The Path of Celtic Prayer | Calvin Miller

I have read Miller for a few years now and this is one of his latest books. He is on a boat on his way to Ireland and is hit by a desire to investigate and emulate the Celtic mystics. He writes this book after his time of learning and praying and it is a beautiful book.

 It is decorated with Celtic knots, borders and crosses. It includes a bit of background to each type of prayer and exercises we can follow in the pursuit of prayer. It is a very experiential book, in which we are drawn into a deeper understanding of and experience of prayer. The Celts had an amazing relationship with nature and the elements and it permeates their prayers. I enjoyed it and will re-read it often because of its refreshing approach to an ancient custom.

I have also read 'Once Upon a Tree' and ' Into the depth of God' by Miller and enjoyed them both.

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Corduroy Mansions | Alexander McCall Smith

I really enjoy reading McCall Smiths books. He's quite prolific and this one is a stand-alone book, not part of any of his ongoing series. This novel is typical of his style and is a gentle read with very amusing and engaging characters. Not a lot happens but it does so beautifully! 
Corduroy Mansions is a building in Plimlico, London where the occupants of four flats interact over a short period of time. I try and figure out why his books are so good and I think it's because of McCall Smith's ability to get people so right. In their manner and dress and in what they think. It's very funny and the people quirky. 
A father is trying to put pressure on his adult son to move out so begins a dog-sharing arrangement with another London couple. His son is terrified of dogs. Will he move out? The flat downstairs has four young women all absorbed in their different lives and jobs as a colonic irrigationist, an MP's PA, an art student...They get to know the dog and his owner. 
The man in the first floor flat seems to be carrying on some sort of quiet revolution with his Sri Lankan friend. He meets the girls and the dog...It's hard to out line the plot but these interactions all lead the story along and give you good laughs along the way.
Alexander McCall Smith also wrote the "Number one Ladies Detective Agency of Botswana" series which are brilliant. And two other series set in Scotland, where he's from . He was brought up in Botswana and has captured it beautifully. He has also written many great children's books. 

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The Story Of Lucy Gault | William Trevor

I do like a good old tragedy and the Irish do it better than anyone else. Trevor William has put together a simple story with gorgeous use of language that, although sad, is full of pathos rather than depression. Only the Irish can do this!

The story is set in Ireland in the 1920's or there about. There is disquiet in the land and the land owners are being threatened by the rabble and burned out of their homes. The Gaults decide to leave their land and vast home for a while till things settle down. but Lucy, a young child of abut 7 or 8 does not want to leave her beloved fields with a view of the sea.  
Through a series of unfortunate events Lucy is tragically left behind as her parents believe her drowned. They go off to Europe and never make contact with people left behind in Ireland so when Lucy is found, no one can reunite her with her family. Not something that could happen in this day and age due to Google and the rest, but back in those days, it's totally believable. This is a family to whom something unfortunate happened and Trevor plays out the ramifications and consequences of a small act of rebellion.
I loved reading it and the story of Lucy's life is very well told. 

The Master Butcher's Singing Club | Louise Erdrich

This is one of my all time favourite novels. It is the story of Fidelis Waldvogel and friends Delphine Watzka and her partner Cyprian who try and make a life for themselves in the small prairie town of Argus, North Dakota. Fidelis and Cyprian fought in World War I and their children fight in World War II. 

When Fidelis goes home from his time as a sniper with the army he seeks out Eva, his best friend's fiancée. He tells her of his death and his promise to marry her and look after the child. Due to the poverty in Europe they head off to North Dakota to a German community where he becomes the butcher.

Delphine and Cyprian are the other main characters. They make a living as a vaudeville act who after a crisis return to Argus to Delphine's alcoholic father. In cleaning out his stench filled house they discover three bodies in the cellar and try to figure out that mystery. 

Eva and Delphine meet and become good friends. Their destinies are intertwined as Eva is nursed through her cancer which kills her. Delphine brings up her four boys who all go off to war eventually. 
There is a lot here with the themes of love, family, friendship, small town politics and the Singing club all developed into a memorable story.


The community is a German American one which is also part of Erdrich's own as well as her Native American heritage. i went on to read most of her books and they are all very good but this one is the best.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This is a delightful read, the sort of book you can give away time and time again because it has everything in it that makes a great story. Shaffer was in her sixties when she wrote it at the request of her many friends. She died soon after and her niece took up the editing and publishing of the novel. The story came to Shaffer after her visit to the isle of Guernsey in the 1970's where she learned of the German occupation of the island during World War 2. 

The story begins as a dialog between a young woman called Juliet who writes humorous column for her local Chelsea newspaper and Dawsey Adams, an islander. He came across her name in an old book of hers. In the correspondence between them he tells of the island, of it's many weird and funny characters and of the German occupation. This period was one of deprivation and hunger, fear and solidarity among the islanders.

The story emerges of the Potato Peel pie society which came about on the spur of the moment when a German officer interrogates Elizabeth, a local. She makes it up on the spot to cover the fact a group of friends had met to feast on a contraband pig. 
But in the end, the group decides to start reading and meeting together and through literature they find solace in those desperate times.

Other surviving members of the group follow Dawsey's lead and write to Juliet about their wartime experiences. She in turn ends up visiting the island. 
All in all it is a very satisfying read. Loads of interesting characters, anecdotes and the historical backdrop of the German invasion are woven into a great read.