Artist

Alexander Averin

Monday 3 September 2012

Two Very Good Reads






Dear Diary,

I promised that I would recommend some books to you and here are just two of them.  I have more in the pipeline.

The first one is is about a part of the west of Ireland coast I know well as my mother came from quite close by.

The House on an Irish Hillside: When You Know Where You've Come from, You Can See Where You're Going

by

Felicity Hayes-McCoy.

From the moment I crossed the mountain I fell in love. With the place, which was more beautiful than any place I'd ever seen. With the people I met there. And with a way of looking at life that was deeper, richer and wiser than any I'd known before. When I left I dreamt of clouds on the mountain. I kept going back.'

We all lead very busy lives and sometimes it's hard to find the time to be the people we want to be.
Twelve years ago Felicity Hayes-McCoy left the hectic pace of the city and returned to Ireland to make a new life in a remarkable house on the stunning Dingle peninsula.

Beautifully written, this is a life-affirming tale of rediscovering lost values and being reminded of the things that really matter.


Here is the second book.

The second is fiction, historical at that, not a genre I usually go for but this writer is special. She is quite a ‘new’ author but one of the most ‘lyrical’ writers I know and I think this one is worthy of the Booker prize. This book is certainly better than last year’s winner The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes which I would class as run of the mill ordinary.

The Silver Dark Sea
by
Susan Fletcher

The powerful new novel from Susan Fletcher, award-winning author of the bestselling Eve Green and Oystercatchers.

A profound tale of love, loss and the lore of the sea.

The islanders of Parla are still mourning the loss of one of their own. Four years since that loss, and a man – un-named, unclothed – is washed onto their shores. Some say he is a mythical man from the sea – potent, kind and beautiful; others suspect him. For the bereft Maggie, this stranger brings love back to the isle. But as the days pass he changes every one of them – and the time comes for his story to be told…

Tender, lyrical and redemptive,The Silver Dark Sea is the dazzling new novel from the author of Eve Green (winner of Whitbread First Novel award) and Witch Light. It is a story about what life can give and take from us, when we least expect it – and how love, in all its forms, is the greatest gift of all.

I recommend all her books, do give them a try if you appreciate poetic writing and a great story, well researched too.





9 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Excellent recommendations. Both look fascinating.
Reading season is upon us!....well it's always reading season but autumn/ winter make one feel specially bookish, I think!

Catherine said...

Hi honey, we are often thinking the same thing at the same time. Firstly I have just ordered Felicity's book, and secondly I have just borrowed the other one from the library!! Amazing! Greetings from ireland:~)

Kay G. said...

So happy to find you!
Mac & Janet gave you a Sunshine Award at the same time that they gave me one, and that is how I found you.
You have such a lovely blog and I love your taste in books, music and art. I shall visit you again!
Kay

Anonymous said...

I'll certainly look at the Susan Fletcher one as I have her other books and love her writing. But the first one intrigues me more, those first few lines have tempted me. I can usually tell by the first page if I will like a book, and just those lines tell me I will like this one. So thank you.

Frances said...

Thank you for these recommendations, Cait.

It seems as if I always have a stack of books waiting on my reading runway...and yet am always ready to add to that stack!

xo

Kath said...

testing testing...

Kath said...

No word verification here Cait!

Fennie said...

Thanks for the suggestions, Cait. Best wishes!

Nan said...

I wonder if The House on an Irish Hillside has any of the feeling of some books I read a lot of years ago about a couple who moved to the Irish countryside. Have you by any chance read the books by Niall Williams and Christine Breen?

I may have asked you before but could you offer some recommendations of Welsh literature (in English). I'm interested in books by Welsh authors, and books that are set in Wales. I own one set there by Frank Cottrell Boyce called Framed (which I saw on tv).