May was a busy month for us here at Parade’s End Books. We had some great events and some fabulous new releases coming in stock to keep us busy. We still found time to read lots of wonderful books. Here is what the staff read in May.
Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, happy enough with the life she has. But a second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and joy. The new relationship with sparks local gossip: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned him all those years ago?
When Declan becomes ill, things start to fall apart. His children are untrusting and greedy, and Carol is made to leave their beloved home with its worn oak floors and elegant features and move back in with her parents.
Carol’s mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won’t see her daughter treated this way. It seems there are secrets in Declan’s past, strange rumours that were never confronted and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance.
In his gripping and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.
I bought this for my Mum because she likes an easy read, then she passed it on to me. It is easy and quick to read, not sure I agree that it is darkly comic as it didn’t make me laugh. Maybe you have to be Irish to get the subtle humour! I would recommend as a holiday read.
Gaynor – Marketing Manager
Did I Ever Tell You This? – Sam Neill
For over forty years, Sam Neill’s name has been a reassuring mark of quality. With starring roles in hit movies like Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano and Jurassic Park, Sam’s work has taken him from arthouse to blockbuster, and from cult classics to TV hits like Peaky Blinders. Few actors have proved as versatile, nor so well-loved.
Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Sam emigrated to New Zealand with his close-knit family at the age of seven. At school in Christchurch he discovered he was hopeless at sport, but loved acting.
Following a breakthrough role in Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career in 1979, Sam found his way, sometimes by accident, to his own brilliant career and Hollywood’s A-list, working alongside a stellar list of actors, writers and directors. In Did I Ever Tell You This? he invites you in, sharing stories from an extraordinary life with charm, honesty, good humour, and a wry appreciation of the absurd.
Moving and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is the inspirational story of a man who, when life knocks him down, stands up again.
This was light relief compared to ‘Demon Copperhead’, even though it details actor Sam Neill’s recent cancer treatment and at the outset he’s really not sure whether he’s going to have positive news for us.
I enjoyed the indiscreet spilling of beans, his candour, sense of humour and bonhomie – he seems like a thoroughly good egg.
This memoir is all over the place regarding time and place. And then, in the middle of the book, there is an incredible standout passage starting with the words ‘Dad died superbly’. It is a funny, heartbreaking and utterly wonderful recollection. Neill is a good storyteller. For me, the most interesting parts are about his family background rather than his career and I’d liked to have read even more about his parents.
Sam – Bookseller
Soldier. Farmer. Felon. Writer. Father. Lover.
One man, many lives.
Born in 1799, Cashel Greville Ross experiences myriad lives: joyous and devastating, years of luck and unexpected loss. Moving from County Cork to London, from Waterloo to Zanzibar, Cashel seeks his fortune across continents in war and in peace. He faces a terrible moral choice in a village in Sri Lanka as part of the East Indian Army. He enters the world of the Romantic Poets in Pisa. In Ravenna he meets a woman who will live in his heart for the rest of his days. As he travels the world as a soldier, a farmer, a felon, a writer, a father, a lover, he experiences all the vicissitudes of life and, through the accelerating turbulence of the nineteenth century, he discovers who he truly is. This is the romance of life itself, and the beating heart of The Romantic.
From one of Britain’s best-loved and bestselling writers comes an intimate yet panoramic novel set across the nineteenth century.
Thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this novel about a man who follows his heart. His life spans the 19th century and is packed full of adventure and travel. He becomes embroiled in countless scrapes and is buffeted by events but maintains his hopeful dreams.
Sam – Bookseller
Two strangers. One recipe. A friendship for the ages.
Creamy risotto alla Milanese. Mussels in a hot, buttery broth. Chicken spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Joan Bergstrom and Imogen Fortier understand the key to a savoured life: delicious food.
Young Joan is just discovering herself as a food writer in bustling Los Angeles, while experienced magazine columnist Imogen is settled in her decades-long marriage on Camano Island outside Seattle. When Joan sends a fan letter to Imogen, alongside a gift of saffron and a recipe, their journey of culinary exploration and life-changing friendship begins.
A long-lost flavour unearths buried memories, a quest to make carne asada opens the doors of a sheltered life, and, as the two women connect through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the unexpected changes in their own worlds.
I so enjoyed this gentle, comforting book about a long distance friendship in 1960s America. Apart from being a foodie delight, you can’t help but be drawn into the transformational beauty of the two women’s friendship. Told almost entirely through written correspondence, it’s a treat for fans of 84 Charing Cross Road and The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society.
Deb – Bookseller
A quiet night in the neighbourhood pub is shattered by the arrival of a sword-wielding fugitive. A funeral party teeters on the edge of this world and the next, as ghosts won’t settle. A shooting sees an everyday call-out lead a policewoman to confront the banality of her own existence.
In eight stories, Colin Barrett takes us to the barren backwaters of County Mayo, via Canada, and – with an eye for the abrupt and absurd – illuminates the lives of outcasts, misfits and malcontents.
I enjoyed the dark humour of this short story collection. The Alps was a particular favourite with dialogue that made me laugh out loud, wonderful language and an unpredictable ending.
Rachel – Owner Parade’s End Books
Greta liked knowing people’s secrets. That wasn’t a problem. Until she met Big Swiss.
Big Swiss. That’s Greta’s nickname for her – she is tall, and she is from Switzerland. Greta can see her now: dressed top to toe in white, that adorable gap between her two front teeth, her penetrating blue eyes. She’s a head-turner: including the heads of infants and dogs.
Well that’s how Greta imagines seeing her; they haven’t actually ever met in person. Nor has Greta actually ever been to Switzerland.
Greta and Big Swiss are not in the same room, or even the same building. Greta is miles away, sitting at a desk in her own house, wearing only headphones, fingerless gloves, a kimono, and legwarmers, transcribing this disembodied voice.
What Greta doesn’t know is that she’s about to bump into Big Swiss in the local dog park. A new – and not entirely honest – relationship is going to be born.
A relationship that will transform both of their lives. . .
There has been a lot of hype about this book and now I’ve read it, I can see why. I really enjoyed the gritty language, the colourful characters and reality of the story and there were many laugh out loud moments for me. However, it is extremely sexually graphic – sometimes too much and going on for too long. Definitely see it as Netflix series in future!
Gaynor- Marketing Manager
Skincare – Caroline Hirons
Caroline Hirons knows skin. An established industry expert and aesthetician, she knows what works, what doesn’t, what you need and what you absolutely do not.
Whether you are a skincare pro or overwhelmed by information, Skincare: The New Edit covers where to start, how to build a routine, ingredients to look for and things to avoid, whatever your age, skin concerns or budget.
Fully revised and updated, this book is packed with all the latest skincare recommendations, brands
and techniques… and no nonsense. Including:
- Brand new photography
- All new product recommendations
- Industry updates
- Fully restructured for maximum usability
- New sections on black skin, SPF, maskne, perimenopause and menopause
A brilliant, practical and comprehensive encyclopaedia. Even if your approach to skincare is no frills, you will get something useful from this book.
Deb – Bookseller