Back, back, back

Well, I haven't been on here for a while, so I'd better cast my mind back to what I've been reading. I re-read I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. It's a book I loved when I first read it a few years ago, because it came as such a surprise. Dodie Smith is best known for writing 101 Dalmatians, but this is totally different. It's a beautiful coming of age story, and from Cassandra's opening line, "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink", we wait to see if the marvellously eccentric Mortmain family can extricate themselves from their poverty-stricken situation. If you're a fan of period drama, this is definitely a read for you, and it has been filmed - so here's a review.

As a complete contrast I'm currently reading Half of a Yellow Sun in which Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche writes with the backdrop of the Biafran seccession from Nigeria in the 1960s. It's a topic I know nothing about, and it's already a harrowing read.