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BPS review of Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker ( read in Jan 2025)
Despite the story being a well-known path (Homer’s Iliad), Barker manages to create some dramatic tension from the get go, and conveys the sense of sisterhood behind the enslaved women, albeit with a caste system all too obvious. But by the end, why had she lost a few enthusiastic readers?
Greener, by Grainne Murphy ( BPS Bookclub Sept 2024)
Using Covid in the storyline felt to some like it automatically dated the story, however it did add that sense of relatability which the entire world experienced, and it provided a useful structure to explain the absence of the daughter and the closeness of Annie.
May 2024 : Ravenous, by Henry Dimbleby
It prompted – as a non-fiction work always does – a really interesting discussion on many topics, including the role of government in enforcing health initiatives, the (unfortunate) power of big business and the need for young adults to be aware of these issues – by perhaps reading this book!
March 2024 : The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy ( BPS review)
There are many deaths. The young. The innocent. The untouchable. The unsupported. At times it seems only the selfish and self-interested are those who are left.
Feb 2024 : Education of An Idealist, Samantha Power - review
Nevertheless it was a unique insight into how someone from Ireland can end up in a position of high influence on a global stage, at least for a short time.
Jan 2024 : Days At the Morisaki Bookshop, review
As was discussed during our meetings, sometimes the best books are simply the right book at the right time, and everyone post- Christmas was grateful for a lighter read.
BPS Review of Red Queen, Juan Gomez-Jurado ( December 2023)
The plot had, in one person’s words “ a lot of breadcrumbs” but not necessarily all followed through or even explained, leaving us either frustrated or ready to read the sequel already.
BPS Review of Rogues, Patrick Radden Keefe ( Nov 2023)
We did have some great debate on the strength of this book – on the role of women in a crime mobster’s life, on the crazy spending of a wine collector, on Donald Trump and reality TV, on defending the defenceless, and on the relationship between victim and perpetrator. All very engrossing subjects!
BPS Review. Queen of Dirt Island, Donal Ryan ( Oct 2023)
And there is plenty in this story to talk about. Not least the strict 500 word per chapter structure, which had as many fans as detractors. Whilst it gave some people impetus to keep engaged and reading, it also perhaps made the book more ‘ put-downable’?
BPS Review of Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver ( Sept 2023)
As Dickens famously said himself, “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait”. Which is precisely what Kingsolver did too.
