Normal People

Normal People by Irish author Sally Rooney is a study of adolescent relationships. Connell and Marianne are students in their final year of school in a small town in Ireland. Connell is one of the popular students at the school while Marianne is mainly ignored by her fellow classmates. Marianne comes from a well to do family that hires Connell's mother to clean their house twice a week. Her mother would never approve of Marianne having a friendship with the son of their cleaner. Despite this, Marianne and Connell do become friends but it must be kept a secret. Both Connell and Marianne do very well in their final exams and gain places to study at Trinity College in Dublin.

Normal People traces the on again / off again relationship between Marianne and Connell from January 2011 to February 2015. They both have encounters with other people but they continue to have a strong connection resulting in them reforming their partnership from time to time. Whatever happens there appears to be a bond between them that cannot be permanently broken. When problems arise they are quick to support each other though obstacles continue to occur to stop their relationship becoming a lasting one. At one stage Marianne observes to herself that it would be good to be normal people.

Two Islands

Niko and his family experienced many horrific experiences during the Balkan wars including the death of his father. His mother approached the Australian Embassy in Zagreb hoping to gain approval for the family to move to Australia. Shortly afterwards Niko was approached to see if he was prepared to tell his story as war crimes were being investigated. This led to Niko meeting Anita, an Australian working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. As Niko was prepared to identify in court one of the Serbian leaders he was granted protection and moved to England until the trial. Then he disappeared.

On the west coast of Scotland are many islands including two small isolated islands, Skarnsey and Thorkil's Isle, and it is to these islands that Niko fled to try and find safety. Niko is not the only damaged soul seeking refuge on the islands. Fergus had served in the British army in Ireland as well as in a peacekeeping regiment in the former Yugoslavia. Incidents that he witnessed continue to torment him. Ronnie returned to the islands after service in the Second World War and well understands the traumas affecting the new arrivals.

Two Islands by Ian Kemish is a work of historical fiction that, as well as providing information about recent conflicts in the twentieth century, examines the long-term trauma of those involved in such conflicts. The novel contains the stories of Anita who is searching for Niko, Niko himself, Fergus and Ronnie. This is a story of relationships as the villagers come to understand the strangers who have arrived on their shores. Everyone has a past but everyone should also have a future. It is therefore also a story of hope.

Two Islands is definitely one of the best books that I have read so far this year.

Balkans war: a brief guide - BBC 

The Two Hundred Years War: the bloody crowns of England and France 1292-1492

The One Hundred Years War between England and France actually covered 116 years from 1337-1453. In this study of European history during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the author argues that the conflicts need to be examined over a longer time period so he has extended his study from 1292-1492. He also looks at events occurring in other nearby countries affected by the conflict between France and England. Burgundy, Brittany, Flanders, Navarre, the Low Countries, Castile, Portugal and Aragon were some of the countries / territories impacted by the conflicts in this period. Scotland and Wales were also areas impacted during this time as they pursued their own differences with the English.

The Two Hundred Years War: the bloody crowns of England and France 1292 to 1492 by Michael Livingston also provides information about wars between these two countries that occurred immediately before and after his designated time period. This study includes maps, a series of coloured images, detailed notes, a bibliography and index. The book has also been published under the title Bloody Crowns: a new history of The Hundred Years War.

Five Golden Wings

Another Meg Andrews' Christmas special. This time, two of Meg's cousins decide to be married at Caerphilly on the Saturday before Christmas. Of course, they and family members move into the home of Meg and Michael, Meg's parents house and the home of Delaney and Rob. Naturally chaos follows as the two cousins are being married at different times at the same church. They also do not like each other and are very competitive. No-one really wants, or needs, the chaos that ensues.

Not only is the family involved in getting ready for Christmas but they also have to deal with differences of opinion that occur between members of the two wedding parties and associated family members. Added to this is the photographer who, to put it mildly, is a demanding and not very pleasant, character. Meg is left with supporting family members who have been insulted and verbally abused by the temporary guests. Then there is, of course, a murder.

Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews carries on the tradition of including birds, this time three eagles, in the story and the title. The book is another amusing, entertaining, light crime read.

The Cursed Road

We first met DI Georgina (George) Lennox and DI Richard (Ritchie) Stewart in the crime novel, The Wolf Tree, by Laura McCluskey. The Cursed Road is the sequel to that novel. 

When the body of a young unidentified woman is discovered in the highlands of Scotland and a possible link between the victim and a cold case from ten years previously, George and Ritchie are assigned the case. The young woman's body was found at the side of a road known to the locals as 'the cursed road'. For hundreds of years there has been a feud between two families living near the road.

The Cursed Road takes the reader into a world of mystery, intrigue and horror as the two detectives try to discover the identity of the murdered woman and who killed her as well as links that might help them solve the cold case that Ritchie first worked on ten years previously. George and Ritchie are still coming to terms with health issues resulting from their previous case. Journalist, Hendry Shaw, is also back on the scene looking for an interview with George for a story he is working on.

The Cursed Road by Laura McCluskey is a gripping police procedural set in, at times, an almost gothic atmosphere. A new addition to the genre of Tartin Noir.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, published in 2003, is the story of a young boy, Amir, the son of a wealthy Pashtun family in Kabul, Afghanistan, and his close friend, Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Coming from different backgrounds, the two boys to some extent experience different lives but still enjoy the opportunity to spend time together. The highlight of each year is the annual kite running competition. But Afghanistan is about to enter turbulent times and the lives of the boys are to drastically change.

The Kite Runner is a story about friendship, betrayal, attempting to seek forgiveness, father-son relationships, seeking truth, trust as well as an account of the lives of those living in Afghanistan during a series of revolutions. Amir and his father went to live in America but, after his father's death, Amir received communication from a family friend asking him to visit him in Pakistan where he was now living. This visit led Amir to return to Afghanistan to try and right a mistake from his past.

Having read this book immediately after reading Ian McEwan's book, Atonement,  I noticed similar themes where a mistake made by young people results in the perpetrators experiencing feelings of guilt throughout their life and the need to atone for their past behaviour. 

This is not necessarily an easy book to read but I found that I was compelled to keep reading to the end of the book.

Timeline: Afghanistan's turbulent history - ABC  

Atonement

It is 1935 and thirteen year old Briony Tallis is spending time with her family at their country house in England. As three of her cousins have joined them, Briony decides to organise them to take part in the performance of a play she has written. This plan is easier said than done.

Part one of Atonement by Ian McEwan deals with events occurring in the Tallis household in1935  including a secret relationship between Briony's older sister, Cecelia, and  Robbie Turner. Briony, who loves writing, observes events as they occur around her and makes assumptions about what she notices. Unfortunately she jumps to incorrect conclusions that destroys relationships between family members and friends.

Part two deals with the the horrific experiences of British and French soldiers endeavouring to reach the north coast of France for the Dunkirk evacuation between 26 May and 4 June, 1940.

Part three provides us information about Briony's experiences during the war when she working as a nurse in London hospitals and witnessing the often severe war injuries of rescued soldiers. On a day off she also visits the wedding of two of the protagonists from part one of the book and later that day has an encounter with her sister and Robbie. She is looking for a way to make amends for her past behaviour.

The plot then jumps to 1999 when Briony attends a celebration for her birthday in a hotel which used to be the family home. By this time she has become a successful author but her last novel will not be able to be published until after her death and the death of two of the protagonists in the book. The reader also becomes aware of a twist that occurred in part three of the novel.

Atonement is a book about family relationships, class, impact of war, guilt and the need for atonement as well as what is really required to become a writer. The novel, published in 2001, was nominated for many awards, winning some, and was made into a film in 2007. It is one of Ian McEwan's best known novels.

This Novel Had Everything - Penguin Books 

Atonement by Ian McEwan is a meditation on creativity in later life - The Conversation

Dunkirk evacuation - Britannica

Atonement (novel) - Wikipedia