It’s almost embarrassing how few books I have read this year and even worse that I haven’t found the time to mention the few that I have. Let me rectify that situation now, at least in part.
Chasing Cézanne by Peter Mayle
Grade: B
Andre the photographer witnesses what he thinks may be the robbery of a Cezanne painting, but to find the truth, he’ll need the help of his pretty agent and a kindly old art expert.
I bought this book because I enjoyed A Year in Provence by the same author. This book is quite different. I was surprised by the smug urbanite tone of the narration and it was a big turn-off initially. As the book moved along, it suckered me in a bit more, but I never fell in love with it, hence the B.
The Princess & the Goblin by George MacDonald
Grade: B+
This is a story of a young princess who lives in a countryside filled with goblins.
As you know, I struggled to read during my pregnancy. It was partly about being tired and unable to focus, but the main problem was that I couldn’t “fall into” books and forget that I was reading. With this book, I came close, so it is possible that it deserves a slightly higher grade. I think I’m going to hang on to it, even though it didn’t get an A-level grade, because it’s a fairy tale and it might be fun to read to children.
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding
Grade: B
Olivia Joules is a journalist who is always imagining that things are more exciting than they are. Until now. Now her suspicions turn out to be spot-on, and that’s why this book falls short of my expectations. As a tale of an overactive imagination and the consequences of her crazy notions, this could have been a funny book. But a rather foolish journalist turning into an ace spy, that just doesn’t fly. There were also scenes of the book where I had a hard time understanding exactly what was going on. That’s unusual and it left me with the feeling that the author should have spent a little more time with this one.