Subtle Melodrama Book Reviews

For Review: Monsters of Men ~ Patrick Ness

2013-05-21T22:02:00.000+01:00

It is finished. That is it. All done. Three books makes a trilogy, I suppose. My first trilogy, and I have to say that I enjoyed the experience immensely. From one book, straight to the next, then the horrible wait for a week for the third to show in the post. My heart wants so much for there to be a fourth, just to know... This might just be me gushing about the Chaos Walking trilogy, but it has to be said how excited and enthralled and deeply involved I was in New World, for those three books.

So Monsters of Men, moving on from The Ask and the Answer, and the whole of New World is at war, from three opposing sides. Todd and Viola find themselves apart in the town, but growing emotionally estranged too as they try to figure our their place in the war, and the alliances that go with it. At the centre of the novel is the war itself - why did it start, does it have to happen, what can be done? All questions relevant of any war. More than that, through Todd, Viola, and those around them, Ness explores the possibilities of what humanity can accomplish through desire and passion. In Monsters of Men, it isn't a pretty sight. At the heart of all these askings, there are the ideas of peace and victory, perhaps more complicated that at first seems.

The tensions from the previous novels really come to a head here, but there's none of that saccharine over-explanation that tends to find itself at the end of young adult novels/series. Of course, some questions are answered, but others only touched upon or hinted at. Ness isn't pressing with the sentiments he wants his readers to feel, and I imagine my thoughts and feelings for certain characters and events differ from the next reader. That's what makes the Chaos Walking trilogy so brilliant - Ness' ability to create such a compelling story, but allowing the reader explore and make their own judgements.

There are layers upon layers to the story and, in this final installment, the inclusion of the voice of one of the Spackle natives. Throughout the trilogy, Todd and Viola both do a great deal of growing up, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Reading Todd's narration in Monsters of Men is such a different experience from that in The Knife of Never Letting Go. It's a change that keeps him distant in places, a change that Viola herself has noticed, but it's still Todd. The recognition of that difference, of what it means to Todd and his mind and his character, is quite heartbreaking in places. The result is a narrative that twists and connects like a plait, that comes together in a denouement that (and Ness has bad habit of doing this to me) moved me beyond tears. I cried, and I laughed, and I cried, and I laughed. The whole everything of the three books, of Todd and Viola's journey together, was just so beautiful and perfect.

While I recognise that this might not really count as a review (because those things are usually more measured), the reader in me feels the need to impress everyone with just how great the Chaos Walking books are. Like I said back in my review for The Knife of Never Letting Go, I haven't been so excitable about a book for a very long time. So for now, I will allow myself that shameless childlike glee and continue, as I have done a few times in the past couple of weeks to say, "Can I please just tell you about these books that I've been reading, the Chaos Walking trilogy, and tell you that they are the most amazing thing?"

Walker Books, 2010;
Paperback;
624 pages.

For Review: The Burgess Boys ~ Elizabeth Strout

2013-05-18T19:11:00.001+01:00

Reading about middle aged, middle class Americans always fascinates me - I've met many people from all over the world, but no middle-aged, middle-class Americans. From the literature I've read of such families, I have reason to believe that they are all deeply unsatisfied and a bit weird. Like I say, that's millions of people in the world that are alien to me, because I've only read about them in books. The Burgess Boys is one such novel.

Bob and Jim Burgess are two very different men, the former being soft, thoughtful, and lonely, and the latter charismatic, successful, and well-loved. The story starts when their nephew (son of their sister Susan) runs into some trouble, involving a pig's head and mosque. The sleepy town of Shirley Falls is trying to understand the new Somali population, while lawyer Jim tries to keep his nephew on the right side of the law. That's a start, but there's Jim's relationship with his wife Helen, Bob's relationship with his ex-wife Pam, relationships with siblings, and daughters and sons. Which is all complex, and authentic, and fine. But then there are pages about minor characters, sharing their view on the story for a few paragraphs, but never again returned to. The Burgess Boys is a densely populated novel, with lots of little strands of things going on, some of which didn't seem to need to be there.

That Strout is such a well-credited author makes sense; there were some poignant moments of insight in this story, and well put. Much of the description focuses on place, but it's important to do so in a Maine versus New York tale. The Burgess Boys was a smooth read, even at the most complex of places. Complex, in terms of plot, theme, and character. While I could tell you which characters I preferred over others, Strout offers a cast that are capable of being disgusting one moment, sympathetic the next, likeable on the next page, and just weird on the next, meaning that at the end there are no favourites.

The Burgess Boys was interesting but, with so much going on, I never felt that I had enough time with one character to be really invested in their particular storyline. The plots and the characters are all very normal and relatively straight forward, but Strout manages them in a way that is worthy of reading.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for a review copy of this book, 2013;
Hardback;
320 pages.

For Review: The Ask and the Answer ~ Patrick Ness

2013-05-12T22:27:00.003+01:00

Less than a week from the last review, and I've read my way through Chaos Walking book number two. I'm finding time for it among the exhausting business that is my final placement of my PGDE. Really, these books are that good.

So, from last time, Todd and Viola are still in New Prentisstown, but find themselves separated. Todd is being kept by the Mayor (now President), why Viola finds herself part of a mysterious house of healing with Mistress Coyle. Neither of them have the opportunity to see each other following strict regimes in the town - curfews, rations, rules about when women are allow to leave the home.

Without unpacking the story more, this novel deals with the idea of free will - both Todd and Viola feel that they are pressured into the various roles that they take, but are they really? And when they think they're making choice about what they're doing, how much of their 'choice' is designed by a tyrant leader? They're both thrown into scenarios where they have to very quickly choose to trust, or not trust, and getting it wrong can have horrible consequences (including the death of one individual, or a whole group).

New Prentisstown fast becomes a politically complicated dystopia, while Todd and Viola are also moving quickly through their own coming of age. Because of their parallel storylines, Todd and Viola give both their points of view, and it was interesting to read things from both sides, especially towards the end.

The end, and I don't have Monsters of Men yet. I ordered it online, thinking it would arrive once I had finished The Ask and the Answer but...it hasn't so I have to wait, and this is proving painful. Ness is very good at this writing, storytelling thing. He's also very capable of making me cry.

It's not that you should never love something so much it can control you.
It's that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled.

Walker Books; 2009;
Paperback;
517 pages

For Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go ~ Patrick Ness

2013-05-06T19:46:00.001+01:00

I'm not a trilogy person - don't think I've read all of anything that is part of a three. Definitely not a series person (Harry Potter and Narnia are my exceptions). Apparently, this has changed. Today I finished reading The Knife of Never Letting Go and I was so beyond myself when it was over, that five minutes later I was heading to the nearest bookshop to buy the next book. I nearly didn't, because I'm on a Book Buying Ban this year, but my boyfriend gave me permission to break it this time because, as he says, "I haven't seen you so excitable about a book in ages."

This all happened earlier today, and I'm already 1/5 of my way through The Ask and the Answer. The excitement comes from a story about Todd, who is nearly a man. He's not sure what happens on this thirteenth birthday to make him a man, but that's the way it goes. However, he's the last boy in Prentisstown. There are no women, and therefore no more children. The women were wiped out years ago, leaving the men and their Noise. The Noise is that horrific thing that no one ever wants to have to live with ever - that every single thing you think in your head is entirely audible to everyone else and, in turn, you can hear everyone else's Noise too. One day, Todd stumbles across a hole in the Noise, a silence that he doesn't understand. The discovery leads to the Mayor of Prentisstown dragging an army across the whole of New World to find him.

But it's a big, violent world out there, as Todd, his gorgeous doggy Manchee, and Viola (a girl that he finds at somepoint - I can't really write the review without mentioning here, but I won't say when she appears) soon learn. The Knife of Never Letting Go is told by Todd's narration, and he has to contend with his thoughts and feelings, how to censor them from others while in hiding, and the harsh realities of being on the run, all at once. Sounds like a lot, but it's carefully layered through Todd's narration. He is a young man that I love through and through, one of those instantly likeable characters. Todd is an illiterate farmer boy who knows how to take care of himself, but is still figuring out his place in a really messed up world. Reading his Noise, along with his narration, along with his interactions with others (especially Viola!) is very interesting to read. If there are three books with Todd, I am more than happy with that.

Okay, I'm writing a lot of just stuff here, and it's more gushing than anything else, but I loved this book. It was fast-paced, action packed, thought provoking, tear jerking, funny and sweet. All of these things, and Ness does them all so well. It's little wonder that he's so highly praised - the man's god skill. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a proper read, and is already my new thing to recommend.

Now, back to book number two.

Walker Books, 2008;
Paperback;
479 pages

For Review: The Reader ~ Bernard Schlink

2013-04-28T17:58:00.000+01:00

The Reader is proof that a book doesn't have to be several inches thick to be enjoyable and emotionally arresting. After some of the heavy tomes that I've read lately, this was quite a welcome relief.

Following the events of WWII, Germany is trying to reconcile its recent past with its present. Michael Berg is fifteen at the start of the novel when he meets older woman Hanna. They speak little of their personal lives, but find themselves deeply, intimately involved. Michael continues his studies at school, while Hanna works as a tram conductor. In the afternoons Michael reads to Hanna, and they enjoy their sexy times together (and I blushed to think that the people sitting on the bus behind me could read over my shoulder). Soon, however, the two are separated, until Michael's seminars involving the Nazi trials bring them together again, in a way.

All of this happens in the space of little over two hundred pages, but Michael pulls the reader into his narrative quickly. The novel is told retrospectively, and it's interesting to watch nostalgic teenage years give way gradually into cynicism. The narrative itself is intriguing, and the translation reads well. There's a lot of indulgence given to wondering about whys and what-ifs, so there were points towards the end of each chapter that read like philosophic meanderings. But, I suppose that is to be expected of the lawyer son of a philosopher.

The Reader is thought-provoking and bittersweet, more heavily leaning on the bitter side. Historical, philosophical, romantic, erotic, - good things do come in small packages!

Phoenix, 1997;

Paperback;

216 pages.

For Review: The Little Stranger ~ Sarah Waters

2013-04-22T22:28:00.000+01:00

Who knows how long this book has been sitting on my shelf for? It had genuinely been gathering dust. How embarrassing - especially given the number of times I've heard people exclaim how good Waters' writing is.

They're not wrong. The Little Stranger weighs in at 500 pages, but it zipped by on a train to and from London. It's the 1940s and the Ayres family are living in their estate at Hundred Halls. With the head of the house deceased, son Roderick is now lord of the manor, as it were. However, he suffered badly from a crash during the war, and struggles with a limp among other things. Mrs Ayres is charming and polite, very much gentry-bred, while her daughter Catherine is in her early twenties and already considered for spinister status. Dr Faraday is called to the house one day to attend to their parlour maid, who complains about the eerieness of the house. He's quickly a part of the furniture at Hundred Halls, beginning experiments with Roderick's poorly leg, and involving himself with the affairs of the house. Soon, however, Roderick is fearful of the house too, and a series of haunting events unfolds, from mysterious marks in the woodwork, to strange sounds, and a house fire.

What makes The Little Stranger so much more interesting than just an 'ooh some spooky things are happening' kind of read, is the parallels between what is happening in the house and the mental state of the Ayres family. Does the state of Hundred Halls affect those living there, or vice versa? The story is told from Dr Faraday's point of view, meaning that initially there is a distance between himself and the ghostly goings on. As the novel progresses, however, Faraday becomes closer to the family, particularly to Caroline, and he becomes more entangled in the strange goings on. There were places where it was unfortunate that the story was told from his point of view, because it meant that some of the really exciting twists in the tale had to be relayed to the reader second hand. Still, though the novel unfolded slowly at first, there was so much to interest and to speculate on that it all happened at an enjoyably quick pace.

This book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and I'm only surprised that it didn't go the whole way to winning. There's so much stuff going on here in terms of themes and ideas - madness, class, familial relationships, love, the repercussions of war - but nothing about it seems forced. Plenty to think about but at not point did it feel like I was being pushed to think about any one particular idea or line of argument. Waters keeps the reader guessing beyond the ending, and I imagine if I discuss the book with someone else we might have different ideas to discuss. The Little Stranger is big, but contained. Where there might have been limitations with the point of view, it can be equally frustrating and intriguing - the reader only knows what Faraday knows, and what he is often belatedly told. Still, the narration is fluid with authentic feeling and dialogue, and colours of description in the right places.

This was my first time reading anything by Sarah Waters, and I'll be quicker about reading more. Tipping the Velvet is already on my wishlist, but I think I've found another author to be really excited about that I haven't read the entire catalogue of. Here's to the next one! For those who might have read more by Waters - which is your favourite, and what could you recommend?

P.S (added after review was written)
I've noticed a few reviews claiming that they couldn't care less because the family were upper class. Well...I've got as much time for the upper classes as many others do, but I didn't feel that I was supposed to feel actual genuine pity for them losing their money. That's how the family felt, but I never had the impression that Waters wanted to go out of her way to make the reader to feel horrified at the Ayres' family's dwindling money problems. That was just a thing that was happening that had to be thought about, and also a potential reason for the family going doolally. Many of the things that happened, and the quirks, about this book couldn't have been there if the house was beautiful and lovely and always brightly lit and the whole family were happy the whole time. That's all I'll say about that for now.

Reviewish: Chavs - The Demonisation of the Working Class ~ Owen Jones

2013-04-20T15:23:00.002+01:00

Primarily, this blog is for reviewing fiction and talking about writing. There's nothing wrong with non-fiction, just it's not something that I review. Same goes with this. As much as I'd like to review this book in more detail, it's impossible to do without becoming ridiculously involved with politics, and this isn't the place for me to that. All the same, reading this has provided some interesting background material for an essay I'm writing about the young working class and education.

What I can say, is that I have never enjoyed reading a book concerning politics so much. For a start, it's actually a topic that interests me, but Jones writes in way that uses both journalistic research along with anecdote, which makes for a much easier read. Essentially, the book charts the way that the working class have been portrayed by the media, from politics, to various newspapers, to television programmes, and cinema. The working class are often portrayed in a certain light or, in fact, like being working class is synonymous with being a 'chav'. (NB - I'm Scottish, never use the word 'chav', and for American readers, I suppose the closest thing is white trash? Or something?) Obviously, this is not the case, but portrayal in the media might suggest otherwise. That, or the middle classes think otherwise. Jones argues through various cases, which include everything from the London riots to Shameless.

Most compelling for me were the sections about young working class and education. There were too many places were I nodded, grinned, and said 'exactly' at the sentence I was reading. My own experience of high school and, more especially, my experience of being at Edinburgh University, where places where the 'differences' between classes were made the most obvious. For me, that's just always been the way it is, but Jones offers insight as to why that might be, both in terms of politics and media. Still, I went to the same university and graduated with the degree as many others who had gone through private education, but I wouldn't say my situation is quite so unusual as Chavs would have me believe - there were places where I felt the working class were seen as too much of one lump big group, without disparity.

Overall, Chavs covers a huge area of politics and society but (and again I'm wary of getting into politics here too much) the lack of Scotland was keenly felt. Jones' research, statistics, and discussion didn't mention Scotland, so I spent much of time wondering how such a such scenario was dealt in Scotland, or what the statistics of such and such a thing are in Scotland - is the situation better, or worse? I don't actually know, because no such information was offered. But then again, the book is called Chavs and not Neds (though if someone wrote this I would definitely read it).

I surprised myself with just how much I could enjoy reading political non-fiction so, if reading about the working class, or 'chavs' is in your interest, then this book is worth a
read.

For Review: Freedom ~ Jonathan Franzen

2013-04-10T21:06:00.002+01:00

Freedom was one of those books that everyone in the world ever was saying, 'Hey, everyone in the world ever has to read this book.' So, that's the story of how I came to buy and read Freedom, same as all those other people.

Let's see...how best to describe the millions of everything that happens in this novel. Freedom centres around the Berglund family - Walter and Patty, and their children Joey and Jessica. In 600 pages, Franzen unfolds the story of the characters, their coming together as a family, and their relative dysfunctions. It's a family and marriage heavy story, exploring how our nearest and dearest are responsible for what we have, or don't have in life, and how we (human beings) form relationships as an attempt to change or build our futures. Unsurprisingly, all of this means that the novel spans generations too. One of those reads, where words like 'epic' and 'really long' come to mind (and references folks have made to Middlemarch and War and Peace etc).

Franzen's writing is, as I had been made to expect, brilliant. Not in a 'oh, that's so brilliant' kind of way, but a genuine 'brilliancy of literacy' way. However, different chapters have different narrators, and some were more enjoyable than others. Patty's 'Mistakes Were Made' autobiography was most authentic while, in the chapters belonging to Walter, his infatuation with his gorgeous young assistant is more compelling to read than lengthy paragraphs on political ideas (but this reader struggles to find politics too enjoyable to read in any case). There are many intricacies of plot, subplot, and narrative to Freedom, all combining to create the one story, driven by the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Naturally, this was never going to be a pleasant dandy read, but there were some very long, difficult chapters without any page breaks, making the experience quite relentless at time. Still, as one thing is revealed in one place about one character, it was interesting to see how and when this might have consequences (repercussions) for the rest of the cast. This was the really brilliant bit - the slow, puzzling, anxiety-ridden reveals that can only happen if they are carefully laid out and manipulated.

There's no denying that this book deserves much of the praise that is has received, and no doubt will continue to receive, but I'm not sure I'll be joining the ranks of readers singing about it. Not because it isn't great, but just because I don't think it turned me on as much as I expected. Still, it broke my heart at points, disgusted me several times over, and was definitely worth the read.

Books are Written to be Read

2013-03-30T20:30:00.002Z

Before I started my creative writing MLitt, the only people in the world that had seen my writing were my teachers. That does include one teacher who, if I wasn't as stoically stubborn as I am, might have persuaded me to stop writing forever. Then I began the MLitt programme, and all of a sudden there were 12-13 people sat round a table, reading and critiquing my work. That was weird, but it was definitely very good. A small handful of those people have seen around a fifth of my novel, but beyond that, just me, and the lovely people at Bamboccioni Books have read the full thing.

Swings and Roundabouts is being published. That still feels like a really weird thing to type, but it feels stranger still saying this out loud to other people. Slowly but surely, I'm getting used to the idea. But as I am, along comes the growing realisation that people will (hopefully) read it. I'm not even thinking about reviews, or what so and so might publically write or say about my book. I'm more concerned with the experience of the reading of the book. The novel was never written to be just for me, ~~the dream~~ the idea was always that someone might pick it up in a book shop and read it. But what will that be like?

Like the Samuel Johnson quote - "A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it." So right now, my novel is in transit, and I'm wondering (perhaps too much) of what a reader will think of it as they are reading. Is it going to be a Marmite read? Will everyone have different reactions to it, or different affinities with different parts of the book, or the characters? Are readers going to get to the last line and wonder how they even managed to be bothered to get to the end? I don't know. Nobody knows. And when people are reading the book, it's not like I'll be sat next to them to assess their expressions as they go through it, nor will they be able to ask me questions, or challenge me about parts. This is not a workshop.

Clearly I'm over thinking things - #anxiety - and clearly I paid too much attention in my first year at university on the reader/author relationship. But still, I wonder...

For Review: Gone Again ~ Doug Johnstone

2013-03-25T21:35:00.001Z

Following my complaints about reading depressing books all year thus far, I then picked up Gone Again. There are some really hard hitting scenes in this book, some horrible ideas and themes, but the action moved along so fast that there wasn't too much time to dwell. Besides, I always like to read books that are set in Edinburgh, where I can imagine the landscape, and I know the nuanced differences between street names.

272 pages, and to write a fair review means that I can't say much of anything that happens beyond page 50 or so. But what is safe to divulge is that Mark Douglas is called one day to be told that his wife hasn't turned up to school to pick up their six year old (and utterly adorable) son Nathan. Mark, of course, is a man full of worry for the safety of his family, and when the local police services don't seem to be doing enough, the father takes matters into his own hands and begins his own investigation. And that's about as much detail as I can go into. Beyond this, there are many hmm moments, some ah ha!s, plenty of oh my goodness, and towards the end there were 'swears' uttered outloud. The plot is the real driving force of this novel, and the pace means that the pages are flicked by really quickly.

That's not to say that there's nothing to the novel. Like I said, there are threads of violence and dysfunctional families through the story, but they're so well interwoven that the narrative doesn't feel too full or stuffed full of stuff, which can sometimes happen with shorter novels. Still, after all of three or four pages, my heart was in the right place with Mark and Nathan. Mark was a dubious character in places, and deliberately so, but Nathan was such a gorgeous child to read about that it was impossible not to care about what happened to the family.

Big themes, big heart, and fast paced, Gone Again was great fun to read.

Faber, 2013;
Paperback;
272 pages

A Quote Instead...

2013-03-19T21:24:00.001Z

~ Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

For Jo, who can't find enough literary quotes on the internet.

For Review: The Overhaul ~ Kathleen Jamie

2013-03-17T00:35:00.001Z

Reading this collection of poems was like looking through a collection of gorgeous paintings. That's my bit of imagery about imagery in Kathleen Jamie's The Overhaul.

This collection of poetry is like being back on the west coast - full of the sea, the moon, boats. Jamie is able to absorb her surroundings into lines of words in a way that is just so. The authenticity and the atmosphere of these places is captured well, and there were one or two poems that felt like being back on the Scottish coastline. Nature is something I've always struggled with when writing my own poetry - I've attempted the Scottish Highlands, and the small seaside town, but it's never seemed real enough. Many of Jamie's poems, however, raised a smile and a 'yes, this is exactly what that is like' understanding: pin-pointed and coloured so well, and yet in so few words.

The moon is as prevalent in The Overhaul as other features of the landscape, and 'The Study' was a particular favourite of mine. "entering my study/like a curiosity shop" reminds me of the view from my old bedroom by the sea. Perhaps there's a slightly nostalgic pull in Jamie's poems, taking me back to scenery that I often think of fondly.

Beyond the sea, there are poems about flowers, and those were my other favourites. Again, flowers are just one of those 'poetry things', but here they're seen differently, with their own personalities too (along with the personified sea and moon). 'Roses' and 'An Avowal' are two different but bittersweet takes on flowers and what they mean, and what they do.

Personally, I'm a read aloud poetry reader - I like to hear how the words sound before looking back over them on the page. The Overhaul is very satisfying in this way too. There's a kind of push and pull quality to the sounds and to the occasional rhyme, so that the poems lilt along nicely. I know there are lots of non-aloud poetry readers out there, but it adds an extra dimension to the words, and it's a practice I would recommend.

It's been a while (ie, more than a year) since I have reviewed a poetry collection. Not that I'm out of the way of reading poetry, it's just not something I've put my mind to. But after reading The Overhaul, I think I'll need to make this more of a priority.

The Overhaul is this month's Scottish Book Trust's Book Talk read.

Picador Poetry, 2012;
50 pages

For Review: Charlotte Street ~ Danny Wallace

2013-03-12T21:03:00.000Z

Yes! This is exactly what I needed in my life. Everything I've read so far this year has been so hard going. I love to feel devastated at the end of a novel, and I appreciate a good cry, but I don't think my poor heart could take any more. But Charlotte Street has left me feeling elated.

The tagline on the front of my copy says 'A heartwarming everyday tale of boy stalks girl' and that sums it up pretty nicely. Jason Priestly is an ex-teacher in his early thirties trying his luck at journalism, living with his best friend Dev (who I will say now that I love) above his second hand video game shop. So far, so good, only he's found out via Facebook that his ex-girlfriend is very happily engaged.

Jason's gloomy, trying to muddle along as per every day when he bumps into a girl in the street, a pretty girl, who drops her disposible camera. After much deliberation between the two friends, the photos are developed and a search begins to find The Girl.

This book is lovely. And I know that lovely is one of those words that people use, but it's a word that I use and really mean. Danny Wallace has written a story that is funny, romantic, bittersweet, quirky, heartwarming, charming: all these things in a list, the words that come to mind when I think about how I feel about this book. And that's not easy to do without being overly sentimental or just pointlessly twee.

I liked Jason a lot - for all his flaws and mistakes, Jason could be any of your good friends: well-intentioned, amusing, interesting, but bruised (to use a word that crops up several times in the novel). I realise here that I am listing things a lot in this review, but in the four hundred pages of Charlotte Street there are lots of little stories, and several colourful characters to get to know - it feels very full. Told from Jason's first person narration, it was good to like him so much, and to really get to know him. But, as I mentioned before, I am a little bit in love with the video game lover Dev, and that is alright with me, because it's always fun to be a little bit in love with fictional characters.

Finishing Charlotte Street was great fun, and just so satisfying. I just want to hug everyone and be everyone's friend and to go into the world and be happy. It feels like such a long time since I closed a book with a smile, and on a cold miserable March evening I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the review copy from
William Morrow;
Paperback;
409 pages.

When a Writer Becomes an Author

2013-03-02T22:19:00.000Z

Swings and Roundabouts (2013)

Bethany Anderson was born in Falkirk twenty five years ago. Since then she has scribbled many short stories and poems, and graduated with an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Bethany currently lives in Edinburgh, where she is training to be an English teacher. Swings and Roundabouts is her first novel.

That's me. And Swings and Roundabouts is the book that I wrote. And it's going to be published this year by Bamboccioni Books.

The dream has happened. This writer has become an author.

More details to follow when I have them, but suffice to say that I am beside myself with excitement! (Told you exciting things were happening!)

Teaser Tuesday 26th Feb

2013-02-26T20:44:00.001Z

"They head for Buckingham Palace, and see waving above it the red, white and blue, while the rest of us order dansak from the Tandoori Palace, and see Simply Red, White Lightning, and Duncan from Blue." (10)

- Charlotte Street ~ Danny Wallace

For Review: What is the What ~ Dave Eggers

2013-02-24T20:21:00.003Z

It's been all quiet on the blogging front here, due to editing a novel and teacher training. Besides my readathon, I've had very little time for personal reading. So I've been making my way through What is the What for a while, but I've really enjoyed it.

Based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, What is the What follows the story of a Lost Boy, displaced from his village in Sudan during a time of political unrest. On his walk to find peace, Achak treks with thousands of other boys across a country that is dangerous with threats of militia, wild animals, and uncertainty. The journey is a constant struggle for survival, and even settlement has its daily fears and concerns. Eventually, Valentino is given a place in America as a refugee, but the land that was supposed to mean peace, happiness, and every success, proves to be far from ideal.

That's a lot of story to pack into 535 pages, even with the tiny font. But behind Achak's adventures is Eggers, directing his life in a way that is fast paced and easy to read, even in the most difficult places. From front cover to back, I learned a lot. Call me ignorant, but I didn't know about any of this. Of course I knew things about the unrest in Africa, but nothing about how it happened, or why, and certainly very little of child soldiers, or Lost Boys. What is the What explains the history, the politics, and the religious affairs. At points this was quite dense, and a lot to take in all at once, but perhaps easier for someone who knows more on the subject that I did.

Bigger than this is Achak's story - full of death, starvation, lose of faith in humanity, regaining faith, losing faith, heartache, trauma. So many heartfelt, terrible things, and Valentino pulls through. America isn't the haven that he expected it would be, and actually I was more horrified to learn about the discrimation and difficulties received there than of the malnutritioned desperation of Sudan. This isn't an old biography, Achak arriving in Atlanta in 2001, Eggers book first published in 2006. That people can be so backward and unfeeling in such recent years (and the horror to think that racial/refugee discrimination still happens so blatantly and in positions of authority) disturbs me.

But for all the horrific instances in this book, there's a steady strand of love and redemption. The hope that Achak has for himself and for others, and the hope that I had for all the people that were introduced throughout the story, keeps the story moving. Eggers' narrative pushes and pulls with an authentic voice, and the result is a biography that is hopeful and enduring.

24 Hour Readathon v.2

2013-02-10T17:10:00.002Z

24 Hour Readathon v.2 is complete!

Money raised: £160
Pages read: 1341

Result!
All my thanks to you for supporting my readathon and the Scottish Association for Mental Health!
Lots of love xo

18:00 - 00:00The last two and a half hours were so slow - an epic battle against sleep: triumph!

Pages read:
No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July
What is the What - Dave Eggers (48 pages)

12:30 - 18:00
Reading been slowing the past few hours - lots of caffeine needed!

Pages read:
No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July (38 pages)
True Things About Me - Deborah Kay Davies
Elsewhere:Here - Short Stories

Beverage Support:
2 mugs of tea
1 espresso
250ml energy drink

06:00 - 12:30
Whoo hoo! I have hit £160 donations! Thank you for your help! Let's see if we can push it higher!

Pages read:
Elsewhere: Here - Short Stories (85 pages)
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
Diary of a Bad Year - J.M Coetzee

Beverage Support:
1 mug of tea
1 coffee

00:00 - 06:00:
Pages read: Girl Meets Boy - Ali Smith;
Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel
Diary of a Bad Year - J.M Coetzee (23 pages) [And I'm glad I decided to read this one earlier in the day because there are pages where there are three different narrative threads going on at once!]

23.50 - Okay, had about 4 and a half hours of sleep (guesstimation, as I know I didn't sleep well with the hours that I had, but likely it was less that this), had a quick shower, and now with a large mug of tea and a bowl of bran flakes. Here we go!

It's nearly time! In five minutes I am going to bed, so that I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to begin my readathon at midnight (GMT).
The rules of the readathon are - read, always read. Even when eating or drinking, I will be reading. Constantly. The only time I get to put a book down is when I need to wash my hands. That is all.

This will be where I make my updates on my progress, and I will give myself a quick minute every six hours to do so. I won't have time to be constantly tweeting the action, so any support that can be done on my behalf would be much appreciated.

So here it is. 17.09 on 10 Feb 2013. This is the page to make donations - so far I've made £140 of the £150 target, but I'd love to push that further! Thank you so much for all your support so far - so much love goes out to you for it!

Now it's bedtime. Back in seven hours for the main event!

I Read Warm Bodies

2013-02-08T18:29:00.002Z

There would normally be a review here, but I wrote my review and gave it away to another website, so it should be available there soon.

Meantime, I thought I'd say that I read Warm Bodies and loved it. It was just a gem of a book - fast paced, endearing, and a lot of fun. I'd heartily recommend it to any reader that enjoys a bit of zombie action. As for the film...

...if I was Isaac Marion I'd be devastated. It just doesn't look right. He's likely made a healthy pocketful of money from it (and good for him, I say!) but.. I wonder if it's really what he wanted. For a start, it looks like it's the wrong tone. At least, from the trailers and the way it's been billed, it just doesn't feel like the book felt. That and, I might as well admit to this now, I kind of fancied R. However, this was no doubt in part due to the fact that he was described as wearing a suit in the book. Not a red hoodie and a pair of jeans. Why the change? I don't even know.

It's all a bit unfortunate, really. If I had seen the trailer first, then I don't think I would have bothered picking up the book. Thankfully, I read the book first, and it was great. In fact, Warm Bodies was on my TBR and I made a point of reading it before the release of the film for these very reasons. I think I'll stick to this way of doing things - as with Great Expectations, it seems to work in my favour.

The 24 Hour Readathon Returns

2013-01-26T11:26:00.000Z

So a couple of years ago (9th April 2011, to be exact) I read books for twenty four hours straight. I did nothing else all day, but read. I did this to raise money for the Scottish Association of Mental Health, a charity that does great work to eliminate stigma and raise awareness of mental health issues. This year, I'm doing it again. On Monday 11th February, just a couple of weeks away, I will again read and read all day long.

From the Scottish Association of Mental Health:
One in four people in Scotland will have a mental health problem at some point in their life. This means that you may know someone with a mental health problem, or maybe you're worried about your own mental health.
At SAMH we believe there is no health without mental health. We're here to provide help, information and support; to campaign on behalf of people with mental health problems and to raise money to fund our vital work. We're here for everyone, and we're here for you.

Last time my target was £100, and I managed to raise £120. So this year I've set my sights slightly higher, and I'm looking at raising £150. But I can't do this without your help.

Any Tweets, Facebook shares, chatty conversations, will help to spread the word of what I'm doing. And, of course, any donations are greatly appreciated. You can read more about this event, and you can donate at this webpage here.

I'll be updating my blog very briefly along on the day too, so you can check in on my progress - I hope to beat the 1099 pages I read last time!

Thank you for all your help - it means a lot x

Teaser Tuesday 22 Jan

2013-01-22T18:13:00.002Z

Are my words ever actually audible, or do they just echo in my head while people stare at me, waiting? I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.

Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion

For Review: The Bronze Horseman ~ Paullina Simons

2013-01-19T17:50:00.003Z

Personal book recommendations are rare for me. Not many of my friends are avid readers or, if they do enjoyr eading, expect to get their recommendations from me. Admittedly, this has changed since being surrounded by fellow English teachers in training, but before now it was a rare occurrence. The Bronze Horseman, however, was recommended to me when I was seventeen, and a couple of years later by anotehr friend. The book has been on my To Be Read list for eight years, the oldest thing there, and it was high time I read it.

So I did. Hmm.

1940s Lengingrad and Tatiana meets a handsome Red Army soldier called Alexander. But it turns out very swiftly that he's actually in a relationship with her older sister Dasha. And there's a war on and she starves and he goes to fight. Lots of bad things happen, then some nice things, then some bad. Essentially, it's a trashy romance dressed up in World War II Russia. I might actually have got something out of this when I was seventeen, but I'm far too cynical (or realistic?) to be even close to enthralled. In theory, this could have been great - but -

But Tatia is sixteen when Alexander first sees her, and he follows her around the city and it's all actually quite creepy, especially with Tatiana licking icecream wearing a white dress. From start to finish, the handsome twenty two year old will refer to her as 'little', 'young', 'tiny', 'innocent', and 'naive'. And dear me, is she ever. She's an idiot at many points, and naive to the point that it's unbelievable, ie seeing enemy flyers telling women to wear white so they know who not to hit, and clever Tania goes out in that white dress. With her naivety comes vulnerability, gullibility, and she loves to remind everyone of how feeble she is. Alexander laps that up, and he commands her all the time - don't do this; do that; I'm telling you - and she does. I think they're supposed to have an incredible enduring love, but it reads like Alexander just wants his end away with a blonde virgin, and that Tatiana's too naive to care that he's gorgeous but an aggressive bully. Don't get me wrong, I like love, I love love, but between them was only lust, at least where the sexy American-turned-Soviet Alex is concerned.

At seventeen, I probably would have thought that those kinds of relationships were okay - as long as we're gorgeous nothing matters - but actually it was just pathetic to read. Everything I do I do it for you is a fine mantra and yes, there was a war on, but all the things that should have given Tatiana an ounce of self-respect and character just didn't. So The Bronze Horseman turned into the kind of read where I was begging for something to really mess up the characters.

Characters, and the writing was far from great. The like to 'silently stare' at each other, which is interesting, because I didn't realise that staring could be noisy. And at one point Alexander's face was as 'closed as a bank on a holiday'. Plenty of phrases and sentences that had to read more than once to be properly understood.

In fairness, though, The Bronze Horseman, as a novel, did its job - it had words in that I could read: on long hot train journeys across Thialand, nights in a hotel where the TV aerial didn't work. It passed empty time, soft and simple. I left the book in Bangkok.

Harper: 2001;
Paperback;
656 Pages

Finished 10 Jan in Bangkok

For Review: The Crimson Petal and the White ~ Michel Faber

2013-01-13T21:15:00.002Z

You can't sleep - there are a thousand thread going through your head - what-ifs, what-if-nots, all the various consequences. This is called 'a great book'. Forget unputdownable, a really great book will leave you unable to sleep. The Crimson Petal and the White is an incredible book. It had the unsleepable quality, and it still has even after reading.

Sugar is a prostitiute in Victorian London, who writes by day and has grand plans of doing better in life. One day, she's found by entrepreneur William Rackham, who is consumed with his infatuation for her. At the heart of this novel is the golden thread that is their relationship. Far from simple or straight forward, William and Sugar have one of the most complicated and authentic relationships that I have read in a long time. Surrounding them are other prostitutes, middle class widows, and the rest of the Rackham family - brother, wife, daughter, and all. It's an incredible achievement to have so many characters each with their own story, and for every single one to have their own life and personality, and for the reader to care about them all. I couldn't say whether I love the earnestly religious Henry Rackham more than I love the confused and inquisitive Sophie, or the well-meaning and honest Emmeline Fox to madwoman in the attic Agnes Rackham. All these lives are interwoven carefully through the chunky novel, and while there's so much that I'd like to explore more and discuss, there's also so many elements to the story and the characters that even the slightest giveaway will make a difference to how a reader approaches the book - hence why, I think, the blurb on the back says so little.

What I can say, though, is that Faber has written something actually spectacular. Nitty gritty Victoriana has been done to death, and not always very well. The Crimson Petal and the White is stunning. Faber, centuries later, can write about life that Hardy would never have had published. Decorum, propriety and, ultimately, novel writing, are a different thing in this century and Faber takes advantage of that. Far from being stifling, The Crimson Petal is so easy to read, which surprised me give its weight and font size. Easy to read, but not because it's simple, but because the narrative is so fluid and so expertly handled. The aforementioned 'interweaving' is done in such a way that as each section left a character, I was gutted not to be reading more about them. But, as I turned the page, I realised that I was excited to get back to another character, and equally as gutted to be leaving them. Brilliantly written, Faber has a way of exposing his populace quickly and easily, in a way that that draws the reader in immediately. Every thought and action holds some significance of feeling, and just as in life, it's up to the reader to intrepret what it means, and for whom. I haven't had the chance to talk to anyone else yet who has read this but, when I do, I imagine that we'll be able to talk at length about who felt what, and why, and as for that ending...

Like I said above, I couldn't sleep for worrying about things in the novel, and I certainly spent, and still spend, a good portion of time wondering about what happened next, and all the possibilities. Faber gave nothing away, but offered so much. Thoroughly, immensely, I enjoyed this book.

Canongate Books;
Paperback;
824 pages

Twelve of 2012

2012-12-28T17:19:00.003Z

2012 was a slow year for me. I got through 54 books (The Crimson Petal is nearly done) this year, compared to 66 last year. But, it has to be said, that in that time I have been editing my novel, and in August I started teacher training - all reading and writing has gone more or less out the window since then. Still, I've chosen my reads wisely and I've been richly rewarded. That time of year where everyone's looking back at what is brilliant. So here's a top twelve of 2012 (in no particular order, because that would be much too difficult).

1. Bed - David Whitehouse
Real and surreal all at once. Heartwrenching and honest, which I love.

2. Boxer, Beetle - Ned Beauman
As my review started: A nine-toed gay Jewish boxer in the late 1930s and a 21st century collector of Nazi memorabilia - how was that not going to be a great book?

3. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
So easily one of the best best books I read this year, and my most recommended. So stunning, and everyone should read it.

4. Pandaemonium - Christopher Brookmyre
My first shot at Brookmyre and it was mental. This story went in all sorts of crazy places.

5. Gillespie and I - Jane Harris
Glasgow 1888, and a story that I hadn't anticipated in any way at all. Constant twists and a narrator that you just don't know if you can trust.

6. Tales from the Mall - Ewan Morrison
After six and a half years working in retail, Morrison's Tales from the Mall is full of anecdotes and stories that I can relate to. Since reading this book I haven't been shopping in quite the same way.

7. Filth - Irvine Welsh
Aww, this book just filled me with so much glee. And I mean it. This was just so much fun, in a Welsh kind of way. Bad polis made for a great read.

8. Skellig - David Almond
I didn't review this here, but I read it and I loved it.

9. Nothing is Heavy - Vicki Jarrett
A speedy read, because the story pulled me along so fast - another novel that creates surreal circumstances for its likeable characters.

10. Fremont - Elizabeth Reeder
Heartbreak seems to be a theme of the year, but here it was constant, in the sweetest of ways.

11. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
Stunning, stunning. Definitely in the top three this year. And so pretty!

12. The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber
Haven't finished this book yet, but wow, it's brilliant. At over 800 pages it's a bit of a brick, but so easy to read because it's so good.

There we have it. And now I'm off to pack for two weeks in Thailand. Happy New Year and see you in 2013.

x

For Review: A Monster Calls ~ Patrick Ness

2012-12-14T17:34:00.000Z

Sometimes you read a book and it's hard not to fall in love with the author for writing something so beautiful. The idea of A Monster Calls came from Siobhan Dowd, and Patrick Ness turned this into a short novel, complete with gorgeous illustrations from Jim Kay. The result is a book that is a stunning both to hold and to read.

Conor is thirteen years old, bullied at school, has an absent father, and a mother who is dying from cancer. He struggles to make sense of his life and his mother seems to be getting worse. One night, at 12.07, Conor is visited by a huge monster. The creature is frightening, but it wants to tell Conor stories, and expects to hear one in return - the truth about how Conor is really feeling.

Suffice to say that Conor's emotions are fraught as he deals with extra sympathy from teachers, and has to listen to vague ideas from his father. Conor waits for the monster every night as his mother's condition deteriorates: their meetings are often difficult, confusing, and dark. Told from Conor's point of view, the reader is given access to his thoughts and feelings, while also trying to make sense of them. As a child narrator, he is likeable and sympathetic but, as an adult reader, I brought to the story an understanding that he lacked which, if anything, only heightened my feelings towards his narrative.

I read A Monster Calls in two sittings. The second time round, I told myself that I'd only read a few chapters, but I ended up reading more than half the book. For the last twenty or so pages I was sobbing. Not just one tear, not crying, but actually sobbing to the point that I was worried I would ruin the pretty pages with lots of big fat tear drops. A Monster Calls is available now in an 'adult' format without Kay's illustrations, but I can't understand why anyone would choose to read it with just the black and white text. Rather than the pictures just accompanying what was written, the drawings (which I would probably hang on my wall - I don't know much about these sorts of things, but they were like textured prints) were very much part of the narrative, and added an extra layer to the text.

A Monster Calls should be readily shared, and I fully intend on using it in my classroom - for all ages. I'm glad that I read it, and I'm glad that it was written.

For Review: Great Expectations ~ Charles Dickens

2012-12-11T19:01:00.003Z

Believe it or not, I've never even seen a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations. So, what with the film out now, I decided that I should probably read the book beforehand, especially as it's been sitting on my To Be Read list for years.

Having not seen an adaptation, I actually had no idea of what would happen. Of course I knew about Miss Havisham and her dusty wedding dress and, for some reason, I thought Great Expectations was her story. Pip? I had no clue. Call me ignorant, but that's the case.

Several hundred pages later, and I'm enlightened. Pip is an orphan and is brought up 'by hand' by his older sister, who is married to the local blacksmith. As he grows up, he is asked to visit Miss Havisham, frozen in the past at the point where she was jilted at the altar. There, at Satis House, Pip meets the beautiful Estella: elusive and aloof. At the point of becoming a young man, Pip is told that he has been given a large sum of money by a benefactor to go to London and become a gentleman.

This Pip does, and he becomes close friends with Herbert Pocket (who is, it has to be said, such a lovely, lovely man). Pip goes about his London life, doing a bunch of things that aren't really much explained or described, apart from eating food in a gentleman's club and buying fancy jewellery. He comes into a lot of debt, but that's the least of his concerns when he discovers who is benefactor is. And, that's a huge part of plot that I won't go into for risk of ruining it for anyone, who, like me, might not have a clue to narrative of Great Expectations.

The novel is, unquestionably, a Dickens novel. I'm not his biggest fan in the world ever, but he has written some decent books (I'm thinking more A Tale of Two Cities, much less David Copperfield). I enjoyed Great Expectations, especially because I loved Pip. He's a good guy, with the odd flaw, and his rags to riches story might have made him ungrateful in places, but he has a good heart. Better still is his Uncle Joe: the sweetest, most humble, adorable man. Estella did my head in, a little.. I can understand the allure of an incredibly beautiful woman, but really, I couldn't understand how it wasn't obvious that she was a complete waste of time. But then, I'm not a heterosexual male and I have never been head over heels in love with a woman just because she's stunning. It would be interesting, as I always think when I read about beautiful women, to see what it would feel like to be Estella, and to be so loved for looks and grace. And I've already mentioned my love for Herbert.

Dickens creates an interesting cast of characters that is altogether very...Dickensian. It isn't any wonder that there are so many adaptations of his novel - this is the kind of story that you want to see and hear, and really get involved in. The man spins a good yarn, and has ways of pulling together such odd characters that there's no knowing how each will react, or what their motivations are. Great Expectations was pretty good, and tonight I'm off to see the latest film version - curious now as to how it will compare.