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The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
ByVikAnother dip into the complete works of this great author. The plot of The Old Curiosity Shop is intricate, if somewhat long-winded. In addition to the very well developed primary players – we quickly come to empathise with the charming Nell and the faithful Kit – we meet a host of interlocked secondary characters, some…
Sixty years later…
ByGreyowlFor some months I have acted as a senior classroom assistant – one morning per week – in the fourth class (mainly 10-year olds) of the little village school where I live. What a shock for an old man like me! The printed T-shirts and hotpants, alternating with fashionable tops and ripped jeans were no…
Does God care about nations?
ByVikEach morning, I read the Daily Moravian Bible Texts – first in German (Losungen), then in English. Both today’s Old Testament and New Testament readings refer (in German) to the Nations (Völker). This made me stop and think. Tut kund seine Herrlichkeit unter den Nationen, unter allen Völkern seine Wunder. Psalm 96,3 Declare his glory among…
Clashing Cultures with Many a Laugh
ByVikTwo Old Fools on a Camel by Victoria Twead Victoria Twead’s beloved series usually places her and her husband, Joe, firmly in their charming, chaotic Andalucían village of El Hoyo. However, Two Old Fools on a Camel sees them undertaking their biggest adventure yet: a year-long teaching stint in Bahrain. The reason for this enormous…
Intriguing insight into Neapolitan girls’ lives and feelings but too long and too complicated – Review of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
ByVikThis book is captivating from the start and very well written. We feel we get to know unfathomable Lila in spite of her contradictory character and also Lenù, the narrator. We feel their strife, their longings, their first attempts at love, the inevitable rivalries. But there are too many characters to keep track of and…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
ByGreyowlOur kids were already a bit old for the Harry Potter books when they emerged in 1997. At that time we moved in rather narrow-minded circles and stories of witches and dark magic were frowned upon. So we never read them. Until now. As a would-be author, I can hardly ignore successful writers like J.K….
