B. A. Scharf

The Scent of Water, Sep 1 2010

This is one of the best of Elizabeth Goudge's "contemporary" novels. Fifty-year-old Mary, alone since the death of her fiance in WW II, comes into an unexpected legacy and leaves her successful career in London to reside in a small English village in the old house she has inherited from her aunt.

All of the characters are skillfully drawn and portrayed; we find ourselves caring deeply for each and every one of them. Yes, an inspiring and uplifting story, but made so by the frank acknowledgment of evil, horror, grief and misfortune in the world. The author does not shirk these aspects, but takes her characters through them and allows them a chance at redemption.

As the… Read more

Loved it., Aug 30 2010

Thought you knew Robin McKinley? Had her all figured out as a teenybopper set, girl-power fantasy writer, eh? Ha!

Absolutely LOVED Sunshine from first page to last. Set in a slightly dystopian future in a slightly parallel world to our own (yes - that does sound familiar, but this is no "Damar"), our navel-gazing heroine is suddenly swept off into a surreally violent situation.

Read this as an antidote to the Stephanie Meyer vampire-dreck that's out there. McKinley's vampires don't "sparkle" - they explode into showers of fast-decaying gore. Except Constantine, of course, protected by the unrealized charms (in every sense of the word) of our heroine.

Blood… Read more

K. M. Peyton is a brilliant author, Aug 30 2010

One of Peyton's best known stories. Often presented as a young adult or even a children's(!) book; would fit well into any adult library. Sophisticated story of an orphaned girl reluctantly entering the household of a bitter and often abusive uncle and her two cousins, handsome and arrogant Mark, and sensitive and misunderstood Will. Christina emerges as a complex character who successfully navigates the tightrope she finds herself on.

This is not a "horse story", though horses and hunting do figure prominently, but rather a novel of character studies. Peton was a brilliant writer, under-recognized on this side of the Atlantic. Don't let the "young adult" designation scare you… Read more