Sponsored by Dartmouth Community Bookshop Book Review I TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
t’s not difficult to guess what film I saw last week and it did make me think of a selection of books that might take your breath away and satisfy the
thrillseekers amongst you. First stop is Great Circle (Penguin) by Maggie
Shipstead which was recently shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and The Women’s Prize for Fiction.
a mortuary sounds rather morbid and depressing but every chapter reads like a detective story and the autopsies, spanning the seven ages of human existence, uncover the secrets not only of how a person died, but also of how they lived. This is a compassionate, fascinating and strangely uplifting account and “above all Shepherd writes beautifully, and
by Emma Jones
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The book may not include a fighter plane but its nonetheless a soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel with aviation and strong characters at its core. “Epic in spirit and scope” (Daily Telegraph) it would suit anyone who likes to get stuck into a good historical adventure about love, loss, family and friends. The stories of 2 women intertwine: that of the fictional daredevil female aviator Marian Graves who disappeared mid-flight in 1950s and the modern-day Hollywood starlet Hadley Baxter who is tasked with playing her in a modern-day biopic. “A clever, poignant story about ambition, love and sacrifice that’ll completely draw you in.” (Cosmopolitan Magazine) Soon to hit the shelves is the new book by local author Sarah Pearse which follows swiftly after the sweeping success of her first book The Sanatorium. The Retreat (Bantam Press) is an atmospheric locked- room thriller revolving around a suspicious death. ‘All is not as it might seem at this clifftop spa where most are here to recharge and refresh.’ Full of tension and suspense this page-turner will no doubt have you catching your breath though you might want to hold fire on booking the spa break after reading it. For a bit of non-fiction which is every bit as gripping as any novel I would highly recommend the somewhat ‘breathless’ book The Seven Ages of Death recently published in paperback by Penguin. Here Dr Richard Shepherd, one of Britain’s top forensic pathologists, shares 24 of his most intriguing, enlightening and never-before-told cases. Admittedly a book set in
despite its subject, the book is very funny in parts” (Daily Telegraph). As a fan of sea swimming the power and art of
breathing really fascinates me. I‘ve yet to master the art of freezing the fear in the style of the legendary Wim Hoff but it has led me to a book which comes highly recommended by the man himself. Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art (Penguin), written by journalist James Nestor, outlines how breathing is without doubt essential to our health and wellbeing and how as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. He has travelled the world to discover the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. “Who would have thought something as simple as changing the way we breathe could be so revolutionary for our health, from snoring to allergies to immunity? A fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations” (Dr Rangan Chatterjee), lending new meaning to the well-worn phrase ‘take a deep breath.’ My last mention is for fans of sinister goings-on in the Golden Age of detective fiction. Murder by the Seaside (published by Profile Books and edited by Cecily Gayford) is a collection of 10 classic stories set in sunny spots from Cornish beaches to the French Riviera and written by the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, Cyril Hare and Gladys Mitchell. These sun-soaked whodunnits are perfect beach fodder just grab your sunnies, head to the beach and don’t forget to breathe!
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