The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson

The Lost Weekend
by Charles Jackson

First published in 1944, The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson is one of the most raw and unflinching portraits of mental unrest that I have ever read. It follows Don, an alcoholic with what I would say are bi-polar tendencies through a long weekend of binge drinking and inner turmoil when left alone by his brother Wick. We are given full access to his rampant thoughts and inward streams of consciousness and are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotion, seeing his highest narcissistic highs and lowest self-depreciating lows. It is beautifully, heart-wrenchingly written, with long and elegant prose. It is a semi-autobiographical novel that Jackson wrote for his wife, about a man who struggles with his past, grapples with his future, and turns to alcohol for solace. Readers who are looking for a happy resolution will not find that here, but if you desire a psychologically suspenseful, powerful, truly candid and thus certainly unforgettable read — look no further!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the Oscar-winning film adaptation of The Lost Weekend, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland.]

[ Wikipedia page for The Lost Weekend (Novel) ]

Recommended by Marie M.
Gere Branch Library

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Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest
by Juliet Marillier

Set in ancient Ireland, this re-telling of the Celtic Swan Myth follows Sorcha, a young heroine on a quest to save her six beloved brothers from a spell placed on them by their sorceress step-mother that has turned them into swans. The only way for Sorcha to break the spell is to knit her brothers six shirts out of a plant called starwort, that burns the skin upon contact, and never utter so much as one syllable until the task is completed. Left alone, with no one to defend her, Sorcha struggles to stay alive as much as to complete her task. When an unknown man finds her alone in the woods and takes her across the sea to Britannia, her ordeal is further complicated. She senses the first stirrings of love within her, but she cannot speak of it, let alone tell him her story or plead her case when the village priest relates her healer’s skills to those of witchcraft. Driven by love for her brothers and a silent courage, she takes heart and holds onto hope that she will be reunited with her family.

Readers who enjoy well-defined, personable characters, adventure, romance, strong female characters, and lush/descriptive writing styles will be sure to enjoy Daughter of the Forest, the first of the Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Marillier. In its essence, it is a novel about standing up to face evil against all hope, and the belief that good will always prevail.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, Deerskin by Robin McKinley, Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop, Wolfskin, Foxmask by Juliet Marillier, and The Bridei Chronicles by Juliet Marillier.]

[ official Juliet Marillier web site ]

Recommended by Marie M.
Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

Have you read this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!