ampersandinc's reviews
1315 reviews

Not only do you get a mystery/thriller, you also get a tour through most of the big historical events in the USA during the latter half of the 20th century. The Mole in question is a Canadian (who becomes a naturalized American early on) who happens to be connected in some way with all of these events. He is recruited by Canada while in Europe shortly after the end of the war but is not called upon to report anything to his mysterious handler. He is living in Washington and manages to parlay his job in the National Library to jobs on various political and military committees where he gets a lot of inside scoop. It doesn’t hurt that he has a photographic memory! His friendship with a very well connected Washington hostess helps him with society connections which are helpful to his job. I think anyone who is interested in recent history will like this.

A fairly light look at modern seafaring life. Some chapters are much better than others, which brings the rating down.

As a Newfoundlander, I felt this book was absolutely spot on. Smith perfectly captures small town Newfoundland. The relationship between alcoholic father and teenage daughter is well done as well. I loved the whole cast of eccentric characters and was definitely nostalgic for home. The one problem I think we will have with selling this book is the very features that make it so strong for me. It is very, very Newfoundland-centric. People that want to learn about the province may be interested, but I’m afraid that it will be passed up as too regional.

Sort of a Jane Austen novel, with magic. Some of the 19th century language was inconsistent, which was a bit annoying, but I loved the system of magic, and learning about it. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed, and wish I could have learned a bit more about Mr Vincent.

This is a very slight novel, but I loved Benjamin Kleeman. The hardships of the immigrant life in 1930s Toronto are wonderfully captured. As is the relationship that Benjamin develops with the first black girl he has ever seen. It has elements of the typical coming-of-age story, but there is also the story of Benjamin’s family: a father whose creative mind never gets to flourish, a mother trapped in the drudgery of a poor woman’s life in the 1930s and an aunt with a club foot. Benjamin’s discovery of magic is fun to follow.

Good narrative of the early history of photography.

From Ali: Ahhhh, this book! I missed out on a lovely sunny Saturday, because I could not put it down. This is an excellent whodunit, set at a country estate in 1949. Except it's not the 1949 of our world, but one in which the British made peace with the Nazis in 1941, and Hitler continues to control most of Europe. The mystery had me guessing till the end, and the political machinations were fascinating. I cannot wait to read Ha'Penny!

From Dot: Both Farthing and Ha’penny were gripping reads and I polished them off in short order. The books look at a what –if scenario – England has signed a separate peace agreement with Hitler and is heading into fascism. Farthing is a murder mystery with this as the backdrop and the main character and her husband (a Jew) are set up to take the fall – the police inspector knows they are innocent but is blackmailed by his boss to say they are guilty. The same compromised inspector is in the second book Ha’penny and it too is a murder mystery with the political climate as a threatening backdrop. I can hardly wait to read Half A Crown!

Anyone that says they can’t read short stories hasn’t read Lynn Coady. This collection is brilliant. Her writing is solid and as real as holding a stone in your hand. I love her writing and will seek out anything else that she has written.