09 July 2007

Two wonderful books

Whilst on holiday with Phil I managed to read three novels. He managed one, and a bit of another. Maybe I don't read thoroughly enough!

Anyway, two of them I'll recommend, the other you can take or leave, I didn't really enjoy it.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a gorgeous book. It starts with the birth of twins on a snowy night. The son is born healthy, but the daughter is born with Down's Syndrome. The father (also the doctor delivering the babies) makes a snap decision and hands the Down's baby to the nurse. The book is about what happens to both these babies and the consequences of the father's actions.

The second book I read was "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox". In the 1930s a young girl is sent to an institution for being unpredictable and rebellious in society. In the present day, a woman called Iris gets a call- her Great Aunt Esme is to be released into society as the home is closing, and she is her nearest surviving relative. Who is this woman, who Iris has never heard of, and what must she have done to be locked away for 60 years? Another great read with lots of twists and turns...

The third one was "Double Fault" by Lionel Shriver, and has the most irritating lead character ever written in my opinion!

3 comments:

Liz Hinds said...

Anna bought me Vanishing Act for Christmas: it is so sad!

chux said...

A lot more reading than i'd have thought possible on holiday!!

Clare said...

Liz, what do you think happened at the end? I'm in two minds...