Hmm. This was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Hmm. An interesting book, certainly, and I did not know about the Ukrainian famine and the hardships faced by Eastern European families as described here ... but, I feel there has to be a but! Perhaps there was too much hype surrounding the book. I couldn't say that I didn't enjoy the book, but compared to the feeling I have when a book has to be devoured, or the exquisiteness of Cold Comfort Farm, or the romanticness of Jane Austen, or the magic of Jostein Gaarder ... well, I suppose it's like comparing a kebab to a gourmet three course meal. Perhaps I just didn't "feel it", as my pupils would say. I had wanted to read this for a while, and eventually bought the book in a motorway service station shop as part of a "buy one, get one half price" offer, when my husband was buying another book.
Right. The next one will be on the 1001 Books list ...
