@PepeLePew the exhibition sounds amazing! Book buying in the furtherance of research is always justified.
Some reserved library books have come in (all at once again!) so I've postponed The Road.
'13. Night Climbing – Sarah Day
In 1936, a group of British schoolboys are taken on a school trip through the mountains of Germany and during a hike the weather turns; the trip turns to tragedy as four boys die and one is missing. The novel, based on a true story, is told from the points of view of the mother of the missing child, the school teacher who led the fateful expedition, and a German villager who is involved in the search party.
The female characters were sympathetic, both Sylvia in London, battling with the after effects of the First World War on her family, and Hilde, living in an old-fashioned mountain village which is seeing the growing menace of fascism. Sylvie also is affected by this in Britain, though the plotline about eugenics and how it impacted her life didn’t seem to go too far – a minor niggle. The novel speaks to the power of propaganda to subvert heroism to a dark cause; I found it a thoughtful read.
'14. Thunderstone – Nancy Campbell
A memoir set in lockdown – after a breakup Nancy moves from her shared flat in Oxford to buy a caravan and set it near the Oxford canal, north of the city in the wilderness between the water and railway line. This is a diary of sorts tracing her first four months, bookended by illnesses, those of her partner and herself.
I enjoyed this but it was a different read to what I was expecting, but that’s on me more than the book. Nancy is a poet and this comes across in her writing, heading off on different tangents as the mood takes, but I was expecting a little more of the practicalities of her life. Having said that she evokes a real sense of place along the Oxford canal, living among the boaters and bohemians, in a time of uncertainty of lockdowns and medical emergencies. Her nature writing is beautifully expressive. Recommended for any Oxford based 50 Bookers.