I read a variety of genres this month. The first book of the month was actually started at the very end of July. It was one that my husband read on holiday and said that I might enjoy it too. It isn't often that we both enjoy the same book as our tastes are quite different!
This book is a story woven around the true facts of the relationship between the Prime Minister of England in 1914, H H Asquith and a young woman who was half his age. The letters included in the book were actually sent by Asquith although there is no record of Venetia's replies and it has to be assumed that Asquith destroyed them whereas Venetia kept every one that she received. Robert Harris has written his book around the letters she received and turned it into a work of fiction.
A young intelligence officer is instructed to investigate a possible leak of confidential information following the discovery of top secret telegrams in a public park. He is shell shocked to discover that the likely person to have done this is none other that the Prime Minister.
To say that Asquith appears to be obsessed with this young girl is an understatement and at times he was writing to her three times a day, sometimes from the Cabinet Office, when clearly his attention should have been totally on a country on the brink of war. I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with his reckless behaviour and his obsession with Venetia.
Was it worth reading? Yes. You have to keep reminding yourself that these letters actually existed. He did show Venetia extremely confidential documents and having done so, merely wound down a car window, screwed up the telegram copy and throw it away. Anyone could have found them, and should they have ended up in the wrong hands rather than a law abiding member of the public, the course of the war may have taken a very different turn. But you must also remember that this is a story wound around those facts and is from Harris' imagination. It was definitely a very different book to those I would normally read!
In all, 560 letters were written to Venetia, and these are held in boxes at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. I felt that Asquith's obsession with Venetia made me cross. He clearly wasn't giving his job as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom the attention it needed!
📚📚📚
I chose something light to read while waiting to hear which would be the next book chosen for our book club this month
Daphne and Miles become flat mates after they both find themselves unexpectedly single. The situation isn't helped by the fact that Daphne's fiance Peter has left her for a childhood friend, Petra, who was in a long time relationship with Miles. While both of them try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, Daphne moves into the flat where Miles has been living. The home she was sharing with Peter was in his name and when they broke up, she had nowhere to live.
When they discover that Peter and Petra have had a whirlwind engagement and are planning their wedding they both accept the wedding invitation. They decide to mislead their exes by posting photos on social media suggesting that they too have become a couple, in the hope that they would believe that they have not been devastated by the situation. However, what started out as a light hearted act starts to turn into something deeper.
It's kind of a predictable storyline, but I liked the characters and it was a nice easy read. The plot wasn't as straightforward as I thought it may be!
📚📚📚
Our book club choice this month was Not Quite Dead Yet
On the night of Halloween, Jet is attacked and suffers catastrophic brain injuries. The doctors say that without surgery she is likely to suffer a brain aneurysm within a week which will kill her. The surgery has only a 10% chance of success and so Jet decides not to have it but to spend the last few days that she has left trying to find out who tried to murder her.
She teams up with an old friend, Billy, to try to piece together the events leading up to the attack and understand who may have wanted her dead. In the course of the next few days, many names come under suspicion and it is quite a mystery.
The premise of the story line could have been very good but I really didn't enjoy the style of writing. I kept forgetting that Jet was in her mid 20s and not a teenager because of the way she talks and acts.
Jet is determined to spend her last 7 days finding out who was the mystery attacker. She is unaware of having any enemies who would wish her dead, so everyone becomes under suspicion. In the end you realise that there are a lot of people with motives to harm either her or her family.
When I started this book the style of writing made me wonder if it was published as Young Adult fiction. Apparently the author is usually a Young Adult writer and in my opinion, this is obvious. I wasn't sure that I was going to get engrossed in the storyline. I didn't really like Jet. Despite the horrendous injuries and the fact that she knew she was dying, I just couldn't warm to her. If it hadn't been a book club choice, I may not have decided to finish it!
