Another month has flown by and I have read some more wonderful books. I have reviewed nine books but read eleven as I am getting there ahead of my September reads and Blog Tours. It is always difficult to pick my top reads of the month, but after much deliberation these are my top three books of August.
The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood. Naomi Wood had great success with her previous novel Mrs Hemingway, and in this book she moves from the world of literature to the art world, and in particular the Bauhaus School. Paul, Charlotte, Irmi, Jenö, Walter and Kasper all enter the Bauhaus at the same time and become friends. All from very different backgrounds, they make an unlikely group but epitomise what the Bauhaus was about. Whilst there they fall under the influence of their first year tutor Johannes Itten which leads to an event that starts to fracture the group, and test loyalties. Set in the 1930’s, a time of political change in Germany, and the rise of the Nazi Party, this is a story of art, love, jealousy, obsession and treachery. An interesting and compelling read.
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. Tracy Chevalier is an author who never disappoints and I am always excited when she publishes a new novel. A Single Thread is also set into 1930’s but is a very different book than the above. Violet Speedwell is classed as a ‘surplus woman’, a women whose fiancé was killed in the Great War, and now has no, or little chance of marrying. These women were pittied, seen as a threat by some married women and treated like lesser citizens. Violet wants independence so moves to Winchester to get a job and live on her own. Whilst there he meets the Broderers and Louisa Pesel who are commissioned to embroider cushions and kneelers for the cathedral. There she makes friends, learns to keep secrets and finds opportunities for happiness. This is a book about women’s relationships, as friends, lovers, daughters, sisters, and mothers, and how society views them. This is a poignant read, full of historical detail, unforgettable characters and is a stunning read.
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott. This is one of the most intriguing books I have read in a long time, and one that left me with a huge book hangover. Set in the 1950’s during The Cold War, Boris Pasternak is writing Dr Zhivago, a book seen as subversive in the Soviet Union, and thus banned, but is published in Europe. In America the CIA uses two female agents to smuggle the book back into Russia as a weapon in the Cold War, to show the citizens what it’s regime is suppressing, a book that could change history. Historical fiction, espionage, thriller, and romance combine to make this a stunning debut novel from Lara Prescott. I love Dr Zhivago and thought knew a lot about Boris Pasternak and it’s reception, but I never knew about it being used by the CIA. Memorable and interesting characters, a multi faceted plot and historical detail make this a stunning read and one that will be in my top ten reads of the year.
You can read my full review of these three books, and the others I have read in August on my blog. I hope you will join me in September for some more brilliant reads including Endgame by Daniel Cole, The Love Child by Rachel Hore, and The Confession by Jessie Burton.