The Snow Child by Eoywn Ivey

About the book

Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding: is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her?

Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairy tale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic.

Reviewed by The Blank Books

“Well written and easy to read. A fairy tale for grown-ups which did not appeal to everyone but was generally enjoyed”

star rating ***

 

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Away by Amy Bloom

Away by Amy Bloom

 About the book

Amy Bloom’s novel revitalises the American road trip novel, from the perspective of a vulnerable but spirited woman. It paints a vivid, earthy and surprising picture of 1920s America, its smells and textures, its population of drifters and con artists, pimps and prostitutes

Reviewed by Seagals

“we all found this book very disappointing. It was a promising story but had a weak ending”

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The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

About the book

Generally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s finest novel, The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the “roaring twenties”, and a devastating expose of the “Jazz Age”. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore in the 1920s, to encounter Nick’s cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and the mystery that surrounds him.

Reviewed by Museum Book Group:

A well observed and beautifully written novel. A sad book, which made us aware of America post 1918 war. The mixing of social classes and the influence of old and new money. The characters were well drawn and were very real in the reading.

Star rating: ****

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