silverliningsandpages's reviews
379 reviews

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

“Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”

“Doing those deeply unfashionable things—slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting—is a radical act now, but it is essential. This is a crossroads we all know, a moment when you need to shed a skin. If you do, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel so raw that you’ll need to take care of yourself for a while. If you don’t, then that skin will harden around you.”

5/5🌟 I read this in January and adored the lyrical writing and the wholesome, gentle message of responding to the need to slow down. 

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

I couldn’t even begin to explain this one apart from it centring on the collapse of a Ponzi scheme and the great themes of regret, memories and loneliness.  I felt exhausted keeping up with it but maybe that was more to do with the virus.  Glad I did and I’m giving it 4/5 🌟

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

the more I think about Sea of Tranquility the more I loved it.  I don’t really know how to describe it; it’s a time travel novel with references to our pandemic; it’s a story of a detective investigating a glitch in the timeline; it’s also about music and art, family, loss and love.  As usual, there’s a gorgeously ethereal, melancholy quality to Mandel’s writing, and the world building and plot are incredible.  Giving it a 4.5/5🌟 because the pacing was a bit slow at the start but it’s so clever and made me cry (that always elevates my star rating 😁)- definitely a favourite for 2022 and the best time travel I’ve ever read.

The Instant by Amy Liptrot

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

The Instant by Amy Liptrot is an evocative memoir of the author’s move from Orkney to Berlin, in search of experiences and love.  She charts cycles of the moon and and patterns of migratory birds, connecting nature’s ancient rhythms to her own understanding of heritage and self.  She also considers virtual footprints and how we connect online authentically - her heartache and longing are so raw and poignantly written.  It’s a strange little book but I love its intensity and the author’s perceptiveness. 

Another Man by Leslie Croxford

informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

2.0

I was initially fascinated by this atmospheric mystery about an English academic researching a prominent Nazi in southern Spain.  However, I found the misogyny distracting. Most, if not all the female characters are objectified by the male protagonist.  We have his frequent commentary on women’s voluptuousness (or lack of), how low cut their dresses are, his detailed assessment whether or not they are wearing anything underneath and a crude evaluation of whether he is attracted to them.  One of the sexy characters has “thick peasant calves”, but her bright, academic daughter looks dull and uncurvy and he finds her unattractive (to put it politely). I’m trying to paraphrase and describe this in a way that doesn’t make me cringe, but really, the male gaze in this book bothered me.  Most women can say we’ve been sexually harassed and objectified (many times) and it’s disappointing to read such attitudes in a new publication😔 I widely read and enjoy many great books by male authors with male protagonists, and I’m not prudish about love scenes but please, male writers: don’t reduce women to objects!  

Crow Court by Andy Charman

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Highly intelligent and meticulously researched historical crime.  Very impressively plotted.

Phase Six by Jim Shepard

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

a literary thriller/mystery in which investigators travel to Greenland to identify the secret of a boy’s immunity to a plague.  Station Eleven is still my favourite ‘plague book’ but this was thought provoking.

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An absorbing, atmospheric crime story about a detective investigating sixteen horse heads found on a beach.  Intriguing but not for the faint hearted!

The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Can You Hear the Hum?”

Thank you to 4th Estate for the proof copy.  This is a wild ride of a book, that manages to be at turns funny, frenetic and serious.  The protagonist, Claire, hears a low hum which her husband cannot, and it seems that nobody else close to her can.  The sound is so penetrating that it causes insomnia, headaches and nosebleeds, and in her desperation and isolation she, together with a student of hers falls in with a group of “listeners”.  The group starts off as a self-help gathering, but the diverse members have competing motivations, ambitions and concerns; eventually events take a shocking turn.

This is a thought provoking, imaginative novel exploring self-validation, conspiracy theories, power, gaslighting, the fascination with the unknowable and a yearning for community and meaningful connections.  While some of the plot may seem extreme and dramatic, I also found it entirely plausible.  I recommend this to readers who appreciate conspiracy theories and stories with feminist themes.  I also think that if you enjoyed Leave the World Behind, this may be for you.

Rating: 4/5🌟

Breathe by Elena Kravchenko

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Breathe is a compelling novel about the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand and was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Part mystery, part drama, it follows a young, successful Swedish man who drops everything to search for his missing friends who have been caught up in the catastrophe.  Outwardly, Carl seems to have it all, but as his narrative develops, we see him reassessing priorities in life, and reaching a place of greater empathy and cultural awareness.

What I particularly appreciated was the suspense created by the author in the run-up to the ferocious tidal waves hitting land, and the sense of confusion and loss is heartfelt.  The book very rightly spotlights the humanitarian and political issues that arose from the rescue efforts, and the the privilege of Western holiday makers compared with many of the Thai people who were affected.