Many thanks canongatebooks, arrived safely in today's post. I knew I was waiting for something in the post, but what it was had slipped my mind, so this was a lovely surprise. Very happy to post this internationally once finished, to start a bookray.

Synopsis from Amazon
Emily is obsessed with peculiar facts and Catholic saints. Abandoned by her mother as a child, she now lives with her father in Mexico City, working in the local orphanage. When a mysterious cousin, Santi, appears on the doorstep, he brings with him family secrets, and soon Emily finds desire and temptation have overturned her straightforward life forever. "The Poison that Fascinates" is an alluring fable forged in astonishing, sensuous prose. Jennifer Clement conjures a world heavy with the weight of Mexican superstition, mythology and faith, where saintliness and mortal sin sit side by side.

This was an unusual but very enjoyable read which I found difficult to put down. The story and format has a surreal and exotic tinge to it, Emily, her father, Mother Agata and Santiago flit in and out creating an intriguing atmosphere.

Clement succeeds in evoking an unusual sense of place; the heat, the rain, the library filled with books and old furniture, the dogwood and sweetbriar in the garden, the orphanage with its scent of coffee, the closet full with metal leg braces, the elusive smell of melons, the children and of course the never ending saints. I found my senses immersed in this wonderful setting while slowly the truth was unfolding and at some uncertain point I realised...

Emily is skilfully and subtly drawn, always slightly understated. She and Santi are endowed with slightly ethereal (and in his case unsettling) qualities, and she in particular is being put in context, much is left unsaid but the clues abound. This is a well constructed and beautifully executed story, the ending fits like a second skin.

Thank you canongatebooks for sharing this book, which otherwise I may not have read.


I will now offer this as an international bookray, hopefully starting in Australia or New Zealand.

Paperback copy
Weight 264 gms
Pages 231

Please refer to these guidelines
1 Please journal the book as soon as you receive it, so that the sender knows that it has arrived safely.
2 Only keep the book for a maximum of one month, if you need longer please let Cassiopaeia know.
3 When you have almost finished PM the next person for their mailing address so that you can get the book in the mail as soon as possible.
4 Please write a new journal entry with your comments about the book and a note about to whom and when it is being sent next.

Participant list: Order to be arranged

cat207 ~ Newcastle, NSW, Aust
Shelly-Sparkles, Brisbane, Queensland, Aust
briz-cow-girl, Brisbane, Queensland, Aust
Sherlockfan, Wellington New Zealand
Cathietay, Christchurch, New Zealand ~ Sent by Sherlockfan but never journalled



~ More bookcrossers can be added here as long as it fits in with mailing preferences. Please PM me if you are interested.

RELEASE NOTES:

In the post today by Airmail to NSW, should arrive in 5 to 7 days.

KTM Challenge 2008

Arrived in today's mail. Thank you Cassiopaeia. I love the cover!

What a perfect title for this story. Simply brilliant.

Thank you canongatebooks and Cassiopaeia. X

I have PMed Shelly-Sparkles and await an address.

Off to Shelly-Sparkles in today's mail. Enjoy! X

Received in the post today - hooray as I am fishing for some good reading. Will try and finish this book asap and update and journal then pass over to next reader.

Will be getting addy of bris-cow-girl.

I gave this book 3 stars.

Controlled release to Qld - posted 11/02/08 - enjoy !

Received this book today from Shelly-Sparkles - thanks! Really looking forward to reading it, such a shame I have to go to work in 2 hours as it's pouring rain and perfect reading weather :(

I really enjoyed this book, quite unusual in its story structure. It's not a book I would have necessarily been attracted to and picked up at a bookstore. Once I started reading I didn't want to put it down, which is always a good sign! The little "fact" sections at the end of each chapter were great, and Emily's fascination with saints has peaked my interest as well.
Thanks Cassiopaeia for this bookray!
Sending on its journey to Sherlockfan across the Pacific shortly.

UPDATED 20/02/08: Posted to Sherlockfan today, enjoy!

The book arrived today; thanks very much Briz-cowgirl. Hope I might meet you at the 2008 Aus Convention.
Not too much on top of Mt TBR at present so I should be able to get onto it shortly.
I've got Australia in the forefront of my mind at the moment as I'm reading Kate Grenville's "The Secret River" and really enjoy learning about the early settlement of the Hawkesbury River area. Pretty meaty details in the beginning with experiences in the last decades of eighteenth century London.

This was quite an extraordinary book and certainly one that I'd not have been tempted by in a store. However, Cassiopaeia's description when she started the ring was definitely intriguing and I am now so glad I had this experience.
The characters are well drawn and aroused much sympathy from me.
Must say that Santi was a surprise and certainly mysterious initially.
Emily's concentration on facts, while unusual, certainly added to the tale.
Thanks for including me in this ring. I'll pm cathietay today. I know I should have done it earlier but I've been distracted entertaining UK visitors and doing the tourist thing every day.

briz-cowgirl, I won't be coming to Brisbane for the convention. airfares currently ridiculous for a weekend away and that is all the time I can spare with a French grandchild staying for a very short time. Next year perhaps, or you might come to Christchurch next April.

RELEASE NOTES:

Controlled Release to CathieTay on Bookring.

This book has washed ashore at the Lost Book Island after not being heard from for many months. This new arrival will be shown to a room and be allowed a bit of rest before being introduced to the many fun things to do here at the island.

All around there are books sipping cool drinks under shady palms while other books participate in a wide variety of beach sports. There is plenty of sand, surf and sun here for all of the lost and wayward books to enjoy.

It is hoped that very soon a new journal entry will come to rescue this book from the island and send it back out into the BookCrossing world so that it may continue on its journey. It is hoped that the new journal entry will tell all the interested parties where this book has been this long time and where it will be traveling to next.