Category Archives: Reading Group 1

Reading Group 1 Reviews – Oct 23 – Middle England by Jonathon Coe

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This novel is an account of the years immediately before and after the UK’s 2016 European Referendum, seen through the eyes of a disparate group of old and young, academic and non-academic, politically engaged and would-rather-listen-to-music people, all centred on Benjamin Trotter, a struggling writer living a quiet life in the English Midlands. Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by Poundland, and London, where frenzied riots give way to Olympic fever, Middle England follows a cast of characters through a time of immense change.

There are newlyweds Ian and Sophie, who disagree about the future of the country and, possibly, the future of their relationship; Doug, the political commentator who writes impassioned columns about austerity from his Chelsea townhouse, and his radical teenage daughter who will stop at nothing in her quest for social justice; Benjamin Trotter, who embarks on an apparently doomed new career in middle age, and his father Colin, whose last wish is to vote in the European referendum. And within all these lives is the story of modern England: a story of nostalgia and delusion; of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.

Member Reviews:

L – I didn’t get to grips with the characters and storylines.  It said on the front cover that it was meant to be a comedy, I  didn’t think it was that funny.

D – I thought it was brilliant!  Tongue in cheek amusing, and also slightly depressing at the same time.  A very honest view of the rather sad state of affairs in this country.  I expect that one’s view of the UK following the EU referendum may depend upon which way one voted.  It’s a struggle to explain the phenomenon of populism sweeping through western society since 2016, leading to the election of Trump and the result of the referendum. It is with the subject of Brexit, however, that we really see the value of a novel in exploring human experience.

Reading Group 1 Review – Sep 23 – A Cornish Summer by Catherine Alliott

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Flora’s been in love with her husband for twenty years. The trouble is, he’s been married to someone else for the past fifteen, now she’s been invited to spend the summer in the sandy coves of Cornwall, which should be blissful.  But there’s one small snag: she’ll be staying with her former mother-in-law, Belinda.
And then her ex-husband shows up out of the blue, complete with his new wife.  Can Flora spend the summer playing happy families with the woman who stole her husband’s heart, and the mother-in-law who might have had a hand in it?  And will stumbling on the family secret change her mind about them all?

Member Reviews:

A – Although I have no objection to the occasional “ chic lit” I found this one very tedious. It started very slowly, including, I thought, an unnecessarily long description of a fox hunt! For me it never seemed to get going and most of the characters seemed fairly superficial. I’m afraid to say I gave up after the first half so may have missed the best bit!

D – This was a very lightweight read.  For me, only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry.

Reading Group 1 Review – August 23 – Manning Tree Witches by AK Blackmore

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This book is set in England in 1643, and is based on actual events.  Puritanical fervour has gripped the nation and in Manningtree in Essex, a town depleted of men since the wars began, the hot terror of damnation burns in the hearts of women left.
Rebecca West, fatherless and husbandless, chafes against the drudgery of her days, livened only occasionally by her infatuation with the handsome young clerk John Edes. But then a newcomer, Matthew Hopkins, arrives, who begins to ask questions about what the women on the margins of this diminished community are up to. Dangerous rumours of covens, pacts, and bodily wants have begun to hang over women like Rebecca–and the future is as frightening as it is thrilling.

Members Reviews:

J – Some of the characters in the book did exist and some had their names changed. As the story began I struggled with the initial language used and didn’t get into it until at least a third of the way through (nearly giving up after the first few chapters). The background of puritanical Essex / Suffolk in the mid 1600’s was described well and you felt for the women and their torrid lives. It also depicted the power of men and the fear in the communities of witches with even the powerful Matthew succumbing to consumption even though his diet and living standards would have been better than those around him. Rebecca was well depicted but also vulnerable but eventually escaped to look for a better life after the demise of Matthew.

My feeling was that the book was too long and I found myself skipping large chunks of the text particularly as the story started to plod along.

L – I think the narrative gives us an insight into the era it’s set but can be a bit slow to read.

A – A well written book which provided some deeper insight into the background to the whole issue of witchcraft. A  host of circumstances, war, famine, disease etc.  exacerbated by religion and superstition, meant that as usual someone must be to blame, who better than a group of (mostly) single women with often different ideas!
Although not a subject that particularly interests me, I felt that this novel did a good job of increasing my understanding of witchcraft and it’s origins.

L – I read this book hoping to gain an insight to the workings of the trials of the time, I was exceedingly disappointed. Television programmes supplied more information and background. Although a ‘modern” publication I thought it was lacking in detailed information, somewhat superficial. How much research was carried out by the author?

I found it difficult to read as it appeared to be written in a style of language trying to be that of the time, this was not always successful.