All questions great and small (by Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas)

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Two of my favourite modern Christian writers are Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas. So when they write a book together, I acquire it as soon as possible. One of these books is ‘All questions great and small’, which I read and very much liked in 2016. Clearly, a decade later, it was time for a reread.

The book is presented as answers to questions which the authors were given on one of their tours. The introduction (or, rather, the Foreword) is written by someone who was part of the ‘Seriously funny’ team. She explains that Jeff and Adrian took it in turns to answer as many questions as they could, whether serious or otherwise.

Then the official introduction, written by Adrian, caricatures some typical enthusiastic Christian pat responses to questions. He points out that it’s too easy to become lazy when presented with doubts, or genuine queries about the Bible, or about living as a Christian in the 21st century. So in their tour - and in this book - they attempt to be completely honest. No question is considered unsuitable, or too silly. 

Shopaholic ties the knot (by Sophie Kinsella)

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I reread the late Sophie Kinsella’s ‘Shopaholic abroad’ last month. So I’ve just finished the third in the series, ‘Shopaholic ties the knot’, which I last read in 2012.  Yes, they are essentially quite silly, fluffy books. Yes, the protagonist, Becky Bloomwood, is by turns irritating, naive and over-emotional. 

But the writing is - in my view - excellent, and the stories, particularly this one, cleverly plotted. The story is, admittedly, unlikely, but at times it’s quite amusing. The opening scene could be from a comedy show: Becky is trying to fit a large, hundred-year-old cocktail cabinet into a taxi. She’s bought it at an antique store, and doesn’t want to pay their huge delivery bill because she only lives around the corner… 

It’s an excellent introduction to the insatiable shopping addict who can’t resist a bargain. Even though she and her boyfriend Luke have theoretically agreed that they don’t need any more furniture. And she’s not supposed to spend large amounts without discussing it first… but Becky is an incurable optimist. It’s one of her best attributes, although it also leads to extremely difficult situations at times. 

Third year at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

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I loved Enid Blyton books as a child. I discovered more of them as I approached my teenage years, and as a teenager my favourites were the three school series. I liked them all, but Malory Towers had the edge. As an adult I would still occasionally dip into one or two of them for ‘comfort’ reading. I’d almost forgotten about them when my young granddaughter discovered them as audio-books. 

So, as I’ve been rereading many of my favourite authors over the past seven or eight years, I decided to reread Enid Blyton. I read and enjoyed ‘Second form at Malory Towers’ last month, and have just finished its sequel, ‘Third year at Malory Towers’, which I last read over twelve years ago. 

Darrell is the main character again; she’s now fourteen, and is in the third form, with Miss Peters as form mistress. Her best friend Sally is in quarantine, and her parents have agreed to pick up a new girl, an American called Zerelda whose grandmother is a friend of Darrell’s grandmother. 

Tell Mrs Poole I'm sorry (by Kathleen Rowntree)

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It’s been interesting rereading Kathleen Rowntree’s books in the order in which they were published. I have liked most of them at least somewhat, but in the later books I find much more sympathetic characters. The one I have just finished is ‘Tell Mrs Poole I’m sorry’, which I last read in 2017. I had vaguely remembered the main theme - and who Mrs Poole is - but none of the detail.

The main character is Liz, who is happily married to Nathan. They have two children: an adult son, who has left home, and a daughter, Rosie, who is eighteen, and in her last year at school. As the story starts, Liz is becoming quite worried about Rosie. They have always got along well, but suddenly Rosie has become withdrawn, abrupt and secretive. Liz suspects she’s involved with an unsuitable man, but any attempt to find out more is met with rebuff.

Unfortunately Nathan has been having some heart problems, and shouldn’t be stresse or angry. So Liz knows she has to get in touch with her two best friends, Nell and Chrissy to talk things through.  Chrissy is a mother of five, some of them still quite young. Nell is single, and a glamorous reporter and writer. But they’ve all been there for each other at critical points in their lives, so they both agree to take a short break.

Wide is the water (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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I have been rereading the novels I have by Jane Aiken Hodge; mostly they were used paperbacks when I bought them. One of my favourites is ‘Savannah Purchase’, which I reread for the third or fourth time around a month ago, and which claims to be the first in the ‘Purchas’ series. The only other book I have in the series is ‘Wide is the water’, which I acquired and read for the first time in 2008.

What I had not remembered is that while ‘Savannah purchase’ is set in the Napoleonic period, early in the 19th century, ‘Wide is the water’ is around fifty years earlier, during the American war of independence. So it doesn’t include any of the same characters or their descendants. 

Moreover, given the number of references to events leading up to the story in this book, I assume that this book is in fact a sequel to one that I don’t have. It doesn’t much matter - the story is complete in itself. Possibly it would feel less complex if I were familiar with some of the characters, but I doubt it. Not being a history expert, nor really familiar with US history, a lot of this novel went rather over my head.