Thursday 29 March 2012

 

Book review: The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

My edition: Paperback, published on 1 March 2012 by Headline Review, 372 pages.

Description: Beth Lowe has been sent a parcel. Inside is a letter informing her that her long-estranged mother has died, and a scrapbook Beth has never seen before. Entitled The Book of Summers, it's stuffed with photographs and mementos complied by her mother to record the seven glorious childhood summers Beth spent in rural Hungary.

It was a time when she trod the tightrope between separated parents and two very different countries; her bewitching but imperfect Hungarian mother and her gentle, reticent English father; the dazzling house of a Hungarian artist and an empty-feeling cottage in deepest Devon. And it was a time that came to the most brutal of ends the year Beth turned sixteen.

Since then, Beth hasn't allowed herself to think about those years of her childhood. But the arrival of The Book of Summers brings the past tumbling back into the present; as vivid, painful and vital as ever.

Rating:

Tuesday 13 March 2012

 

Theatre review: Rock of Ages


Synopsis: Set in LA's infamous Sunset Strip in 1987, Rock of Ages tells the story of Drew, a boy from South Detroit, and Sherrie, a small-town girl, both in LA to chase their dreams of making it big and falling in love. Rock of Ages takes you back to the times of big bands with big egos playing big guitar solos and sporting even bigger hair! This five-time Tony Award nominated musical is now being made into a movie starring Tom Cruise.

Cast: Oliver Tompsett, Natalie Andreou, Simon Lipkin, Shayne Ward, Justin Lee Collins, Nathan Amzi, Jodie Jacobs, Rachel McFarlane, Sandy Moffat, Twinnie-Lee Moore, Zizi Strallen, Rohan Tickell. Ensemble: Grant Anthony, Scarlette Douglas, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Cordelia Farnworth, Ian McIntosh, Jamie Muscato, Andrew Spillett, Amy Thornton and Dylan Turner.


Rating:

Monday 5 March 2012

 

Book review: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

My edition: Paperback, published in 2011 by Black Swan, 384 pages.

Description: Memories define us.

So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?

Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love--all forgotten overnight.

And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.

Welcome to Christine's life.

Rating: