Himalayan Heist
From looking at the cover of the book I wouldn’t normally have chosen to listen to this audiobook. However I am pleased I did.
It is very interesting learning about Nepal and the characters surviving in the Himalayas. I didn’t like James's character because he farts a lot at the beginning and is mostly talking about food at inappropriate times. However I liked Alex's character and I liked the other main characters. I liked how Alex was so knowledgeable about animals and plants and ecological and animal welfare.
I think Jane’s voice is really good and the book is well read and easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to. Her reading is a lot better in my opinion than some other audiobooks I have listened to on audible and the library app.
The photos in the accompanying PDF really help the listener to visualise what some of the things and places in the book would look like and is a helpful addition. On the PDF I learnt that Jane had taken most of the pictures herself and written what they are. This validates her knowledge of Nepal and the animals and culture.
This book has an enjoyable story but also a serious animal welfare theme and interesting setting.
Lemurs of the Lost World
"Jane weaves a wonderful sense of place and people into this book."
Deanne Urmy, HMCO, Boston, Mass
A Glimpse of Eternal Snows
With a title like that you know this book is going to be sad. Surprisingly I didn’t feel sad until the end. The story is actually very uplifting. You feel for the family having a son born with profound disabilities, but the pleasure they receive from his short life and the decision to spend that time in Nepal, is full of hope. The British medical system is deemed to be the devil in this book. The family wanted to be left alone to enjoy their child for a long as they had. I was at first like the grandmother in the story who questioned the decision to take the child from the best medical care, but when you look at the quality of life and love he had in Nepal, without medical intervention, the decision seemed very wise. The mother, who was also a doctor, was full of angst about the decision. It was incredibly moving to read about her guilt and uncertainty but eventual faith in what the family decided to do.