As this is a new blog and we’re still getting to know each other, I thought I’d introduce you to a trio of the 5 star books I’ve read this year, so you can see some of the books I’ve really enjoyed reading. Fuller reviews can be found on my Librarything site – there’s a link to your right.
Firstly, The Scheme for Full Employment by Magnus Mills – this was a satire on crack-pot government job schemes, trade unions and workplace practices and very, very chucklesome indeed.
Next We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – the creepy story of a big house where the Blackwood sisters live on with their old uncle after the rest of their family were poisoned one night … an intense read and superbly crafted chiller of a tale.
And finally this time Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. Recently filmed, this is a frothy Cinderella story of a forty year old governess who’s never been kissed and gets swept along in swirl of excitement when she mistakenly gets sent for a maid’s job for a night-club singer. Total brilliant fun, and a huge hit for Persephone Books who resurrect wonderful yet forgotten twentieth century novels.
I read both the Jackson and the Watson titles last year and enjoyed both a good deal, though I confess neither were 5-star books for me. Miss Pettigrew took me too long to warm up to (though I was converted in the end), and for some reason I was never able to fully connect to the Jackson.