Catching up on books

As one of our readers had not quite finished reading John Hardy's The Girl Who Couldn't Read (the joys of stretching six books between ten plus readers), and as the ending was such a delightful twist, much of our discussion was conducted in code it seemed, as no one wanted to ruin the final pages for our reader. Everyone just kept encouraging her to finish it and when I ran into her a couple of days later, she was delighted that she had finished it and enjoyed the twist.

There was discussion about the darkness of the novel and how asylums had been used as places to hide people and women in particular who were not conforming to society's norms of the day. Though published in 2014, this novel had the feel of a much earlier time. John Harding certainly suggested an authentic gothic atmosphere. Our readers enjoyed the novelty and logic of Jane Dove's idiosyncratic language as well as the way John Harding's language persuasively evoked an earlier time. There was some discussion about words in other languages requiring a phrase in English and the way Jane Dove's language certainly communicated meaning effectively and often more efficiently.

Our readers appreciated the gothic feel to the book jacket and this provoked talk about the difference between rooks and ravens as explained by Jane Dove.

There was much discussion as to Dr Shepherd's real occupation and the general consensus was that he was an actor who had murdered previously and appeared to have a predilection for girls with long white necks. Some of our readers found it difficult to enjoy this novel as they did not connect with any of the characters. Most of our readers found it difficult to believe that Dr Shepherd did not realise that Jane Dove could read, thus diminishing the denouement. Many of our readers thought that reading John Harding's prequel Florence & Giles would have provided a background to Jane Dove's character which would have enriched The Girl Who Couldn't Read while others thought it may have spoiled the final twist. There was a distinct lack of sympathy for the Dr Shepherd character and most of our readers felt he deserved his fate. However there was further debate as to Jane Dove's past and whether she was developing a habit and whether there would be books to follow her 'progress' in the world.

Generally our readers enjoyed this gothic thriller and for many of them it was certainly a diversion from their preferred fare. As a novel it certainly provoked discussion and there was a desire expressed by many of our readers to read Florence & Giles just in case it offered more clues.

We'll try another location in time and space for our selection for next month.

Meanwhile, keep those pages turning.