Synopsis from the book cover:

Born a girl to parents who expected a boy, Jihad grows up treated like the eldest son, wearing boys’ clothing and sharing the finanacial burden of head of the household with her father.

Now middle-aged, Jihad tells her daughter a story from her life each night. As Maleka prepares to leave home to attend university abroad, her mother revisits the past of their Palestinian family, tenderly describing their life in exile in Kuwait and her own experiences of love and loss as she grows up.

Huzama Habayeb weaves a richly observed and affectionate potrait of a family displaced from their homeland, and of the women at its heart: women with too much to do, too many mouths to feed, and too many thwarted dreams. Told with humour and poise, this is a story of the love and betrayal that pursues Jihad and her family from Kuwait to Jordan to Dubai.

Thoughts on the book:

The female protagonist in this novel is a second generation refugee who was raised in Kuwait. The book explores a series of memories that build to give an overall view of Jihad’s life. I enjoyed that the chapters were themes rather than in chronological order. We know that Jihad and her daughter are safe and we are slowly learning the trials and tribulations that led to them being in that eventual place of safety and security. Despite the serious story of a displaced refugee there is a lot of humour in the book.

I would recommend this book. It is a difficult subject matter but I found it easy to read. However many others in the ShelterBox Book Club struggled to read the book and some of the group were unable to finish reading it.

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Bestselling writer Bill Bryson’s brilliantly readable biography of our greatest dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is updated to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson tries to make sense of the man behind the masterpieces. In a journey through the streets of Shakespeare’s time, he brings to life the hubbub of Elizabethan England and a host of characters along the way. Bryson celebrates the glory of Shakespear’s language – his ceasless inventiveness gave us hundreds of now indispensible phrases, images and words – and delights in details of his fall-outs and folios, poetry and plays.

Stitching together information from a vast array of sources, he has created a unique celebration of one of the most significant, and least understood, figures in history – not to mention a classic piece of Bryson.

Thoughts:

The book exposes how little is known about Shakespeare, even the pictorial images we know him by might not represent his true likeness. These images are based on three original artworks, two af which were painted years after his death. Bill Bryson writes at length about society in the Elizabethan era bringing it to life but was unable to find many facts about Shakespeare himself.

This book served as a reminder that we should do our own reasearch rather than accept what is presented to us as fact.

I picked up a copy of this book whilst I was on my recent holiday to Colwall. It was like welcoming back an old friend. I used to buy a copy of this every year, it was always an inspiration for new places to visit both at home and whilst on holiday. I used to buy it every year, but hadn’t bought it for a number of years due to a decline in the number of properties it included following the recession. I have to confess that I had forgotten to look for it in recent years so I was pleased to spot it on the bookshelf when I was visiting the town of Broadway.

This years edition is full of inspiration for places to visit and contains nearly 1000 listings of historic places. I have already started adding places to my to do list. Not everything is included in the guide and I noticed that a few of my own special places to visit are missing. That being said I thoroughly recommend the guide.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Hudson’s guide and anyone who can provide a photograph of 20 or more editions of Hudson’s on their bookshelf will receive a free copy of the 2018 guide. I have bought many editions over the years, although probably not quite 20. There is only ever one on my bookshelf as I always pass on my previous editions to a friend when I buy a later edition so that they can enjoy the guidebook as much as I do.

Synopsis from the book cover:

Truth is stranger than fiction. And nowhere in literature is it so apparent as in this classic work, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest. This autobiography of a Jesuit priest in Elizbethan England is most remarkable document and John Gerard, its author,  a most remarkable priest in a time when to be a Catholic in England courted imprisonment and torture; to be a priest was treason by act of Parliament.

Smuggled into England after his ordination and dumped on a Norfolk beach at night, Fr. Gerard disguised himself as a country gentleman and traveled about the country saying Mass, preaching, and ministering to the faithful in secret – always in constant danger. The houses in which he found shelter were frequently raided by “priest hunters”; priest-holes, hide-outs, and hair-breadth escapes were part of daily life. He was finally caught and imprisoned, and later remove to the infamous Tower of London, where he was brutally tortured.

The stirring account of his escape, by means of a rope thrown across the moat, is a daring and magnificent climax to a true story which, for sheer narrative power and interest, far exceeds any fiction.

But more than the story of a single priest, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest epitomizes the constant struggle of all human beings through the ages to maintain their freedom. It is a book of courage and conviction, whose message is most timely for our age.

Review:

In the comments section of my post on John Gerard in the Tower of London my friend Lisl recommended this book.

The story is a historical account of religious persecution in the Elizabethan era from a Jesuit perspective. The story of John is both inspiring and humbling in equal measures. His faith, determination and gentleness enabled him to overcome extreme and impossible situations.

The final paragraph of the synopsis sums up the essence of the book. I recommend you read the book and be inspired by John’s courage, gentleness and conviction.

Synopsis (from book cover):

The story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe.  Usually we give some clues about the book on the jacket, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book.  We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about.

If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn’t a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence.

Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter such a fence.

Review:

Most people will already know about the book or the film but this book is best read without any prior knowledge of the content.  The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Bruno a child aged nine.  The innocence logical thoughts of a child stand out in comparison to the behaviours of adults.

A book that leaves you thinking and wondering why…

Synopsis:

During the early 13th century the north of what is now France went to war with the south in a bloody crusade aimed at destroying the heretical sect know as the Cathars.  The conflict was characterized by vicious guerrilla actions and the besieging of the innumerable fortified sites that dotted the landscaped of the south.  Illustrated with full colour artwork and stunning photographs, this book describes the castle and the fortifications of the Cathar period, examining their design, construction and the role that they played during the Albigensian Crusade.

Review:

The book gives a concise  overview of the political and religious history of the time and how the tensions led to the Albigensian Crusade.  It then moves on to the Castles as featured in the title.  The book details the design and development of the fortifications along with the history of the sites and where they were located. The book goes into further detail describing the sites when they were at war and what happened afterwards.

The final chapter provides information on ‘visiting the sites today’, it gives brief details of the major sites, their opening times and where to find out more information about them.

The book has many photographs and  illustrations in both colour and monochrome which enrich the text.

I found the book informative and concise.  It left me wanting to find out more about the fortifications that played such a big part in the Albigensian Crusade.

The book in my previous post describes Virgile as he is setting out into wine production in 2001.  At the back of the book the author Patrick provides an update stating that much has changed since 2001, Virgil has now become successful in the Languedoc wine industry.  But his success has taken him away from something close to his heart; the production of wines for the enjoyment and pleasure of wine drinkers:

Happily, a recent collaboration with a UK internet-based  business called Naked Wines has played a significant role in rekindling this primary enthusiasm.  Their unusual arrangement encourages customers to subscribe on a monthly basis, effectively sponsoring the making of special, limited edition cuvees, which they are then able to purchase using the investment which they have accumulated, (They call them ‘angels’, like theatrical angels.)

Meanwhile, for Virgile, like other wine-makers, this sponsorship allows him an outlet for his creativity, which is entirely separate from  his own domaine, creating wines which he would never normally be able to contemplate.  While some of the wines that he has made for his angels use grapes from his own vines, the arrangement also allows him to operate effectively as a ‘flying wine-maker’ (albeit without the glamour of the flights!), producing wines with grapes that are grown and picked by other landowners, under his supervision, but using their cellar facilities.

This has, for instance, given him the opportunity to make several wines in the Ventoux in the Rhone Valley, using partly the grapes grown on his late grandfather’s land – something he had never previously permitted himself to dream of doing.  I has also allowed him to try his hand at Merlot and a Sauvignon Blanc (taking him back to his early experiences in Chile) without the need to replant or invest in additional parcelles which offer those varieties, or indeed to commit himself to those particular winds in the long term at all.  To all of these he brings the same essential values and philosophy: above all, wines made for the pleasure of drinking them.  and the proof of his success must be the fact that one of his Naked Wines offers sold all of its 3,000 six-bottle cases in just three days and another exhausted a 500 case supply in a mere three hours!

Being angels we received the book with a wine order and it arrived just in time for my birthday last year.

Synopsis (from the author’s website):

In Virgile’s Vineyard, Patrick Moon explores the world of Languedoc wine. Among the cast of characters that Patrick meets during his year of discovery is Virgile, a young local wine-maker who offers to initiate him into the mysteries of each seasons work in the fields and in the cellar. Virgile is passionately committed to perfection, even though his limited means afford him just a handful of hectares and the smallest cellar imaginable.

At the other extreme is Manu, Patricks dipsomaniac neighbour, a diehard traditionalist producing a private wine-lake of unspeakable rouge. With Manu as his self-appointed guide, Patrick embarks on a quest for the revolutions leading lights a succession of lively encounters with growers as diverse as the wines themselves interwoven with entertaining digressions into the history of the regions wine-making.

Meanwhile the author struggles to deal with his long-neglected French home an unfamiliar and unpredictable world where the brambles have grown as tall as the olive trees, the water supply has just dried up and there is a ferocious animal under the roof tiles…

Review:

The book is set out in months of the year, giving insight into what typically occurs in each season. I found the book delightfully refreshing and full of humour.

I warmed to the many characters who were described in the book and also learned a lot about wine making and the exacting requirements for appellation controle rather vin de table…

The author’s adventures reminded me of my visit to Carcassonne and left me with the feeling of wanting to live in that area of France…

PS: I have received a gift of the sequel (Arrazat’s Aubergines) from Mr C.  I am looking forward to reading it on our upcoming long weekend away.  Our Christmas present to each other

…a medieval view of the world

Synopsis (from book cover):

How was it possible for such a large and fragile artifact to have survived intact from the Middle Ages to the present day?  The Hereford Mappa Mundi, moved in April 1996 from the Cathedral Crypt to a purpose built museum, is an unique document.  It provides us with a window into  time past when there were no aeroplanes or cars, no radio or television, no telephones or newspapers and when travel beyond the immediate confines of ones’s home was an arduous and considerable undertaking.  All the more remarkable therefore that such a map of the world is able to show relative positions for cities and whole continents, although the people and animals depicted are often bizarre and fantastical.  The Mappa Mundi gives us today an incomparable insight into the mind of Medieval Christendom, depicting not only the geographical world but also the spirituality, philosophy of life and the political and economic structures of its people.  The creation of such a map was not only a considerable achievement, but a symbol of power and status in a world still in a feudal stat.  This volume takes the reader on a tour of that world as well as of the maps; a journey as fascinating as the Mappa itself.

Book Review:

When I visited Hereford Cathedral in November I particularly wanted to revisit the Mappa Mundi.  I picked up this book whilst I was there.

The book gives added incite to the Mappa Mundi which is housed in a specially built display wing of the Cathedral.  It is uncertain whether the Mappa was created in Hereford or elsewhere.  This book takes the view that the map was created elsewhere and one of the topics is the map’s origins and journey to Hereford.  Other topics include the medieval view of the world, the geography of the map and the creatures (both real and mythical) that feature on the map.

The book is illustrated throughout by Dominic Harbour, it also contains a full colour copy of the Mappa Mundi.

I recommend the book to anyone who wants to find out more about the Hereford Mappa Mundi.

Image from Wiki

ABC Brisbane reports that missing fragments of the Egyptian Book of the Dead have been discovered stored in a Queensland museum:

World-renowned Egyptologist Dr John Taylor was viewing the museum’s Egyptian collection when a name on a papyrus fragment caught his eye.

Dr Taylor is the curator of the British Museum’s mummy collection. The British Museum currently has a mummy exhibition on display at the Queensland Museum.

He was taken to the museum’s storeroom to see more and says what came next is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.

“After a very short time it became apparent that we did indeed have many fragments of the Book of the Dead,” he said.

Dr Taylor says the rare specimens belonged to a high priest of the Temple of Amun, around 3,400 years ago.

“This is not the papyrus of just anybody, this is one of the top officials from Egypt at the peak of ancient Egypt’s prosperity,” he said.

“So it is a significant find, and if we can reconstruct the whole document that’s going to tell us a lot.