Miss Garnet's Angel

By Salley Vickers

"The greatest wisdoms are not those which are written down but those which are passed between human beings who understand each other.... "

The story starts in Ealing, London but is soon transferred to Venice, Italy where it comes to life. It is a very optimistic and heart-warming novel about Miss Julia Garnet, a retired history teacher in her sixties – and still a virgin – who decides to spend six months in Venice after her friend and flat-mate of 30 years, Harriet Josephs, passes away. It is a decision that sparks an exhilarating adventure of the soul. She now embarks on a journey that leads her through the three F’s of her life: fear, faith and friendship. Julia begins to blossom.

“When I came to Venice I’d never really seen beauty before…I’d never really let it inside me...”

The strange beauty of Venice, with its spectacular architecture and abundance of art, history and ancient mysticism, storms Julia's staunch English reserve and challenges her socialist ideology. For the first time in her life she falls in love. Carlo is a charming art dealer with twinkling eyes and a white moustache.

Intertwined with Julia’s story is also a retelling of the story of Tobias from the Apocrypha, from the Old Testament, who, when growing old and blind, decides to undertake a journey of his own. A story that could perhaps have been left out all the same, as I did not feel it added much value to the storyline, even if it gives many parallels to Julia’s fate. It surely did not captivate me in the same way as it did Julia. Together with the beauty of Venice, the story of Tobias gives her a new “excitement” late in life.

While in Venice Julia overcomes her fear of the unknown, rediscovers her faith and develops deep friendships.

Some of the friendships she makes are with a beautiful Italian boy called Nicco and an enigmatic pair of twins engaged in restoring the 14th century Chapel-of-the-Plague. However, it is not until she discovers a series of paintings in the Church of the Angel Raphael that Julia is able to transform and to reassess her past. A past that is still very much haunted by her tyrannical, abusive father.

An excellent cast of characters and an interesting story full of death, love, myth, faith, truth and hate.

Resistance

By Anita Shreve

This book takes us back to The Second World War and a Nazi-occupied Belgian village, where ah an American plane crashing in the woods outside the village. The pilot, Ted, is rescued by 10-year-old Jean and is taken to the house of Henri and Claire, a married couple who have experience in harbouring people fleeing from the Germans.

Being an Anita Shreve-novel romance is not far away, and as Claire nurses the American bomber pilot back to health in their secret attic hideaway, she falls in love. There are things about the story that might make you doubt the falling in love bit and their passionate affair, but nevertheless, my conclusion is that she did in fact fall in love with Ted and knew nothing of Henri’s betrayal when taking Henri and another man to what Ted thought was going to be his escape route to France.

Although the story ends in 1944 the author has decided not to leave her readers hanging by a thread, with a thousand questions at the end - and thank God for that! There is a last chapter that provides answers to many of the questions readers might be left with after having read the novel. Claire tells her story to Ted's son Tom who also gets to meet his half-sister, Charmaine - a result of the 20 days Claire and Ted spent together.

Adam and Eve and Pinch Me

By Ruth Rendell

«Adam and Eve and Pinch Me went down the river to bathe. Adam and Eve were drowned, who was saved?»

This rhyme is a favourite of Jeffrey Leach (aka Jeff/Jerry/Jock), who, after having sponged off five women, becomes the victim of one of his female prey. It is an excellent Ruth Rendell novel with a neat and tidy plot. Even though it is not the best Rendell book I have read to date, it will definitely stick with me for some time to come.

The novel contains three separate plots. Barely touching each other they still have one thing in common; the three central characters have all had relationships with an attractive scoundrel who was after nothing but their money. Remarkably, all of these characters' lives intersect because of a series of coincidences, with all roads leading back to Jeff/Jerry/Jock. I think part of Rendell’s genius is managing to craft a detailed plot without any confusion, without the coincidences seeming contrived.

First there is single mother Zillah. Although she has not actually been divorced from her estranged husband Jerry, whom she believes died in the train crash at Paddington Station, she tries to escape poverty by marrying Jim, a gay Conservative MP who feels pressured to get married in order to maintain status quo. Zillah accepts his proposal (with a full understanding of his sexuality) for financial stability, although she is not entirely convinced her husband is actually dead, but decides not to pursue the matter.

Secondly, there is the obese Michelle and anorexic Matthew, who do not approve of their wealthy friend and neighbour Fiona's boyfriend, Jeff, who is sponging off her. One day he simply disappears.

Last but not least we have Araminta (Minty) Knox, who is an obsessive-compulsive, washing and rewashing herself and her clothing, and knocking on wood several times a day to prevent some unforeseen disaster. Her fiancé, Jock Lewis, borrows her savings and disappears soon thereafter. Minty is told he died in the train crash at Paddington Station. The truth being he has taken all her savings and run off to be with another woman.

Minty is soon haunted by what she believes is the ghost of Jock. She starts to see in all kinds of odd places, often clad in his usual leather jacket. Even though Minty is not unfamiliar with ghosts (she is often visited by her deceased aunt, who "heard voices" when she was alive), these ghosts are merely annoying to her, while Jock’s ghost is persistent and terrifying. This results in her actually murdering him - believing she has only murdered his ghost!

Okay, I know that was a spoiler but throughout the novel there is little mystery about what has happened. However, the psychological tension is maintained throughout, keeping the reader uncertain of what the effects will be on everyone when the truth comes out.