Purple Coo Book Club Summer Read 2012

Hi Everyone
please read the list below and make your 1st and 2nd choices in the comments box below. As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the most popular choice for the Purple Coo Spring Read on the Purple Coo main site.

Every Eye by Isobel English

A 1956 novel about a girl growing up to what could have been unhappiness but for her marriage to a carefree young(er) man. As she travels south by train to Ibiza she surveys her past life and unravels a mystery.

Apparently John Betjeman wrote about this novel - 'Sometimes, but not often, a novel comes along which makes the rest of what one has to review seem commonplace. Such a novel is Every Eye'.

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
An 11year old boy, living on an inner London housing estate, decides to turn detective when one of his older friends is killed - tragic, gritty and surprisingly funny.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

A girl lives in an out of the way town in America for 19 yrs, so poor she cannot afford a magazine, then she gets a scholarship to college and wins prize and suddenly the world opens up to her- but also leads to her downfall.

The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore

An intriguing story stretching over 120 years through the medium to the present day and a Victorian Journal, with a touch of romance.

We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Muddie’s youngest recommends this. It’s about a mother trying to come to terms with the fact her son Kevin is a mass murderer

Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd

An exciting spy thriller by a writer that never disappoints (I know this was on our previous list, but Fennie is really keen to include it again - so how could I refuse?)

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

A wonderful coming of age story for a brother & sister, about childhood and growing up, friendships, families, triumph and tragedy- love in many different forms.

(The painting is Still Life with Lacquer Screen by FCB Cadell)