Monday 14th July 2025

Just a quick book update, as I feel I'm in a reading phase right now, and I want to keep track of my thoughts before the finished list gets out of hand.

In my last post, I mentioned I was almost finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia. Well, I did face up to The Last Battle, and - I wasn't ready.

It was a Revelation...

Yes - C.S. Lewis really went there.

Such a different tone from the previous books in the series - much darker from the outset, with a real sense of foreboding and anxiety. Of course, the clue is in the title, but somehow I wasn't quite prepared for that ending.

I've had to read the last four chapters three times, as I was so caught up in the confusion of battle. And then - the realisation of what had actually happened.

I'm still reeling.

On Sunday I picked up Summer by Edith Wharton.

I enjoyed this quick read. It's a slow story, set in sleepy small-town Massatuchetts, just over a century ago. Lots of Wharton's usual subjects are there- class, status, sexuality, and the position of women at the time, but in a less affluent, rural setting than her more famous works.

The portrayal of Charity Royall, a young adopted girl, experiencing romance and passion for the first time, is beautifully written and heartbreaking. The atmosphere is hot and opressive, but also fresh and tender. There are wonderfully vivid descriptions of a 4th of July celebration in the larger town, and a homecoming event in the village.

This was a perfect summer read, with deep pools and shadows that I'm still thinking about. I hope she was OK.

I'm going to stick with a vague summer theme for my next read; The Summer Before the Dark, by Doris Lessing. I have no idea where or when I got this, and I haven't read any of her books before, so we'll see how it goes. I’ll let you know xx