Tag: contemporary fiction

#BookReview Three Little Truths by Eithne Shorthall @CorvusBooks @ReadersFirst1

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Three Little TruthsAbout the Book

On the idyllic Pine Road, three women are looking for a fresh start…

Martha was a force of nature, but since moving to Dublin under mysterious circumstances, she can’t seem to find her footing.

Robin was the ‘it’ girl in school. Now she’s back at her parents’ with her four-year-old, vowing that her ex is out of the picture for good.

Edie has the perfect life, but she longs for a baby, the acceptance of her neighbours, and to find out why her dream husband is avoiding their dream future.

The friendships of these women will change their lives forever, revealing the secrets, rivalries and scandals that hide behind every door…

Format: Paperback (400 pages)        Publisher: Corvus Books
Publication date: 3rd October 2019 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

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My Review

I enjoyed Eithne’s previous book Grace After Henry so I’ve been looking forward to finding time to read Three Little Truths. To provide additional motivation I included it in my list for the 20 Books of Summer 2021 reading challenge hosted once again by Cathy at 746 Books.

Well, all I can say is that it’s hard work being a newcomer to Pine Road because, based on Martha’s experience, the female residents of the road will be all over you like a rash before you’ve even finished unpacking.  Or they’ll be exchanging snippets of information about you and your family in the Pine Road WhatsApp group.  As one of the characters remarks, ‘Pine Road makes the Spanish Inquisition look like an amateur operation’.

Speaking of which, the sections showing the messages exchanged between group members were a lot of fun to read with some real laugh out loud moments.  For example, when the subject matter of the “groundbreaking” newspaper column by Bernie, self-appointed matriarch of Pine Road, is revealed. Or the discussion about the precise specifications for an item to be procured for a planned street party which includes the instruction to ‘avoid gender specific shades’ of wrapping paper.  And who knew that arguments over parking could illicit comparisons with the Middle East conflict.

Before long it becomes clear that amongst the residents of Pine Road it’s not so much three little truths as a plethora of big lies, some of a more serious nature than others.

Of the three main characters, Martha’s story was the one I found most compelling and it was her I found myself rooting for as more about her family’s experiences before moving to Pine Road is revealed.  The author cleverly found a way to give the reader a direct insight into Martha’s thoughts and feelings about an event which was clearly traumatic for both her and her family, and has left her confused and uncertain about how to deal with it.

And this is where I began to have some reservations about the book. Although I enjoyed the humour, it made me slightly uneasy to be laughing at WhatsApp messages about stolen newspapers one minute and the next experiencing Martha’s obvious mental anguish or witnessing the curve balls life can throw for other residents.

Having said that, although I’d never want to live there, I did enjoy being introduced to the residents of Pine Road. ‘A curved row of twenty-one houses. Stacks of red bricks divided by iron gates. A collection of lives where the only automatic connection was a postcode. A place where families explanded, imploded and renewed. A place where people lived in company, alone and often, if they lasted long enough, both.’ 

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Atlantic Books and Readers First.

In three words: Witty, amiable, engaging

Try something similar: The Secrets of Primrose Square by Claudia Carroll

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EithneShortallAbout the Author

Eithne Shortall studied journalism at Dublin City University and has lived in London, France and America. Now based in Dublin, she is chief arts writer for the Sunday Times Ireland. Her debut novel, Love in Row 27, published in 2017, was a major Irish bestseller, and her second novel, Grace After Henry, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards and won Best Page Turner at the UK’s Big Book Awards. (Bio/photo credit: Publisher author page)

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#BookReview The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams @fictionpubteam

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The Reading List by Sara Nisha AdamsAbout the Book

When Aleisha discovers a crumpled reading list tucked into a tattered library book, it sparks an extraordinary journey.

From timeless stories of love and friendship to an epic journey across the Pacific Ocean with a boy and a tiger in a boat, the list opens a gateway to new and wonderful worlds – just when Aleisha needs an escape from her troubles at home.

And when widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha introduces him to the magic of the reading list. An anxious teenager and a lonely grandfather forming an unlikely book club of two.

Format: Hardcover (432 pages)    Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 22nd July 2021 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

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My Review

A book set mainly in a library and about the joy to be gained from reading, that’s got to be the literary equivalent of catnip hasn’t it? It certainly was to this reader, along with the gorgeous cover that made me slightly sad I was reading a digital copy. I may just have to visit a bookshop soon and treat myself…

The Reading List is eloquent about the benefits to be gained from reading, whether that’s the power of books to inform, to distract from everyday worries, to evoke memories, to prompt discussion or to provoke connections with others. It’s also a passionate advocacy for the value to communities of public libraries.

Talking of communities, the author certainly creates a vivid picture of the area of London (Wembley) in which Mukesh lives and that is the location of the Harrow Road Library. I also admired the creative ways the author used the reading list to give us an insight into the lives of other secondary characters. I developed a great affection for Mukesh and his willingness to try new things, inspired by what he believes his late wife, Naina, would have wanted him to do.

Although there is plenty of humour in the book, it tackles more serious issues such as bereavement, the burden of caring responsibilities, loneliness and mental illness but in such a way that you always feel there is a glimmer of hope, a possible way out of the situation. However, as with some of the books on the reading list, it has moments of sadness.

When it comes to the books on the reading list of the novel’s title, the author carefully treads the fine line between revealing enough of each book’s content to demonstrate its relevance to the situations her characters find themselves in, and not giving away so much that readers who might want to follow the example of Mukesh and Aleisha and read the eight novels on the list think there’s no point in reading them now. As it happens, I’ve only read four of the eight on the list but am intrigued enough to add the remainder to my wishlist.

As well as being a thoroughly engrossing read, what The Reading List has showed me is there’s no shame in peeking at what others are reading on the bus or train, and that if your local library is under threat of closure you should join (or start) the campaign to save it now.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Harper Collins via NetGalley.

In three words: Touching, heartfelt, uplifting

Try something similar: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

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Sara Nisha AdamsAbout the Author

Sara Nisha Adams is a writer and editor. She lives in London and was born in Hertfordshire to Indian and English parents. Her debut novel The Reading List is partly inspired by her grandfather, who lived in Wembley and immediately found a connection with his granddaughter through books. (Photo credit: Goodreads author page)

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