The Salt Road
Registered by bluewitchygrub on 7/20/2014
6 journalers for this copy...
Caught at the Edinburgh meet up. This looks really good and a bit different to the stuff I've been reading lately.
Thanks for bringing this one to the meet up Bluewitchygrub as I don't think I would have come across it otherwise, and I would have been missing out! I really enjoyed this story. It was a surprise when it was revealed when it was all taking place. Not the time I would have thought for Mariata and Astaman. Will be taking this to the Book Festival meet up to see if I can find it's next reader there.
And off it goes to Meg72. Happy reading!
Thanks, bookfrogster, for sending me a wishlist book. I´m sure I am going to enjoy it :-)
Jane Johnson really knows how to paint a picture! Her descriptions of the Moroccan desert and the nomad life of the Tuaregs are very rich in detail and I learnt quite a lot about this culture, although, sometimes, not very nice things. But, I confess that the main characters were not to my liking. Isabelle, who goes to Morocco to solve an enigma that her father left her before dying, was just a bit too stereotyped – the girl who was abused as a child and now is an ice queen (where have a heard that one before?) – and Mariata, who was supposed to be a determined young woman fighting for her freedom, just came out rude and haughty, in my opinion. It’s a pity… You have good writing, lovely setting, thorough research, but I just couldn´t warm up to the characters.
sedna 5213 picked this book from the Shrinking VBB. I hope you enjoy it :-)
The book arrived safely in Berlin! Looking forward to reading it. Thanks so much for sending it over Meg72!
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Enjoyed the read, just found the ending a little too happy.
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Enjoyed the read, just found the ending a little too happy.
The book was chosen from the International VBB and is travelling to Switzerland.
Journal Entry 10 by penelopewanders at Hasliberg, Bern / Berne Switzerland on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Selected from international VBB, this arrived safely in Switzerland while I was off gallivanting - thanks so much for sending!
Journal Entry 11 by penelopewanders at Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Saturday, July 30, 2022
I selected this book from a bookcrossing VBB several years ago, and for some reason never felt compelled to pick it up.
Now, typical of the red VW phenomenon, as I begin planning to attend a wedding party in Morocco in the fall, I grabbed this book more for its size and weight than its content, and embarked on a journey into the desert.
Initially I assumed the sections with Mariata took place in a distant past, but gradually, with the introduction of armed soldiers and jeeps, it became clear that the scenes described were actually in a far more recent period. As I imagine an excursion into the desert would be, this story is not really something you prance in and out of. Like plodding through deep sand which makes its way into any available crevice, the story pulls you in and demands your attention. Strong, stubborn characters, at times Isabelle was fairly unbearable, but she inexorably is changed by her surroundings.
I did not really expect the story to resolve as it did, but I too was fascinated by the landscapes, the skies and the stars in this tale.
I am glad to have selected this, and am once again amused by the coincidence which led me to choose to read it a few months before travelling, for the first time in my life, to North Africa.
Now, typical of the red VW phenomenon, as I begin planning to attend a wedding party in Morocco in the fall, I grabbed this book more for its size and weight than its content, and embarked on a journey into the desert.
Initially I assumed the sections with Mariata took place in a distant past, but gradually, with the introduction of armed soldiers and jeeps, it became clear that the scenes described were actually in a far more recent period. As I imagine an excursion into the desert would be, this story is not really something you prance in and out of. Like plodding through deep sand which makes its way into any available crevice, the story pulls you in and demands your attention. Strong, stubborn characters, at times Isabelle was fairly unbearable, but she inexorably is changed by her surroundings.
I did not really expect the story to resolve as it did, but I too was fascinated by the landscapes, the skies and the stars in this tale.
I am glad to have selected this, and am once again amused by the coincidence which led me to choose to read it a few months before travelling, for the first time in my life, to North Africa.
Journal Entry 12 by penelopewanders at Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Tuesday, March 7, 2023
I find it highly ironical that after browsing my shelves for a few seed books for the upcoming Women Write Well VBB, I end up picking books which seem to have come from the previous Women in Fiction VBB. As I selected them some eight years ago, I decided it's ok to put them into this VBB.
Selected from the Women Write Well VBB, this now leaves central France and heads up to Finland. Enjoy your journey!
Journal Entry 14 by Paulanni at Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland Finland on Thursday, June 1, 2023
The book arrived today. Thank you for sharing it, and also for the card.