Finished it!
A tragically-wonderful walk through the woods with a girl going by the name of Red.
Tragic, because in the aftermath of a devastating disease, a young woman travels on alone to her Grandmother’s house, as she bravely finds strategies to cope with thoughts of the various family members she was forced to leave behind.
As Red alternates between strategies of avoidance, distraction and confrontation, her resilience overcomes numerous obstacles – in her determination to, once again, taste Grandmother’s home-baked bread.
En route, Red forges some wonderful friendships (and enemies), some fleeting, some more permanent. Can enemies be wonderful? Yes, if their characters have been created by Christina Henry!
This is a fascinating read, somewhat reminiscent of Harold Fry’s journey to reconnect with his old friend, Queenie Hennessy.
If you are a fan of the non-fiction genre of travel writing, but feel the need for a taste of something to stimulate the old imagination, go for it!
‘The Girl in Red’can be purchased from Waterstones, as can Rachel Joyce’s ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ , as can another of my favourite travel-fantasy books – ‘The Hobbit’ by J R Tolkien (nothing to do with why I now live in a cave!), as can … (1)
Now, to continue on my own reading and writing journey …
Do join me … by reading some sample chapters from my forthcoming family history book, ‘From The Myddle, To Everywhere, And Back Again’.
And, a sample of my forthcoming ‘‘Not So-Secret Diary of a Newly-Qualified Teacher’.
And, a sample from my forthcoming dystopian bestseller, ‘The Wall’!
And, …
Okay, you have me there – I’m only working on three books at present. Somebody out there, please tell me, which journey should I be focusing on getting to the end of first?
Copyright owned by Jay Cool, October 2019
Disclaimer: Should you choose to purchase a book from Waterstones, via one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to yourself.
(1) … for something a little more light-hearted, ‘A Walk in The Woods’, by Bill Bryson, my all-time non-fiction travel writer!
P.S. My favourite quote from ‘The Girl in Red’, and very likely a stimulus for my next poem:
‘Red sighed then, not wanting to stand up. She was just so tired. She’d never known a person could be so tired before everything had happened but it was like a cloak on her all the time now, a cloak made of tired that pressed down on her shoulders and made her neck droop.’ (p.35)
The Silly-Savvy Salopian in Suffolk: read, believe and write ... 