Graham Norton's sophomore novel follows the story of Elizabeth Keane, who returns home to Ireland from NA truly enjoyable read and highly recommended!
Graham Norton's sophomore novel follows the story of Elizabeth Keane, who returns home to Ireland from New York to tidy up loose ends following the death of her mother. Rooting through some of her mother's things, she finds a bundle of letters that reveal significant details about her past, information she was completely unaware of. The narrative then shifts back in time to Patricia, Elizabeth's mother, as she struggles with imminent spinsterhood before advertising for a suiter in a national farmer's journal. Following correspondence with a farmer by the name of Edward, Elizabeth travels to West Cork to spend time with him, getting more than she bargained for when she meets Edward's mother.
I don't want to say much more about the plot because the blurb is relatively vague and the story is just so enjoyable that I would hate to take away from it for anyone. Go in blind!
In terms of my thoughts, I have to say that this is the second book I have read from one of Ireland's favourite comedians and I just loved my reading experience! Graham is so particularly skilled at capturing the essence of being Irish, particularly the warmth and the welcome, the chat (or the gossip), the small-mindedness and small-town mentality, the penchant for tea, the community spirit, the burying of feelings and secrets and the ache for home. He is a wonderful storyteller and is particularly skilled at evoking a real sense of familiarity. His characters are engaging and believable and his ability to draw you into their lives and their drama is astounding. Edward's mother is a brilliant villain and you will love to hate her!
I was a little bit distracted by the plotline involving Elizabeth's son - I was eager to get back to the main narrative - but overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable read that I was desperate to get through. A gem of a novel....more
I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about politics (especially politics in the United States). I am not going to pretend that I know a whole loI'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about politics (especially politics in the United States). I am not going to pretend that I know a whole lot about Barack Obama or his family. One thing I did know going into this book is that Michelle Obama is a strong and remarkable woman and I wanted to know her story.
What I was very pleased to discover early on is that Becoming isn't really about politics. Sure, it recounts Barack's early years as a new associate in a Chicago law firm and his eventual run for U.S. senate and presidency, but, really, this is a book about a woman's life. A resilient, confident, kind and intelligent woman's life. Michelle Obama is a woman who knows her own mind, a quality I absolutely admire. She isn't afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believes in, and she is unapologetic in her commitment to bettering herself while also giving something back to the world. She is an incredible daughter, sister, wife and friend, but above all else, she is the most wonderful mother. Like her parents before her, Michelle Obama raised her children to be adults; to be open-minded but comfortable in their own minds; to be confident yet kind; to be independent and strong; and, most importantly, to use their voices. Despite the harsh media glare that settled on their family from when Barack began his campaign for presidency, the Obamas seem to have raised two grounded and down-to-earth young women.
There were many things in this book that pulled on my heartstrings, but none of them related to politics. I choked up on Michelle's descriptions of her children's' birthdays or their first days at school or their prom; I found Michelle's commitment to improving the life of military families and her efforts around child health emotional. I welled up when she described the funerals of young black people, gunned down unnecessarily, and when she described the aftermath of the tragedy that befell Sandy Hook Elementary. Her words are poignant and considered; not a single word is used in vain. Her voice is beautiful, with such purpose and clarity. It was an absolute pleasure to listen to her.
As well as being entertained by the descriptions of things I never considered - like the family's huge motorcade or the inside of their living quarters in the White House - I was blown away by Michelle's story of her life; her extraordinary and remarkable life. She took on an enormous and ultimately unwanted task and instead of using her education, experience and intelligence to focus on certain policies, she stuck to what she truly cared about: improving the lives of young girls and women in America. Her efforts were incredible, her story is awe-inspiring.
I honestly believe that Michelle is as good, as kind, as strong and as beautiful as she comes across in this book and I feel all the better for having read it. She is an inspiration....more
My first read of 2019 and an enjoyable one. Review to come.
REVIEW
Normal People is a brilliant book; a wonderful evocation of young love and life in coMy first read of 2019 and an enjoyable one. Review to come.
REVIEW
Normal People is a brilliant book; a wonderful evocation of young love and life in contemporary Ireland.
Millenials Connell and Marianne come from the same small town in rural Ireland. Our two protagonists, however, couldn't be from more different worlds. Marianne comes from a wealthy family and lives in one of the village's most lavish homes, which Connell's mother cleans. Marianne is skinny and anxious, but very clever and witty. She is insecure and throughout the books exhibits masochist tendencies, also struggling with conflict with her mother and brother. Connell, on the other hand, comes from a working-class background and is the only child of a young single parent. He is popular and is perceived as being happy, secure and confident, and has an open and loving relationship with his mother.
Marianne and Connell's relationship begins in school, bringing them under a bright spotlight while all of their contemporaries blur in the background, absorbed in the teenage concerns of dances, committees and who is having sex with who. Both characters move on to Trinity College in Dublin, dissolving any differences in social class but also flipping their social standing: Marianne is now the social butterfly, confident and popular, relishing in the anonymity of big city Dublin and the intellectual rigor that Trinity promotes. She loves the liberation university has brought her and is apparently flourishing in her new social world. Connell, on the other hand, is struggling to find his identity and to make friends. The story follows the young couple as they move through undergraduate life, finding themselves and flitting between relationships with others and each other.
Sally Rooney is a fearless and gifted writer. She is so very good at portraying love and relationships between people, and at observing how people perceive and understand themselves. Her analysis of the psychology of characters is exemplary and I thoroughly enjoyed the interiorness and awareness she brought to the characters of Marianne and Connell. Her handling of social class and of the economic privilege and access to culture available to certain groups of people is also very impressive and I marveled at how insightful and intelligent a writer Rooney is, and not just for her young age.
I have a very minor complaint: While the villains in the story are very well drawn, the story of Marianne's relationship with her brother needed a bit more bulking for me. I would have enjoyed a little more insight into the reason behind his aggression towards her.
At it's very core, Normal People is a story about being young and in love in modern-day Ireland. However, it is also a story about being in love in anytime, and the insightful, honest and intimate evocation of love presented by Rooney is superb. A thoroughly impressive and enjoyable book. 4.5 stars...more
In The Trick to Time, author Kit de Waal takes us back to Birmingham in the 70s, during the time of the IRA puA simple but beguiling story. 4.5 stars.
In The Trick to Time, author Kit de Waal takes us back to Birmingham in the 70s, during the time of the IRA pub bombings. While the events of the time are pivotal to the story of the tragedy that unfolds in this book, they occur off to the side, with de Waal, instead, bringing her focus to the personal misfortunes of two characters: 20-something Irish immigrants Mona and William. At first, this is a story of love at first sight, but it soon develops into a beautifully tender story of marriage and grief, suffering and long-term devotion.
The story is told through Mona in concurrent past and present narratives. In the present day, Mona is turning 60 and living in a seaside town in England. Childless and living alone, she runs a specialised doll-making business, the premise of which is both intriguing and heartrendingly sweet. Without giving too much away, this business helps people who are suffering from loss and eventually hints at the compelling truth of Mona's sad tale. As soon as I read about Mona's endeavors and the manner in which she creates these dolls, I was mesmerised by this book. Lovers of de Waal's debut novel may say Leon is a difficult book to follow but, for me, the impact of this sophomore effort is even greater.
When we venture into the past with Mona, we learn about her mother's early death from cancer and the love she had for her father, which held onto her even when she yearned to flee her stifling Wexford hometown. We witness her eventual move to Birmingham and the overwhelming guilt she feels when a shock phone call brings her home again. We see her meet William and delight in her happiness when their relationship develops into something meaningful. But, sadly for Mona, loss is never too far away.
The emotional connection I experienced with these characters was intense. De Waal has a major talent in the effortless way she makes you care about the fictional community she creates. Every character in this story has a unique voice and we want to listen to them all: the caring, grieving father, raising his young daughter alone; the busybody relation in Wexford who eventually reveals her truth; the teenage assistant who works in Mona's shop; and, of course, Mona's husband, William, who breaks our heart. The care we have for these characters translates to a genuine fear for their well-being and, subsequently, a gentle suspense, which for me is far more effective than a story reliant on cliff hangers. I needed to know what happened Mona and William, and I needed to know that Mona would be okay, which made it impossible for me to put this book down.
The Trick to Time is a simple but utterly beautiful tale that really pulls on your heartstrings. It is about love and loss, and the burden of dealing with other people's tragedies. The dialogue is authentic and snappy, the pacing is perfect. There is nothing complex about the structure and the story flows perfectly. The story is emotional but not sentimental, with enough flourishes of humour to keep it from becoming too heavy. It is a truly special story and one that will certainly stay with me. Highly recommended....more
Almost everyone has read Tara Westover's memoir by now but I've realised I never posted a review of it.
Westover was born into a survivalist family in Almost everyone has read Tara Westover's memoir by now but I've realised I never posted a review of it.
Westover was born into a survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho and was raised to stockpile, to stew herbs, to salvage and to support. She didn't have a birth certificate and she never saw a doctor or a nurse; every cut, burn, broken bone or concussion was treated at home with her mother's hebalism. The family was so isolated from other people and from mainstream society that there was no emphasis on formal education, and no intervention when Westover's older brother became abusive.
When one of her other brothers escaped the mountain and enrolled in college, Westover was inspired to explore a new way of life. She taught herself mathematics, grammar and science, which eventually led her to take the ACT and be accepted to school. She was 17 the first time she stepped inside a classroom. Her quest for knowledge and independent thought transformed her, and eventually she went on to Harvard and to Cambridge University, earning a PhD in Intellectual History.
Educated is such an astonishing memoir and a truly inspiring story. It is not just about education and what it offers an individual; it is also about the struggle for self-invention, deep-rooted and fierce family loyalty and the grief that comes with severing close but damaging familial ties. For me, it is a heartbreakingly honest and beautiful portrayal of an indomitable woman that begs the question: How much of ourselves should we give up to those we love?
This is probably one of the best books I have ever read and certainly my favourite memoir. Exceptional....more
Daisy Johnson's collection of short stories, Fen, set her magic realist style. She bewitched us with tales of humans who could turn into animals, and Daisy Johnson's collection of short stories, Fen, set her magic realist style. She bewitched us with tales of humans who could turn into animals, and deadly temptresses overpowering their lovers, while also grappling with topics such as domestic abuse and eating disorders. All in all, the offering left you hungry for more.
Johnson's debut novel is a different and more ambitious kind of beast. Transporting the reader to an unfamiliar Oxford, the book opens with lexicographer Gretel, who has recently been reunited with her estranged mother, Sarah. Sarah raised Gretel on a canal boat, living a strange and simple existence, speaking a language of their very own. When Gretel was thirteen, her mother abandoned her and she spent the rest of her childhood in foster care. After a long search to find her mother, Gretel now shares her home with her, urging Sarah to tell her life story, which proves difficult as dementia creeps in.
As the main story of this novel unfolds - the story of their past, Gretel regularly interrupts the narrative with sections dedicated to her long search for her mother; how she trawled local hospitals and sought out an old acquaintance, Marcus, who we soon learn spent part of his youth on Sarah and Gretel's boat, after committing murder while in the throes of a nightmare. There is a lot going on here and the changing threads and narrative voice or perspectives don't make it easy on the reader. The biggest challenge of Everything Under is the non-liner chronology; the fractured narrative that we try to piece together at the same time Gretel tries to remember the past. While it is very well crafted, the manner in which everything shifts - time, place, even gender - can be unsettling. But the beauty is, it all works: the non-traditional structure, the disjointed flow only serve to highlight Gretel's confusion about the past and efforts to remember, as well as Sarah's fading memories.
Memory is such an important theme in this novel, particularly the swampiness of memory, the murkiness of it. Certain stronger memories or events are anchors in Gretel and Sarah's (and Marcus') story and the other parts or fragments of the tale are built around them. The thematic depth here is shocking. Belonging and identity; fate, folklore, family and the ties that bind; the roles of language and gender in shaping us - everything in this book is explored wonderfully and the result is truly impressive. It is so atmospheric, with nature - particularly water - evoked expertly. It is gloomy and dark, with deep and muddy rivers and strange creatures lurking in the water beneath canal boats.
And, finally, the prose is beautifully lyrical, with passages that make you feel like you are suspended in water, held down by its weight until you can finally come up for air. Johnson is a gifted and fascinating writer and her handling of this mother-daughter relationship and the trappings of gender is mesmerising.
I have some minor complaints: Firstly, with the blatant disclosure in the marketing of this book in relation to the Greek myth connection (I won't state it here), which pretty much gives away the plot of one part of the story. This may or may not affect your enjoyment of this book - it depends whether you like to go into a book 'blind' or not. And, secondly, Johnson's handling of one of the themes in the last section of the story becomes more literal than subtle, and verges a little too far into the fantastical for me, and I would have liked if some of ends weren't tidied up neatly as they were.
Everything Under is a strange but stunning book, ultimately consuming and one that I am very glad to have read. I am very eager to see what Daisy Johnson does next....more
Whistle in the Dark kicks off where most novels conclude: with what comes after the big event. Lana Maddox has recently been rescued and is safe iWhistle in the Dark kicks off where most novels conclude: with what comes after the big event. Lana Maddox has recently been rescued and is safe in hospital, having been missing for four days in the Peak District National Park in central England. Rather than confusing us with a convoluted plot twist � like so many contemporary novels � Emma Healey’s newest offering sets up the mystery on the first page and then moves through a straightforward process of solving it. How very refreshing.
Lana doesn’t appear to be seriously injured physically, but her inability � or unwillingness � to fill in the gaps or even say who she was with, is worrying for her parents, Hugh and Jen. Jen, especially, is driven to imagine the very worst and we set out with her, as detective, on an emotional and sometimes uncomfortable quest to discover just what happened to her daughter. Did Lana suffer such trauma that she can’t force her mind to go back to what she experienced? Was Matthew � a boy Lana had just begun to date � involved somehow? Or was Lana involved in something unimaginable at the hands of Stephen, a member of the New Lollards Fellowship religious cult? His concerns with children ascending into hell and children ‘bringing something back� (something evil) from experiences like Lana’s are both unsettling and bizarre. What complicates matters even more is Lana’s depression, which predates her disappearance and has manifested itself in bouts of cutting and suicidal ideation. As a gentle warning to readers sensitive to certain triggers, mental health plays a big role in this novel so this reading experience can feel like an intense one.
“I want to kill myself,� Lana tells her mother and “her voice was flat and quiet, toneless and powerful�.
Lana is a refreshing and ballsy character, but she is also strong-willed, scathing and often rude. She is resistant to her mother’s probing and is reluctant to provide desperately anxious Jen with any kind of reassurance while she struggles to establish an independent identity. Jen continues to try to be close to her daughter but Lana pulls away.
“[It was] as if she’d invited some stranger into the house, or some mythical creature, a unicorn or a griffin�.
Lana’s character is quite dark, with her looking into disturbing and morbid representations of organised religion, such as stigmata and hell. This darkness, however, is balanced by a deadpan sense of humour and some warm and tender moments with her family that are lovely to witness, and we begin to realise that underneath it all, Lana is a very sad, insecure and frightened young girl.
“I look hideous without the bandana,� said Lana. “I’m sure it isn’t that bad.� “You’re disregarding my feelings again. We talked about this with Dr Greenbaum.�
Jen’s situation is every parent’s worst nightmare and portrays brilliantly the difficulties in dealing with a loved one’s depression. Her journey is a painstaking one. She ‘shadows� her daughter, following her to school and checking her Instagram profile, trying but failing to decipher her teenage mind and understand her actions.
“Lana, who wasn’t talking to her that day, wasn’t talking to her in an ordinary teenage way, or perhaps wasn’t talking to her in a troubled teenage way. How were you supposed to tell?�
Whistle in the Dark is about mental illness, parenthood, mother/daughter relationships and contemporary family life, but at its core, it is a gripping story about a mother’s love for her child, and her absolute refusal to allow hope to die. It is deeply affecting, and not just for mothers. Its portrayal of Jen’s struggle to stop Lana falling into a state of helplessness, and to impose some form of order in a chaotic world, will strike a chord with anyone who has loved someone. It is impossible not to feel sympathy for Jen, particularly because we are drawn into her internal monologues, right inside her mind as she tries to make sense of her reality. Despite the red herrings that emerge in this story, paying tribute to your traditional detective novel, the conclusion Healey draws is cathartic and hugely satisfying. The tension and intensity she manages to construct by the close of the novel is almost too much to bear, and by the end, I was completely exhausted.
This wonderfully constructed, intelligent and emotionally compelling novel was both a difficult and engaging read, and I absolutely loved it. Bravo, Emma Healey. 4.5 stars. ...more
This is my first book by Sarah Moss but something tells me I will reach for her work again.
Ghost Wall is a short but very well executed novel that comThis is my first book by Sarah Moss but something tells me I will reach for her work again.
Ghost Wall is a short but very well executed novel that combines the ancient rituals of the Iron Age with a contemporary setting. The novel takes place over a period of a few hot days in summer, towards the end of the 20th century. Seventeen-year-old Silvie and her parents have joined Professor Slade and a group of students on a camping expedition in rural Northumberland. At their camp, they plan to live as the ancient Britons did: hunting and foraging for food, dressing in traditional clothing and observing iron age rituals. Silvie's father Bill is an intense and abusive man: passionate about the past, he balances his day job as a bus driver with his studies at night, and fancies himself an amateur historian with excellent survival skills (hence his reason for being included in this 'experimental archaeology' project). As the week progresses, Bill's ideological views don't sit alongside with the jollity and more casual approach of the professor and his students, so tensions begin to arise and the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable.
What I really enjoyed about this book is Moss's brilliant sense of place. The story is set within a few square miles of countryside and we follow the group as they go back and forth over this territory on the hunt for food. Every detail of their path is described, so much so that we come to know it ourselves. We really get a sense, through Moss's writing, of the kind of physical contact Iron Age ancestors would have had with the land so many years before. We walk the land with these characters, we feel what they feel and witness the beauty of nature. But we also witness the darker undercurrent. With a close affinity with nature, there is often primal instincts and violence; a violence that Bill seems to advocate for. Giving himself license to practice sacrificial rituals and rule with an iron fist, if you will, he unleashes daily domestic abuse on Silvie, descriptions of which are subtle but on one occasion graphic.
While this is a very short novel - running just over 150 pages - it manages to create and build an atmosphere of extreme tension. There is a constant feeling of something being withheld, a tautness that carries us along, step by step through the plot until, finally, we land at the conclusion, exhausted but satisfied.
A modest but marvelous book, Ghost Wall affected me more than I anticipated and left me curious and in awe of its author. Sarah Moss is one to watch....more
"O Sleep, come for me, I will go quietly, where the roof doesn’t leak in my heart.
O Sleep, come for me, I’m a boat, sprung a leak, I’ll hide and you"O Sleep, come for me, I will go quietly, where the roof doesn’t leak in my heart.
O Sleep, come for me, I’m a boat, sprung a leak, I’ll hide and you’ll seek a new start for me. Til dawn, I’ll be too gone to care how grey the day is. The dreams that it chases away, they stay asleep.
O Sleep, come for me, I will come willingly, like a leaf from a tree in October..." - Lisa Hannigan, O Sleep
The Dreamers is the sophomore effort from Karen Thompson Walker, author of the novel The Age of Miracles. The story opens with Mei, a student in a university in the small fictional town of Santa Lora, California, who discovers that her roommate has fallen into a deep sleep that she cannot be woken from. At the hospital, it is revealed that this bout of deep sleep is a sickness - a contagious virus - that renders its victims comatose (in the sleep-sense) for weeks or months on end. The sickness soon spreads throughout the university grounds before spilling over into the local neighborhoods and small town, affecting a host of characters: more of Mei's classmates and more university students; two local children, Sara and Libby, and their father; Ben and Annie, a young married couple, and their three-week-old daughter, Grace; Nathaniel, a university faculty member. We don't know how its victims are chosen, but the sickness seems to affect people of all ages and all walks of life, ensnaring them in a perpetual sleep that triggers life-altering dreams. And that's what is so interesting here: these victims, in their sleep, display an unusual amount of brain activity and they dream. They dream about the past, about the present and, interestingly, about the future. Each state of dreaming is unique to the dreamer, just as the virus affects each victim in a different way.
I think this is a very well written and constructed novel. The author handles this small-town catastrophe very well. As panic beings to build in Santa Lora, a quarantine is established. Classes are cancelled, the number of cases increases and food supplies run low. But nothing here is overdone. Just like the dreamers themselves, there is a quiet and a gentleness to this virus, and a subtlety to how Thompson Walker portrays this. There is a normality to the chaos, which we are regularly reminded of, and that maintains the humanness here. Parents must care for their children, pet owners must feed their pets and teenagers still fall in love. Life goes on all around Santa Lora, just as life goes on for the victims who dream, in whatever form that may be.
There is certainly a dystopian, apocalyptic feel to this novel but I would class it more as character-driven science-fiction story with fairytale elements. The prose and the story are hypnotic and the book is filled with wonderfully emotive passages that make this a truly memorable read. I particularly loved the sections where Ben is left to look after his newborn daughter when his wife falls asleep. The constant attachment he is forced to endure with his dependent and vulnerable baby is both a blessing and a struggle, and it was heart-wrenching to watch him try to cope alone with both the huge grief he was experiencing and the mundane activities of the everyday - the new baby sleep schedule, the feeding, the changing. It really struck a cord with me. And I find that typical, now, of Thompson Walker's work: she is a beautiful writer, one that has the ability to evoke true emotion in her balance of the weird and the normal.
The Dreamers is a stunning novel; a mesmerising story about life and love, dreams and reality, and the nature of consciousness. I highly recommend it. Four and a half stars....more
Set between 1952 and 1970, in a narrative that moves back and forward in tension-building order, Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautifully lush novel tSet between 1952 and 1970, in a narrative that moves back and forward in tension-building order, Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautifully lush novel that follows the life of Kya Clark as she grows up in the marshland of a coastal community in North Carolina. Abandoned by her mother, siblings and, eventually, her father, Kya leans on nature to help her survive, acquiring hunting and fishing skills to provide both food and opportunities for trade. Kya doesn't go to school and is the subject of the stories of the locals in the small town beyond the creek.
The book opens with a prologue set in 1969 in which a young local man has died suspiciously in the swamp. The rest of the book cuts between the investigation, in which the accusatory locals believe 'the swamp girl' is responsible, and flashbacks to Kya’s youth and young adulthood. The date-jumbling narrative moves seamlessly, building on the story in the most effective way. Kya becomes so much more than a protagonist: she is a unique, brave and fascinating heroine and you will love her.
Kind, local 'tutors' help Kya along the way: Tate, a friend of her older brother, teaches Kya how to read; a local African-American man buys Kya's fish and in turn sells her the things she needs, and his wife clothes Kya, and teaches her about men and menstruation. But Kya's main caretaker is always nature. And she trusts her implicitly.
I loved everything about this book. It is an incredible story about resilience and survival, as well as hope, friendship and love. Even without the 'whodunit' storyline, this would be a very good book, but the murder mystery aspect only helps to intensify the insular whisperings of a small community who choose to treat Kya as an outsider.
What is truly remarkable about this book is how atmospheric it is. The sights and sounds of the swamp are evoked so wonderfully, allowing you to walk in Kya's shoes, through her vibrant surroundings. Delia Owens isn't just a wildlife scientist, she is a very talented storyteller with a wonderful insight into the human condition.
5 stars. One of my favourite reads of 2018/2019....more
A brilliant, intelligent and original thriller with an intriguing cast of characters and a riveting portrayal of the art world and the dark 4.5 stars.
A brilliant, intelligent and original thriller with an intriguing cast of characters and a riveting portrayal of the art world and the dark side of Los Angeles.
The Incendiaries by Korean-American author, R.O. Kwon has been called one of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2018 and rightly so.
In this small bThe Incendiaries by Korean-American author, R.O. Kwon has been called one of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2018 and rightly so.
In this small but razor sharp book, three Korean-American students' lives are intertwined while attending a university on the East Coast. Will has recently transferred from Bible College, having rejected both religion and fundamentalism, and Phoebe is a campus sweetheart still grieving the loss of her mother. Both come under the influence of John Leal, a charismatic former Edwards University student who was previously captured and released by North Korea and is now the leader of a religious extremist cult known as Jejah. What is fascinating about all three characters, is that we never really feel like we can trust them, as they are all hiding something: Will is embarrassed by his poverty; Phoebe's exuberant, popular-girl persona masks a deep grief and fierce battle with depression; and John's magnetism is highly questionable given his extreme methods of recruitment and leadership.
Will is in love - and mildly obsessed - with Phoebe. When she slips under the influence of John and his disturbing cult we really do appreciate how upsetting his predicament is. Will's situation is brilliantly portrayed, but it is his struggle with his own religious identity that captures our attention. To Will, his old faith is like something he cannot shed entirely:
“People with no experience of God tend to think that leaving the faith would be a liberation,� he says, “a flight from guilt, rules, but what I couldn’t forget was the joy I’d known, loving Him. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing � the old, lost hope revived. I was tantalized with what John Leal said was possible: I wished him to be right.�
This is a story about religious intensity and how it functions in America. Religion can provide comfort, it can unite, and it can energise, but sometimes it can explode. This book is also a deep meditation on loss, of which Kwon is extraordinarily sympathetic. With her elegant, staccato prose, we are brought on a journey to the depths of places people can go when they are suffering from great loss; to the dark places and the extreme insecurities, where we witness the truly vulnerable side of millennial youth. We watch how these characters try to find meaning in tragedy and fill in the empty gaps in their lives.
It is also an imagination of the mind-set of a particular type of religious fanatic, and it questions notions of violence as a reaction to religious belief versus a response to a lack of belief.
The Incendiaries comes to us with a different structure; as a series of memories pieced together in the aftermath of an act of terrorism. With it's obscure narration style, we are not entirely sure who is doing the remembering and who is actually piecing together the series of events for us. In short chapters it moves from Will, to Phoebe, to John, but it appears to be Will's imagining of all three perspectives, so it is a struggle to bring the story into focus. However unsettling or disorientating this is though, Kwon does an excellent job of balancing it all, meaning we are never frustrated by the fogginess.
This is an ambiguous and masterful book. It is unique, powerful and utterly enticing, and it has arrived at a key moment in our time.
The Incendiaries is a slow burner, but when it catches fire, it's electric. It, in itself, is incendiary. 4.5 stars....more
Here's the thing about me and the Man Booker Prize nominees: I get around to reading some of them every year, even though I often promise myself I'll Here's the thing about me and the Man Booker Prize nominees: I get around to reading some of them every year, even though I often promise myself I'll get through the whole list. And the ones I do read, while I like them and sometimes love them, I am not quite sure I enjoy the process of reading them. This was especially relevant with Milkman.
There is no denying this is an incredibly impressive book. It is insightful, wonderfully written and wordy, and very, very funny. But it is also very niche, extremely insular, and a taxing read that requires your absolute and full attention. There is an intensity to our protagonist's keen observations on Belfast and the community that surrounds her, and I found her demand on our attention hard to bear at times.
Milkman, while obviously about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, is a book about people and identity, community and tribalism, borders and prohibited romance. I loved it for its protagonist, the wonderful "middle-sister", and the dynamic between her and her sisters. I love the humour Burns evokes, I love her turn of phrase and how she represents women. And I truly love what this book says about the failure to speak and the failure to stay silent. It is a stunning book and such an accomplishment, no doubt cementing Burns as one of the most daring and impressive literary figures of our time.
4 - 4.5 stars, because I'm being honest and acknowledging just how draining this book was for me to read. But I am so very glad I read it. It deserves all the stars....more
Eleven stories; eleven people with a connection to the state of Florida, which in itself is a character in this newest offering from Lauren G4.5 stars
Eleven stories; eleven people with a connection to the state of Florida, which in itself is a character in this newest offering from Lauren Groff. Florida's dense landscapes, its damp climate, its energy and its history come together to form a wonderful collection of engrossing stories about mostly women, mothers and their families. The coherence in these stories lies in their ability to unnerve you; to make you feel like the ground you stand on could crack and disintegrate under your feet at any moment, and that life as you know it - the everyday - is hanging by a very thin and fragile thread.
There are a wealth of characters here: a mother on her nightly walks around her neighborhood looks in on her neighbors, trying to keep a cap on her anger and frustration for the sake of her family (“I have somehow become a woman who yells�); two young children abandoned on a small fishing island, alone and fending for themselves; a mother vacationing in a remote cabin, her children looking after her with tenderness when she is concussed while changing a light bulb, waiting for her husband to return; a woman taking refuge from a hurricane; a graduate, recently evicted, living out of her car, learning the real meaning of true wealth. In each story the same kind of scenario appears: a protagonist is imperilled by an event - let it be an injury, a major life change, a weather event or some other extremity - and there are visitations or reminders of her past. The threat of sickness or danger lurks everywhere: there is a hint at a cancer diagnosis; there are alligators, panthers, snakes; stray dogs are mentioned, sink holes, theives and stalkers loom, and while not everything materialises, the threat itself - the very evocation of fear - is enough to challenge your senses and throw you off kilter, resulting in a truly engaging and electrifying reading experience.
One of Groff's main themes is the mistreatment or abandonment of children by their parents. The mother in “At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners� walks away, leaving her son with a cold, inattentive, snake-obsessed father. In another story, a babysitter finds that her charges� mother will not be coming home - she has been arrested for prostitution. The two sisters in one of the strongest stories, “Dogs Go Wolf,� are left alone in a swampy, isolated cabin, starving, without water or electricity. There is a fairy tale overlay to many of the stories, and more challenge you to wonder about the things in life that are beyond our control: the natural elements and energies that surround us. There is a play with dystopian fiction here, and just a hint of magical realism, and in its entirety, Florida is a captivating read that is both eerie and utterly refreshing.
Mothers delve into reasons for their anger. Women push back against the way the world is now, and the ways they are expected to live; the perfect mothers, wives, friends and lovers they are expected to be, the image they are expected to portray to the world. These women are in the midst of awareness and are fighting against the things in their lives that are threatening to imprison them.
Uncomfortable reading at times but nevertheless brilliant. Groff's prose is stunning. Highly recommended....more
If there is one kind of story I am powerlessly drawn to, it is that of childhood friends who find solace in each other's company and strength in colleIf there is one kind of story I am powerlessly drawn to, it is that of childhood friends who find solace in each other's company and strength in collective loyalty. The feeling of adolescent understanding and acceptance weaved with memory is a powerful and emotive theme in any story and I am a sucker for it (think: Stand By Me, IT, Stranger Things, Now & Then).
Enter "The Gunners", a group of six friends who take their moniker from the mailbox of an old, abandoned house where they met as children. While the house provided a physical space for them to meet, the safe haven was actually in themselves: a collective comfort away from the harshness of their latchkey-kid lives. Flash-forward to present day and Mikey, our book's protagonist, is thirty years old and suffering from the clouded vision of early-onset macular degeneration. As a result, he literally doesn't see life clearly but also has an inability to establish human connection. He takes his joy from quietly documenting the rest of the Gunners: Alice, a ballsy, brash lesbian marina owner with a lot of opinions; Lynn, a gifted pianist with a severed finger and weekly Alcoholics Anonymous commitment; Sam, an Everyman and born again christian; and Jimmy, a math genius who struck investment gold in Los Angeles but owns a lake house near the Gunners' hometown.
The last member of the group is the most significant, as it is she who draws them all back together. Sally, the daughter of an alcoholic and cruel woman is the group's most sensitive and vulnerable member. Despite this, she became the group's keeper. While the Gunners did find comfort in each other, the consistent denial of their realities meant feelings and secrets festered, but as the novel goes on, we realise it is Sally whose shoulders carried the emotional burden. As a result, in highschool, Sally distanced herself from the group of friends before stopping speaking to them altogether. She remained in their hometown, along with Mikey, but she lived a life of solitude up until the point when she takes her own life. Sally died harboring the dark secrets of her friends but it is her death that unites them once again.
The narrative moves back and forth in time as the novel progresses and it is through the present-day chapters that we begin to see the characters emerge. In coming back together, the Gunners revisit the past and explore their realities, attempting to make peace with themselves and each other. Each is convinced that theirs was the burden that drove Sally to leave the group and eventually take her own life but when they begin to reveal what they kept hidden as children, truths are uncovered. Mikey, in particular, needs to confront feelings he has about his relationship with his father. Much of Mikey's darkness comes from experiences he had as a child and teenager, experiences that led to him creating an impenetrable emotional distance between him and those in his life. While all of the characters are fully fleshed-out and expertly evoked, it is Mikey who stands out. Despite his preference for distance over intimacy, Mikey's empathy and compassion are obvious. I loved him for his gentle ways and his steadfastness, his loyalty and his heart. But this isn't just about likability: what we take away from this book isn't how likable the characters are, because of course they are flawed. It is about the genuine affection between these characters and the love and concern these friends have for each other that make this story so believable and inviting. Despite this book's quiet power, the Gunners draw you into their emotional and heart-wrenching narrative and leave you hoping for their happiness.
This is a story about truth, friendship and forgiveness. It is about creating a home outside of your family; creating a family when you feel you don't belong with your own; being accepted without necessarily being understood. It is also about how one moment, one decision can inexplicably change our path in life. The Gunners is startlingly beautiful and tender, poignant and meaningful.
With writing that is both observant and astute, Rebecca Kauffman has cemented herself as one of the most important young writers of our generation. 5 stars. ...more
If there is one very particular type of book I love, it is this: Contemporary American literature, almost short story-like4.5 stars...very nearly 5.0.
If there is one very particular type of book I love, it is this: Contemporary American literature, almost short story-like in structure, weaving a tapestry of human lives that are altogether different yet connected. The character development is exceptional and the author has a unique awareness of identity and the human condition. Examples include: The Men of Brewster Place and The Women of Brewster Place by the exceptional Gloria Naylor; Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; We Are Called to Rise by one of my new favourite authors, Laura McBride.
There There, the debut offering from Tommy Orange ticks all of these boxes. The book holds the interconnected stories of 13 major characters, all urban Natives with a connection to Oakland, California (urban Native is a term describing Natives that have been born in urban environments vs those that were moved there or moved there). Each of these characters have their struggles, from poverty to alcoholism, obesity to abandonment by a parent. They are united by their struggle with issues of identity and dislocation, yet Orange is adamant that they are all unique, and not just a played-out stereotype of Native American existence.
Each character is linked to the Big Oakland Powwow, a fictional event that brings the Oakland Native community together in music and dance. While some characters are members of the same family and are at the Powwow to see each other perform, others are brought together through their involvement in organising the event. Regardless of why they are there, being at the Powwow will have a massive impact on all of their lives.
There There is a very important book. I would be doing it a massive disservice by saying it is an important book just because of it's socio-political significance, because it is so much more. Of course it says something about the lives of urban Natives in contemporary America; that is clear. But it also signals the emergence of 21st century literature, the extension of the landscape of American fiction and the announcement of a brilliant new literary voice. Orange writes generously and profoundly about the urban Native community in California but also weaves an intimate tapestry of real, complex individuals who each struggle with establishing identity and connection.
The number of major characters and the regular jumble of points of view can cause minor confusion at times, but I assure you it is worth it. There There is a truly remarkable book and I urge you to read it....more
My husband rolled his eyes when I announced I was going to take on this book. I had just come out of an obsessive reading binge o4.5 stars, rounded up
My husband rolled his eyes when I announced I was going to take on this book. I had just come out of an obsessive reading binge on the Sophie du Toscan murder in West Cork here in Ireland, and was barely sleeping at night. I would close my eyes and Sophie's white holiday home in the isolated townland of Drinnane near Schull would loom eerily above me. I listened to the brilliant podcast West Cork three times through and spoke about the case with anyone who was familiar with it. I had Google alerts activated for anything related to Sophie's story and was even contemplating paying a visit to the area when I was in West Cork for a wedding over the summer. However, when three nights passed and I hadn't slept, I knew my mind needed a break.
You see, that's the thing about me. I can get a little too into things. My husband tells me I have an obsessive personality, that I am all or nothing. True crime has always been fascinating to me but I sometimes lack the ability to read, assess, compartmentalise and then move on. I'll Be Gone In The Dark seemed to too good to resist, however. My fascination got the better of me, as did my love of California, and I decided to dive in...
"Okay, Crazy. Just take it handy." - Thank you, Husband; that's very helpful.
Here's what I absolutely loved about Michelle McNamara's book: it's very, very real. And I'm not talking about the story here (even though that all is true). I'm talking about the voice behind the story. McNamara is a wonderfully vivid and engaging writer. Her words draw you in. She is passionate and honest; unassuming and relatable. And she is refreshingly open and forthcoming about her absolute obsession with the case of the Golden State Killer. Her efforts to uncover his identity are remarkable, and I found it utterly amazing that she was doing it all so justice could be done and families could find closure, and not just for fame or notoriety. McNamara loved true crime and this case especially consumed her.
While there is some repetition in the story (there needs to be for obvious reasons), by all accounts this is an incredibly well-written collection of events and a profile of a serial rapist and killer who defied California law enforcement and some of the country's best detectives for decades. It is fascinating and addictive, with a gripping story that is intensified by descriptions of the actual attacks, including the words the killer whispered to his many victims. I couldn't listen at night (I downloaded the audiobook, which I highly recommend) and had to shake-off his voice in my head after each session.
“You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."
"Remember when we played...?"
It is heartbreaking that McNamara died in 2016 (at the age of 46) before her book was finished, particularly when her work alone went so far in helping to solve the case of the Golden State Killer. Furthermore, it is utterly disappointing that she wasn't alive to witness the capture of Joseph James DeAngelo in April of this year. McNamara had amassed 3,500 files related to the case, plus dozens of notebooks, legal pads, digitised police reports and 37 boxes from an Orange County prosecutor, and I'll Be Gone In The Dark, which was finished by her lead researcher and a colleague, is a real testament to how committed and passionate Michelle was, and how all-consuming her search for the Golden State Killer ended up being.
Touching on Michelle's own life and the real reason for her own interest in true crime, this book is as much a memoir as it is procedural. It's personal.
“I was a hoarder of ominous and puzzling details,� she writes. “I developed a Pavlovian response to the word ‘mystery�. My library record was a bibliography of the macabre and true. When I meet people and hear where they’re from I orient them in my mind by the nearest unsolved crime.�
McNamara describes her sleepless nights and shut-in days, and the evenings she retired to her computer in her daughter's playroom after bedtime to again climb down the rabbit hole into online message boards with people as obsessed with the gritty and morbid details of the case as she was. We are there with her as McNamara pours everything she has into her search, feeding us with the grisly details and the horror, while also respecting the privacy and sensitivities of the victims and their families. The book is beautifully balanced and despite the content, is a pleasure to read.
I'll Be Gone In The Dark is brilliant piece of work, one that that I would highly recommend and one that will no doubt end up on my Top Books of 2018 list....more
A brilliant first venture into noir for crime-fiction author Laura Lippman.
Sunburn is a dark and impressive tale with everything you would expect fromA brilliant first venture into noir for crime-fiction author Laura Lippman.
Sunburn is a dark and impressive tale with everything you would expect from a classic noir novel - sex, violence, murder, intrigue, and a sometimes lethal femme fatale who will stay with you long after you close the book on her story.
When we first meet Polly Costello, it's 1995 in Belleville, Delaware. Belleville is a saggy, sad town of 2,000 souls, complete with a depressing motel and local dive, the High-Ho:
“it’s like this whole town was put together from someone else’s leftovers�.
Adam Bosk's eye is drawn to a sexy redhead with two-day-old sunburn taking up residence on a bar stool. He has seen her before, a couple of days before, playing with her daughter and husband on a beach near Ocean City. For now, they are nowhere to be seen and Polly is alone. Over the next few days, our pair are drawn together, first working side by side in the High-Ho, then into an intense and passionate relationship. There is a wildness to Polly, an unattainable air, but that, Adam will find out, is an understatement. Our alluring, elusive protagonist isn't just on the run from her past, she's on the run from several. And Adam has his own secrets and is not in Belleville by chance: he's a PI on Polly's trail. And he has been warned not to get involved with her.
"She’ll have sex with you if you get close to her. It’s what she does.
As this story begins to unfold, we are drawn into a tale of crooked, corrupt men, abusive partners, murder and abandoned children.
The story is expertly plotted, the slightest bit slow to begin with but nothing that affects the overall momentum of this novel. Lippman is a master of thrilling revelations and perfectly timed twists in a prose that is full of wit and wisdom. Polly is a brilliant female lead - not hugely likable but undoubtedly intriguing. This novel is a pleasure to read and so seductive. And it will keep you guessing until the end, which I find is rare among contemporary female-led thrillers currently flooding the market.
Highly recommended and one on the best reads of 2018 for me....more
Everything about this book appealed to me, including its clean, crisp cover, the image of the nest, and the blurb that accompanied the story. The RoadEverything about this book appealed to me, including its clean, crisp cover, the image of the nest, and the blurb that accompanied the story. The Road to California tells the story of single parent Joanna and her isolated, slightly troubled loner son, Ryan. The two have lived a simple life since Ryan's father left them when Ryan was two, with Joanna providing for her tiny family by hand-crafting exquisitely detailed quilts. When Ryan is fourteen and excluded from school for hitting a girl in the face, Joanna realises she needs to take drastic action to help her son.
Lex, Ryan's father, arrives on the scene to be confronted by a son he knows nothing of; a son who finds solace in nature and books, but not in relationships. Over time, with Lex vowing to be apart of their family, Joanna and Ryan are asked to accept Lex in spite of his tendency to run from commitment and conformity. Over the course of this beautiful novel, love and trust are put to the test as the characters open their hearts to new realities.
There is such great warmth in this story; Louise Walters has really captured something wonderful here. It touches on love, loss and family, and within these pages you will find moments of great joy and of sadness. But what is mesmerising about this book and this writing, is that these moments can be found in the simplest and most everyday situations, which is so true to real life. You will be uplifted and you will be pulled apart, but every moment of this reading experience feels like being wrapped up in one of Joanna's great quilts. There is so much comfort to this book; I found it a pleasure to read.
Throughout this book there are subtle hints that Ryan is affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder but it is never the main focus of the story. He is simply accepted as who he is, as if this is just one other trait that makes him Ryan. I found that to be so special and commend Walters for her handling of it. The characterisation in her story is truly stunning and the people we meet in this story are remarkable, especially our two leads, Joanna and Ryan.
An emotional and heartwarming novel from a writer of huge talent. I wholeheartedly recommend it. 4+ stars....more
I am someone with a morbid curiosity and an addictive personality. In the past, I have become enthralled in true crime storiThis podcast blew me away.
I am someone with a morbid curiosity and an addictive personality. In the past, I have become enthralled in true crime stories and news events such as this one, and have obsessed over details of cases. The murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier is a story that captivated me because it is such an unusual one. The French film producer was beaten to death in a lane beside her holiday home in the bleak and isolated surroundings of Drinane near Tooramore, outside of the village of Schull in West Cork, just a couple of days before Christmas in 1996. Mme du Plantier was found in her night clothes and lace-up boots, and was still partially tangled in the brambles and barbed wire that fenced off the field next to her home. To the GardaÃ, it looked as if she had been running from someone, and this isolated, unlit path was as far as she got. Her hands were very badly damaged, and her head and face had been beaten with a piece of slate, a large concrete block and what is believed to have been a small hatchet, which has never been found. Devastatingly, for Mme du Plantier, her family and the community of West Cork, her murder remains unsolved. At the scene, the Gardaà uncovered no evidence. There were no witnesses, no forensics, and no clear motive. The case is so very intriguing and has stayed at the forefront of people's minds for the last 21 years.
West Cork breathes new life into the du Pantier case. Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde put a new perspective on the shocking crime and force us to look more clearly at circumstances and the evidence (or lack, thereof). The husband and wife team - one an investigative journalist, the latter a TV documentary producer and researcher - have worked tirelessly for three years to gather information on the case. They spent time in West Cork, interviewing countless locals and sifting through documents, newspaper articles, news reports, audio files, interview tapes and phone calls to piece together a riveting account of the murder and its aftermath. In particular, they focus in on Ian Bailey, the prime suspect in this case. Bailey, a British citizen who moved to Schull in the early 90s in search of a new life, found himself at the forefront of the investigation when a number of locals began to comment on his strange behaviour following the murder. One key witness in the case, a local woman named Marie Farrell, claimed she saw Bailey in town on the day of the murder, watching Mme du Plantier, and again late that night, out on the coast road near her home, around the time of the murder. Above everything else, this podcast is an excellent character study of Bailey, who makes for a compelling suspect and 'bad guy'.
A journalist in London, Bailey was in the process of reinventing himself as a writer and poet when he moved to West Cork. He met Jules Thomas while working in a fish factory and soon after moved into her cottage in Schull. A narcissistic and attention-loving character who many of the locals found unlikable, Bailey was already on the community's - and the GardaÃ's - radar. He was a heavy drinker and was known on three occasions to have beaten Jules severely, even landing her in hospital after one particular argument. He loved the spotlight, often standing up in pubs to spontaneously recite his poetry. Locals claim to have seen him walk around Schull in a long black coat with a wooden staff, or out late at night, howling at the moon. In an attempt to make money, he was known to have picked up odd jobs in the community and, in 1996, one of these jobs put him in the home of Mme du Plantier's neighbour, just meters from her holiday home. Although Bailey still claims he never met Mme du Plantier, a witness recalls seeing Bailey being introduced to the attractive French woman at this time, shaking hands with her and even hoping that she would take a moment to look at some of his writing. Bailey maintains he only ever saw Mme du Plantier through the window of her house, while he worked in her neighbour's garden.
Most Irish people will already have an opinion on this case. The murder has been kept alive in this country because of Bailey's insistence to remain in the public eye. Although he still claims he is innocent, he continually rears his head here in this country. He escaped trial, having never been charged with the murder (the Director of Public Prosecutions did not support the evidence to convict him), but Bailey did bring a case against both Irish newspapers and the GardaÃ, claiming his life has been ruined by their representation of him. The case is now in the spotlight again, with a French homicide trial against Bailey scheduled to take place in Paris later this year or early next year. The French believe that Irish law has been too lenient on Bailey, and that he should stand trial, even if it is in absentia.
I could speak about this case forever. It is so complex and so frustrating. There are so many witness statements that have been dismissed as hearsay - or statements that were later withdrawn - and so many details about Bailey and his behavior that have left me torn over his involvement in the murder of Mme du Plantier. There is a Garda investigation that is questionable and characters who are unreliable, many who bear small-town, personal grudges, and who have troubled pasts of their own. West Cork is a phenomenal podcast in that it clarifies things, if you like. With everything that has been in the media about this case over the last 20+ years, it is easy to get caught up in detail, and confused over who said what and what exactly us happening now, but Bungey and Forde do such a wonderful job of putting the events into chronological order, giving us a searing overall perspective on the entire case. They go back to the very start: back to the lane beside Mme du Plantier's home, back to her favourite pub, the town she moved around in. They spend time at the cottage with Bailey and his partner, they watch Bailey at the Sunday market (where he still, to this day, sells home-baked goods and pizzas with Jules). They meet with the locals in West Cork, they uncover their ways. They speak with Mme du Plantier's family and those who knew her. The research they have done is so very impressive, and the production value is of an incredibly high standard. They bring the unusual area of West Cork to life: its sounds and its sense of bleakness and remoteness, but also its beauty. The podcast goes into detail as to why so many 'alternative' types of people - lost people - choose to settle there, and make a life in a place that is as far west in Europe as physically possible. West Cork is on the fringes; the fringes of Ireland and, ultimately, the fringes of normal society. Its unique charm is evoked brilliantly, making West Cork a character in itself.
Whether or not you know of the du Plantier case, I urge you to listen to this podcast. Whether or not you believe Ian Bailey is guilty of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, I urge you to listen to this podcast. If you like True Crime, I urge you to listen to this podcast. It is an eye-opening and hugely compelling study of a truly fascinating investigation and without a doubt encourages binge-listening. This is a local story in small-town Ireland, but it is given incredible depth and attention to detail, and certainly portrays something new in a case that has been exhausted in Irish eyes. What is truly impressive, I feel, is Bungey and Forde's ability to explain the case from both sides, capturing the anguish of Mme du Plantier's family and also telling Bailey's story, painting him in such a revealing light, while also remaining impartial. I have listened to West Cork twice now and this is both admirable and awe-inspiring.
At times, the details included here are graphic and unsettling, and it is very upsetting to hear about Mme du Planter's last moments and her family's never-ending grief, but ultimately it is a fascinating listen that will completely consume you.
Elaine Mullane
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