Angela Jeffs's Blog
August 7, 2013
Review on Amazon.com
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
A wonderful read!
By jacinta hin on July 29, 2013
Format: Paperback Amazon Verified Purchase
A wonderful and beautifully written book full of wit and unexpected turns. Angela draws you into her world and adventure, in search of her grandfather's mysterious past. You'll be traveling with her, page after page, discovering new family members, unearthing secrets of the past, traversing the exotic terrain and streets of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The author is a superb writer, who is at her best when she finds herself in trouble or reflecting on her state of mind. Her ability to show all of herself, sharp and unfiltered, is uncanny and makes for fascinating and often humorous writing. Once you start reading, you will not be able to put this book away!
A wonderful read!
By jacinta hin on July 29, 2013
Format: Paperback Amazon Verified Purchase
A wonderful and beautifully written book full of wit and unexpected turns. Angela draws you into her world and adventure, in search of her grandfather's mysterious past. You'll be traveling with her, page after page, discovering new family members, unearthing secrets of the past, traversing the exotic terrain and streets of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The author is a superb writer, who is at her best when she finds herself in trouble or reflecting on her state of mind. Her ability to show all of herself, sharp and unfiltered, is uncanny and makes for fascinating and often humorous writing. Once you start reading, you will not be able to put this book away!
Reviews of Chasing Shooting Stars on Amazon
It is a mystery to me why reviews don't automatically get posted on Amazon sites worldwide. But they don't. Here are the three on the Amazon.co.uk site:
Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Mad Romp? 5 Mar 2013
By suzq
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was quite a page-turner; I romped through the second half and had finished before I knew it. It's a long book and takes a while to get used to three or more strands woven together. You need your wits about you as you read. CSS is a combination of family history, travelogue and personal self-discovery.
The family stuff was quite fascinating and though at first I had a hard time following the various branches of this very far-flung and complicated family, once I stopped trying to keep them all under control and just went with the flow, it all came together.
The travelogue bit covers Argentina, Chile and Uruguay; at least, the parts the author explored in her quest for family history. Buenos Aires especially is full of life and colour and there are plenty of comments on what to see and how to find it. There are also pertinent comments about personal travelling style: the benefits and otherwise of travelling alone or having someone organize you. The sense of being beholden, feelings of gratitude, the guilt and soul-searching involved when travelling however you do it; all the psychology of travel which we only think about in retrospect. Plus of course the dos and don'ts of getting around in countries where the language and culture are elusive: what to do and what leads to trouble.
Finally it is a voyage of personal discovery, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, painful at times. We've all done it: easy to identify for anyone who has searched for family skeletons or delved into the depths of personal and family psychology.
Nicely produced, easy on the eye, even illustrations when you lose track of who is who. Well-written in a chatty approachable style. Read it!
5.0 out of 5 stars Phew. I'm emotionally drained! 5 Mar 2013
By Single Dad
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just finished reading Chasing Shooting Stars and I feel emotionally drained!
An incredible story written by an incredible story teller.
Don't be fooled - this is not a just book about researching a family bloodline, or simply a travelogue based in South America (although fascinating in itself) - it's a journey into the very soul of the author, exploring a dark family 'secret' that impacted on her and her extended family for many years.
It also demonstrates just how important close family really is. So much so, In fact, that it's made me re-think my relationship with my own brother, and I am grateful for that.
Genuinely interesting and highly entertaining - a real mad romp in fact.
Personally, I love it!
5.0 out of 5 stars In Argentina 5 Mar 2013
By Gaucho
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Argentina. I've always liked the idea of the place. For years I've had a guide book to Buenos Aires on my bookshelf but I've come to realise I never am going to get there. Instead, Angela Jeffs has made the journey for me, searching for traces of her grandfather, who spent much of his life there. So, she gets to stay with real Argentinians, a cousin and her family, in a way that I wouldn't have, and the cousin takes her to places like the Tigre Boat Club, which was once the British rowing club, that I might not have known about. How intriguing. And I'm only a third of the way through the book - there's more to come.
Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Mad Romp? 5 Mar 2013
By suzq
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was quite a page-turner; I romped through the second half and had finished before I knew it. It's a long book and takes a while to get used to three or more strands woven together. You need your wits about you as you read. CSS is a combination of family history, travelogue and personal self-discovery.
The family stuff was quite fascinating and though at first I had a hard time following the various branches of this very far-flung and complicated family, once I stopped trying to keep them all under control and just went with the flow, it all came together.
The travelogue bit covers Argentina, Chile and Uruguay; at least, the parts the author explored in her quest for family history. Buenos Aires especially is full of life and colour and there are plenty of comments on what to see and how to find it. There are also pertinent comments about personal travelling style: the benefits and otherwise of travelling alone or having someone organize you. The sense of being beholden, feelings of gratitude, the guilt and soul-searching involved when travelling however you do it; all the psychology of travel which we only think about in retrospect. Plus of course the dos and don'ts of getting around in countries where the language and culture are elusive: what to do and what leads to trouble.
Finally it is a voyage of personal discovery, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, painful at times. We've all done it: easy to identify for anyone who has searched for family skeletons or delved into the depths of personal and family psychology.
Nicely produced, easy on the eye, even illustrations when you lose track of who is who. Well-written in a chatty approachable style. Read it!
5.0 out of 5 stars Phew. I'm emotionally drained! 5 Mar 2013
By Single Dad
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just finished reading Chasing Shooting Stars and I feel emotionally drained!
An incredible story written by an incredible story teller.
Don't be fooled - this is not a just book about researching a family bloodline, or simply a travelogue based in South America (although fascinating in itself) - it's a journey into the very soul of the author, exploring a dark family 'secret' that impacted on her and her extended family for many years.
It also demonstrates just how important close family really is. So much so, In fact, that it's made me re-think my relationship with my own brother, and I am grateful for that.
Genuinely interesting and highly entertaining - a real mad romp in fact.
Personally, I love it!
5.0 out of 5 stars In Argentina 5 Mar 2013
By Gaucho
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Argentina. I've always liked the idea of the place. For years I've had a guide book to Buenos Aires on my bookshelf but I've come to realise I never am going to get there. Instead, Angela Jeffs has made the journey for me, searching for traces of her grandfather, who spent much of his life there. So, she gets to stay with real Argentinians, a cousin and her family, in a way that I wouldn't have, and the cousin takes her to places like the Tigre Boat Club, which was once the British rowing club, that I might not have known about. How intriguing. And I'm only a third of the way through the book - there's more to come.
