Six Degree of Separation, from The Anniversary to Away with the Penguins

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from yet another book I haven't read:

0. The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop

The Anniversary is a simmering page-turner about an ascendant writer, the unresolved death of her husband, and what it takes to emerge on her own. It’s a novel that asks: how legible, in the mind of the writer, is the line between reality and plot? How do we refuse the people we desire? And what is the cost, to ourselves, to others and to our art, if we don’t? [Goodreads]

For my first link on the chain, I pick a murder mystery that centers on the anniversary of a wife's death:

1. The Crooked Wreath by Christianna Brand

Excerpt from my review:
"Sir Richard Marsh is a wealthy man; the owner of Swanswater estate, but he's turned a bitter man. When his wife, Serafita, was still alive, he had cheated on her. After her death, Sir Richard married Bella, his mistress. But, perhaps out of guilt, he made in his house a shrine for Serafita, complete with her portrait, and a wreath. Her ballet shoes were also kept around the house (she was a ballerina). Every anniversary of her death, he made his family gather around this shrine to do a kind of memorial ceremony." Here's the complete review.

The word "crooked" from the title forms the link to the next book. Also, both book have a character who loves ballet.

2. Crooked House by Agatha Christie

"The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection." [Goodreads]

The most memorable character in this book is Josephine, the victim's granddaughter who loves ballet. Another book with another memorable Josephine is...

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Excerpt from my review:
"From the four sisters, I think Amy is the most natural one, for her age. Beth is too good to be true; she is more like an angel than a little child! Megan and Jo are typical contradiction in books’ characters; they even reminded me of Anne and George in Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five. It seems that girls are mostly divided into two categories. The feminine ones love pretty dresses, play with dolls, like to cook, and always think about getting a husband. While the tomboy ones like to be called with boy’s names, dislike dresses." Here's the complete review.

The four sisters remind me instantly of the other four sisters, who I like better:

4. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

Excerpt from my review: 
"It's four years after their mother's death, the Penderwick sisters live on Gardam Street, still with their father, and the dog. Rosalind, the elder, has grown up to be the little housewife of the family. She's responsible, much matured for her age, and little Batty - the youngest - depends on her much like a child to a mother (she can't sleep before Rosalind tells her a story - nobody can tell stories like Rosalind!). The second sister Skye is the tomboy (like Jo in Little Women?) and the most intelligent one. She's obsessed with math, logics, and scientific stuffs. Jane, on the contrary, is the most imaginative and romantic one in the family. She's the poet and writer. Last but not least, is little Batty, the imaginative kid who loves animals." Check also my complete review.

The next link would be another middle grade novel with a widower father and his daughter in the center:

5. The Cryptid Files: Loch Ness by Jean Flitcroft

Excerpt from my review:
"It's been four years since Vanessa's mother died, and unlike her twin brothers Luke and Ronan, who's getting on with life nicely, Vanessa's heart is still gripped with anger and grief she's unable to cope with. Her father's growing intimacy with his girlfriend Lee doesn't make it any easier. Now her father's proposing a family holiday in Scotland, which Vanessa would've accepted gratefully, if his father hadn't mentioned that Lee is coming too. Not only coming along, she realized later on that they are staying at her house!" And here's the complete version.

One of the most interesting parts of this book is the unexpected bond with an animal that is live changing. Another book with the same trope which is equally heartwarming is...

6. Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior

Excerpt from my review:
"Three scientists do research on how to save Penguins in a colony in Antarctica, but they are in financial difficulty. Veronica is eager to leave her money for this research, and despite the scientist team's warning that their quarter is by no means adequate to accommodate an elderly, Veronica stubbornly comes to Antarctica to see the penguins. What'll happen next? Will Veronica change the penguins? Or is it her life that will be changed by the penguins?". You can read the complete review here.


Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?