Fanda Classiclit

Hidden in Paris (2011) by Corine Gantz #ParisinJuly2026 #20BOS26

2026-07-02T07:00:00.000+07:00

🎀 It was on the summer solstice in Paris, that this story had begun. The French has their own celebration on that day, La Fête de la Musique. Annie, an American housewife, has been living in a big house in the 16e arrondissement de Paris, with her husband Johnny and three little boys. Theirs are a happy marriage - or so thought Annie - until, on the way to some dinner and dancing, Johnny grimly told Annie that he "have something I have to tell you". You can only imagine what it was, because in the next chapter, Annie (already at home) got news that Johnny had been killed in a car accident - a combination of booze and speed. 🎀 Fast forward to two and a half year later, Annie still lives in the same house. The boys apparently have accepted their father's death - they never even said anything about their dad, at least that I remember. But Annie, well, she's doing it rather badly. Annie becomes anti-social, neglecting her appearance, and her home - especially her kitchen - and her boys have been her only solace and protection. Them, and an old friend called Lucas, a blue blooded handsome Frenchman, who had been a loyal friend of Annie and Johnny. Nowadays, he comes visiting almost everyday, and the only friend Annie has. It was he who's get Annie realizes of her financial problem, and advised her to sell the house. But Annie loves her house so much, and finally came out with a solution: tenants! 🎀 Two American women and a young man are the three tenants that ends up living with Annie - three persons bringing three personal problems to Paris. Lola with her (verbally) abusive husband and unhappy marriage; Althea with her anorexia, rooted from abusive mother. Last but not least, there's Jared, who is drained after caring for his dying mother and grieved over her death. Annie thinks the womanizer Lucas is attracted to Lola, with her Hollywood celebrity appearance, but she's completely wrong. Lucas had been in love with her for ages. And when nobody would think the emaciated Althea is anyway attractive, Jared is instantly in love with her on first sight. Lola, on the other hand, is always haunted by the thought that she's done a crime by bringing the children to France without Mark's knowledge. 🎀 Along the book, all these characters are struggling and evolving amidst the charm of Parisian "joie de vivre" mannerism, its people and culture, and its culinary (brought in perfection at Annie's kitchen most of the time). Annie's home is the catalyst of the changes in every character, especially in Lola and Althea. That, and the charm of Paris, of course. I could not relate to any of the characters, but I felt pity for Althea. Her mother was a true bit*h, and she should have not raise any children! I was a little surprised with Annie - she befriended Lola easily and took to herself to help Lola with her problem, but ignored Althea completely. Why hasn't she tried to reach for her? If not befriend her - which was impossible as Althea closed the door for social interaction - at least tried to sympathize and more understanding, instead of ignoring her completely. Luckily, there's Jared. All in all, this wasn't a bad book, at least it entertains you with the Parisian vibes. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

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

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Six in Six: What I've Been Reading for the Last Six Months

2026-06-30T07:00:00.000+07:00

I used to do this meme a few years ago, so I was very pleased when Emma @ Words and Peace decided to host for this year. It's a fun way to do some wrap up for the first semester, reading and blogging wise.

What is 6 in 6?

The idea is to look back at the books you have read so far in the six months of this year. You can post any time in July, or as early as 6/6, June 6th.

What do you post?

Choose 6 books in 6 categories. Check here for the choice of categories

Without further ado, here's my Six in Six, with links to my reviews in the titles (five from the given choices, one - the last - is my own):

I. Six new authors to me

1. Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar
2. Call Mr. Fortune by H.C. Bailey
3. The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson
4. Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson
5. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
6. One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes

II. Six books I have enjoyed the most:

1. Murder in Regent's Park by Christina Koning
2. The Case of the Perjured Parrot by Erle Stanley Gardner
3. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy
4. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
5. The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp
6. To Fetch A Thief by Spencer Quinn

III. Six mysteries, thrillers or crime novels NOT by Agatha Christie

1. Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown
2. Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto
3. Murder at the Homecoming by Merryn Allingham
4. Death Around the Bend by T.E. Kinsey
5. The Ten Teacups by Carter Dickson
6. Fell Murder by E.C.R. Lorac

IV. Six books that didn’t live up to expectations

1. Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien
2. The Layton Court Mystery by Anthony Berkeley
3. Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong
4. Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton
5. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
6. The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs

V. Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of

1. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun
2. The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher
3. The Demon in the House by Angela Thirkell
4. Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
5. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
6. The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

VI. Six Book that Exceeded My Expectation:

1. Paw Prints in the Moonlight by Denis O'Connor
2. The Golden Collar by Elizabeth Cadell
3. An Afternoon Walk by Dorothy Eden
4. Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge
5. The Splendor of Ordinary Days by Jeff High
6. Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair

That's my Six in Six, 36 books in total.
Yet, I have read 48 books, meaning that 12 books are still left behind.
Not that they are not worth mentioning, but because they don't quite fit with the categories - or just run out of space.

Here are the other twelve books worth mentioning, with no particular order:

1. If Life is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? by Erma Bombeck
2. Keeping A Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie
3. The Boy and the Dog by Seishū Hase
4. Night on the Milky Way Railway by Kenji Miyazawa
5. The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida
6. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
7. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
8. Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
9. They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie (a reread)
10. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie (a reread)
11. The Lost Horizon by James Hilton
12. They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie (a reread)

This year has been a bit of surprise for me. As one who don't usually keen on reading nonfiction, I have read three so far, and am even reading the fourth as I'm typing this. Moreover, I have read 48 books in half year, meaning that, if I keep the pace, I could even end the year by reading 100? Well... fingers crossed, and let's just see!

How have your reading year been?

One Fine Day (1947) by Mollie Panter-Downes #20BOS26

2026-06-26T07:00:00.000+07:00

🧡 One Fine Day reminded me of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Besides the fact that the whole story covers only one single day, it was also written in the semi-stream-of-consciousness style, of which Woolf was famous for. And both are incidentally set in the post World War - one the first, and the other the second. It was 1946, just several months after the war. Stephen Marshal has returned, unscathed, from the war; and now he and his wife Linda were expecting to be back to their normal life again. But of course, things could never be back to the time before the war, it would become a new normal. And that is the main theme of this book: adapting to the significant changes upon the middle-class' lives, and their struggles for it.

🧡 The Marshals came from middle class families, who were used to have servants to take care of the household. When they were hungry, there's food on the table ready. The garden were always neat and fresh when they looked at it. The floor and furniture were always immaculately clean and shining, and so were the laundry, and dozens of other convenience they used to take for granted. They never thought about the cook, the gardener, or the maids. The war changed all that; nowadays servants are difficult to get, and so they must work on almost everything by themselves. Classes was beginning to dissolve; the cleaning woman who comes in the morning doesn't even call Laura 'Madam' any longer. On that fateful day, after Stephen left for work, and Victoria, their only child, to the gymnastic class, Laura is left alone in the house to clean the breakfast and several other chores awaiting for her.
🧡 And it is during these chores, that Laura is contemplating their circumstances. She is a dreamy and imaginary kind of woman, who's often lost to her thoughts and observations. So, while tidying the house, for instance, she would contemplate about the wisdom of maintaining this big house, which others, including the cleaning woman, thought foolish and extravagant. But despite of the house' perpetual demands, she and Stephen love it. By the way, I love Panter-Downes' personification of the inanimate objects like the house, as having emotion like human beings. While queuing for bread and cakes - they still have food rationing, with the coupons to do shopping with - Laura would contemplates about how tiresome and never-ending household works are - is it worth it? However, it is when she must look for their dog Stuffy, who are missing somewhere, and meet a gypsy man, that Laura would have her 'revelation', and answer to all her questions. 🧡 I love this book. The middle classes' struggle is quite relevant to what my family (especially my mother) had had to face. My mother, born in 1941, was brought up in a big house with several servants, probably three or four. She often tells me about her childhood; how my grandmother forbade Mama to even enter the kitchen; and how everything was always provided for 'the little miss' by the servants. Even when my mother needed a drink, she just asked a servant to procure it for her. It's just how it was at that time. Naturally, when Mama married and moved to our tiny house, she's incapable to do all the houseworks by herself. She had learn how to cook, but that's all. A maid was being lent from Grandmother's house for a few hours to help Mama cleaning. And that keeps happening even until now. Although little by little, Mama and me take over most of the household chores, we still need a cleaning lady to do the hardest chores. Therefore, I can relate very much with Stephen and Laura's struggles. It's not vanity, but it's just how they hade been brought up.

🧡 Needless to say, this has been a memorable read for me. It's not overly fantastic, but it feels like a warm and cozy old blanket to curling up under.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026

hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

To Fetch A Thief (2010) by Spencer Quinn #20BOS26

2026-06-24T07:00:00.000+07:00

🎪 When I stumbled upon this new-to-me mystery series, which is narrated by a dog (who can resist such a thing? not I), I knew instantly I have to read it some day. I decided to start not from the beginning, but on the third book, which has a circus element; I always love circus element in a book. It turns out to be: a great FUN! It has everything I expected it to have, and perhaps more...

🎪 Bernie Little is a Private Investigator, the owner of Little Detective Agency. And Chet, his partner, is a dog. He (Chet, not Bernie) was the best leaper of his class at K-9 police school. However, he failed the last leap due to something or other. But it didn't matter, because that was when he first met Bernie Little. And the rest was history, so the humans always say. Little Detective Agency isn't a big one, Bernie has always been in need of money. But that isn't any problem for them both. Their deep bond and partnership, makes them always happy; what do you need more? The story begins when they are on a divorce case, and the client gives Bernie tickets to a circus. So they went to the circus, Bernie, Chet, and Bernie's son, who currently lives with Bernie's ex wife. To their disappointment, the main attraction, an elephant show, was cancelled because Peanut, the elephant, and its trainer have been missing. 🎪 Popo the clown hired Bernie and Chet to investigate the case, since the police (the officer is Bernie's friend) seem to be disinterested. They (the police), along with the circus owner, believe that the trainer, who is the most humane trainer in treating animals, must have been crossed to the animal-justice-organization side. But Popo knew better, or did he? And how do you think can an elephant gone missing just like that without any witness? Well, thanks to Chet's wonderful smelling skill, he found Peanut's trace, and that leads to another, and another, that in no time, Chet and Bernie must deal with bigger dangers than they have ever expected. 🎪 On the whole, this is a combination of crime mystery (there are the theft and a murder - or is it?), and adventure. On those two aspects themselves, this is fun to read. But the biggest attraction, that makes this series a success, is how Quinn portrays Chet, the dog narrator, he is as genuine as he is plausible. It feels like you are really viewing the world, and the humans, from a dog's perspective. Chet understands English; he's capable of following what Bernie and other humans are saying. Well, at least, common English conversation; he has difficulties, though, to follow many slangs and sayings, which to him is confusing. And these are the few funniest parts of the book, which would often throw you with uncontrollable laughter. Here's an example, which takes place after Chet, unknowing to Bernie, has saved his beloved human friend: "I've got a strong suspicion you saved my bacon last night." [Bernie to Chet] Bacon? There'd been bacon last night? Cheetos, yes, but that was it. Had I somehow missed out on bacon?
🎪 And that kind of thing happens a lot. It's even funnier when there's food mentioned, like in that instance, bacon. Because food, Bernie, and their adventure together fighting the crime, were uppermost in Chet's thoughts. Those, and many confusing human's manner. Another funny thing is Chet's memory. He could remember some of what Bernie said to him, or the thugs they have caught in the past, but he is always lost somewhere in the middle of a long thought. And he would always be like "...what was that again? It's not important, the important thing is...." Chet is soo adorable! I loved how Quinn let Chet be just a dog. He might understand what humans are saying, but other than that, Chet behaves and thinks as a normal animal. I suspect, that is one factor that make people love Chet, and this series, so much. 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

They Do It with Mirrors (1952) by Agatha Christie: A Re-read

2026-06-22T07:00:00.000+07:00

🔫 This is the fifth Miss Marple mystery novel from the series that I have re-read for my Agatha Christie Perpetual Challenge. The main idea is to perpetually reading Agatha Christie's sixty eight novels. If I can read about three or four novels per year (my current "speed"), I would be rereading each title in every seventeen years - how about that, eh? Anyway, what I don't quite like from Miss Marple mysteries, is that she is usually too "fluffy" and insignificant, despite the fact that she is the main character - the amateur sleuth. This book, though, I happily announce, is an exception.

🔫 The story begins when Miss Marple was visiting her school friend Ruth, who asked her to check on their mutual friend, Carrie Louise Serrocold, who lives in a mansion house called Stonygates, with her third husband Lewis, her widowed daughter Mildred, and her companion/housekeeper Juliette. Part of the house had been turned into an institution for juvenile delinquent boys. The institution was originally founded by Carrie Louise's second husband - deceased - and is now managed by the current husband Lewis. Ruth had been feeling something was "wrong" when she visited Carrie Louise, and Miss Marple is about to find out the truth behind it. At first things seem normal, but there has been a bit awkward incident with one of the institution boys, a seemingly "not right in the head" young man who believes he's the son of some famous men (when he's actually an illegitimate one). His name is Edgar Lawson. 🔫 Among the visiting guests are Carrie-Louise step granddaughter, her American husband, Carrie Louise' step son (from her second husband), and two nephews (or step sons? I lost counting of whos' who). Then one night, two things happened at the same time. Edgar Lawson took it into his head that Lewis Serrocold is his real father. They quarreled in heated debate in the library; Edward making ruckus by shooting a revolver (but not at Lewis Serrocold, fortunately). All the while, the others were in the living room, listening with apprehension to almost everything happening inside. Everyone, excepting Christian, Carrie Louise's step son. How they were surprised then, to find out later that Christian had been shot when the ruckus in the library was happening. Why Christian, though? Is it because he had found out that someone has been poisoning Carrie Louise? In the end, it is up to Miss Marple to find out what had really occurred. It has something to do with the theatrical system, the murderer is like a conjurer, who do it with mirrors... 🔫 Like I said before, I liked it that Miss Marple is more actively involved in this case. This time, she acted as Carrie Louise's protector because she loves her friend. Her deceiving 'fluffiness' makes her a confidant to some of the suspects, they could pour out their heart honestly to her - an outsider. The plot itself is not one of Christie's bests - I guessed the murderer right away. Whether it's because I have read Christie for so long to suspect little discrepancies, or because the "hole" is too obvious to be missed, I don't really know. While I love murder in close-knitted family house, the premise is rather quirky. Top it off with rather lose plot, this one is not among my favorites.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Guest Cat (2001) by Takashi Hiraide #ReadingtheMeow2026 #20BOS26

2026-06-18T07:00:00.000+07:00

🐈 My second (and last) read for #ReadingtheMeow2026 hosted by Mallika, is a Japanese semi-autobiographical novel by an acclaimed Japanese poet Takashi Hiraide. It was based on Hiraide's own part of life, where, as freelancers, he and his wife had lived in a small rented cottage in the quiet part of Tokyo, and their attachment to a certain cat. Hiraide wrote this as a novella, with his poetical style of writing, combining a beautiful narrative with a touching story of relationship between human and animal, spiced up with a little mystery at the end.

🐈 The narrator, like Hiraide himself, is a freelance writer, who rents a small cottage which had been a kind of pavilion to a big house, where the landlady lives. The cottage is uniquely placed, tucked into a corner down a kind of zigzagging alley. I love how Hiraide describes the cottage and the alley, which he calls Lightning Alley - due to its zigzag shape, similar to lightning (I suddenly thought of Harry Potter's scar!) Anyway, a cat invites herself to their kitchen one day. This cat, which is called Chibi, does not seem to belong to anyone around the neighborhood. Sure, the boy next door is kind of the formal owner, but in reality, Chibi just let herself being fed and played with for only a certain time by the boy. At night she sleeps at the narrator's cottage, inside a box in the cupboard. The cat let itself in from a tiny gap at the window (Chibi is a small cat). At a particular time every morning, she would leave, just in time to see the neighbor boy go to school.

🐈 Despite Chibi's seemingly 'aloofness' (she never allows anyone touch her, and she never lets out even a single meow), the narrator and his wife are soon attached to her. The guest cat brings bright shine to their existence, and slowly but surely, Chibi seems to be part of their family. Just like how Chibi had first appeared at their cottage, one day she just stopped coming. This distressed the young couple not a little - just as if their child is suddenly missing. They wait and wait in vain, then one day the author heard from his neighbor (mother of the boy who 'owns' Chibi), that the cat had been found lifeless in a nearby street corner, presumably having been hit by a passing vehicle. You can imagine how grief-stricken the couple had become.
🐈 The depth of the narrator and his wife's attachment to Chibi could be seen from how they were distressed when the landlady decided to sell the house, which meant that they have to move out. The thought that they would be far away from where Chibi had been buried (under her favorite tree), forced them to find a house nearby from where they could still take a look at the tree. It is clear that they did not have a proper closure to Chibi's tragic demise. And that's understandable, because of the little mystery that surrounds the beloved cat's death. I won't reveal anything here; it is sufficed to say that human's relationship with animals and dealing with grief are two most important aspects of this novella. The ending is ambiguous, highlighting the fact that we could never know everything we want to, and some tragedy could remain mystery forever. One just needs to try to cope with it, and move on.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Reading the Meow 2026

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri

20 Books of Summer 2026
hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Paw Prints in the Moonlight (2004) by Denis O'Connor #ReadingtheMeow2026 #20BOS26

2026-06-15T07:00:00.000+07:00

🐱 My first read for Reading the Meow 2026, hosted by Mallika, is a heartwarming memoir of a man who once rescued a cat, which would totally change his life forever. Denis O'Connor is a trained psychologist and a teacher. It was in the 1990s that this episode with the rescued cat begins. He was a bachelor then, just bought an eighteen century cottage with a garden called Owl Cottage, in the rural part of Northumberland, England. One biting cold January night, just after a snow storm, Denis found a she-cat in painful agony, trapped in an animal snare usually left by hunters. He saved it, but the cat ran away. The morning after, Denis found the cat in an abandoned farm, dying, but still nursing her three kittens. He brought them all to the vet, but the mother was beyond help, and the vet put her to sleep. The kittens would find the same fate, as they would not survive without their mother. However, Denis, finding one of the three poor kittens responded to his touch, decided on impulse, to bring it home.

🐱 Denis tried hard to nurse the kitten back to life against all odds, realizing that it might die the next day. But days become weeks, and the kitten survived. He called it Toby Jug. And from then on, Denis and Toby Jug are inseparable for the next twelve years. This memoir tells in perfect details of Denis' grim rescue of Toby Jug's mother and siblings, his relentless efforts to save Toby Jug from death, despite his limited resources and knowledge, and then, his happiest adventures with Toby Jug.
🐱 It was later on when Denis brought Toby Jug to a vet, that he first learned that his beloved cat is actually a Maine Coon. From Wikipedia: The Maine Coon is a large and social cat, commonly referred to as "the gentle giant". The Maine Coon is often cited as having "dog-like" characteristics. Toby Jug remains little in size for the rest of her life, but she is a social cat. I loved her way of curling on Denis' shoulder - which caused his jackets of coats to have marks on one shoulder due to Toby Jug's repeatedly claws-digging. She always do that whenever she needs comfort, or when she's scarred. There are few occasions of these, the most terrifying episodes were perhaps during a hunting season, and when some bullying kids throwing fireworks at poor little Toby Jug - damned that kind of kids!
🐱 All her life, Toby Jug is depended on Denis. It is no wonder, because Denis is everything for her - he might have thought him her mother, as he had nursed him from the beginning, and has been living only with her human friend. She only knows humans' way of living, and she would have never been fitted to a wilder life, other than catching a rat every now and then. The most memorable scene for me is when Denis first brought Toby Jug out to the garden. The way she looked, for the first time, at the nature; savouring first one object and then another, and another - all bursting with spring lights and colors and scents - it must have been an overwhelming bliss for her. Afraid that Toby Jug might harm herself, Denis put her inside a large glass jar, and put the jar on the grass. He even moved or shifted the jar a little from time to time so that the kitten might have slightly different views each time.

🐱 Over all, this is a truly heartwarming memoir - more of the cat then the human. I enjoyed every bit of it; in fact I read it very slowly that I ended up reading only this one and one other book (instead of intended three) for #ReadingtheMeow2026 - I just wanted it to last forever... The bonding of Denis and Toby Jug is amazing and very touching. I'm glad that Toby Jug had had a wholesome, albeit short, life - always beloved by her favorite human. At the same time, Toby Jug had, not only changed, but wrought a deep influence in Denis' life. The ending might be rather strange for some people, but I liked it. A deep thanks to Denis O'Connor for ever sharing this part of his life with Toby Jug with us. His writing is so beautiful and gentle, and allows us to be included in every sweet, terrifying, and funny moments with Toby Jug, the little Maine Coon. In the end, I felt as if I have known Toby Jug personally myself. What a sweet and meaningful friendship between a cat and a human!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Reading the Meow 2026

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri

20 Books of Summer 2026
hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

The Narrowboat Summer (2020) by Anne Youngson #20BOS26

2026-06-12T07:00:00.000+07:00

🚤 I don't know why, but to me, living in a boat feel somehow romantic. Though in reality I would probably reject the idea, reading about life in a narrowboat on a journey through the canals, brings a wholesome satisfaction in me. That's how I know that I would enjoy this book immensely. And I wasn't wrong. This is a story of second chances, of three women - complete strangers - who have one thing in common: they are at a crossroads in life. One rainy afternoon, Eve and Sally's path crossed right in front of a moored narrowboat, when they were walking on the towpath along a canal. Just then, a dog's howling from inside the narrowboat attracted their attention. Just when they were about to help the dog, thinking that it has been left alone inside the boat, the owner came.

🚤 Anastasia has been living in the narrowboat called Number One for years. Now that she's about seventy years old, Anastasia is probably terminally ill and in need of an operation. However, the narrowboat also needs to be brought to a certain place for its annual maintenance. How would she do that? Enter Eve and Sally. Several cups of tea later, the three uncommonly women found a mutual solution to all of their predicaments. Eve and Sally would live in the narrowboat and drive it to its destination, while Anastasia would stay in Eve's apartment during her treatment. Eve has just resigned from her work, while Sally has just decided to leave her husband. Living a slow life on board a narrowboat would provide them chance to think about their future. 🚤 Having never been in a narrowboat before, let alone driving it, Eve and Sally is doing a great job following every instructions from Anastasia during their very short training. I had a lot of fun reading about the technicality of operating a narrowboat, including the locks. I even checked Google about the these locks and lock gates, which have much busied our two heroines during their journey; and it is pretty interesting. Canal locks change the water level in the canal so boats can go up and down hills. A lock is a stretch of canal that is blocked off at each end by solid gates. These gates are opened or closed to allow water to fill or drain from the lock.

a lock gate in the canal

So, if you think driving a narrowboat along the canal is a leisurely business, you'll be surprised at the amount of physical efforts involved. Sally and Eve dividing the jobs of steering the boat and working the locks alternately; I can't imagine when Anastasia did all by herself! 🚤 Along their journey, not only do they sorting out their predicament and thinking about their future with all the options, Eve and Sally also make friends with other boaters. The most memorable ones are a nineteen-year-old girl called Trompette, who partners a musical story-teller drug-addict called Billy. Billy used to tells stories to a circle of audience, and gets little money of it. Trompette is a good knitter, and sells her craft also for a little money. I learned too, that there are usually story-tellers or other entertainer like that amongst the narrowboaters. They all seem to form an attachment as a loose family - canal-family if you like. They know each others, and during their time on board the Number One, other boaters used to ask about Anastasia. The other memorable friend they make is Arthur - the elusive old man who used to hitchhike narrowboats in the past, and who knew a lot about Anastasia's past - something that Eve and Sally are eager to learn about, but Anastasia never discloses. 🚤 On the whole, it is a lovely story about friendship, second chances, and the charm of operating a narrowboat along the canals, where you can have a slow living while appreciating the landscape and the nature. It's full with eccentric yet amiable characters, and though plotless, Youngson fills the story with her great portrayal of the scenery and the canal-boaters' life. Loved everything about it, including how it ended up nicely for everyone - well, almost!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

An Afternoon Walk (1971) by Dorothy Eden #Reading1971 #20BOS26

2026-06-09T07:00:00.000+07:00

🟢 Judging only by this book's title and the particular cover I used for the post, you would think this as a charming slice-of-life novel set in the English countryside with picturesque view, and perhaps a little bit of romance. Well, just wait until you come upon the Kindle version's cover, published in 2013, which I included below. Then, you would realize that this is actually a psychological mystery-suspense with Gothic vibes. It begins with the alluded afternoon walk. Ella Simpson, an ordinary housewife, is taking the walk with her five-year-old daughter Kitty, when they found a derelict old Victorian house with an overgrown garden. They were curious about it and while starting to imagine who had lived there - an Edith definitely, as they saw the name scratched on the window pane - and what had happened to the family, an owl screeched from an upstairs window, and startled and spooked them. When they left the house, Ella felt the uneasiness of being followed.

🟢 Ella's husband, a salesman called Max, is coming home that day. When she told him about the old house and Edith, he only laughed it out as Ella's silliness and imagination. But his tease didn't end there. During the weeks following the incident, Max repeatedly pointed out Ella's increasing dreamy and forgetfulness, which, he believed, is normal considering the miscarriage that Ella had just had. Then mysterious things started to happen, menacing phone calls, mysterious men following her, and even a few panic-induced prank which added stress to the overwrought Ella. Is it true that she's forgetting everything? That she's imagining things? Is Max's upcoming promotion as export manager the rooted cause of it all - that his jealous colleague is behind all these, like he's always reasoning?

🟢 Fortunately, Ella's new neighbour, Booth, is sympathetic enough to listen to Ella's rumbling stories. He even accompanied her to another walk to the ruined house. Booth is a theater critic, and widower, who lives there with his sister. It is clear from the beginning that he's fallen in love with Ella, and indeed, he is a more suitable husband for Ella than her self-centered and ambitious Max, who was secretly relieved of Ella's miscarriage, as otherwise another baby would interfere with his work. Meanwhile, the newspapers and TV is full about the, first disappearing, then kidnapping, then murder of a woman, which crime was supposedly happened inside the old ruined house.

🟢 Throughout perhaps two third of the book Eden made us keep wondering whether Ella was really the imaginative kind of woman, or was it all Max's plot to... what? Does he mean to harm his wife? Or is he covering something he ought not to do? Does it have something to do with the woman's kidnapping? However, near the end, I think it would be clearer and clearer what was happening. On the whole, this is an interesting psychological mystery-suspense. Not very mysterious, and not overly suspenseful, but quite entertaining for a comfortable reading. More importantly, it provides a insightful glimpse of that bygone era of early 1970s - which was why I read it in the first place. I am satisfied with how the story ends, and though I'm not overly fond with Ella's dreamy nature (miscarriage or not), Booth's character is what I loved most.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

20 Books of Summer 2026

hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Six Degrees of Separation, from Post-Office Girl to Female Private Detective

2026-06-06T07:00:00.000+07:00

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, currently 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 a German noir-fiction which I have not read:

0. The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig Synopsis from Goodreads: The post-office girl is Christine, who looks after her ailing mother and toils in a provincial Austrian post office in the years just after the Great War. One afternoon, as she is dozing among the official forms and stamps, a telegraph arrives addressed to her. It is from her rich aunt, who lives in America and writes requesting that Christine join her and her husband in a Swiss Alpine resort. After a dizzying train ride, Christine finds herself at the top of the world, enjoying a life of privilege that she had never imagined. But Christine’s aunt drops her as abruptly as she picked her up, and soon the young woman is back at the provincial post office, consumed with disappointment and bitterness. Then she meets Ferdinand, a wounded but eloquent war veteran who is able to give voice to the disaffection of his generation. Christine’s and Ferdinand’s lives spiral downward, before Ferdinand comes up with a plan which will be either their salvation or their doom. For the first degree of separation, I would use "the post-office girl" aspect, and link it to another book, whose one of the main characters is a postmistress.

1. Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown

I have read this one last year for #ReadingtheMeow2025, and loved it! A cat detective and her mistress (or her assistant, really) are investigating a murder in a small town. Excerpt from my review: Mrs. Murphy is the cat-detective; she's a tiger cat who lives with a divorced-postmistress named Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen as her companion. To complete the household, there's a Welsh Corgi named Tucker. They all live in a small town, where everyone knows about everyone else, and there's not such thing as secret. Harry - as the postmistress - has a habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. In one of these, she found one postcard with Paris cemetery image, captioned "wish you were here". Few days later, a citizen was murdered - the one who'd received the postcard. Then another death, with similar "warning". It was then that Harry realized the significant of the anonymous postcards. There's a murderer among them, and most probably he/she knew that Harry knew more than she supposed to. Here's the full review. The cat is named Mrs. Murphy, and that instantly reminded me of another cat in fiction, named Mrs. Norris. Do you know who that is, or in what book it appears? ;)

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Mrs. Norris is the pet-cat of Mr. Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts School in Harry Potter series. I needn't bother to say more of the series; no doubt you know all about it. But here I must ponder for some time, what would my third degree is about. There are a lot of aspects discussed throughout the seven books, yet the most interesting one in my opinion is about free-will. In 2020 I have blogged about Top Five Classics About Free Will [click the link to read the post], and one of the book featured there is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Still on the subject of free will, another book that made it into the same list (and topped it) is...

3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Excerpt from my review: East of Eden is following the lives of two families in Salinas Valley: the Trasks and the Hamiltons; though along the way I felt that the Trasks were the center of this book, while the Hamiltons only its satellite. It was within the Trask dynasty that Steinbeck imitated the Book of Genesis, by naming its member (and drawing their destinies) following the symbol of good versus evil: Cain and Abel (C & A). And in case you want to read the full review, click here. This book has become one of my personal canon. I have even written a separate post discussing the free will aspect of the book, which I titled: On “Timshel” [East of Eden] | The Freedom of Choice [click the link to read]. 'Timshel' itself is brought up by the philosopher of this book: Lee (the old and wise Chinese servant of Adam and Cathy Trasks), an important figure in the saga. Now, while Chinese characters quite often appear in English canon, it is quite interesting that Steinbeck wrote another Chinese character in his other book, whose name is also Lee. Maybe he just didn't know any Chinese name except that?...

4. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Excerpt from my review: So Cannery Row is about a few blocks of fish canneries in the harbour city of Monterey, California, drawn from Steinbeck's memories when he stayed there. This is a tale about its remarkable inhabitants. Who are they? Mostly, a bunch of good-for-nothings. There's Mack and the boys, a gang of unemployed losers, whose only ambition was contentment without working. They occupy an empty building owned by a Chinese grocery store owner - whose 'wealth' mainly consists in the piles of tit bits in his shop, and in the debts of his customers - called Lee Chong. Here's the full review.

Although Lee Chong is a secondary character, he is quite memorable. Still on the Chinese secondary characters in English literature, this book instantly came to mind...

5. Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood

Excerpt from my review: Meanwhile, at the end of each chapter, we follow the fate of two girls - one of them called Peony - separated from the main events. From the snippets of their dialogues, we could feel that they are in misery. But of what kind, we are kept in the dark. Perhaps this would be the binding element of the whole mystery? Peony is a common name for Chinese girls, right? Chinese girls in misery, a Chinese man murdered, there's something in it, surely. To read the full review, just click this link. The sleuth of this series is a female private detective. Here's how I described her [excerpt from my review]: The Honorable Phryne Fisher is the most famous Australian female private detective. Live in St. Kilda, Melbourne in the 1920-1930s, she enjoys her aristocratic status, though never forgets her humble origin. And so, for the sixth and last degree of separation, here's another female private detective whom I have just been introduced to belatedly:

6. Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth

Excerpt from my review: As a debut of a series, Grey Mask is a wonderful one. It has the right amount of actions, light-heartedness, mystery, and a pleasant twist with quite surprising villain at the end. My full review is here. Unlike The Honorable Phryne Fisher, Wentworth's Miss Silver is not at all a formidable figure, although she has a rare occupation at that time (the 1920s): a female private detective. On the contrary, I often felt her presence only on the background. Here's what I described her: She was portrayed as a lady with her knitting; a woman with brain, who does all the deduction needed, but throws the dirty work, so to speak, to men. She once asked Charles to follow a suspect; and imagining that a detective asking his/her client to do the work he/she supposed to do, was quite hilarious to me. And so, this time I began with a post-office girl, and ended with a female private detective. How about you, where did your #6degrees bring you to this time?

Murder at the Spring Ball (2021) by Benedict Brown #20BOS26

2026-06-03T07:00:00.000+07:00

🥂 Beginning a new series is always an exciting reading experience. It is doubly so when the debut proved to be a success, just like this one. Murder at the Spring Ball is Benedict Brown's first book of Lord Edgington cozy mystery series, set in the 1925 England. It's charm is thanks to the combination of the Golden Age Detective vibes - complete with red herrings, incompetent police officer, Poirot-ish style of rather dramatic denouement - and an unlikely sleuth of a former detective and his fourteen years old grandson. There's a little jazz, a little dancing, a little Downton Abbey-ish atmosphere, and a good murder mystery. What else would one need to enjoy one self thoroughly?

🥂 Elderly but still formidably Lord Edgington had been shutting himself from the world after the death of his wife. But now he was suddenly 'awaken', and intended to shake himself out of the heavy 'slumber' with a kick: a grand ball at Cranley Hall, to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday. He surprised everyone, though, by appointing Christopher, his teenage grandson and not altogether special, to be the party organizer. The ball gives us plenty of fun, from the planning, right up to the ball itself, where the first murder is about to be committed. Christopher, of course, made several blunders - imagine a fourteen-year-old organizing a grand ball! His ordering of too much flower for decoration is pretty hilarious; and his worrying whether it was his abundant flowers that have poisoned someone, is rather cute.

🥂 The first victim is Lord Edgington's annoying daughter, who was poisoned to death via the champagne she'd been drinking through the evening. And now Lord Edgington, together with Christopher as his assistant, is conducting a murder investigation - to the chagrin of the Police Inspector - who was his former rival - who was tasked for it. The murderer must be someone who were at the ball: the family, the servants, and Christopher's nemesis: Marmaduke Adelaide, whom Christopher likes to call Marmalade, and who often bullies him at school. Lord Edgington suspects that whoever the murderer is, was trying to kill him, and/or the entire family at the party. But who would want that? And what's the motive?

🥂 I love Christopher from the start, he loves nature and reading Dickens, with healthy appetite - a nerdy introverted like me. I also like the way Lord Edgington educates him (to be a future Chief Inspector like himself?) He encourages Christopher to build his own deduction; never mocking or scolding him too hard when the teenager makes mistake (which is quite often), and always ready to praise when he makes a good job. The way Lord Edgington helps Christopher arranging flowers (the abundant flowers he mistakenly ordered) in the vases until far to the night - a gentle way to let his grandson made mistake and be responsible to the outcome, while learning from it). But what I love most is the duo's dynamic. When Lord Edgington was succumb to his grief after not one, but two of his offsprings murdered (yes, there was a second murder), it was Christopher who made the effort to 'awaken' his grandfather.

🥂 In short, this is such a delightful murder mystery and a beginning of a series, which I would definitely continue on. You can feel a bit of the 1920s vibes, if not from the narrative, at least from the ball. Christopher has been inadvertently introducing jazz to the family reminded me so much of how Rose first brought jazz to Downton Abbey!
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

Bramton Wick (1952) by Elizabeth Fair

2026-05-29T07:00:00.000+07:00

💙 I still find it quite hard to believe that Bramton Wick was Elizabeth Fair's debut novel. It doesn't feel amateurish the way she had interwoven so many characters into one coherent story. Bramton Wick is an English rural country side, the setting of this cheerful slice-of-life story in the aftermath of WWII, where ration coupons were still in use, and fuel is a luxury. Fair opened this by introducing her characters, bringing us from one cottage to the mansion; from one family to other residents. As usual, there is a healthy mix of eccentricity and pompousness to spice up the plot. First there's the pompous Lady Masters with her son Toby, who was tyrannized by his mother; then the Coles who've been living in Lady Masters' house before moving to a humbler place - Mrs. Cole lives with her daughters: war widow Gillian and the dreamy Laura.

💙 Next, there's the Misses Cleeves, whose poverty doesn't diminish their dignified place in Bramton. But, when they are quite dull (excepting Pussy-the-gossip-monger), there are the other spinsters who're more interesting: Miss Selbourne and Miss Garret, who had first met when they drove ambulances during the war, and now live together as dogs breeder. Besides those spinsters, we also have two middle-aged bachelors living in Bramton Wick to balance the equation (and to create one or two love-is-in-the-air situation). A young man called Jocelyn (Isn't Jocelyn a girl's name? It is where I live) was added to the mix, being a nephew of a Major Worthy and his wife.

💙 At first it seems we don't have any definite plot. Just the interaction of these people and several events, like a dog show, which create the usual stir in a small village. But later on I realized that it is centered, at least, upon one family. And the issue that bind the whole story together is romance. The characters are mostly amiable, each with his or her own eccentricity; and they were nicely portrayed. The little village dynamic is plausible and felt as charmingly as one would expect in this kind of story. My only regret is the abrupt manner which Fair ended the story. I realize that this is called slice-of-life story for a reason. However, I would prefer to get a slightly more neatly tying-up of the many lose ends of every character. Or perhaps, just the one other than the main character. I mean, it's such ashamed to waste the entire characters to focus only on one of them, isn't it? But on the whole, this is just the perfect comfortable read to close a day.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax (1971) by Dorothy Gilman #Reading1971

2026-05-25T07:00:00.000+07:00

👒 On her third mission from CIA, the septuagenarian Mrs. Emily Pollifax was given a task to convey eight forged passport into Bulgaria, to help members of the underground political movement to flee the country. As usual, despite of the seemingly simple task, Mrs. Pollifax embarked on another more thrilling adventure. It all started when Mr. Carstairs visited Mrs. Pollifax's apartment (it's the first time he saw her on her natural habitat, so to speak). She's embrace a new hobby (besides karate lessons), which is growing, in her balcony, night-blooming cereus - a species of flowering cactus, which, true to its name, only blooms at only a single night. But of course, she must leave her flower for a while, to embark on a new adventure to Bulgaria. But the positive side is, she's to get a new hat intricately trimmed with flower and bird, which was especially designed to hide that eight forged passports she must smuggle to the country.

Night-blooming Cereus, source: Wikipedia

👒 Unbeknownst to her, however, Mr. Carstair had cheekily slipped something else inside her coat. He shouldn't do that, in my opinion. It's a dangerous game to play with amateur spy-courier, don't you think? Another complication, which Mr. Carstairs would never had imagined, came from Mrs. Pollifax's brief acquaintance with her fellow flight passenger: Philip Trenda. He's a young American college student who's travelling together with several friends to Bulgaria. As often happened, Mrs. Pollifax's affectionate heart usually brought her to further complications. Not that she ever failed to emerge triumphantly from every obstacles. This time, when a young girl called Debbie, a friend of Philip Trenda, brought news about Philip's being arrested by secret police, just after her arrival at Sofia, of course Mrs. Pollifax could not ignore it, could she? 👒 I don't why, but this book felt a little bit off for me. Usually I would immersed into the adventure (and usually there's aplenty of it), but this time, things get excited only when the rescue of Philip Trenda from his captivity in the Panchevsky Institute began. It was quite a mission-impossible, and only Mrs. Pollifax's genuine thinking and encouragement that made it success. The earlier part of the novel was a bit weary; the Balkan tourist agent and Mrs. Pollifax's encounters, while provided a little hilarious conversation, felt redundant. I'm sorry to say, this is rather a disappoinment, but I would still be reading the series through. Davida @ The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog has reviewed the fifth book, and mentioned it as the best so far, so I have a lot of expectation on this one. But maybe I should give Mrs. Pollifax a break next year, and come back to her more fresh the year next.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Golden Collar (1968) by Elizabeth Cadell

2026-05-22T07:00:00.000+07:00

💚 My first ever Elizabeth Cadell brought me to Portugal with delight. It follows David Eliot, an architect who grew up in England, but has inclination to live in Brazil. But before he got chance to secure his career in Brazil, he was offered a job in Sir Bertram's establishment. Sir Bertram is a wealthy and powerful man; the kind who always get what he has set to get, either with money, or cunning. David first got entangled in the bargain by Marly Tranter, Sir Bertram's daughter, a beautiful but overbearing girl who inherits her father's personality. In the end, with a perfect engagement and a promising career, David was stuck in a place where, he slowly realized, he might never fits in; and to get there, he had to sacrifice everything he loved, especially his freedom. Hence, the golden collar - including the chain - had been set upon David.

💚 Sir Bertram sent David and Marly to Portugal to secure a deal over a property, set in a strip of beautiful and secluded beach in the Algarve region. It was to be the couple's wedding present; so in this case, David would have added interest in accomplishing his mission. The property belongs to a highly respectable widow amongst her people, whom they called Senhora Silva. To foreigners, Senhora Silva seems to be an eccentric woman, who refuses wealthy foreigners who offer her big money to buy her property, while she herself is living in a dilapidated big house. The truth is, Senhora Silva is weary over the foreigner's harassment upon her peaceful existence. She dislikes these noisy boisterous tourists who arrive in their beautiful country to buy land and build holiday villas, where they would only live in few months of the year. In the process, they would change and ruin the country. Hence, her decision to close her door, meaning, refusing of selling. But Sir Bertram and Marly interpret Senhora Silva's closing door to merely a business haggle - it's impossible for any person to close their eyes over so much money (and Sir Bertram has that much). 💚 While trying to carrying out the task, David slowly comes to his senses about his engagement with Marly, as well as his position in the Bertrams. All this thanks to some of his new acquaintances who saw it before David is certain about his position. These new friends of him are including an American wealthy businessman who doesn't look one, an eccentric and bossy elderly woman, a Portuguese lawyer of Sir Bertram, and the elusive Senhora Silva herself - whom David eventually meet, causing astonishment to everyone. But most importantly, there's Teresa, Senhora Silva's niece. Teresa is the opposite of Marly in every way, and here we can see how David and Marly are very unsuitable from the beginning - how men can be thus deeply disillusioned, I will never understand. The rest is needless to say here, but although the plot is predictable, the process and the rough beauty of this Portugal coastal village are the main attraction of this book. Not mentioning, the lovely characters of David, Teresa, the demurred Senhora Silva, and even the dear Mr. Easter (the wealthy businessman). 💚 On the whole, this book feels light, but with a bit of depth in it also. For Senhora Silva and Teresa, money and wealth does not mean anything. They created a crèche facility for local young children in one of the Quinta do Infante (Senhora Silva's house complex) buildings. And this, as well as taking care of stray cats, apparently gave Teresa immense happiness, a wholesomeness in her life, that she decided to stay in the Quinta forever. In time, David too, is attracted with the serene and peaceful atmosphere of the place, and, of course, of the girl he falls in love. There's some funny moments too, usually involving Mr. Easter, what a dear old man he is! In short, I love everything about this book, and would certainly read more of Elizabeth Cadell in the future! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Fell Murder (1944) by E.C.R. Lorac

2026-05-20T07:00:00.000+07:00

🌾 The 24th instalment of Lorac's Robert Macdonald series, which combines murder mystery and the charm of farming village in the English countryside of Lunesdale. As usual with these stories, it runs a very slow pace. Robert Macdonald, the C.I.D, didn't even appear in about the first forty percent of the story. The story begins with some kind of reunion. Richard Garth has left his home, Garthmere Hall, in the moorland (fell) some nineteen years ago, over a big quarrel with his tyrannical father, now eighty years old Robert Garth. Richard met secretly with the Garths' bailiff. He just wanted to see again his beloved land, without seeing his family, in particular the father whom he hates.

🌾 The story then moved to Garthmere Hall, where we met the rest of the household: Marion Garth - the eldest daughter who loves farming and has been running the business alongside her father; Elizabeth Meldon - the land girl who helps around with farming; Charles Garth, Marion's brother who's just returned from Malay and who loathes the hard labor of farming; and Malcolm, the youngest son who's physically weak - a weakling who loves poetry more than farming. One morning, an accident involving a gun shot almost took Robert Garth's life. The gun belongs to Marion, and it shouldn't have been loaded. Who had loaded it, and why? Then on a hunting day, when the whole neighborhood carrying and shooting guns, Robert Garth was found dead, shot on his back. 🌾 At first, the local Inspector investigated the murder. However, his abrupt and straightforward manner didn't suit the slow pace rhythm of the dale, and he got nowhere. That's how Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald from Scotland Yard at last entered the scene. He begins by gaining respect and trust from the dales people, in the way of blending himself to the farming life. The dales people usually talk about the weather, and the farming, the crops etc. before finally get to the point. This Macdonald follows by instinct. And only then that he begins collecting clues and proofs. It's quite clear from the start that this was a closed-knitted family mystery (despite the fact of the hunt day, which might include outsiders). Now, who has the chance and motive to murder old Robert Garth, who had been ruling both his family and his farm with iron rod, and thus universally despised? 🌾 Needless to say that, as was with all Lorac's books with similar theme, this one has been a satisfying read for me. The slow pace was comforting, rather than annoying, as it enabled me to taste the farming life, and to get to know each character more closely. My favorite here is Elizabeth Molden - the passion which drives her hard working is pleasant to follow. Marion is also remarkable in her own passion, but she is nevertheless member of the family, who thus, has a direct interest to the farm's prosperity. But Elizabeth is an outsider, and to work for other people with that kind of passion is something one ought to be much grateful for. The plot itself is plausible. I have guessed the murderer without trouble, from their character traits, if not from their conversation. What a pleasant murder mystery to read, but only if you have penchant for slow living or farming. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

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

20 Books of Summer 2026 and Reading the Meow 2026

2026-05-18T07:00:00.000+07:00

Hooray to the return of two of the most anticipated yearly reading events for me! First is 20 Books of Summer 2026, which will be hosted by AnnaBookBel. She's going solo this year, but this reading event, which runs from June to August, was started by Cathy, then continued by AnnaBookBel and Emma last year. Also make its return in June, Reading the Meow 2026, hosted by Mallika. I have almost given this one up, thinking that Mallika was perhaps too busy to host, but I'm very grateful that she's just announcing it a bit later than usual. Anyway, here's the list of my possible reads:

20 Books of Summer 2026

1. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide (2001) - also for #ReadingtheMeow2026
2. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (2012) - also for #ReadingtheMeow2026
3. To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn (2010)
4. In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall - also for my #Reading1971 5. A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont (2024) - also for #ParisInJuly 6. Murder on Wheels by Stuart Palmer (1932) 7. A Walk Across France by Miles Morland (1992) - also for #ParisInJuly 8. The Hidden Gardens of Paris by Susan Cahill (2012) - also for #ParisInJuly 9. French Windows by Antoine Laurain (2023) - also for #ParisInJuly 10. The Carter of "La Providence" by Georges Simenon (1931) - also for #ParisInJuly 11. When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen (2024) - also for #WITMonth 12. Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee (1959) 13. Mr Kato Plays Family by Milena Michiko Flasar (2018) - also for #WITMonth 14. Much Dithering by Dorothy Lambert (1938) 15. One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes (1947) 16. The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson (2020) 17. Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown (2021) 18. Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (2005) 19. An Afternoon Walk by Dorothy Eden - also for my #Reading1971 20. Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce (2018)

Reading the Meow 2026

1. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide (2001) 2. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (2012) 3. Paw Prints in the Moonlight by Denis O' Connor (2004) Of course, they are possible reads only, I might or might not read them (or adding new titles instead). it all depends on the availability of the titles when I pick the books to read, and, as usual, it also depends largely on my mood. Anyway, have you read any of those titles? And would you participate in either reading events?

Murder at Mallowan Hall (2021) by Colleen Cambridge

2026-05-14T07:00:00.037+07:00

✒️ Have you ever imagined what would happened if Agatha Christie were to deal with a real murder? Would she be as shrewd as the detectives she had penned, Poirot or Miss Marple? Well, this new series from Colleen Cambridge were to be as close as you can have to answer that. In this first book we were brought to Mallowan Hall, the fictional mansion of the Mallowans (Max and Agatha), and introduced to their housekeeper and amateur sleuth, Phyllida Bright, who was portrayed as shrewd and organized like Hercule Poirot. In fact, Poirot is Phyllida's hero. And of course, the first murder she's got to solve had taken place at Mallowan Hall.

✒️ The Mallowans was having a house party, and after a storm came just at the first night, another guest is gatecrashing the party: a journalist called Charles Waring. He was accepted upon the Mallowan's benevolence only, what with the storm and it's being late in the night. However, the next morning, when Phyllida entered the library, she found Waring's dead body, stabbed in the neck with a fountain pen (of all the weapon-to-be on the desk: letter opener, marble paper weight). The tragedy creates a havoc among the guests upstairs, and certainly among the staffs downstairs. And Phyllida, who hates disorder, believes it was down to her to solve the murder, without waiting for the Police Inspector to do so, so that everything could be soon back to normal, for her own, as much as for Agatha Christie's sake (she needed peace and order to finish her current book). ✒️ If you are fan to Agatha Christie, you would enjoy this book (and series). Not only that Phyllida Bright has passion of order and little grey cells almost as good as Hercule Poirot's, the sleuthing style itself is a homage to Agatha Christie's. I loved the building suspense before the second murder was about to happen, just like how Agatha Christie had often wrote. I loved also the Hercule-Poirot-denouement style - you know when he pointed finger to one suspect to make he or she squirmed, only to say next that he or she isn't the murder, until dramatically pointed to the real murder? Although Phyllida lacks Poirot's confidence and eloquent, it was amusing to follow nonetheless. But the greatest amuse for me, is perhaps how Cambridge made this murder as an inspiration for the Agatha Christie in the story to write her next book - you know, the body of a stranger found dead in one's library. If you're Christie's fan you would certainly know which book I'm referring to - hint: it's Miss Marple story. Another one is from Agatha Christie's conversation with Phyllida:
"After all, it was you who suggested a story with a victim who everyone thought was an accidental murder, but turned out she was really the actual target and had been killed by the supposed victim as a way to hide her villainy. That is still one of my favorite twist."

Now, I ask you, Agatha Christie fans, do you know which book that is?? No title, please, in case people have not read it!

✒️ I liked all the characters in this book. Phyllida is the most interesting; she lives up to her name: Bright. She has bright hair (fiery red?) and likes to wear bright-coloured clothes while out of work. Her relationship with Agatha Christie is similar to that of Florence Armstrong and Lady Hardcastle's in Lady Hardcastle series (another charming historical cozy mystery). Their friendship dated from their working together during the war. And so, to the outside world they are employer and servant, but in Agatha Christie's closed room, they are friends - although theirs aren't as liberal as Lady Hardcastle and Florence Armstrong's teasing and bantering, it's more of companionship of two people in the same level (they are Phyllie and Agatha between themselves). Phyllida and Christie usually talks about the case, and a little about Poirot and her books. It's not very surprising that Phyllida solved the murder all by herself, without any suggestion from Christie. ✒️ Another interesting character is Bradford, the chauffeur, a sardonic and surly man whose snorts on what Phyllida's saying annoys her greatly, but who had helped her a few times during the investigation. I'm excited to see where their relationship would go from here, and therefore cannot wait to dig into the next books in the series. All in all, this has been a delightful read - a cozy mystery with interesting characters, good portrayal of the downstairs lives of a manor house (imagine Downton Abbey), a nice plot twist with enough red herring, sprinkled with quite a racy motive, and styled similar to Christie's (which I believe, she would even have approved). If you love Agatha Christie, you'll certainly enjoy this series!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

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

The Splendor of Ordinary Days (2015) by Jeff High

2026-05-11T07:00:00.001+07:00

🩺 From the "ordinary days" in the title and the pastoral view of the cover, I have assumed that this novel would not be a far cry from James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small or All Things Bright and Beautiful. Just replace the veterinarian with a physician, and move the setting from English countryside to American small town, and that's that. But there I was wrong. Once again, this reminded me to not judge a book from its cover; least of all, its title.

🩺 Young Dr. Luke Bradford has just been settled in Watervalley, a small town in Tennessee. He had moved from a bigger town a few years ago, but up till now is still feeling like an outsider. At first the story begins with just... well... ordinary days of ordinary lives in a picturesque little town. I loved the banters between Luke and his.. uh.. housekeeper? Anyway, Connie cleans and cooks for him, so Luke could almost always expect to get a warm greeting from Connie and her sister Estelle (who are often welcomed their as visitor). Luke's interaction with his eccentric patients and townfolks are entertaining too - an elderly woman who drinks too much and a cantankerous old veteran and publisher of the local newspaper are only few of them, but the most intriguing ones are the Mennonites.

🩺 I honestly have not realized of the Mennonite's existence until now - I only know about the Amish. They are apparently slightly different in culture and manners, but they are all embracing the same philosophy. And as they first appeared in the story, I began to be apprehensive of what lays ahead. This book would have deeper layer than I have first anticipated. The first 'casualty' was between two young men's supposed 'fight', one of them is a Mennonite, the other is a local war veteran. And when Luther, the cantankerous publisher, decided to publish a story about it, not without slight prejudice against the Mennonite young man, it provoked the town to their long time prejudices against the Mennonites. Apparently, it's up to Luke Bradford to maintain harmony in Watervalley, the town where he grows to love, and where the girl he loves most, Christine Chambers, lives.

🩺 Throughout the story, we are entertained with the 'ordinary days' of living in a small town with its picturesque scenery, eccentric inhabitants, and the busy days of a doctor's practice. But they are all just the background. On the forefront there is the budding relationship of Luke Bradford and Christine Chambers - including the funny scenes of his planning a romantic proposal and the unexpected turn of event which might have thwarted the couple's bright future. But most importantly, there is also a dark secret looming beneath prejudices and old time enmity between two families. The part about war memorial, and particularly Luke's speech in the end, was very touching. And I loved the mixed of mystery and superstitious that lurked behind. It's really a heartwarming novel with unexpected depth.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022) by Shelby Van Pelt

2026-05-08T07:00:00.001+07:00

🐙 Remarkably Bright Creatures is Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel. It tells the story of three characters; of their lives and struggles, and how their lives are intertwined with each other in unexpected ways. First of all, there's Marcellus. He's a giant Pacific octopus who lives - or being captivated, as he always calls his life - in a giant aquarium at Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington DC. Marcellus is the star of this book, and he narrated his own story on every chapter dedicated to him. I listened to the audiobook version, and I always loved when the narrator, Michael Urie's voice as a grumpy old man boomed through my headphone: "Day one thousand three hundred and..... of my captivity" Well, Marcellus's narration never failed to captivate me too! 🐙 The second best main character is Tova Sullivan, an elderly woman in her seventies, who comes daily to clean the Aquarium on night shifts. She's a widow, and has been struggling after her only son Eric (18 years old) vanished on a boat incident in Puget Sound thirty years ago. His body was never found, and the authorities were never sure what caused the incident (was it accident, or suicide?) Tova is certain it could not be suicide, but what really happened? That episode; the uncertainty of it, is always nagging at her heart, and she never gets her closure. Doing the cleaning at the Aquarium gives her joy and comfort, to at least cope with her current life. I loved how she always greets every creature at the Aquarium, like they are her children or pupils. Well, she's their guardian, anyway. But her most wholesome relationship is with Marcellus. Their bond is really heartwarming - an unlikely friendship between two creatures. It was remarkable how they communicated without ever understanding each other's language, but they understand each other so well, nonetheless. 🐙 Last and, unfortunately, least, is Cameron Cassmore; a thirty-ish orphaned young man who was brought up by his aunt, after his drug-addict mother left him. He never knew who his father was, and so, when finding a college portrait of his mother with a boy, he assumed that he must probably have been his father. And so, driving a camper, Cameron is heading to Washington in quest of his (presumably) father. Not surprisingly, he got a job at the Aquarium, and working on a night shift when Tova sprained her ankle and couldn't work for a while. He eventually be friend with Tova, and of course, Marcellus. Cameron is a self-centered, spoiled brat and a crybaby, and I find no other quality to like him better. From start to end. Someone said in Goodreads review that he's warming up near the end, but I disagree. Cameron is simply an ass. And he ruined the whole story for me. Not that it's a perfect one. There are too many unimportant things and conversations scattered about. I found myself bored with these, and only Marcellus' (and occasionally Tova's when she's alone) line that lift up my interest. 🐙 This book might have a brilliant premise - an intelligent and curmudgeonly Giant Pacific Octopus in his attempt to bring happiness to his favorite human. But the structure is not very neat. I feel I might need more of Marcellus' narration than the humans interaction. He's so observant and intelligent, that it was he, Marcellus, who first solved the mysteries that the humans are searching. I believe he's clever enough to tell the stories (half of it, at least) of the humans, only from his observation behind the glass tank. Anyway, I loved the beautiful friendship between Tova and Marcellus, and she had done for him at the end. Marcellus was a much better friend an elderly woman could find, rather than her friends from the knitting club - nosy old women most of them, and not necessary for the story. All in all, it's a beautiful story about friendship, family, forgiveness and acceptance. All it needed to be a perfect one is just a neater writing. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Nutmeg Tree (1937) by Margery Sharp

2026-05-05T07:00:00.002+07:00

🥜 I think I have found in this book, my favorite (so far) Margery Sharp. The Nutmeg Tree (I loved the title too, though the said tree didn't have focal point to the story - it is an allegory). The story opens with a memorable scene in Julia's bathroom, she's taking a bath, singing the Marseillaise, while surrounded by "some of her possessions" - a table, a clock, and whatnot. The bailiffs were outside, taking some furniture out of the flat, indicating Julia's current hard-up-for-money situation. The cash she received from the furniture - after some rather flirty haggles - she needs it to travel to France, on her estranged daughter's invitation.

🥜 From that opening scene, we were instantly aware of Julia's type of character. The story is set in the 1930s. During WWI, Julia had married very young to a guy named Packett, it's a hasty wedding, which lasted just for a year or two. Packett died in the war, leaving Julia with their daughter Suzanne. But Julia couldn't live with the priggish and wealthy Packetts; they were opposite her Bohemian nature. So Julia left her daughter with them, and started her own life as actress and showgirl in London. The Packetts gave her some money - thinking that she can start a good life with it - but of course, it lasted only a very short time. Julia lived always in need of cash - which she always had by either a little flirtation or deceit - you know the kind. And now, suddenly she received invitation from Susan (she called herself Susan rather than Suzanne), to whom she never had any communication before, to give advice about the man she (Susan) wished to marry.

🥜 Excepting the opening scene, the story is set in a vacation villa in Southern France. Julia is now playing her yet biggest "role", a refined lady, worthy of her mother-in-law and her daughter. The whole story centered in Julia's struggle to maintain her dignity, while obstacle after obstacle threatened to expose her true character. The first obstacle came from Susan's lover Bryan; Julia soon found (in her dismay) that he is of her kind (but worse), and therefore won't be suitable for her daughter. Then, Susan's guardian, Sir William Waring, arrived, and left Julia to be on guard every second of her existence. Many comical scenes derived from the many adventures that came Julia's way, and in her struggles to appear graceful and poised. Margery Sharp did a wonderful job in portraying these, and in the process, we get to know Julia's genuine character which made people like her instantly. Well, people who cherished the good quality in her, despite of her unrefined outer manners. I, for one, loved Julia, and wished for her happy ending. 🥜 What can I say? I loved almost every aspect of this book. The comical scenes are brilliant; humorous but tender; the main characters - Julia and Sir William - are lovely and charming, despite of their flaws (Julia's in this case); and the plot is smart. The only setback for me is the inconclusive ending. You might probably know that I dislike hanging ending. I am 99% sure of the ending, but I still prefer a neat one from the writer. Although in this case, I understand Sharp's choice of the ending; it emphasized Julia's character perfectly - you would never know what she might of might not do the next second you leave her alone. Well played, Margery Sharp! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

The One and Only Ivan (2012) by Katherine Applegate

2026-04-30T07:00:00.008+07:00

🦍 The one and only Ivan is a silverback gorilla. He was 'picked' from his kind by humans, and currently lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, where humans can watch him through the glass walls of his 'domain'. Since he grew up in human's home (Mack - the owner of the mall), Ivan has been living like human. His favorite food is yogurt raisin, his favorite pastime is either watching western movies on TV (he has his own TV inside his domain), or working on his art. Yes, Ivan also likes to paint. In short, Ivan is more human than a gorilla should be. He even only vaguely remember about the jungle, and his childhood. Why, he's contented living in his domain (well, a cage really, but her prefers to call it domain). Ivan also lives with his friends - an elderly elephant called Stella, who lives at the next door cage (Ivan's best friend), and Bob, the stray dog, who loves to sleep on Ivan's belly. 🦍 Ivan's favorite human friend is Julia, the keeper's daughter, who also loves to draw and paint. In fact, Ivan gets his art supplies from her. In short, Ivan would have been living contentedly as he is, if Ruby has never come. Ruby is a baby elephant, the Mall's newest 'member', whom they have just taken from her family. They place her together with old Stella. The fact is, Stella is too old to perform anymore with her injured leg, so they need a fresh 'talent' to train. Unlike Ivan, Stella always remembers her previous life in a zoo (elephant remembers, right?), and she's used to tell the others that there are two kinds of human: the kind and the mean; humans in the zoo are the kind one. And when Ruby was 'chastised' by Mack (you wouldn't want to know the details) to learn her actions, something stirred deep in Stella and Ivan's heart. But Stella could do nothing while she's dying, so it's left to Ivan. The question is, what can he do, while he can't even save himself? (Ivan eventually understands what living in a cage means). 🦍 This book is not what I have expected when I picked it up. It has the charming aspects of funny, cute, and tender in it; but it also touches you much deeper. Applegate did a wonderful job of portraying the nature of each animal. And as I was listening to the audiobook, I would also say that Adam Grupper has been equally wonderful in giving each animal character its perfect personification - the sturdy Ivan, the foolish and constantly-chattering Ruby, the graceful Stella, and the laid-back Bob. Ivan is the perfect hero in this alright, but I think I have a soft spot for Bob, haha! On the whole, this is a bittersweet story with a vivid characterization, and also a great way to learn more, in particular, about gorilla. 🦍 I learned an even more intriguing fact from one of Goodreads' reviews, that one and only Ivan was actually derived from a real life story of a gorilla who was also called Ivan. The real Ivan, who was famous as the "Shopping Mall Gorilla", lived - or caged - in a Department Store after being kidnapped from its habitat in Congo. It was then moved - after some protests from some animal protection groups, to Zoo Atlanta, in their Ford African Tropical Forest Exhibit, which mimics the landscape of a natural habitat. You can read more about it here. Needless to say, when I said this is a bittersweet story, I believe the 'sweet' is for the young adult readers' still tender hearts. The reality is much gloomier. When Stella pictured the zoo as a dream place, and also later on when Ruby had been installed safely and happily in a zoo, my thoughts actually were: a zoo is definitely better than a cage, but it's not a place for wild animals. How do we know that they were really happy? They shouldn't have been kidnapped from the first. Now they would never have survived in the wilds. In the end, I had a lot of thinking, and I was not happy. Ah... how I wish I have read this book while I was much more innocent! :( Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Grey Mask (1928) by Patricia Wentworth

2026-04-27T07:00:00.001+07:00

🎭 While I have read a few Patricia Wentworth before, I have yet to start her Miss Silver series. And this time, I prefer to start from the beginning, where Miss Silver was first introduced in Grey Mask. She doesn't, however, appear very often in it. Indeed, it feels like Miss Silver is just a background; like an omniscient protector of the hero and heroine, who involve much more in the actions. It all begins when Charles Moray returns to England, after being abroad for eight years, as a result of being 'jilted at the altar' by his fiancée Margaret. He visits his now abandoned home, which he inherited, only to find that a group of secret criminals have been using it as rendezvous place. The leader is a man with a grey mask. But what astonishes him most, is when he sees the woman he still loves, Margaret, comes and reporting to the grey masked man. 🎭 From his eavesdropping, Charles gets that a girl called Margot is in danger, should some certificates surface. What it is all about, he doesn't understand. What he cares most is why Margaret is involved in it. Apparently, this Margot is a spoiled girl of seventeen, who has just been orphaned after her wealthy father died - drown - at sea, intestate. Moreover, there was either birth certificate nor wedding certificate to be found - or so the lawyer told Margot; that she was literally penniless. Her cousin, to whom the estate would be legally handed down, proposed to marry her. And one the frightful thought on that, she runs away. As you can imagine, she stumbled into Margaret's (and Charles') care and protection, which made them all entangled into this plot. And it was at this point that Charles Moray acquired Miss Maud Silver's service. 🎭 As you can see, Miss Silver's portion of the story is meager. However, we (as well as Charles and co.) always feel her protecting presence. She knows almost everything, even before Charles reports things to her. Sometimes about things that Charles doesn't want to disclose to her. She was portrayed as a lady with her knitting; a woman with brain, who does all the deduction needed, but throws the dirty work, so to speak, to men. She once asked Charles to follow a suspect; and imagining that a detective asking his/her client to do the work he/she supposed to do, was quite hilarious to me. 🎭 As a debut of a series, Grey Mask is a wonderful one. It has the right amount of actions, light-heartedness, mystery, and a pleasant twist with quite surprising villain at the end. Though Charles and Margaret's love story felt rather Victorian, I was entertained enough by Margot's character; a naïve (to naïve for her own good) young girl who always give others consternation, but surprisingly could - mostly by luck - extricate herself from some dangers she had encountered. Her line was so entertaining, and lent this book the light-heartedness, which otherwise would be rather gloomy with that Victorian-ish romance - and plot. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

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

They Came to Baghdad (1951) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

2026-04-24T07:00:00.003+07:00

🐫 While espionage and political stories don't usually fascinate me much, in term of crime/murder mysteries (my favorite is closed-circle mystery in countryside or manor houses), I found They Came to Baghdad as rather charming and highly enjoyable. It's because the mystery focused more upon a young woman's adventures, than the political side itself - which fell conveniently as mere background. This is a no-detective story, and the heroine is a Victoria Jones, a rather daydreaming-kind of girl who works as typist (not good enough in her job). She met a young man called Edward by chance, attracted to him on first sight, and when he bid her goodbye at the end of the day, because he would go to Baghdad (on duty) the following day, she decided to go to Baghdad herself!

🐫 Though practically penniless, Victoria somehow procured her way to Baghdad by creating some lies (she's a born liar; and can say deceitful things effortlessly). Fortunately, she read on paper that an archeologist called Dr. Pauncefoot Jones is currently having a dig in Iraq, and since she, conveniently, shares the same surname, Victoria Jones becomes a niece who is traveling to Baghdad to join his archeological uncle. Before she found her Edward, though, strange things happened. A man is dying on her bed in her hotel room - stabbed!; the man was later identified as a top British secret agent, who was carrying a top secret, by which the secret services men tried to uncover and stop a sabotage. Apparently a superpowers summit is going to be held in Baghdad, but a shadowy anti-communist and anti-capitalist group is threatening to ruin the show. The dying man's last words to Victoria was: "Lucifer... Basrah... Lefarge" - or so they sounded to Victoria. Unknowingly, but not without high excitement, Victoria was pulled into the center of this highly dangerous espionage adventure. 🐫 Of course, knowing that Christie's inspiration for this book was her own trips to Baghdad with her archeologist husband Sir Max Mallowan, we were treated with many bits and pieces about its culture, atmosphere, and even the archeological site itself. And what a treat is is, besides, of course, the thrilling adventures. The identity of the villain, is not so much surprising. You'll probably guess it long before our heroine herself realizes it. In short, it's an unusual combination of espionage and lighthearted adventure, that perhaps only Christie could weave into a highly entertaining story.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

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

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (1971) by Elizabeth Taylor

2026-04-21T07:00:00.003+07:00

🏨 This is my first introduction to the inimitable Elizabeth Taylor, and also the third book for my personal project: #Reading1971, which is the best so far! The previous two were The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher (a pleasant read), and a non fiction by Erma Bombeck: If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pit? (a nostalgic memoir that made me chuckling all the time). At first, Mrs. Palfrey gave impression as a light-hearted tale about elderly people on the last stage of their independence life, but the more you read through, the more you realized it has more than what meets the eye.

🏨 After becoming a widow in her seventy-ish, Mrs. Palfrey decided to move to the Claremont Hotel. In the 1970s, it's not uncommon that some hotels reserved some of its rooms to accommodate elderly residents. These were usually widows or widowers who lived alone. Living in a hotel was not only practical (meals, cleanings, and washings were all taken care of), but it also provided what little of independent and freedom the elderly people could get before the "end" arrive (nursery home, hospital). There at the Claremont, Mrs. Palfrey begins to adjust to this new phase of her life - living at close proximity to the same people and endure their eccentricities day in day out; counting the dull hours until meal times (these are usually the most exciting time for them), and reading or discussing the menu from a board on the vestibule to fill in the time in between meals.

🏨 Of the little freedom the residents of Claremont Hotel could boast of, is the visits of relatives. Sometimes they would dine at the Claremont, or else they would bring the elderly out for a picnic in the country or others. These are usually great events for them - a treat, which they are eagerly looking forward to. And that's what Mrs. Palfrey is lacking of. She has only one grandson - Desmond - but she has invited him without any response. Mrs. Arbuthnot has been pestering her about this relative, that Mrs. Palfrey do something that she would have never dreamt of. She invented a grandson! Ludovic - or Ludo - is an impoverished and handsome aspiring young novelist, who happened to help Mrs. Palfrey when she's fallen on the pavement on her way from the library. His tender care touched Mrs. Palfrey's heart, and what with her gratitude, and Mrs. Arbuthnot's pestering, she blurted out a dinner invitation at Claremont, with the scheme that entailed. In short, Ludo would act as Mrs. Palfrey's charming grandson Desmond, in exchange of some exciting adventures and free dinners. The scheme is successful... until the real Desmond appeared.

🏨 If you think this a comical novel - a Wodehouse with more subdued tone, perhaps - you're totally wrong. It has a much deeper meaning than just a scheme gone wrong. The major themes are loneliness and boredom that old age bring. It's something young people hardly understand, until they too grow old.

"As one gets older life becomes all take and no give. One relies on other people for the treats and things."

"It was hard work being old. It was like being a baby, in reverse. Every day for an infant means some new little thing learned; every day for the old means some little thing lost. Names slip away, dates mean nothing, sequences become muddled, and faces blurred. Both infancy and age are tiring times."

🏨 The loneliness has nothing to do with the presence of others, but the sense of helplessness, uselessness, that the elderly must endure. To watch how their independence slip away from them; that they become more and more burden for the youngsters; the way people treat them like little child, and worse even, treat them as nonentity. I have been witnessing these in my parents. and now I realize that growing old is a painful business - and it's much mentally as is physically - and that scares me not a little. I wish we have that kind of establishment like Claremont Hotel here in Indonesia, though I doubt if I would be able to afford it - it sounds quite expensive...

🏨 The issue of love or affection is also prominent in Mrs. Palfrey. Elderly people always long for loving care and attention from their relatives, and although Mrs. Palfrey is a sensible and independent woman, she, too, couldn't resist the caring and attention Ludo has been providing her. From the beginning, I have sensed that Ludo's feeling towards Mrs. Palfrey is balanced between amusement, boredom, affection, and professional gain (finding in her a wonderful material for his novel, which he titled "They Weren't Allowed to Die There", from Mrs. Palfrey's own remark. Whether Ludo is exploitative or not, is debatable. I personally think it's normal. Anyway, when you encounter an old lady you didn't know, who knits you a sweater, and gives you money when you need it, do you instantly love her? It depends on so many things, right? And nobody would blame you if you don't. The fact that Mrs. Palfrey truly loves Ludo and thinks he loves her as much, well... it's good for her, and she's not very wrong. Ludo is much kinder (as kind as an artist can be) than her grandson Desmond, anyway. 🏨 As a literary creation, Mrs. Palfrey is definitely a brilliant novel, beautifully written. It was shortlisted for the 1971 Booker Prize, but it's a shame it didn't win one. Taylor's character drawing is flawless; she managed to convey each of their personalities through dialogue, mannerism, as well as their inner thoughts. In the end, I felt like knowing them all for a long time. Of the elderlies, my favorite is Laura Palfrey her self. I loved her no-nonsense and strong character - I hope I turn like her in my old age.. :) I also liked Ludo; he is quite a lovely person. He cared about Mrs. Palfrey in his own way, and I can understand if not all what he'd said or done were genuine; she was nobody of him, anyway. And I understand enough that he's half afraid she would become his burden - which is perfectly understandable. So, you see, this seemingly sweet and unassuming (if you judge from the cover) little novel, turned out to be keeping layers of surprising depth underneath each page. If this do not turn up to be one of my favorites this year, I would be very surprised.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ivy Tree (1961) by Mary Stewart #1961Club

2026-04-17T07:00:00.001+07:00

🌳 My third and last read for #1961Club is another Mary-Stewart-success. The Ivy Tree is a slow-paced psychological thriller about double identity, deception, greed, and, of course, a bit of romance. It is centered upon a young woman who calls herself Mary Grey - and who finds herself one day in the Roman Wall countryside in Northumberland, looking on to the ruin of a beautiful old house, and is identified by an angry farmer as Annabel Winslow. The farmer, a hardworking man called Connor "Con" Winslow. He is now the manager of Whitescar Farm. Eight years ago, Connor, who was a scheming and greedy young man, wanted to marry his second cousin, Annabel Winslow. But Annabel rejected him and fled away from Whitescar, to the disappointment of Matthew Winslow, her grandfather who adored her and wanted to make her his heir (hence Con's marrying her).

🌳 Several days after Mary Grey convinced Connor that she's not Annabel Winslow - despite of her uncanny resemblance to the disappeared woman - Connor's devoted sister Lisa Dermott visited Mary and proposed her to impersonate Annabel Winslow, and "come home" to Whitescar, to which Mary agreed. The inheritance money, after being divided between her and Connor, of course, would save her from her current poverty. There are two things, however, that could imperil their scheme: Mary Grey's fear of horses (against Annabel's love of the equine creatures), and Annabel's secret love affair with the Winslow's neighbour: Adam Forrest. Could Mary and Connor work through with these deception, and succeed in inheriting Whitefarm in the end?

🌳 The psychological thriller aspect I'm speaking about lays in Mary Grey/Annabel Winslow's true identity. Throughout the story Stewart threw hints and insinuations, that makes us - along with other characters in the story - continually wondering whether the woman is an impersonator, or Annabel Winslow herself; is this a deception or, well, a double deception? It is this aspect that sparks high level of excitement throughout the reading - beyond, of course, the success or failure of the scheme. Naturally, the first half of it was rather slow in pace. Mary Grey's "lessons" about Whitescar and the Winslows, which ran for three months, acted also as the background to the situation. The condition of the old grandfather (his end is near), and the upcoming arrival of Julie (Annabel's cousin, whom could change their whole scheme).

🌳 On the whole, this was an exciting thriller/romance to read. And, knowing Mary Stewart, I have been expecting some car-speeding and/or horse-prancing scenes - and Stewart didn't disappoint me - both were there to enlivened the thriller aspect. Of course, there's romance too, but I won't talk much about it. It happened near the end, anyway. What a fascinating book to close my #1961Club chapter this April. I can't wait to know which year Simon and Karen would pick for October!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

The 1961 Club

hosted by Simon and Karen