Maeve Haran

Holy Sonnet 17

Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt
To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her soul early into heaven ravishèd,
Wholly on heavenly things my mind is set.
Here the admiring her my mind did whet
To seek thee, God; so streams do show the head;
But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed,
A holy thirsty dropsy melts me yet.
But why should I beg more love, whenas thou
Dost woo my soul, for hers offering all thine:
And dost not only fear lest I allow
My love to saints and angels, things divine,
But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt
Lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out.
… (més)

I was looking for a novel that would tell me a bit more about John Donne's life. This one is well written but reads too much like a romance for me to completely love it. The focus is on his wife Anne, and since little is known of her I was disappointed in the mostly fictional part of her story. I was looking for more fact. I also didn't get that much of a "feel" for the time period involved, which is the end of Gloriana's reign.
Still, I did not feel as if I had wasted my reading time! I just had to adjust my expectations to enjoy it.… (més)

Molly und Joe sind ein junges Ehepaar mit einem Baby. Joe ist ein Adoptivkind und wird immer mehr von dem Wunsch belastet seine Mutter kennen zu lernen. Molly macht sich auf die Suche und findet die Mutter auch. Es handelt sich um eine berühmte Schauspielerin.
Aus dieser unwahrscheinlichen Geschichte hätte man dennoch eine schöne Chicklit machen können, wenn die Personen etwas liebevoller und überzeugender dargestellt worden wären. Leider sind alle zu Abziehbildern geraten. Dass der Vater Joes völlig außer Acht gelassen wird, ärgert mich zudem. Es gibt ja nicht nur die Mutter und gerade er müsste eigentlich noch viel mehr Schmerz verspürt haben, da er das Kind nicht zur Adoption freigeben wollte.
Also leider ein eher verschenktes Thema, trotz einiger süßer Momente.… (més)

‘What became of you, my love?’ opens with a prologue in 1969. Stella, dressed rather flamboyantly, is the girlfriend of Cameron, an up-and-coming rock star.

The book then moves forward to 2016. Stella is in her mid-sixties, married to the somewhat grumpy Matthew. They have a married daughter, and three grandchildren. Stella works as a portrait painter for pets.

While preparing a family meal, Stella learns from the radio that Cameron is back in the UK after living for decades in the United States - and that he's looking for her! The book is quite a mixture of storylines, woven together. There are preparations for concerts, and plans to save a local shopping area. There are problems in Stella’s marriage, and also in her daughter's. My favourite subplots, however, were those that involved Stella’s teenage grandson Jesse, who is a delightful young man.

Other than Stella and her grandchildren, and Cameron's manager Duncan, I found most of the other characters rather stereotyped, and (in many cases) annoying. While the threads mixed nicely together, I felt that some of them didn't really have enough time for development: in particular the issues Stella has with her husband, who has a sudden apparent change of direction and character.

Overall, it made a good light read. I like books that focus on people around my age, but with such a mixture of generations it could well appeal to younger fans of women’s literature too.… (més)