Had a little burst of 20 Books reading over the past couple of weekends so thought I’d do a quick review catch up in one post!
ANY HUMAN HEART by WILLIAM BOYD
This is book 3 of my 20 books of summer 2022.
A rather epic and captivating ‘diary’ of a man throughout the 20th century. The name dropping, the social events, moments in history all captured in this story of Logan Mountstuart and the way it is written makes it so easy to pick up and get addicted to! It feels like you’re reading the diary of a real person and you watch as the story takes you from his childhood to adulthood and this is a man who has a story to tell!!
his travels take him all over the world, in to the orbit of the great and the good, all while dealing with the failings of being a human with weaknesses. And I think that’s what makes this such an epic read – there are many good times but there are also those darker moments where life isn’t treating him so well and it makes for some heartbreaking reading at times! Absolutely brilliant!
★★★★★
FACES ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE by EMMANUELLE PAGANO
This is book 4 of my 20 Books of Summer 2022.
This was a nice little short story collection, linked by the characters being those on the edge of society. The forgotten, the quiet but their experiences of life made for some fascinating reading as it describes the little snapshots of humanity that make such a big impact on peoples’ lives.
From a tree in the neighbourhood impacting on a family, to lots of mentions of ‘blind spots’ which fit quite nicely with the ‘invisible’ feeling of some of the characters and how they felt. The stories are often short and snappy but with just enough detail to grab you quickly and pull you in to the essence of the character and situation.
My absolute favourite was the last story ‘Glitter’, which was all about a love of books and reading – a story I could really resonate with and would happily have read a whole book about that character on its’ own!!
★★★
ISABEL’S SKIN by PETER BENSON
This is book 5 of my 20 books of summer 2022.
Hello dark and twisted tale!! A gothic treat for you if you pick this one up and I’m so glad I have had the pleasure of picking this one up!
It all starts very quietly with the story of David, a solitary man who lives a very quiet life working as a book valuer, sticking to routines and shunning social situations But his quiet life in London is about to change with a trip to Somerset to value the collection of the late Lord Orpington. There he encounters a housekeeper, and the locals warn him of strange goings on in that house. He also meets the very strange Prof Hunt and the darkness level begins to ramp up!!
In the midst of his Somerset experiences, we get flashbacks to David’s youth, losing his mother at a young age, and the friend he made at University which explains a lot about the way he is now
Isabel is the young woman who becomes his focus and causes a big change in his outlook as he begins to take care of her, and dealing with the consequences of helping her escape her ‘prison’. This is one of those weird and wonderful stories that I lap up and the darkness was just perfect!! Not over the top, but dark enough to give you the chills!!
★★★★
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Books and Me! 
