Cornflower Blues 2011: part 2 - the first of the fiction

   

    Oh, the agonies of deciding which novels will make the 'books of the year' list and thus which others will not! I've whittled down my long list of 24 to a more manageable dozen or so, but with my current reading looking as though it will join the chosen few, it's still 'fluid'. 

    I can give you the first batch now, arranged not hierarchically, but simply in the order in which I read them:

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald - "A miniature piece of perfection", I called it when the book group read it back in January.

The Blackhouse by Peter May - utterly gripping, this crime novel set on the Hebridean island of Lewis shows how the dramatic should be done.

House of Silence by Linda Gillard - an intricately plotted story for which you'll put everything else on hold.

Night Waking by Sarah Moss - "impressive and enjoyable in equal measure", a multi-dimensional, blackly comic novel set on a Scottish island. A writer to watch.

Half of the Human Race by Anthony Quinn - a beautifully modulated, moving book set in the early years of the twentieth century. (The paperback will be out in January).

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris - an ingenious, bravura work about an artist and a lady who befriends him. All is not what it seems! (Again, the paperback will be out next month).

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - I've been going on about this book, but so have many others; it's a work of integrity and clarity with compassionate intelligence behind it; it's a story which holds the reader long after the final page has been turned, and it poses questions of ethics to exercise the intellect. Wonderful. (I do like the paperback cover - it won't be out 'til June, though).

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson - a Jo Malone fragrance in book form, this novel about "the unquiet life of old houses" is a real treat.

    That's enough to be going on with, but there will be more soon.

Comments

[adele geras]

I have marked down the Lawrenson and the Harris. I agree about Patchett and Moss and am looking forward to reading a proof of her memoir about a year of living in Iceland (published next year) called Names for the Sea.

We have the Fitzgerald and the Gillard I'm sure is excellent.

As for the Black House that sounds good too, though I was interested to see a real life murder in the Western Isles described as the first murder there for a number of decades!!

[Sandra]

I enjoyed The Bookshop, Gillespie and I (a very satisfying read), and State of Wonder very much. Half of The Human Race interests me but my library hasn't ordered it. I haven't read the other writers on your list but I'll keep them in mind.

[Danielle]

For once I've actually read a few of the same books and must agree they were all excellent reads and have a few more on my reading pile, so I know I have a treat in store for me when I get to them! Must check out Peter May and I think the Jane Harris might end up being one of my holiday reads!

[Linda Gillard]

Very honoured that HOUSE OF SILENCE appears in Cornflower's creme de la creme. :-) I loved THE BOOKSHOP, though I found it quietly heart-breaking. My daughter's just started work with BBC Radio in Glasgow so I've bought her my other favourite Fitzgerald for Christmas - HUMAN VOICES.

[Julie Fredericksen]

Oh, yes, The Lantern. I loved it. It should have been on my Top 10 list. Maybe I should make it a Top 12 list.

[LizF]

Not sure how I managed to forget The Bookshop as I thought it was wonderful and I have already wittered on about how much I loved Night Waking and State of Wonder in comments here.
I have made a note of the Anthony Quinn and will be buying a paperback copy of Gillespie and I as the library waiting list for their one hardback copy is still in double figures and I had only read a few pages when it had to go back. Hopefully they will now have acquired a copy of The Black House.
I have saved up The Lantern for reading over Christmas but I will have to wait until I will hopefully get a Kindle for my birthday in April to read House of Silence.

[Elaine]

The Black House is now going on my TBR list
Yes the Linda G book was super
After not enjoying Anne Patchett's other books I was bowled over by this one and thought it was marvellous
Gillespie and I also going on my list!