“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan) Review Readers enjoyed this book describing it as well written and witty. It had many of them laughing aloud all the way through it! They all agreed that the author pokes fun at those in power in a very clever way. They liked the description of the military and the portrayal of how it runs the … Continue reading A Case of Exploding Mangoes
The theme of our Summer Reading Group 2011 was Adventure & Mystery and our summer readers loved it! They also picked up on two other unexpected themes running through the four novels, namely father-son relationships and deception. “The Rest is Silence” by Carla Guelfenbein (Chile) was not only voted the Best Summer Read 2011, but was also chosen by Nicola as her Coup de Cœur … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2011 – The Rest is Silence
“The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy (India) Review For those who were reading this book for the first time, they said it took them a while to get into the story as they found the timeline unnecessarily confusing at the beginning. Readers, for whom it was the second or third read, said they enjoyed it more each time describing it as an amazingly … Continue reading The God of Small Things
“Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece) Synopsis This moving fable sees a young Greek writer set out to Crete to claim a small inheritance. But when he arrives, he meets Alexis Zorba, a middle-aged Greek man with a zest for life. Zorba has had a family and many lovers, has fought in the Balkan wars, has lived and loved – he is a simple … Continue reading Zorba the Greek
“The Eagle’s Throne” by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico) Review Readers began by saying that they felt the book would really need a second read for them to get the most out of it. They found the structure both interesting and challenging. Some readers thought that the written style of the letters did not fit so well with the futuristic setting of the novel, saying it felt … Continue reading The Eagle’s Throne
“A Heart so White” by Javier Marias (Spain) Favourite Quotes The world is full of surprises and secrets. We think we know the people close to us, but time brings with it more things that we don’t know than things we do, comparatively speaking we know less all the time, there’s always a greater area of shadow. Even if the illuminated area grows larger too, … Continue reading A Heart so White
“My Name is Light” by Elsa Osorio (Argentina) Review Most readers enjoyed the story finding it a fast-paced read. They liked being enlightened about the lesser-known political situation in Argentina in the seventies and they got a good feel for the fear and tension without too many disturbing details. They also felt that the topic of adoption raised some highly interesting questions, especially concerning the … Continue reading My Name is Light
“Seeing” by José Saramago (Portugal) Book Club Favourite of Season 13 Review Readers really enjoyed this book once they got used to Saramago’s characteristic writing style of long, rambling sentences strewn with commas and little paragraphing. They liked the political theme of a democracy veering towards a totalitarian state and they thought the author had captured the characteristics of the various ministers all too well. … Continue reading Seeing
Nicola's Book Club 