Books, books, books

 It's been a while since I've shared what I have been reading.  I had become obsessed with the Seven Sisters books and need to find something different to read.

This month's book club choice was Theo of Golden by Allen Levi.

I really enjoyed this book, although it did make me cry a little close to the end.

A mysterious elderly man arrives in the town of Golden and pops into a local coffee shop where he is entranced by a display of over 90 pencil drawn portraits which are hanging on the walls of the shop.  Intrigued by the talent of the artist and the personalities shown in the portraits he decides that they should escape the confines of the coffee shop and be handed back to the people they depict.  He buys a few of the drawings and begins his mission to hand them to their rightful owners.

By talking to the owner of the shop he is directed to a building where he may find someone who could help him contact the people concerned.  In doing so he also makes a new friend and finds somewhere to live for the time that he is in Golden.  

No one knows the surname of Theo, he is skilled in redirecting conversations with those to try to find out more about him.  His only clue that he is willing to share is that he originates from Portugal.

One by one, he distributes the drawings.  People are initially suspicious of his reasons for doing this but gradually those he meets are won over by his charm and generosity.  

The book weaves a story which encapsulates those whose likenesses have been captured and the town falls in love with Theo.  So did I!  What an example of goodness he is to everyone he meets.  And what characters have been drawn by the artist.

After finishing the book, which ultimately shares the story of Theo's life before he went to Golden, I firmly believe that we should all try to follow his example.

📚

So onto my next, very different book. Curfew by Jayne Cowie which has an alternative title of After Dark.

I know we sometimes say 'things would be so different if women were in charge' But let's now imagine a world where that has happened.  A female government has decided that most harm done to women is by men, and the only way for women to be safe is for boys are fitted with an electronic tag at the age of ten which they will wear for the rest of their life.  No male is allowed out of their homes after 7pm until daylight in the morning.  Women are able to walk the streets late at night in safety, not scared to be out alone in the dark.  In order for a couple to live together, they have to be interviewed to ensure that the man is not considered to be a danger to his partner.

One of the side issues of this is that men cannot have a job which involves evening work, they cannot have a social life outside of the home in the evening.  So the traditional role of the woman being the homemaker is reversed.

Sarah works at the department where tagging is carried out.  She lives with her daughter Cassie in a house completely accommodating women.  Sarah's husband is in prison due to breaking curfew, and Cassie is hostile to her mum, believing her to be the reason he was outside in the evening as she had thrown him out of the house and would not let him back inside.

Cassie hates living in a world which places such restrictions on men, and is finding life as an 18 year old very difficult, especially in respect of not being able to have a normal social life or relationship with a boy because those in power believe that the only way for women to be safe is to restrict their presence. She is becoming rebellious and unable to accept the fact that these rules have been brought in for the safety of womankind.

So when a horribly assaulted body is found in the park one morning, everybody is convinced that the murderer must have been a woman.  How could it be anything different when men's tags ensure that any movement outside the home is being monitored?  A curfew tag is the ultimate proof they were not outside.  Or is it?  

Two very different books.  I would probably give Curfew 3 out of 5 stars because it made me wonder what life would be like if women were in charge of everything but it didn't leave me with a very uplifted feeling!

My post has been prompted by reading Deb's What's on your Bookshelf challenge!