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Post by geminii on Mar 22, 2020 20:27:19 GMT
Welcome to Q2 .. many thanks to Mandy pennylane for choosing this next read for us .. I hope that some of you are able to get hold of a copy and join in (but we do appreciate, with Libraries closing etc, it isn't going to be as easy this time around) ..
The Sealwoman's Gift by Sally Magnusson
" In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent .. "
In this brilliant reimagining, Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Ásta, the pastor's wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture Ásta meets the loss of both her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home: the stories in her head. Steeped in the sagas and folk tales of her northern homeland, she finds herself experiencing not just the separations and agonies of captivity, but the reassessments that come in any age when intelligent eyes are opened to other lives, other cultures and other kinds of loving.
The Sealwoman's Gift is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. The novel is full of stories - Icelandic ones told to fend off a slave-owner's advances, Arabian ones to help an old man die. And there are others, too: the stories we tell ourselves to protect our minds from what cannot otherwise be borne, the stories we need to make us happy.
** Sounds interesting - I will start up the discussion Thread in a few weeks **
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Post by janetandjohn on Mar 22, 2020 22:59:26 GMT
Oh no! no library! and have not got this one on my shelves. If anyone has it and would care to pass on after reading, I would gladly take it off your hands.
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Post by littlereader on Mar 23, 2020 9:00:39 GMT
Many bookshops are still selling online too although the physical shops are closed.
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Post by janetandjohn on Mar 23, 2020 10:43:53 GMT
Many bookshops are still selling online too although the physical shops are closed. I know, Lindsay! But I am trying to read through "what I've got" rather than buy anything ..... will this work?  , so I was hoping for a loan or a read it pass it on! |
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Post by pennylane on Mar 24, 2020 16:49:07 GMT
Thanks for setting this thread up Suze geminii x |
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Post by adelynechan on Apr 20, 2020 14:08:27 GMT
I ordered this from Book Depository awhile ago, then it got delayed but I just got the email notification that it's now dispatched and should arrive this week. I'll be reading it and commenting on the reviews thread when it does show up (not discounting the possibility of further delays)... and after that if anyone is still looking for a copy I'd be happy to pass on!
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Post by pennylane on Apr 21, 2020 11:37:53 GMT
I hope to start this after my current kindle read which I am halfway through and is only short.
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Post by emzbez on May 11, 2020 19:32:55 GMT
If I can get a copy I may join you. They have it on audible so may get in on audio. When it the discussion?
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Post by geminii on May 11, 2020 20:10:14 GMT
If I can get a copy I may join you. They have it on audible so may get in on audio. When it the discussion? We have opened up a discussion thread, where everyone can add a review .. Although we choose a new book for each quarter, there's no strict timeline to joining in, the review threads stay open so you can add your thoughts at any time .. |
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Post by belletinker on May 12, 2020 15:37:37 GMT
I'll be late joining in as I'll wait for the library to reopen........ whenever that happens my current book is now due back 1st June and I have a reservation sitting on the shelf!
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Post by geminii on May 12, 2020 16:11:56 GMT
I'll be late joining in as I'll wait for the library to reopen........ whenever that happens my current book is now due back 1st June and I have a reservation sitting on the shelf! I have a reservation waiting too, it's most annoying ..  |
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, so I was hoping for a loan or a read it pass it on!
