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.

Finding freedom (by Joyce Huggett)

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I had very much appreciated the books I had previously read by Joyce Huggett, and I reread them from time to time. So when I saw another of her books, ‘Finding freedom’, on the shelves of friends who were giving away books, it was an easy decision to acquire it. Joyce Huggett and her husband lived in Cyprus for six years while we were here, but I don’t think I ever met her.

The subtitle of this book is, ‘becoming the person God made me to be’, and each chapter focuses on an aspect of freedom - from false expectations, from sin, from past experiences, and more. As with the author’s other works, this book is biblically sound, with plenty of scripture references. The writing is good, and well organised too. 

But I have to admit, I found it a bit heavy-going in places, and mostly not really relevant to me. Not that I disagreed with anything as such. But perhaps it’s intended for rather younger people, or those new to faith. The first chapter, for instance, simply covers the essence of the gospel - of the freedom we find when making a commitment to trust and follow Jesus. The author gives a few examples of people who experience release from past sins, and from feelings of guilt, often far in excess of what was done wrong.

Ordinary saints (by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin)

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I had never heard of Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin, and only came across her debut novel ‘Ordinary saints’ because it was this month’s choice for our local reading group. We try to choose a variety of styles and settings, and I appreciate the chance to discover new authors and - sometimes - to be taken right outside my normal comfort zone.

I bought it for my Kindle when it was on special offer a few months ago, as it was hard to find a reasonably priced paperback edition, and I’ve just finished reading it. The style was mostly fairly light, and it only took me a couple of days. 

The main protagonist is a young, gay woman called Jay. And it opens quite dramatically, telling us that the first time she kissed a girl was the same evening that her brother died. The two events, we quickly learn, are quite unconnected. But Jay was at a party, and ignored repeated messages and phone calls from her parents. So she didn’t learn about the tragedy until the following morning.

The feud in the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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As a teenager, I read all the Chalet School books by Elinor M Brent-Dyer at least once. I reread many of them again over the decades; I acquired some myself, and my mother managed to get the entire set, though some were abridged Armada paperbacks. I would dip into some of them whenever I visited, but inevitably some were read more often than others.

It’s nearly ten years since I last read ‘The feud in the Chalet School’, and I’m pretty sure it’s one of the ones I didn’t read very often. I had not recalled the story at all, or any of the new characters. I did vaguely remember one rather dramatic and dangerous escapade, but would not have known it was in this particular book.

The basic story involves another school, St Hilda’s, that starts in Geneva by a Miss Holroyd. She takes on three staff, including a matron, and begins with just thirty or so girls. They discover that the summer heat is too much, so for her second year she acquires the lease of a chalet in the mountains. Forty-seven girls are due to arrive when disaster happens. Miss Holroyd is taken to hospital, and the girls are taken on, temporarily, by the much larger Chalet School.  

The wisdom of Sally red shoes (by Ruth Hogan)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve liked the somewhat quirky novels I’ve read by Ruth Hogan, so I put another one on my wishlist a few years ago. I was given ‘The wisdom of Sally red shoes’ for Christmas 2023 and it’s sat on my to-be-read shelf all this time. I finally picked it up to read a few days ago. 

It took me a while to get into the book, which is written in a series of very short sections - some of them just a couple of pages. It focuses mainly on three diverse women, and I found it a bit confusing at first. 

There’s an elderly, somewhat eccentric woman who sings in an amazing voice to the crows in a park. Then she feeds them with bread crusts. She wears red shoes, hence her nickname which gives the title to the book. We never really get to know her, though she’s the first one we meet; but she’s instrumental in change for others in the novel.