Book Reviews

MAY 2021

‘The Illness Lesson’ by Clare Beams (Paperback £8.99) It’s 1871 and girls at a progressive new school are being taught to think and speak, to reason clearly; but who will listen? Caroline Hood is finding her feet as a teacher when the liberal ideals of her father clash with the burden of dealing with a disruptive student who develops a mysterious illness that spreads to the other girls. As a doctor arrives to deliver a cure, Caroline finds that the things men leave unsaid hold greater power than their spoken promises. The hopeful creativity and heavyhanded authority that characterise this particular moment in history, education and “medicine” had me gripped. I was quickly engrossed in the storytelling which becomes more urgent and bright with fury as events unfold.

‘And Now For The Good News’ by Ruby Wax (Hardback £14.99) With good sense and good humour Ruby Wax turns her back on the doom merchants and goes in search of hope. She finds it. If you notice your anxiety levels creeping up when absorbing the news, if your small steps for positive change seem meaningless, or if you just want a book to make you laugh then do pick this up. Wax’s hands-on approach to seeking out information makes her a vivid guide to the good news being made each day in community, business, the environment, and restores a sense of balance and possibility that is sadly lacking in our major sources of news. It’s full of great stories, good ideas, helpful resources, and writing to make you laugh out loud.

‘The Art of Falling’ by Danielle McLaughlin (Hardback £16.99) I loved this beautifully written story of Nessa McCormack’s life and loves. The curator of an art gallery in Cork city, Nessa is organising an exhibition of works of the late sculptor Robert Locke. He is her favourite artist and the subject of her art history degree thesis from decades earlier. The McCormacks are trying to hold their marriage together following her husband Philip’s infidelity. This is jeopardised by the arrival of a friend from their past and a strange woman connected to Locke. They will have to find out if they can overcome the issues resurrected by these events.

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