It’s the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with the winner of the International Booker Prize, Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov and translated by Angela Rodel. This is not a book I’ve read, but here’s what it’s about:
In Time Shelter, an enigmatic flâneur named Gaustine opens a ‘clinic for the past’ that offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time. As Gaustine’s assistant, the unnamed narrator is tasked with collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the past, from 1960s furniture and 1940s shirt buttons to scents and even afternoon light. But as the rooms become more convincing, an increasing number of healthy people seek out the clinic as a ‘time shelter’, hoping to escape from the horrors of our present – a development that results in an unexpected conundrum when the past begins to invade the present.
Georgi Gospodinov is a Bulgarian author, so I’m using Bulgaria as my first link. Elizabeth Kostova is an American author but her husband is Bulgarian and she obviously knows the country well, using it as the setting for her third novel, The Shadow Land (1). The novel follows a young American woman who is visiting Sofia and accidentally finds herself in the possession of an urn containing the ashes of a stranger and engraved with the name Stoyan Lazarov. She then sets out on a journey across Bulgaria in search of Stoyan’s family so that she can return the ashes.
Another book with the word ‘shadow’ in the title is Shadow of the Moon by M.M. Kaye (2), first published in 1957. I loved this book, although I didn’t find it quite as strong as her later novel, The Far Pavilions. Both books are set in India, where Kaye was born and lived for several years, but this one focuses on the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 in which our heroine, Winter de Ballesteros, becomes entangled when she travels to Lunjore to join her fiancé. Kaye is one of my favourite authors; her descriptive writing is so beautiful and she seems to have a real understanding of all the historical incidents she writes about.
Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald (3) is also set before and during the Sepoy Mutiny and is another book I enjoyed. It follows the story of Laura Hewitt, who comes to India as her newly married cousin’s companion and finds herself caught up in the events leading to the Siege of Lucknow. Again, I loved the descriptions of India, as well as the relationship between the central characters, Laura and Oliver Erskine (the zemindar of the title), and the authentic 19th century writing style.
There are not many books whose title starts with a ‘Z’, but Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore (4) is one of them! Zennor is the name of a village on the coast of Cornwall where the author DH Lawrence lived for a while during the First World War and the novel is part wartime love story and part reimagining of Lawrence’s time in Zennor. However, I felt that these two separate elements didn’t blend together very well and although I did enjoy the portrayal of life in a small village during the war, this is not one of my favourite Helen Dunmore books.
An author who will forever be associated with Cornwall is Daphne du Maurier. She spent most of her adult life there and it provided the setting for many of her novels, including Rebecca, The House on the Strand, and the one I’m using as my next link – Frenchman’s Creek (5). Du Maurier’s novels usually have a very strong sense of place and this one is no exception. I particularly loved the scene where our heroine, Dona St Columb, walks through the woods near her home and discovers a pirate ship hiding in a creek.
I can think of several other books featuring pirates, but the one I’m going to link to here to end my chain is Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer (6). This 1929 novel is set in Elizabethan England and Spain, so has a different feel from Heyer’s more famous Regency and Georgian novels, but I enjoyed it just as much. The pirate, Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, is a wonderful character and the plot is great fun – perfect escapism!
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And that’s my chain for July. My links have included Bulgaria, the word ‘shadow’, the Sepoy Mutiny, book titles beginning with Z, Cornwall and pirates
In August we’ll be starting with Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.
She Reads Novels 
Georgette Heyer is someone whose name has crossed my radar several times recently. Even though she’s my generation, somehow she’s passed me by. To rectify? An interesting chain as ever.
Georgette Heyer passed me by for a long time as well, until I tried one of her books on the recommendation of other bloggers and never looked back!
It’s about time I plugged this gap then. Thanks.
Such an enjoyable chain this month, with books I’ve enjoyed and ones I’d love to add to my TBR. The former includes Frenchman’s Creek and Beauvallet; I’ve read and did enjoy the Far Pavilions, but having read it after a whole line of Kiplings I couldn’t help but notice the inspiration. I do keep meaning to try her mysteries and Shadow of the Moon sounds very good too. I also don’t think I’ve read anything set in Bulgaria so Shadow Land may well end up on my TBR as well.
I think The Shadow Land might actually be the only book I’ve ever read set in Bulgaria, so I really need to look for more. It’s an interesting setting. I love M.M. Kaye’s mysteries and would particularly recommend Death in Kashmir, Death in Zanzibar and Death in Cyprus – all very atmospheric!
Will try to read the mysteries soon. I’ve always meant to but somehow never got down to it.
Nice connections here. I’ve only read on Du Maurier, that being Rule Britannia which is a bit humorous, but yes, Cornwall is very prominent in the book.
I enjoyed Rule Britannia, although it’s not really typical of du Maurier’s books. I forgot that one was set in Cornwall too!
I think that’s why I read it. du Maurier’s genres are a bit too… er… spooky for me.
The Shadow of the Moon and Frenchman’s Creek, two books I read and enjoyed so long ago and should revisit.
Cheers, Harvee at https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com
Yes, I would like to read both of those books again one day as well.
Nice chain Helen – I really enjoyed Frenchman’s Creek
It’s not my favourite, but still one that I really enjoyed too.
Oh, a fabulous chain with some of my favorites – I love M.M. Kaye and she is one of a few authors I came to through a miniseries. My family briefly had HBO for Wimbledon, I think, when The Far Pavilions was on, and I went to the library the next day. I also love Zemindar and have two copies because the paperback was falling apart.
Frenchman’s Creek is not my favorite du Maurier so I don’t think I have ever reread it – maybe in some future May! And Beauvalet is just a delight. I don’t know why some Heyer fans don’t care for it (well, I do, know 16th century dialogue isn’t for everyone but they are missing a great read).
I just looked for Helen Dunmore. I have a couple marked “to read” but maybe she isn’t published here? My nephew is studying in London this summer but I am not sure he would bring home books for me. I will have to check WorldCat. I was in Zennor a year ago today or maybe tomorrow; will have to check this out.
Constance
I enjoyed the Far Pavilions miniseries but had already read the book before I saw it. It’s good to hear from someone else who loves Zemindar – it’s such a great book and doesn’t get enough attention! I agree with you on Beauvallet too; it’s every bit as entertaining as the Regencies, I think.
Lots of lovely temptations here, Helen! And a few that I’ve read 😊
I’m glad I could tempt you with some of these!
Very nice chain. I’ve never read a book set in Bulgari (or written by a Bulgarian)–maybe? Frenchman’s Creek!! Definitely a strong sense of place and atmosphere! It’s one of my favorites by her.
I can’t really think of any other books I’ve read set in Bulgaria apart from The Shadow Land. I’m glad you like Frenchman’s Creek. It’s one of her most atmospheric!