Frances’s Comments (group member since Jan 11, 2016)

Frances’s comments from the The Last Day of the Month Book Club group.

Spoiler alert in this answer.
The Rita Hayworth poster purchased by one of the main characters is crucial in his escape. I wont say how!

I think it is one reason but not the only one. Writing can help us to come to terms , revisit and help us move on from what has happened. This can then let us put the past behind us and deal with the future positively.

I am afraid I only read two of the stories. I didnt notice any link except for the fact that I found them both depressing. I couldnt take to the characters at all so I gave up reading and went on to znother book.

To me fantasy has a wide range. There is the kind set in our world but with people with extra powers, as well as stories set in other worlds. I like both kinds but do like authors who add humour to their tales.

Not at work but the church my Rainbows meet at has a door off a little room at the end of the corridor. The Rainbows really like to do fire drill as it is a fire exit if the main stairs cant be used. It leads to an old wooden staircase in the steeple. We make our way down to a door that is rarely used so it is quite exciting and feels like a secret way.

I am not a big non-fiction reader but I did enjoy this. It took me ages as there is lots of it. I read it in paperback and the print was tiny, which didnt help! I doubt I would have picked it up without the bookclub, though the cover makes it look like a historical fiction, which I do read. It shows it is good to try things out of your comfort zone occassionally.

Gosh, that is just too difficult to say. This book is packed with so much information. It really goes into great detail on a huge variety of topics. It is the perfect book for anyone wanting to write historical fiction of the Medieval period as it covers so much and compares all levels of society.

It was an easier read than I expected. I do like history and found it was full of really interesting information, presented in a really accessible way. It is what it says on the tin. It feels like a travel guide introducing you to places to visit, things to look out for with interesting facts thrown in.

I read this in several sittings as I found I needed to take time to ponder meanings, symbolism and imagery. Themes kept reoccurring which held the poems together but they were easy to take individually and didnt need to be read at a sitting.

I have really pondered this but didnt have a favourite

I read some of the poems out aloud and did find this helped me appreciate the language.

Yes I agree with Becks. This was not the joyous celebration of love that it might have been. It was also quite a narrow definition of love, though I suppose I could have guessed this might be the case from the title. It took me quite a while to read as I found I really had to stop and think about what was being said and meant.
I didn't dislike the poems because the language was melodic but I didnt necessarily agree with them or find they spoke to me.

I dont usually choose short stories as I love long complicated stories, that I can really get my teeth into. However I did enjoy these and found them more satisfying than I other collections I have read, which have left me feeling short changed on detail and depth. I think part of this was that there is a link and running theme through the collection, which meant I wasnt starting from cold with each new story.

I recognised some of the tales quite easily. However others I struggled with and they seemed a mix of more than one tale. I liked the stories as they were much more subtle than the originals and showed imagination. I found it fun that good and evil was changed from the originals, which added a different dimension and made guessing what the story was based on more interesting. I recognised such tales as Cinderella, Three Little Pigs and saw hints of Rumplestiltskin, Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzal.

I found this an easy read. I am not a big short story reader but this was a great Christmas read, when I had so much else on as I could pick it up and put it down easily. I liked the style even though it comes across as though it is American. It gave the faiytales a very different voice to the originals.