Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
The starting point for this month is Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. What a creepy cover!!
I actually decided on my books the day after last month's post but I am only writing it now. Let's hope I can remember what the links were!
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - You know that I never miss an opportunity to slip a Kearsley book into a Six Degrees post, and this was especially true this month as a recently saw a new cover for it.
Island of Sea Women by Lisa See - Once again I am linking through the word Sea. I am pretty sure that I have used that word to link these two books before, but really this book is a stepping stone to.....
Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - I read this book a couple of weeks ago and I loved it! I am now recommending it to anyone who will listen, including all of you!
10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in a Strange World by Elif Shafak - I currently have this book out of the library and I am hoping that I love it as much as I loved Island of Missing Trees.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - The link here is the word strange.
Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons - My final link this month is through the word Mr. I read this book and really enjoyed it many, many years ago. Through writing this post I realised that Solomons is still writing and has a new book out called I, Mona Lisa.
Phew, it was only that last link that I had to wonder what I was thinking when I chose the books.
Next month's start point is The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
This month, the book that Kate has chosen as the starting point is Second Place by Rachel Cusk who I am plannning to watch in one of the online sessions at Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) this weekend.
Another author that I have seen at MWF is Sarah Dunant. At the time she was talking about her book Blood & Beauty which is about Lucrezia Borgia. One of the talks I attended was also addressed by an art specialist who talked about some of the symbolism in a painting.
I do have a lot of books that I have read which talk about art and history. I ended up choosing Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland which traces the various owners of a particular painting back through time. (review)
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester is a new release that I read last week which focuses on art that was stolen from owners during World War II, in particular a painting that is owned by one of the main characters in current times. I am planning on posting a review of this book in the next week or so.
As I mentioned I could just do a whole 6 Degrees post on historical fiction books that I have read about art through history. Maybe another time. For today I am linking to Mr Rosenblums List by Natasha Solomons, a book that I read and loved years ago.
There isn't really a logical link between Mr Rosenblums list and my choice, Major Pettigrews Last Stand by Helen Simonson. In my mind though, they are books that seem to have a similar feel, and I think I read them relatively closely together. I just checked my list and there was two months difference. (review)
My final link is actually to a short story called The Kitchen Child by Angela Carter. I chose it because it is read by Helen Simpson (sounds similar to Helen Simionson) as part of a series that was original released by The Guardian around 10 years. If you have twenty minutes spare, I did listen to this story again as I wrote this post and it was still delightful. (review)
The starting point for next month is The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, and I already know what my first link is!!
The fourth and final part of the House of Tyneford readalong is here! And, whew, what a ride it was to the end.
Beware of spoilers below. I will try to avoid them, but some are inevitable as we are in effect discussing the last section of the book and the book as a whole.
In some ways there were not that many surprises in the wash up in terms of relationships, but there were in other ways. We knew what was going to happen with Tyneford as we saw that in the opening pages of the book. It was just a question of when really. I called very early on that Elise wouldn't find her parents again, and in a lot of ways I was relieved that Kit doesn't make a miracle return. I have seen that happen far too often - you know the one I mean....if you haven't seen the body they likely are not really dead.
Similarly, I was not surprised when Elise ended up in a relationship with the man she did. I did find the whole switch of identity to be quite interesting as a tool. It was not that unusual for immigrants to change their names during or after the was, so the transition from Elise Landau to Alice Land was easy to imagine. I found Daniel's transition to be much more interesting because not only did it symbolise the new found intimacy between the two of them, but it also represented the new start that was forced upon them all, not only as a result of Kit's death but also as a result of the fate of Tyneford as a whole.
There were so many scenes that I enjoyed in this section of the book. I loved the jitterbugging scenes before the party for the WAAF ladies who were billeted in the house, I was scared stiff in the Run, Rabbit, Run chapter and the open, raw grief that was shown after that episode:
I didn't really rest anymore. Not since Kit died. I saw him in my dreams; he as exactly the same as before, but even in my sleep I knew he was dead. In the morning when I woke, my grief choked me, thick as smoke. When I was a child, I imagined that if my parents died, or Margot, that I would die of grief; I'd cleave in two like an elm tree in a lightning strike. But I didn't die. I as hollowed out, scraped clean inside. I imagined myself to be like an empty Russian doll, filled with nothing. Sometimes when I paced beside the sea, the shingles washed as the waves and withdrew, I wondered whether I ought to slip into the tide. I could fill my pockets with pebbles and wade out beyond the black rocks, beyond the peak of Worbarrow Tout, until the saltwater trickled down my throat. It seemed a quiet, easeful death. Perhaps Kit waited for me beneath the waves, as he did in my dreams. It was an idle thought, brought on by misery and the sad call of the sea. That afternoon, when the Messerschmitts had chased me, I only wanted to live. I had thought for a second that I ought to embrace death and join Kit. As I ran, sweating and feral with terror, I discovered I was greedy for life.
Carrie has asked us to look at the reading guide questions, so here goes.
What is your opinion of where Mr. Rivers and Elise’s relationship ends up?
I was okay with where the relationship ended up. There relationship was forged through tough times in so many ways and I suspect that strengthened the bond between them. I did find the way that Elise was able to separate the emotions that she felt for each man and how those feelings were linked to her two identities as discussed above very interesting.
As you see it, what events led to Tyneford’s fate?
The war is the only thing that really directly led to Tyneford's fate. I did, however, find myself wondering if the somewhat shadowy work that Poppy was involved in didn't come into play.
Reading this book sent me looking for more information about the real village that Tyneford was based on. Tyneham is located exactly where Tyneford was in the book, and it is fascinating to see the pictures that are available. It must have been heartbreaking for the people of Tyneham to realise that they were never going to get to go home again despite the original promises of the government. The other interesting thing is that Tyneham was not the only village to be taken over in this way.
What significance did Tyneford have to Elise, Kit, and Mr. Rivers?
The strength of the bond to Tyneford was different for Elise, Kit and Mr Rivers. For Mr Rivers, it represented stability, past and future. It represented home and hearth but also responsibility for all the people who lived there and in the village.
For Kit, some of the same things applied, but I think that Kit was still being shaped by the experiences he had there. I suspect that for Kit, Tyneford was the place where he could really be himself.
Elise is different again. For her, Tyneford represents safety, but it also represents isolation and loss. That however evolves into new beginnings and to a life fully lived.
Can a place like Tyneford exist in today’s world?
It's hard to imagine a place like Tyneford existing today. When you consider that even in the deserts of Africa there are mobile phones everywhere, that sense of total isolation would be incredibly rare. I am sure that there may times during the extremes of winter where there might be places that are isolated for a period of time but not permanently. I could be wrong though.
In some ways, Tyneford felt like a place out of time in the 1940s, let alone today!
Why do you think the novel in the viola was blank?
As soon as I read that the pages in the novel were blank, the thing that came to mind was that Julian pretty much knew that he was saying goodbye to both of his daughters. By giving Elise blank pages, he was giving her and Margot permission to write their own stories, which is what they did. It was a bit of a disappointment that the story that the two daughters wrote included such a long estrangement though.
Overall, I liked this book a lot. I think I would like to reread both this one and Mr Rosenblum's List to be sure, but on balance I think I liked Mr Rosenblum a bit better as it had a different type of charm. Regardless, I will definitely be lining up to get hold of Natasha Solomons' next book!
By the way, don't forget to head over to the author's website (to the bottom of the home page) and listen to the music that was especially composed for the launch of this book! Very evocative.
Rating 4/5
This book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
Synopsis
In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won't like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother's pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming and the world is changing. And Elise must change with it.
At Tyneford she learns that you can be more than one person - and that you can love more than once
This week we have been reading the third part of The House at Tyneford (aka The Novel in the Viola) by Natasha Solomons. Please note that there may be spoilers below as we are now well into the book!
Carrie from Books and Movies, who is hosting the readalong, has posted about the unfamiliar language used in the book - words like toddy, plimsolls and syllabub and also asked us for our predictions about what is going to happen in the final parts of the book.
The point that Carrie raised about the language was very interesting to me and not because I didn't know those words because I did (all those years of reading historical romance paid off when it came to toddy and syllabub at least). I found it interesting in the context about conversations that come up on a regular basis about books that are written in British English, or Australian English for that matter, but then when the book is released in the US the books are re-edited so that they are more American English. I am glad that these kinds of words were not taken out though, because one of the fundamental themes of Natasha Solomons' books seems to be the exploration of Britishness, or the British way of life.
One of my favourite quotes in this section talks about precisely this - the preservation of a certain lifestyle in the face of many challenges that were bought on by the start of World War II. This quote comes from page 219 of The Novel in the Viola:
Despite the lack of staff, and the inordinate distance between kitchen and dining room, standards had to be maintained. The digging up of the potato patch and the disappearance of the under servants had disturbed Mrs Ellsworth, and she sought reassurance in the details of luncheon in the wainscoted dining room at one o'clock. Mr Wrexham, walking past the kitchen door with his laden tray and perfectly starched shirt, proved to her that England was mighty and indestructible. Wars might be declared, kitchen boys vanish to join the navy, blackout curtains smother the French windows, and previously reliable footman leave without notice, but lunch would be served at five minutes past one and the butler would wear white cotton gloves.
As to what is going to happen in the final section of the book. I am not sure that I am liking the direction that the book is taking. There seems to be a growing sense of intimacy between Elise and Mr Rivers. At this stage there is no question that Elise, or Alice as she is now to be known loves Kit, but I am a bit concerned that Kit may really have left the scene and that the relationship between those who are left behind may develop into something more.
I wanted to comment on the physical relationship between Kit and Elise, as slight as it is. I really enjoyed the way that the author imbued the scenes between them with an increasing sensuality both in letter form and together. In reality, they didn't do very much and so this is a very tame book, but it was very much a building tension between the two young characters and it felt very organic. I suspect that the chance for the two of them is gone, but the way that this issue was addressed seemed to reflect young love, but also the limitations that the morality of the day could well have placed on a couple like them.
From the very beginning of the book I have been convinced that Elise is not going to see her parents again, but I did think for a few pages there that I could be wrong. I thought it was great that the author was able to put that small niggle of doubt into my mind, and I am sure that there may well be a few more twists and turns before I close the book for the last time!
This week as part of the House of Tyneford readalong we read chapters 10 to 15 and now we are around half way through the book! I am enjoying it a lot and find it difficult not to race through to the end. Then again, I have that trouble with a lot of readalongs!
Our host, Carrie, hasn't actually set questions for us to discuss this week. She has looked at a few of the characters and prompted us to post about our thoughts on this section. What I wanted to focus on was the writing, and the fact that it is Tuesday suggests that I could do a Teaser and the Teaser will have a Bookish Quote feel to it too! I do love multi-tasking blog posts!
Last week, I mentioned that I had read and enjoyed Natasha Solomons' previous book and so I already knew that I really liked her writing. That doesn't mean that I didn't find myself rereading small sections of the book because I just loved the way that the author was bring the scene to life.
There were a few sections in particular where the author caught my attention. One I don't want to say too much about because there is a charm and sense of fun about the scene that I wouldn't want to spoil. I will say, for the benefit of those who either have read the book or are participating in the readalong, that it was the scene involving fish and the whole village! It was funny and festive, and really indicative of the inclusiveness of the lives of everyone who lives at Tyneford. Given that we know that there are some challenges coming for the village as a whole, I think this was a really good way to show the cohesiveness that crosses the social hierarchy.
The section that I have chosen to quote from has a different tone completely but I was moved, and I loved the final line. To set a bit of context, there has just been a big, emotional confrontation and so Elise, the Austrian Jewess who has come to Tyneford to work as a maid, flees to the library. The author that she mentions below, Julian, is her father, Anna is her mother and Margot her sister.
I padded through the silent hall and into the library. I scanned the bookshelves and, finding what I wanted, reached up and drew down The Spinsters' Diary by Julian Landau, before creeping into the drawing room. The curtains were open and the moon filled the room with cold light, bright enough to read by. I sat cross-legged on the floor, the book open on my lap. It was not my favourite of Julian's novels and Anna actively disliked it, complaining it was unkind. That was why I wanted it with me tonight. With this book in my hands, I could hear my parents row. The three virgin spinsters were the great-aunts. Julian described them in cruel detail, down to the single hair sprouting from the round mole on Gretta's chin. Only in the book she was called Gertrude. Julian insisted that the aunts were transformed by fiction and Gretta, Gerda and Gabrielle (real life) had nothing to do with Gertrude, Grunhilda and Griselda (novel). Anna and the aunts remained unconvinced. When Julian attempted to justify himself over coffee and sachertorte, Gretta grumbled that she did not wish for her wart to be immortalised for eternity. After the aunts withdrew, dignity wounded, a fight echoed through the apartment. To Margot's and my tremendous delight, Anna threw a series of Meissen plates at Julian. We cheered her on from round the nursery door, wondering if she'd succeed in hitting and killing him - "Do you think we shall be orphans? Will Mama wear lipstick in prison?" It was terribly thrilling.
I had understood Anna and the aunts' fury - they were not angered by Julian's lies but by his honesty. He ought not to have stolen from life, but tonight I was grateful he had. As I shivered on the floor in the drawing room of an English country house a thousand miles from Vienna, I could see my aunts in the pages of the book. They smiled up at me, offering me sugar biscuits and grumbling over the supercilious waiters at cafe Sperl. I have no photographs of the aunts, and so they seem almost characters from a children's story - a clutch of creased fairy godmothers, fond of linzertorte and nieces - not quite belonging to the modern world. Yet they are preserved between the pages of Julian's novel like the crushed wings of a butterfly.
I suspect that Elise is destined for heartbreak in more ways than one in the upcoming section and that life at Tyneford is about to be changed irrevocably.
As I mentioned earlier this week, I am participating in a readalong of The House at Tyneford (also known as The Novel in the Viola) at the moment. One of the interesting things about the book that I am looking forward to finding out more about is not only the grand house at Tyneford but also the fate of the village.
First though, here are the main character Elise's thoughts on the library:
The library was situated in the north wing of the house, the drive and porch outside one window, and the front lawns outside the other. Unless Mr Rivers was present, the curtains were kept drawn to protect the fragile bindings of the ancient books. The sea air, so beneficial for rude human health, corroded the Rivers' family library, so that when some of the books were opened the pages sloughed away to nothingness. I once ran my finger along a leather spine and a layer of crimson flaked away onto my skin. Mrs Ellesworth instructed me to burn pinecones in the grate each morning and dip candles in lavender oil, but the fragrance of musty books pervaded. The daily housemaids detested the rooms, complaining it was 'duckish dark an' puts us all in a bother', and I earned their profuse gratitude when I offered to take over its cleaning. I liked the proximity of Julian's novels, and I found the permanent twilight soothing rather than eerie and I liked it best at dusk. Then I would trim the scented candles while the orange sun lowered in the west, making the spines of the books appear to blaze for a minute and then dull, as the sun slipped behind the shadow of the hill.
I should mention that Julian is her father and Elise is a Jewish refugee who has come to work in Britain as a maid in the days just before World War II.
Today is the first milestone in The House at Tyneford readalong being hosted by Carrie at Books and Movies. I am actually reading the UK/Australian version of the book which is called The Novel in the Viola. I hope that isn't too confusing.
I am going to briefly answer the questions (or as it turns out, not quite so briefly) and then share a video of the author speaking with Richard and Judy after the book was chosen as part of the Richard and Judy bookclub last year (think Oprah's book club but British).
Here are Carrie's questions:
What do you think of the writing?
I read Natasha Solomons first book, Mr Rosenblum's List, in 2010 and it made my list of top reads for that year. I therefore knew that I liked her writing. So far, I haven't been disappointed. Mr Rosenblum's List was also published under the title Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English in the US and other markets.
Once again, I am enjoying the sensuousness of the writing. I felt the coldness of the water as Elise waded into the water at the beach, and the role of food is important as it was in her previous book.
I have previously shared a couple of different excerpts from Mr Rosenblum's list. Click on this link if you are interested in reading them.
Have you learned anything surprising?
I don't know that I have learned anything new as such, but the first part of the book definitely had me remembering my couple of days that I spend in Vienna many years ago. From what I can recall, the centre of Vienna itself was quite modern as a result of the damage done during WWII and then subsequent building, but there were some gems to be found - most notably the Opera House. We stayed in a hotel not too far from Schonnbrunn Palace. The hotel had been converted from an old house (I use the word loosely) and so the rooms were immense, especially considering some of the shoe boxes we stayed in during the tour) with very high ceilings. It was obvious that it was a faded glory and the foyer had a very dated (as in 70's or 80's) feel to it, but the rooms made up for it as did the location. Oh, and we ate our continental breakfasts in what would have been the ballroom originally! Very grand!
In Carrie's post for this week she spoke about the fact that refugees came to England in the late 1930s and found work in menial tasks.This part actually reminded me of the Eva Ibbotson book I read not too long ago, A Countess Below Stairs, which featured Russian refugess who were displaced to the UK, although that was twenty years earlier following the events of the Russian revolution. Another book I read this year which talked about refugees coming to the UK in the late 1930s was Anna Funder's All That I Am, although in that case the refugees weren't coming to work as such.
Also, I should mention that Mr Rosenblum also comes to England during this time and so Solomons has explored this time a little before, but there is a very different feel between that book and this one so far.
What are your first impressions of Elise?
I think that we have been introduced to someone who is conscious of not really fitting in anywhere. Her family loves her, but she doesn't share their passions or talents, and she thinks she looks very different from them, but I think that the time spent away from them is helping her see that she is the same of them. An example of this is when she remembers that her hair is the same colour as her father's hair.
Now, she has come to a new country, a new circumstance where she doesn't really speak the language and she is even more aware of not fitting in.
Do you think Elise will ever see her parents, or her sister, Margot again?
I really think that Elise won't see her parents again, and I think that they know that they won't see her. I do think that Margot and her husband will make it out of Vienna safely, but it will be some time before the two sisters are reunited.
Want to make any predictions?
It is obvious from the blurb and the trailer that this is a love story, so I expect that the next section will see this aspect of the story developing a bit more. I am looking forward to finding out more about the novel in the viola and the role that plays in the story.
I am also looking forward to finding out more about Tyneford after reading the notice that was put on the church door that was mentioned at the very beginning of the book, and is also mentioned briefly in the video below:
On a tangent, when I was watching this video on Youtube I noticed a link where Richard was talking about being featured on Who Do You Think You Are? I love that show, and hadn't seen his episode. I ended up watching the show and thought it was interesting. The one thing I learnt - I am never going to Nova Scotia in January!
In my head I do have a trip to Canada planned, mainly to see Kelly from The Written World. I would fly to New York (because I have always wanted to go there), then travel up the coast through Maine and then into Nova Scotia and I would also head up to Quebec to see another couple of online friends. The likelihood of that trip ever happening is remote, but it doesn't hurt to dream right? It would however be a Canadian summer trip!
*In theory, I am also participating in the Mistborn readalong that Carl is posting as part of the Once Upon a Time challenge but the book has only just come into the library so I won't be picking it up until tomorrow at the earliest so I am going to be a bit behind posting on that one!
One of my favourite books of last year was Natasha Solomons' Mr Rosenblum's List*, and so I have been keeping an eye out for news of her follow up book, The Novel in the Viola. I was very pleased to see this book trailer the other day:
I was also on Twitter and noticed that the Australian launch details are up, and I was definitely going, until I noticed that the events are being held the weekend I am in Sydney for ARRC, so there is no way I can go! So disappointed!
The launch event sound like a lot of fun too. There are going to be locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where a special concerto, composed especially for the book will be performed live simultaneously.
*In the US Mr Rosenblum's List was called Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English
This week I have been reading the absolutely delightful Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons. It's funny, moving, magical and so much more. There have been so many parts that I could have quoted from in addition to the two that I chose for my Teaser Tuesday post this week. As soon as I read the second half of Chapter 11, I knew that I wanted to do a Weekend Cooking post about it, even though I had already written my post for this week (which I have rescheduled for next weekend!) and even though I know that there has already been at least one Weekend Cooking post about this book.
To be honest, I could have quoted about 5 consecutive pages from this chapter, but instead here are some selected quotes touching on the themes of food, memories and emotions. To set the scene, Sadie and Jack are German Jews who emigrated to the UK in 1937, leaving behind their family who disappeared during World War II. One of Sadie's prized possessions is the well loved and well used recipe book from her mother, and this is the first time that Sadie has taken it out of the box she keeps it in to cook from it;
Sadie stroked the battered volume. The spine was coming away and the cloth loose, and she glanced through the index, neatly inscribed in her mother's curling hand and smudged with mixtures from a hundred meal times, until she found the one she wanted: 'Baumtorte'- part of a category called 'cakes to help you remember'. Unlike Jack Sadie preferred German to English because she like the literal meanings of the words; they were put together like tiny building blocks and felt good in her mouth as she said them. 'Baumtorte' was a good word, meaning tree (Baum) cake (Torte), since it is made of layers like the rings of a tree, Sadie, like her mother and grandmother before her, had baked a Baumtorte whenever she needed to remember. She'd baked a cake after Jack kissed her for the first time that December night, another when he proposed (in a noisy train carriage on the way back from Frankfurt, so she couldn't hear him and he had to repeat himself), another when they were stripped of German citizenship and one more after Elizabeth was born. She made the last one with Mutti on the day they received their exit visas. They'd asked for six (Jack, Sadie, Elizabeth, Mutti, Papa and Emil) but there were only three. They hadn't cried - they'd baked a Baumtorte. (page 140)
Sadie bakes her cake, with "each cake was placed on top of another and then another until, when dawn came, there was a cake towering many feet high with a thousand layers of rings: every layer holding a memory." (page 141). The ladies from the town smell Sadie's cake and invite her to their village meeting, and Sadie takes the Baumtorte with her.
It was time for tea and Sadie went to her Baumtorte, which rested on a makeshift table, bowing under its weight. She cut slices for each of them with a huge knife - the thinnest that she could manage. The women ate, and it was the most remarkable cake that they had ever tasted. It was sweet and perfectly moist with a hint of lemon but, as her mouth filled with deliciousness, each woman was overwhelmed with sadness. Each tasted Sadie's memories, her loss and unhappiness and whilst they ate Sadie was, for once, not alone in her sorrow. (page 144)
There are several places to find the recipe online. I found this one at The Times Online. Natasha Solomons has provided the recipe, and you can see what it looks like at the author's website.
INGREDIENTS
225g caster sugar (or vanilla sugar — caster sugar stored with a vanilla pod)
225g unsalted butter;
225g plain flour;
Zest of 1 lemon
6 eggs.
For the icing:
1 tbsp lemon juice;
175g icing sugar, sieved;
Candied orange and lemon segments for decoration
METHOD
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one by one. Stir in the lemon zest to taste — it should have a hint of lemon, not too zingy. When the mixture is creamy, slowly mix in the flour. Spread a thin layer of mixture in a cake tin and lightly brown under the grill. Continue to spread and grill, layer upon layer, until all the mixture is used. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice into the icing sugar, then gradually add water until you have a lovely, thick icing. Ice the cake, then decorate with candied orange and lemon segments.
Please note this book is published under the title Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English in the US.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
I first heard about this book when Heather from Capricious Reader was raving about it, as she read it, on Twitter. Based purely on what she was saying about it while she was reading it I requested it from the library, and waited and waited. Having finally come in I have now renewed it a couple of times, but it was down to the wire - I either had to return it unread or read it. I decided on the latter, and I have to say I really wish I had of read it before now! I am only 60 pages in, but I already love it, and will be putting in my request for Natasha Solomons next book as soon as it appears on the library catalogue.
The subtitle to this book is Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman, which kinds of help put the quote that I have chosen for Teaser Tuesday into a little bit of context. The teaser comes from page 21:
There remained one more item on Jack's list. He knew it to be the quintessential characteristic of the true English gentleman and without it he was nothing. Item one hundred and fifty: An Englishman must be a member of a golf club.
I am going to cheat a little bit and give two more sentences from page 63, as it amused me when I read it, and I think it gives a glimpse of the humour and charm of the novel. I am pretty sure that I am going to find plenty more quote worthy passages as I finish reading the book.
"My mother warned me that craziness ran in your family. I should have listened but no, I was young and foolish, and easily impressed by your red bicycle and your thick hair."
This book is also published under the title Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English in the US.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!
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