The Bastard of Istanbul

Given my upbringing in Istanbul, I'm surprised that it has taken me this long to delve into a novel by Elif Shafak, especially given my reputation for devouring novels by Orhan Pamuk. I found this novel incredibly gripping and entertaining. It follows the story of one family of women, 3 generations all living under one roof. The novel starts with a glamourous woman, dressed in a mini skirt, going to a doctors office in Istanbul and demanding an abortion. A lot of the themes in this novel might be surprising to someone not familiar with the western side of Istanbul life. I found some of the issues sensitively and entertainingly dealt with and have now put this novel on a shelf of things to pass on to my mum and sister. I am looking forward to reading more of Elif Shafak's work in the future.

New project!

New fabric has arrived for my next project! Very excited to try something new for my future nephew or niece. Will be a crib sized quilt entirely made up of equilateral triangles which will have its own challenges. Mainly oranges and light taupe. Have started cutting all of the triangles but way more to go! 

Capital

Did I mention that I've joined a book club? I have - and tonight is the first meeting. We've read John Lanchester's Capital as the first book and I'm looking forward to seeing what the other ladies thought of it.  I found this book really interesting from page one. It follows the stories of people who live on or are associated with Pepys Road in London. The introduction to the book is particularly interesting in that it follows the history of the street, from when the houses were first built to the current day and the changes in the types of people that live there and the changes made to the buildings to suit changes in lifestyle. The reason that I found this particularly interesting is that I was born on Pepys Road in London (well, in the hospital really but I came 'home' to Pepys Road). Whilst there were some elements in the novel that made me think that Pepys Road was the one that I knew, there were also some references that made me think that it could be another road in London.

Anyway, back to the story, it centres around different people's lives on the street, with each chapter following a different story. It is pulled together when all of the residents on the street start to receive postcards with pictures of their own front door and the message 'we want what you have' written on the back.

Catch 22

I'll be honest - I didn't know anything about this book when I picked it up. I was expecting a heavy war book, which, lets face it, is not my favourite type of book. Instead I found this really funny - it's a comedy set in the context of the second world war. The book follows a number of American pilots who are stationed in Italy. The main protagonist wants to be grounded (ie not fly anymore) but is stuck in a situation of catch-22 - where in requesting to be taken off the list to fly, he is showing his sanity and therefore is healthy enough to fly.  The novel explores the feelings and fears around war and those fighting for a cause that they don't fully understand or relate to.

9 -patch Pictures

 

I managed to get a couple of extra pictures today. It's so big I needed two people to stand on stools to lift it up and even then its on the floor - so my lovely quilt had a little evening trip to our friends house to be photographed! I'm still so pleased with it! I found myself going into my bedroom just to stroke it today!

For all the posts regarding the process of making the quilt click here. 

9-patch Quilt

Done!!! Completed half an hour after mid-night yesterday. Very quick photos taken this morning and last night and I need to get a proper photo of the whole quilt - but it's so big I need 2 people and some stools to show if off in its full glory. Very proud of myself for completing this mega task, and yes - it is all hand-sewn. One queen sized quilt - patched, quilted and bound. Very happy, and feeling a little twitchy as I don't have a project on the go now!!!

We're onto the binding!!!!

 

Binding cut, sewn together and ironed - final push to finish up the quilt. The end is in sight!!!

Cold Mountain

A book that I took off my Grandma's shelf - very impressed at my Grandma's choice. This is Charles Frazier's first novel and I was gripped from page one. I wouldn't normally go for a war novel, but this is the beauty of going through the 1000 novels, it forces you out of your comfort zone. I have seen the film before and in some ways this may have helped me to enjoy this book more (although I had forgotten the ending). I couldn't put this one down - really, really enjoyed it.

The Graduate

A film that I have watched, again years and years ago! I couldn't really remember the story, so I can't really remember if the film was a good adaptation of the book. This is the story of a recent graduate who comes back to live with his parents in their humdrum life of suburban comfort. He is trying to work out what to do next, which direction he should take in life since leaving university. He looks for excitement anywhere he can - including in the bed of Mrs Robinson...

Empire of the Sun

Another J G Ballard novel - this one is semi-autobiographical. I saw the film years and years ago, and remembered a fair amount of this, but really enjoyed reading this novel. The novel follows a young boy who grew up in China as the son of British expats. At the outbreak of the second world war, he is separated from his family and has to survive using his own wits and any resources that he can find.

Drowned World

I really enjoyed this book. A sci-fi look into a world where the world is covered by water due to melting ice caps. The protagonist is a scientist who is asked to leave an area due to the rising water levels. He refuses to leave and has to survive in the boiling temperatures. All is fine, until a number of strangers arrive into this drowned world and the adventure begins. In some ways this is when I stopped enjoying the book so much, I found the scientific premise of the drowned world fascinating and I felt that the book lost something when it became more 'exciting'.

A short history of tractors in Ukranian

 

I enjoyed reading this novel, and given the stress that I've been under at work recently, it was the perfect read requiring just the right amount of brainpower.  The story is told from the point of view of a daughter who is coming to terms with the loss of her mother and her new relationship with her 80+ year old father who has lost his head over his new glamourous Ukranian blond busty bride.  An entertaining read, for sure, with some very dark humour and an interesting perspective on the migration from the former soviet union.

Heart of Darkness

I just don't seem to get on with stream of consciousness.... I struggled through this one and read it in bits and pieces which probably didn't help. If I was paying a bit more attention I could have put a post-colonial hat on and found it fascinating I'm sure... but as it was... I didn't.

City in the City

A very unusual book that I couldn't work out at once. I couldn't work out whether I was reading a crime fiction novel or a science fiction novel, and concluded that it was both. A very clever idea revolving around two cities that exist side by side, but a citizen of one city has to 'unsee' the other even if the other city is on the same street.  The story revolves around a police detective who has to solve a murder, the body appeared in his city but the crime took place in the other city. A very interesting concept, although I took a long while to get the hang of the novel, but once I did, I was hooked and finished the book quite quickly as I couldn't put it down. Will have to attempt another Mieville again at some other point.

Fugitive Pieces

I loved this book!!! A very clever look at the second world war and how memories have different impacts on people. Beautifully written and very poetic (I have since learned that this was Anne Michaels' first novel and that prior to this she was a poet so this makes sense). I've already recommended this book to someone else, and to be honest I can't believe that this novel didn't make my 1000 to read before you die list. I thought that it was a really interesting book and looked at the effect of WWII on people in Greece and Canada, countries that I haven't really read about before.   

Changing Places (and March Madness)

Changing Places by David Lodge is a funny read concerning academic life. Two academics, one reserved English literature lecturer and one outgoing, ambitious, young American professor, find themselves in a position where they have to swap jobs for a term. Being somewhat familiar with academic life (albeit from an outsider's point of view) I found this book remarkably disturbing and could have easily replaced some of the character's names with names of people that I know. It was a very funny read, and worryingly some of the problems with academia still persist today (despite this being a now slightly dated read).

As for recipes - no photos for March but the total of 3 new recipes were tried, although none from my magazine subscription. It was a bit of a crazy month with work picking up big time which is good. The rest of the school year also promises to be that much busier as I now (finally) have some more permanent work. This half term I have 2 confirmed days a week, so there will be less going to sleep with the phone by my ear wondering where and if I will be working the next morning. Hurrah!

February Recipes

 Creamy fish curry - so yummy, so quick and so easy! Been made twice already and already is going to be a firm favourite.

Piri-piri chicken with spicy rice - nice, simple, but not particularly exciting. I would probably make this again.

French rhubarb tart - I failed on this one. First time of trying to make creme patiserie or however you spell it, and it looked fine in the fridge until I added the rhubarb and I couldn't manage to get my rhubarb juices to thicken into syrup. I ended up with a rhubarb slosh with sweet pastry. I didn't have a rectangular tray but I don't think that really made any difference in the end. Overall, this was yummy, but didn't hold together at all...

A New Years resolution

This year my husband gave me a subscription to the BBC's Good Food Magazine. This magazine has been a bit of an indulgence of mine over the years. I love flicking through it, gazing at the pictures and drooling over the dishes. The problem is that this is often as far as it goes - I never actually make any of the dishes... So this year I am determined to improve on this. My New Years resolution is to try at least three new recipes each month, which should result in 36 new recipes over the year. Some of these will come from my magazine and some will involve delving into cookbooks from my shelves that are opened every now and then and more often than not will fall open to the page with the recipe that is made over and over again. Hopefully this resolution will make me a more adventurous cook!

January has been a success with more than three new recipes attempted!

Tuscan beans with pork chops - yummy!

Fish pie with a spinach topping. Again yummy - but not for a weekday night - a lot of washing up.

Cherry cake with a hint of cinnamon - a big hit in our household, and has been made twice in the month. So that is always a good sign! :) Very nice crumble topping.

Un-pictured - lamb and pearl barley stew - failed in buying the right cut of meat, so it turned into pearl barley and 'can you spot the lamb?' stew. And a pasta dish with a really long name which I can't remember. Contained tuna fish, bread crumb topping and olives with chilli.

The Passion of New Eve

I don't know how to explain this book without giving away major parts of the plot! I really enjoyed my first experience of Angela Carter's writing. I enjoyed her style of writing, and devoured this book over a few days on holiday over Christmas.  This is a science fiction book following the story of a young, male British lecturer, Evelyn who arrives in America at the beginning of a civil war or uprising. It is a dystopian novel that explores gender politics and the body politics. It explores some interesting philosophical questions, such as do our bodies determine our purpose in life or whether psychological training and surgery can completely change your identity.

Time Machine

The Time Machine is a classic science fiction novel. Parts of the novel have become parts of everyday vocabulary and science fiction folklore and as a result, I knew more about the novel than I realised.

The book is written by a guest at a dinner party who tries to narrate the time travelling adventures of his dinner host. The 'Time traveller' tells of his adventure that accompanied his trip into the future. The 'reality' of his experience was different to what he had been expecting and this was refreshing in that a lot of science fiction cities seem dependent on technological advances, whereas this one didn't. Or at least didn't seem to. Things are not always as they seem...