Review ~ Candle Stick Press Poetry Pamphlets..

Today I'm talking about


Lovely little, poetry pamphlets from  Candlestick Press

I've fallen in love with these rather special poetry pamphlets which you can send instead of a card. They are beautifully presented and a real joy to read.

Here are my thoughts about the three latest ones :

Ten Poems about Friendship

Selected and Introduced by Lorraine Mariner

Literature, both in prose and poetry has extolled the virtue and the value of true friendship. In this wonderfully presented pamphlet the idea of friendship is demonstrated in all of its many guises. From Stevie Smith's The Pleasures of Friendship through to the Inventory by Lorraine Mariner which offers a wry look at the benefit of Facebook friendship.

However, my absolute favourite is the very last of the ten poems and is entitled quite simply Friendship by Elizabeth Jennings, it is beautifully expressed and quite special.

A perfect friendship gift.

The Wood in Winter

By John Lewis-Stempel 

The beautiful whites and russets of the front cover of this pamphlet conjure perfectly a winter woodland. You feel that you could reach right out and touch the rich red pelt of the shadowy fox and catch a secretive glimpse of the shy grey hare as it peeps just inches away from the running deer.

Inside is a story which warms the heart and soul. Beautifully written, this is one man's journey though Pool Wood, the woodland of his childhood, and the thoughts and feelings expressed are perfectly in keeping with the idea of how much nature means to us. There's a nod to Shakespeare's King Lear in the haunting "Still Through the hawthorn blows the cold wind", and a touch of superstition and folk lore, which combined forms an imagery which is quite stunning. Interspersed as it is, with glorious illustrations from the natural world this is, without doubt, one of the nicest pamphlets I have ever seen.

The Twelve Poems of Christmas (Volume 8)

Edited by Carol Ann Duffy

This glorious collection of twelve poems associated with Christmas allows a glimpse into the many facets of Christmas we so often take for granted.With a mixture of poetry, both old and new the festive season comes alive in the imagination. Two of my favourite poets have been included, John Keats and Robert Graves, and their work sits very comfortably alongside Stevie Smith and other more modern poets, who are perhaps less well known, but whose work is no less impressive.

And for the purists there is also a complete rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, well, it's always useful to know just how many pipers were piping.

Candlestick Press is a small independent publisher who produce a really impressive array of poetry pamphlets which suit any occasion. I'm always impressed by the quality of these booklets which are really lovely to look at and a joy to read. The quality of the paper on which they are printed, the fact that they also include an envelope, a letter seal and a beautifully coordinated book mark, make them something quite, quite special.

You can find out more about these titles by clicking here

My thanks to Candlestick Press for the opportunity to read these beautifully presented pamphlets and also to Lauraine Jordan at Trumpet Public Relations for organising my review copies.

~***~

Review ~ The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

Hodder & Stoughton
June 2016

A bit of blurb..

Minnie has always lived with her sister Clara in her family's beautiful, grand, yet increasingly dilapidated house Rosemount. Now in her seventies, she finds herself looking back to a life that has been shrouded with sorrow, and a painful secret that she has guarded since her teens.

Eleven-year-old Max, who lives opposite Minnie on the housing estate built in Rosemount's grounds, has grown up happily with his single mother. But his mum has begun a new relationship and suddenly life is starting to change.

As each of them tell their stories, she via a resurrected childhood journal, him via a Dictaphone, they spot each other through their bedroom windows and slowly and hesitantly an unlikely friendship begins to form.

A friendship that might just help Max come to terms with the present and enable Minnie, finally, to lay to rest the ghosts of her past.

My thoughts about The Comfort of Others..

Max is a sensitive eleven year who is very intuitive to the needs of others but it is his specific thoughtfulness to the needs of his single parent mother where the strength of his personality really shines through. Never knowing who his father is disadvantages Max but he seems to be able to cope with his fatherless state, that is, until his mother introduces a boyfriend into the mix and quite unintentionally, disturbs the equilibrium of Max’s methodical life.

Minnie is an elderly lady, who lives in the big old house on what remains of the original estate where Max and his mother now live.  Locked in a bygone world Minnie starts to notice Max and gradually the two of them begin a tentative friendship. Told in alternate chapters, we get both Max and Minnie's story of their lives. Max uses a Dictaphone because he is not a confident speller and Minnie writes her journal using a beautiful fountain pen which once belonged to her father. Gradually, as the story of both their lives starts to emerge, the burgeoning relationship between Max and Minnie is quite beautiful to observe.

The power of friendship can never be overestimated and in The Comfort of Others, the author brings together two quite damaged people and with charm and sensitivity gives them the chance to tell their individual stories and somehow, together, they find common ground.

I really enjoyed this subtle and quietly confident novel which with delicate simplicity allows the story of two damaged people the chance to come to terms with both the past and the present.

Best Read with …A slice of cheese on toast with a cup of tea in a delicately patterned china cup and saucer.

About the Author

Kay Langdale is the author of five novels: Away From You, Choose Me, Her Giant Octopus Moment, What the Heart Knows (Rowohlt, Germany) and Redemption (Transita; published as If Not Love by Thomas Dunne Books.

Find the author on her website

Follow her on Twitter @kaylangdale

My thanks to Natasha at Hodder&Stoughton for my review copy of this book

~***~

Review ~ The Lake House by Marci Nault

Gallery,Threshold,Pocket Books
2013

On the surface, Victoria Rose and Heather Bregman have little in common. The odds that they would ever strike up a friendship are stacked high against them and yet, when they are brought together in the idyllic setting of Nagog, New England, their unlikely differences are the very bond which brings them together.

Victoria is learning how to come to terms with the life she once left behind, and the breaking of promises made fifty years ago, now leave Victoria feeling alone and vulnerable. On the the other hand, Heather is an international journalist, who is at a crossroads in her life and who has now chosen to live a quieter existence. Both women have their own demons to erase, but what is achingly exposed about the story, is the way in which the author brings together a real sense of community with all its faults and foibles.

For me, the story got off to rather a slow, and it must be said, rather meandering start but about a third of the way into the novel, I began to warm to the characters and empathised more with their personal dilemmas. The lakeside setting is idyllic and is captured very well, and really adds depth to the story.

Overall, this is a pleasant story, about the power of friendship.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my ecopy of this book