“I turned the pages so fast. And I suppose I was, in my mindless way, looking for a something, version of myself, a heroine I could slip inside as one might a pair of favourite shoes.”
- Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth
I hope that everyone has been well so far! October has always been the month of mystery- events like Halloween is right around the corner, so that when walking up the streets, out pops pumpkins on the front porch and festive decorations take over shop windows. The scent of firewood's in the air and the yearning for warmer drinks takes over as evening creeps in at an earlier hour. We welcome it all the more, as it will be the perfect setting to sink into a good read in your favourite armchair!
Meeting Update
October the 14th was a special day for us, as it was our extreme pleasure to have author C.S. Richardson accept our invitation and join us for our meeting which took place at the Swiss Room at Marche! What a thrill it was to have met the author himself, where for many years, I wondered what it was like to have coffee with your favourite author. I had that extraordinary opportunity that particular Sunday, alongside other members who were just as equally excited. C.S Richardson was super nice, funny, and humble when it came to answering all the questions we had. It was great to have a "behind-the-scenes" look at how the novel, The Emperor of Paris, came about.
(From left to right: Lauren, Shirley, Darshana, Joanne, C.S. Richardson, Florence, and Barbara)
Our Selection
Summary (from Goodreads): Serena Frome, the beautiful mathematician daughter of an Anglican bishop, has a brief affair with an older man during her final year at Cambridge, and finds herself being groomed for the Intelligence Service. The year is 1972: Britain, confronting economic disaster, is being torn apart by industrial unrest and Irish terrorism and faces its fifth state of emergency. The Cold War has entered a moribund phase but the fight goes on and MI5 hesitates at little to influence hearts and minds.
Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, is sent by her new employers on a secret mission that brings her into the literary world of Tom Haley, a promising young writer. First, she loves his stories, then she begins to love the man. Can she maintain the fiction of her undercover life? And who is deceiving whom? To answer these questions, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage-trust no one. Ian McEwan masterfully entwines espionage and desire in an unforgettable story of intrigue, betrayal and love.
Happy reading!
