The accidental tourist (by Anne Tyler)

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When I was rereading my novels by Anne Tyler a year or two back, I discovered that some of them were missing. Occasionally I lend books to people who forget to return them, so I assume that’s what happened. I recalled liking the books, and also that my copies were quite old, so I put new editions on my wishlist. 

One of them, ‘The accidental tourist’, was one I hadn’t read since 2002. I was given the book last Christmas, and read it over the past week or so. Usually I can’t recall much (if anything) about a book when I haven’t read it for ten years; in over twenty years I rarely have any memory at all. But something about this book must have lodged in my subconscious, as Macon, the main character, immediately felt familiar. And while I’d forgotten the storyline, I had a memory of him sitting on aeroplanes…

I like Macon a lot. He’s somewhat of a caricature, as so many of Anne Tyler’s people are, but a very likeable one. We meet him on holiday with his wife Sarah, but neither of them is in the mood for relaxing, so they go home early. We soon learn that they suffered a terrible bereavement a year earlier, and that instead of drawing them together, they now have little in common, and nothing to say to each other. 

Mini shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella)

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The fifth book in Sophie Kinsella’s classic ‘chick lit’ series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, features Becky Brandon going through pregnancy; the baby is not born until the end of the book. And its immediate sequel, ‘Mini shopaholic’, which I last read in 2012, begins a couple of years later. As with most books which I haven’t read in a decade or more, I had entirely forgotten the storyline.

One can’t forget Becky, however, or her hard-working and generous husband Luke. They are living with Becky’s parents at the start of the book, hoping to buy a place of their own. But one after another, the houses they want have problems. It looks as though the perfect one is available, however, so they’re hopeful. They’ve taken over rather a lot of her parents’ house with Becky’s huge collection of clothes and shoes, not to mention little Minnie’s equipment, toys and clothes…

Becky has been trying to cut down a bit on her own shopping, and even agrees to start wearing the things in her closet at least three times before buying anything new. And she’s also set up a new system for Minnie to buy things with her pocket money, although Minnie loves shopping as much as her mother does, and it’s clear that already she’s many years in debt…

Last term at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

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I started rereading Enid Blyton’s ‘Malory Towers’ school series back in May. I’ve continued reading one per month and have just finished the last in the original series, ‘Last term at Malory Towers’. I say the ‘original’ series because I’ve learned that there are some extra book written by a different author which fill in some of the gaps. However I don’t have any of those, and have not read them.

I last read ‘Last term at Malory Towers’ in 2014, but as a teenager I read it every few years, and occasionally as a young adults, so I was reasonably familiar with some of the storylines. Darrell Rivers is now head girl of Malory Towers, and - with most of her friends - in her final term. She, Sally, Alicia and Betty are all off to university in the autumn, and are looking forward to it. But inevitably there’s a lot of nostalgia as they go to their beloved boarding school as pupils for the last time. 

Darrell’s younger sister Felicity is in the second form, and she features somewhat in this book, along with a rather unpleasant girl called Jo who has even more unpleasant parents. Jo’s father tells her he was always bottom of the class, and encourages her to do as little work as possible. He sends her money and extravagant food, and she tries to manipulate her classmates as a result. But the only person who seems to like her is a timid first-former called Deirdre.

Mr Brightly's evening off (by Kathleen Rowntree)

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It’s over twenty years since I read Kathleen Rowntree’s novel ‘Mr Brightly’s evening off’. So, unsurprisingly, I had entirely forgotten the story and the people. It was more than time for a reread.

There’s a prologue which doesn’t seem to make much sense at first: three unconnected women watching a TV show where some silhouetted women are asked how they feel about a situation, and a particular person. I’m not quite sure why this prologue is there, other than to give a bit of mystery to the novel; it’s not until towards the end of the book that the scene takes place.

Chapter one introduces us to the elderly - but spry - Mrs Parminter who wakes up to find herself lying in her garden, in the rose bed. She comes to consciousness gradually, and then starts to wonder why she’s there. She then worries about how she’s going to get up, until she remembers that it’s Wednesday, and Mr Brightly is going to pay her a visit. It’s his evening off, he has told her, when his wife is at choir practice. And although Mr Brightly is much younger than Mrs Parminter, in his early fifties, the two of them are very good friends. 

The garden of evening mists (by Tan Twan Eng)

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I had never heard of Tan Twan Eng. And while the cover of the book ‘The garden of evening mists’ is quite appealing, with some excellent reviews, I doubt if I’d have picked it up to read by chance. However, it was the allocated book for this month’s reading group, so I bought it (used) from the ‘World of books’ site last year, and read it over a few days before the meeting.

The first chapter is a bit confusing, though it’s confidently - and, in places, poetically - told. The whole book is in the first person, narrated by a Chinese woman called Yun Ling. The opening paragraph mentions her seeing the Emperor of Japan when she was twenty-seven, and that terrible things were done to her and her sister.

Then the action moves forward by thirty-six years. Yun Ling has retired early from a high-powered job as a judge. She’s come to a house where she used to know a man called Aritomo used to leave. There’s a Chinese servant living there, who remembers her from over three decades earlier. She hasn’t returned there since. Yun Ling is about to meet an art expert who is going to examine some of Aritomo’s work. 

Jane and the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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It’s nine years since I read ‘Jane and the Chalet School’, 51st in the original series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. Before that it had been at least a couple of decades, and I found I had no memory of it. This time, I vaguely remembered that one of the girls, known as Jack, took a dislike to a new girl called Jane. But I had entirely forgotten the details. Evidently this is not a book I have read regularly. 

The book opens at the start of a summer term in Switzerland. The first chapter is quite dramatic. Jack Lambert, who is fourteen but seems young for her age, is in a furious temper. She’s been moved from the dormitory where she has slept since she came to the school, and she will no longer be able to ask constant questions of her favourite senior, Len Maynard. 

For most girls this would be a minor frustration, but Jack is an all-or-nothing person, and she is determined to dislike the new girl who is taking over her cubicle. And Jane Carew is about as different from Jack as possible. Jack - who hates her full name of Jacynth - likes what were then considered ‘boyish’ activities: mechanics, cars, woodwork and so on. She has short hair, and a short temper.

The five-minute marriage (by Joan Aiken)

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It’s well over a decade since I last read Joan Aiken’s historical novel ‘The five-minute marriage’. This author is probably best known for her children’s classic, ‘The wolves of Willoughby Chase’, but she wrote quite a few books for adults too. I don’t like all of them; she has written some ‘gothic’ style thrillers which don’t appeal to me. But I did recall that I had very much enjoyed this book.

The heroine is a young woman called Philadelphia Carteret - known as Delphie - who lives with her mother. Delphie is a musician, and earns her keep by giving piano lessons to wealthy children. Her mother was widowed some years earlier and is not good at sticking to a budget. And she’s been quite unwell recently. So the medical expenses - in these pre-NHS days - have taken up most of their rather scanty savings. 

One of Delphie’s clients is the wealthy, outgoing Mr Browty. He has two daughters who take piano and singing lessons from Delphie and they adore her, though neither is very talented. He finds her interesting and wants to help; he learns that she and her mother are estranged from her mother’s family. And in one of those unlikely coincidences (which seem quite believable when reading) Mr Browty is acquainted with her great-uncle Mark, Lord Bollington. 

The Saturday place (by Alice Peterson)

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I’ve acquired most of the novels by Alice Peterson over the past couple of decades, and reread them about four years ago. Then I discovered that I didn’t have ‘The Saturday place’, so I put it on my wishlist, and was given it for Christmas 2024. I’m not sure why I haven’t picked it up before now, but finally I did take it from my to-be-read shelf a few days ago.

The main character is a woman in her early forties called Holly. We meet her, first, on a beach with Jamie in a prologue, set twelve or so years before the main story. We learn a bit about his history, and that he and Holly are planning a life together. He talks about where he wants his ashes scattered, and she tells him not to be morbid..

Then in the first main chapter - a very short one - Holly opens her door to a policeman, telling her the terrible news that Jamie was killed in a car crash. This was not a surprise, given the prologue, and it’s spelled out in the blurb on the back, too.  The novel isn’t about their marriage: it’s about Holly gradually finding new meaning in life, as she comes to terms with what’s happened.

Anne's house of dreams (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

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I’m enjoying rereading the ‘Anne’ books by LM Montgomery, at a rate of around one per month. I’ve just finished the fifth in the series, ‘Anne’s house of dreams’, which I last read in 2008. I read these books as a teenager and probably at least once as a young adult, so the storylines are familiar to me. But I don’t tend to remember a lot of details, and like them afresh each time.

This book opens with Anne getting married to Gilbert Blythe. It follows directly on from the previous book, ‘Anne of Windy Willows’, which I reread last month. Gilbert has finished his medical training, and Anne has given up her teaching post; as a woman in Canada a hundred years ago, she would no longer work outside the home once she was married. She liked teaching, but she’s glad to have given it up.

The wedding scenes are nicely done, and we meet some old friends who are delighted to see the happy couple married at last. Then the two set off for their new home, sixty miles or so away, where Gilbert has been appointed as the local doctor. He’s found a house, which he has described to Anne in detail, but she hasn’t seen it until this point. 

The woman he loved before (by Dorothy Koomson)

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I’m glad I decided to reread the novels I’ve acquired by Dorothy Koomson. I don’t have her most recent ones, which - so the reviews tell me - are quite dark thrillers. But I like her earlier books very much. I hadn’t read ‘The woman he loved before’ since 2015, so - unsurprisingly - I had no memory of it.

The characters, as is the case with most of this author’s books, are believable, rounded people even if some of the things that happen to them are way beyond my experience or knowledge. And the main two characters in this are a married couple called Jack and Libby. However the book opens in a dramatic way with what is obviously an excerpt from a diary, saying that someone has most likely died…

Chapter one is even more dramatic. Libby is falling in and out of consciousness, trapped in a car after a crash. There’s a fireman cutting her free, and also talking to her, so that she stays awake. She’s aware of Jack, but he isn’t in the car with her. We’re not sure if she’s going to survive, at first - but then we meet her in hospital, swathed in bandages, and in a lot of pain.

Family matters (by Helen Parker)

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I started reading Helen Parker’s books for teenagers because, years ago, she was part of our local writers’ group. I read ‘Hide and secret’ a few years ago and thought it both interesting and well-written. I enjoyed the stand-alone sequel, ‘Island treasure’ too, when I read that a year or so later, although I would have liked more about the characters in ‘Hide and secret’.

So when the third book, ‘Family matters’,  was published, I put it on my wishlist and was given it last Christmas. I just finished reading it. I hadn’t really remembered the characters from ‘Hide and secret’, but realised after a few chapters that some of them were in this book: in particular Ruth, whose early years were spent in Cairo. She is now 14 and goes to a high school in Edinburgh. She still doesn’t feel entirely at home there, but she’s reasonably settled. Most of her local friends are ones who also belong to her church youth group.

One of Ruth’s friends is Lucy, who is excited that her mother has a new boyfriend, Zak. He’s very generous, and she hopes he might be her stepfather. Ruth has other friends with stepfathers, and they all like them very much; some of what Lucy says feels a bit strange, however. Not that he’s behaving inappropriately to Lucy, but she isn’t quite sure how to deal with a new man in the family - and one or two of the things she says don’t quite ring true.

Shopaholic and baby (by Sophie Kinsella)

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I am thoroughly enjoying rereading the ‘Shopaholic’ series by the late Sophie Kinsella. I was surprised that I liked them when I first picked them up, around fifteen years ago; they are well-written with a lot of humour, and some quite poignant moments too. 

I finished ‘Shopaholic and sister’ last month, so it was time for the next in the series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, which I previously read in 2012. I hadn’t remembered anything about it, other than that it was mostly about Becky’s pregnancy rather than her life as a new mother. She had just discovered that she was pregnant at the end of the previous book, so this one is set not long afterwards.

Naturally, Becky - a compulsive shopper - is excited at the thought of new purchases for her baby, even quite early in her pregnancy. She peruses catalogues and visits shops and specialist showrooms… she’s in the fortunate position of being married to a wealthy businessman, Luke, who doesn’t seem to care what she spends on baby equipment. 

In the fifth at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

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I’m a bit surprised to find that it must be at least thirty years since I last read Enid Blyton’s ‘In the fifth at Malory Towers’. The six-book series was my favourite as a teenager; apparently I read it three times in the 1970s, and I’m sure I must have read it at least once or twice as an adult… but I had not remembered most of the details. 

This book takes place in the term immediately after the previous book, ‘Upper fourth at Malory Towers’, which I reread last month. Darrell and her friends have passed the School Certificate (a kind of precursor of GCSEs) and have moved up to the fifth form. Alicia and Gwendoline did not pass the exam, but Alicia was ill and Gwendoline was faking illness, and both are now too old to stay in the fourth form. 

Darrell’s younger sister Felicity is in her second term, still in the first form, and is passionate about lacrosse. Darrell is delighted to be put in charge of sports for the younger girls, but worries that she’s showing favouritism if she puts Felicity in one of the teams.

An innocent diversion (by Kathleen Rowntree)

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It’s a bit of a shock to realise that it’s twenty-four years since I first read Kathleen Rowntree’s novel ‘An innocent diversion’. So it was more than time to reread. I had, unsurprisingly, forgotten everything about it - all the people and storylines felt entirely new to me. I quite like that feeling, knowing that I did enjoy the book first time around.

There are two main characters, and the author succeeds in making them quite distinct. Fran is the one I related to the most. She’s in her fifties, and married to a farmer. She looks after the house, cooks for whoever needs meals, and also does some of the farm chores. Her husband, Steve, is a decade older than she is, and a very likeable man. The two are still close. 

Fran has some bad days, particularly the anniversaries of events from her teenage years which are still poignant to her. It’s fairly soon clear what has made her depressed at the start of the novel, though we don’t get the details until much later in the book. But Steve is understanding, and kind; and Fran appreciates him. They have two daughters: Heather, who works in an upmarket shoe shop, and Janie, who is in her mid-teens and rather geeky. Heather and Janie are totally unalike, and don’t get along. 

Go set a watchman (by Harper Lee)

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I read Harper Lee’s classic novel ‘To kill a mockingbird’ when I was in my teens at school. I don’t know that I really understood it, and was not inspired to read it again. Not until last month, that is, when I read it with an open mind, and very much enjoyed it. The reason was that the author’s other novel ‘Go set a watchman’ was chosen as this month’s local reading group book.

I did understand that it’s not - and was never intended as - a sequel to the first book. It was written first, and the publishers asked Harper Lee to write about earlier events. She did so, and the subsequent book became highly popular and is now considered a classic. ‘Go set a watchman’ was thought to be lost until it was discovered and then published about a year before the author died. 

I read it over the past few days. It features many of the same characters as ‘To kill a mockingbird’, and almost functions like a sequel although there are a lot of flashbacks. The girl formerly known as Scout is now twenty-six and goes by her full name of Jean Louise. She’s been working in New York, but is travelling back to her home town of Maycomb for her annual vacation.

Strangers in company (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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I’ve been reading some of my books by Jane Aiken Hodge over the past few months. She wrote some historical novels, which were very well researched (if a tad too political for my tastes, at times). She also wrote some contemporary fiction, mostly light thrillers. One of this latter category is ‘Strangers in company’ which I last read in 2008. Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t remember anything about it. 

Marian Frenche is the main character in this book. It was published in the mid-1970s, so that’s the era in which it’s set. Marian, who is in her late thirties, has taken on an unusual job: she’s going to be chaperoning a young woman called Stella on a Greek coach tour. She’s paid very well for this, and she needs the money: her eighteen-year-old twins have left home, travelling to live with their father in the United States. And his financial support has stopped. 

I’m not quite sure why so much is made of the twins and the fact that their father is quite famous: other than missing them desperately at times, they don’t have much relevance to the plot, and we never meet them. But their absence sets the scene for an intelligent motherly woman who needs a job and is willing to try almost anything. Stella is known to be moody, and Marian is told not to let her get too close to any other members of their tour party.

The Chalet School reunion (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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In my gradual, one-per-month reread of Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s lengthy Chalet School series, I reached the one noted as 50th in the original series. I last read ‘The Chalet School reunion’ about nine years ago, although before that I hadn’t read it for at least a couple of decades. 

Indeed, it’s not a book I really recall at all; possibly because it’s one of the non-school ‘holiday’ books which I appreciate all the more as I get older. This one is mainly about Grizel Cochrane, one of the original members of the school who returned, for a while, as a music teacher. She’s spent the last few years in New Zealand working with a friend, but is about to return to Europe after the business folded. 

Before going to the UK to wind up some business affairs, Grizel plans to visit Joey Maynard at her home in Switzerland - which appears to expand any time guests are expected. Grizel and Joey were the two founding members of the school, so Joey decides to host a mini reunion with other ‘girls’ who were around at the start - not that all of them are available.

The book club (by Mary Alice Monroe)

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I hadn’t heard of Mary Alice Monroe when I saw her novel ‘The book club’ on a church bookstall nearly two years ago. But the cover looked appealing, I liked the sound of the title, and the blurb on the back sounded exactly like my kind of book. I finally picked it up to read a few days ago.

It should have been very appealing: all the ingredients are there. There’s a brief prologue that hints at the rest of the story. Then quite a dramatic first chapter, where it’s obvious what’s going to transpire, but the tension is nicely done. We meet Eve in that first chapter, a reasonably happy and comfortably off housewife with two teenage children. She’s feeling as if something isn’t quite right in her marriage, but her husband Tom is about to go on a business trip. So she hopes to sort everything out when he returns. 

It’s no spoiler to say that Tom doesn’t return: this is what we know, from the start, is going to happen. And much of the novel is about Eve, how she grieves, what regrets she has, and how she eventually starts to find new meaning in her life.

Goodnight, beautiful (by Dorothy Koomson)

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In re-reading my novels by Dorothy Koomson, I wondered if I should skip ‘Goodnight, beautiful’. I first read it in October 2014 and didn’t remember anything about it; but glancing at my rating on LibraryThing, I’d given it fewer stars than any of the other books by this author. And a comment saying I wished I hadn’t read the blurb on the back of the book, as it had too many spoilers.

I decided to reread it anyway, and am very glad that I did. I didn’t look at the back of the book this time; I don’t know if the blurb changed in subsequent reprints of this book, but in my view it gives away far too much of the plot. I had to figure it out this time, and it did feel a bit confusing at first.

The story is told by two different women, Nova and Stephanie. Nova is married to George, and Stephanie is married to Mal. The main connection is that Nova and Mal grew up together, almost like brother and sister, and were extremely close friends. They both insist that this friendship never turned into a romantic relationship. 

Anne of Windy Willows (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

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Although I have dipped into many of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s ‘Anne’ books fairly regularly over the past few decades, it must be close to thirty years since I read ‘Anne of Windy Willows’. My only memory of it was that it involved rather a lot of letters, and in general I’m not a fan of epistolary novels.

However, I’m reading the series in order at present, about one per month. Since I finished the third book, ‘Anne of the Island’, at the end of July I decided to read the fourth one - which is also sometimes known as ‘Anne of Windy Poplars’ - in the past few days.

This book covers Anne’s three years as head of a school, working and saving money as she waits for her fiancé Gilbert to finish his medical training. And while there are several letters to Gilbert expressing Anne’s personal opinions and impressions, there’s also plenty of direct narrative.