Telling Stories

We thought it'd never come but it's winter again.

Days are shorter, darker and colder; however we can't deny each season has its charm and we have to try and make the most of these long dark nights.

A winter pleasure I absolutely love is reading a good story on a cold stormy night, specially those with a touch of mystery; what's more, if they are somewhat gothic and scary, much better.

I know that many of you like Stephanie Meyer's saga, so why don't you have a go at the real thing, with vampires who are not so squeamish and know the appeal of red blood?

You may like Edward and all those gentle 'Twilight' vampires, but there is something about Count Dracula, with his sinister elegance, that you should not miss; something worth experiencing form the safety of your sofa, so far away from Transilvania. After all, he has first attracted and then scared the hell out of hundreds of people throughout the years; there really must be something worth discovering about him.

To start with, you can click here and read an extract from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', but you'll have to do some work choosing the right tenses for the narration.
After doing the exercise, you may feel more curious about the count's story.

A completely different option for a stormy night reading could be 'Tales of the Unexpected', a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl.
This is a terrific book, with some of the author's best stories, all of which are suprising, clever, twisted and, of course, completely unexpected. Dahl has an incredible ablility to make the macabre laughable and the stories never fail to shock and amuse the reader.

If you click here, you'll find an extract from 'Lamb to the Slaughter', one of the stories from the collection, and you can practise the use of narrative tenses with it.

Well, last but not least, I have another suggestion for you: 'Misery' , by Stephen king, a master at scaring readers. I must admit I haven't read this book myself. I've seen the film ,though, so I think it's high time I read something by S.K. just to know first hand if he is as good as they say.

Click here to do some practice with your narrative skills. This time the excerpt is from 'Misery'.

Well, now it's your turn, I'd be deligted to know about your favourite mystery stories or tales. I'd be great if we could share our experiences as adventurous readers, curled up under a blanket with a good book in our hands on a spooky night, fighting demons, vampires or any other monsters which dare try to scare us. They may succeed at first but eventually we'll win and enjoy the ride, that's for sure.

You can send your recommendations if you click here :

You can also add them to the reading section in the forum

By the way, why don't you do a crossword on monsters in literature and culture? It'll be fun!

All About Huw

Huw is one of the main characters in "Two Lives", by Helen Naylor.
I don't know for sure what he looked like but I guess he probably looked like the young man in the picture on the right.
Click here and see what other readers have written about Huw's personality and background, his past and his future.
He was born in a Welsh mining village and lived there all his childhood but when he was in his teens he had to leave Britain and travel to Toronto, Canada, in search of a better life. When he was in Toronto he wrote some letters to his beloved Megan, the girl he had to leave in Wales, so far away. In the book, we can read the beginning of one of them:

My lovely Megan
I still haven’t received a letter from you. I can’t believe it takes four months for letters to cross the Atlantic. What’s happened? Is something wrong? …



Some 2nd year Basic Level students have used their imagination to find the missing words. I'm sure Huw's letters can't have been very different from these :


I've found a very nice house near the sea. It's very nice to live in Toronto and to know that you're fine at the same time! The only bad thing I have to tell you is that I haven't found a job yet. But don't worry, I've met a very important businessman who has promissed me to help me with that task.
The only thing I want to know is if you are all right. I only need that to live. I promiss I'll go to Britain as soon as I have some money to spend on the journey, but now you have to be patient. Please, Megan, wait for me!
Looking forward to your answer,
yours truly,
Huw

(By Adrián Rodríguez Ares)



My lovely Megan
I still haven’t received a letter from you. I can’t believe it takes four months for letters to cross the Atlantic. What’s happened? Is something wrong?…
I really need to see you again but I've started to think you have forgotten me. I hope you haven't because I´d be very sad.
What happened with the things that you and I talked about? I don´t know what to think…I´m confused.
I´m in this big city working to be able to return to you and then you and I will be able to get married. My father has given up drinking and I´m happy for him. He has met a woman and he´s very happy.
I don't know what else I can say except that I hope you write back.
I´ll always love you.
My best wishes,
Huw

(By Vanessa Peña)



This is very different from Tredoland but I think that you’d like it. Sometimes I go walking along the street and I imagine that you are here and I’ll find you after turning the corner or when I get into a shop. However, I soon realize that it won’t happen and that makes me feel sad. How I wish you were here! I remember every single day we spent together in Tredoland. They were the happiest days of my life. I wonder if I made the right decision.
Please, write to me,
Huw

(By Franciso González)


My lovely Megan
I still haven’t received a letter from you. I can’t believe it takes four months for letters to cross the Atlantic. What’s happened? Is something wrong?…Maybe your family?
I miss you every day. I always dream you are here with me.
This city is wonderful, you'll love it. I sold some pictures and my father is better. He met a woman whom he likes. This can be good for him. As I've earned some money here and I've saved some, you will be able to come with me, if you haven’t changed your mind about our plans for the future. Please, answer me soon because this is diving me crazy. I’m not sure if you keep loving me or you have forgotten me.

With all my best wishes,

Huw

(By María García Saceda)


I don't understand ... why don't you write to me? Every day I look at your face on the wall of my studio and I feel alone, I'm waiting fot your letter.
I love you so much !

(By Arantxa García Barrenechea)


Sometimes I wonder if you still love me like you did before.
I don't understand why you haven't replied yet.
Do you have any problems with you father?
Please, I need to know if you want to marry me.
Now I'm working hard and I think in three months I'll have the money for your ticket, but I must know if you want to leave Tredonald.
I'm anxiously awaiting news from you.
Love,
Huw

(By Aurelio Braz Viana)

All About Megan

Megan is the main female character in the book "Two Lives", by Helen Naylor.

She was a sixteen-year-old girl, a pretty teenager who fell in love for the first time with her childhood friend , Huw. However, perhaps their love wasn't meant to be, because all sorts of difficulties seemed to stand in their way.

Are you the sort of person who thinks love can conquer all ? Do you think their young love could be strong enough to survive time and distance?

I encourage you to read "Two Lives" and find the answers to these questions and much more.

If you feel like reading what other students have written about this strong woman called Megan, her life in Tredonald, a little mining village, and her yearning for her long lost love Huw, click here and read, but you'd better finish the book first, as you may find spoilers.

Megan sent a letter to a man she loved very much, although not enough to make her forget the love of her youth.

The book just shows us the beginning of her letters, but some 2nd year Basic Level studets have guessed what's missing and written these imaginative and moving words:

Dear Paul,

You’ll know I left Tredonald to live my second chance with Huw.

Don’t feel bad because you made me really happy and thanks to you I could feel love again.

Yes, I love you but when I saw Huw again I felt all the past emotions coming back. I tried to struggle against them but finally I had to give in.

I hope you understand me.

When I found that box with the letters I had a hunch: Someone in the sky wanted to give us a new opportunity.

He had been loving me all these years, while I couldn’t forget him, either.

Here, in Canada, everything is different. Paul, be happy! I’m sure you’ll find someone special to share your life with.

Megan

(By María García Salceda)

Dear Paul,

I have to tell you something very important for us. It will be better for both of us to split up. You know that our relationship was always very formal, and we didn't actually want to marry each other. I think I was only trying to satisfy my desire to be happy all these years I lived alone.
But now that my lost love, Huw, has arrived, I think we have to say goodbye. I've found my past, and that's all I want now. I'm sorry, very sorry for this.
Yours forever, goodbye,
Megan

(By Adrián Rodríguez Ares)

Dear Paul,

I’m going to be honest: I finally have decided to marry Huw. You are one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever meet and I’m sure that you would be a great husband for me. In fact, we'd probably marry if all the things that have happened in the last moths hadn’t happened. But now that Huw is again in my life, I must listen to my heart. Life has given us a second chance and I can’t let him go away.

I only can say one thing: I’m sorry.

All the best,

Megan

(By Laura Alonso)

My dear Paul,

I'm writing this letter because I can't marry you
I have realised that I still love Huw. We have met again after fifty years and my feelings towards him are the same as when I was sixteen.
You are a good man and I am sure you will find another good woman.

I wish you good luck in your life.

My best wishes,

Megan

(By Emi Nielfa)

Dear Paul,

I'm sorry but I can't marry you because I love Huw and he loves me.
You have always been very good to me and I'm very sorry about this but you know that my heart always belonged to the father of my dear daughter, Beth.

I hope you'll be very happy and you will be able to forgive me.
Love,
Megan

(By Bego)

Dear Paul,

You already felt it at dinner, didn’t you?

You knew everything about my past with Huw because I had told you but you didn’t know, and I have understood today, that I still love him.

Happiness consists of allowing all the events to happen. Do you remember? You said it to me when we met and I’ve been very happy with you. I found in you a partner, an ideal friend to share the rest of my life with, but now this life offers me a second opportunity with my first and maybe my only love, with Huw.

I’m sorry, I’m hurting you but if we marry our life together would be a lie and you wouldn’t like it.

You deserve all my respect and I suppose that you prefer the truth though it is very painful. Time has come to say goodbye. I know you’ll be happy.

With love,

Megan

(By Marisol G.)

Dear Paul,

Sorry for leaving you but when I saw Huw I remembered many things and I fell in love with him again. I hope that you can forgive me.

All these years we have enjoyed ourselves a lot together and I have been in love with you but now I have become crazy about Huw.

I’ll never forget you.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Megan.

(By Andrés)

My dear Paul,

I am going to marry Huw because I love him, maybe not in the same way as I did when I was sixteen but now I know that he is the only one for me.

Although the years we have lost will never get back we still have time, we have a second chance.

You’ve made me feel good again but I don’t feel complete with you.

You’ll always be my best friend.

I’m sorry.

My best wishes.

Megan.

(By Florentina A.)

José María reviews 'The children of the New Forest'

Title: 'THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST`'

Author: Captain Frederick Marryat

Simplified ... by Michael West

Edited: London : Longman, 1976

Genre: Adventure

Level: Pre-intermediate

The Setting:

The CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST is a historical novel originally written for young people, by Captain Frederick Marryat and published for the first time in 1847. This book is a brief and simplified version of the original work.

The story takes place during the English Civil War (1642–1651) when the disputes between the Parliament and King Charles II ended with the rise of the puritans that were led by Cronwel. The Puritans were known as Round Heads due to the form of their hats.

King Charles was defeated and then executed by the rebels. Cronwel was made Lord Protector and Englan turned into a republican Commonwealth. Under his dictatorship, from then on, he initiated an implacable and cruel persecution of all his enemies: the suspects of loyalty to the King, the Catholics, the Scottish and the Irish people.

The New Forest, situated in the south of England, was and still remains , a Royal Forest, it has been used by the kings to go hunting. Nowadays it is a National Park.

The Plot:

Colonel Beverley, who died in the battle of Naseby, was loyal to the King. When the Rounds Heads burned their mansion in the New Forest, his orphaned children escaped a certain death, thanks to a loyal servant, an elderly forest guard. Pretending they were his own grandsons, the forest guard was able to protect the children's lives. In addition, the children, two boys and two girls, discover a new life in the forest and how to do things by themselves

The story continues with diverse vicissitudes and adventures throughout the history of England in those days, until the moment the Restoration by King Charkes III takes place 9 years later. The children, already adults, will recover then their family estate.

Conclusion:

In my opinion the novel is quite easy to read. I think the reading is pleasant and interesting since it hooks the reader until the end, at least to anyone who likes the historical novel. Although it is a brief version, the author's message remains clear enough He tries to instill the children in the Victorian era, values such as honor, loyalty and the spirit of self-sacrifice.

In short, it is an enjoyable novel, I recommend it.

Review by José María Yáñez

(2nd year basic level)

Patricia reviews 'David Copperfield'

Title: David Copperfield

Author: Charles Dickens

Genre: Novel

Publisher: Macmillan

Level: Intermediate

Brief summary of the plot:

David Coperfield was born in 1820 in England. His father died before he was born, so he lives only with his mother, Mrs. Coperfield. Later, his mother marries Mr. Murdstone, who David thought that was a merciless man.

David began do worse in his studies, and Mr. Murdstone argued with him all the time. One day, David bit him, and Mr. Murdstone decided to send David to Salem-house.

When David’s mother died, he had to return to his house, and Mr. Murdstone sent him to a factory, in London. David managed to escape and go to Dover and look for his only known relative, his aunt: Besty Trotwood.

Personal opinion:

People who like novels like “Oliver Twist”will like this book. It is a highly entertaining read: the prominent figures appear and disappear constantly, this way you will not get bored while reading it. It is a great and heart warming book. I definitely recommend that you add this to your collection!

Arancha reviews 'My cousin Rachel'

Review by Arancha Rodriguez Bernardo

'MY COUSIN RACHEL'
Author : Daphne du Maurier


This story was written by Daphne du Maurier and first published in 1951.
This edition was published in 1992 by Heineman elt publishing house at Intermediate level.
It is a thriller where feelings like love and economical interests are dangerously related.

Philip Ashley was only a child when his parents died. His cousin Ambrose, a rich and unmarried man twenty years older than him becomes his guardian and Philip his only heir.

When Philip is twenty two, Ambrose leaves to Italy and meets Rachel, a charming woman. He falls in love with her and they marry.
Everything is perfect until one day when Philip receives a letter from his cousin where he says he is very ill. When Philip arrives in Ambrose's house he has already died.
Signor Rainaldi, the man who arranges things for Ambrose and his wife (money, business…) explains to him that the reason of his death was a tumour he had in his brain.
But Philiph doesn’t believe it, he thinks there is something else, so he decides to meet Rachel and find out the truth.

What happened to Ambrose?
Have Rachel and Sr.Rainaldi something to do with it?

It is an entertaining story whose end is really unpredictable and surprising.
I definitely recommend it

Anai reviews 'The Call of the Wild'

THE CALL OF THE WILD
JACK LONDON

Jack London was an American writer born in San Francisco in 1876. Towards 1897 he traveled to Alaska driven by the gold rush, this trip inspired many of his works, such as “White Fang”, which became a movie , and “The call of the wild” whose plot is about the return of a civilized being to their original state and fighting for survival.

“The Call of the Wild” is a story of a dog called Buck, who´s kidnapped and sold as a sled dog in Alaska. Buck has to learn to survive in the lands of Alaska, which are new and unknown lands to him. During his trip Buck has several masters, but of them all, the one who wins Buck´s love and loyalty is John Thornton. Another character in the book is about a wolf that represents the call of the wild. Buck has to decide whether to continue with Thornton or answer the call of the wild.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it´s a really entertaining read. I really liked the story, although it has scenes of violence and cruel struggle but I think this makes it more realistic, since it´s set in a harsh environment for both dog and man.

Olaya reviews The Sugar Glider'

Book review by Olaya Cachero Villaverde

1º D Intermediate Level

'The Sugar Glider' (by Rod Nielsen) is an exciting adventure book set in Australia.

In this story, a pilot called Don comes back to that country in order to spend more time with his daughter and see his ex-wife.

However, when he arrives, Paul, a friend, offers him a suspicious job: to fly a mysterious cargo from Brisbane to Melbourne. But the plane has a defect and crashes, killing Paul. After that, they will have to fight to survive in the hottest part of Australia. Don discovers that it wasn’t an accident and what they really were carrying was Uranium. So he starts to think that this was not a job for the Government and tries to return to Brisbane, where he finally meets his ex-wife and her new lover, who is a selfish and wealthy businessman.

The main characters are:

• Don Radcliffe: a pilot who returns to Brisbane hoping to rescue a failed marriage and to spend more time with his daughter Sylvia.
• Don’s ex-wife, now in love with P. Forsha. She still seems to feel something for Don.
• Judy Radcliffe is don’s daughter, aged 14. She is very intelligent and brave, always willing to take risks.
• Paul Copeman is one of Don’s oldest mates. He needs to fly “The Sugar Glider”to the Melbourne air museum.
• Patrick Forsha is a rich and selfish businessman. He started a relationship with Sylvia 6 months ago. Don hates him.

This book develops themes like: greed, environmental awareness, the Murri people (native Australians that traditionally occupied most of modern-day Queensland) and family values.

I believe that this book is worth reading because it is impossible to put it down. I enjoyed it very much, although it is sometimes a bit predictable.

My favorite chapter in this book is Accident because it describes in a very moving way Paul‘s tragic death. It is curious the way the writer expresses the character’s feelings and makes his readers get so involved with their situations.

This story reminds me of a civil war (due to all those problems related to the Murri people who demonstrated against the government ), family love (because ,despite the disadvantages, Don and his daughter keep together loving each other) and the power of truth (when Forsha’s partner realizes he’s not the honest man he pretends to be in front of her).

Yolanda reviews 'Two Lives'

'TWO LIVES'

“Two lives” is a romantic story written by Helen Naylor and was first published in 2001 by Cambridge.

Set in a little coal miner village called Tredonald in Wales in 1946, the novel tells the story of two sixteen year old lovers, Megan and Huw, from different social backgrounds.

Megan Jenkins is a good girl who lives with her parents. She studies and works in the family´s shop in the town.

Huw Thomas lives with his father, David, and his brother, Gareth. He studies and works in the mine too, which is the principal source of jobs to people of the town. Their life is hard because they have to survive with little money.

This book shows how love and time can overcome the difficulties of life. The story is really wonderful, romantic and realistic. The reader should think that the story maybe a pain but nothing about this because he´ll find a fresh, sweet, interesting romance.

I think this book could be read by all kind of readers that want to keep a good story in their hearts.

Ángela reviews “The Thirty-Nine Steps”

Review by Ángela Fernández Fernández-Avello

“The Thirty-Nine Steps”

By John Buchan. 1875-1940

Oxford Bookworms Library

Stage 4.

The author was a Scottish writer and politician who served as General Governor of Canada, and also worked as a correspondent in France for “The Times” when World War I began.

The main character of the book, Richard Hannay, is inspired by his close friend Edmund Ironside, an adventurer he had met in South Africa.

This is a thriller and adventure book, it tells the story of an adventurer and traveler who has just arrived in London from Africa and discovers an enormous secret about events that will lead to the First World War, having to escape from his enemies as they want to kill him.

He goes all over Great Britain trying to hide from them, he stays for a while on the Scottish moors as the police is chasing him too (for a murder he did not commit).

The book is very entertaining; it describes very well the main features of the characters and the place where the story is developed. The story has lots of action and is very surprising.

I recommend it because reading it is very enjoyable. It is so exciting that you will not want to stop reading until you get to the end.

Elena reviews 'In the Shadow of the Mountain'

Elena Álvarez Martínez

Group: L (1st year intermediate level)

BOOK REVIEW

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

“In the Shadow of the Mountain”, written by Helen Naylor is mainly an adventure novel, although it contains features of romance and drama genre with intrigue and mystery.

The story is set in United Kingdom and Switzerland. Clare Newton is a British journalist who one day gets a call notifying her that her grandfather´s body had appeared in a glacier in Zermatt, Switzerland. After this, she discovers that there was a big mystery around her grandfather`s death and she decides to travel to Zermatt to bring home the body of her grandfather and to investigate his death.

During her stay in Zermatt, while she tries to collect some information, she meets Bruno and Ulrich Grunwalder, who will help her to know more of her grandfather’s life and death in Zermatt.

The story of mystery, love and adventure that Clare lives in Switzerland, changes her way of seeing life and her linkage with her grandfather.

In my opinion, “In the Shadow of the Mountain” is well worth reading because, in general, it´s an interesting an unpredictable novel. The personalities of the characters change with the plot and you discover the mystery and get to know the characters bit by bit. The plot keeps your attention just to the end.

I think that the best part of this book is the mysterious atmosphere and the way that the book grips you, but, I especially like Clare´s personality and the love story she lives.

From my point of view, the worst part of the novel is the end. I was expecting an overwhelming and breathtaking story at the end, something more surprising than the real end of the book.

In conclusion, it is a highly entertaining book for fans of intrigue and love stories and I definitely recommend that they add this book to their collection.

Harry’s Final Battle.

In a previous post I told you how much I like Harry Potter book series. It really has been a discovery for me. Who would have thought there was a parallel universe just round the corner?

Well, there is one; JK Rowling has made it up for us.
Whenever we open one of her books we enter a magic world ihabited by Harry himself, his hideous nemesis Lord Voldemort, his friends and foes, elves, goblins, giant squids and all sorts of mythical creatures.

Maybe the weird looking lady who lives next door is a witch (after all, you have always thought she looked like one) or that cute little child similing at you in the playground may be the next chosen one, the next boy who will live to become a hero and save the world from some sort o of megalomaniac creep.

Since there is always a Lord Voldemort trying to rule the earth and spoil the fun for the rest of us, who just want to make the most of our time in this crazy world, we could do with an army like Dumbledore’s.

Perhaps it is not too late and mankind has not become too cynical to believe in heroes any more.

In this series you have the good guys, you have the evil ones and then Severus Snape. There always seems to be more to him than meets the eye.

This mysterious outcast, always surly and sarcastic, with his silky cultured voice and his unkempt sinister looks, can't leave anyone indifferent, which probably explains why lots of readers love him with as much passion as others hate him. It is up to you to decide who is right. I have already made up my mind: he is the best and I could not care less whether he is good or bad.

Today I’m not going to write a review on any of the books, I’m going to encourage you to read the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and thus enter the parallel universe round the corner.
Come on, click on the title and read while you listen to Stephen Fry's compelling voice giving life to the characters.

I warn you that it’s a dark creepy chapter but, what could you expect when it is called : The Dark Lord Ascending ?

How I became a Harry Potter fan

I'm crazy about Harry Potter. I've read all the books in the series and now that it's over I really miss the young wizard and his friends as well as his teachers and classmates. What's more, I even miss his nemesis Lord Voldermort and the creepy deatheaters.
If you want to know how and why I got hooked on these books, click on the wand below.

Cinema and Literature

In the history of cinema, many novels have been turned into films with really different outcomes. How much do you know about novels and movies?
If you are interested in either of them or both, you can visit our EOI Library and see the exhibition dedicated to cinema and literature. Also, you can take part in our on-line contest about this topic and show us how much of a movie buff you are.

Do not forget to sent the form with your answers, you name and e-mail address before the 16th of April if you want to win one of the prizes.
Click here for more details on this contest.

"Blindness" ; review by Adrián Rodríguez Ares (2ºD-NB)

Title:Blindness (Ensayo sobre la ceguera)

Author: José Saramago

Genre: Drama

Publisher: Alfaguara

People live their lives as usual. Nothing escapes from common reality, and blind people are a very few. Suddenly, a strange blindness starts affecting all the country. Lots of people die in accidents, caused by this new disease. After thousands of people are affected, the government decides to act. They keep infected people in some quarantine areas like hospitals, old prisons or shopping centres. However, this does not work. After all, everybody is blind.

Well, not everybody. A woman remains in normal state, as the disease does not affect her, and she becomes the new hope for humanity to get back to normal. However, she is locked with a lot of blind people in a local prison. Will she be able to escape from it? Will people become normal again? All the answers to these questions are in Blindness.

I give this book a 4/5. It has a very attractive and genuine plot, and it gets you from start to finish. I think that the beginning and the ending are the best parts of the story, because they are very special, and they make this novel very compelling. However, I think that there are some parts in the book where you could get bored, so I think that it is a bit boring sometimes. But, anyway, it's a book you must read.

Next March, a film called "Blindness", based on this novel, will be released in Spain. I have seen a few trailers, and it seems that the movie is very similar to the book. If you do not like reading, I recommend you to see the film, which has already been released in USA.

"The Boys from Brazil" ; review by Paco González (2ºD-NB)

Title: The Boys from Brazil

Author: Ira Levin

Genre: Thriller

Level: Pre-Intermediate

It is 1974, a group of men meet in a restaurant in Brazil. One of them is Dr. Joseph Mengele. They have a terrible plan. In the next two and a half years 94 men about 65 years old must die in different countries.

That same day in Viena, Yakov Lieberman, a Jew whose mission is to capture Nazis, receives a phone call in which someone tells him about Mengele’s plan, but the conversation is suddenly interrupted and he can’t get more information.

Whithout knowing who these men are or what connection they have with the Nazis, Lieberman starts to look for information. That’s the beginning of this exciting fiction novel.

This book is quite easy to read. It’s a gripping thiller with no jumps in time until the mystery is revealed in the end. It doesn't take too long to read it and it will give you a good chance to think about ethics, science and the future. The story was made into a film in 1978. I think it’s well worth reading.

Review of 'Two Lives' , by Adrián Rodríguez Ares - 2ºD-NB

Title: Two Lives

Author: Helen Naylor

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Level: Pre-Intermediate

50 years ago, Huw and Megan were a happy couple in a little Welsh town. But the power of destiny forced Huw to leave the town and go to Canada, so Megan stayed alone with her baby and parents. Huw didn't send any postcards telling Megan about him or about his new life in Canada.

50 years later, Megan discovered that his father, who was already dead, had been keeping a lot postcards from Huw. Now, Megan could contact her beloved again , but she was about to marry a friend she had met at work. Megan would have to choose her future without help, in a romantic story between past and present.

I give this book a 3/5. It was an easy book, with a very predictable plot, but it gets you from the start. I had to read and read, so that I could get to know the end of the story. I don't recommend it to people who don't like romantic stories, but if you don't mind reading a bit of romance, then Two Lives is your book.

Write about "Two Lives"

"Two Lives".

Click on the book cover and visit our library blog.

Now write 80-100 words about the book. You have to choose a question from each group and your writing should be about 10 lines long.

GROUP 1

1. Describe Megan’s father. What was he like? What do you think he looked like? Why did he have so much influence on his daughter’s life?
   
2. Describe Huw’s father. What was he like? What do you think he looked like? Why did he have so much influence on his son’s life?
3. What kind of woman was Megan? Describe her physical appearance and her personality.
4. What kind of man was Huw? Describe his physical appearance and his personality.

GROUP 2

1. Describe Huw’s family and his relationship with his father and brother, what they did for a living there in Wales in the 40s, etc. Explain why Huw decided to go to Canada and leave Megan in Britain.
2. What was Huw’s life in Canada like? Did he do well there? Was he successful? Did he have a happy life without Megan?
3. What was Megan’s life like all those years without Huw? Was it sad and empty or was it full and satisfying?
4. Talk about Huw and Megan’s relationship. Their love lasted a lifetime, but do you think it could be the same after fifty years? Is love the same at fifty than at fifteen?

GROUP 3

1. Write a letter from Megan to Paul explaining why she has decided to marry Huw.
2. Finish writing the letter from Huw which Megan begins reading on page 26 of “Two Lives”
   
   My lovely Megan
   I still haven’t received a letter from you. I can’t believe it takes four months for letters to cross the Atlantic. What’s happened? Is something wrong?…

Click here to go to our forum and write your composition there ( you just have to click on the Answer button to add your writing to the thread) or send it to me by email.

Blog Biblioteca EOI Avilés

Click on the links below and discover the new blogs the EOI Library can offer you.
You will find information about reading and audio material you can borrow from our library. You can also write reviews and comments on your favourite books and share them with others.
Join us and take part. Reading in good company is even more fun!


Comunícate

About Reading


Don´t forget to read the most famous editorial in the history of US Press and send a comment which could be a letter to Virginia or a Christmas message.
Click on the card below and read this cute piece of writing in English. You can also read it in Spanish if you find it too difficult ( Only for 1st year students!),


If you have read K's First Case or you are thinking of reading it , click on the image below to do some activities after you finish the book:

And don´t forget to have a nice holiday!

Books

I´d like to dedicate a special place in this blog to books; to the books we loved and still love, to those books that we couldn’t put down, to the ones that made us think, laugh or cry, even to the books that just helped us kill time on the beach, in the park or anywhere else.
I´m an avid reader, always have been, and I´ve read loads of books, both in Spanish and English.
I try to find some time for reading. However, as life tends to become more and more hectic nowadays for most of us, it isn´t always that easy.
In books we can find all sorts of things. Good books contain knowledge and wisdom , poetry and humour … we can learn so much from them!
Reading is also one of the best ways to improve your language skills, in your own language or in a foreign one, but above all, it is a wonderful source of pleasure and enjoyment. Reading is fun, a pleasure nobody should miss.
There have been readers witty enough to put into a few words what all the people who love books feel when they are curled up reading. That´s why I have chosen a few quotations I really like. Some of them are funny, others seem more serious, but all of them hold much truth.

When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.

~Christopher Morley

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare.

~Kenko Yoshida

A house without books is like a room without windows.

~Heinrich Mann

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.
~Toni Morrison

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

~Groucho Marx

Never judge a book by its movie.

~J.W. Eagan

He who lends a book is an idiot. He who returns the book is more of an idiot.

~Arabic Proverb

Every book, every volume you see here has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it.

~Carlos Ruiz Zafón

If you like these quotations , you can find more at The Quote Garden