who is a bit weird so hard to get that emotionally involved.

Main Character(s): Maurice - utterly self-absorbed and jealous man. He recognises his faults and although he acts particularly maliciously at times you feel sorry for him by the end. The second part of the book also involves his struggle with being convinced that God doesn't exist and yet it becomes more and more obvious he does. He ends with conceeding God's existance but pushing him away which is supremely sad. Last sentence: "I'm too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone forever". Don't let that be the conclusion to your life.

Moral of the Story: I'm not really sure. I couldn't tell if the author is Christian or not. God seemed to be presented as a love rival rather than the fount of all love. It's a very thought provoking book, I'd love to discuss it, but don't think I can boil it down into an easy moral.

***

Coming up: My reading drought has left me with a surplus of books to chose from. I'm thinking possibly The girl named disaster, but tune in next time to find out!

I'm going to stop putting summaries of my life on t'internet so much, not that I was very good at it before. However I am up in Newcastle (upon Tyne for you midlanders out there) and have space for visitors so if you (presuming I know you in real life) want to come on a trip to the North East I would highly recommend it and then you can have a catch up on my life in person :-)

Relief Reads 22 - The Reurresctionist

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley

Charity Shop: Oxfam maybe - that's what the sticker says on the back. I can't remember where I got this book, but I don't think it was Oxfam

Charity: You've all heard of Oxfam

Price: £1.99 if it indeed was from Oxfam

Book Blurb: Sometimes the worst prisons we build are not of stone  Leaving behind his father's tragic failures, Gabriel Swift arrives in London in 1826 to study with Edwin Poll, the great anatomist. But he finds himself drawn to his master nemesis, Lucan, the most powerful of the city's resurrectionists and governor of its trade in stolen bodies. Dismissed by Poll, Gabriel is pulled into the sinister and mysterious underworld of Georgian London - and must make a journey that will change his life forever.

Expectation: Having just read I was expecting this book to have a supernatural element, but didn't give it much thought.

Reality: A story about grave diggers from the point of view of Gabriel. Gabriel is quite detached from the action which is quite scary as it goes from a very normal, and from the outside what should be quite a happy life, to a very dark and violent underworld, and yet the tone doesn't change. There is a massive twist in the middle, to the point I nearly put the book down because I thought a new story had started.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It was good, I did follow the story and it made sense. It wasn't always clear what was happening but did make sense with a bit of thought. A very heavy theme, not a light read at all.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

There was a VERY BIG twist in the middle that completely threw me.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Small children died which is always sad. The end line: "So many lives, so light" summarised what was saddest, in the lightness in which they held life. 

Main Character(s): Gabriel Swift - possible psycopath, very detached from his life. However the book does end with his weeping so he does have emotion.

Moral of the Story: We all have a past, be afraid, be very afraid. 

***

Still on my catch up mission, one more book to go

Coming up: The end of the affair by Graham Greene

Relief Reads 21 - Wormwood

Wormwood by G. P. Taylor

Charity Shop: Severn Hospice, Church Stretton (? - somewhere round there)

Charity: Severn Hospice gives specialist care and support free of charge to families across Shropshire and North Powys who are living with an incurable illness

Price: £1.49

Book Blurb: It is London, 1756. In his Bloomsbury attic sits Dr Sabian Blake - astronomer, scientist, and master of the Cabala. Dr Blake is in possession of the Nemornsis, an ancient leather-bound book that holds the secrets of the universe. Scribbled into one of its margins is a mysterious prophecy, and deciphering it could prove the key to saving London from a catastrophic fate. But there are others interested in the Nemorensis too, for more sinister reasons... // This tale of socery, treachery, intrigue and supernatural strife from the author of the international bestseller Shadowmancer is set against a rich historical backdrop and will enthrall readers to the very last page.

Expectation: I wasn't really sure. This book was chosen by 4yo Albert who I think primarily picked it due to its pretty picture on the front.

Reality: Bizarre, it was set in London in the real world but involved magic and spirits. A very odd thing happened near the beginning of the book, but was mostly ignored afterwards. I found it a hard book to read, it was only near the end that I started getting into the story. I have managed to find a genre I dislike.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

Trying to be deep and meaningful, but it got lost on me.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

There were many bizarre twists in the story, too many.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Didn't really connect with the story

Main Character(s): Blake and his servant girl Agetta

Moral of the Story: Be wary of making idols out of things, they might be magicified.

***

I'm now well and truly settle in Newcastle which has made me very busy these last few months hence the lack of blogging. I am now three books behind so here comes blogs in quick succession..

Coming up: The resurrectionist by James Bradley

Walking Wanders 7 - Some of Scafell Pike and Great Gable

The Rocky Mountains

Who: Those crazy enough to head to the Lakes in November; Hannah, Monica, Nathan, the dogs and I.

Why: The winter is coming, the days are getting colder (or trying to) and the nights are getting longer. Time for one last trip to the lakes before full on winter gear is required!

The route: Day 1 - an attempt to climb scafell pike aborted due to adverse weather conditions and a slight detour, Day 2 - Great Gable. Here is the map:

The walk:

6.30am is a time no-one should be awake on a Saturday morning, but that is the time that Hannah and I set off from Newcastle to make the sunrise trip along the A69 to the end of a lane known as Seathwaite. Once Monica, dogs and Nathan (who'd sensibly stayed overnight nearby) had arrived and we were all fully waterproofed we were off. 1st landmark, Stockley bridg and from there it was steadily upwards along Styhead gill to Styhead tarn. 

Stockley Bridge

Styhead tarn, with the ominous clouds and Hannah

The promised rain was mercifully absent until we were stopping for a break at Sty Head ( a mountain resuce post with stretchers, so if you're in a party where someone breaks there leg, its a good place to know about) when the heavens opened and our waterproofs tested (one failed, but luckily I had brought a spare). The dogs were looking very sorry for themselves and with the weather only forecast to get worse we decided to part ways and meet at the pub in Wasdale Head. Hannah and I decided to continue up along the corridor route so off we plodded merrily following the other walkers along a very well-kept path until we reached a tarn. Odd, thought we, there is no tarn along the corridor route, so being a sheltered spot and the rain absent we consulted the map. We had reached sprinkling tarn; a very nice spot for lunch but entirely in the wrong direction. With high winds and a crag in the way, there was nothing for but to head back to Sty Head and start again. Take 2 and we discovered that the corridor route is not such an easy path as the name would suggests and involves some fun scrambling and rather steep drops. The dogs would have not got very far! The wind added to the fun but thankfully the rain stayed at bay. At one point we met a stupid man who had set off sans map from Seathwaite at the same time as us on his way down from Scafell Pike and we looked dry enough for him to have to ask if we had had any rain too. I'm glad we met him on his way down as I would have been worried about him otherwise.
We made slow and steady progress and came to decision point, to summit or head back down. We were only about half a kilometre away from the summit horizontally, but ~150m vertically and although the cloud had lifted as we'd climbed we had now reached the cloud base. With the shortened day, the winds strong and the paths scrambly we decided to cop out and head back down to return another day when we may have a chance of a view from the top. The route down Lingmell gill was mostly easy, being the route that the three peakers would take as they peg it up the pike.
After quick drink at the pub in Wasdale Head we had another 4 miles to walk in the dark and pouring rain along the road to our accommodation for the night, yha Wastwater. The spare waterproof was my hi vis which was donned and must have helped as neither of us got run over!

Day 2: Quick march back along the road which looked very different and far more beautiful in the daylight. There were loads of sheep which we must have passed in the night and had not noticed at all! Picking up Monica, Nathan and dogs en route (who'd sensibly stayed at Wasdale Head) we headed up Lingmell Beck to Sty Head along with a mountain rescue lady and her dog. The night previous they were scrambled to go rescue a group that had got 'benighted' on Scafell pike (but thankfully managed to rescue themselves) so our decision to head down early felt justified. Having made good progress and the weather far improved on the previous day we headed up to Great Gable. As expected we went into cloud near the top and Jake (dog) had to be carried partway as he's a wuss and dislikes rocks! Following the well-cairned path we reached the top, success!

The motley crew  and the beautiful view

Success!

 Taking careful bearings as we made our way off the summit to avoid any navigational mishaps we headed off down arran slack and back to Styhead tarn where the sun came out and it was beautiful. Aside from the changeable weather, I think Autumn is a wonderful season to go walking in because the sunshine is just such a beautiful shade.

Sunlit Styhead tarn (and Hannah)

Proof that there was sun

Onwards and downwards back to Seathwaite. Thus ends a weekend of autumn walking in the Lakes. It's just such a beautiful part of England, Praise God! 

Relief Reads 20 - Shadows of the Workhouse

Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

Charity Shop: Hope House, Children's Hospice, Ludlow

Charity: Located in the village of Morda near Oswestry, Hope House offers its service for the repsite of terminally ill children, covering Shropshire, North and Mid Wales.

Price: £1.75, almost as expensive as Cambridge book!

Book Blurb: When Jennifer Worth became a midwife in the 1950s, she joined an East End where many lives were touched by the shadow of the workhouse. For, although the institutions were officially abolished in 1930, in reality many did not close until several decades later. // In the follow-up to here bestselling Call the Midwife, Jennifer Worth tells the true stories of the people she met. There's Peggy and Frank, who were seperated in the workhouse when their parents died - until Frank's strength and determination enabled him to make a home for his sister. Jane was a bright, lively child, whose spirit was broken by cruelty, until she found kindness and love later in life. Then there in the matchmaking nun, Sister Julienne, and Sister Monica Joan, who ends up in the High Court...

Expectation: I'm now on the look out for Jennifer Worth books in Charity shops, and was very happy when I found this in Ludlow. I was expecting this to be like Call the Midwife but with stories focussed on the social work of her job rather than the babies.

Reality: Rather than being lots of little stories, this book had only 4 main stories, variants of which had been part of the TV series. It was quite tough to read because although it only focused on a handful of people it was indicative of life for many. You hear in the news now where they are trying to get justice for institutionalised cruelty but if what Jennifer Worth says is true then it was just normal and how do you hold a culture to account? You could say lock up the adults and throw away the key, but many grew up in workhouses and never knew a different life. Anyway the lives she focussed on were not all doom and gloom, as life is never (or rarely). Frank and Peggy had a happy adulthood and were a source of friendship for Jane, who ended up marrying Reverend Appleby-Thornton (as on TV) Then there was the story of Joe Collet, a war veteran who had no remaining family and Jennifer was his only friend. He told her the story of his time in the army, he fought in the Boer war. I've never heard anything about the Boer war before, so this book is really good in that it passes on personal accounts of an event of which there are no living memories. There was also an insight into the trenches that I hadn't come across before. History will repeat itself, but the longer we remember these things the longer the gaps between the repetition will be (although Putin seems to want to hurry things along). Joe's workhouse shadow was that he ended up in an old people's home that was a workhouse in its former life, and the conditions were just appalling. According to personal accounts Jennifer had heard of, conditions were such at least until 1985 if not more recently, what about today?
The  story of Sister Monica Jones was a bit different and had no connection to the Workhouse. She is accused of shoplifting and ends up in court. I'll leave it up to you to read the ending. It was a bit of light relief and does highlight the difficulty of distinguishing between senility and mischieviousness!

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

I would recommend it, as a good read and an important read for keeping history alive. However some parts I wonder how Jennifer could have known what happened. She must have changed some details to hide identities, so I do wonder how much artistic licence she used.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

Not that kind of book, but life's not straightforward so there were some twists and turns.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Yes there were tears shed. But I wasn't reading in public this time, so socially acceptable tears!

Main Character(s): Jane, Frank, Peggy, Jennifer and Joe.

Moral of the Story: I read this on Saturday and on Sunday evening we sang a song at church that I thought was very apt, particularly verse 2. It addresses the sense of hopelessness there is if you remove God from the picture. Praise God that justice will be done! Anyway here are the words of the song;

O Lord, the clouds are gathering,

The fire of judgement burns;

How we have fallen!

O Lord, you stand appalled to see

Your laws of love so scorned

And lives so broken

O Lord, over the nations now

Where is the dove of peace?

Her wings are broken.

O Lord, while precious children starve

The tools of war increase,

Their bread is stolen

O Lord, dark powers are poised to flood

Our streets with hate and fear.

We must awaken!

O Lord, let love reclaim the lives

That sin would sweep away,

And let your kingdom come.

Yet O Lord, your glorious cross shall tower

Triumphant in this land,

evil confounding;

Through the fire your suffering church displays

The glories of her Christ

Praises resounding.

Have mercy Lord, forgive us Lord

Restore us Lord, revive your church again.

Let justice flow like rivers

And righteousness like a never-failing stream

***

Coming up: I have caught up! It will either be Transition by Ian Banks, but I may have temporarily misplaced it so might be Wormwood by ??? instead.

Also coming up, Walking Wanders - Alwinton 

Relief Reads 19 - The Map that Changed the World

The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester

When I was in Cambridge recently for Matt and Anne's wedding I may not have made it to King's Parade, but I had to return to Charity shop street for old time's sake and picked up this gem.

Charity Shop: Scope, Burleigh Street, Cambridge

Charity: Scope is a charity that exists to make this country a place where disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Price: £2.00, Teuer but all for a good cause

Book Blurb: William Smith was not rich or well connected, but his passion for rocks and fossils, and his twenty-year obsession with single-handedly mapping the geology of Britain made him one of the most significant men of the nineteenth century. However, his vision cost him dear - his wife went mad, his work was stolen by jealous colleagues who eventually ruined him, and he was imprisoned for debt. // Simon Winchester tells the fascinating story of 'Strata' Smith, a man who crossed boundaries of class, wealth and science to produce a map that fundamentally changed the way we viewed the world.

Expectation: Combining reading with a bit of CPD I figured this book might teach me a bit about the history of the field I've ended up working in.

Reality: In the word's of the daily telegraph 'Part biography, part social history and part entertaining yarn' It was really informative and taught me a lot about geology but was also an engaging story of William Smith's life. It was all evidential, so where gaps existed, for example regarding his wife, Winchester didn't speculate but merely presented the evidence available. This is in contrast to Pam Gregory's 'historical' books! Whilst I was reading this (on a train as usual) I got chatting to a woman who had spent the last few years researching a geologist from the 1600s. Therefore it peeved me a bit that Winchester was implying that the 1800s were the beginning of geology, when it was a subject studied by many men and some women in the preceeding years. However the 1800s did see the rather dubious beginnings of BGS so I'll give him that.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It was well-balanced, informative and entertaining. I'd recommend it to anyone, geologist or not. It also has pretty pictures of fossils and geological maps as a bonus.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

It starts with the end, so you know where it's heading, but Smith's life was not straightforward.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Although William Smith was hard done by, he was never broken. And the as a biography, there was emotional distance between the reader and Smith.

Main Character(s): William Smith

Moral of the Story: Follow your interest, and be glad the rigid class system is less rigid and it is no longer acceptable to exclude someone solely because they are of a different class.

***

Coming up: The Shadow of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth (I liked Call the Midwife so much)