Voices

For my own record, and for anyone who is the least bit interested, this is how my Reading the Women’s World Cup is progressing.

I was given Argentina and, having read and enjoyed Claudia Piñeiro’s Elena Knows last year I read A Crack in the Wall by the same author, knowing this would be a completely different book, a Crime novel and right out of my comfort zone. It was actually quite good and I enjoyed it. 

Then Italy beat Argentina so I was recommended and read Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop - a fabulous book which I love and will reread many times in the future. 

Then Sweden beat Argentina so I read Rosanna by Sjöwall & Wahloo. It turns out that everyone seems to have read this and I had not even heard of Martin Beck. This was the first in ten books written in the 60s and 70s, which then led to a TV series. All this had passed me by. I did not care for this at all and it only proved again that I do not like Crime/Thriller novels. 

Sweden went through to the next round so I got hold of a copy of a book I had been told about last year Osebol - Voices from a Swedish Village - by Marit Kapla. What a lovely book this is. It is simply the words spoken by people living in a Swedish village - they were recorded as they talked about life in the past, in the present, their memories and thoughts. These words were then transcribed verbatim and placed on a page a bit like poetry so it is very easy to read. It is a wonderful book, quite mesmerising. The words of ordinary people talking about their lives.  

So . . . on we go. Sweden play Japan tomorrow . . . . and we're heading up to Edinburgh for a couple of days.