Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. This week, all three are from the recently announced Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023 longlist.
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Summary: A mysterious illness grips a small town, with some claiming it was caused by spoiled bread and others that it was the result of covert government testing on the people. Elodie, the baker’s wife, yearns to transcend her dull existence and when a charismatic couple arrive in town, she is drawn into their orbit.
I’m thinking: Yes.
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
Summary: Penny Rush has problems. Her marriage is over, she’s quit her job, and her parents and step-parents have gone AWOL. She’s looking to make a fresh start, beginning with a road trip.
I’m thinking: No.
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Summary: Sisters Amy and Zoe grow up in Oklahoma where they are home-schooled because Zoe suffers from debilitating and mysterious seizures. Meanwhile, Amy flourishes intellectually. Amy’s first love appears in the form of her Russian tutor Sasha, but when she enters university at the age of 15 her life changes drastically and with tragic results.
I’m thinking: Yes.
Cursed Bread sounds very tempting, I’ve read a Barbara Comyns novel on the same subject which was really vivid.
I’m really enjoying Homesick. I agree the McKenzie sounds too quirky for the sake of it (and her previous novel was trying too hard). I didn’t like Mackintosh’s debut, but the Comyns-esque plot Bibi mentions above (Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead) is appealing, so I’d think about trying her again if I saw some positive reviews.
I like the sound of Cursed Bread and Homesick. I read I’m A Fan and well, wasn’t a fan.
Cursed Bread – yes – I just finished it. I think you might love this too.
The Dog of the North – no – read the first couple of pages at work – not for me.
Homesick – maybe – still undecided.