Friday, 28 February 2014

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: February 2014


 
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Please join us for a bloggers' book club. Next "meeting" is Friday, February 28th. Check out the details here.

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse is, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the tomes they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun. 

 Below is my review of the best book I've read this month.  









Title:  Silver Rain
Author: Jan Ruth
Read:  20th February 2014
My rating:  5*
Approx 310 pages

A PROPER BOOK WITH REAL PEOPLE

The story is set in Wales and concerns two main characters, Al recently divorced, father and grandfather, is in a relationship with a younger woman and Kate, a recent widow with an elderly mother, a sister and a daughter.

These two characters meet due to family ties and we follow their story and the roller coaster of their relationship.  Things are further complicated by Al and his brother’s long running feud or vendetta and there is always more to things than meets the eye. 


There is judicial use of a swear word but always in context and exactly as would be said in those particular circumstances so this doesn’t detract from the book at all. 

Al is a loveable rogue and quite endearing.  He doesn't always get things right but his emotions are genuine and true and he feels he doesn't deserve happiness.  For example: ‘he’d fallen so very hard for her but then he’d needed, felt compelled almost, to give her a chance to walk away.  Like all the other women in his life.’

Jan writes in a way that enables you to see the settings she is describing, idyllic settings but then we get the very real down-to-earth, matter of fact, reality of life and what it is really like in the hard graft of today’s world: ‘Al went to the dirty window and looked across the greening paddocks to the outline of Snowdon’s foothills, disappearing to a distant haze beneath a sharp blue sky.  Closer to home, the broken concrete yard was full of weeds, but they were flowering and it managed to soften all the edges of neglect.  Elderflower was especially profuse, foaming over the walls and fences, highlighted with long tendrils of wild honeysuckle and old roses.’

I’m so glad I found Jan Ruth.  It was a pleasure to read this book.   This is what I call a real book with real people.


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10 comments:

  1. Trisha28 February 2014 at 05:47

    Thanks for the review - sounds like a nice read. :)

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  2. Dana28 February 2014 at 06:33

    Thanks, Sally. I'm always looking for new books to add to my list.

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  3. Susan Flett Swiderski28 February 2014 at 11:13

    Thanks for the great review. It's always much more interesting when characters in a book come across more like people than as caricatures.

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  4. Stephanie28 February 2014 at 11:53

    Hmm, Wales! Don't find too many books set there—cool.

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  5. Lisa Southard1 March 2014 at 03:14

    Soften the edges of neglect :-)

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  6. The Armchair Squid1 March 2014 at 05:33

    Real books with real people - sounds good.

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  7. Andrew Leon1 March 2014 at 15:05

    It does not sound like my kind of thing, although the descriptions seem well done.

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  8. Kerry1 March 2014 at 17:37

    Oooh Wales? Nice. Sounds like a light and engaging read.

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  9. Elise Fallson2 March 2014 at 07:39

    I liked the quotes you shared, wonderful writing and imagery. Sounds like a great read. (:

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  10. WordsPoeticallyWorth2 March 2014 at 14:01

    Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good read. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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