I struggled a bit with this book. Mark Keating is, quite clearly, extremely knowledgable about all things to do with sailing, especially in the 18thC. He writes with skill and confidence about sailing, pirates and the social and economic background of his tale. His characters are drawn boldly and it's easy to picture each person as though they were standing in front of you, pistols and swords at the ready.
The story centres on the hunt for some letters, written by a French clergyman who lives in China and who has observed the fine details of Chinese porcelain making. These letters have been lost during the journey back from China to Europe and are now being sought by a shadowy fixer, who plans to use them in his own power games. Chinese porcelain was far superior to anything produced in Europe and owning the secret of its manufacture would make the owner a fortune, as well as giving him leverage in political power games.
The anti-hero of the story, the pirate Devlin, has to balance several personal aims and dangers, as well as avoiding capture by the forces of the British crown, when he takes on the quest for the letters. Through sea chases and battles across the Atlantic and the Caribbean, we follow his fortunes as they wax and wain. It's a rip roaring story of feuds, blood and mayhem in the traditional swashbuckling style.
However, the author appears to forget, or ignore, that not everyone who picks up his book is as familiar with sailing as he is. I almost got the feeling that he was doing it deliberately to show his superiority. Harsh? Perhaps, but I also struggled, occasionally, with his grammar. Sentences confused object and subject, leaving me to work out quite what he meant. He also slipped from one place, and one thread of the story, to another so quickly that I found myself re-reading several sentences to re-orientate myself.
All in all, a story spoiled unnecessarily.
Hunt for White Gold is published by Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 978-0-340-99271-5
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Friday, 8 November 2013
Christ the Lord (The Road to Cana) by Anne Rice
Anne Rice is better known for her books about the supernatural, and particularly vampires. One of her books - "Interview with a Vampire" was made into a successful film of the same name, which starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. This is, however, her second book which gives a fictional account of Christ's life: the first is called "Out of Egypt".
This novel opens in Nazareth where Jesus (Yeshua, known as "the Sinless"), now approaching 30 years of age, lives with his extended family whilst earning his living in the family business of carpentry and building. Herod Antipas is the Roman's puppet "King" of Judea and Pontius Pilate has just been appointed as the new Roman Governor. The times are troubled and simmer with discontent as the Roman conquerers keep the Jewish people on a tight reign and tax them heavily.
The tale of Jesus' birth is well known but the event itself was 30 years ago and many are tired of waiting for what was promised. Many among his family and friends are urging him to marry, believing that the prophesies aren't going to be fulfilled and that he might as well settle down to a normal life, forgetting the strange circumstances of his birth.
But Jesus senses a change. He is being drawn deeper into his mission and is beginning to understand what will be required of him. After baptism by John, in the Jordan, and near death whilst on a retreat into the desert, the wedding of a relative in the village of Cana provides the backdrop of his first, true, miracle.
Anyone even half familiar with the Bible story of Christ will recognise the history, geography and social context of this fictionalised version of the beginning of his ministry. There is no written account of his life between his birth and baptism, except for one or two references in the Gospels, but this take on this part of his life rings true to the times. The story is told in Jesus' voice, and we can imagine some of his thoughts and conflicts during the weeks over which this story unfolds.
If you are a Christian of an old tradition, you might find this book, fiction as it is, to be offensive. Others might like to join the author in an imaginary history. It made me ponder, and that can't be a bad thing. Recommended.
"Christ the Lord" is published by Arrow Books, ISBN 978-0-099-48418-9
This novel opens in Nazareth where Jesus (Yeshua, known as "the Sinless"), now approaching 30 years of age, lives with his extended family whilst earning his living in the family business of carpentry and building. Herod Antipas is the Roman's puppet "King" of Judea and Pontius Pilate has just been appointed as the new Roman Governor. The times are troubled and simmer with discontent as the Roman conquerers keep the Jewish people on a tight reign and tax them heavily.
The tale of Jesus' birth is well known but the event itself was 30 years ago and many are tired of waiting for what was promised. Many among his family and friends are urging him to marry, believing that the prophesies aren't going to be fulfilled and that he might as well settle down to a normal life, forgetting the strange circumstances of his birth.
But Jesus senses a change. He is being drawn deeper into his mission and is beginning to understand what will be required of him. After baptism by John, in the Jordan, and near death whilst on a retreat into the desert, the wedding of a relative in the village of Cana provides the backdrop of his first, true, miracle.
Anyone even half familiar with the Bible story of Christ will recognise the history, geography and social context of this fictionalised version of the beginning of his ministry. There is no written account of his life between his birth and baptism, except for one or two references in the Gospels, but this take on this part of his life rings true to the times. The story is told in Jesus' voice, and we can imagine some of his thoughts and conflicts during the weeks over which this story unfolds.
If you are a Christian of an old tradition, you might find this book, fiction as it is, to be offensive. Others might like to join the author in an imaginary history. It made me ponder, and that can't be a bad thing. Recommended.
"Christ the Lord" is published by Arrow Books, ISBN 978-0-099-48418-9
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
The Hiding Place by David Bell
This is another tale of a disappeared child. A 4 year old boy, Justin Manning, disappears whilst under the care of his 7 year old sister, Janet, in the local play park. His body is found weeks later, in a shallow grave in a copse next to the park. 25 years later the protagonists have not recovered from the tragedy.
The first part of the story is full of questions. Why is a 7 year old looking after a 4 year old in a public park? Why is the convicted killer still protesting his innocence? Why did Janet's best friend, from their school days, drift away and then come home in secret? What secrets are being kept by so many people, and why?
The detective who investigated the case 25 years before begins to doubt that justice was done, Janet's daughter is determined that she will find the answers that her mother needs so desperately, and a reporter begins to ask questions that weren't asked at the time of Justin's death. But was the body Justin's? A stranger appears claiming to be him, grown to manhood. Janet, her daughter and the detective set out to settle the mystery once and for all.
There are threads within threads in this story, which takes us on a roller-coaster ride where almost every character falls under some sort of suspicion. I was eager to turn every page to find out what would be revealed on the next page and bereft when I'd finished the last page as there was no more! Disturbing in places but mostly just riveting. If you like mysteries with a thriller edge, you'll enjoy this one.
The Hiding Place in published by Penguin, ISBN 978-1-405-910583
The first part of the story is full of questions. Why is a 7 year old looking after a 4 year old in a public park? Why is the convicted killer still protesting his innocence? Why did Janet's best friend, from their school days, drift away and then come home in secret? What secrets are being kept by so many people, and why?
The detective who investigated the case 25 years before begins to doubt that justice was done, Janet's daughter is determined that she will find the answers that her mother needs so desperately, and a reporter begins to ask questions that weren't asked at the time of Justin's death. But was the body Justin's? A stranger appears claiming to be him, grown to manhood. Janet, her daughter and the detective set out to settle the mystery once and for all.
There are threads within threads in this story, which takes us on a roller-coaster ride where almost every character falls under some sort of suspicion. I was eager to turn every page to find out what would be revealed on the next page and bereft when I'd finished the last page as there was no more! Disturbing in places but mostly just riveting. If you like mysteries with a thriller edge, you'll enjoy this one.
The Hiding Place in published by Penguin, ISBN 978-1-405-910583
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Light Shining in the Forest by Paul Torday
Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe that they can happen today, in the 21stC? This author asks us to believe in this story of stolen children and the ordinary people who wouldn't give up searching for them.
Theo Constantine is missing. After the initial flurry of activity that comes after such disappearances, the only ones left to grieve are his mother and step-father. Until 2 more children go missing in the same area.
Norman Stokoe is a career civil servant, used to dealing with committees, reports and action plans, but not with real situations. Willy Craig is a reporter on the local rag, but he has ambitions of working on a national daily. Pippa Everbury is Norman's secretary. Slowly they all become involved in the mystery of the children's disappearance and form an unlikely alliance to find them. Theo, the first child to disappear, appears to be the key. A photograph of the boy, taken by a local doctor, seems to show that he has the signs of the stigmata on his body. Everyone says how they felt different, better, when they were with Theo and what a special child he is. Or was. No-one believes he is still alive.
Norman is told to back-off by the police and his own department head. Willie is threatened with the sack if he continues with his investigation. Pippa puts her considerable intellect behind the project and urges them on. Eventually part of the mystery is solved, but who is Theo and why is he different? Why does his influence seem to spread beyond his short life to touch those who looked for him and whom he protected?
Light Shining in the Forest is a mystery within a mystery from the writer of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen". Paul Torbay spins a story about which he asks us to suspend our disbelief - and succeeds. It's beautifully written, well constructed and with entirely believable characters. I loved it.
Theo Constantine is missing. After the initial flurry of activity that comes after such disappearances, the only ones left to grieve are his mother and step-father. Until 2 more children go missing in the same area.
Norman Stokoe is a career civil servant, used to dealing with committees, reports and action plans, but not with real situations. Willy Craig is a reporter on the local rag, but he has ambitions of working on a national daily. Pippa Everbury is Norman's secretary. Slowly they all become involved in the mystery of the children's disappearance and form an unlikely alliance to find them. Theo, the first child to disappear, appears to be the key. A photograph of the boy, taken by a local doctor, seems to show that he has the signs of the stigmata on his body. Everyone says how they felt different, better, when they were with Theo and what a special child he is. Or was. No-one believes he is still alive.
Norman is told to back-off by the police and his own department head. Willie is threatened with the sack if he continues with his investigation. Pippa puts her considerable intellect behind the project and urges them on. Eventually part of the mystery is solved, but who is Theo and why is he different? Why does his influence seem to spread beyond his short life to touch those who looked for him and whom he protected?
Light Shining in the Forest is a mystery within a mystery from the writer of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen". Paul Torbay spins a story about which he asks us to suspend our disbelief - and succeeds. It's beautifully written, well constructed and with entirely believable characters. I loved it.
Thursday, 10 October 2013
Justice by Karen Robards
It didn't take me long to realise that this book is a sequel. The backstory is that Jessica Ford witnessed the murder (disguised as an accident) of the First Lady. She's been in hiding since then, although in this case the hiding has been in plain sight. Jessica works at a top legal firm in Washington. Not what you'd call discrete but then this is a novel, not life.
However, a twist of fate (inevitable, one might deduce) means that her picture is printed in the Washington newspapers and the chase is on! At this point, enter the man who can save her but whom she, apparently, detests. Or not. Having been her saviour in the previous story, he pops up again as her officially sanctioned (by the secret services) protector. Mind you, we don't know whether it's a rogue element in the secret services that wants to bump her off. With me so far?
Considering that Jessica is at risk of being assassinated she keeps on taking silly risks. She also keeps telling her hero that he isn't her hero and she wishes he'd just ....... go away. Gradually the tale unfolds and we do learn, eventually, who the culprit is although the ending is a bit of a let down.
All in all this story is a bit of a mixed up romp but it's entertaining enough, in its way. Just don't expect literary genius.
"Justice" is published by Hodder, ISBN 978 1 444 72932 0
However, a twist of fate (inevitable, one might deduce) means that her picture is printed in the Washington newspapers and the chase is on! At this point, enter the man who can save her but whom she, apparently, detests. Or not. Having been her saviour in the previous story, he pops up again as her officially sanctioned (by the secret services) protector. Mind you, we don't know whether it's a rogue element in the secret services that wants to bump her off. With me so far?
Considering that Jessica is at risk of being assassinated she keeps on taking silly risks. She also keeps telling her hero that he isn't her hero and she wishes he'd just ....... go away. Gradually the tale unfolds and we do learn, eventually, who the culprit is although the ending is a bit of a let down.
All in all this story is a bit of a mixed up romp but it's entertaining enough, in its way. Just don't expect literary genius.
"Justice" is published by Hodder, ISBN 978 1 444 72932 0
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
The Good Father by Noah Hawley
Have you ever wondered how you'd react if you found out that one of your children had committed a most heinous crime? Would you proclaim their innocence, even in the face of the most damning evidence?
Dr Paul Allen is a respected rheumatologist at a hospital in Manhattan. He is married with 2 small boys, and an older son by a previous marriage. Daniel appears to be an average American boy, shuffling between his mother, on the west coast of the USA and his father on the east. He shows no signs of being adversely affected by his parent's divorce, or his mother's flakiness. But then he drops out of college for a year and, effectively, disappears.
His travels and experiences are reconstructed later, by his father and lawyer, and by the police and CIA. Because Daniel turns up at a political rally, a year after leaving college, an shoots dead a prmoising candidate for the American Presidency.
Dr Allen is distraught and, as his life spirals out of control and at the risk of losing his family, becomes obsessed with proving that Daniel is innocent. But is he? He is seen, on film, in the auditorium, with a gun in his hand and he refuses to proclaim his innocence. Putting together Daniel's journey across the country, between college and the killing, Dr Allen begins to see that Daniel has a troubled soul and is not the son he thought he was. But what is he?
Not so much a thriller, but more of a mystery novel, this story is a wonderful exercise in examining some of the worst dilemma's of modern parenthood. Can we ever know our children as we would wish too? Compassionate, heartbreaking, emotional, this book deserves to be read with close attention and an open mind. Recommended.
The Good Father is published by Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN978-1-444-73039-5 and 6
Dr Paul Allen is a respected rheumatologist at a hospital in Manhattan. He is married with 2 small boys, and an older son by a previous marriage. Daniel appears to be an average American boy, shuffling between his mother, on the west coast of the USA and his father on the east. He shows no signs of being adversely affected by his parent's divorce, or his mother's flakiness. But then he drops out of college for a year and, effectively, disappears.
His travels and experiences are reconstructed later, by his father and lawyer, and by the police and CIA. Because Daniel turns up at a political rally, a year after leaving college, an shoots dead a prmoising candidate for the American Presidency.
Dr Allen is distraught and, as his life spirals out of control and at the risk of losing his family, becomes obsessed with proving that Daniel is innocent. But is he? He is seen, on film, in the auditorium, with a gun in his hand and he refuses to proclaim his innocence. Putting together Daniel's journey across the country, between college and the killing, Dr Allen begins to see that Daniel has a troubled soul and is not the son he thought he was. But what is he?
Not so much a thriller, but more of a mystery novel, this story is a wonderful exercise in examining some of the worst dilemma's of modern parenthood. Can we ever know our children as we would wish too? Compassionate, heartbreaking, emotional, this book deserves to be read with close attention and an open mind. Recommended.
The Good Father is published by Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN978-1-444-73039-5 and 6
A Kind Man by Susan Hill
Do miracles happen today? There are those who say 'yes' and those who say 'no' and there are those that have experienced a miracle who are absolutely convinced. I began this novella with my breakfast and had completed it by tea time, that's how fascinating I found it to be.
Susan Hill has written another mystery about things we don't understand and this time it's a miracle. The 'kind man' of the title is Tommy Carr and the story is set sometime between the two world wars, probably in the late '20s or early 30s'. Tommy and his wife live a quiet life in an industrial town. They have a daughter and are quietly happy in their uneventful lives. Until, that is, their beloved daughter dies at a tender age. Months later, with his grief locked inside him, Tommy begins to sicken. At death's door, a miracle happens and Tommy is restored to health.
As time goes by it appears that Tommy has been granted another gift along with his health and strength and the couple's quiet life is turned upside down as people beat a path to their door. Can Tommy work miracles, like the one he was granted? Will this gift last or will it go away as quickly as it arrived? How does his wife, Eve, handle all this?
Susan Hill has such economy with words and uses it to good effect; her spare language imbues a finely balanced atmosphere of suspense, anxiety and tension in this novella.
Whether you believe in miracles or not, this is a tale that deserves to read by everyone. I recommend it.
A Kind Man is published by Random House, ISBN 978-07011-8-5916
Susan Hill has written another mystery about things we don't understand and this time it's a miracle. The 'kind man' of the title is Tommy Carr and the story is set sometime between the two world wars, probably in the late '20s or early 30s'. Tommy and his wife live a quiet life in an industrial town. They have a daughter and are quietly happy in their uneventful lives. Until, that is, their beloved daughter dies at a tender age. Months later, with his grief locked inside him, Tommy begins to sicken. At death's door, a miracle happens and Tommy is restored to health.
As time goes by it appears that Tommy has been granted another gift along with his health and strength and the couple's quiet life is turned upside down as people beat a path to their door. Can Tommy work miracles, like the one he was granted? Will this gift last or will it go away as quickly as it arrived? How does his wife, Eve, handle all this?
Susan Hill has such economy with words and uses it to good effect; her spare language imbues a finely balanced atmosphere of suspense, anxiety and tension in this novella.
Whether you believe in miracles or not, this is a tale that deserves to read by everyone. I recommend it.
A Kind Man is published by Random House, ISBN 978-07011-8-5916
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
Amanda and Dawson are teenage sweethearts in the town of Oriental, North Carolina. He's from the wrong side of the tracks, with a violent and lawless family, she's from a wealthy and well connected family. When family pressures intervene to keep the lovers apart, Dawson gives in and tells Amanda that she must go to make the future that's within her grasp and leave him behind. So far, so standard.
After Amanda has left Oriental for college, Dawson is involved in a road accident that changes his life for ever. Unable to forgive himself he, too, leaves Oriental and makes a life on oil rigs until he receives a summons to return to Oriental for the funeral of the one mentor who stood by him in the dark days. When he arrives, he finds that Amanda has also been summoned. Neither of them has forgotten their young love but Amanda is married, with a family.
What happens next is mostly love story and partly ghost story. Are the lovers reconciled? Well, you'll have to read the book!
Nicholas Sparks is, arguably, that rare male author who can write about love authentically. I would guess, from both his writing and his dedication to his wife on the fly-page, that he's a true romantic and not simply writing about love because it sells. Still, although love themes sell books, it's difficult to incorporate excitement or action into these stories so they can seem a bit tame. For lovers of love stories, this is for you; for readers who prefer a bit more pace, you probably won't like this.
'The Best of Me' is published by Sphere Original, ISBN 978-1-84744-321-2.
After Amanda has left Oriental for college, Dawson is involved in a road accident that changes his life for ever. Unable to forgive himself he, too, leaves Oriental and makes a life on oil rigs until he receives a summons to return to Oriental for the funeral of the one mentor who stood by him in the dark days. When he arrives, he finds that Amanda has also been summoned. Neither of them has forgotten their young love but Amanda is married, with a family.
What happens next is mostly love story and partly ghost story. Are the lovers reconciled? Well, you'll have to read the book!
Nicholas Sparks is, arguably, that rare male author who can write about love authentically. I would guess, from both his writing and his dedication to his wife on the fly-page, that he's a true romantic and not simply writing about love because it sells. Still, although love themes sell books, it's difficult to incorporate excitement or action into these stories so they can seem a bit tame. For lovers of love stories, this is for you; for readers who prefer a bit more pace, you probably won't like this.
'The Best of Me' is published by Sphere Original, ISBN 978-1-84744-321-2.
The Secret Son by Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami was born in Morocco and this is her story of a boy growing up in the slums of Hay an Najat, in Casablanca. Youseff has dreams of a better life and he studies hard to gain the qualifications that will, he hopes, earn a more prosperous life for himself and his mother, a widow. But his hopes are fulfilled in a way he can't even imagine in his wildest dreams.
Transported into a life of luxury, he leaves his old life behind until fate again intervenes and he has to return to the slums. Disillusioned and disengaged from his old life, he is drawn into a world of fundamentalism where friends can be enemies and enemies are still enemies. He discovers, too late, that sometimes innocence is no protection and lives can be lost in other ways than death.
This is a short book, only a little longer than a novella, but Laila Lalami has a way with words that packs much meaning into each sentence, yet leaves the reader able to fill in any blanks from their own imagination without realising that this is what they've done.
A thoughtful story of rich and poor, of how poverty and thwarted dreams can warp minds and how faith, even to the faithless, can be used to promote evil. Laila Lalami writes simply, with understated passion and sadness. Recommended.
The Secret Son is published by Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-04273-2
Transported into a life of luxury, he leaves his old life behind until fate again intervenes and he has to return to the slums. Disillusioned and disengaged from his old life, he is drawn into a world of fundamentalism where friends can be enemies and enemies are still enemies. He discovers, too late, that sometimes innocence is no protection and lives can be lost in other ways than death.
This is a short book, only a little longer than a novella, but Laila Lalami has a way with words that packs much meaning into each sentence, yet leaves the reader able to fill in any blanks from their own imagination without realising that this is what they've done.
A thoughtful story of rich and poor, of how poverty and thwarted dreams can warp minds and how faith, even to the faithless, can be used to promote evil. Laila Lalami writes simply, with understated passion and sadness. Recommended.
The Secret Son is published by Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-04273-2
The Agincourt Bride by Joanna Hickson
Set in the mid-15th century, this is a fictionalised version (first part of two) about the life of Catherine de Valois, daughter of Charles VI (the Glass King) of France and Queen Isabeau. The tale is told through the eyes of Guilluamette (Mette), who was brought in to the Royal Court on the death of her own first baby, and appointed Catherine's wet-nurse.
Mette stays with the royal children, in the nursery where they are neglected and poorly fed, until the children are removed by their mother to further royal and political ambitions. Mette and Catherine are reunited later, when Catherine returns to the Royal Court as a teenager. Her future prospects veer from poor to excellent and back again as her parents arrange various alliances, and prospective marriages, using Catherine as a pawn and bait. Eventually, however, she is married to Henry V of England.
Fiction can always only be imagination but, built on the wealth of historical fact that we have about this period, this story brings vibrancy to a rich period of English and French history.
Joanna Hickson was originally captivated by Shakespeare's history plays and began researching the story of 'fair Kate' as a result of that infatuation. Part 2 of this story is called 'The Tudor Bride'.
At 559 pages, I thought this was book was a tad longer than it really needs to be and there are patches where the author seems to have either lost her way a little or has spent longer building bridges between key parts of the story than were strictly needed. However, it flows quite nicely and provides an insight into the Court of France, at this time, from a French angle rather than the more common English viewpoint.
Recommended to historical novel readers, the book is published by Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-744697-1.
Mette stays with the royal children, in the nursery where they are neglected and poorly fed, until the children are removed by their mother to further royal and political ambitions. Mette and Catherine are reunited later, when Catherine returns to the Royal Court as a teenager. Her future prospects veer from poor to excellent and back again as her parents arrange various alliances, and prospective marriages, using Catherine as a pawn and bait. Eventually, however, she is married to Henry V of England.
Fiction can always only be imagination but, built on the wealth of historical fact that we have about this period, this story brings vibrancy to a rich period of English and French history.
Joanna Hickson was originally captivated by Shakespeare's history plays and began researching the story of 'fair Kate' as a result of that infatuation. Part 2 of this story is called 'The Tudor Bride'.
At 559 pages, I thought this was book was a tad longer than it really needs to be and there are patches where the author seems to have either lost her way a little or has spent longer building bridges between key parts of the story than were strictly needed. However, it flows quite nicely and provides an insight into the Court of France, at this time, from a French angle rather than the more common English viewpoint.
Recommended to historical novel readers, the book is published by Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-744697-1.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Moments in Time by JA Gordon
This is the first in a series of books called "The Chronicles of Time" by this author. The story is set in Upper Germania, at the time of the Roman Emperor Nero. The main character is Graecus, a Roman Centurion of Greek ancestry who commands a century guarding the countryside on the outskirts of the Empire.
Graecus find himself in a number of testing situations when he is ordered to look after a visitor who is high in the Emperor's circle. When Graecus loses good men in an attack on the century's camp, 2 of them caused by the visitor's cowardice, and sees that the visitor's actions have also put Graecus' adopted son at risk, he begins to fear for the future of the Empire should such men be in power in Rome.
When it appears that his adopted son might also be in direct danger from powers in Rome, Graecus decides that the only course he can take is to lie low, be an able soldier and rely on the men he trusts.
Eventually, however, he and his century are called to action. The tribes of Britannia are rebelling against the increasingly harsh regime imposed from far off Rome, and Graecus and his men are sent to reinforce the legions there. On the journey to Britannia Graecus saves the life of a seaman and the effect will have a far reaching effect on his life.
When I began this book, I wasn't at all sure if I was going to get on with it but, as I read on, it began to grow on me. The author knows a lot about this period and has a neat way of teaching the reader without being in the least patronising or burdening the story. The only thing I'm still not sure of how the tale begins. We are in a study or treatment room and the subject is being hypnotised into regression into a past life - Graecus's life. Why this device is being used, I'm not sure but maybe I'll learn in the next book, "The Weight of Time".
This book is published by Derwen Publishing, which is a small publishing house specialising in partnership publishing, so it won't be available in your local library. Buy via Amazon, Ebook or order from your bookseller. ISBN 978-1-907084-00-3.
Graecus find himself in a number of testing situations when he is ordered to look after a visitor who is high in the Emperor's circle. When Graecus loses good men in an attack on the century's camp, 2 of them caused by the visitor's cowardice, and sees that the visitor's actions have also put Graecus' adopted son at risk, he begins to fear for the future of the Empire should such men be in power in Rome.
When it appears that his adopted son might also be in direct danger from powers in Rome, Graecus decides that the only course he can take is to lie low, be an able soldier and rely on the men he trusts.
Eventually, however, he and his century are called to action. The tribes of Britannia are rebelling against the increasingly harsh regime imposed from far off Rome, and Graecus and his men are sent to reinforce the legions there. On the journey to Britannia Graecus saves the life of a seaman and the effect will have a far reaching effect on his life.
When I began this book, I wasn't at all sure if I was going to get on with it but, as I read on, it began to grow on me. The author knows a lot about this period and has a neat way of teaching the reader without being in the least patronising or burdening the story. The only thing I'm still not sure of how the tale begins. We are in a study or treatment room and the subject is being hypnotised into regression into a past life - Graecus's life. Why this device is being used, I'm not sure but maybe I'll learn in the next book, "The Weight of Time".
This book is published by Derwen Publishing, which is a small publishing house specialising in partnership publishing, so it won't be available in your local library. Buy via Amazon, Ebook or order from your bookseller. ISBN 978-1-907084-00-3.
The Prodigal Wife by Marcia Willett
Marcia Willetts has written many books; this is her 19th and the 4th in the Chadwick family chronicles. I don't normally read family chronicle sagas nowadays, having had a surfeit in my youth with the "Jalna" series by Mazo De La Roche and "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. Had I realised, when I picked up this one, that it was the 4th in a series, I'd have put it back, preferring to read sequels in the correct order. However, having started to read, I continued.
The Chadwick family have lived at The Keep for several generations. Members of the family leave at various times in their lives but most come back to live as the place is big enough for all who want to live in a family commune. However, when the ex-wife of one of the Chadwicks want to return after bereavement, the son, Jolyon, whom she left behind isn't at all sure that he can accept her change of heart. He has recently begun a relationship of his own, just as his family believed that his mother's abandonment in his childhood had scarred him irreparably. When the girl's mother begins to believe she is being stalked, and suspects it is her ex-husband, life becomes rather complicated.
Ms Willetts weaves the important references from her previous novels about the Chadwicks into this latest story with skill. However, if I'd read the others first, as I should have done and many of her readers will have done, I might find these references to previous stories a bit tedious. This book appears to be set in the 1970s, although there's no direct mention of dates except for some historical detail about the Mau Mau conflict in Kenya, which was in the 1950s. As a 1970s setting, it feels a little out of touch with life at that time apart from a certain sexual freedom, which I found a bit odd.
Still, for lovers of family sagas it's OK.
The Chadwick family have lived at The Keep for several generations. Members of the family leave at various times in their lives but most come back to live as the place is big enough for all who want to live in a family commune. However, when the ex-wife of one of the Chadwicks want to return after bereavement, the son, Jolyon, whom she left behind isn't at all sure that he can accept her change of heart. He has recently begun a relationship of his own, just as his family believed that his mother's abandonment in his childhood had scarred him irreparably. When the girl's mother begins to believe she is being stalked, and suspects it is her ex-husband, life becomes rather complicated.
Ms Willetts weaves the important references from her previous novels about the Chadwicks into this latest story with skill. However, if I'd read the others first, as I should have done and many of her readers will have done, I might find these references to previous stories a bit tedious. This book appears to be set in the 1970s, although there's no direct mention of dates except for some historical detail about the Mau Mau conflict in Kenya, which was in the 1950s. As a 1970s setting, it feels a little out of touch with life at that time apart from a certain sexual freedom, which I found a bit odd.
Still, for lovers of family sagas it's OK.
Broken by A Mackenzie Harris
"Broken" is a contemporary story of a family in crisis. The financial crash of 2008 affects the different members of this family in different ways but all feel its effects and their lives will never be the same again. Arthur and Joyce watch as the situation takes its toll on their sons and daughter until the spiralling downturn has a devastating effect on them as well.
We see how the characters either rise to the challenge or give way to blame, anger, despair and desperation. Incomes dry up, esteem is lost, suspicions arise and relationships fracture. Even murder is contemplated. But this is a story of human drama - an ordinary family - rather than a thriller, so we can identify with the characters as they are driven to desperate measures.
"Broken" is this author's first novel and is worth reading. She will, I'm sure, improve as her writing career develops and I look forward to the next book. This one is published by Matador, ISBN 978-1-7806-029-0. Matador is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing so this book isn't available in your local library. If you want to buy, order through your local book shop, Amazon or as an Ebook.
We see how the characters either rise to the challenge or give way to blame, anger, despair and desperation. Incomes dry up, esteem is lost, suspicions arise and relationships fracture. Even murder is contemplated. But this is a story of human drama - an ordinary family - rather than a thriller, so we can identify with the characters as they are driven to desperate measures.
"Broken" is this author's first novel and is worth reading. She will, I'm sure, improve as her writing career develops and I look forward to the next book. This one is published by Matador, ISBN 978-1-7806-029-0. Matador is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing so this book isn't available in your local library. If you want to buy, order through your local book shop, Amazon or as an Ebook.
The Shieldwall by MJ Hands
This story is based in the mid-11C; England is a patchwork of warring tribes - Saxons, Vikings, Welsh and others fight for territory. Life is cheap and savage.
Edric is a legendary character from the history of the Saxons living in the borderlands of Shropshire and Wales. When his village is destroyed by Welsh hordes, trying to re-establish their foothold in their tribal lands from before Angle and Saxon invasion, the young Edric and a small handful of survivors hide in the hills. They are taken under the wing of a mysterious old man, who has travelled far and who has settled in the border country waiting for a dream prediction to manifest itself.
Under this stranger's guidance, Edric and his companions grow to manhood skilled in the arts of war until it is time to seek revenge. But nothing lasts for ever and the peace that Edric wins is threatened as the year 1066 dawns.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and researched by an author who is, clearly, passionate about his subject, the period comes alive to the reader from the first page. The book is published by Athena Press, ISBN 978-1-84748-348-5. Athena is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing, so this book won't be available in your local library. You'll have to order it if you want to buy it, or access through E-reader formats.
Edric is a legendary character from the history of the Saxons living in the borderlands of Shropshire and Wales. When his village is destroyed by Welsh hordes, trying to re-establish their foothold in their tribal lands from before Angle and Saxon invasion, the young Edric and a small handful of survivors hide in the hills. They are taken under the wing of a mysterious old man, who has travelled far and who has settled in the border country waiting for a dream prediction to manifest itself.
Under this stranger's guidance, Edric and his companions grow to manhood skilled in the arts of war until it is time to seek revenge. But nothing lasts for ever and the peace that Edric wins is threatened as the year 1066 dawns.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and researched by an author who is, clearly, passionate about his subject, the period comes alive to the reader from the first page. The book is published by Athena Press, ISBN 978-1-84748-348-5. Athena is a small publisher specialising in partnership publishing, so this book won't be available in your local library. You'll have to order it if you want to buy it, or access through E-reader formats.
Thursday, 8 August 2013
he Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
This book is marked 'general fiction' by my local lending service but what you get is a something written more in the style of a simple love story. Not quite Mills and Boon but not that far off. It seems that most of the characters have tears in their eyes at every opportunity, that all but 2 of the main characters are kind and gentle and that love conquers all. So far so perfect.
Still, it's not a bad story. In the mid-1930s a young girl, Mary, raped in adolescence, develops a crippling inability to meet and mingle with people. She stays on her father's farm, raising and training horses, until the local heir to a fortune comes by to buy a horse. He wants her as well as the colt and sets out to win her, even if it means overcoming her pathological shyness and suppressing parts of his natural character. They marry, and set up home in a large house, built for them by the young man's grandfather. However, all isn't well in paradise.
The marriage soon falls apart and the aftermath leaves Mary alone in the mansion with only the local priest allowed inside the house. Attempts to integrate Mary into the community fail as her shyness overcomes her. But Mary watches over the town from her mansion and learns about the residents from the priest. Unknown and unseen, she uses her fortune to help where it's needed.
That's about it, really, apart from a neat twist at the end. If you like gentle fiction in the tradition of Maeve Binchy then you'll probably like this. I'll remember it only because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself if I hadn't been misled by the cover blurb.
Still, it's not a bad story. In the mid-1930s a young girl, Mary, raped in adolescence, develops a crippling inability to meet and mingle with people. She stays on her father's farm, raising and training horses, until the local heir to a fortune comes by to buy a horse. He wants her as well as the colt and sets out to win her, even if it means overcoming her pathological shyness and suppressing parts of his natural character. They marry, and set up home in a large house, built for them by the young man's grandfather. However, all isn't well in paradise.
The marriage soon falls apart and the aftermath leaves Mary alone in the mansion with only the local priest allowed inside the house. Attempts to integrate Mary into the community fail as her shyness overcomes her. But Mary watches over the town from her mansion and learns about the residents from the priest. Unknown and unseen, she uses her fortune to help where it's needed.
That's about it, really, apart from a neat twist at the end. If you like gentle fiction in the tradition of Maeve Binchy then you'll probably like this. I'll remember it only because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself if I hadn't been misled by the cover blurb.
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey
A man walks out of the sea on the New England coast. He's naked, freezing cold - and he can't remember who he is. Finding an empty car a short distance away, he searches it and finds the car's papers which tell him that it's owned by a man called Daniel Hayes, and there's an address on the other side of the country. Pawning the expensive watch he also finds in the car, he uses the funds to drive across the continent. As he travels, he's plagued with flashbacks and bits of memory begin to emerge. He's drawn by a woman's face, seen on the TV of a motel where he spends a night, but which seems to mean something much more.
Slowly, as events progress, the man's memory begins to give up its secrets and he finds himself living a nightmare when he discovers that he is, indeed, Daniel Hayes and that he is the prime suspect in his wife's murder. As he traces people he knows, and tries to solve the crime, friends are threatened and killed by an unknown and unseen assailant. Daniel must find out why, and trap the killer, before he can begin his life again.
Like all good mysteries, there's a twist at the end, just to keep the reader guessing at what might happen after Daniel believes himself to be free.
This is quite a clever story, tightly written with frequent unexpected turns. For readers of mysteries and thrillers this is a good choice.
Slowly, as events progress, the man's memory begins to give up its secrets and he finds himself living a nightmare when he discovers that he is, indeed, Daniel Hayes and that he is the prime suspect in his wife's murder. As he traces people he knows, and tries to solve the crime, friends are threatened and killed by an unknown and unseen assailant. Daniel must find out why, and trap the killer, before he can begin his life again.
Like all good mysteries, there's a twist at the end, just to keep the reader guessing at what might happen after Daniel believes himself to be free.
This is quite a clever story, tightly written with frequent unexpected turns. For readers of mysteries and thrillers this is a good choice.
The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro
Jack Coates has settled for the humdrum life of an auction house valuer. He's in his mid-forties, widowed and reconciled to a quiet life. Until, that is, his boss decides that he needs help on his latest assignment. Cate is his boss's niece, running from an unhappy affair and hiding in London. Not a match made in heaven. The assignment is to catalogue the contents of a large, country house on the coast and prepare them for auction. But it turns out to be more complicated than anyone imagines. Has Cate run far enough? Is Jack still mourning his dead wife? What secrets are they each hiding?
Behind their story we learn about the family that lived in the big house during the Roaring Twenties and 1930s through a series of letters written by the youngest sister, nicknamed Baby, of the house to her older, married sister. Baby disappeared in 1941 and the mystery has never been solved.
As the story of the family begins to obsess Cate, she researches them to try to discover more about their secrets. In the process, her own begin to come to light. How she resolves both is the substance of this story.
There's an underlying purpose to this story that I won't disclose for fear of spoiling the ending for readers but this novel has a neat twist at the end. Gently worded, cleverly interweaving past and present, this story kept me interested right through to the end. For fans of mysteries, love stories and honest story telling, this is one for you.
Behind their story we learn about the family that lived in the big house during the Roaring Twenties and 1930s through a series of letters written by the youngest sister, nicknamed Baby, of the house to her older, married sister. Baby disappeared in 1941 and the mystery has never been solved.
As the story of the family begins to obsess Cate, she researches them to try to discover more about their secrets. In the process, her own begin to come to light. How she resolves both is the substance of this story.
There's an underlying purpose to this story that I won't disclose for fear of spoiling the ending for readers but this novel has a neat twist at the end. Gently worded, cleverly interweaving past and present, this story kept me interested right through to the end. For fans of mysteries, love stories and honest story telling, this is one for you.
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Up Close by Henriette Gyland
This book was shelved on the 'general fiction' classification in my local library but, when I began to read I realised that it should have been listed as a romance, albeit with a mystery twist. The publisher, ChocLit, describes itself as a publisher of romantic fiction and many of the authors they publish are members of the Romantic Novelists Association (RNA).
Cordelia (Lia) Thompson is living happily in the USA, with her fiancé, when her grandmother dies back in Lia's native Norfolk. She comes home to sort out her grandmother's affairs, her life takes a different path from the one she expects. She meets Aidan and Suzanne, old school friends who are both keeping secrets that cloud their renewed relationships. Lia learns that her grandmothers's death wasn't as uncomplicated as it first appeared and her relationship with her fiancé, visiting for Christmas from across the pond, shows cracks that Lia can't ignore.
This is the perennial story of boy meets girl, events they can't control interfere, they fall in love and ...................is it happy ever after? Well, let's just say that Lia can't seem to make up her mind whether she's a straight up, law abiding citizen or someone who can ignore - or even condone - serious law breaking. I was confused by her confusion!
Still, a good read for those who like romance tempered with a bit of mystery. Technical bits seemed well researched and the story flowed along quite nicely. Not as 'chilling' or 'passionate' as the cover suggests, but a good bit of holiday reading for all that.
Cordelia (Lia) Thompson is living happily in the USA, with her fiancé, when her grandmother dies back in Lia's native Norfolk. She comes home to sort out her grandmother's affairs, her life takes a different path from the one she expects. She meets Aidan and Suzanne, old school friends who are both keeping secrets that cloud their renewed relationships. Lia learns that her grandmothers's death wasn't as uncomplicated as it first appeared and her relationship with her fiancé, visiting for Christmas from across the pond, shows cracks that Lia can't ignore.
This is the perennial story of boy meets girl, events they can't control interfere, they fall in love and ...................is it happy ever after? Well, let's just say that Lia can't seem to make up her mind whether she's a straight up, law abiding citizen or someone who can ignore - or even condone - serious law breaking. I was confused by her confusion!
Still, a good read for those who like romance tempered with a bit of mystery. Technical bits seemed well researched and the story flowed along quite nicely. Not as 'chilling' or 'passionate' as the cover suggests, but a good bit of holiday reading for all that.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
The Chosen Seed by Sarah Pinborough
When I picked up this book I didn't realise that it's the 3rd volume of the author's series called "The Dog Faced Gods". I don't normally read novels in series because it's so often difficult to find the first one first and so on! However, I liked the sound of this story so soldiered on. I found there was just enough reference to previous books to give me an understanding of where the tale had come from.
Cass Jones is a former police officer, only nowadays he's on the run accused of murder. His ex-colleagues are busy trying to find a killer who is spreading a deadly virus through London, while Cass is trying to prove his innocence. The police investigation raises troubling clues that Cass might be innocent after all, much to the displeasure of certain senior officers, but how does it all tie in with The Network and The Bank? Who is Mr Bright and where did he and his colleagues come from? Do they really have as much power as they think they do?
What is hell and where is heaven? The Dying has started and Mr Bright needs to take extraordinary measures.
This is an unusual take on where the human race has been, where it came from and why, presented in a near future where these questions begin to take on a whole new meaning. Is Lucifer as black as he's painted in myth and where is God in human history?
You might not like the ending (as a matter of personal morality) but the story is original and will hold your attention. But try to read "A Matter of Blood" and "The Shadow of the Soul" first!
Cass Jones is a former police officer, only nowadays he's on the run accused of murder. His ex-colleagues are busy trying to find a killer who is spreading a deadly virus through London, while Cass is trying to prove his innocence. The police investigation raises troubling clues that Cass might be innocent after all, much to the displeasure of certain senior officers, but how does it all tie in with The Network and The Bank? Who is Mr Bright and where did he and his colleagues come from? Do they really have as much power as they think they do?
What is hell and where is heaven? The Dying has started and Mr Bright needs to take extraordinary measures.
This is an unusual take on where the human race has been, where it came from and why, presented in a near future where these questions begin to take on a whole new meaning. Is Lucifer as black as he's painted in myth and where is God in human history?
You might not like the ending (as a matter of personal morality) but the story is original and will hold your attention. But try to read "A Matter of Blood" and "The Shadow of the Soul" first!
The Small Hand by Susan Hill
When Adam Snow takes a wrong turning, whilst on his way home, he has no idea that his curiosity will have profound consequences. An derelict house, a strange old woman and the cool hand of a child slipped into his, even though there is no child to be seen, are all connected and Adam begins to suffer panic attacks and nightmares. He tries to stay away but is pulled back to the house and the small cool hand entwines with his more often until the feeling of a malevolent presence makes him wonder if the child is as harmless as it appears.
An old photograph trigger his memory and secrets and lies emerge into the light. Adam's mystery is solved at last, but with unforeseen and tragic results.
This is a ghost story, but without the blood and gore that characterise many of the genre nowadays. The mystery grows slowly, which I love. Too much too soon can spoil a good novel but, at the same time, the pace needs to be kept moving or the reader can lose interest. This is short book of only 204 pages of a larger than normal font size, which means fewer words to the page than usual. As a result, I read this novel in just 2 sittings and enjoyed it very much. Don't expect excitement but, if you like ghost mysteries, you'll like this.
An old photograph trigger his memory and secrets and lies emerge into the light. Adam's mystery is solved at last, but with unforeseen and tragic results.
This is a ghost story, but without the blood and gore that characterise many of the genre nowadays. The mystery grows slowly, which I love. Too much too soon can spoil a good novel but, at the same time, the pace needs to be kept moving or the reader can lose interest. This is short book of only 204 pages of a larger than normal font size, which means fewer words to the page than usual. As a result, I read this novel in just 2 sittings and enjoyed it very much. Don't expect excitement but, if you like ghost mysteries, you'll like this.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
The Woman who went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend
The reviews wrote of this book "I laughed 'til I cried" (Daily Mail) and "Glorious, laugh-out-loud" (Daily Telegraph). It's certainly very funny.
Eva Beaver has had enough of life being a wife and mother. Her unsatisfactory husband has been having an affair for 8 years and her twin children, educational prodigies and totally removed from reality, have left home for university. She retreats to bed, from where she views her small world of the street outside and wonders what her life will be now that she's turned 50?
Eva's family seem to think either that she's having a breakdown or that she's simply attention seeking. Brian, her astronomer husband, worries about who will do the housework and cook his dinner. The press get hold of the story of the lady who watches the world from her bedroom and, building on next to nothing, portal her as having special powers to help people, Eva's life takes a turn she couldn't have expected. She's soon besieged by visitors wanting her to help them find lost children, solve their marital problems and more.
Brian's lover, Titania, moves in with him into his extended garden shed, the house fills with family and visitors, all trying to 'help' and generally creating chaos, to which Eva witnesses silently from the security of her bedroom.
Many middle aged wives and mothers will recognise themselves in this book. Few will, I suspect, see much humour in their own situations. It's poignant, touching, witty and with dollops of passion and anger. I can't say that I laughed 'til I cried; I actually felt so sorry for Eva (whilst exasperated at her reaction to her situation) that my laughter was often stifled; it felt wrong, somehow. But yes, it's funny and delicately observed. Recommended.
Eva Beaver has had enough of life being a wife and mother. Her unsatisfactory husband has been having an affair for 8 years and her twin children, educational prodigies and totally removed from reality, have left home for university. She retreats to bed, from where she views her small world of the street outside and wonders what her life will be now that she's turned 50?
Eva's family seem to think either that she's having a breakdown or that she's simply attention seeking. Brian, her astronomer husband, worries about who will do the housework and cook his dinner. The press get hold of the story of the lady who watches the world from her bedroom and, building on next to nothing, portal her as having special powers to help people, Eva's life takes a turn she couldn't have expected. She's soon besieged by visitors wanting her to help them find lost children, solve their marital problems and more.
Brian's lover, Titania, moves in with him into his extended garden shed, the house fills with family and visitors, all trying to 'help' and generally creating chaos, to which Eva witnesses silently from the security of her bedroom.
Many middle aged wives and mothers will recognise themselves in this book. Few will, I suspect, see much humour in their own situations. It's poignant, touching, witty and with dollops of passion and anger. I can't say that I laughed 'til I cried; I actually felt so sorry for Eva (whilst exasperated at her reaction to her situation) that my laughter was often stifled; it felt wrong, somehow. But yes, it's funny and delicately observed. Recommended.
The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan
I loved this book. I don't often start my blogs with praise, but this book deserves up front adulation.
Williams Shakespeare left us very little information about his life. We know more about his family than we do about him, the man. In his life time he seems to have been little interested in having his work printed, leaving it up to patrons and posterity to rescue hand written plays and other work to be printed later. This novel is, therefore, very much fiction, built around the few facts that history tells us.
We read about Will's meeting with Anne Hathaway, who becomes his wife and who raises their children (2 daughters to adulthood and a son who dies in childhood) in Stratford whilst Will pursues his passion for the theatre in London. We see Jude Morgan's version of Shakespeare's relationships with his parents and siblings and glimpse what the citizens of Stratford might have thought of his marriage to an older woman whom he later left behind for life in the capital fleshpots. Was he a faithful husband? Did he visit his family regularly? What were his relationships with the other great writers and actors of the day? How much did he plagiarise the work of others to produce his greatest work?
Jude Morgan builds a tale skilfully, making us believe in the man, Shakespeare, whilst showing us a little of life of rural Warwickshire and the teeming streets of London during the dying days of Elizabethan England.
The language in this book is superb; lilting, lyrical and shadowy with Shakespeare's literary genius. As I said, I loved it. More, please!
Williams Shakespeare left us very little information about his life. We know more about his family than we do about him, the man. In his life time he seems to have been little interested in having his work printed, leaving it up to patrons and posterity to rescue hand written plays and other work to be printed later. This novel is, therefore, very much fiction, built around the few facts that history tells us.
We read about Will's meeting with Anne Hathaway, who becomes his wife and who raises their children (2 daughters to adulthood and a son who dies in childhood) in Stratford whilst Will pursues his passion for the theatre in London. We see Jude Morgan's version of Shakespeare's relationships with his parents and siblings and glimpse what the citizens of Stratford might have thought of his marriage to an older woman whom he later left behind for life in the capital fleshpots. Was he a faithful husband? Did he visit his family regularly? What were his relationships with the other great writers and actors of the day? How much did he plagiarise the work of others to produce his greatest work?
Jude Morgan builds a tale skilfully, making us believe in the man, Shakespeare, whilst showing us a little of life of rural Warwickshire and the teeming streets of London during the dying days of Elizabethan England.
The language in this book is superb; lilting, lyrical and shadowy with Shakespeare's literary genius. As I said, I loved it. More, please!
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Once upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Margo Crane is 16 and she lives on the bank of the Stark river in Michigan. To her, this is paradise and she wants to be nowhere else. Her heroine is Annie Oakley and she wants to be just as tough and resourceful. Unfortunately she live in the 20thC, not the 19th and, at only 16 years of age and effectively orphaned, the river is a dangerous place to be alone.
Margo is, however, resourceful as well as tough. And she's promiscuous, able to take advantage of the weakness of the men she meets along the way. Her moral code is very much her own, and she refines it in her own way as she inches her way along the river, making a life as best she can while she searches for an unknown future.
There is no tidy end to this American parable, it just reaches a point where we leave Margo where we feel she has learned enough to be able to build a life from which she can survive, rather than be more at risk of being swallowed up and disappear, as she might have been earlier in the story.
This story is rather like a lengthened version, in prose, of a Johnny Cash song, a mixture of melancholy, defiance and joyfulness. Slow paced but with its share of brutality, I enjoyed reading this slice of northern backwoods Americana.
Margo is, however, resourceful as well as tough. And she's promiscuous, able to take advantage of the weakness of the men she meets along the way. Her moral code is very much her own, and she refines it in her own way as she inches her way along the river, making a life as best she can while she searches for an unknown future.
There is no tidy end to this American parable, it just reaches a point where we leave Margo where we feel she has learned enough to be able to build a life from which she can survive, rather than be more at risk of being swallowed up and disappear, as she might have been earlier in the story.
This story is rather like a lengthened version, in prose, of a Johnny Cash song, a mixture of melancholy, defiance and joyfulness. Slow paced but with its share of brutality, I enjoyed reading this slice of northern backwoods Americana.
Shields of Pride by Elizabeth Chadwick
Joscelin De Gael is an illegitimate son in an age when this matters. He is the eldest but his father has 3 legitimate, younger, sons, so Joscelin must make his own way with his wits and his sword. The year is 1173 and the sons of Henry II and their followers bring war to England as they strive to take the throne.
Elizabeth Chadwick is a scholar of this period of English history and her grasp of the social structure of England at this time is admirable. In this novel, she constructs the story of the succession to a wealthy Norman household in middle England, with the backdrop of the war of succession to King Henry II. The two tales are cleverly interwoven and the period feel is well developed.
I've read many historical novels and have a reasonable eye for detail. Elizabeth Chadwick is excellent in this regard. Perhaps, however, I've read too many historical novels because I felt as though there was nothing new here to pique my interest. If you're new to the genre, this is an excellent place to start but if, like me, you love history, you'll find nothing innovative here.
Elizabeth Chadwick is a scholar of this period of English history and her grasp of the social structure of England at this time is admirable. In this novel, she constructs the story of the succession to a wealthy Norman household in middle England, with the backdrop of the war of succession to King Henry II. The two tales are cleverly interwoven and the period feel is well developed.
I've read many historical novels and have a reasonable eye for detail. Elizabeth Chadwick is excellent in this regard. Perhaps, however, I've read too many historical novels because I felt as though there was nothing new here to pique my interest. If you're new to the genre, this is an excellent place to start but if, like me, you love history, you'll find nothing innovative here.
Signs of Life by Anna Raverat
Rachel is living a small life in London, but she hasn't always been this way. She reads widely, literary authors such as Sylvia Plath, Jorie Graham and Stevie Smith, which gives us clues to her state of mind. She tells us, at the beginning of her story, that she has forgotten many things but excuses this by saying that her note books don't record everything and that her story happened years ago anyway.
It's the tale of her affair with a work colleague. But their story is far from the mundane suff that happens in almost every workplace at some time or another. The affair turned her life upside down, sending both of them spiralling into chaos and obsession. Now, 10 years later, Rachel wants to be honest about the affair and its aftermath but honesty has its limits. Something terrible happened to Rachel's lover but how? Can Rachel reveal the truth? And what is it?
Anna Raverat has written with deep understanding of what can drive a mind into obsession and chaos, how a combination of factors can plunge an apparently controlled life off the rails to destruction. A lesson in modern living. Recommended.
It's the tale of her affair with a work colleague. But their story is far from the mundane suff that happens in almost every workplace at some time or another. The affair turned her life upside down, sending both of them spiralling into chaos and obsession. Now, 10 years later, Rachel wants to be honest about the affair and its aftermath but honesty has its limits. Something terrible happened to Rachel's lover but how? Can Rachel reveal the truth? And what is it?
Anna Raverat has written with deep understanding of what can drive a mind into obsession and chaos, how a combination of factors can plunge an apparently controlled life off the rails to destruction. A lesson in modern living. Recommended.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
The Other Half of Me by Morgan McCarthy
Childhood can seem idyllic the children living it when, in fact, they are being damaged by neglect. Jonathan and his sister, ethereal Theo, live an apparently charmed life. Rich, living in a big house and with endless freedom to roam and explore, they are unhindered by the constraints of adult interference and rules. Their father is absent - they are told he is dead - and their mother drifts around the edges of their lives in an alcoholic haze.
When their famous and beautiful grandmother, Eve, returns to the family house, however, the children's lives begin to change. As they grow to adulthood, the reader becomes aware of the damage their strange childhood has inflicted on them. Secrets and lies begin to unravel until Jonathan learns the truth that Theo had dreamed of in confused ghostly nightmares, and struggled with, for years. Buried the public glare of glossy magazine stories are darker tales.
Morgan McCarthy writes in gorgeous and darkly sensitive prose. Her depiction of Theo's mental instability, as it develops into real illness in adulthood, is gentle and true. She writes from the view point of Theo's brother, Jonathan, who reacts in a very human fashion as someone who has no prior knowledge or experience of such things and who responds much as most of us would in similar circumstances. Jonathan, too, is damaged by his childhood. The author subtly shows us the consequences of a loveless childhood on impressionable minds, even when those children have every advantage of wealth, position and family fame.
Recommended.
When their famous and beautiful grandmother, Eve, returns to the family house, however, the children's lives begin to change. As they grow to adulthood, the reader becomes aware of the damage their strange childhood has inflicted on them. Secrets and lies begin to unravel until Jonathan learns the truth that Theo had dreamed of in confused ghostly nightmares, and struggled with, for years. Buried the public glare of glossy magazine stories are darker tales.
Morgan McCarthy writes in gorgeous and darkly sensitive prose. Her depiction of Theo's mental instability, as it develops into real illness in adulthood, is gentle and true. She writes from the view point of Theo's brother, Jonathan, who reacts in a very human fashion as someone who has no prior knowledge or experience of such things and who responds much as most of us would in similar circumstances. Jonathan, too, is damaged by his childhood. The author subtly shows us the consequences of a loveless childhood on impressionable minds, even when those children have every advantage of wealth, position and family fame.
Recommended.
Monday, 20 May 2013
Lone Wolf by Jody Picoult
Jody Picoult is one of my favourite authors. I love the way she explores the moral dilemmas of human existence, asking us all how we would respond if we were faced with seemingly impossible situations involving our loved ones.
In this novel, Luke Warren is in a coma following a traffic accident in which his daughter was also involved and injured. Medical opinion is that he will not recover. His 17 year old daughter, who lives with him, wants to keep him on life support, his hitherto estranged son wants to let him go. Luke is a celebratory, having lived in the wild for 2 years with a pack of wolves. This experience has coloured his life and relationships ever since, and not always to the good.
The story explores the personal relationships of his family as they battle with each other and their own feelings and natures over who should make the decisions about Luke's care and future.
As always, Jody Picoult does this very well, although I think I detect the merest hint that she might have struggled to come up with a new theme after all the tales she's written before. It can't be easy to think of a new dilemma for a new novel every year or so in order to keep the publisher and readers happy. I could be imagining it, however. Whatever, I hope she continues to write because I really enjoy her writing. Keep it up, Jody, please.
In this novel, Luke Warren is in a coma following a traffic accident in which his daughter was also involved and injured. Medical opinion is that he will not recover. His 17 year old daughter, who lives with him, wants to keep him on life support, his hitherto estranged son wants to let him go. Luke is a celebratory, having lived in the wild for 2 years with a pack of wolves. This experience has coloured his life and relationships ever since, and not always to the good.
The story explores the personal relationships of his family as they battle with each other and their own feelings and natures over who should make the decisions about Luke's care and future.
As always, Jody Picoult does this very well, although I think I detect the merest hint that she might have struggled to come up with a new theme after all the tales she's written before. It can't be easy to think of a new dilemma for a new novel every year or so in order to keep the publisher and readers happy. I could be imagining it, however. Whatever, I hope she continues to write because I really enjoy her writing. Keep it up, Jody, please.
The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
I picked this one to read because the reviews printed on the book cover read "....hilarious...." and "....tartly funny.....". Well, I think I must have lost my sense of humour. This story is almost a commentary, rather than a novel, about 4 women who take career breaks from fairly high powered careers to have babies and then, either deliberately or through inertia, find that they are still at home 10 years later.
The writing is insightful, thoughtful, gentle, and clever. The author understands, very well, what goes on inside a woman's head at this time in her life and how captivatingly addictive caring for children can be. She also understands how quickly a woman can lose those sparks of confidence and ambition she once had once the contact with her professional life has been cut.
Amy, Roberta, Jill and Karen have very different lives but their friendship has survived the temporary time-out that has turned out not to be quite as temporary as they thought it would be. Now, however, they face a illici affairs, financial problems and children growing away from their motherly nurturing. Life is changing and they need to change with it.
The pace of this book is slow and gentle. If you like a page turned with a twist on every page, this isn't for you. If you like the psychology of human relationships - especially of the feminine variety - then this is for you. Funny? Hilarious? I can't see it.
The writing is insightful, thoughtful, gentle, and clever. The author understands, very well, what goes on inside a woman's head at this time in her life and how captivatingly addictive caring for children can be. She also understands how quickly a woman can lose those sparks of confidence and ambition she once had once the contact with her professional life has been cut.
Amy, Roberta, Jill and Karen have very different lives but their friendship has survived the temporary time-out that has turned out not to be quite as temporary as they thought it would be. Now, however, they face a illici affairs, financial problems and children growing away from their motherly nurturing. Life is changing and they need to change with it.
The pace of this book is slow and gentle. If you like a page turned with a twist on every page, this isn't for you. If you like the psychology of human relationships - especially of the feminine variety - then this is for you. Funny? Hilarious? I can't see it.
The Tenderness of Wolves by Steff Penney
Another novel by Steff Penney but, having read this one, I'm not quite sure where the title came from. Yes, the story is set in the Canadian wilderness of the mid 19C, when the population was sparse and conditions for human living were primitive, but wolves don't feature in the story at all, except one expects to encounter them at every turn of the page. Perhaps that's the point.
However, that's by the by. The story centres around the murder of Laurent Jammet, a French born trapper who settled in the small settlement of Dove River and befriended the 17 year old adopted son of a local couple. When the boy goes missing, he is immediately suspected of the murder by everyone in the local community except his mother, who recruits the help of a visiting scout and the pair set of to find the missing boy. They are joined by others who have vested interests in the outcome.
The current intrigue the tale reveals, and the old mystery that is resolved, unfold as the journey progresses. The understated relationship between the scout and the stubborn wife/mother adds subtle flavour to the mix.
A story of determination, mystery, loyalty and a mother's love and harsh lives lived in primitive conditions. A good read.
However, that's by the by. The story centres around the murder of Laurent Jammet, a French born trapper who settled in the small settlement of Dove River and befriended the 17 year old adopted son of a local couple. When the boy goes missing, he is immediately suspected of the murder by everyone in the local community except his mother, who recruits the help of a visiting scout and the pair set of to find the missing boy. They are joined by others who have vested interests in the outcome.
The current intrigue the tale reveals, and the old mystery that is resolved, unfold as the journey progresses. The understated relationship between the scout and the stubborn wife/mother adds subtle flavour to the mix.
A story of determination, mystery, loyalty and a mother's love and harsh lives lived in primitive conditions. A good read.
Monday, 13 May 2013
The Vanishing Point by Val McDermid
You've heard the expression 'airport fiction' - well, this is really airport fiction. A child is kidnapped from his adoptive mother whilst they are transiting through an airport in the USA. The boy's natural mother, now dead, was a British TV reality star and his adoptive mother was her 'ghost' biographer and friend. But why was the boy kidnapped and by whom? At first, the adoptive mother comes under suspicion but, as she is questioned by the airport authorities and her story unfolds, a complicated history reveals layers of secrets and lies.
Val McDermid's Hill/Jordan books were adapted for television as the 'Wire in the Blood' series and she has written many more crime novels of repute. She has also been awarded the Crime Writer's Gold Dagger Award.
The Vanishing Point was published in 2012 and is the first of her novels that I've read, so I've discovered her rather late, although I enjoyed 'Wire in the Blood', as a TV series, very much. The Vanishing Point kept me turning the pages, and I didn't want to put it down. It's full of twists and turns although I thought the plot was too closely inspired by the real life story of a reality 'star', which took the gloss of it a bit for me.
What spoilt it - and really spoilt it - was the last chapter. I won't spoil it for you with a full disclosure but don't say you weren't warned!
Val McDermid's Hill/Jordan books were adapted for television as the 'Wire in the Blood' series and she has written many more crime novels of repute. She has also been awarded the Crime Writer's Gold Dagger Award.
The Vanishing Point was published in 2012 and is the first of her novels that I've read, so I've discovered her rather late, although I enjoyed 'Wire in the Blood', as a TV series, very much. The Vanishing Point kept me turning the pages, and I didn't want to put it down. It's full of twists and turns although I thought the plot was too closely inspired by the real life story of a reality 'star', which took the gloss of it a bit for me.
What spoilt it - and really spoilt it - was the last chapter. I won't spoil it for you with a full disclosure but don't say you weren't warned!
Monday, 29 April 2013
The Fall of Light by Niall Williams
Niall Williams gives us a legend of an Irish family, a family he owns as his own ancestors , the Foleys, in the harsh years of the Famine. Father Francis and his 4 sons have left their secure home on the estate of an absent landlord, after an argument between Francis and his wife Emer to seek a new home in the west. Francis is a bitter and arrogant man and his anger leads to the destruction of his family as his sons are scattered to the 4 winds.
The story follows each of the sons, and Francis, over years and continents as they travel and adventure. We see tragedy and love, plenty and starvation, death and birth. And far too much sorrow.
Eventually some of the members of the family are re-united and others learn the fate of those who wandered overseas and who have not returned.
Niall Williams language is beautifully lyrical, as in an ancient Irish fairy tale. One can almost hear the harp behind it, or the faintest of voices singing. The story itself is almost secondary to the lilt and sway of the language, so much so that I was really sorry when I finished this book. Great reading.
The story follows each of the sons, and Francis, over years and continents as they travel and adventure. We see tragedy and love, plenty and starvation, death and birth. And far too much sorrow.
Eventually some of the members of the family are re-united and others learn the fate of those who wandered overseas and who have not returned.
Niall Williams language is beautifully lyrical, as in an ancient Irish fairy tale. One can almost hear the harp behind it, or the faintest of voices singing. The story itself is almost secondary to the lilt and sway of the language, so much so that I was really sorry when I finished this book. Great reading.
Star of the Morning by Pamela Johnson
Ruby and Rose are happy chidden, growing up in a poor but loving home on the wrong side of the tracks in apartheid South Africa. But their world is torn apart when they are left orphaned and spend the rest of their childhood in an orphanage, visiting their only aunt and her family as 'poor relations' just once a month.
Different in temperament and with different ways of solving the challenges that life throws at them, the sisters remain close even though their lives take them in different directions. Rose lives for the moment, marries and finds herself in the heart of a warm, chaotic and lively family. Ruby spends her life in quiet service, living a simple life of restraint. Yet, in the end, it is Ruby who breaks taboos and risks scandal.
Both sisters spend their lives seeking the love and security they lost in their early childhood, but in their very different ways. Set against the background of social and political change in South Africa in the latter half of the 20th century, this story tells, gently but powerfully, how ordinary people are shaped by forces they they can't even name, let alone recognise.
Pamela Johnson tells the tale in a slow, slow pace that underlines the emptiness of Ruby's life. She has skilfully built a subtle atmosphere that illustrates the tension of Ruby's deliberate withdrawal from any overt signs of emotional involvement.
This isn't a book for those who like fast pace and action but as a study in subtlety, gentle but steady story development and a true touch, this one is worth th read.
Different in temperament and with different ways of solving the challenges that life throws at them, the sisters remain close even though their lives take them in different directions. Rose lives for the moment, marries and finds herself in the heart of a warm, chaotic and lively family. Ruby spends her life in quiet service, living a simple life of restraint. Yet, in the end, it is Ruby who breaks taboos and risks scandal.
Both sisters spend their lives seeking the love and security they lost in their early childhood, but in their very different ways. Set against the background of social and political change in South Africa in the latter half of the 20th century, this story tells, gently but powerfully, how ordinary people are shaped by forces they they can't even name, let alone recognise.
Pamela Johnson tells the tale in a slow, slow pace that underlines the emptiness of Ruby's life. She has skilfully built a subtle atmosphere that illustrates the tension of Ruby's deliberate withdrawal from any overt signs of emotional involvement.
This isn't a book for those who like fast pace and action but as a study in subtlety, gentle but steady story development and a true touch, this one is worth th read.
Thursday, 25 April 2013
The Resurrectionist by James Bradley
Body snatchers in Georgian and Victorian London. Perhaps in other cities in the UK as well? Almost certainly wherever doctors and anatomists struggled to learn more about how the human body works before modern scientific medical practices evolved to their current state of research. The imagination falters under the weight of the human tragedy of stolen bodies.
James Bradley has researched his subject meticulously, one might even say with a certain macabre relish. His (very) anti-hero, Gabriel Swift, apprentices himself to Edwin Poll, the great anatomist, who depends on fresh corpses stolen from graves. Determined to ally himself with his friends, and keep their confidences, as the only way of retaining his feet in an amoral world, Gabriel finds himself at odds with his employer and other powerful influences that he inadvertently crosses.
Dismissed by his employer for this misjudgement, and lost in a careless world, deserted by friends similarly haunted by the ghosts of their trade, Gabriel sinks further into degradation. Life loses all meaning in a catastrophic manner. At the mercy of powers he neither understands nor can avoid, his only way out appears to be through death and an anonymous grave.
Yet every good story has a twist in the tale, and this one is not exemption. My only complaint is that this twist felt more like that of a gecko's tale at first - abandoned and not quite belonging. It took me a few pages to work out that what I thought was happening was, in fact, actually happening.
Still, recommended if you like tales of gothic horror written in a haunting, sinister, claustrophobic style.
James Bradley has researched his subject meticulously, one might even say with a certain macabre relish. His (very) anti-hero, Gabriel Swift, apprentices himself to Edwin Poll, the great anatomist, who depends on fresh corpses stolen from graves. Determined to ally himself with his friends, and keep their confidences, as the only way of retaining his feet in an amoral world, Gabriel finds himself at odds with his employer and other powerful influences that he inadvertently crosses.
Dismissed by his employer for this misjudgement, and lost in a careless world, deserted by friends similarly haunted by the ghosts of their trade, Gabriel sinks further into degradation. Life loses all meaning in a catastrophic manner. At the mercy of powers he neither understands nor can avoid, his only way out appears to be through death and an anonymous grave.
Yet every good story has a twist in the tale, and this one is not exemption. My only complaint is that this twist felt more like that of a gecko's tale at first - abandoned and not quite belonging. It took me a few pages to work out that what I thought was happening was, in fact, actually happening.
Still, recommended if you like tales of gothic horror written in a haunting, sinister, claustrophobic style.
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