Undivided

Two of my recent reads. Both 3*. Perfectly readable. 

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donahue, was interesting in that it dealt with divorce at a time when divorce wasn't done. Sadly though I didn't care about any of the characters.
Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay is another in the British Library Crime Classics series. Again it was interesting for its setting and time but not as good as others I've read in the series.

Unusually for me two of my recent reads have been non-fiction, and they have other similarities. 

A Diary of The Lady by Rachel Johnson
Rachel Johnson (sister of Boris) was appointed editor of The Lady, an old established British magazine, with the brief to bring it up to date and to increase circulation.

Rachel's book is all about name-dropping, where she lunches, with whom, and being Boris' sister. Her children are packed off to boarding school and the time when she's not lunching she's going to opening, launches, shows, parties held by the rich and famous. The book is entertaining largely because of her feud with the owner/boss's mother. It doesn't give you a lot of idea about what being an editor involves unless you count putting down your staff and not liking anyone. But there are funny bits until it gets a bit repetitive.

Undivided by Vicky Beeching
Vicky knew she was gay from an early age but as her career as a Christian singer/songwriter took off, she became more and more determined to keep it hidden.

Vicky's book also gets quite repetitive. I think it needs more editing but her story is powerful. She grew up in a Christian home in England, devoted her life to Jesus, and gained fame singing and leading worship, especially in some of the mega churches across America. But keeping her secret, avoiding relationships, accepting that she'll never have a partner, all combined to drive her close to suicide. 

On the back she is described as a poster girl for evangelical Christianity, but it was the churches who'd put her on the posters that rejected her when she finally came out. It's a powerful and moving story. She loses her career but never wavers in her faith.

In the introduction Vicky explains why she has written the book. She says one reason is to answer one of the questions she's been asked, 'How do you balance being gay with what the bible says about it?' I don't think she actually answers this directly. She uses other examples and that was a bit disappointing as I wanted - and want - to know her answer.

I hurt a young friend when I said that while I loved her I honestly don't know what God thinks about being gay. My head, which has read the six verses relating to homosexuality, says, 'mm, maybe he's not too happy,' but my heart says, 'how can love be wrong in the eyes of a God who is love?' And it doesn't get mentioned in the ten commandments nor, even more importantly, does Jesus say anything about it. Jesus gets mad about injustice but never about love. So I shall go on loving and leave judging up to God - once he's done with me.

And on another note, when I was searching Amazon for book images, Diary of  a Provincial Lady, by E.M. Delafield, cropped up. Now that is a book worth reading.