Some tame gazelle by Barbara Pym

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Fiction


Belinda & Harriet Bede are sisters living in an English village in the 1950s. They’re happily unmarried, although Harriet has an admirer, Count Bianco, who proposes marriage at regular intervals. Belinda has been in love with Archdeacon Hoccleve since their University days but he married the very capable Agatha instead. This is a story of gentle irony & humour as village life brings challenges such as the church fete & what to give the local seamstress for lunch when she comes to make up the new curtains. When Archbishop Theodore Grote arrives for a visit from his African diocese, Belinda finds herself the object of attentions that she suspects Agatha might envy.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

While my sister sleeps by Barbara Delinsky

Find this book at your library



Genre - Family saga


The latest book by this prolific author poses an ethical dilemma for the Snow family. Robin Snow is an Olympic level long distance runner who suffers a heart attack whilst out running one day. When it is determined she has suffered permanent brain damage from a lack of oxygen, the rest of her family deal with the tragedy in different ways. Molly has always lived in Robin’s shadow and feels terribly guilty that she wasn’t with her older sister when she collapsed. Her mother Kathryn wants to believe Robin will survive this prognosis, whilst Charlie is a strong silent supporter and her brother Chris is distracted by his own relationship problems. Family secrets are revealed as they struggle to find out what Robin would have wanted. They have to decide how much to tell her friends and supporters and reach a decision on the ethics of life support. A thought provoking novel.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

True Colors by Kristin Hannah

Find this book at your library



Genre - Family saga

There are three Grey sisters, Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann raised by their stern and distant father, Henry, following the early death of their mother. As adults they still live in a close ranching community where the reputation of their family is very important and the domestic details of their lives becomes the subject of town gossip. A rift develops between the sisters when Winona and Vivi Ann seem to be in love with the same man whilst Aurora is struggling with the reality of her own failing marriage. True love rarely runs smooth and even when Vivi Ann finally finds her true soul mate in ranch hand Dallas Raintree their happiness is destroyed by small town prejudices. This is an emotional story with strong female characters who reveal a range of family values. They represent a real combination of the love and support as well as jealousy and betrayal that can exist between sisters.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

The Mitfords : letters between six sisters ed by Charlotte Mosley

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList



Genre - Non Fiction


The Mitford sisters were notorious for beauty & scandal. Diana married Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists & one of the most hated men of the 20th century. Unity had a passion for Hitler, lived in Germany during the 1930s & was so distraught at the outbreak of WWII that she attempted suicide. Jessica was a Communist, running away with a young man to the Spanish Civil War & spent much of her life in America. Nancy was a novelist with a waspish sense of humour who lived in France & was unhappily in love with a man who would never marry her. Pamela loved the country life but became increasingly eccentric in later life. Deborah married the Duke of Devonshire, and turned Chatsworth into one of the most popular stately homes in Britain. The letters between the sisters span almost the whole 20th century & are a fascinating look at life for the upper classes. The relationships between the sisters go through good & bad times. Jessica refused to speak to Diana for decades because of her disgust at her politics. Nancy informed against Diana during WWII which led to her being interned & separated from her children. After the death of their mother in 1963, Deborah became the centre of the correspondence, and she is the most likeable & stable of the sisters. Happy in her marriage & with the great work of transforming Chatsworth, she is the link between the sisters as they grow older.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters