The Potter's Hand

The Potter's Hand by A. N. Wilson
Published 1 September 2012 Atlantic Books

Historical literary saga of the Wedgwood family. Begins at the height of Josiah Wedgwood's career as he is completing the thousand piece Frog Service for Catherine the Great of Russia.

 

This is a hefty tome (502 pages). I found it tough, especially towards the end but persevered. Do watch out for the passages in dialect!

 

It is an illustration of eighteenth-century English family life, from the bargee to the new-monied toff. Sprinkled with illustrious Georgians such as Erasmus, Darwin and Coleridge.

 

An extraordinary tale.

 

The author's father was Managing Director of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons.

A. N. Wilson describes the book as "...an act of homage to one of the great men of our history.", and it is.

A Breakthrough

So, I am blogging from my own home! This may not be surprising, however, I have been without the internet for 9 years posting in wi-fi spots and from work. That is now over!!! *celebration party poppers*
This now means I shall be able to blog and review more regularly >.<

Speak soon!

Tiff

Red Sparrow

 

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

Published 4 June 2013 Simon & Schuster

 

 

Red Sparrow is Jason Matthews' debut novel - and it is brilliant! I instantly wanted to read it all over again the second I finished it. It is a USA-v-Russia spy thriller. A fast paced, adrenaline building, edge-of-your-seat read. I LOVED it!

I've never read a book like it and I wouldn't have picked it up from a bookshelf so have discovered a fabulous new genre to read.

 

CIA operative Nate Nash is undercover in Moscow. He is young, eager to get on and handling one of the CIA's prize double agents - MARBLE.

Dominika Ergorov, former prima ballerina, is a fledgling of spy school and sparrow school as so doubly dangerous. What no-one knows is that she can see the colours of emotions in people - a triple threat. It is Dominika's task to honeytrap the American Nash and discover the identity of the double-agent traitor. So begins a cat and mouse chase. Who will uncover the other's secrets first? 

 

I am not sure if it is usual for spy thrillers to have strong female leads - perhaps more recently due to the Larsson effect. However, I feel Dominika is a great character. Hard, unflinching, sultry, lonely - she's wonderful.

 

Red Sparrow being a Russian spy thriller contains much Russian language and culture which added to the authenticity and therefore my enjoyment of the book. The character traits were also fascinating and from my experience accurate - well done Mr. Matthews.

 

A fun aside to this thriller is that it contains recipes - yes, that's right - the recipe for something the characters eat appears at the end of each chapter and as I read I found myself guessing what it would be. I plan to try several of the recipes...delicious!

 

Red Sparrow is a real page turner - a fabulous debut from Jason Matthews, an ex CIA operative. His knowledge and experience gives the novel an honesty and depth that I'd imagine would be difficult to achieve unless you've been there.

 

I would recommend Red Sparrow to everyone. Its not typical male adventure thriller genre so ladies, do not be put off, but its publishing date does make it a great Father's Day gift.

 

I will be looking out for more Jason Matthews books in the future.

 

A huge thankyou to @Dark_pages for the ARC.

AWOL

I'm sorry i've not posted for so long - been a bit under the weather

Time Between Us

 

"Make every second count."

 

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Published 25 October 2012 Doubleday

 

Fans of The Time Traveller's Wife, this is the book for you. Non-fans of The Time Traveller's Wife (me) - give it a go.

 

Ok...so not everything is explained. As you read, you end up with a list of hows? and whys? which make the story feel incomplete but put that aside (if you can) and you get a very sweet romantic story.

 

Anna lives in Chicago. She's a cross-country runner and dreams of travelling the world. It is 1995.

 

Bennett lives in San Francisco. He skaeboards and...he can time travel. He dreams of staying in one place. It is 2012.

 

When events send Bennett back, he meets Anna and...you'll just have to read the rest yourself!

 

The best part of this book are the characters. Anna and Bennett are a joy to read about.

 

Tamara lives near San Francisco and is working on her second novel. 

 

 

 



22 Britannia Road

 

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

Published 22 April 2011 Fig Tree

 

 

Picked this one from the library and its been sitting on my TBR pile for some time. When I did *finally* get around to reading it, what a treat!

 

Silvana and her son Aurek arrive in England at the end of WW2 to join husband Janusz, a soldier in the Polish army who, having been based in England has decided to make it their home.

 

 

Janusz has bought them a house in Ipswich and works hard making a proper English house and garden for his wife and son who he had not seen for six years. But six years is a long time, and time changes everything.

 

I enjoyed this novel. The social history was interesting - the learning of customs, the neighbours' reactions, Aurek starting school. It is a portrait of post-war family life. Did not see the shattering confession coming and my heart went out to Janusz who had been trying hard to make his family whole again.The father/son relationship is very well portrayed - how Aurek saw this man as 'the enemy' coming between him and his mother. I can fully recommend this powerful family drama.

 

Amanda lives in France. 22 Britannia Road is her debut novel.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

 

 

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

Published 17 January 2013 Hutchinson

 

 

I put this book on my TBR list after reading about it in The Bookseller.

 

Hattie Shepherd is fifteen, newly married and bound for Philadelphia with husband August, full of dreams of a new life. Her story spans sixty years. Sixty years of heartbreak, hardship and loss.

 

This is not a cheerful read, I was welling up at the first chapter (read the book and you will see why...). The book is a snapshot of social history in 20th century America. It depicts Hattie's life, and the lives of many other women of the time who suffered the same, or worse.

 

Oprah Winfrey likens it to Toni Morrison and says "I can't remember when I read anything that moved me quite this way...".

The tragic events (child death, infidelity, illness, war) happening to the Shepherd family were told in a very matter-of-fact way. I would be sitting open mouthed at an occurrence and the book would stream into another family tale. This shows these events as common occurrences - that they have happened before and will happen again. Very sad, very human, very powerful.

Ayana was born in Philadelphia and has written since she was a child.