Then you won't like this book. It's a bunch of poorly-written, mindless fluff. Don't be fooled by the cute covers and glowing (invented?) reviews on the back. It's a waste of your time and space on the library shelf.

This "young audiences" novel was very entertaining, and I devoured it over the weekend. Centering on the story of an out-of-favor lady-in-waiting, life as a servant to Lady MacBeth is well imagined. It follows the Scottish Play closely, and freely uses quotes from Shakespeare while entwining the minor characters' tales in among the bigger seize-the-crown story. The novel is pretty bloody and hints at some violent sexual situations, so it gets a PG rating from me - and a suggestion that it is more appropriate for girls of 15 or older.

Alexander McCall Smith writes great stories and reading him is like literary vitamin C.

This guy's books just crack me up. I could read his books forever.

As an athlete would do a lap of honour, Bryson embarks on a farewell round trip of Britain, the island that had been his home for the last 20 years. His decision to repatriate was prompted by a Gallup poll that said 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by Aliens. Obviously his country needed him.

This non-fiction book was a wonderful read and I just don't know how this couple and their children live in these conditions in the wilds of Scotland.

Back Cover Blurb:
Chasing dreams of their own photographic business, Ghillie Basan and her husband Jonathan swap the comfort of their Edinburgh home for Corrunich - a remote cottage at the foot of the Cairngorms.
With jumping cows for company, the Basans begin their new life with no electricity and heavy snowstorms. Generators break down and roads quickly become blocked, but the couple have a series of adventures with a fascinating mix of local farmers, terrified tourists, an African president, and their two babies, Yasmin and Zeki.
The Moon's our Nearest Neighbour is a heart-warming, amusing account of a life lived in the picturesque beauty of highland Scotland; and, most of all, of the tremendous strength of spirit in coming to terms with the hardships and isolation of a new lifestyle.

_The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ started well; there seemed such a big build-up to the story, written in classic O'Farrell fashion, but then all of a sudden it was over. And did it really end? I cant be sure. I feel as though I've been left hanging.

I just cant help but feel there's a whole lot more to this story that we didnt find out. It seemed to be building up to something huge, but then the huge thing was a bit of a let-down because it just felt rushed.

I think O'Farrell tried too hard to write it in the same style as _After You'd Gone_, which is brilliantly powerful, but _The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ doesnt tug at the heart-strings in the same way. There are times when O'Farrell indicates her literary genius, but it's not constant like _After You'd Gone_. Which is a shame, because it certainly could have been, I just feel that O'Farrell didnt capture the full potential of her own idea.

I liked Esme, but I wanted to know more about her time in Cauldestone. I wanted to know more about her childhood. I wanted to know more, more, more!
I liked Iris, but how does she react to her news?
I could have liked Alex if I'd known more.
I probably would have disliked Luke if I'd known more.
I couldnt despise Kitty because she was scattered - more perspective would have been good.
Her parents seemed almost absent.

I'm always disappointed when a book leaves me wanting more for all the wrong reasons.

Still, it's a good, quick read. It holds interest.
It's just a shame there's not more of it.




"We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents".

Iris Lockhart learns that she has a great-aunt Esme (much to her surprise) waiting to be released from Cauldstone Hospital, where she has been locked away for 60 years.The hospital is closing, and someone must collect Esme, who upon inspection seems frail, quiet, and a little quirky but hardly mentally ill. As far as Iris knew, her grandmother Kitty had no siblings; Kitty is still alive but suffering from Alzheimer's. The secret of Esme's existence is only the first of many family secrets revealed in a tale told through shifting viewpoints and time changes, among them Kitty's fragmented recollections. The sudden ending to this family exposé left me a little in the lurch, but the psychological suspense along the way satisfied the strong plot and characterization.

Feb 8, 2008 audiobook

Story of Lord Gray right after he returns from Ardsmuir