Film, rádio a TV

A teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn’t always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn’t.

A holiday with old friends makes for plenty of fun in the sun! Debs chokes on the dust as she looks forlornly at her ancient vacuum-packed summer clothes. It seems doubly cruel that losing a husband has meant gaining two dress sizes, but ever since Dishonest Dave ran off with Perfect Penny from three doors down, Debs feels like she’s been hiding away from life.

Audiobook Tales of the Suburb, written by Justin David. Growing up in the Black Country under Mrs Thatcher's iron grip, Jamie dreams of a life in a magical metropolis, rubbing shoulders with the mythical creatures from Smash Hits. Despite the quirky characters in his hometown and his mother's witty one-liners, Jamie's heart is set on something greater. Follow him through secondary school, teenage turmoil, and art school, where he falls in love with Billy and the allure of the big city.

Welcome to Bluebell Hall. Pull up a wonky chair, grab a cream bun and settle into a story about a little village, a determined caretaker – and plenty of bunting. At twenty-nine, Connie isn’t quite where she thought she’d be. When her beloved gran dies, Connie returns to Hazelhurst, the village she grew up in, and takes over her gran’s old job as caretaker at the village hall.

Audiobook The Child Between Us, written by Alison Ragsdale. When I first met you, darling Marina, you were just five years old. You took my breath away, with your long, dark waves and pink cheeks. You needed me, and I instantly knew I’d do anything to protect you. When six years ago, my heart was shattered, I was left utterly broken – but I didn’t know just how lost I was until you filled that hole in my heart.

Lubji Hoch escapes from the Nazis, moves to Berlin and changes his name to Richard Armitage. After a successful career in the British Army, he takes over a struggling newspaper and with unrivalled ruthlessness begins building his media empire. Meanwhile, Keith Townsend, the son of a millionaire and Oxford educated, returns to Australia from London to take over his father’s newspaper with similar ambitions.

Margot Goodwin arrives as the new curate at St Mark’s, Highbury. She’s one part exhilarated, ten parts terrified. This is the most important twelve months of her life. Success would mean becoming a fully-fledged priest a year from now, something she feels profoundly called to do. Failure would not only prove her father right, but also delight all those in the anti camp who consider woman priests an abomination.

“Gatsby?” asked Daisy urgently. “What Gatsby?” Could it be the same young army lieutenant whom Daisy Fay met five years ago – and who owns a sumptuous house on Long Island, where New York society enjoys the best parties on offer? Is it just coincidence that Gatsby lives across the bay from Daisy – now married to wealthy polo-player Tom Buchanan? As one man’s mysterious dream moves towards its ultimately tragic conclusion, Midwesterner Nick Carraway is drawn into the dark world of Gatsby’s past and present – a world of hidden frustrations and superficial relationships which perfectly illustrates the “careless and confused” nature of America’s Jazz Age.

Audiobook The Last Summer in Ireland written by Noelle Harrison. A lost girl. A mysterious house in Ireland. An invitation that changes everything. Twenty years ago, at the end of a hot long Irish summer, three sisters walk down to the cool lake at their home, Swan Hall. As Maeve and Aisling watch their beautiful younger sister Nuala laughing and splashing, it is hard to hide their envy of her.

Set mostly in Iran, but making forays to London, Germany, and the transit area of a Ukrainian airport, the stories are brilliantly deft in summoning up the dilemmas of their protagonists, be they characters who are kicking against the confines of the society into which they are born, or characters wanting to embrace those confines.