La mano che teneva la mia

Edited to make correction. Originally read Aug, 25, 2014. I loved this novel mostly because of the writing. Yes, I loved the story and the characters too, but from the exquisite opening paragraph it was all about the writing. “Listen. The trees in this story are stirring, trembling, readjusting thems Leggi tutto

I love that Maggie O’Farrell began this story by appealing to my aural sense. This is her opening paragraph: “Listen. The trees in this story are stirring, trembling, readjusting themselves. A breeze is coming in gusts off the sea, and it is almost as if the trees know, in their restlessness, in the Leggi tutto

”Listen. The trees in this story are stirring, trembling, readjusting themselves. A breeze is coming in gusts off the sea, and it is almost as if the trees know, in their restlessness, in their head-tossing impatience, that something is about to happen.” ”A graveled path curves towards the fro Leggi tutto

4.7, rounded up because I just had to This writer, this Maggie O’Farrell, just wow. I’ve never read five books by any writer before (and I did this all within a year--what??). That should give you a hint of how ga-ga I am over Maggie dearest. Can I call her Maggie, please, as if we’re all chummy chum Leggi tutto

The Hand That First Held Mine , my first book by Irish author Maggie O’Farrell, held me enthralled from the beginning to the end. The evocative opening lines are set in Devon, southwestern England, in the late summer of the mid 1950s. In a house perched on a wind-swept cliff where trees are tossing t Leggi tutto

Any fiction novel which follows the five or six literary fiction novels I have just finished may well have big shoes to fill but The Hand That First Held Mine held it's own. I do so love it when an author combines combines real people into their story. After reading this novel, I half expect if I po Leggi tutto

"She doesn't know that he is coming, getting even closer with every passing second, walking in his hand-made shoes along the roads that separate them, the distance between them shrinking with every well-shod step. Life as she will know it is about to begin but she is absorbed, finally, in her readin Leggi tutto

5 Earth Shattering Stars!! A brilliant portrayal of motherhood and a mother’s love that is transcendent. Maggie O’Farrell captures so much more- the exhaustion, the anxieties, the joys, the overall magnitude of what a mother is. “ It’s a special thing you have with him. It’s like he has this internal Leggi tutto

Maggie O'Farrel is one of those authors I really want to read, but everytime I grab one of her books, I'm easily sidetracked. Not that I don't want to read her, I just feel you need to concentrate and immerse yourself in the story. Hectic lives...sometimes those types of reads get pushed aside. So I Leggi tutto

5 🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 I am, I am, I am in love with Maggie O’Farrell’s writing. She captivates then mesmerizes me completely. Currently I am basking in the afterglow of this tale of two extraordinary women living years apart, their lives eventually connecting, though they will never meet. My hand was resting o Leggi tutto