For my third event, it was back to the Writers' Retreat hidden in a corner of the Book Festival site. This time I was there to see Peggy Riley and Jenn Ashworth, talking about their novels dealing with faith and the loss of it.
Peggy Riley's Amity and Sorrow is
the story of a woman trying to escape the strange and very personal
religious cult she's been living in. After living in a closed community,
she and her daughters react differently to the outside world. Is it
liberating and exciting or just plain frightening? 
Jenn Ashworth's The Friday Gospels, follows a Lancastrian Mormon family
throughout a pivotal day as they await the return of their son after 2
years missionary work in Salt Lake City. Although outwardly seeming
secure in their faith, several family members have doubts and long to be
free of its restrictions. The reading from it and the discussion that
followed made this a book I'd very much like to read. I, presumably like
most people, mainly go to book-related events involving authors whose
work I know and love. Although listening to Peggy Riley talk about her
work and getting to meet her afterwards was the highlight of this visit,
it's always interesting to go along and discover someone new in this
way.
After the reading, the authors adjourned to sign books in the main Festival bookshop. Here I was faced with a problem; I've read and been deeply moved by Amity and Sorrow, and would love to have had my copy signed by the author....but.. I had a Kindle copy! The only quick solution I could think of was to have my ticket signed.
No comments:
Post a Comment