Reviews

Recently a friend recommended I read a book he absolutely adored called The Alchemist, by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. This friend of mine is one of life’s seekers of light and treasure, and as such he is a deeply spiritual person – much like Paulo Coelho himself, as is obvious when you read his book. I’m different. I believe you make your own treasure and light in life. However, Coelho and I seem to agree on one point - the journey is the most important part of the treasure.

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When it comes to romantic fiction, there are two main categories: the “twinkling brown eyes” novels you can read while sprawled on a sun-drenched beach blanket in broad daylight (suitably slathered with sunscreen, of course), and the darker, more mysterious kind, that go better with a balmy, moonlight summer night, a glass of chilled tea or lemonade, and the soft perfume of night blossoms wafting on the breeze.

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When I say that I love Marian Keyes’ writing, what I actually mean is that I love, love, love, really love her writing. Since the early days of Watermelon, I’ve been such a huge fan of this Irish author’s writing style and her approach to dealing with common yet uncomfortable life issues, which most of us can relate to - like it or not. Keyes write under the guise of ‘chick-lit’, a much abused term that belies the powerful content of her novels. Anyway, that said, you can imagine how chuffed I was to get my paws on her latest offering: This Charming Man.

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Set in South Africa, The Pickup is the story of a young South African woman (Julie) who meets and falls in love with a foreigner, Abdu (whose real name is Ibrahim). She is a confident young woman from a fairly wealthy family, has a solid social group and a job in P.R. that she is not particularly emotionally invested in, but it pays the bills. Abdu, on the other hand, is a young immigrant, living in the country illegally and working as a mechanic. He barely scrapes by and lives his life day by day.

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So, take Felicity (from… wait for it, Felicity), the head honcho from The Tudors and that kid who made us all cry in Finding Neverland. Mix them together and what do you get? August Rush, that’s what.

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No matter how old we are, our mothers have power over our lives. As teenagers, we love them, but we also hate them. As adults, if we’re lucky, we put the hormonal angst behind us and recognize that our mothers are actually people worth knowing. Sometimes, our mothers come to the same realization.

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Filled with addictive melodies, harmonies, and ardent lyrics We All Go Home is a mix-up of musical genres, with flavours of jazz, funk, folk, rock and pop, catchy riffs, engaging melodies and earnest lyrics. Crosby is a warm, soulful singer-songwriter and this album reflects that. His vocals are smooth, honeyed and nearly flawless and his songwriting is perfectly tuned to his vocal style, powerfully emotive, passionate, with hints of nostalgia.

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The Night Gardener is everything a crime novel should be. It’s both gripping and gritty, giving a realistic view of the dirty underside of crime and the criminals and earnest and semi-tarnished crime fighters.

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Jay Nash makes music that is warm, soulful, energetic, intelligent, just a little bit country, just a little bit rock. It may not be the kind of music that pop 40 aficionados want to hear on the radio; but it is most certainly the kind of music anyone of sense and substance wants to hear wafting from the speakers of their convertible, while driving down the Pacific Coast Highway on a warm summer Sunday afternoon.

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If you are a fan of Oprah Winfrey, you may know the name “Breena Clarke”. Her first novel River, Cross My Heart, was chosen for Oprah’s book club. Coming to a bookstore near you at the end of July is Ms. Clarke’s sophomore novel, Stand the Storm.

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