Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey #1949Club

 

🧩 After having finished Brat Farrar, I realized that had I read this book before Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree, I might have appreciated this book more. The main plot of both books are the same - one member of a family was missing or disappeared without explanation. And then, years later, someone came claiming to be the missing person. It is the question of 'was he or was he not' is the central element behind the mystery/thriller. In this aspect, The Ivy Tree is superior than Brat Farrar, since we are never sure whether the 'prodigal child' was genuine or an impostor, until near the end. And that was what made The Ivy Tree such a gripping thriller. Unfortunately, in Brat Farrar, we know from the beginning that Brat Farrar is not Patrick Ashby. Hence, the book only deals with what has become of Patrick Ashby, who everyone had assumed he's committed suicide - was it suicide or....?

🧩 The Ashbys are an English country-squire family in a village called Clare. Resided in the family estate of Latchetts are Beatrice "Bee" Ashby (Aunt Bee), a spinster of fifties, Simon Ashby - the twin brother of Patrick, Eleanor - Simon and Patrick's sister, and two twin siblings. Patrick Ashby disappeared when the twins were teenagers; leaving a note that could be assumed as suicide note. Fast forward to present time, enter Brat Farrar. Brat is a foundling, who had just come back to England from America, when a stranger called him: Simon! He was an Alec Loding, old friend of Simon and Patrick Ashby. Brat's resemblance with the twin was uncanny, and that gave Loding a crazy idea, and in turn he presented Brat with a crazy proposition - that of being an impersonator. Patrick Ashby - had he been alive, would very soon be coming of age, and would inherit Latchetts. Loding, a poor second-rate actor, saw it as a chance to enrich himself by half of the proceeds.
🧩 Of course, Brat Farrar succumbed to temptation and agreed to the scheme. I won't reveal what happened next, since the process is half of the book's attraction. Suffice to say, that the whole plot is between 'is he going to fool them all?' and 'what's really happened to Patrick?' Of course, there should be crime committed, and to be honest, it's not a mystery at all. We could see from the beginning what's what. It's just fun to follow what would happen next, and how it would all resolve to at the end. 🧩 Like I said earlier, the idea is brilliant. But I wished the plot twist is more twisting and shocking than that. Like, I have been guessing that from the beginning, and just needed to know the way it had been accomplished. Entertaining? Very; but gripping? Well, maybe only twenty percent.... Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The 1949 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, translated by Robert van Gulik #1949Club

 

💛 Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, or Dee Goong An, was Robert van Gulik's first attempt to bring an 18th century Chinese detective novel by Anonymous writer, to Western canon. The main character in the detective novel (Judge Dee) was actually inspired by a real Dynasty Tang's statesman and detective in 7th century called Di Renjie. Why did van Gulik chose this novel in particular to be translated, while there were a lot of other Chinese detective novels? It's because, unlike Western detective novel readers, who loved fast-paced mystery while keep wondering whodunnit until near the end, ancient Chinese readers liked their detective novels to be long and full of detailed facts and technical procedure of the laws and detection. Moreover, they also devoured the gruesome details of the brutal punishment to the criminal - something that we won't have stomach to read through. These would result in a boring and distasteful read when translated. Judge Dee, meanwhile, was the shortest and most nicely-paced that van Gulik had found. He would, later on, continue writing his own historical mysteries about Judge Dee in a series (which I plan to read through).

💛 Celebrated Cases opened with Judge Dee starting his duty as new magistrate in a small town. He was always accompanied by his four faithful and trusted assistants. The magistrate was like a father of the people in a district, thus Judge Dee's duty stretched to not only solving lawful cases, but also imparting justice to the wronged. On his first court, an innkeeper reported the accusation from his rival that he had murdered two silk merchants who had been staying at his inn. This was the first case in this book, which is called "The Double Murder at Dawn". There were three cases in total; however, interestingly, the investigations were running simultaneously by Judge Dee. Thus, when Judge Dee, during investigation of the Double Murder, put a disguise as a doctor, his first "patient" was an old woman who sought medicine for her dumb granddaughter - the case of which happened after the rather mysterious death of her husband (no foul play detected; no blood, no injury, but for his bulging eyes). Judge Dee's suspicion made it a case number two: "The Strange Corpse". During court session for the second case (or was it the first? I forgot), another case was brought in front the judge: a bride who had been poisoned on her wedding day; hence the case was titled "The Poisoned Bride". 

💛 I won't go into details of each case, but only want to highlight the different approach of investigation and detection in Celebrated Cases from the usual detective novels of Western canon. First of all, we (the Judge and us readers) know or highly suspected the murderers from quite early stage (at least for the first and third cases - the second was the most puzzling, though the solution was ingeniously simple); therefore, Judge Dee's main tasks were to, a) force a confession from the criminals, and b) deduct how the murder had been committed. The first he achieved by either threat, or persuasion, or - and here is an aspect we never find in Western canon detective novels, but highly liked by Chinese readers - physical tortures. The latter provides gruesome aspect to the book.
💛 The second feature that we might never find in Western detective novels, is the punishment of the criminals. The crime novels we read are mostly ended when the crime was solved - a few might mention that the criminal is about to be hanged, or imprisoned. For us, justice has been administrated. But Chinese readers at that time liked to "watch" - albeit from reading the story - how the punishment was performed in detail, and how the criminal suffered from it; as if that was the climax - the avenging of the crime - rather than the solving of a mystery. The third aspect is maybe typical of Asian culture (and literature) - and we have found the same in 18th century Western crime novels - the involvement of supernatural element during the investigation. What annoyed me most about the first case, The Double Murder at Dawn, is the way Judge Dee "consulted" with supernatural beings in solving the murder - he even "ask" the deceased's ghost to help or lighten him about his unnatural death. And that made this case to be my least favorite.

💛 The best mystery in this book is undoubtedly The Strange Corpse; that is a brilliantly plotted murder that would baffles many inferior investigators. Although that's also the case with most gruesome torture of the stories. The Poisoned Bride, however, is my favorite. It is simple, but with genius solution that will reminded you to one of Agatha Christie's short stories - you know, when she's playfully pulling your leg. All in all, this was an interesting, rather than entertaining, read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

The 1949 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker #1949Club

✨ My knowledge of Josephine Baker had been hitherto, that she was a famous dancer in the Roaring Twenties era. In Midnight in Paris movie - which I have watched at least three times), she was portrayed (though in a glimpse) sensuously and glamorously dancing in a club. But the real Josephine Baker was not only that sensuous dancer; she was much more than that. And thanks to the #1949Club, I have found this memoir of hers, where I learned much about the really talented artist, an ardent supporter of France Resisttance, and a wonderful human being.

✨ Josephine Baker (née McDonald) was an American girl, born in 1886 in the poverty-stricken home at St. Louis, Missouri - a mixed race of black (from her mother) and white - presumably- from her biological father). She also revealed that her aunt was in fact an Indian. Little Josephine loved to dance and perform, and at the age of thirteen she had started career as street-corner dancing. Her stars started shining when she performed in revues until she joined the Folies Bergère. Her breakthrough happened when Josephine was only 19, dancing in a feather skirt in La Revue Nègre at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She was further more mostly famous as banana dancer - dancing in her iconic banana skirt.

✨ By 1925, Josephine Baker had been a household name, not only in France, but from aother European countries to Middle East. She was famous with her erotic dance, but more than that, by her free and passionate dance style, coupled with lively expression of her face; she loved doing silly faces during dances, which made her unique and original. Her memoir, wrote by a French journalist Marcel Sauvage, was written in her characteristic of fearless and free. It was told just as Josephine told her own story to Sauvage; you would find a lot of sentence-openings like: "You know Monsieur Sauvage...." And that gave us a glimpse to Josephine Baker's genuine personality: warm, spontaneous, cheerful, passionate. Maybe these quotes would give you an idea of who or what kind of person Josephine Baker was:

About her love of Paris:

"Have we said enough about Paris's place in the world and life in Paris? Paris is elegance, mayhem, love, champagne and pretty trinkets, the Eiffel Tower. Spirit, and heart, wouldn't you say? And thousands of other adjectives. [...] Paris is women, sun, midnight sun. The Bois, tea, dance halls, shopping, cabaret. [...] I love Paris, how it moves, how it sounds, its mystery - its mysteries - all its mysteries. [...] Night-time, champagne, joy, frenzy, more dancing, flowers, women. Never horrid, never stupid, never ordinary... Vive Paris!"

Josephine's view of performing v. money:

"I don't ever want to dance, sing, perform or shoot just because of my name."

✨ Josephine Baker's passion stretched out not only to dancing - and later on also singing and acting - but also to people, especially children (she adopted not less than twelve during her lifetime), and the poor and afflicted. Josephine also adored animals; she kept exotic pets, gifted by her many admirers around the world. But maybe, the most interesting aspect of Josephine Baker which not many people realized, is her love of France - the country that had adopted her into her bosom. Josephine volunteered to be a secret agent during World War II due to her international fame, and thus had heard many hush-hush information from many influential people first hand. Later on, she became the Second Lieutenant during the French Resistant movement, and did acted in several dangerous situation (not only in the comfort of cabarets or boudoirs). ✨ After being entertained with Josephine's early career - with dances, performance on the stages, her tour around the world, describing each country from her point of views; the tone of the memoir was shifting to a darker tone when she criticized the racial injustice the Black people received after World War II. She was aghast that during the war everyone mixed happily together despite of different races, but why was it that after war, they hated each other? She was furious especially to how the Jews and the mixed race (half white and half black) treated Black people with even more severe racial discrimination than the pure White. An irony, indeed. And that later part of the memoir was enough for me to change my view on Josephine Baker. She's now, to me, not only a sensuous dancer who performed with funny-silly faces (which I disliked); Josephine Baker was a tremendously generous and affectionate human being who, during her lifetime, truly and actively practiced Christianity, despite what many Christians (and the Church) had accused her of. What a remarkable way of starting the #1949Club week! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1949 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen

Miss Plum and Miss Penny (1959) by Dorothy Evelyn Smith #SpinsterSeptember

 

🟣 This would be my second and last book for the 2026 edition of #SpinsterSeptember. I have wanted to read one more, but just couldn't manage to, due to many things happening concerning my mother's health lately. Anyway, I enjoyed very much the two I have finished (the previous one is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). Now, the heroine of this one is the titular Miss Penny, a middle-aged spinster who lives quietly and contentedly in an English village with her also-contentedly-living housekeeper: Ada. Miss Alison Penny's life, which is filled with charity works, Women's Institute meetings, or annual bazaars - the usual activities in any English villages at that time - was disrupted when she rescued a young woman from attempting suicide by "drowning" herself in a duck pond. A very hilarious idea, indeed, drowning one self in a duck pond! But Miss Penny didn't see it that way; it was her conscientious duty to save another human being.

🟣 But that was not the only disruption in Miss Penny's life. The annual birthday card she receives from her old flame George, did not arrive for the first time in twenty years. It has been Miss Penny's only romantic touch to her otherwise loveless (yet cheerful) existence. George had been her first (and only) love twenty years ago, but her parents forbid her to marry him. Anyway, receiving Miss Victoria Plum (that was the young woman who's committed suicide) into Miss Penny's hitherto orderly and quite home, soon proved to be a havoc, not only for Miss Penny and Ada, but also for the other villagers too. Miss Plum's weepy and forlorn disposition soon steals everyone's heart, including the vicar and another outstanding middle-aged man called Stanley - both had hitherto been considering marrying Miss Penny for comfort. However, Miss Plum's welcome in Miss Penny's home soon wears thin, although Miss Penny is still in dilemma between getting rid of her soon, and not wanting to ruin her Christmas. Things weren't improved either when out of nowhere, George - the old Miss Penny's flame - arrived at the village, proposing to marry her!

🟣 On the whole, Miss Plum and Miss Penny is a perfect story about spinsters of that era - the 1950-1960s. And Dorothy Evelyn Smith gave the novel a rather dark comedic aspect, although not the crude one like Nancy Mitford's, no... hers is more subtle. It's interesting to watch how the villagers; especially the three main characters: Miss Penny, Hubert the vicar, and Stanley, were all trying to be generous and affectionate towards the needy (Miss Plum - who has neither money, home, nor relatives), although at some point they were also aware of Miss Plum's tendency of manipulating people using her weaknesses. We can see that from the start ("suicide" attempt at a duck pond; staying in bed in appearances, while in fact has been snooping around Miss Penny's house). Only Ada, Miss Penny's housekeeper, who wasn't deceived from the start. While this novel seems to be a light reading, there are many things that left you pondering about human kind. A certainly interesting read!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

 

'Mrs. McGinty's dead!'
'How did she die?'
'Down on one knee, just like I!'

🔹 Agatha Christie's readers must have been familiar with her delight in old children's rhymes. There are many of her novels were titled or even inspired by these; And Then There Were None is one of the most famous of them. Mrs. McGinty's Dead was inspired by an old children's game - what a terrible game for children, isn't it? Anyway, the real Mrs. McGinty was an old charwoman who 'did' for some houses in a small village of Broadhinny. She was a quiet woman, but, like the type, she also likes to snoop around the houses she 'did'. One day she was found murdered, with a blow at the back of her head; and her meagre savings missing. Her only lodger, a James Bentley was accused, and then convicted, of murdering his landlady.

🔹 Superintendent Spence, however, doubted that Bentley was the murderer; he asked Hercule Poirot's help to investigate. Funny scenes came from Poirot, who was 'forced' to stay at the Summerhayes' guest house, which was a far cry from his ideal level of comfort; and also from the appearance of Mrs. Ariadne Oliver - the famous mystery novelist - who we all know for her untidiness and love of apples. And right enough, Poirot first saw her coming to Broadhinny after being hit by an apple core! LOL!! Anyway, Mrs. Oliver only served as humorous touch in this mystery; she lent almost no hand in the investigation, although she stays at the house of one of the suspects. Poirot soon learns the motive of Mrs. McGinty's murder - it has something to do with a past crime; someone who, either committed murder but not convicted, or was related to the murderer. That someone currently lives in Broadhinny, and is one of Mrs. McGinty's clienteles. 🔹 On the whole, it is one of Christie's mediocre works. It has some plot twists and red-herring; it has a humorous quality, especially whenever we have Poirot and Ariadne Oliver in one scene; it has the usual Poirot's denouement in the end; and Poirot once again acted as a love matchmaker for two young people of the characters. However, the plot and the characters didn't stand out from the rest of her works, and one can easily forget what had happened, and who's who in the end. A very entertaining one, but certainly unmemorable. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Suzanne (2026) by Michael Saxton

 

🎨 First of all, many thanks to Michael Saxton, for giving me a free copy of his self-published book: Suzanne. I have first stumbled upon this book on Davida's blog (she reviewed it for #ParisinJuly2026), and I was fascinated by the story - the first French female painter of the of the Impressionism, whose works were admitted at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. I have never heard of her, and yet I was vaguely familiar with the name Utrillo, who was Valadon's son (also a painter). Hence, I was most curious about this Suzanne Valadon, who started her career in Montmartre as model for famous artists such as Berthe Morrisot, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir; but later on became "one of them" - as Edgar Degas had said at that time - the model had become the peer of the artists she had posed for. 🎨 Suzanne Valadon was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon in 1865 from an unmarried mother who was a laundress at Montmartre - her father was unknown. From childhood, Marie loved to draw, but both her mother and the Sister at the school forbade her to pursue this hobby. After being injured following a fall as trapeze acrobat in a circus, Marie began to pose as model and muse for several painters. One of these paintings, and perhaps the most famous, is Dance at Bougival (1883) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

🎨 From those hours of posing for the painters, Marie (or Maria - her chosen "professional" name as model) observed and learned their techniques. She went home often bringing some discarded papers and charcoal, and tried and trained herself to draw. It was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who first "found" her hidden talent, and he brought her to Edgar Degas, who was at that time considered the highest authority in paintings. And the rest, as they say, is history. Marie, or Maria, has become Suzanne - the name she assumed - the painter. However, that was only the beginning. Suzanne had had a long way to go to be well respected among her contemporary (male) artists, and to be considered a professional. One of her biggest obstacle was Maurice Utrillo, her son, born out of wedlock. 🎨 Maurice was conceived when Suzanne was only eighteen years old. She never revealed the father - most probably because she herself was not certain. However, Miquel Utrillo signed a legal document acknowledging paternity, without being sure himself of the truth. Anyhow, Maurice was a restless boy from the beginning, and Suzanne's mother often gave him a small dose of alcohol into his diet to "calm" him. Either from this diet or hereditary alcoholism in his blood, Maurice grew up an alcoholic. And so, Suzanne's personal life was always in between poverty and alcoholism (and perhaps a hint of schizophrenia). Paul Mousis, a banker, was the only non-bohemian man who had ever really loved Suzanne. He provided respectability and establishment to Suzanne's life (they lived in a Paris apartment), staying away from Montmartre and bohemian influences that Suzanne believed was bad for Maurice. 🎨 Unfortunately, once a bohemian, one would always be one. Suzanne began an adulterous affair with a boy of the same age of Maurice - in fact he was Maurice's friend - called André Utter in 1909. He posed for her painting Adam et Eve. I was quite furious with Suzanne at this point. What kind of a mother who would prioritize passion on top of the wellbeing of his sensitive son? She admitted to herself that if she were to chose between her husband (Paul) and her son, she would have picked Maurice. That was quite understandable, considering her relationship with Paul was more of comfort rather than passion. But to "sacrifice" Maurice's feeling to passionate affair with a mere boy was too much for me - bohemian or not. Well, they say that genius artists (and writers) are usually selfish, so maybe that's one quality that Suzanne needed to be what she had later become. 🎨 All in all, this is a nice historical account of a self-made woman painter, at the time when the art world was dominated by men. Suzanne had always been persistent in both her art and her dealings with blood-sucker art dealer, and with people who was on the way between her and her son's happiness. Personally I prefer Maurice Utrillo's art of cityscapes than the bold-lined and crude Suzanne's feminine nudity. Well, I generally dislike feminists, so... But that didn't deter my enjoying this book. The first half is perhaps quite confusing; one chapter, for instance, Maurice was still a toddler, then apparently in the next he's already six. But the rest are more neatly paced. Though I was not quite immersed into the Paris of between the end of Impressionism era to the rising of Expressionism, this would be a perfect choice for #ParisinJuly, or if you are a Francophile like me.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff

 

🏖️ The Fortnight in September is a tale about holiday. No, it's not a story that takes place in a holiday resort, or about events that happen during a holiday. No, the story is about the holiday itself, like the Holiday is one of the main characters; a central one. The Stevens is a lower middle class family lives in 22 Corunna Road, Dulwich. For the last fifteen years, their annual two-weeks summer holiday was spent regularly in the seaside resort of Bognor. Not only at the same region, they have always stayed at the same boarding house called Seaview, that belongs to a Mrs. Huggett (widowed for several years). The boarding house, the Stevens found, was always satisfactory when Mr. and Mrs. Huggett ran them together. But after Mr. Huggett died, they began to see slight decrease in the service. Nonetheless, the Stevens loyally continued to stay year after year at Seaview. 🏖️ I personally find the idea of staying at the same holiday place for fifteen years is wonderful. I can see the charm of it. Our family had had that kind of place, but for only two or three years. I remember feeling comfortable in our second stay; it felt like we were returning to an old familiar place, where we knew exactly what we could expect; the quality of the room, the food, the weather, and dozens of tiny little details that make or break the enjoyment of our holidays. Doing it for fifteen years, I imagine, felt like one is owning a summer place of one's self. 🏖️ The story unfolds with details of what ordinary family do, feel, view about their annual holiday. Mr. Stevens is always meticulous at his preparation. When to book the room at Seaview (it's just a letter to confirm to Mrs. Huggett know that the Stevens will be there this summer), how many days ahead precisely is needed to start packing or procuring the necessary paraphernalia of holiday on the seaside resort, and what time precisely they should leave home to allow enough time at the station. The family knows exactly what to bring, which shoes most comfortable to wear, the bathing suit, and don't forget the ball and the kite, and so on. They have done it for fifteen years anyway, so they had been perfecting the holiday in all aspects. But just like any other holiday, there would be one, two, or more unexpected 'complication' that would either ruin the holiday, or mark it to make it memorable. 🏖️ This book, I found, made me pondering over the philosophy of a holiday, more than I expected. The most striking aspect of a holiday will be borne into our memory for the whole year. And that's why it's important to make a holiday as perfect as possible; every choices are counted, for instance, whether you should spend more money to have little luxury. If it turns out bad, you would resent the money overspent (thus ruined the whole holiday for the rest of the work year), but if it turns out satisfactory, it would top your memory of that holiday (and cheer you up for the rest of the work year). A lot is at stake for a fortnight of a holiday - something I have never imagined. 🏖️ On the whole, this was a satisfactory reading experience. I felt like spending time with the Stevens on the seaside, and I enjoyed every stages of their holiday, every details of it. And through the reading, I was reminded of what my past holidays had been like. I had expected this a light read - which it was - but somehow it made me quite sentimental and philosophical, instead. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Much Dithering (1938) by Dorothy Lambert

🔴 Much Dithering is the name of a small, tucked-away, and peaceful village in England, where nothing has ever stirred the existence of its inhabitants. The inhabitants are mostly proud and dignified people, from its landed-gentry to the working classes. Amidst them all, the young widow Jocelyn Renshawe (our heroine) is the most unlikely to have adventure, let alone romance. She had had a loveless marriage, hence does not have any inkling about love. Her existence has been dedicated in her household, the church and charity works, and in obeying her mother-in-law (the Honorable Lady Augusta Renshawe) and her aunt. As far as Jocelyn's concern, she would grow old a penniless spinster, since the inheritance would be passed on to Lady Augusta's long lost nephew.

🔴 As usual, there should be some newcomers who would stir the peaceful existence in such a quaint village. And that roles fall on these personages; Colonel Tidmarsh - a dull retired army man; the rich family (new money) of Murchison-Bellabys whose ambition was to settled down on the village as respectable family; Ermyntrude - Jocelyn's estranged mother - who is on the lookout for a rich husband to be settled down with; and, last but not least, Gervase Blythe - a young man with unknown past, but who'd charmed everyone. Lady Augusta and Jocelyn's aunt had decided that Jocelyn should marry the dull Colonel Tidmarsh, in order to secure their darling's future. The Colonel himself is attracted by Jocelyn, who, being a typical dutiful daughter, never realizes her innocent beauty and charm, and thus, appears more attractive than women who try hard to look beautiful (heavily made-up like Ermyntrude, for instance). 🔴 The Murchison-Bellaby's son Adrian, is the second man who's instantly attracted to Jocelyn. The problem is, he's also the one for whom Ermyntrude had been 'aiming'. Then, there's Gervase Blythe, whose accidental introduction to Jocelyn left a lasting memory to the young widow. So, you see, that the central comedy of this story is how Jocelyn, believed by everyone to be the dullest woman in the village, found herself wooed by, not one, not two, but three men at the same time. And the charming job of the readers is to guest who would win her heart and how she sorted herself out from these entanglements. Oh, you would easily guess the answer, as well as to 'solve' the mystery of some jewelry theft in the hitherto very peaceful village. All in all, it was the kind of a charming, delightful, lighthearted read that I always love!  

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (1938) by Winifred Watson #SpinsterSeptember

 

❤️ It's September again, and as usual I am going to do #SpinsterSeptember. It is an annual event found, and usually hosted, by Nora @pear.jelly. I have checked her Instagram; her last post was in March, and there were no sign that she will be hosting again this year. Well, in that case, I'm going solo. It is such a good idea to read and explore books about spinsters. My first read is Winifred Watson's Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - and what a "riot" it has been! I listened to the audiobook, and Frances McDormand did a fantastic job to enlivened this charming story, which was, as the title indicated, actually happening on the span of twenty four hours. I have learned too, that Frances McDormand herself plays Miss Pettigrew in the 2008 film.

❤️ The revolve around Guinevere Pettigrew, a spinster of almost forty years old. She was born and grew up in the 1930s of England, in a prudish family of a vicar. Her mother has brought her up as tightly as in a convent that she never had neither youthful fun nor adult love growing up. Currently she's working as governess - and not good at it either. Worst of all, Miss Pettigrew has been sacked from her last job - where she's become more of a nursemaid than governess - and if she doesn't find any new job soon, she will end up in a work house - penniless as she is now. Hence, when a position is opening, she snatched it up immediately, and with much trepidation, arrived at her destination, the home of a Miss LaFosse. ❤️ It turns out that Miss Delysia LaFosse is a glamorous nightclub singer, with apparently no children to be seen. Miss Pettigrew wonders what kind of children would be her charge, but before she has chance to inquire, Miss LaFosse tasked her to 'handle' her undesired beau. Successful at her first task, Miss Pettigrew soon gets herself entangled in the midst of London's glitzy society. Instead of handling unruly children, Miss Pettigrew finds herself being dressed, made-up, and "whirled around" from one dazzling party to another, witness of love affairs and the ensued drama, all in one day - one eventful day that will turn her life completely. ❤️ This book is a perfectly written comedy, and I love it! What I meant with perfect comedy is that it isn't the raw-slapstick one like Wodehouse's. It lays rather in the witty dialogs, particularly in Miss Pettigrew's part, and the good timing of the dialogs that created an opening for Miss Pettigrew's stage. The exhilarating adventures that Miss Pettigrew succeeded in having, out of the series of those mischances, coupled with her humble views of all that, are what I love most about this novel. In a way, there's a little of 'Cinderella touch' in the story - the poverty-crunched maiden getting a glittering moment of her life. The problem is, whether it will end with "happily-ever-after" kind of moment, or will it be a more heartwarming one? Anyhow, this is the kind of book I would cherish for a long time, and that I might want to re-read every now and then. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cider with Rosie (1959) by Laurie Lee

 

💛 Published in 1959, Cider with Rosie is Laurie Lee's childhood memoir in the remote Costwold village called Slad, Gloucestershire, in England. In this first book of a trilogy, Laurie told us memories of his childhood to adolescence right after First World War. The memoir opens with Laurie, his mother and the rest of the family (of nine) at a cottage in Slad. Laurie is the penultimate child, ranked from age, of seven. He and three others are the biological children of his mother. The other four are children of his father and his first wife. Laurie's father was a soldier who had lost his first wife, and then married his housekeeper (Laurie's mother, Annie Emily Light). However after the war, during which Mrs. Lee had been taking care of the family for him, he abandoned the family and never came back. 💛 The memoir is divided into several thematic chapters, rather than following chronological order. For example, the chapter titled The Kitchen told us about their domestic life, which Laurie felt centered in the kitchen. He brought us to their day-to-day life; the bigger sisters to their works; Laurie and the younger boys plays around the village after school; and how in the evening the family always gathered around the big kitchen table - the latter is, indeed, a heartwarming glimpse of the bygone era. We also came to know about Laurie's mother's personalities - bright spirit who had never been crushed by hardship, and who has a Bohemian touch. She had had worked at manors, serving the gentry, and adopted some of their views and tastes along the way, which she always carried in her wretched life. She's a gentlewoman who was forced, by poverty and by her selfish husband, to hardship. I loved her instantly, I admired her great courage and resilience. Mrs. Lee was the core of the family, and the only reason why the children lived such a happy life. 💛 Laurie Lee doesn't always talk about the family, there's a chapter, Grannies in the Wainscot, dedicated to their neighbors - the two eccentric elderly women who perpetually despised each other. It's rather a hilarious one, and becomes one of my favorite chapters, together with Mother, which Laurie dedicated to his amazing mother; and Outings and Festivals, which told us the fun of living in the village (at that time) with all the outings and events, usually sponsored by their squire. I can imagine how gloriously fun and memorable those are, which had been imprinted in Laurie Lee's memory ever since. 💛 On the whole, it's a memoir of a bygone era worth reading. It emphasizes on the charming lives the family had had during the era when industrialism's hand hadn't yet touched them. But, without realizing it at that moment, Laurie Lee grew up on the brink of the massive change that was about to come. I am lucky to have read this glorious memoir about that era, and am always grateful of Laurie's eloquent and incisive way of describing the tiny little details that marked his life! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Mr. Katō Plays Family (2018) by Milena Michiko Flašar #WITMonth2026 #20BOS26

 

👴🏼 Milena Michiko Flašar, who wrote of Mr. Katō Plays Family, is a Japanese-Austrian author who currently lives in Vienna. She was born from A Japanese mother and an Austrian father. This book is originally written in Germany, and is translated to English by Caroline Froh. This would be my second and last book for #WITMonth2026. Mr. Katō Plays Family tells the story of a recently retired Japanese man in his sixties, who lives with his wife in a suburban town of Japan. The story opens with our protagonist on the way back from hospital after his routine checkup for his heart - the report is good - but nevertheless, he wished there's something wrong with his heart, so that there's something to talk about with his wife. From then on, we learn how Mr. Kato's marriage has been going sour for sometime. He's been turning a bit curmudgeonly of late; his wife wants him out of the house; and there are Mr. Kato's unfulfilled dreams, like having a dog - a Pomeranian whom he would have called Shiro - which idea disliked and dismissed by his wife. We learn that there are so many regrets on things unsaid and undone, and Mr. Kato is at lost how to repair it or begin anew. 👴🏼 On that fateful morning, when Mr. Kato took a rest at a cemetery, during his walk, he met an extraordinary girl. She is called Mie, and she appreciates Mr. Kato's ingenuity and improvisation skill which he inadvertently shows when he thinks nobody's looking. Mie turns out to be owning a business called Happy Family, which specializing in providing people whom you can hire to act and play roles in real families. Intrigued, Mr. Kato was hired by Mie, and his first assignment is to be a grandfather to a little boy who misses his own who never shows up. Apparently Mr. Kato did very well in his role-playing - a natural, you might say. However fluent he communicates with families who hired him, still, he fails to communicate either important or mundane things he wishes to say to his own family. 👴🏼 The idea to describe the RHS (Retired Husband Syndrome) that affected either the wife or Mr. Kato - the retiree himself - through the contradictory condition between real and acting lives, is a clever idea. Add that with the writing structure of alternating real dialogues with stream of consciousness, makes this story feels more poignant. In the end, although the idea of people wanting 'stand-in' people to act as their relatives is both rather implausible (someone is bound to realize that they were not the real person, isn't it?) and disturbing (are human beings have become that pathetic that we need actors to play our roles?) I really-really wish this phenomenon is just the actor's imagination, and not the real condition. Because if it is, the human race is nearly doomed! As a reading experience, this book is neither wonderful nor bad; it provides, at least, some funny scenes and quite heartwarming in regard of the family-and-love theme. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

#WITMonth2026 hosted by Meytal @ Biblibio

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Murder Takes a Vacation (2025) by Laura Lippman

 

💙 Mrs. Muriel Blossom is an American widow of 60-something, with insecurity problem, because she is a natural plump, and therefore has a knack of blending into the background. That, and with her sharp intelligent, Mrs. Blossom had worked as private investigator's assistant in the past. That she is currently involved in a murder and theft case, is pure coincidental. You see, the moment Mrs. Blossom had found a winning lottery ticket in a parking lot, 'her faith has been sealed', so to speak. She immediately booked a luxurious cruise to France on MS Solitaire, for herself and her bestfriend Eleanor. However, she indulged herself a trip to London, alone, before the cruise. On the flight, she was 'upgraded' to business class (her first time experience), and it was then that she met a gallant and charming middle aged man called Allan. It's been a long time that Mrs. Blossoms felt like a woman - attended to, flirted to - even kissed to - by a handsome man, and she was flattered and enamoured with this Allan. However, before anything could follow, she heard the news that Allan was dead - fallen from  the balcony of his hotel in Paris (while he said he was on the way to somewhere else).

💙 After that, mysterious incidents keep happening to Mrs. Blossom. Someone has been searching through her belongings at the hotel; then a theft attempted to snatch her purse at a cafe - what is really going on? A stylish called Danny is suddenly so helpful to Mrs. Blossoms, but who later on confesses he's actually an FBI agent and/or insurance agency investigator. He is always around Mrs. Blossom, even when she's on board the MS Solitaire - why is he following her? Then his story about Allan embroiling in stolen antiques - an invaluable statue with sapphire eyes - were any of this true? And if Allan did try to smuggle the statue through customs, and had been using her, Mrs. Blossoms, inadvertently, where is this statue now? Mrs. Blossoms has been searching through her belongings, nothing's there. 💙 I was surprised that a person such as Mrs. Blossom, who has worked as investigator's assistant, could not think or has a tiny suspicion about how Allan had been using her. It was clear as light, and I had been thinking from the beginning that that little 'incident' would prove to be how part of the crime would be commit. But no, Mrs. Blossoms is as oblivion and unsuspecting as any layman can be, even after learning that the man she thought loved her was proved to be a crooked one. Moreover, as a cozy mystery, this one is way much too cozy to be a mystery at all. Mrs. Blossom is NOT an amateur sleuth; she has never intended to investigate. She's just trying to enjoy her holiday - which she doesn't really deserve anyway, as it was paid by sheer luck (finding a winning lottery at a parking lot), despite of mysterious things that's happening around her - though she did sometimes wonder (why? how?) It only gets spiced up a little on the last two or three chapters, and Mrs. Blossom realized the truth only on a whim, not by intelligence. 💙 While the river cruise along the Seine is pretty promising, I didn't feel like being on a cruise at all. What I liked most is perhaps the character development in Muriel Blossom. The rest is just okay, though Kimberly Farr as the narrator of the audiobook did a nice job here, it's quite enjoyable as a light read. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Read for: Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Dear Mrs. Bird (2018) by A.J. Pearce #20BOS26

 

🖨️ In Dear Mrs. Bird, A.J. Pearce brought us right in the center of the war - that is, the Word War II. It was the 1941 in London, when bombing and air raid were everyday life for the citizens. Our heroine is Emmeline "Emmy" Lake, a young woman who's dreaming of becoming a fearless Lady War Correspondent; always longed to 'do something' rather than being at the side of the court witnessing the men struggling to defend their nation from "the madman" (Hitler). So, when she found an advertisement in the newspaper for a job vacancy at a publishing company, she applied instantly. Not only that, she accepted the job without fully realizing the job description. When she imagined her job would be a war journalist, it's actually only typing questions and responses for an advice column at Woman's Friend magazine, under the formidable editress of Mrs. Henrietta Bird.  

🖨️ But Emmy was undefeated, she just do the job; one day she might be promoted to the real journalism works. For now, well, it's just opening and sorting letters from women who are at their wits end with their everyday life's problems - which are stretching from domestic issues to romance or marital issues, and even dealing with grief. It would have been a good opportunity for Emmy to help these women coping up with the war and enhancing their spirits, but unfortunately, Mrs. Bird has a long list of 'Unpleasantness' - topics that she rejects to response. Emmy is frustrated that she couldn't help these women just because Mrs. Bird thinks their problems are unworthy, so she secretly writes back to them (to those who included return address and stamps) with Mrs. Bird's signature. Not stopping herself at that, she is boldly including her own response to be printed in the magazine! I know where these would result, but it's still fun to keep reading on. 🖨️ And it's not all about funny things that happened around Woman's Friend. Just when I thought this book is just about a typist defrauding women readers of an advice column, the story plunged right into the war. Emmy is volunteering three days a week at the fire station, where it would be very busy during the air raids. And Emmy's best friend and roommate's boyfriend also works at the same station as a firefighter. From them, we get a glimpse of what the raging war was like, almost as if we lived through the events ourselves. The first half part of the book goes on like this, half cheery and lighthearted atmosphere during the day, and half fiery excitement mixed with panic and patriotic touch during the night. However, entering the second half, we were plunging into the heart of the blasted war. Our heroine and friends are no longer spectators on the sidelines, they 'got' it first-handed. 🖨️ But don't worry, if sometimes it became rather gory, Dear Mrs. Bird has a perfect balance between dark and light; desperation and hope. I loved that Emmy bravely (or cowardly, depends on how you see it) keeps writing and sharing positive thinking letters to Woman's Friend readers, against her boss' wishes. These notes no doubt exude a hopeful tone in the midst of the destruction around the nation (or world) - just what the people needed at those difficult times. In the end, this is a story about resilience, courage, forgiveness, and hope - that there's always light at the end of the tunnel, if we patiently keep on our works in the hopeful tone. It is both touching and inspiring, and I have a feeling this book would make it to be one of the finalists for my most favorite book of this year!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

When the Cranes Fly South (2024) by Lisa Ridzén #WITMonth #20BOS26

 

Admittedly, it was "the cranes" that had first attracted me to this book. As you might know, I have become a nature enthusiast lately - I even managed a nature journaling blog besides this book blog. Birds is one of my favorite subjects for nature journaling, and so I was keen to know whether this is a book about cranes. It's not, but nonetheless, it is a wonderful book, and I am glad I have picked this as one of two books I've intended to read for #WITMonth2026. It's penned by Lisa Ridzén, a Swedish author, and translated by Alice Menzies.

This turned out to be a heartrending - beautiful yet bittersweet - story about an elderly man of 89, who is nearing the end of his life. After his wife, Frederika, was brought to a care home for dementia, Bo has been living alone in his house in Swedish countryside, only accompanied by his beloved dog, Sixten. While the story progresses, we get to know Bo's past and present life through Bo's dreams - you might realize that elderly people of nearly 90s sleep a lot - and the entries of the care-taker's log book. Everyday there are care takers who work on shifts to take care of Bo - preparing food, helping him washing, cleaning, and in general making him comfortable. Through these mediums, we learn about Bo's difficult childhood - especially his bullying father. The anger and injustice he felt throughout his adolescence had hardened him to adulthood, and made it difficult for him to be easygoing in his own relationship with Hans - Bo and Frederika's only son. 

Now Hans is insisting to take Sixten away from Bo, as with his own condition, Bo would be unable to take proper care of a dog. While to Bo, apart from his pal Ture, Sixten is the only company he has in his near nonexistence. I was so mad at Hans' stubbornness in taking Sixten away. Can't he see that his father is extremely lonely - the loneliness that only elderly people and those who directly care for them understand? That Sixten provides company, comfort, and the last 'pillar' Bo could cling to? So what if it's not ideal for Sixten; the dog is happy living with Bo anyway. I always believe that, in regards of elderly people after 80, it is best to just let them have what they feel are most important. It won't change anything anymore, but it would at least make them happy, comfortable, and peaceful when their days are numbered. That's what I am doing for my 86-years-old mother. And that's what I would want others do to me when I have myself reached the same age.

I loved how Bo talks to his wife all the time in his mind: "You won't believe what our son is doing today"... It's the only way to lessen the painful fact of things (that Frederika is 'no longer there' due to dementia), so that we can better accept the reality. I think it's not a wrong way to put our loved ones always on our mind - to make them always alive, in spirit, if not in flesh. I talk to my late Father in my mind every now and then, letting him know what had happened to my Mother, news of our acquaintances, and general news of myself. He is no longer with me, but it's just temporarily. One day we will meet again; and in the meantime, I will put him up to date with my life. Anyway, my favorite Bo's caretaker is Ingrid - she knows how to treat elderly people as a human, not merely a subject. She put what Bo wants into consideration, not just insisting on what she thinks best, or what the doctors ordered. 

On the whole, this book is not for lighthearted readers. It talks about the painful, uncomfortable business of getting older and/or dying; about the importance of saying what you need to say to your loved ones before it is too late; and about love, family, friendship, and forgiveness. Most importantly, it inspires us on how to treat elderly people; that is compromising between doing the best (we think we can) for them and letting them have what they want most - if the two are contradictory. But also, not less importantly, about what elderly people's feeling and desires - that they can't communicate better and just do what we tell them, doesn't mean they are happy with our arrangement; it's that they are too tired to argue or complain. Elderly people needs peace and comfort, but also to be treated as human being, not as accessories, workload, or a burden. We just need to listen when they talk (though sometimes repeatedly or incoherently or boring), and spare them their (last) dignity. We need to be with them more often. Stocking their favorite food in the refrigerator doesn't help (well, it helps a little), but what they want most is to be with their family, to feel they are still important and to be loved by the family. I wish I could do all for my Mother before her end. In the end, what an inspirational and touching this book is!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

#WITMonth2026
hosted by Meytal @ Biblibio

20 Books of Summer 2026

hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Then Again, Maybe I Won't (1971) by Judy Blume #Reading1971 #20BOS26

 

This would be a short post, partly because Judy Blume's Then Again, Maybe I Won't is a light reading; there's not much to talk about, partly because, on the other hand, I have a lot to talk about at my new blog. Oh, I have not mentioned that I have a new blog, have I? It's on nature journaling, and it's called A Sprinkle of Nature [click the link if you'd like to pass by - you'd be welcomed to visit if you want to ;)]. I also put the link on the side bar under "My Other Blog".

Anyway, this is about a teenage boy (thirteen years) called Tony Miglione, who narrates the novel. He comes from a middle class family in Jersey City, his dad works as electrician, his mother a housewife. His dad "struck gold" when one of his personal inventions was bought by a big business owner. The family became suddenly rich, and they moved to an upper-class district in Long Island. Here Tony begins observing some "unpleasantness" that often make his stomach aches of anxiety. The neighbor's boy Joel, whom Tony befriended, turns out to be a shoplifter, and a telephone-prankster. Then his mother becomes a terrible social-climber, that got his grandmother angry (and Tony disgusted). 

This short novel talks about the unpleasant business of puberty, especially here from male teenager's perspective; social climbing; and cultural status. The Migliones are Italian Americans, but they tried hard to blend in with the upper class American (Tony's mother's name is Carmella, but she let the snobbish neighbor calls her Carol). One thing that disturbed me most is Tony's voyeurism. He often spies on Joel's pretty elder sister Lisa through binoculars (which he received for Christmas gift, reasoning that he's going to birdwatching), when she's dressing or undressing. That's disgusting, and I wonder why the therapist he's seeing didn't say anything about it. Anyway, like I say, it's a light reading, it's not very fun, but not very bad either. I was just happy enough to feel the 1970s vibes (when teenagers riding bikes everywhere, and make plans to meet at a place only through telephone one week before - and both parties remember and show up!)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026

hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Murder on Wheels (1932) by Stuart Palmer #20BOS26

 

🚘 The second book in a series always make me apprehensive; will it be better from, or at least the same as, the first? Will the writer improve their writing or will it be a flop? I am glad that Stuart Palmer did the first with the Hildegarde Withers series. Like the first one, The Penguin Pool Murder, this book also has an unusual kind of murder for Hildegarde and Inspector Piper to investigate. Hildegarde, still with her sharp notice of small details, and her invaluable umbrella, chose to run her own investigation separated from Piper's. This cute pair of detective-amateur-sleuth decided to make it a competition!

🚘 One winter afternoon, the traffic officer near Fifth Avenue found, first a driverless Chrysler roadster on the street, then a body of a man flopped down the same street, apparently from the sky, with a noose around his neck. Piper and Hildegarde took to investigate the case, as soon as they learned that it was most certainly not a suicide. The victim is identified as Lawrence "Laurie" Stait, who came from a highly respectable family (an old money of New York), and who has lived in a big house with his identical twin brother Lewis, his domineering eccentric grandmother, his dotty aunt, a nerdy cousin Hubert, and half a dozen servants. Perfectly identical as Laurie was to Lew in appearance, they were completely different in character. Laurie was always acknowledged as the space goat of the family - always befriend dubious characters - while Lew is the dependable and sweet one. Hence, it's not a surprise to anyone, that someone has murdered him.

🚘 The almost impossible murder was the first striking point of this book for me. An eyewitness - a taxi driver - told Piper and Hildegarde an astonishing story of the way the body "appeared" on the street. It was first "rise right up out of the seat (of the car)," into the air, then fly down the street, backwards! Had the taxi driver been drunk and hallucinating? Or was it the true account of Laurie's tragic demise? How was it possibly done, then? And most importantly who had motive and who had no alibi when the murder happened? Was it the "cowboy" Keeley, whose sister had had an affair with Laurie last summer? The noose (or what they called lariat) was almost identical with the one he always use for his shows. Or was it one of the family? The aunt and cousin Hubert had a strong alibi - two tickets of the opera - but Lew's alibi was from the flirty maid Gretchen. And what about the torn opera ticket that Hildegarde and Piper found outside the house in the snow? Did it mean that someone else has gone to the theatre when they were supposed to be at home? 🚘 I loved this book for its perfect balance between: a). the murder plot - yes, it's rather complicated and I doubted if it is plausible in real life - but it's fantastic as a mystery novel; I also loved the plot twist, though not unsuspected (by me at least); b). the often hilarious encounters of Hildegarde and Piper, not mentioning the appearance of Mrs. Stait's (the grandmother) parrot; the ending scene between the dog and the parrot is the perfect one to end this kind of murder mystery!; and lastly c). Hildegarde and Piper's dynamic relationship, halfway between partner-in-crime and affectionate/romantic-interest. You'd wonder all the time: would they, or would they not...? And I half suspect Palmer would keep it that way for the rest of the series, because if the scale tipped a little more to one side, the balance would be ruined, and the series would not be as perfect as it is.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Diary of A Profincial Lady (1930) by E.M. Delafield #20BOS26

 

✍🏼 When life is too much for you, this comical book is a perfect getaway for you. It is set in 1930 and is written as a diary of a housewife from an upper middle-class household in Devon village in England. It is an autobiographical account of Delafield's own view of the English upper-classes' eccentricity. The unknown woman writes about everyday's life concerning her household. It consists of her husband Robert, a land agent and a typical husband of the time with his indifferent manner towards the household; their daughter Vicky (6 years old) who's brought up by a French nanny; the older son Robin, who at the start of the novel was sent to a prep school, and would spend holidays at home, creating havocs to the household. There are also a cook and a parlour maid to complete the household.  

✍🏼 The narrator writes about everything she encounters day in day out. From the (trying) visits of two prominent ladies, the snobbish Lady Boxe, and 'our Vicar's wife' who always talk too long - whom the narrator actually is not glad to welcome, but she complies anyway; to the difficulties of parenting (and facing the nanny's whining); the financial struggles of meeting the expenditure with the income (pawnbroker and letters to bank managers and creditors involved); not mentioning the narrator's effort to grow 'the bulbs' (which is more often dissatisfactory). All these the narrator put in diary entries with witty, often sarcastic, and humorous way, especially in her NBs, Queries, and 'Mems' - which is intended to remind her of something important to do. ✍🏼 Besides recording the eccentricity of her peer, the narrator sometimes jotted down her reflection of getting into middle age. She is about thirty-something, and often feels out of fashion, though she tries hard not to. In a way, though separated by a century, the narrator's struggle does not differ very far from our own. Aren't housewives often juggling between childcare, financial management, and social obligation? Of course, social calls become less and less often, but instant messaging and other digital communication have been replacing it, maybe even double in persistency and frequency. Reading this diary reminded me of the bygone era of the 20th century, when human interaction was still the center of our civilization. It is light, witty, and funny, and the voice of Georgina Sutton who narrates the audiobook is perfectly soothing. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

The Little Paris Bookshop (2013) by Nina George #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26

📘 This would be my last read for #ParisinJuly2026. It's not my first choice, actually. I have been meaning to read a nonfiction about gardens in Paris, but alas, the book is not currently available. Since The Little Paris Bookshop had been on my radar for some time, I plunged in, and read it instead. And it turned out to be a perfect book to end Paris in July! Plus, it took me to to another journey through the river by a barge. Lovely!

📘 The titular bookshop is owned by Jean Perdu, a lonely man around fifty, who, twenty one years ago bought a barge and restored it into a floating bookshop on the Seine. He named the barge "Literary Apothecary", since Perdu has a rare gift of seeing through his customer's soul, and sensing which books would heal their wounded soul. Ironically, it was his own soul that he failed to heal. Twenty six years ago, he had had a love affair with a Provençal girl called Manon, even when knowing that Manon would marry her fiancée Luc. However, one day Manon left him, without warning or explicable reason. This had hit Perdu very hard, that he didn't even open the letter Manon had left him. He just kept in inside the drawer of a table in the room of his apartment building in Rue Montagnard where they'd been together, and shut that room forever. He had been living as an eccentric recluse ever since. 📘 Until one day, a woman moved in, who has apparently been dumped by her husband with nothing except the clothes she wore. And, since Jean Perdu owns an unused table, he reluctantly gifted it to the newly-widowed woman called Catherine. There in the drawer, she found the unopened letter from Manon, who had told him that she was actually dying of cancer! The truth knocked Jean so hard, that he impulsively decided to raise the anchor of the Literary Apothecary, and set-off to Provence in search of... what exactly? He didn't know either at that moment. Just when the barge is about to unmoor, Max, his emerging-writer-neighbour at Rue Montagnard who's been depressed over his writer-block, asked Jean to take him along. And so, off go the two men, who, along the journey would become like father and son. They are, later on, joined by another broken-hearted Italian man called Cuneo, whose real passion is cooking. These trio's journey was to become a rediscovering-of-one's-soul and the healing process to remove any past wound, and to find new life, and... love! 📘 What I loved most of the book is Perdu and co.'s journey on board the book barge. I loved the glimpses of small harbour town or countryside that dotted the river banks. I loved the freedom of the three men, who, due to their hasty departure, didn't bring enough money to buy food and supplies, and therefore were selling books whenever they moored for the day. That journey is an escapist's or armchair traveler's dream. My least favorite part is Manon's diary. Manon is the woman Jean Perdu had been grieving about. How could I like a woman who was egotistic enough to love two men at the same time; and marry the one, and expected the other - the lover - to never leave her. Couldn't she see that that would break both men? But egotistic persons seldom can see things from others' perspective, always from their own selves. That marred the book for me, but the rest is entertaining enough. The book barge (it's a pity that it was never mentioned again at the end - Literary Apothecary deserves a better ending!); the joie de vivre that you can feel in your bone through the book; the small town or countryside of their transits; the food; the passionate French; and... Provence. What an appropriate book to close my #ParisinJuly2026 - many thanks to our fabulous host: Emma :). Au revoir!

Favorite quotes:

"It was a common misconception that booksellers looked after books. They look after people."

"Memories are like wolves. You can't lock them away and hope they leave you alone."

Read for: Paris in July 2026 hosted by Emma @ Words and Peace

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel