Un'ondata di caldo

The question is often asked ' Do you remember where you were when JFK was shot ?'...well probably in the midst of being breast fed by my mum if you're interested but I think a question could also be asked of the sun-starved british. ' Do you remember the heat waves of 1976, 1983 etc. We get so littl Leggi tutto

My fourth Lively book, and the most enjoyable thus far. Pauline, a freelance copyeditor (“Putting commas into a novel about unicorns”) in her fifties, has escaped from London to spend a hot summer at World’s End, the Midlands holiday cottage complex she shares with her daughter Teresa, Teresa’s husb Leggi tutto

There are lots of authors who I really enjoy who get me happily from one end of a book to the other, with all kinds of interesting plots, characters and relationships, but who never write a really memorable sentence that makes me sit back and think. Penelope Lively is not one of those authors. Her p Leggi tutto

I think this is my 3rd Penelope Lively novel (nope it's my 4th!). I'm happy to say I won't run out of material by her any time soon for I have many more to go. This one is about all types of love: parental, husband & wife, friendships, and last but not least, illicit. As in the other two novels, thi Leggi tutto

3.5 stars. Ironically felt somewhat lukewarm towards this one at first. I think this is definitely a book intended to be read during the course of one hot day, rather than in fits and starts as I approached it. After the initial perseverance needed, I was soon aptly rapt by the stifling simmering te Leggi tutto

I bought a copy of this novel last year, attracted by the striking artwork on the front cover and the promise of a perceptive portrayal of ‘a fragile family, damaged and defined by adultery’. Fortunately, the book itself very much lives up to this impression, unfolding over a dry, claustrophobic sum Leggi tutto

It's a pleasure to find a Penelope Lively novel that I hadn't read before. She is a writer I can rely on to provide astute characterisation and wise insights into relationships. As the title suggest, in this novel Lively also creates an intense psychological atmosphere that reflects the intensity of Leggi tutto

Heat Wave narrates the interactions between several intertwined characters between the months of May through to August. Pauline, a copy writer, spends this summer in her countryside cottage working on several submissions while accompanied by her grown-up daughter, Teresa, who in turn is accompanied

With Lively's subtle, yet direct, storytelling, you see and feel the story unfolding at the perfect pace. You know where it's going...maybe. You get to the denouement, so satisfying, and then you get to the end, and you wonder. If you haven't read Penelope Lively, this is your introduction to her ri Leggi tutto

This is an atmospheric little gem- the tension builds to a climax as a mother watches the collapse of her daughter's marriage in painful slow motion. This made me late leaving for work this morning as I HAD to finish it before I left.