Bream Reading Club Reviews Different Seasons by Stephen King

Different Seasons by Stephen King

 

Stars out of 5.    3

 

Overall the club members didn’t really enjoy this book. It is made up of four novella’s which perhaps we should have read piecemeal instead.

The first story is what the movie Shawshank Redemption is based on, it is excellent and memorable and for those who had watched the movie you couldn’t help hearing Morgan Freeman’s voice for Red.

The second story Apt Pupil is psychologically frightening and fascinating, another gold star for Stephen King.

The last two stories were not enjoyed at all unfortunately, the third felt like a ramble, the fourth was just too weird and not particularly scary.

As always Stephen King is the master, occasionally the endings are a let-down but his setting up of a story cannot be beat.

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Summer Reading Challenge 2018

Your library has a variety of events scheduled to enjoy the Summer Reading Challenge this year! Save the dates!

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Bream Reading Club Reviews The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

 

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

Stars out of 5 – 3 Stars

There were many good things to say about this book. It was written very well. The main character has a very distinctive voice and was relatable. The emotional elements were written sparingly but with great care and respect. It was with emotional intelligence.

The story revolves around the death of an older brother and how the younger brother comes apart at the seams in his grief. His mind fractures and watching his downward trajectory is difficult but moving at the same time. The mother takes a great deal of her grief out on the surviving son, isolating him, almost torturing him in an emotional way, perhaps if she had received the help she needed he wouldn’t have had to carry so much. His dad is virtually absent and the only normal influence in his life is his grandmother. A truly loving and understanding person.

You are taken through his hospitalisation and rehab centre which from his perspective wasn’t easy at all. The end does bring some closure and perhaps even hope and new beginning for a young man who has been through far too much in a very short space of time.

An empathetic and well written story of what a descent into mental illness is really like.

Bream Reading Club Reviews The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Total Stars out of 5: 4

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a very surprising book. It may appear a little comical on the surface but we all agreed it was a very moving book.

At first the journey is meandering and the public getting involved and taking over Harold’s pilgrimage is really annoying, very realistic, but still annoying.

It is gripping emotionally and painful in places. Showing you how memories skew with time and you have to strip each layer away to get to the truth of what happened. Harold and his wife Maureen discovered that being separated from each other by distance reminded them how much they missed each other.

It is ultimately a journey of healing, for Harold, Maureen and lots of people that meet them along the way. The ending was exceptionally honest and satisfying.

Bream Library honoured with a ROYAL visit!!

Bream Village has sure been in the papers this week! 🙂

We were all abuzz waiting for the Duchess of Cornwall to arrive today to officially reopen the Children’s Library.

It was such an exciting day, especially for the children over the road at Bream Primary waving their flags and cheering.

Her Royal Highness met the member of the Lego Build Club and read them a story in our beautiful children’s library, she was so gracious and lovely, speaking to so many and meeting parents, volunteers and making us all feel rather special.

Some lovely pictures can be seen at these links:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/l755XNoJW2U/Duchess+Cornwall+Visits+Bream+Community+Library/g9JRIgtm5GU

http://www.itv.com/news/2018-05-24/camilla-shows-off-lego-building-skills-during-visit-to-community-library/

Thank you to everyone who made this visit possible and run so smoothly. It was a memorable day despite the weather not playing along!

 

Beautiful books donated to Bream Library

We received another lovely donation of books, some adult fiction and teen fiction.

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Loads of book this April!

This month we had our delivery of new books as well as a huge beautiful pile of donated books. So this post is a mixture of both. We are a very happy library with these lovelies on display!

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Bream Reading Club Reviews The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric

 

Total Stars out of 5: 3

This book really split opinion amongst our members, some of us really enjoyed it, read it quickly and had much to say about it, others couldn’t get into it at all and found the characters difficult to relate to.

The Book of Human Skin is thoroughly well researched and well written, you get to read from each characters perspective and the streams of the story are flawlessly held together. We are introduced to Venice and Argentina, their individual beauty and histories, which are superb and accurate.

There are actual books of human skin that are collected by the main protagonist but it is the Nun all the way in Argentina that brings real life to the statement. She puts her skin through such tortures that it tells her history far better than a document could. She abuses herself fanatically in her quest to become a saint.

The doctor also adds depth and history to the story of skin as he is fascinated by skin diseases and the causes.

The main plot surrounds a murderous power hungry brother determined to protect his inheritance at any cost, including killing his own sibling, institutionalising another sibling, our heroine Marcella, manipulating everyone who crosses paths with him and generally spreading fear and evil wherever he goes. Despite the difficulties Marcella faces she is ultimately triumphant and has that fairy tale happy ending.

We did all agree on one point though, that the ending felt rushed. The happy ending being so quickly brought together didn’t follow well with the rest of the book, a tragic ending would have been more suitable.