On the 5th day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...
FOUR DAVID MITCHELLS
THREE MARGARET ATWOODS
TWO HOMER SAGAS
and
A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS
Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011. These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.
April 2011:
HELEN DUNMORE - The Siege
I learned of Helen Dunmore from Jo Derrick's blog / website for The Yellow Room Magazine, as well as numerous other excellent women writers. 'The Siege' relives the siege of Leningrad (during WW2) through the lives of ordinary Russians. I found Helen's prose simply exquisite, and many lines read like poetry. I don't have a copy as this was borrowed from the library and wish I'd noted some of her most beautiful passages. The hardships of the siege are realistically portrayed - there is very little romance in this novel even though it is a love story. The sequel is 'The Betrayal' and one book on the list to read in 2012.
I also read her short story collection 'Ice Cream', which was a tasty mixture of humour and pathos. Highly recommended.
Other novels by Helen Dunmore:
HELEN DUNMORE - The Siege
I also read her short story collection 'Ice Cream', which was a tasty mixture of humour and pathos. Highly recommended.
Other novels by Helen Dunmore:Zennor in Darkness (1994)
Burning Bright (1994)
A spell of winter (1996)
Talking to the Dead (1996)
Your Blue-Eyed Boy (1998)
With your Crooked Heart (1999)
The Siege (2001)
Mourning Ruby (2003)
House of Orphans (2006)
Counting the Stars (2008)
The Betrayal (2010)
Short story collections:
Love of Fat Men (1997)
Ice Cream (2001)
Rose, 1944 (2005)
she's a wonderful poet too - started out writing poetry and YA books. I love her work. Find it a bit emotionally detached though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen. I've haven't read her poetry - I think she has won some major prizes with poetry too. Will look for a collection in my local library. Actually some of her short stories were a little bit detached too - some were quite brilliant and others left me a bit cold.
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