Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams

I bought Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams when someone I follow on Instagram gushed about it. Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is about a kitten with just a touch of magical ability, thanks to the fact that he was born to the cat of a witch who lives in a mountain cave. But, he has no interest in growing up to be a witch's cat. His heart's desire is to be a beloved house cat with a family, a nice bowl of cream, and a place to nap by the fire. 

I can't actually remember if Gobbolino sets out on his own or not. However it happens, he ends up in a creek, swimming toward a dangerous water wheel and barely saved by some children. The children take him home and it appears that he's found the place he dreamed of until sparks come from his whiskers and the adults realize he's a witch's cat. Nobody wants a witch's cat, so he's kicked out. 

This pattern repeats with Gobbolino finding a home in an orphanage, with a troupe of puppeteers, and various other places. But, each time someone figures out that he's a witch's cat and he's turned out over and over again until, finally, he ends up finding his sister — a cat who never had any doubts at all that she would find a witch of her own. The witch threatens to throw him down the mountain because he's useless as a witch's cat, but Gobbolino is able to get away. Unfortunately, he ends up right back in the creek and now, thanks to the witch, he can no longer swim. Will Gobbolino ever find a home with people who love him and a place by the fire?

Recommended but not a favorite - As evidenced by the fact that my copy is an anniversary edition, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat, published in 1942, is apparently a classic . . . presumably in the UK. I'm pretty sure I bought it from Book Depository, although it was last year so I'm not positive about that. And, I can see why it's a classic. I would have loved it as a child. As an adult, though, it fell a little flat for me. I found the "found a home, kicked out, found a home, kicked out" repetition a bit exhausting. As a youngster, though, I probably would have enjoyed it for the way Gobbolino's story comes full circle and he does, indeed, find a happy home. It's a lovely story and one I'll save for my grandchildren to read. It's just a little too simplistic, even for this middle grade-book-loving reader. 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

There's an energy to these autumn nights that touches something primal inside of me. Something from long ago. From my childhood in western Iowa. I think of high school football games and the stadium lights blazing down on the players. I smell ripening apples, and the sour reek of beer from keg parties in the cornfields. I feel the wind in my face as I ride in the bed of an old pickup truck down a country road at night, dust swirling red in the taillights and the entire span of my life yawning out ahead of me. 

~pp. 11-12


This is the only thing I wrote in my Goodreads review of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch: "Could. Not. Put. Down."

And, really, that's probably all you need to know, but nah. I want to talk about this book. Dark Matter is about a scientist whose life has not turned out quite as he originally intended. Jason's never finished the project that he planned on making his life's work, instead choosing to marry, have a family, and teach. Although his life isn't perfect, he's happy. Then, one night, everything changes.

Knocked unconscious by a masked man and taken to a place that appears abandoned, Jason awakens in a hospital and finds that he hasn't returned to the same Chicago he left. Instead, he's ended up in a world in which he's unmarried, his son doesn't exist, and he's a successful scientist rather than a college physics professor. Pursued by people who claim to be his friends, Jason must figure out how his own invention -- the one he didn't get around to finishing or even figuring out -- functions. Only then will he have a shot at returning to the home and family he loves. Can Jason survive long enough to find his way home? Or will someone stop him before he runs out of chances?

Highly recommended - The science aspect of Dark Matter can be a little hard to follow, at times, and the story is definitely mind-bending as the Justin Cronin quote says on the cover, but I didn't have any difficulty following the logic of Crouch's world building. And, Dark Matter is by far the most gripping novel I've read in years. Jason and his family are likeable so I rooted for him to find his way home. I also thought the book was well written. Fast-paced books are often not crafted with as much care as one would hope, so I appreciated the competency and care of the author's writing.

The cover shown above is, I assume, the American version (or one of them). My copy was purchased from Book Depository and looks a bit different:

Dark Matter is my second read by Blake Crouch. I also read Pines and enjoyed it enough that I downloaded the following two books in the Wayward Pines series to my Kindle app (haven't read them, yet). Dark Matter is a stand-alone novel. I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to hang onto my copy to use as a slump breaker, in the future.

©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

3 minis - The Evergreen Bride by Pam Hillman, The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick

I'm going to do a few mini reviews to catch up with myself. Almost everything I've read recently has been from my personal shelves or recently purchased.

The Evergreen Bride by Pam Hillman is not my normal fare but the author is a friend and I appreciate nothing more than sweetness and light in a Christmas read. I also was in the mood for something light after a darker read, this weekend (I'll get to the darker read in a sec).

In The Evergreen Bride, Annabelle Denson is preparing to travel from her home in Sipsey, Mississippi to visit her cousin in Illinois. Annabelle is hoping to experience a white Christmas. Carpenter Samuel Frazier looks forward to Annabelle's daily visits to the mill, where he works with her brother, Jack; and, he worries that Annabelle will not return from her journey, presuming she'll meet plenty of young men in Illinois. But, he keeps his affection for her to himself. Will Annabelle begin to think of Sam as a potential beau before it's too late?

The Evergreen Bride is a novella so it's short and it's predictable, which was just what I wanted -- a quick, touching read that I knew would end well. There's no real obstacle to love, apart from Annabelle's planned journey and the fact that she is unaware that Sam is perfect for her. I adored the characters. A delightful upper of a story, recommended to anyone looking for a light, happy Christmas read, particularly fans of romance.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide is the book I referred to above as a "darker" read. It's not dark, really, but if the author's remarks are accurate, it's the novelization of a series of articles about a real cat and I found it deeply painful because it has the ring of truth.

When a young man and his wife rent the guest house on the property of a large estate, they unexpectedly find their house the second home to a neighborhood cat, a playful white and black kitty who eats, sleeps and plays in their home and follows the young man around when he cares for the garden of the larger home. In the morning, the cat returns to her owners to see their young son off to school. The neighbors are unaware that their cat is spending time in another house; and, when the owners of the larger home must prepare to sell, the young couple is so attached to the cat they call "Chibi" that they anxiously look for a new home close enough that they'll be able to continue their relationship with her.

I loved the author's descriptions of Chibi -- her mannerisms, habits and how she played, as well as the subtle ways she showed her affection and became a valued companion to the young couple.  You can imagine why I consider it a bit dark without any need to elaborate, as she was an outdoor cat and there are many dangers to cats in the outdoor world. I was hoping for a light, happy read. The Guest Cat is lovely in many ways but I was disappointed to find that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. It is, however, certainly an interesting peek into Japanese culture if you can bear the sad bits.  Recommended, although not a favorite, for the beauty of writing and the themes of love and unexpected friendship.

A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick is about a runaway bride. On the day of her wedding to the handsome, successful man her mother has pushed her to marry, Jude comes to the realization that she's given in to her mother's desires all her life, thanks to the fact that Jude has tried to take the place of her beloved sister Rose, who died of kidney disease. Marriage to John, she realizes, would be a mistake. So, Jude runs.

Her plans to move to London with John now scuttled, Jude finds the atmosphere in her parents' New England home unbearable. But, she's taken a 2-year leave of absence from her job. Tired of their criticism, Jude arranges to visit her aunt Barbara in England and, while there, Barbara arranges a job for Jude on the Cornish Coast, organizing the files of an author Jude has long admired.

The author is chaotically disorganized and bent on finding his family's missing treasure to save his estate. Jude is making progress on his files when tragedy strikes. Can Jude help save the estate and convince John that he's not the man for her?

Again, this was a predictable read, but not one I enjoyed quite as much as The Evergreen Bride. I'm not sure if it was bad timing or Liz Fenwick is just not the author for me, but I considered abandoning A Cornish Affair. The only reason I stuck it out was the usual one . . . I was halfway through and decided to finish. I didn't think it was a terrible read and I did think it improved in the second half but it still dragged. And the way A Cornish Affair ended was predictable in a way that I found disappointing. Of course, I knew what was going to happen; I just didn't like Jude enough to want that ending for her, I suppose. Thumbs up to the setting. Not a favorite but I'd recommend A Cornish Affair to romance lovers.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen

The Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen

Copyright 2011

Pan Macmillan - Fiction

441 pages

This last one had set him thinking. Lately he had taken to wondering what exactly the Cold War was. That it was so dubbed because it took place in snowy countries like Germany, Siberia and Russia was obvious. But so far as he could glean, it was not a war that involved trench foot or parachutes or Lancaster bombers. He had yet to wrap his brain around the concept of an amorphous conflict of counter-ideology and misinformation and so he had no pictorial backdrop against which to imagine his father.

--p. 226

I'm going to defer to the publisher's description of The Summer of the Bear because it's one of those rare cover blurbs that's so very well-written I don't think I can improve upon it:

In the summer of 1979, a tamed grizzly bear is tempted by the lure of freedom and the wild open sea . . .

Meanwhile, the sudden death of British diplomat Nicky Fleming has left his wife closed down with shock. Relocated from Cold War-riven Germany to a remote Hebridean island, Letty Fleming is haunted by the unthinkable - was it an accident, murder or suicide? And how can she ever begin to explain to her three children that their father may have betrayed his country?

As the family's secrets threaten to tear them apart, it is only the strange but brilliant Jamie who manages to hold on to the one thing he knows for sure: his father has promised to return, and Nicky Fleming was a man who never broke a promise . . .

First things, first: The Summer of the Bear is a genuinely suspenseful, emotional story that is partly about a family torn apart by grief, uncertain what even happened to their delightful father/husband, but it's also a bit magical or mythical in combining the family's story with the tale of a bear who broke his tether and swam away from his owner. The owner is a wrestler who tirelessly searches for his beloved pet and he floats in and out of the picture.

When I got to the point that I figured out just how the bear fit in, I think I may have even said, "Oh!" with a bit of a sigh, aloud. I can't tell you about it for fear of spoiling the magic of this book, but it is absolutely enchanting and I'm in awe of the author's imaginative exploration of two rather disparate real-life events and a fictional family.

The characters in the Fleming family and those around them are all fascinating. Mother and new widow Letty is completely paralyzed by her loss, so much so that she ignores her children and they eventually have to find their own ways to cope. Georgie, the eldest daughter, is the calm and even-tempered one but her greatest desire is to escape the stifling atmosphere of her formerly-happy home. Middle child Alba only knows how to express herself with anger, lashing out with caustic words and physical harm to the younger brother she believes has always taken too much of her parents' attention. And, young Jamie appears slow, but he's really very aware; he's just very literal. I got the feeling he might have some sort of condition like Asperger's because he was obviously sharp but misunderstood.

At the beginning of the book, the family is moving to the Outer Hebrides from London. Father Nicky was posted to a diplomatic position in Bonn, Germany, for many years and they were only in London temporarily, after his death. The Hebrides are home to Letty and she goes there for her own comfort, not realizing that pulling her children away from their home and friends is like a second death to them.

And, the bear . . . oh, the bear. You will love how the bear ties in. The Summer of the Bear would make an excellent choice for discussion in a reading group. There are many little things that are unexplained and draw you through the book. And, when you get to the point that those questions are answered, the answers are surprising, yet they make utter sense.

One of the best aspects of this book is the deceased character, Nicky. He is a character who is only seen in remembered conversations, of course, but he's so vibrant and clever and downright lovable that getting to know him helps to magnify the meaning and depth of the family's grief. I was unfortunately able to relate to the loss of such a dynamic individual and how it causes a family to come unglued until each member can find something solid to hold onto as that's what happened to my own little family when my father died. He was such a colorful, ebullient, lovable man that my mother was stricken much like Letty, although she didn't have the ability to let the loss overwhelm her because of the cancer diagnosis that forced her to stiffen her resolve to keep going. I can imagine how she might have melted under the agony of her loss, otherwise.

The bottom line:

Highly recommended; would make an especially good group read. A captivating, suspenseful, magical, near-perfect read about a grieving family and a grizzly bear, set during the Cold War. I didn't understand who the wrestler was till the end; I think that could have been made a bit clearer. Otherwise, I thought the story was simply breathtaking.

Side note:

I was offered a copy of The Summer of the Bear for review by the author and I turned her down, even though the story sounded marvelous. Obviously, I had regrets. I immediately put the book on my wish list but didn't manage to acquire a copy till we were in England and I spotted it on the racks. The author lives in London and I presume she's better known there than in the U.S. I'd certainly never heard of her, but I think she is very deserving of wide recognition and I hope she'll become known, here. The Summer of the Bear is definitely one of my favorites of 2011.

Speaking of favorites:

I'd like to write up a list of my favorites for the first 6 months of 2011, but I've got such a review backlog that I may not get around to it. I may end up doing a few mini reviews in order to catch myself up. We'll see. Although I normally try to stick as close to reviewing in the order read as possible, there are so many in my sidebar that I'm going to allow them to call to me in whatever order they choose.

Cover thoughts:

At left is what I presume to be the American cover. I like it but it doesn't really say anything about the book, to be honest, whereas the British cover (the one at top left, which is also the copy I purchased) fits the setting and speaks to me of the innocence of young Jamie, although there's not a scene in which he plays with a tire on a beach, as far as I can recall.

I've found that I do tend to like British book covers better than their American counterparts, but I'm not always certain quite why.

Since the cover leads to the topic of beaches in Great Britain (Is Scotland considered part of Great Britain or is it the UK? I always get confused about that . . . ) here's a shot I took of the beach at Minehead in Somerset:

There is a tremendous amount of achingly beautiful scenery to go along with all the amazing history in the UK. I think that's one of the reasons I've continued to find myself drawn back, even though there are many other places in the world that I'd like to travel.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.