Purple Book Club Autumn Read 2009

Autumn Reading for the Purple Coo Book Club

Here is the selected list of books that have been suggested by Purple Coo members. Please make your 1st and 2nd choices in the comment box below. I'll collate the votes and announce the most popular book on the Purple Coo Book Club Forum.

Constance by Rosie Thomas
A musician and composer is enjoying life to the full among the expat community living in Bali, so she isn’t keen to go back to England when she hears her adopted sister is very ill indeed. When she returns home it is to face some complex family dilemmas, not least that she has fallen in love with somebody she shouldn’t. An enjoyable read but not a particularly deep one.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
You’ll either think I’m mad to suggest this book or you’ll love it to pieces. First published in the 1930s it is reprinted as a Persephone Classic. Miss Pettigrew is hopeless, out of work and desperate, until she accidently enters the hectic life of Miss LaFosse, a woman who knows everything there is to know about life and nightclubs. A real frothy laugh of a book.

Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne

Pickpocket John Jacob Turnstile is on his way to a lengthy prison stay when he is offered a lifeline: the job of personal valet to a departing naval captain. Little does he realize that by accepting this devil's bargain, he will put his life in perilous danger. The ship is HMS Bounty, his new captain is William Bligh and their destination is Tahiti.From the moment the ship leaves port, Turnstile's life is turned upside down, Walking a dangerous line between an unhappy crew and a captain he comes to admire, he finds himself in a no-man's land

Nation by Terry Pratchett
Not a witch or a wizard in sight. Mau is the last surviving member of his nation, until he finds out otherwise … Witty and wise from a master story teller. A funny tale about death and nationhood. Classic Pratchett.

Old Filth by Jane Gardam

A beautiful, moving, richly tragic book about the effects of childhood neglect, all with a fascinating 'British Empire' background.


Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

Set in era of the last years of debutante balls, the author is set a task in present time to find out something about 40 years ago, which forces him to face his own past as well as that of his friends and enemies.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
This was listed last time but as it has been requested, I include it again.
Sadism, murder, suicide and casual sex (in Sweden). An investigation into the mysterious death of a young woman and some rather suspect sexual politics. It’s meant to be excellent, though not for the squeamish.


The Rocket Boys by Herman Hickman
Insightful book about a teenage boy in West Virginia during the cold war years, but the residents of Coalwood have more mundane and personal issues to deal with rather than world politics. Described as, ‘fun and upbeat’.

The Rowing Lesson by Anne Landsman
An elegy for a lost father and a beloved world on the point of disappearing. South African author who writes with fire and passion. The New York Times Book Review: "Puts readers as deep into the man as if he had been opened up on the table before us ... exhilarating" (and apparently there are 38 new and used copies for £0.01 on Amazon).