en-US Sun, 06 Apr 2025 11:48:17 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7467476526 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 11:48:17 -0700 /review/show/7467476526 Judith gave 5 stars to Clear (Hardcover) by Carys Davies
This novella is surely one of the most sensitive and emotionally moving stories about how love can develop in hardship and the understanding of one person for another's needs. The setting is on an island not quite as barren as the Arctic - very little food, terrible weather, wild beauty - where survival depended on constant effort and ingenuity. I knew little about the Scottish clearances where poor farmers were pushed off the land where they could hardly eke out a living in favor of sheep ranching. Those that survived had to flee, many to the benefit of Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand.
The emotional tension reminds me of Claire Keegan's work where few words convey deep emotions. ]]> Review7293737907 Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:01:38 -0800 /review/show/7293737907 Judith gave 5 stars to Ilium (Hardcover) by Lea Carpenter
An elegantly written novel about the power of love set in the dark world of espionage, revenge, and the immemorial and never-ending basic human desire that some have for war that makes up human history as recounted in the greatest literature. The author tells the story from the perspective of a young woman unknowingly recruited as an asset that completes the project team and the aftermath affecting her life. What appears simple becomes ever more complex and morally ambiguous as her life unfolds. ]]> Review7252820217 Fri, 24 Jan 2025 14:21:53 -0800 /review/show/7252820217 Judith gave 5 stars to Burma Sahib (Hardcover) by Paul Theroux
I really liked this book for two reasons - the lush descriptions of Burma as only travel writer Paul Theroux can convey, and the deep delve into the mind of young Eric Blair, sent to work for the British colonial police in 1922. The rapaciousness of the Raj and their demeaning attitude to the Burmese native population sowed the seeds of the later collapse of the British Empire after World War II. Eric Blair saw it all and began to take notes. And he began to adopt of pen name: George. By the time he returned to the UK and lived for a time near the river Orwell, a great writer had been born. ]]> Review7233559358 Sun, 19 Jan 2025 11:16:58 -0800 /review/show/7233559358 Judith gave 5 stars to Lost Believers (Hardcover) by Irina Zhorov
I found this story fascinating with the conflict between religion and science, economics, and political reality. Who is right? Who should have the say over the land and its richness? How can you know the outcome of your actions and who will be hurt and who will benefit?

The author's description of what we think of the wastes of Siberia are incomparably beautiful as is her description of the people who find refuge in the vastness.
]]> Review7222475231 Thu, 16 Jan 2025 11:13:30 -0800 /review/show/7222475231 Judith gave 5 stars to My Friends (Kindle Edition) by Hisham Matar
This is another story of exile: in this case three Libyan young men who are able to escape the miseries of Ghaddafi's misrule. The protagonist, was shot and seriously wounded during a demonstration in front of the Libyan embassy in London (a real event). Even though he recovers physically, the trauma prevents him from joining the opposition and returning to fight while the other men gradually work themselves up to return and fight the dictator.

Matar is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a very fine writer. Even though I am the opposite in every way to these men I was fully with them and their fraught lives. ]]> Review7222416881 Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:53:46 -0800 /review/show/7222416881 Judith gave 5 stars to This Strange Eventful History (Hardcover) by Claire Messud
This story, partly based on the author's family is about exile. We follow a family who have physical homes and doing well economically but are homeless in the sense of having lost their connection to the town and country where they had settled for many years and not being able to return. Having lived abroad for a number of years I can understand the emotions that surround events like these. ]]> Review7046263150 Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:49:38 -0800 /review/show/7046263150 Judith gave 5 stars to A Month in Siena (Kindle Edition) by Hisham Matar
I love this little memoir that takes me on a tour of beautiful Siena, its art, architecture, and surrounding countryside. The concept of spending a month in a beautiful city as a means for recovery from a very intense period of life is a wonderful idea if only we could find time and money to do so. In the interim, I'll relax through writing like this. ]]> PollVote78438635 Sun, 17 Nov 2024 08:54:50 -0800 /poll/show_vote/78438635 Judith voted for The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook as Readers' Favorite History & Biography in the 2024 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards. ]]> Comment281062791 Mon, 23 Sep 2024 09:59:05 -0700 /review/show/6825329903 Judith's review of All the Way to Italy: A modern tale of homecoming through generations past
by Flavia Brunetti

A lyrical homage to Italy, family, and home. The author captures the spirit of Italy in her quest to unearth and comprehend the complexities of family relationships and how the past affects the future. It made me miss Italy in all its wonders and problems! ]]> Review6825329903 Sun, 22 Sep 2024 17:03:42 -0700 /review/show/6825329903 Judith gave 5 stars to All the Way to Italy: A modern tale of homecoming through generations past (Kindle Edition) by Flavia Brunetti
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