Book review: The Hope Fault + competition

By
By Tracy Farr
Published by Aardvark Bureau

 Synopsis: In Cassetown, Geologue Bay, Iris and her extended family ― her ex-husband and his wife and their new baby; her son and her best friend’s daughter ― gather on a midwinter long weekend, to pack up the family holiday house now that it has been sold. They are together for one last time, one last weekend, one last party. As the house is stripped bare, their secrets ― and the complex, messy nature of family relationships ― will be revealed.

 How did this book end up in my hands? I received an advance review copy by the publisher in exchange of my honest opinion.

 Was it a page-turner? Even though I wanted to know what would happen during the weekend in Cassetown, I took my time to savour this book. The language is very poetic and the author uses different narrative strategies that made me want to pause to take it all in.  

 Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? When it comes to the synopsis, yes, it is a fair representation of what the book is about. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the beauty of it… unless the synopsis had been written in verse perhaps, like a poem by the fictional Zigi.

 Did I like the ending? [no spoilers] Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. It left me with a feeling of openness and closure at the same time. Very satisfying.

 Three words to describe it. Lyrical. Dreamy. Versatile.

 Do I like the cover? I love the picture on the cover. It suits the book well – simultaneously crisp and nostalgic. The colours, the font, the layout… all the elements of the cover help create an harmonious end product.

 Have I read any other books by the same author? No, but her first novel – The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt – is already on my TBR.

 Will I be recommending this book? Yes. If you are in no rush to get to the end and enjoy savouring the journey, this novel is for you. Mind you, rushing to the end is possible… but you won’t enjoy the smell of the rain and the warmth of a freshly-brewed cup of tea!

 Anything else? Yes! You can win a copy of this book and find out for yourself how beautiful it is! All you need to do is follow me on Twitter and retweet the competition post by 16/09. UK only. Every comment left below will count as an extra entry (one per person). Best of luck!

Comments

  1. Unknown10 August 2018 at 13:48

    Thank you for the competition, your review was so good to read, feels like a ‘feel good book’ I enjoy nookscthat are described as ‘beautiful’ :).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booknet: a new platform for authors and readers

By
Image
‘Ooooh, what is Booknet ?’ I hear you ask… Booknet is a popular literary social media network, self-publishing platform, and Bookscription eBook sales model, all of which is being introduced to the UK following rapid growth in Latin America and Eastern Europe since 2015. How does it work? Booknet is both a successful literary self-publishing platform and a social network, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in 2015. Booknet has gained significant traction in countries such as Ukraine, Russia (the Russian division was sold in the spring of 2022 because of the war between Ukraine and Russia), as well as Latin America. The company is now actively investing resources into the development of its English-language version. Authors can either publish their books with free access by readers, or sell them after obtaining commercial status through the platform. Booknet provides free advertising for eBooks sold by their authors on the platform. Booknet’s distinctive features (apart from being a pop...
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike...
Read more

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea...
Read more