‘This book could be used by anybody whose aim is to eat healthier, more wholesome food’
It’s a mixed bag this week, of fiction, non-fiction, comedy and nature writing with a spiritual bent.
Children’s Corner
Under the Floorboards of 39A, Lucy Kennedy, Gill, €13.99
When she’s not hanging out in the homes of celebrities for TV3, Lucy Kennedy is a children’s author and has become successful with her Friendship Fairies series. This is a new departure, where a colony of elves live under the creaky floorboards of 39A Cove Street in Dublin. Joey and Freddie O’Brien are twin nine-year-old elves who borrow (steal) whatever supplies they need from the resident human, Bee Bee. When Bee Bee is not herself, it’s up to the twins to rally their elfin troops to help her. It’s an idea similar to Mary Norton’s original Borrowers series, but why not?
The Pooka Plant, Sinéad O’Hart, Gill, €12.99
This is the second book in the Ellora McGee Trainee Banshee series and here Ellora is having trouble with her homework. Her mischievous grandfather gives her some enchanted seeds that blossom into an all-knowing Listening Lily. That’s the homework sorted, because Lily knows everything! Until Listening Lily gets some notions and begins to make trouble in Ellora’s school, Shee Le Chéile NS. A timely allegory on the use of AI, this is a clever and funny story for the 8+ age group.
Adult
Some of Us Are Liars, Fiona Cummins, Pan, €12.99
A combination of family saga and psychological thriller, this novel, told from the perspective of dual narrators, follows the story of the three adult Miller sisters. When the eldest sister leaves her child in the care of the other two, a single moment’s distraction will result in appalling tragedy. Meanwhile, young detective Saul Anguish has been contacted by his chief in command to embark on a secret mission; finding a murderer who appears to be a member of the police force. The strands of this cleverly constructed thriller at first appear not to be connected. Until eventually they are, and the reader cannot dream up the circumstances that lead the paths to converge. Tightly plotted and skilfully written, Cummins looks at the fault lines within a fractured family and follows where they might lead, given the right (or possibly the wrong) set of circumstances.
The Baby-Led Feeding Cookbook, Aileen Cox Blundell, Gill, €19.99
This book is aimed at new parents, and there’s an absence of refined sugar and salt in its 159 recipes, but it could be used by anybody whose aim is to eat healthier, more wholesome food. It’s designed so that weaning won’t be the nightmare some mothers believe it to be, and to introduce young children to all kinds of new tastes. The blurb says that these recipes will inspire in babies a love of vegetables, which would be a superhuman feat for any parent. Samples of the menu include banana pancakes, sweet potato muffins, tuna and quinoa bites, chicken korma pies, and exotic Buddha bowls. This is not the standard fare for babies, in my experience anyway, but the author says these are the kind of foods she weaned her own children on, and with three kids, she’s got far more experience than yours truly.
The Family Friend, Claire Douglas, Michael Joseph, €15.99
When Imogen is bequeathed an old country house near Bath, at first she thinks it must be a mistake. The woman who willed it to her, the reclusive artist Dorothea Roe, is someone Imogen has not seen, nor been in touch with, for more than 16 years. There’s no explanation as to why Dorothea would leave her house to Imogen, but that she has done. Imogen and partner Josh move in to the house but soon Imogen finds a box, in the previous owner’s study, bearing Imogen’s name. Word in the neighbourhood, meanwhile, is that Dorothea was murdered. Imogen gets it into her head that Dorothea is trying to tell her something from beyond the grave, not just about her own death, but also about Imogen’s family. A tense and taut and accomplished psychological thriller.
It’s Probably Your Period, Dr Mary Ryan, Gill, €18.99
Hormones, contraceptives, fertility and infertility, from adolescence to menopause women’s cycles are foremost in their lives. Yet we tend to just live through them, not really paying attention to the things our periods might be telling us. Mary Ryan is a leading endocrinologist and in this book she covers it all. She explains how our hormones can really rule our lives if not kept in check and explores the many female problems that we might encounter, like endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS and PMS, as well as fertility issues and the signs of perimenopause. While most of us hate them but just have to put up with them, there are thousands of women who suffer endlessly as a result of their cycles and Ryan wants to tackle this head-on. Unsurprisingly, diet and exercise, along with stress avoidance, are key issues in maintaining healthy cycles, but this book could bring blessed relief to a lot of those women who read it.
Footnotes
The Waterford Festival of food is one of the longest-running weekend festivals for foodies, showcasing the best produce from the region and taking place mostly in Dungarvan, so plenty of sea air to enjoy as well. This year it’s happening from April 24 to 26 and there are more than 80 events across the weekend. See waterfordfestivaloffood.com for details.
A big weekend in the world of choirs and choral music, Cork International Choral Festival runs from April 29 to May 3 and includes dozens of Irish choirs as well as plenty from abroad. It’s a weekend of concerts, church music, competitions and informal gatherings where the streets of the city ring out with music from all corners of the world. Not to be missed by music fans, the details are on corkchoral.ie.