Hi everyone! I hope you have had an amazing weekend and are having an amazing one, as it’s not over yet! I’ve got some very exciting posts coming up on the blog this week, including this book review today, ??by one of my favourite authors. I would love to know what you have been up to this weekend? I had a gig last night with the band I am in, Sidecar Mutiny, which was so good. And then today I may have spent most of it asleep! Oops! Today has been more of a relaxing day and it’s just so nice to have one of those every once in a while. It was also nice to get out and get some fresh air too and have a look around a local vintage rally that was going on. Oh! And also, my ‘what’s in my June Birchbox’ post will be coming out very soon, just in case you were wondering! The new issue of Blogosphere magazine arrived through my letterbox the other day which I am so excited to read. I’ve had a flick through and I can already see there are so many amazing bloggers featured in the new issue.
Today’s brand new book review is by one of my most favourite authors, Ruth Hogan. The book is called The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes and I have been so excited about this book since I first read about it. So as you can imagine I was very excited when I was contacted and asked if I would like a copy to read and review. I was very kindly sent this gorgeous copy that you can see in the photos above and below. I do love a good hardback book! The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes is Ruth’s second novel. If you have read some of my previous book reviews, you may remember a review I did on an amazing book called The Keeper Of Lost Things. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend doing so. It’s such a charming and wonderful story and beautifully written. This book too is also by Ruth Hogan and is one of my most favourite reads of 2017.
The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes
“Masha’s life has stopped.Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, her life has been forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds solace in the silent company of the souls of her local Victorian cemetery and at the town’s lido, where she seeks refuge underwater – safe from the noise and the pain.
But a chance encounter with two extraordinary women – the fabulous and wise Kitty Muriel, a convent girl-turned-magician’s wife-turned-seventy-something-roller-disco-fanatic, and the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice – opens up a new world of possibilities, and the chance to start living again. But just as Masha dares to imagine the future, the past comes roaring back …”
One thing I really really love about this book is the way in which it is set out and written. This is one of the things I loved with Ruth Hogan’s first book too. Chapters swap from one person’s story to another, but each plays a big part in telling the story as a whole and then it all comes together at the end. Within this book, we hear from both Masha, who is the main character in this book, and also from Alice. This story expresses love, loss, grief and being able to live again after experiencing and going through so much in one’s life. This story also shows true friendship along with added humour and some laugh out loud moments, such a certain someone and a dog at a dinner party!
Masha lives with Hazium, her beloved pet wolfhound. After tragically losing her son, who was a toddler at the time of the tragic incident, life for Masha has never been the same. Along with her parents, her best friends Edward and Epiphany, they have really helped Masha over the years, but there are still some things that are never spoken about, only thought about. But one day while at a dinner party at her friend Epiphany’s, after the very rude and drunk Hugo decides to speak before he thinks, Masha decides that she wants to change her life. After seeing how her friends respect Masha and do not bring up the past, Masha realises that this shouldn’t have to be like this. She will never forget about her son, but she wants to live again, she wants the old Mahsa back.
Masha visits the cemetery very regular and pays her respects to the people buried there. They have become family to her. It’s also at the cemetery where she meets the woman known as Sally, who loves to sing and feeds the many crows around her. Masha also meets a woman named Kitty, and meeting and becoming closer to these women, things for Masha start to change, and she starts to see things very differently. The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes is brilliantly written and shows that even through heart-wrenching and difficult times, things can and will get better.
Have you read The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes, or The Keeper Of Lost Things?
The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes is available to buy now. ??
