Burford Hurry was overwhelmed by…
ALL  THE  BEAUTY OF THE WORLD  

By Patrick Bringley 
Published by Simon & Schuster

If you look forward to visiting museums and galleries then this is a book for you. It is also much more. It is a luminous account of Patrick Bringley’s retreat  from the  world into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after he is traumatised by the death of his 26^–year-old older brother from cancer. He then takes us with him into his workplace where for over ten years he was on duty everyday as a gallery guard. While you read, turn the pages slowly as this is not a book to skim through. Patrick has stood next to some of the world’s most beautiful art for hours, sometimes days at time and he has researched the beauty he describes. He gives them to us through his eyes and words exploring and processing everything from Michelangelo’s drawings to patchwork quilts. All done with equal awe, passion and interest.

We are not spared the essence of his working day. We learn that eight hours of standing on wooden floors are better and easier to stand on than marble. We wear the blue suit of the Met Guards, chat to colleagues who at times become friends, listen to conversations, assist curious visitors with answers to questions  However it is when he writes about the  art  and  the ache of his anguish  on the death of his brother that you will  learn not only about the Met and her contents but how he heals himself though his experience at the Met. I know I did.

Rob Does just loved…
THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET

By David Mitchell
Published by Sceptre

It must be my restless nature, making me not the most avid reader. But sometimes I encounter a book that hooks me from the very first sentence. Introducing The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, the perfect combination of historical and literary fiction. All wrapped in spellbinding sentences, fascinating plot twists and language full of wisdom. It is a love story, an adventure, a study of corruption and a glimpse into a hidden world.

This hidden world is Dejima, an island just off the coast of Nagasaki, which has been adapted as a trading post between the Dutch and Japan. The year is 1799 and the story is set against the background of Japan as a highly isolated country and the Dutch, known for their manipulative and highly dishonest behaviour, as they try to wrest further trading concessions from the Japanese each year. In the final chapters, the British enter the stage, creating a bloody imperial war. David Mitchel treats us with sentences like ´Self-pity is a noose dangling from a rafter´ and ´The readiest apologies carry the littlest worth´. This novel deals with what one believes and where one belongs and the relationship of the individual with country and culture. Did I say mesmerizing…?

Lucy Mayor is entranced by…
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES

By Shelby Van Pelt
Published by Bloomsbury

I have always adored reading and was well known as a child for constantly having my nose in a book. These days, my go to is usually a thriller full or twists or a pacey crime-fiction novel, but last year I came across beautiful artwork of an octopus online and, immediately drawn to it, investigated further and found out that it was in fact the cover-art for a new book  by a writer I had never come across before, Shelby Van Pelt.

They say you should never judge a book by its cover but I was thrilled when my lovely mum presented me with this one as a surprise gift a few weeks after I told her about it even though the only thing I knew I loved about it at the time was the front cover. Called Remarkably Bright Creatures, Van Pelt’s debut novel is a magical story of love, loss and hope. It centres on Tova Sullivan, a 70-year-old widow working as a cleaner at an aquarium in a fictional town on the coast of mystical Washington State, always late at night in order to avoid human company. But here is the remarkable twist . . . the story is told through the eyes of a Pacific Octopus called Marcellus, locked up in captivity at the aquarium. The story that slowly unfolds over Van Pelt’s 355 beautifully written pages will leave you desperate, not only for Tova to make a human connection, but for Marcellus to find his freedom.