The Villa Girls by Nicky Pellegrino

This book of The Villa Girls is wonderful and a joy to read.  Nicky Pellegrino writes about life, beautiful landscapes and gardens, olive trees and celebrations.  The story involves four girls who become life-long friends and take their holidays together.

Rosie is alone in the world without a family and much of the story is about her interaction with Addolorata’s  family and Italian restaurant, Little Italy.  Rosie makes her own way in the world with a love of photography and works in this field in London.

On one of the holidays to Italy Rosie meets Enzo whose life evolves around his family’s estate of the olive trees.  This did seem to be a wonderful romance at the beginning but unfortunately life turned out differently at the time for Rosie and Enzo.

 I found the descriptions of the olive estate, the harvests, the celebrations, food and wine and family of Enzo, especially his Nonna  with her words of wisdom beautiful.  There was beauty in the olive groves and it was a life which seemed to be determined by the state of the trees and the weather.  However, at one time, Enzo’s grand-mother spoke to Enzo and told him to forget the trees for a moment and that if she had made him believe that the olive trees were the most important thing of all then she was sorry.  Nothing is more important than love.  Perhaps counsel such as this and wise words from his sister Concetta, may have made him see sense before he embarked on a marriage of convenience with a local woman, Maria Luisa, who saw him as a second best choice as her husband.

This story is well recommended and it is wonderful to read each new chapter with anticipation as the story unfolds.  The settings in London and also Italy with its winding little cobble stone lanes and pizza parlours, coffee shops  and pastries are quite beguiling.  Lovely descriptions of the scenery , the flowering gardens of fruit trees and blooms in the summertime, coastal roads, the villages, beaches of Triente and Amalfi  are also wonderful.

  

My Two Heavens by Jo Crabb

This book is a wonderful story of living in two countries, New Zealand and France.  It is also a testament to the power of positive thinking and that it is possible to achieve goals which a person sets out to do with perseverance and a positive attitude to life.

 

The book is also a travel memoir of various places travelled in earlier years and an exotic mix of wonderful recipes of the Mediterranean and the Middle East as well as for France and New Zealand.

 

There are fascinating anecdotes, drawings and words  of sound advice and descriptions of beautiful scenery.  Above all, there are the magnificent recipes which look wonderful.

Included in this book are the many varied and beautiful illustrations by Stephen Allwood, which are quite magical.

 

The Robert Louis Stevenson walk in the French countryside is included as well as The Chemin de St Jacques Walk, which was also fascinating to read  about the life of a pilgrim on the journey from a little place in France to San Compostela in Spain.

 

This book is well recommended as it is a joy to

read.

 

 

 

 

Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress

Once again, the last film in the Sissi trilogy of films does not disappoint.  A wonderful film of magnificent settings and beauty.  These films are well recommended.

Sissi at one time leaves the Viennese court and travels to warmer climes.  The backdrop of scenery is magical and the pageantry of the times magnificent.  This is a film which will warm the very soul.  It is lovely..  The music and song and dancing are also wonderful.  The Viennese dances at court seem very different from the traditional folk music of Hungary.  The film is a splendour of romance and
beauty. 

Sissi travels to Hungary Madeira and Italy.  To see this film is a visual beauty

I now look forward to watching the film of Queen Victoria in Dover which complements the set of
the Sissi trilogy.

My best wishes

Little Women (film)

Little Women is a mini-series on dvd and well worth watching.

An enchanting story of a family of four daughters and their ups and downs in life

set during the time of the Civil War in New England, USA.

The costumes are elegant and the characters endearing. The scenery, settings

and story line make for a wonderful film. The horses and carriages and the elegance of the times bring to life a different kind of world.

Jo was the bright spark who wished to follow her dreams of becoming a writer. Jo was

the perennial tom-boy who loved nothing more than to be dashing through the fields or

climbing trees.

Jo at one time was at cross-purposes with a German professor regarding

her scripts of stories which were first published. She had become a governess and was writing

short stories for a paper in New York.

The publisher of her

stories had initially informed her that the readers wished to be entertained and not read

moralistic stories. However, the publisher did admit that he did take a liking to her stories.

She perhaps should have informed the professor of this at the time. She did perhaps change her

stories a little to find favour with the publisher.

The aspect of her writing progress in the story is fascinating to follow and also how Jo's writing abilities eventually

developed. Finally, Jo felt that the stories wrote themselves later as she became a more

proficient writer with a deeper understanding and experience of life's sadness and

trauma.

Little Women is tinged with sadness but also with the lightness of spirit

and the charm of the characters. It is a story of life. It has great beauty and acts of selflessness

demonstrated by the characters in times of need.

The stories of the romances of the daughters are also wonderful.

One daughter, Amy, travels to

Europe. Another daughter has a wedding.

The film is based on the book by Louisa May Alcott which I read many years ago.

It was a delight and pleasure to view this beautiful film.

Casanova (film)

Casanova is a wonderful film set in Venice which I enjoyed watching.  The backdrops of scenery were
spellbinding and the baroque music was lovely.  The time was 1753, in Vencie, an exotic time, with the fashions, clothing. music and Carnivale.

The costumes which the characters wore were magnificent and the story amazing.

I would describe this film as romantic comedy and also quite entralling to watch.
I loved every minute of this film.

It is the story of the love between Francesca and Casanova.  The artistry, the beauty of the scenes and the humorous
adventures in the film made this film very enjoyable.

Casanova flalls in love with Francesca who is quite unlike any woman he has come across previously.  Casanova plays his role under many disguises and it is this aspect of the film which is quite humorous
and the misconceptions of the people he comes into contact with.

A doge, an inquisitorial bishop, Francesca's mother and brother, Francesca's fiance and the wonderful
scenery made this film very special.

The film stars Heath Ledger as Casanova and Sienna Miller as Francesca.  A must-see film for enjoyment
and light entertainment.  Even though the film seems humorous in many respects the film also represents
many truths and a wisdom of life.  It is a wonderful story.

Well recommended!

Best wishes

My best wishes Sandra

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger

Gliding down the River Nile on a “dahabieh” would

have been an idyllic way of visiting the ancient sites

and temples of Egypt in the nineteenth century. A time

when Egypt was a popular destination for English

travellers.

The sands of the desert, the summer sand-storms, the stifling

heat of the summer months and the beauty of ancient ruins and

towns are depicted so evocatively in the book “The Mistress of

Nothing” that it is almost as though the reader is there.

It is with empathy and understanding that the reader can relate to

Sally's story

which is told in the first person. Sally,

who had been indentured into

service at a young age by her aunt when she and her sister were

orphaned. Sally's story is quite poignant. At a later stage in the

book Sally does wonder about her aunt and the reasons that she

and her sister were sent into domestic service in the first place.

Sally eventually becomes a lady's maid for Lucie Duff Gordon, who because

of ill health is advised to spend the English winters abroad. Eventually

Lucie Duff Gordon settles for Egypt and adapts well to her new environment over many

years. Unfortunately, she does miss her family, mother, children and husband.

For many years

Sally was a devoted lady's maid. During the times in Egypt

when Lucie Duff Gordon's family was not visiting, over the months the

boundaries often blurred between employer, servant and dragoman (An

Egyptian servant who assisted Lucie Duff Gordon and Sally in the ways of Egypt.) They became

more as friends, did away with the formal Victorian English clothing in

the heat of Egypt and chose more comfortable Egyptian style clothing,

which was seen at first as a little scandalous by Sally, but she also finally succumbed

to more comfortable Egyptian clothing as also many of the formalities of lady

and lady's maid were disregarded by this time.

After months of travelling on the Nile River and visiting temples and ancient

ruins of great beauty and mystery Lady Duff Gordon chose to settle in Luxor at a

French House, notable for literary talent of famous people who had previously

stayed there. When diseases broke out in the towns and distant villages the house

was used as a base to dispense medicines and help the poor people overcome their illnesses.

Sally often assisted Lucie Duff Gordon in this regard.

Over time with months spent travelling with Lucie Duff Gordon and her dragoman,

Sally does eventually fall in love with Lucie Duff Gordon's dragoman. This is quite

a riveting story and extremely well written with great understanding and beauty. However,

Lucie Duff Gordon's attitude was entirely unexpected and in this regard the reader is left

with a mystery as to the reason for Lucie Duff Gordon's attitude. Sally also spent much time in

speculation regarding these matters. She certainly did have the time as she was cast adrift. However, given the social mores and customs of the time in England and the requirements of service as a lady's maid, Lucie Duff Gordon's attitude towards Sally may not have been entirely unexpected. Later,

Sally is informed by her sister, who was acting as a Lady's maid for Lucie Duff Gordon's daughter, that it was believed by members of the family, that Lucie Duff Gordon had been unnecessarily harsh on Sally.

The story is excellent for the descriptions of market places and life as it was in nineteenth

century Egypt.

The colours of the market places and towns, the beauty of the moonlit nights over the temples and ruins, the river, the palm- tree and desert scenery and authentic

depictions of the characters in the story, including English

gentry and Egyptians whom Lady Duff Gordon befriended are wonderful and make for

a descriptive and lively novel. Lady Duff Gordon enjoyed her entertaining and discussions

with her friends. Both Lady Duff Gordon and Sally became fluent in the Egyptian language

and read many novels. Sally became well versed and educated from reading so many novels

and on many levels she was indebted to Lady Duff Gordon. Lady Duff Gordon, in her turn,

was an excellent employer, provider, educator and dispenser of medicines and also

proved to be an effective mid-wife when unexpectedly required, this being over many years.

The story is based on a true story of Sally and the Dragoman who fell in love. There is a

picture of Lucie Duff Gordon on the inside cover of the book and a picture which seems

to be an early photograph of her Egyptian dragoman, Omar.

The idyllic settings and beauty of her surroundings eventually become but a distant past

for Sally, who attempts to find her way in Egypt on her own with a baby. As the title indicates,

“The Mistress of Nothing!”

All in all, a wonderful read of a novel which says so much about life and gives a sympathetic

account of Sally and Omar's love. Sally became a welcome visitor at the home of Omar's

parents and his first wife. In Egypt, the laws of marriage were different and

Omar was allowed to have two wives. Lucie Duff Gordon may not have approved of this. This may

be another reason for Lucie Duff Gordon's attitude. Sally also had not informed Lucie Duff Gordon

of her situation and had kept her pregnancy a secret from her. Sally was quite old by

nineteenth century English mores and customs. She had not married and was well past the

age of 30 by the time she eventually married Omar.

A beautiful story of endurance, hardship and love. Love also for a little baby, Abdullah, who meant so much

for Sally. A wonderful story of

nineteenth century Egypt! I loved the descriptions of life in Egypt at a time which now seems so distant from twenty-first century living today. For me this was one of the fascinating aspects of the book. The seemingly idyllic life-styles in Egypt, also the descriptions of the employer-servant relationship in England of the nineteenth century, when at the beginning of the book the story was based in England. The servants arguing amongst themselves about whose turn it was to take in the cups of tea and cakes when Lady Duff Gordon and her husband were entertaining.

A fascinating page-turner of a story with all the elements of charm, grace and beauty enlivening this novel. Wonderful summer reading!

Review of Natasha's Dance

Natasha's Dance by Orlando Figes

A magnificent book of great scope and worth

is Orlando Figes story of the cultural history

of Russia. A wonderful book to read! I am still

in awe of such a wonderful and scholarly work.

This book is full of magnificence, great wealth and

splendour with stories of princes, tsars and paupers.

I found this book fascinating for its insight and

sensitivity in writing

of its people, mountains, scenery and countryside

of Russia. It is a book of great

beauty, in the writing and also in the content of the book.

There are powerful and evocative descriptions

of pieces of poetry or prose which had been

written by some of the great

writers in Russian literature included in the story.

I am reminded that there is a review on the back cover of

the book which states that the reviewer does not like to

say too much about the book so as not to spoil it for the

reader.

This book is enlightening and wonderful.

Also educational. It is majestic in its scope, describing

palaces of princes, lives of great writers,

folk-lore and customs.

I loved the folk-loric nature of the

book with majestic stories and beliefs concerning cities, towns

and cities of

imagination and legend which were believed to have existed at times under a

lake, the healing properties of certain places

or of the gripping detail provided in stories by Gogol or

Dostoevsky. Tales of imagination abound for St Petersburg

with its bronze horseman. Fascinating! Great story-telling. I will

have to read some of Gogol's tales which certainly give an aura of the

fantastic, colour and

atmosphere to the history of the culture of Russia.

The colours and culture of Russia seem so different from

the rest of Europe. This may have been due to the eastern influences.

St Petersburg was built in more traditional Western European concepts

and architecture. This is a beautiful city which I visited in 2009. Moscow

is different again, and yet the architecture from Muscovy is a splendour with the

magnificent gold domes of cathedrals and churches which can often be seen from afar

when travelling about the city or the countryside.

In the earlier days before Russia became a Soviet

state the aristocracy was often encouraged to build palaces.

These palaces often became a place of learning, culture and

civilisation.

Prince Potemkin built

an exotic palace on the Crimea and in a note there is a mention of a book written

about him titled “Prince of Princes” by Simon Sebag Montefiore

which I would like to also read.

Great warmth and humanity, dignity and valour and personal conflict and endurance are revealed in the stories of Count Sheremetev and Prince Volkonsky.

Wonderful descriptions are given of the music, ballet, prose, poetry, gifted artists, musicians and

film makers with stories of their lives which gives an added appeal to the book for the humanity and personalities of the people involved. The book is on a personal level with the characters and it is not difficult

to often sympathise with the characters and their personal situations. Their lives were very real and the times very true. Colour plates of characters and illustrations of the

colour of arts, theatre and design provide interesting detail into aspects of the culture and arts.

The theme of the book is enduring beauty and even in the bleakest moments, sorrows and sadness,

the spirit and strength of some of the great artists who may have been living in difficult times in Russia still shine through.

In his notes the author has admitted that it did take him a long time to write this book but I am

so glad that he wrote it and also glad that I have read it. It is difficult to imagine that so much wonder, splendour and beauty can be written in one book but this certainly is the case with “Natasha's Dance” the title of which comes from Leo Tolstoy's “War and Peace.”

Full accolades for the author. At the introduction a Russian countess who had been brought up

by French governesses knew how to dance a Russian dance and picked up the rhythm. All things

French were wonderful and admired until Napoleon came to Russia. Thereafter, as described in

the chapter of “Children of 1812” some of the nobility turned away from European values and

concepts and returned to the beauty of the land and rural countryside of the Steppe and wished to

revert to more Russian ways of life. Some of the aristocracy had befriended soldiers of the peasantry in the army and had gained a renewed respect for these people who had come from the rural villages and land of Russia.

A wonderful achievement to write a book of such grand scope.

The beauty and descriptions of the times in Russia are portrayed vividly. The colours and scope of the landscape, the Siberian Steppe, the nomads and various clans and khans who conquered the territory in the 12^th century, the folk-lore, songs and dances, traditions and the times of the tsars and a later

more fraught time which is depicted in a chapter of “Russia through a Soviet Lens” is a magnificent and scholarly accomplishment by the author. The book is quite compelling full of lively descriptions and anecdotes which makes “Natasha's Dance” fascinating to read.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

My comments on Gold Coast BookCoasters regarding the book
"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards:

I have recently finished reading “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” by Kim Edwards.
What a wonderful book! On a different level altogether. The humanity shines through this novel, the personalities and the intricacies and also uncertainties
of life.
I would recommend this book as it gives a good understanding of alternative values,
which sometimes may occur, especially in the setting of earlier times and a more repressive system which people often adhered to as regards human frailties, as
described in the book.
I loved the story, the wonderful story telling , which was often on a personal level, understanding the people and the reasons for their actions.
The descriptions in the book of scenery, countryside, cities, farmland echoed in the story
with a vibrance and vitality giving authenticity to the very telling of the story.

  There are also discussion questions regarding this book,
as also discussion questions regarding "Wolf Hall" by Hillary Mantel and The Tudors.