WWW Wednesdays

BOOKS JUST READ

click on the covers to know more about them

Olga’s Egg
Received for review from Clink Street
VERDICT: The Fabergé eggs as you never knew them. Intriguing, lavish, fascinating. My best historical novel of the year.
My full review is here

Treachery
Received for review through Netgalley
Another great adventure with Giordano Bruno, this time around Francis Drake. I found it a bit long, but still very satisfying.
Review coming soon.

Sur les chemins noirs
Believe it or not, I first heard about this French author through the English translation of one of his books: The Consolations of the Forest.
I so loved the content and its beautiful, both simple, direct and yet very poetic style.
This time, I decided to listen to one of his more recent narratives. After a very serious accident where he almost died, he decided to travel this time in France, on foot. He chooses as best as possible les chemins noirs, that is, the dark paths, in other words, paths and tiny roads that you cannot even find on the most precise map. Areas that are not yet under the gaze of Big Brother and the French government, who want to do all they can to connect the whole country to the internet, ignoring the choice of simple folks to go on living as they have been for generations. I loved it! So nicely written again on nature, but with this ardent cause to defend the right for people and areas of France to keep their deep identity.

CURRENTLY READING

Lady Clementine
Received for review through Netgalley
I have read and enjoyed several books by Marie Benedict, so I didn’t hesitate with this one, especially as I knew nothing about Clementine Churchill. I’m about half done, and I find it very good so far, especially at describing the complexity f characters.

Elder Anthony of Optina
Almost done with the life of the famous second Elder of Optina. I’m in the interesting part with excerpts of his journal.

The Lodger
I decided to listen to this mystery for The Classics Club.
It was written in 1913 and is based on Jack the Ripper murders. I’m almost done, and it’s fabulous! Especially the tension growing in Mrs Bunting’s mind about her latest lodger. Plus the narrator is excellent at doing various English accents.
I plan to read/listen to other books by the same author. Her mother was English, but her father was French. She actually has a famous brother, Hillaire Belloc, who wrote books on Roman Catholicism, very well known in France.

BOOKS UP NEXT

Dreamland
Received from the publisher for review 
“The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.
The invitation to the luxurious Oriental Hotel a mile from Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.
But soon it transpires that the hedonism of nearby Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.
Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamour of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything…even murder.
Extravagant, intoxicating and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class and dangerous obsession.”
To tell the truth, I copied and pasted this synopsis without reading it. I have so far very much enjoyed Bilyeau’s books, so I want to go into this one without knowing anything about it.

Perfect Little Children
Received for review through Edelweiss
“The New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders and Woman with a Secret returns with a sharp, captivating, and expertly plotted tale of psychological suspense.
All Beth has to do is drive her son to his soccer game, watch him play, and then return home. Just because she knows her ex-best friend lives near the field, that doesn’t mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her.
Why would Beth do that and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn’t seen Flora for twelve years. She doesn’t want to see her today—or ever again. But she can’t resist. She parks outside the open gates of Newnham House, watches from across the road as Flora arrives and calls to her children Thomas and Emily to get out of the car.
Except . . . There’s something terribly wrong. Flora looks the same, only older. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily were five and three years old. Today, they look precisely as they did then. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt, but they haven’t changed at all. They are no taller, no older. Why haven’t they grown? How is it possible that they haven’t grown up?”
Another author of mysteries I have liked a lot.

Le cri
Not sure if I’m actually going to listen to this one. Depending on what book I get through the Classics Spin, I may switch. Anyway, that will be the next French audio I listen to.
It’s been translated in several languages, but apparently not yet in English.

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