Framlingham Book Group
I'm now leading the monthly adult book group at the fabulous Ottie and the Bea children's shop in Framlingham. You can find out about how to join in the meeting and sign up here or call in to the shop to learn more and browse the wonderful selection of children's books and gifts.
Below is a list showing the book we are currently reading and those we have read so far.
September 2026
Klara and the Sun
Published in 2022, by the Nobel Prize winning author, the subject of this novel couldn't be more fitting for our times today. Klara is 'an artificial friend'. Soon to be a film, what will we make of this story by a much-loved writer?
August 2026
Madame Bovary
In Madame Bovary, Flaubert created one of the most scandalous female characters literature has ever known. We're revisiting this classic ahead of reading Elif Shafak's new novel where she looks at Flaubert through the women he created.
July 2026
The Given World
The new novel from this nature writer, children's author, podcaster and columnist, is described as 'strange, resonant, heartbreaking and poignant' this is portrait of village life has been compared to 'Under Milk Wood'. What will we think of it?
May 2026
The Best of Everything
Longlisted for the Women's Prize, this novel about 'found family and the long way back from heartbreak' is said to be 'a beautiful and important story about kindness that will break your heart, then make it sing'. What will we think?
April 2026
Mare
'A bold, deft and deeply moving story about animal love and motherhood, and what it means to be devoted to another being...A daring book, and a brilliant one.' This debut novel has attracted great reviews. What will we think of it?
March 2026
Vigil
The latest book from the Booker Prize-winning author of 'Lincoln in the Bardo', this is said to be 'a playful, wise, electric novel taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of his life, as he is ferried from this world into the next'. What will we think of it?
February 2026
Heart Lamp
Twelve stories of the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India, praised for their dry and gentle humour. What will we think of it?
January 2026
The Land in Winter
Widely considered a favourite among the shortlisted titles for the Booker Prize 2025, this prize-winning novel is set in the Big Freeze of 1963, was one of the coldest winters on record in the United Kingdom. What will we make of it?
November 2025
The Wedding People
Described as 'sharp, funny and a joy to read', this is 'a novel about love, friendship, dysfunctional families, and the unexpected paths that lead to happiness'. Will it make us laugh? What will we think of it?
October 2025
Rare Singles
Described as 'wise, hilarious and profound' this book is 'a warm, tender and funny story about unlikely friendships, second chances, and the magic of soul music' from a writer who surprises with every book. What will we make of this?
September 2025
The Safekeep
This acclaimed, award-winning debut novel has been described as a 'brave and thrilling...page-turner about trauma and repression'. Said to appeal to fans of Patricia Highsmith, Sarah Waters and Ian McEwan, what will we make of it?
August 2025
Hello Beautiful
In an Italian Catholic family in Chicago, two sisters fall in love with the same man, causing the family to split apart for 25 years. Described as 'beautiful, perceptive, wistful' and 'brilliantly crafted'.
July 2025
The Garden Against Time
A beautifully told account of buying a house and garden in Suffolk, and the author's thoughts on gardens in literature, art and society. What will we think of it?
June 2025
Eurotrash
Described as 'hilarious, unsettling and unexpectedly moving' what will we make of this novel by Swiss author Christian Kracht, longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025?
April 2025
Light Perpetual
In 1944 a bomb hits a street in London, and five children die instantly. But what if they had survived? What lives would they have lived? Reviews have said of the book: glorious, exhilarating, brilliant, dazzling, extraordinary, superb. What will we think of it?
March 2025
The Road Home
Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. He leaves behind family and friends and ahead of him is a strange and unfamiliar lifestyle, first in London, and then in East Anglia. What will we think of his story?
February 2025
The List of Suspicious Things
This Sunday Times bestseller was the biggest debut of 2024. Described as heartwarming and 'a beautiful story about friendship, community and family and secrets'. What will we think of it?
January 2025
Death and the Penguin
There's dark humour in what has been described as a 'tragicomic masterpiece' telling the tale of Viktor, an aspiring writer in Ukraine who has only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. What will we make of it?
December 2024
Orbital
The winner of this year's Booker Prize follows six astronauts on the international space station as they complete the daily sixteen (90 minute) orbits of the planet. The book has been described as 'beautiful and ambitious'. What will we think?
October 2024
A Whole Life
An international bestseller, this 'exquisite novel' has been translated from the German and is described as 'a tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude', with 'a message of solace and truth'. What will we think of it?
September 2024
Birnam Wood
With the summer break, there's plenty of time to get stuck into this psychological thriller by the award-winning author of 'The Luminaries'. Described as 'Shakespearean in its wit, drama and immersion in character...it is an unflinching examination of the human impulse to ensure our own survival'. What will we think of it?
July 2024
Brotherless Night
Winner of this year's Women's Prize and set in the Sri Lankan civil war, it has been described as 'a masterpiece of historical fiction', 'stunningly great' and 'an achingly moving portrait of individual and societal grief'. What will we think?
June 2024
The Marriage Portrait
Set in the treacherous political world of the Italian Renaissance, this is 'a reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger'. We all have high expectations of this author, will this deliver?
May 2024
The Trees
This author is very much en vogue currently with his latest novel 'James' achieving high acclaim. We'll be reading his previous novel which is described as 'a comic horror masterpiece'. What will we think?
April 2024
The Island of Missing Trees
It's Cyprus in 1974. Two teenagers enjoy happy meetings together in a tavern underneath a fig tree, until their differences, war and separation tear them apart. A magical tale of belonging and identity, love and trauma, memory and amnesia, destruction and renewal. What will we make of it?
March 2024
The Romantic
A 'panoramic' novel taking in the whole life of the soldier, farmer and father Cashel Greville Ross and his travels around the world in the nineteenth century, from this much-loved writer, William Boyd. What will we make of it?
February 2024
Small Things Like These
This tiny novel has won extraordinary plaudits from all corners and is soon to be a film starring Cillian Murphy. Set in the winter of 1985 in an Irish town, it explores a community controlled by the Church. What will we think of it?
January 2024
Lincoln in the Bardo
The winner of the Booker Prize in 2017, this was the author's debut. Telling the story of Abraham Lincoln grieving the death of his child, the action takes place on one night and is written in 'an exhilarating new form'. It's described as thrilling, hilarious and terrifying. What will we make of it?
November 2023
The Echo Chamber
The author is best known for writing 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', but this is something completely different. Described as 'an uproariously funny novel' it is 'a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in'. What will we make of it?
October 2023
The Girl with the Louding Voice
This is the story of a young woman seeking to make her way in the world through education but first having to overcome the cultural demands of her Nigerian upbringing.