L.H. Johnson's Blog, page 2

The Iliad by Gareth Hinds

The Iliad: A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have an enormous amount of time for what Gareth Hinds does and have thoroughly enjoyed his other work (The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel in particular) and rather loved this as well. Adapting anything is hard and the impact of theContinue reading "The Iliad by Gareth Hinds"

The Women Of Troy by Pat Barker

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had often wondered to myself what a gender-flipped Troy story might look like and then I realised that I was not, actually, interested in what I thought I was. The story of Troy, for me, was one of men, at least,Continue reading "The Women Of Troy by Pat Barker"

Singing for Mrs Pettigrew by Michael Morpurgo

Singing for Mrs Pettigrew: A Story Maker’s Journey by Michael Morpurgo My rating: 4 of 5 stars When I was first getting into children’s literature as a field, as a topic, as a thing that I wanted to do properly and seriously and forever if the planets aligned, I began to spend my lunchtimes inContinue reading "Singing for Mrs Pettigrew by Michael Morpurgo"

Supper Club by Lara Williams

Supper Club by Lara Williams My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this up at random, knowing very little about it, but intrigued, somehow, by the notion of a novel that centres on people taking up space when space is denied to them. The titular Supper Club is a gathering of women who areContinue reading "Supper Club by Lara Williams"

Power Of Three by Diana Wynne Jones

Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones My rating: 4 of 5 stars I do not remotely have coherent thoughts about this but let’s see what I have and see if, perhaps, some order comes of it. The first thing to say is that I am not particularly familiar with Diana Wynne Jones but IContinue reading "Power Of Three by Diana Wynne Jones"

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce My rating: 5 of 5 stars The last job of the day, then, to sit with this book and to think of it for in a way I have not stopped thinking about it ever since I read it for the very first time. I revisited it recently, promptedContinue reading "Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce"

The Second Mount by Christine Pullein-Thompson

The Second Mount by Christine Pullein-Thompson My rating: 3 of 5 stars There is something so specific about this sort of book, I think, and it comes from their very particular DNA and that is this: martingales, poetry, a hand-gallop (which mystified me for years and possibly still might?), at least one slipped stifle, aContinue reading "The Second Mount by Christine Pullein-Thompson"

Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel My rating: 5 of 5 stars So before we get into this, the facts: this is a barnstormer of a book and I enjoyed every inch of it. I came to it after reading Wolf Hall, which I had found a little difficult, and, as a consequence, feltContinue reading "Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel"

The Little Dancer by Lorna Hill

The Little Dancer by Lorna Hill My rating: 3 of 5 stars I don’t think there are many other writers around this period who understand ‘place’ quite like Lorna Hill does. Let me provide a little bit of backstory before we continue: when I was little, I remember an early trip to London and theContinue reading "The Little Dancer by Lorna Hill"

Old Readymoney’s Daughter by L. T. Meade

Old Readymoney’s Daughter by L.T. Meade My rating: 5 of 5 stars “What did she call the lead character?”“John.”“But what are you actually calling him?”“FECKLESS LARRY THE FECKLESS SCOUNDREL OF FECKLESS TOWN.”“I sensed there was some subtext.”“How could there not be? I mean, look at that title.”“It’s a bit … familiar, isn’t it? To callContinue reading "Old Readymoney’s Daughter by L. T. Meade"