Julia Williams
This paperback was, I believe, part of a Christmas parcel from my mother-in-law from Yorkshire two or three years ago; this December, I felt like some seasonal reading other than on my kindle, and indeed finished it last night, after a very nice and peaceful Christmas Eve with my parents, my sister and a close, brother-like friend.
For different reasons, three women who have been friends for a long time dread Christmas: One of them was left by her husband not long ago and struggles to keep her farm going, the second one is faced with the impact her reaching of middle age has on her career as a TV chef, and the third finds herself suddenly sharing the family home with her husband's ex-wife.
On top of the troubles and complications in their private lives, the whole village is under threat when plans of an investment company for a big modern spa complex become public. Will the villagers manage to save their community? Are the three friends going to find solutions for their individual problems?
Well... it's a Christmas novel, and therefore you can guess it all ends well. There are a few sad moments in between, and of course the obstacles are not overcome in an easy, straightforward manner, but the book leaves the reader on a positive note with some Christmas cheer, if you are so inclined.
It was just the kind of reading I could handle during this month, which was very busy work-wise and often left me rather exhausted at the end of a day. Also, due to the early darkness, I was not able to do as much walking as I would have liked, and of course the restrictions here meant that there was no Christmas market to look forward to for the evenings.
That is as far as I want to go with the complaining - I have plenty of reasons to be cheerful, and right now am in the last stages of packing my suitcase for the trip to O.K.'s, where I will stay until the 2nd of January.
Enjoy whatever you will be doing today for Christmas, and tomorrow for Boxing Day! I am still going to read your blogs while I'm away, but there will probably be no post of my own until I'm back at my own computer again.
Safe travels to O.K.'s. Hope you have a lovely Christmas holiday and may the New Year bring us all better news and more hope. We could use it!
ReplyDeleteThank you! All three trains were on time, and with very few other people on them, everyone wearing their masks. Today we are at OK‘s sister‘s for a festive lunch.
DeleteThe book sounds like wonderful Christmas read. I send you wishes for a restful, peaceful and happy holiday week! Travel safe and enjoy Boxing Day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bonnie! All went well yesterday, and today we will have a festive lunch at OK‘s sister‘s. Have not seen the family in a while, as OK spent the last three weekends at my place.
DeleteThe Poetry Archive (online).
ReplyDeleteFrom The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
Admittedly, I am not quite sure what to make of this.
DeleteI am sure you know the poem, Meike.
DeleteEliot's surviving Magus is recalling the arduous journey he made years ago (possibly from Persia) to see the baby Jesus.
The old man is dictating his journey to a scribe, *Set down this.*
The birth of Jesus was a hard, bitter agony, but for whom?
The mother, under the circumstances.
But also for the Magi themselves.
Conversion has been likened to a kind of death, of the old self.
The believer is a new creation, hence his unease with the old gods.
See Dr. Peter Jones: The Gnostic Gospels (YouTube).
No, I have never heard or read about the poem, but that is hardly surprising as I am not much of a poetry reader - or have not been since my school days decades ago.
DeleteThank you for explaining.
Hope you have had a lovely Christmas day with your family and that your time with OK will give you peace and happiness.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat! Christmas Eve was with my family, on Christmas Day I rang my mother-in-law in Yorkshire and traveled to OK, and today, Boxing Day, will be spent with his family - no different from the past four Christmases.
DeleteEnjoy your holiday time with OK and we'll be waiting here for your return to blog again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jill! Depending on the weather and what we will be doing during the days, there may be a blog post or two.
DeleteHave a nice, relaxing break over at OK's place. You have earned it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Neil! It has been both - nice and relaxing - so far.
DeleteSafe travels!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete