More of wot I have read…

Miss Garnet’s Angel by Sally Vickers

We have been picking up strange books at the local fairs and charity shops as they are so cheep and this book was one of those for me. I had a faint recollection about hearing of it before on the radio where they discussed its themes. The story of Tobias and the Angel Rafael stuck in my mind. It is definitely an odd little book that seems to wander aimlessly around at times, where the main character seems to be equally befuddled about what is going on too. Nevertheless it has many good points too and could be worth your time if you don’t mind something more esoteric than athletic.


‘When a friend dies, Julia Garnet goes to stay in Venice where a lifetime of caution is challenged. She encounters the paintings in the local church which tell the story of Tobias and the Angel. The ancient tale of Tobias, who travels to Media unaware he is accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, unfolds alongside Julia Garnet's contemporary journey. As she unravels the story's history, Julia's own life is thrown into question – for, like the shifting sea-light of Venice, nothing here is quite as it seems.’


Have the men had enough by Margaret Forster

When I had finished the Angel book I was hunting around for something else to read and so I picked my wife’s ‘second’ book. It was most definitely not some I would have chosen had there been any alternatives and it was a very different book to what I am used to. Concentrating on the difficulties of dealing with an elderly relative decent into senility it is an emotionally tough book that seems to be either written as a text for home-carers or for the more masochistic reader. Not something I would recommend unless you are particularly interested in the subject matter.


‘What do men run away from? Not war, not physical hardship, but the day-to-day emotional demands of impossible domestic situations. That's women's work. This is a story of female courage, where black comedy turns to disturbing pathos revolving around the rights of an indomitable woman’