The title of this book is taken from the hippocratic oath and reflects the book's medical theme written by Abraham Verhese who is unsuprisingly a doctor. The story is set in Ethiopia and New York and is about twins born joined at the head in a mission hospital in Abbas Ababa 50 years ago. Their mother, a nun from Madras, dies giving birth and their father, a British surgeon called Thomas Stone deserts them. The twins, Marion and Shiva, are brought up by two Indian doctors who work in the hospital where they were born. Although inceredibly close as young children a betrayal drives them apart until they are dramatically reunited at the end of the book. A great read for over the summer holidays.Read less -

This American author was new to me when I read this book but now I want to read everything written by Wally Lamb. The flawed hero of the book is Dominic Birdsey who struggles to come to terms with and forgive his paranoid schizophrenic brother, bullying stepfather and timid mother. Dominic's entire life has been compromised by his twin brother who he both loves and resents. The story comes to a head when his brother commits an unthinkable act. Dominic has to face the pain of the past, including his broken marriage, and confront his ancestors´dark secrets which he discovers in his grandfather's handwritten memoir (which is like a book within a book). A weighty book at 915 pages but difficult to put down.Read less -

A brilliant historical novel by Hilary Mantel which deservedly won the 2009 Man Booker Prize. This lengthy book has as its hero Thomas Cromwell and depicts him in an unusually favourable light. Hilary Mantel imagines his childhood and the experiences which formed his character. The action revolves around the events caused by Henry VIII´s determination to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn and to have a male heir. A fascinating period of history and a fascinating book which leaves you wanting more... luckily a sequel is planned.Read less -

A book of beautiful prose by this Irish author which won the Costa prize 2009 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize of that year. The main part of the book consists of the troubled secret memoir of Roseanne McNulty, a woman of nearly 100 who was commited as a young woman to a mental hospital. It records her life as she remembers or chooses to remember, before the commital, in County Cligo in West Ireland. Roseanne's account is interleaved by the investigation into her life and reason for being in the asylum by Dr Green, the hospital phychiatrist. Dr Green finds inconsistencies between her story and other accounts of her life, including that of the local priest Father Gaunt and eventually uncovers a terrible secret.Read less -

I have just finished reading this book for my bookclub. It is an easy read and is set in the second world war and 1950s in Hong Kong. It involves 2 love stories one between Will Truesdale and Trudy Liang, a Eurasian beauty living in Hong Kong during the second world war and between Will and a married English woman, Claire Pendleton. The book is packed with intrigue and recreates the atmosphere in Hong Kong beautifully. I was particularly interested in the depiction of what happened in the War in Hong Kong : the internment of the foreign nationals and the lengths people were prepared to go to to survive.Read less -