The Touch by Colleen McCullough
‘Your cousin Alexander has written for a wife’, said James Drummond, looking up from a sheet of paper.

My Life as a Jew by Michael Gawenda
Over the years, some of my friendships have withered and died, natural deaths caused by change and a narrowing of time, but I am thankful for those that have survived my growing old.

It was difficult to find comprehensive reviews of either books to link to this month. In the case of Michael Gawenda’s memoir, the better reviews were behind paywalls. With The Touch most simply retold the story from beginning to end (I am glaring hard at you Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly). The Historical Novel Society review was the best I could find but I do not agree that the central story line trailed behind the history in the novel. The scope of the novel is grand, the history well told, the characters almost larger than life, with a satisfactory ending. An enjoyable escapist read.