I
loved this non-fiction book firstly for its extraordinary honesty about a very
difficult topic – that is, our attitude to our bodies – especially when our
particular body is not considered ‘perfect’ or even acceptable.
Kneen looks at her own fat body and explores
attitudes and myths about fatness. Secondly, I love the book because Kneen is a
beautiful poetic writer, using language to convery experience with economy and
elegance.
She does not shy away from even the most difficult topics. It is a
confronting book, but a ‘must’ read for anyone who wants to understand how our
bodies shape our lives.
I loved this novel, The Leopard because it
created a character and a world ( that of mid-19th century Sicily)
about which I had known very little.
The author draws us into the mind and
culture of aristocratic Sicily, placing it in the historical context of the
political activist Garibaldi and the unification of Italy, but always giving
us the emotional and psychological intensity of the characters’ lives.
I also
loved it because I was planning a trip to Sicily – and now that I am here, I feel I have a much deeper insight into this
rich and fascinating country. It was a real pleasure to read.
The Leopard is a modern classic which tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution.
'There is a great feeling of opulence, decay, love and death about it' Rick Stein
In the spring of 1860, Fabrizio, the charismatic Prince of Salina, still rules over thousands of acres and hundreds of people, including his own numerous family, in mingled splendour and squalor. Then comes Garibaldi's landing in Sicily and the Prince must decide whether to resist the forces of change or come to terms with them.
I
loved Aphrodite’s Breath, a memoir because it honestly and intelligently explores the relationship between
a mother and an adult daughter. Susan, the author, goes to live on a Greek island
for a year with her elderly mother.
She faces the difficult questions of
creativity and mortality as she negotiates an underground power struggle
with her mother. It is poetic, insightful, and a pleasure to read.
'Heartbreaking, funny and deeply moving...This is writing to savour.' Books + Publishing
'Aphrodite's Breath is one of those sublime books that both pleases and pursues you with its imagery and thoughts, long after you've put the book down.' Jane Messer, The Conversation.
'An awe-inspiring ability to explore emotional truths.' Daily Advertiser
'With fine control, Johnson allows us to travel close to her emotional skin...Aphrodite's Breath is their shared gift to us, in all its shades of luminous and deep dark blue.' Susan Wyndham, Guardian
In life, as in myth, women are the ones who are supposed to stay home like…
In True Friends, I recount the joyful
making and the painful ending of a long, close friendship. It was an
influential relationship in my life, but when it inexplicably unraveled, I was left searching for answers. As I
try to make sense of this ending, I question who we are drawn to, what we
really know of each other, and why some friendships endure, and others end.
Friendships are among the most important
relationships in our lives, often outlasting love affairs and marriages. The loss of a friendship can be a most
disturbing event, yet ‘friend break-ups’ are little acknowledged in our culture.
This book brings together the personal and the universal and reminds us
of the centrality of friendships in our
lives.
