Catherine Raynes: We All Live Here and The Peacock and the Sparrow

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes  

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach about love, and what it actually means to be family. 

 

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I. S. Barry  

Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia for his final tour, he's anxious to dispense with his mission—uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency against the monarchy. But then he meets Almaisa, a beautiful and enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask. 
 
When his trusted informant becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict. His budding romance with Almaisa—and his loyalties—are upended; in an instant, he's caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. Drawing on all his skills as a spymaster, he sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa's love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain's secrets end and America's begin. 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to this Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
A'd be News Talks. He'd be twenty two minutes to
twelve on your Saturday. Catherine Rains, our book reviewer, is
here with her two reads for the weekend. Hey Katherine,
Morning Jack Okay. Jojo Moys has a new book. It's
called We All Live Here, tell us about it.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
So. Lilah Kennedy's the main character, and she's a middle
may age woman and her husband Dan has recently left
her and her two daughters to be with his pregnant
girlfriend and Lilah's two children. Sally's have your typical moody
sixteen year old girl who's dealing with all sorts of
her own problems. And Violet, her younger daughter, is almost
completely the opposite. She's outspoken and she has no filter.

(00:49):
She never holds back her thoughts, and her recently widowed stepfather,
Bill has moved into their large old home and then
all of a sudden, her estranged biological dad, Jean, unexpectedly
re enters her life after thirty five years. So she
has the stress and drama which seems to be alone,
and she itrself as an accomplished writer, but with all

(01:09):
the stress, she's got writer's block and she hasn't been
able to reduce the chapters that she's been contracted for.
So you're adding in a whole lot of financial stress
on top of that, because money's tight and she's full
of rage really towards just about everything. And then you
see her world start to change in this new definition
of family that's messy and chaotic. There's a bit of
romance in there, and friendships and very unconventional family dmatic dynamics.

(01:34):
And I guess what Jojo Moyes is talking about is,
no matter how complex and difficult your life can become,
you can always rely on those that are around you,
and not necessarily immediate family. And so it was all
about adapting and simplifying life. And it was a really
well told story with actually a really good dose of
humor in there too.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Nice, Okay, that sounds great. So that's by Jojo Moyes.
The book is We All Live Here. You've also read
The Peacock and the Sparrow by Is Barry.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
So Is Barry.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Herself spent six years as an operations officer for the CIA,
serving in Bagdad and elsewhere around the globe and lived
and work through Europe in the Middle East and particularly
Bahrain during the Arab Spring, So you can kind of
see the aspects of this in the story. And the
story is set deep within the capital city of Menmah,

(02:20):
and the sounds and smells and the decadence and the
poverty and that sort of sense of inevitable change running
throughout the novel, and the stories about a very cynical
and jaded Sai Cia sorry spy called Shane's Collins, and
he's ready to come in from the cold, and he's
stationed in Bahrain, off the coast of Saudi Arabia for

(02:40):
his final tour and he just wants to get it
over and done with, which is uncovering Iranian support for
an insurgency against the monarchy. And he meets this young woman,
a beautiful artist called Elizma, and his eyes are open
to the side of Bahrain that most expats never experience,
in questions he never thought to ask. And then when
a trusted informant becomes embroider and a murder, he finds

(03:02):
himself drawn into the conflict and his loyalties are upended
and he's caught in this cross winds of revolution in
his entire career as kind of has led him to
this point in relationships and an interesting take on how
he thinks about things and that moment we have to
choose where you're loyalty lies. And I think because of
Is Barry's background, you get this real feel of a

(03:23):
real deal of a spy novel and someone in the
know and giving you the inside edge and the spy world.
Well maybe who knows, but yeah, it was a well
told story and I really liked cool how it was
all pulled together.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah, yeah, that sounds really really good. Okay, that's The
Peacock and the Sparrow by Is Barry. We All Live
Here by Jojo Moyes was Catherine's first pick. She'll be
back with this next Saturday with another couple of reads.
Thanks Catherine. Right now, it is eighteen minutes to twelve.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks B from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.