Cartes Postales by Victoria Hislop

                                      

Paperback: 438 pages                                                                                                 
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Headline 2016
Source: Charity Shop Purchase
First Sentence: They arrived dog-eared, always torn, often almost illegible, as though carried across Europe in a back pocket.
Favourite Quote: “Books are the essence of life. And there is nothing like a good story to pass the time.”
Review Quote: A discerning fly-on-the-wall view of the country, a heady mix of poetic licence and gravitas. . . Greece works its magic in Hislop's latest ode to the country, The Lady on Cartes Postales from Greece
Main Characters: Ellie(the reader of the postcards) Anthony(the writer of them)
Setting: Greece
My Opinion:  Victoria Hislop has with 'Cartes Postales from Greece' portrayed the Greeks love of life and their friendliness towards strangers. 

Unusually for a novel the author worked with a photographer, Alexandros Kakolyris, to illustrate the story.  Actually, it is more like a series of short stories set within Ellie's story which is built around a set of postcards and a diary/notebook.

The historical and modern mix of tales emphasises why the Greeks feel as they do for their beautiful but financially troubled country.

Although I enjoyed this, I do really prefer novels where the characters are more fully developed and Ellie certainly wasn't.

Recommended reading for fans of the author and anyone that loves Greece.



Précis Courtesy of Amazon:

GRETA THUNBERG was born in 2003. In August 2018, she decided not to go to school one day, starting a strike for the climate outside the Swedish Parliament. Her actions ended up sparking a global movement for action against the climate crisis, inspiring millions of pupils to go on strike for our planet, and earning her the prestigious Prix Liberté, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Greta has Asperger's, and considers it a gift which has enabled her to see the climate crisis 'black and white'.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference is Greta's first book in English, collecting her speeches from climate rallies across Europe to audiences at the UN, the World Economic Forum, and the British Parliament. Her next book, Scenes from the Heart is a memoir, jointly written with her mother, the opera singer Malena Ernman, her sister Beata Ernman, and her father Svante Thunberg.Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to a name Ellie does not know, with no return address, each signed with an initial: A.

With their bright skies, blue seas and alluring images of Greece, these cartes postales brighten her life. After six months, to her disappointment, they cease. But the montage she has created on the wall of her flat has cast a spell. She must see this country for herself.

On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece. Moving, surprising and sometimes dark, A's tale unfolds with the discovery not only of a culture but also of a desire to live life to the full once more.Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to a name Ellie does not know, with no return address, each signed with an initial: A.

With their bright skies, blue seas and alluring images of Greece, these cartes postales brighten her life. After six months, to her disappointment, they cease. But the montage she has created on the wall of her flat has cast a spell. She must see this country for herself.

On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece. Moving, surprising and sometimes dark, A's tale unfolds with the discovery not only of a culture but also of a desire to live life to the full once more.

Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to someone Ellie does not know, each signed with an initial: A.

These alluring cartes postales of Greece brighten her life and cast a spell on her. She decides she must see this country for herself.

On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece. Moving, surprising and sometimes dark, A's tale unfolds with the discovery not only of a culture, but also of a desire to live life to the full once more.

Author Profile:
                                                
 Photograph © Bill Waters

Victoria Hislop read English at Oxford, and worked in publishing, PR and as a journalist before becoming a novelist. She is married with two children.

Her first novel, The Island, held the number one slot in the Sunday Times paperback charts for eight consecutive weeks and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Victoria was the Newcomer of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards 2007 and won the Richard & Judy Summer Read competition.Victoria acted as script consultant on the 26-part adaptation of The Island in Greece, which achieved record ratings for Greek television.

Her second novel, The Return, set against the tempestuous backdrop of the Spanish Civil war was also a Number One bestseller. She returned to Greece for her third novel, The Thread, taking as her backdrop the troubled history of the city of Thessaloniki in a story that spans almost a century, beginning with the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917. Her short story collection, The Last Dance and other Stories, was widely acclaimed.

In 2014, she published The Sunrise, a turbulent family saga set in Cyprus after the Turkish invasion of 1974 which would leave the glamorous resort town of Famagusta a ruin ringed by barbed wire for decades to come.

Her most recent novel, Those Who Are Loved, was published in May 2019

Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Amazon Author Page     Goodreads Author Page    Victoria Hislop Official Author Website

The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger

Hardback: 306 pages                                                                                                

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Source: The publisher in return for an unbiased review.

First Sentence: I've spent a lifetime trying to forget, yet the smallest thing takes me back to the time the Dragon Lady was shot.

Review Quote: A fascinating fictionalised account of the life of Lady Virginia Courtauld... a spirited account of a flamboyant life. (Antonia Senior The Times)

Main Characters: Lady Virginia Courtauld and Stephen Courtauld 

Setting: UK, Italy and Rhodesia

My Opinion: The author has written with great passion this story of Lady Virginia Courtauld. With a mystery at the centre of the narrative, it opens with the shooting of the protagonist Ginie in Rhodesia where she and her husband moved after being ostracised by British society.

Once I finished reading this delightful novel I looked into the historical background, as I knew very little about the Courtauld family. It is obvious that Louisa Treger did very through research and has produced a very readable novel with her excellent blend of fact and fiction.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Opening with the shooting of Lady Virginia 'Ginie' Courtauld in her tranquil garden in 1950s Rhodesia, The Dragon Lady tells Ginie's extraordinary story, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg. From the glamorous Italian Riviera before the Great War to the Art Deco glory of Eltham Palace in the thirties, and from the secluded Scottish Highlands to segregated Rhodesia in the fifties, the narrative spans enormous cultural and social change. Lady Virginia Courtauld was a boundary-breaking, colourful and unconventional person who rejected the submissive role women were expected to play.

Ostracised by society for being a foreign divorcée at the time of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson, Ginie and her second husband ,Stephen Courtauld, leave the confines of post-war Britain to forge a new life in Rhodesia, only to find that being progressive liberals during segregation proves mortally dangerous. Many people had reason to dislike Ginie, but who had reason enough to pull the trigger?

Deeply evocative of time and place, The Dragon Lady subtly blends fact and fiction to paint the portrait of an extraordinary woman in an era of great social and cultural change.

Author Profile:

Born in London, Louisa Treger began her career as a classical violinist. She studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a freelance orchestral player and teacher.

Louisa subsequently turned to literature, gaining a First Class degree and a PhD in English at University College London, where she focused on early twentieth century women’s writing.

Married with three children, she lives in London.



Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Author's Official Website   Goodreads Author Profile  Amazon Author Page

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg

Paperback:  68 pages                                                                                                

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Penguin Books 2019

Source: Amazon

First Sentence: Last summer, climate scientist Johan Rockstrom and some other people wrote that we have at most three years to reverse growth in greenhouse-gas emissions if we're going to reach the goals set in the Paris Agreement.

Favourite Quote: “Homo Sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.”

Review Quote: The speeches of a young climate crisis activist who inspired global school strikes are sobering but tentatively hopeful. The Guardian Newspaper

Main Characters: Greta Thunberg

My Opinion: A little book of just 68 pages but with a huge message. It contains the content of the speeches that Greta has now repeated many times.

Not enough notice is being taken because of who she is and what she represents, however she is only repeating the facts she has learnt from the scientists.

About time some serious action was taken for the sake of future generations.

If you are not already aware of what this exceptional young lady has to say, then it is time you were!

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

The history-making, ground-breaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young activist who has become the voice of a generation

'Everything needs to change. And it has to start today'

In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day. Her actions ended up sparking a global movement for action against the climate crisis, inspiring millions of pupils to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

This book brings you Greta in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across Europe, from the UN to mass street protests, No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.


Video Trailer for ' Greta Thunberg Rips World Leaders at the U.N. Over Climate Change     ' Courtesy of YouTube

Author Profile:  

Greta Thunberg, born January 3rd 2003, is a Swedish schoolgirl who, at age 15, began protesting outside the Swedish parliament about the need for immediate action to combat climate change and has since become an outspoken climate activist.

She is known for having initiated the school strike for climate movement that formed in November 2018 and surged globally after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in December the same year. Her personal activism began in August 2018, when her recurring and solitary Skolstrejk för klimatet ("School strike for the climate") protesting outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm began attracting media coverage, even though Sweden has already enacted "the most ambitious climate law in the world" – to be carbon neutral by 2045.

On 15 March 2019, an estimated 1.4 million students in 112 countries around the world joined her call in striking and protesting. A similar event involving students from 125 countries took place on 24 May 2019.

Thunberg has received various prizes and awards for her activism. In March 2019, three members of the Norwegian parliament nominated Thunberg for the Nobel Peace Prize. In May 2019, at the age of 16, she featured on the cover of Time magazine. Some media have described her impact on the world stage as the Greta Thunberg effect.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

YouTube Videos - Greta Thunberg    Amazon Author Page    Goodreads Profile

Love Unscripted by Owen Nicholls

Paperback: 373 pages                                                                                                  
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Headline Publishing, August 2019
Source: Headline Publicity, Advanced Proof Copy.
First Sentence: When we were eleven, Leon Woodward told me about his plan to kiss Sally Carter.
Review Quote: High Fidelity with celluloid replacing vinyl - an astutely observed romantic comedy that had me shaking with laughter and sniffing away tears. Pure pleasure. (Nev Pierce, Contributing Editor EMPIRE Magazine)
Main Characters: Nick Marcet and Ellie Brown.
Setting: London, England.
My Opinion: Owen Nicholls debut in the world of romance is a romantic comedy with many classic film references. The latter of which were mainly lost on me although I do enjoy modern cinema.  Excited to be given the opportunity to read and review the paperback edition before publication by Headline Publicity I was disappointed when it did not meet my expectations, especially with the apparent current revival and popularity in romantic comedies.
Although the story is at times warm and funny, for me this is just another love story, where the protagonist a film projectionist is trying to understand what the difference is between his passion for love on the big screen and the reality of his own love life. 
The style is in my opinion reminiscent of Nick Hornby so if you enjoy his writing you will probably enjoy this.

Pre Publication Details Courtesy of Amazon: 

For film projectionist Nick, love should mirror what he sees on the big screen. And when he falls for Ellie on the eve of the 2008 presidential election, it finally does.

For four blissful years, Nick loved Ellie as much as he loved his job splicing film reels together in the local cinema. Life seemed... picture-perfect.

But now it's 2012, Ellie has moved out and Nick's trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

With Ellie gone and his life far from the happy ending he imagined, Nick wonders if their romance could ever again be as perfect as the night they met.

Can love really be as it is in the movies?

Author Profile:

Owen Nicholls is a screenwriter with a Masters in Scriptwriting from the University of East Anglia. His work has appeared in both Empire and the NME and earlier this year 'Love Unscripted' was selected for the Escalator Scheme run by the Writers Centre in Norwich. He lives in Norfolk with his partner and their two sons.


Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.


Amazon Author Page     Goodreads Page   Owen Nicholls - Twitter Profile 

Headline Publishing - Owen Nicholls