Three days on Mimosa Lane
585286
Just wonderful. Coming through a life changing tragedy and begin to heal.  The human spirit is an amazing thing. Loved it..
2036238
I really enjoyed this book, especially the last two-thirds which covered the life and career of "Dicky". In the first third, however, I learned about the anxiety before and after learning where the partition line would be drawn in 1947 establishing the border between India and Pakistan, and the importance of cheap housing when helping 7 million Sikhs and Hindus avoid mass murders and move to India from what had become Pakistan.

I loved reading about Dicky's life, possibly because we are the same age, and it was interesting to see the similarities and differences in our world-apart careers. I knew before reading this book that Indian weddings tended to rank high in color, size, and party time length, but I didn't know HOW high. I also learned a lot about the importance of family, in both India and Spain. I particularly enjoyed the drama when Dicky's parents showed up at Marisol and Dicky's London flat on short notice, causing Marisol to move out, and Dicky's mother to begin a hunger strike!

In summary, this is a book I will keep and read again.
3185523
This is a nice little book 100 pages.  It traces this one woman's recollections and foraging
back to 1939.  It also incorporates some history of California American Indians from the
mid 1800's when they were sent on the death walk due to the Gold Rush.  It is written like fiction with some nice imagery.
I never would have guessed that few would return to their homes to find Phillipinos had moved in.
1349608
Susan really takes you there in this book, (the first of hers I have read, but not the last.) I really felt like I was there and could smell the flowers in the gardens and feel the dampness on my face. What a treat! Anyone who is going or just dreaming of going, buy this book!!!
1971045
Oh, I so enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written. Our hero, Harold, goes on this impossibly long walk, believing that if he walks to his dying friend's bedside, she won't die. He leaves his wife, Maureen, at home, and as he makes his way towards Queenie, we are privy to his memories and regrets, learning more about his relationships with Queenie, Maureen and his son David. We also get glimpses of Maureen's memories and thoughts.

We meet interesting and real characters along the way, as Harold's walk becomes a pilgrimage and he is joined by more and more people, with different goals and aspirations and expectations for the walk.

The ending was perfect.

I really enjoyed the writing - there was some clever imagery, and the descriptions of people were fantastic.
924323
Wow! What a fun trip! I now want to visit some of the places she describes especially Paris. Her stories kept me going until it was done in one day! My favorite was the "French Kiss", followed by "The Truth about Eco-Travel".  I'm waiting for the next one.
4321684
I love the premise of this brilliant book by Patricia Harris: I like the person I become in Spain. The leisurely lunches, the late-night dining and the early morning dancing are far different from most of our American lives, and when in Spain, Harris lives like the locals. Spaniards considerable capacity for enjoying life is infectious, she writes.
 That ability to explore different versions of ourselves is one reason many of us hit the proverbial road. After reading Harriss marvelous essays of alluring experiences waiting in Spain, I cant wait to go there.
 Harris is notably learned, and her scholarly research highlights the countrys history in every palace, cathedral and plaza she points to. But far from stuffy, she goes way beyond the typical guidebook facts by sharing how she felt in all these places. Her senses are sharp and her pen brings to life the fragrance of orange blossoms and sizzling paella, the sights and sounds of passionate flamenco dancers, the flutter of fringe on a beautiful hand-embroidered shawl and the taste of a traditional hot chocolate in the wee hours of the morning.
 The legends behind those palaces and cathedrals  often intertwined  from Spains first power couple, El Cid and Jimena Diaz in Burgos to Segovias Isabel I who financed Christopher Columbus 1492 voyage, to Sevillas Isabel II and her sister, Maria Luisa, are filled with universal themes of love, honor, power and death. When you tour these impressive architectural achievements with Harriss stories in mind, youll have a much deeper appreciation for the people behind the facades.
 Harris shares the best places to shop for fabulous flamenco shoes, the colorful ceramics that are everywhere in Spain, and those mantones de Manila, the exquisitely crafted and unapologetically colorful hand-embroidered silk shawls of Sevilla.
 Of course, food and wine are central to enjoying Spain, and Harris spills the best places for tapas in Barcelona, the red wines of La Rioja, the sherries of Jerez de la Frontera, or even paella at the lesser known Saffron Rose Festival in Consuegra.
 She extols the hiking adventures available in Picos de Europa, the famous 425-mile-long pilgrimage trail of Camino de Santiago, to the end of the world at Cabo Fisterra. You might seek the countrys most beautiful beaches in San Sebastian on the Atlantic Coast to those along the Costa del Sol at Marbella on the Mediterranean or even the nude beaches of Costa de la Luz in Bolonia.
 Garden lovers will want to find El Retiro and the Botanical Garden in Madrid, Sevillas Park of the Princess, and Elches La Palmera, the largest palm oasis in Europe. Art lovers will want to tour museums of the homes of Picasso in Malaga, the Pilar and Joan Miro Foundation in Mallorca, and Casa Salvador Dali in the fishing village of Port Lligat.
 Organized by four major regions in Spain, Harriss book is made for crafting your own itinerary in one or two or these regions at a time. I plan first to center on La Mancha and Moorish Spain, finding ceramics in Talavera de la Reina; spending the night in one of Spains great paradors, Parador de Orepesa, which lies a bit west of Toledo and has drawn famous visitors for decades; viewing the history as well as performances of flamenco at the Museo del Baile Flamenco in Sevilla; experiencing the ancient bathing traditions of Andalucia at Aire de Sevilla; driving the twisting mountain road  a quintessential Spanish experience  in Andalucia called Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos; and visiting the Museo Carmen Thyssen in Malaga as well as El Paraje Natural Torcal de Antequera, where hills of windblown limestone seem to belong to another planet.
 Pour yourself a glass of cava  Spains answer to champagne  and peruse this marvelous compilation of many wonders in that country on the Iberian Peninsula. Its a place made for wandering, where you might discover an exciting new version of yourself. Men can come, too.
 Im excited.
566552
Jerusalem Lane, a strange 19th century remnant in a most desirable section of London, is home to an unusual group of people. When one of them is found dead, DS Kathy Kolla and DCI David Brock investigate. After several days,  it is decided that foul play was not involved, so the investigation is  called off. Six months later, the second of the three sisters dies, and  Kolla and Brock are called in to investigate.
Maitland's training as an  architect is obvious in this, the first of 5 books in the series. By using  real street names, just moving them around a bit, and changing them  slightly (there is a Jerusalem Passage near the area in which he places  Jerusalem Lane), giving the street and buildings a history, (Marx and  Engels purportedly lived in one of the houses on the Lane) and even  describing the geography of the street, he makes the area one of the  protagonists in the story, at times, the main protagonist in the story.
I  enjoyed this to the extent that I went out and bought the other 3 books  available in paperback by this author(in the UK). I understand that the 5th  in the series has just been published in Australia.
2874070
I loved this book and can't wait to read the other two. The author describes the land beautifully.  Highly recommend
3164093
The author, F.R. Merrill, has taken a travel story of her actual 550 mile hike across northern Spain and successfully woven it into a murder/ suspense/ mystery novel. I wondered what I could say that hasn't already been said in the other glowing reviews.
Firstly, as a lover of hiking, I chose this book because of the promise that it was about a hike across Spain, a country I would like to visit. I knew nothing about the Camino, until I read the book and learned about St. James and the fact that this Camino Norte Way is a pilgrimage to his burial place, the magnificent Cathedral de Santiago. There were many other amazing facts which the author wove into the story by having one of her characters cast as a storyteller and travel guide. The author was able to develop seven distinctly different women characters, and keep them straight for the reader. Hiking from small village to small village, visiting church after church, staying in one hotel after another for six weeks, with scenery, aches, pains, blisters, and weather, could have been boring; but it wasnt. Instead, the author was able to keep it fresh, interesting and surprisingly suspenseful.
Perhaps, I was at a bit of a handicap for not having read the first book in this series, The Final Act, prequel to Crossroads, where Faiths first husband was murdered and a certain Ivan was convicted. But was he truly guilty?
Ivans woman friend, Honey, believes him innocent and Faith the real murderer. Honey is so infatuated with Ivan that she agrees to join the hike in order to get even with Faith, on his behalf. Suspense builds; little truths are distributed throughout the book, as Honey struggles to cover her true feelings and waits for the chance to commit a revenge murder.
I was left, at the end, still somewhat puzzled about the truth and feeling as if that score was not completely settled. For that, I realize I need to read the third book in the series.
Nevertheless, I felt there was a lovely, complete ending (which I won't give away). I recommend this book as a fine, entertaining and educational read. I give it four and a half stars.
 Dorothy May Mercer, Author, the Savage Surrogate.
1085032
With a very limited few days to spend in London this book did an excellent job of guiding us through the city.  I have not used this series before but would highly  recommend it as your guide book.  There is so much to see in this city you have to know what you want to see, especially when on a limited schedule.
716474
A Trip to Remember is a cute read of a tourist who has an accident and meets some lovely people, and learns some important values of many in small towns. Gail Gaymer Martin has set the scenes wonderfully in this area, and made it an added place to visit on my list. I am eager to see the follow-up novella to this as I was pulled into the strained relationship between Sky and her sister.
1651758
Pilar Castillo, living in Chicago as a journalist, learns of her grandmother's death and leaves for her native country Venezuela to attend her funeral. Arriving there she sees a mysterious man who tosses a wreath of flowers and a charm into the ground where the coffin lays. Pilar wonders who the man is.

Coming home to the neighborhood where her grandmother lived and died is reminiscent of the days where things were slow-paced and simple. Time never let the city fade. The flora of the city Los Rosales has never been touched by ecological disasters. It remains filled with eucalyptus, orange blossoms, birds of paradise, and wine-red bougainvillea. The scents draw her into a time period.

Going between the past and the present, Marisol reflects on a time period where women were expected to be married and have children. They were to remain virtuous for marriage. Pilar is given a set of diaries that Gabriela Grenales de Knowles has left. As she reads them on her trip back to Chicago, she discovers who the real Gabriela is.

Gabriela was groomed to be a lady by her mother and a servant of native Indian/Spanish descent as a child. It would carry with her throughout her adult life. She had to learn to entertain her audience, prepare meals, and sexually gratify her partner. Upkeeping tradition was important to her but at what cost? The cost of a real love. She was in love with Jorge Armando. But she couldn't marry him because his family was mixed. As much money as Jorge's family had, her family forbid it. They were full-blooded European tracing their ancestry to the Spanish.

Gabriela married an Englishman and had a daughter with him. But it wasn't enough for her. Her true love was Jorge and rebelling against tradition would have cost her her reputation and her family. The diaries are a layout for her granddaughter to follwo but to do it on her own terms.

The Lady, the Chef, and the Courtesan, based on a South American proverb was good to read because it does layout some grooming techniques, reminiscent of what it is to be feminine. However I was disturbed by the racial makeupShe focused too much on the indigenous Indians, mixed Indian/Spanish and Spanish. She did not mention that there are people of African descent living in Venezuela nor did she present any of their traditions that could have helped the novel a bit.

It is a good book to read when you are going to work and coming home from work on the train.
2089376
Stranded in the basement of her boss's Brooklyn brownstone (from whom she rents a space that has seen better days) during one of the worst winter storms in recent history, university professor Lucia Maraz assumes that she'll only have to endure the inconvenience of this arrangement until the snow clears. However, when Richard Bowmaster, her boss and landlord, accidentally rear-ends the Lexus of a man who may have ties to significant criminal activity, she realizes that she may be in for more than she'd ever imagined.

"Lucia had joked to Richard that he should sell this relic with its rickety stairs and dilapidated doors and grow old living like royalty on a Caribbean island, but Richard was a gloomy man whose natural pessimism was reinforced by the demands and drawbacks of a house with five large empty rooms, three unused bathrooms, a closed-off attic, and a first floor with such high ceilings that you needed an extension ladder to change a lightbulb."

Putting aside the drama of the aforementioned scenario, Allende shines, as usual, thanks to her ability to weave stories into stories. The historical references, as both Lucia and Richard recount the experiences of their younger days to Evelyn Ortega, terrified driver of the Lexus, are spectacular; this novel reminds me why I am drawn to the events that have taken place in Latin America over the past several decades.

"Parks for children had been created on the banks of the Mapocho River, and no one remembered the garbage or the bodies the river had once carried away. In the center, the gray buildings, the traffic of buses and motorbikes, the drab poverty of office workers, the weary passersby, and the boys juggling at the streetlights to beg a few pesos were in stark contrast to the shopping malls of the rich neighborhoods."

Thrown together under difficult circumstances, and with an interesting bit of cargo in the trunk of the Lexus, these three characters, in the midst of their trauma, unravel their own struggles in their efforts to help one another. From grief and disappointment to love and generosity, Allende highlights the power of unexpected relationships and the uncanny ways in which we are all connected.

Having studied Latin American history and the Spanish language in college, I have read several of Allende's novels (even in Spanish; I'm sure I couldn't do that now!); she continues to inspire with her colorful, descriptive writing and sense of adventure.
3643444
Kudos to Mr. Berk!!!
I wanted to see the full color of his memories as the other books had been published in B&W. So I was expecting this one with such anticipaction that it did not let me down. I live in the other penninsula down in Mexico (Yucatan) and the views are not as astonishing as the ones in Baja California. It is on my bucket list now!! Thank you Mr. Berk for sharing your wonderful experiencies and memoirs.
4128203
A short story in rhyming verse down an old country lane arrived at "by mistake"(?)  The places visited there were very descriptive - I could almost smell the orange-blossoms and see the sunlight and the dust.  The photos added to the nostalgic charm of the story.  The ending was chilling.  I am still wondering just who the narrator was.  Read it and decide for yourself.
47934
So many beautiful gardens nearby to visit. Might be my goal for the next five years to try and visit several of these gardens. Some I have already been to and would love to re-visit.