Monday, December 12, 2011

Mailbox Monday

 Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of  A Girl and Her Books and the December host is Let Them Read Books.  Here's what arrived last week. Hope you had a good week as well.


  • Eustace and Hilda; L.P. Hartley (purchased) about the book - The three books gathered together as Eustace and Hilda explore a brother and sister's lifelong relationship. Hilda, the older child, is both self-sacrificing and domineering, as puritanical as she is gorgeous; Eustace is a gentle, dreamy, pleasure-loving boy: the two siblings could hardly be more different, but they are also deeply devoted. And yet as Eustace and Hilda grow up and seek to go their separate ways in a world of power and position, money and love, their relationship is marked by increasing pain.

    L. P. Hartley's much-loved novel, the magnum opus of one of twentieth-century England's best writers, is a complex and spellbinding work: a comedy of upper-class manners; a study in the subtlest nuances of feeling; a poignant reckoning with the ironies of character and fate. Above all, it is about two people who cannot live together or apart, about the ties that bind—and break.
  • The Go-Between; L.P. Hartley (purchased) about the book - Summering with a fellow schoolboy on a great English estate, Leo, the hero of L. P. Hartley's finest novel, encounters a world of unimagined luxury. But when his friend's beautiful older sister enlists him as the unwitting messenger in her illicit love affair, the aftershocks will be felt for years. The inspiration for the brilliant Joseph Losey/Harold Pinter film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates, The Go-Between is a masterpiece—a richly layered, spellbinding story about past and present, naiveté and knowledge, and the mysteries of the human heart. This volume includes, for the first time ever in North America, Hartley's own introduction to the novel.
  • The Girl in the Garden; Kamala Nair (paperback swap) about the book - The redemptive journey of a young woman unsure of her engagement, who revisits in memory the events of one scorching childhood summer when her beautiful yet troubled mother spirits her away from her home to an Indian village untouched by time, where she discovers in the jungle behind her ancestral house a spellbinding garden that harbors a terrifying secret.

  • The Wandering Falcon; Jamil Ahmad - (paperback swap) - about the book -
    The Wandering Falcon begins with a young couple, refugees from their tribe, who have traveled to the middle of nowhere to escape the cruel punishments meted out upon those who transgress the boundaries of marriage and family. Their son, Tor Baz, descended from both chiefs and outlaws, becomes "The Wandering Falcon," a character who travels among the tribes, over the mountains and the plains, into the towns and the tents that constitute the homes of the tribal people. The media today speak about this unimaginably remote region, a geopolitical hotbed of conspiracies, drone attacks, and conflict, but in the rich, dramatic tones of a master storyteller, this stunning, honor-bound culture is revealed from the inside.

    Jamil Ahmad has written an unforgettable portrait of a world of custom and compassion, of love and cruelty, of hardship and survival, a place fragile, unknown, and unforgiving.

21 comments:

  1. You certainly had a bulging mailbox last week! Lots of new books.

    Here's my It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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  2. What a nice mix of books. The Kamala Nair book is one I would like to get my hands on.

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  3. The Girl in the Garden sounds fascinating. It's on my wish list! Enjoy your week!

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  4. I will be interested in hearing what you think of The Wandering Falcon, as it was a very intense and unusual read for me. I like all your other choices as well, and hope that you enjoy them! Great mailbox today!

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  5. Wow, you sure got some goodies this week. There are several I'd like to get my hands on. On the list they go! Have a wonderful week,Diane, and happy reading!

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  6. I enjoyed The Girl in the Garden, another novel where I left like I learned about another culture while being captivated by the plot.

    Have a wonderful week!

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  7. Serena made me borrow The Girl in the Garden but I still haven't had time to read it. Looking forward to your thoughts on these. Happy reading!

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  8. A great mixture of reads, enjoy!

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/12/mailbox-monday_12.html

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  9. Another great week Diane! I think The Girl in the Garden sounds especially good.

    Happy reading!

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  10. You have some interesting titles this week. Girl in the Garden is going on my list; I think I'd like that one.

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  11. The Go Between is one I keep meaning to read, Diane - hopefully sooner rather than later.

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  12. Hi Diane,

    What a great selection of books, with the common theme of human relationships running through them all.

    I hope that you have fun reading them and enjoy your week.

    Yvonne

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  13. These books all sound quite good. I have Eustace and Hilda here somewhere and hope to read it in the coming year!

    Enjoy your new books!

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  14. Beautiful books! I hope they are all winners!

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  15. There's only one there that I'm familiar with. Enjoy your books!

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  16. I've wanted to read The Girl in the Garden for a while, look forward to your thoughts on it.

    The Wandering Falcon sounds interesting too...

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  17. I hadn't heard of The Girl in the Garden previously but I might have to check that one out! Enjoy your books :)

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  18. I want to read The Girl In The Garden. Actually I won it a few months ago, but never got it. Thanks for the reminder.

    Have a great week.

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  19. Great books...so many that I would love to read!

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  20. That's a great looking mailbox. Enjoy!

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  21. I really enjoyed The Girl in the Garden - hope you like it too!

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