Holiday reading …

As I prepare for a holiday, for a break in the day to day grind, I’ve been gathering together a pile of books to read.  To be honest, I had already started Ann Swinfen’s Testament of Mariam and finding it to be such a strong narrative and such a different interpretation to the familiar story of Jesus and his followers I had to keep reading and finished it last night.  It was a superb read written by an author who has great sensitivity.  Ann’s description of Galillee and Judaea, her interpretation of the religious truths, her depiction of Jesus and Judas through the eyes of Jesus’s sister Mariam, was emotive and intensely thought-provoking.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially historical fiction of ancient days.

I start Dawn French tonight … indeed have already read a para and swear Dawn sits across the room from me.  This is her voice, her manner, her irreverence.  I can’t wait.

The only other book I have sampled is Juliet Marillier’s fantasy Seer Of Sevenwaters.  I have been a Marillier devotee for a long while now and the Sevenwaters series has been a favourite, as it chronicles the generations of that strange, enchanted place. With one delicate foot in Celtic myth, Marillier’s books always make me feel as if I could look out the window and see an ivory mist winding through the silver birches of my garden and some wight or other watching me through the branches.  The first chapter of this latest is enthralling as a Druidic apprentice watches a shipwreck happen on the strange isle of Inis Eala.  This is a book I can’t wait to read.

The others are unknown titles, although writers like Helen Fielding and Maggie Alderson are favourites.  All that remains is for the holiday season to begin so that I may devour them all!