Gulf Weekly Book Club

BOOK OF THE WEEK with Charlie Richards.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Chris Cleave 978-1473618718 (Sceptre) BD3.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members

In a powerful combination of both humour and heartbreak, this dazzling novel weaves little-known history, and a perfect love story, through the vast sweep of the Second World War - daring us to understand that, against the great theatre of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs, that change us most.

READ IT NOW IN PAPERBACK

A Year at the Star and Sixpence, Holly Hepburn 978-1471163142 (Simon & Schuster) BD3.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members.

When sisters Nessie and Sam inherit a little pub in a beautiful country village they jump at the chance to escape their messy lives and start afresh. But when they arrive at the Star and Sixpence, it’s not quite what they imagined - it’s pretty much derelict, ruined by debts and it’s going to be a huge job to get it up-and-running again.

Their first year at the Star and Sixpence won’t be easy, though nothing worth doing ever is. But when the sisters’ past comes back to haunt them, they start to think that the fresh start they needed is very far away indeed.

MY FAVOURITE READ OF THE WEEK

No Place for a Woman, Val Wood, ISBN 978-0552171199 (Corgi) BD3.400 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members

When Lucy’s parents are killed in a train crash her kindly uncle steps in to look after the little girl, to the initial apprehension of his wife and her son. However, Lucy’s sweet, spirited charm slowly wins over her new family, and as she overcomes the trauma of her childhood, she grows up inspired to become a doctor, just like her father.

But studying medicine in London takes Lucy far from her home in Hull and the people she loves, and she has to battle to be accepted in a man’s world.

With the dark clouds of the First World War gathering on the horizon, an even greater challenge approaches. Can a woman find her place on the front line of battle? Will Lucy be able to follow her dreams and find love in a world shattered by war?