For once, the amount of time I've taken to read this says nothing about the book. I remember reading Bloom of Youth. I was faintly unhappy with it. I then somehow ended up reading Grandmother's Footsteps and was so bored with it that I decided never to read Rachel Anderson again. Thankfully, despite what the proverb says, I always judge books by their covers. When I picked Asylum, I did not even notice the name of the writer, and the cover was so significantly different from the other two that I'd read, that I realised much later that it was by an author I did not quite like. I have to change my mind about that. Asylum was beautiful, moving, haunting. At a time when I know that getting a UK visa is tough, I wonder disgustedly at why we try so hard to get there. This book shows me how many people think of it as a wonderland. No, a Wonderland. A book about illegal immigrants, Asylum  … [Read more...]

Yesterday, when MJ Shubhra asked me to recommend books at the 'Book Club' show, I was tongue-tied, somehow. I could think of nothing. On my desk lay an Eva Ibbotson, so I said 'Eva Ibbotson'. My favourite by her remains Journey to the River Sea, but I've enjoyed everything I've read by her. The Haunting of Hiram was no different. It's a wacky book about a Scottish castle, bought by an American millionaire, and transported to Texas. The millionaire has a daughter who has polio, and predictably, the millionaire (the Hiram of the title) wants to protect and mollycoddle her. So, the Scottish castle must, at all costs, be freed of all ghosts. The book was a light, joyful read. It made me laugh; what more does a fun book need? Ibbotson's imagination always impresses me. It takes courage to write something utterly unbelievable and be willing to be as silly as you like. The … [Read more...]