The Unknown Bridesmaid by Margaret Forster

Paperback: 234 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Chatto and Windus 2013
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: Julia gave the child the doll and waited. There was a toy cradle in the room and a toy pram, the old fashioned sort, not a buggy.
Review Quote: "Margaret Forster is a brilliant and prolific writer... her latest novel is one of her best. It's a gripping read" (Observer)
My Opinion:   Immensely readable.


Margaret Forster has a wonderful gift for storytelling and I have been enjoying her writing since the late nineteen-sixties. The Unknown Bridesmaid was no exception a beautifully crafted tale of family relationships, that I found immensely readable. 
Featuring Julia a successful child psychologist that spends her working life counselling young girls with supposed behavioural problems. The story is written from Julia's perspective both in the present day, where her work in the present seems to trigger memories from her own troubled childhood. The flashbacks start from when she was invited to be a bridesmaid for a cousin. The narrative moves smoothly from present to past with no confusion as Julia's childhood unfolds as her childhood demons catch up with her and she faces up to the fact that she needs to know the truth. It may not be as destructive as she fears but to find out you will have to read for yourself.

Recommended to all readers that want a novel that is both thought provoking and realistically portrays family relationships.


Author Profile

                     Image courtesy of Eamonn McCabe

Margaret Forster was born in Carlisle, England on May 25th 1938, where she grew up and lived until going to Somerville College, Oxford to read modern history. Since graduating in 1961, after a brief period as a teacher she has gone on to work as  a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, radio and various newspapers and magazines. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1975.
She has been married to to the writer, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies since the day after she finished her final exams in 1961, having met and fallen in love when she was just seventeen. They have three children, Caitlin, Jake and Flora. She divides her time, living six months in London and the same in the Lake District.  Since 1963 Margaret Forster has worked as a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, to Radio 4 and various newspapers and magazines.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Margaret Forster - Wikipedia       British Council - Literature   Goodreads - Author Profile
Gwen John - Wikipedia    Wikimedia Commons

Linking up today with Literary Friday

Lost and Found My Story by Lynda Bellingham

Hardback: 358 pages
Genre: Autobiography
Publisher:  Random House Group 2010
Source:  Tywyn Library, Wales.
First Sentences: It was a crisp, clear October morning in Montreal, Canada. The sun glinted on church spires. 
Favourite Quote:  It has taken sixty years to discover who I really am.
Review Quote: "Courageous ... searingly honest" (Mail on Sunday)
My Opinion: Interesting and raw account.

An actress whose work I have followed with interest over the years so although I do not normally read many autobiographies when this was recommended by a friend I decided to give it a go. This autobiography is an interesting and sometimes raw account of Lynda Bellingham's life. Where with brutal honesty she shares her life experiences, adoption, sexual appetite and the mental abuse she suffered till she found herself and happiness at the age of sixty. Her warm personality and much needed sense of humour show through in her writing.

At times this book is a little harrowing with some strong language, at least she has not written about a sugar coated dream life but a horribly realistic one.  Lynda Bellingham is a very strong woman who has written about surviving the tough times she has already faced and sadly is now currently facing another major obstacle in her life in the form of cancer. Wishing her all the best in this latest battle which she is struggling to overcome. 

I would recommend Lost and Found My Story to fans of this actress if you can face the home truths she writes about.



                                     Lynda Bellingham talking about 'Lost and Found My Story'

Author Profile

Born: May 31, 1948 in Montreal, Canada

I have chosen to use this Biography in her own words from her Official Website

I was born in Montréal, Canada. My dad was a pilot for BOAC so we moved around a fair bit when I was young. When he retired to buy a farm we spent the next forty odd years in a village called Aston Abbotts near Aylesbury. I went to Aylesbury High school for girls. I appeared in several school plays and performed at the Pendley Shakespeare festival as Puck in ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ Arrived in London at the Central school in 1966 and never looked back. I had a ball!
Over the last forty years I have managed to make a living from the industry and even make a name for myself. I played Helen Herriott in All Creatures Great and Small for three series. I starred with James Bolam in ‘Second Thoughts’ and then as Faith in ‘Faith in the Future’ with the lovely Julia Sawalha playing my daughter. In 1998 we won a best comedy award. I did a stint on The Bill as the evil Irene Radford and played in At Home with the Braithwaites and Bonkers.
In the theatre I have starred with David Jason in ‘Look No Hands’ at the Strand Theatre with Janet Suzman and Maureen Lipman in ‘The sisters Rosensweig’ at the Old Vic. More recently I did ‘Losing Louis’ with Alison Steadman and ‘Sugar Mummies’ at the Royal Court. I also starred in a two hander called ‘Vincent River’ with Mark Field at the Trafalgar Theatre. Perhaps my biggest triumph is starring in Calendar Girls on the national tour and in the West End.
My film career stretches from Confessions of a Window Cleaner to Alexandra the wife of Czar Nicholas in a twelve million dollar Russian epic filmed entirely in Russia called the Romanovs, a love story. Other credits include ‘Don't go breaking my heart’ and ‘The Scarlet Tunic’.
I did various commercials and finally found myself at the centre of the Oxo campaign. I spent the next sixteen years as the Nation's treasure making gravy. It won every award there was to win. Speaking of awards I am proud to say I am now part of the NTA award winning show Loose Women on ITV. I have a wonderful time once or twice a week chewing the fat with the other girls.
I once said I would never marry again but never say never. In 2008 on my sixtieth birthday I got married for the third and last time to Michael Pattemore. My sons Michael and Robbie are doing well and my career goes from strength to strength. I have my autobiography out and I am working on the next book. I know I have a good deal to learn as a writer but I love it and practice makes perfect.

I am in a wonderful place and very grateful for all the good things that have happened to me.

Since writing the personal biography I have quoted above Lynda Bellingham has sadly been diagnosed with cancer which she has been fighting since the diagnosis in the summer of 2013. She recently gave an interview to the Daily Mail about its impact on her life.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her life. 


Lynda Bellingham - Wikipedia   Facebook Profile - Lynda Bellingham    Twitter Profile

Daily Mail Interview   YouTube Video  Amazon Author Page

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Hardback:  416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher:  Bloomsbury Publishing 2013
Source:  Tywyn Public Library, Wales.
First Sentences: So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one. But just the one, Don't either of you ask me for more.
Favourite Quote: “They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.” 
Review Quote: A story of love, separation, friendship, compassion, exile, memory and the troubled history of Afghanistan, spanning three continents and 60 years... Hosseini is a master storyteller and his characters brim with life... This novel will not disappoint his many admirers (Paul Dunn The Times)
My Opinion: An outstanding storyteller he has written another very moving and emotional tale.


It has been a long six year wait for a third novel from Khaled Hosseini  best selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. As a great fan of his first two novels I have been looking forward to his next novel for a long time, I can honestly say that And The Mountains Echoed was well worth the wait. An outstanding storyteller he has written another very moving and emotional tale, this time about how the choices we make in life can reverberate through time shaping our futures in surprising ways. The story does not just cross generations but also continents Kabul, Paris, San Franciso and a Greek Island.

Spanning sixty years with a vast cast of characters, the story hinges entirely on Abdullah and his sister Pari and how a heart breaking event in their childhood, will stay with them and mould their lives for years to come. The scenarios and characters are very realistic as the novel transports us from rural Afghanistan to its busy cities and beyond to the wider world as it slips backward and forward in time.  Always linking in subtle ways to the story that a loving father was relating to his children at the opening of the novel. 

A story and characters that will stay with you long after you finish the last page, a must read for all fans. If you are not yet one, it is time you read a novel from an author that really understands about life in Afghanistan. Highly recommended.

Author Khaled Hosseini talks about 'And The Mountains Echoed'




The Kite Runner - My Bookcrossing Review  If you visit the link scroll down the page for my review.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - My Bookcrossing Review


Author Profile

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 4th 1965. In 1970 Hosseini and his family moved to Iran where his father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran. In 1973 the family returned to Kabul, 
In 1976, when Hosseini was 11 years old, the family moved for his father's work again to Paris.  They were unable to return to Afghanistan because of the Saur Revolution in which the PDPA communist party seized power through a bloody coup in April 1978. Instead, a year after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1980 they sought political asylum in the United States and made their residence in San Jose, California.
Hosseini graduated from Independence High School in San Jose in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. in 1993. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1996. He practised medicine for over ten years, until a year and a half after the release of The Kite Runner. He now lives in Northern California, USA with his wife, Roya and children Harris and Farah.

Khaled Hosseini is now one of the most widely read and beloved novelists in the world, with over thirty eight million copies of his books sold in more than seventy countries. The Kite Runner was a major film and was a Book of the Decade, chosen by The Times, Daily Telegraph and Guardian. A Thousand Splendid Suns was the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year in 2008. Hosseini is also a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and his writing. 

Goodreads Author Profile  Amazon Author Profile  Khaled Hosseini - Facebook Page 

Official Author Website  Khaled Hosseini - Wikipedia  YouTube

Linking up today with Literary Friday

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Hardback: 446 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:  Hodder and Stoughton 2013
Source:  Tywyn Library, Wales.
First Sentences: My father trusted me with the details of his death. 'Ania,' he would say, no whiskey at my funeral. I want the finest blackberry wine. No weeping, mind you. Just dancing.
Favourite Quote:  “I don't know what it is about death that makes it so hard. I suppose it's the one-sided communication; the fact that we never get to ask our loved one if she suffered, if she is happy wherever she is now...if she is somewhere. It's the question mark that comes with death that we can't face, not the period.” 
Review Quote: If you think you know Jodi Picoult, her latest novel will make you think again . . . a powerful and unexpected climax (Good Housekeeping 2013-03-19)
My Opinion:  It is not an easy read but if you can stomach the horror tales of the Holcaust it is well worth doing so.


I have not read a Jodi Picoult for a couple of years as I had previously felt they were becoming rather formulaic. 'The Storyteller' proves me to be wrong as this is very different, a harrowing story that will stay with you a long time after you turn the last page.   It is disturbing to say the least to read the first person descriptions of horrific happenings in the Nazi concentration camps of the Second World War.  This novel has definitely put Jodi Picoult back on my list of authors to read as she manages to combine the realism of the war, betrayal and horrendous murders with love, mercy and forgiveness. It is not an easy read but if you can stomach the horror tales of the Holcaust it is well worth doing so.

The female protagonist Sage Singer is a reclusive young woman with a past that has driven her to retreat into sleeping by day and working by night. Sage attends a therapy group and it is here that she befriends Josef Weber a retired teacher and much respected member of the local community. One day he shocks her by asking her for help as he wants to die! It does not end with her refusal but gets very complicated when he reveals to her the terrible secret that he has lived with for sixty years . Has his past evil behaviour been atoned or should he still be brought to justice. The story tells of Sage's dilemma should she be offering forgiveness or not, her feelings are complicated by the fact that these abominable acts may well have involved a family member. With all her illusions shattered about this man she thought was her friend, Sage looks into her family history to try and answer her questions about the situation she has found herself in. The horrors of war, that she learns about haunt her as she tries to decide just what she should do.

In conclusion I feel this novel gives readers a fresh insight into a much written about topic although it is of course very harrowing and upsetting at times it is written in a sensitive way.


BBC Interview with Jodi Picoult about 'The Storyteller' which is very interesting and added to my enjoyment of the novel.

Author Profile

Jodi Lynn Picoult was born on May 16th 1966 and grew up in Nesconset, Long Island, New York, USA and she now lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with her husband Tim Van Leer and their three children Sammy, Kyle and Jake. She grew up with a love of writing and her first story, at age 5 was "The Lobster Which Misunderstood." She studied writing at Princeton University, graduating in 1987, and had two short stories published by Seventeen magazine while still studying. After graduation a series of miscellaneous jobs followed from editing textbooks at a publishing company to teaching English classes. She later attended Harvard University to earn her master's degree in education.
Her long list of published novels are all strongly connected to human emotional issues and complex relationships. In 2003 she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction and currently there are over fourteen million of her books in print worldwide.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing. 

Goodreads - Author Profile  Jodi Picoult - Official Website  BBC Interview - Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult - Facebook     Bibliography of Books - Wikipedia

Linking up today with Literary Friday