The Viking Hostage by Tracey Warr

The setting for this historical story is set in late 10^th century France and Wales.  It is the story of three women, Sigrid, Aina and Adalmode.  Sigrid is Norwegian and the story opens with her being sold as a Northchild slave at a market in Tallinn.  Aina is heiress to the French fortress of Segur.  It is Aina’s mother who buys Sigrid and she becomes Aina’s maid.  The girls grow up together and become confidantes.  Adalmode is the daughter of the Viscount of Limoges.  Her father has promised her hand in marriage to Guillaume, the young heir of the Duke of Aquitaine, but she has fallen in love with Audebert who is being held prisoner by her father.  Adalmode is close to her brother Guy and begs his assistance.  But Guy has problems of his own trying to win the heart of Aina to whom he is betrothed.  As the story unfolds the lives of these three women become inextricably linked.  I enjoyed the historical detail of the story and the political power struggles between the women and the men.  A genealogy of the characters that are based on real historical people together with dates of accession to titles are included.  I was surprised by how powerful the women of that time were.  I’m lucky to have heard Tracey talk about The Viking Hostage and the importance of setting in her writing at the Parisot Literary Festival and to attend some of her creative writing workshops.  I’m looking forward to reading Tracey’s next novel, Conquest – Daughter of the Last King, which is due to be released in September.

The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

I liked the concept of this book – the way chance and destiny shape our lives.  The story is three versions of the same life having taken different paths along the way.  It starts in 1958 when nineteen year old students, Eva and Jim, meet in a lane in Cambridge.  Eva is approaching on a bicycle and swerves to avoid a dog.  From this point in time three different versions of the same life begin.  In version one Jim stops to help Eva and romance blossoms. In version two Jim merely calls out to her and she doesn’t stop.  In version three, they stop and speak and a spark is ignited.  The story follows each version of their lives through the years using alternate chapters for the different versions.  This structure must have been hard for the author to maintain, but she does it seamlessly.  At times, flipping backwards and forwards between the different versions detracted from my enjoyment of the story.  The author will be appearing at the Parisot Literary Festival (Festilitt) and I’m looking forward to hearing her as it is always insightful listening to an author talk about their book.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Sisters, Ruthie and Lucille are left by their mother in the porch of their grandmother’s house in the small town of Fingerbone in Idaho.   Their mother doesn’t come back and her body is found later.   In Fingerbone the people are embittered, the environment harsh and the winters long.  Friendless, the girls seek solace in each other’s company.  Their grandmother cares for them as best she can, but enlists the help of her sisters-in-law (Nona and Lilly) should anything happen to her.  After the death of their grandmother the elderly sisters-in-law arrive, but are anxious and can’t cope with two adolescent girls.  Sylvie, the girl’s wayward aunt, arrives and takes over their care.  It is clear from the start that Sylvie has led the life of a transient and Ruthie and Lucille’s fear that they will be abandoned again is tangible.  The story is narrated by Ruthie who is haunted by memories of her ancestors and drawn to the lake where many of them died.  As the girls approach adulthood Ruthie becomes more introvert and feels a connection with her aunt, whereas Lucille scorns her aunt’s attempts to raise them and dreams of a more conventional upbringing.  The story is one of loneliness.  It was one of those novels where, when you reach the end, you feel the need to re-read it, which I couldn’t do as I had borrowed it from the library!

My Criminal World by Henry Sutton

This is a story within a story.  Struggling writer, David Slavitt is at a crossroads in his life.  His agent is harassing him, his publisher is ignoring him and his day to day life is getting in the way of writing – well that’s his excuse.  Meanwhile, his successful and beautiful wife is working longer and longer hours while he copes with the childcare and the housework.  As he begins to see a plot for his new novel he suspects his wife is having an affair with one of her Ph.D students and real life and fictional life appear to be merging.  The novel is interspersed with sections from the new crime novel David is writing with the effect that two stories unravel side by side.  For me, the structure worked and I enjoyed the writing style. 

Wanting by Richard Flanagan

The story begins in 1841 and centres on an orphaned aboriginal girl, Mathina, one of the remaining indigenous people exiled from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and living on Flinders Island under the care of George Augustus Robinson, the Chief Protector of the Aborigines.  He can’t comprehend why most of the people in his care are dying, despite adopting western dress and eating a western diet.  Sir John Franklin, the governor of Van Diemen’s Land and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin visit Flinders Island.  They are drawn to Mathina and, when Lady Franklin learns that the girl is an orphan, they decide to adopt her.  Lady Jane sees the adoption as an experiment in converting a savage.  Mathina is taken from her own people and transported to the home of the Franklins on Van Diemen’s Land.  Running in parallel is the story of Charles Dickens who meets Lady Jane several years after her time in Australia.  Sir John has been lost on an expedition in the Arctic and rumours are rife about cannibalism.  Lady Jane is determined to clear her husband’s name and seeks out Dickens to write an article.   In this way the story of Mathina, The Franklins and Dickens become entwined.  The story depicts the barbaric cruelty inflicted on the aborigines by the European settlers.  It also highlights how someone can think they’re doing the right thing, but how that can have damaging consequences that last a lifetime and beyond.  It was a disturbing and thought provoking read.  

The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi

This is Trezza Azzopardi’s debut novel, shortlisted for The Booker Prize in 2000.  Set in the Maltese community of 1960s Cardiff the story is about the Gauci family, Frank and Mary and their six daughters.   Although there are multiple viewpoints, most of the story is told through the eyes of the youngest daughter, five year old Dolores.  Life is tough, the family are poor and Frank is a gambler with a violent temper.  The family learn to survive any way they can. It is a story about migration, acceptance and sibling relationships.  The book is in two parts – part one is about the events in Dolores’s early childhood, where the author paints a realistic picture of a world seen through the eyes of a child.  Part two is about the sisters reuniting for the funeral of their mother thirty years later.  Dolores is driven by the need to fit in, to know her story and to belong.  The sibling rivalry is still there even after thirty years and we see the sisters recalling events from their early childhood showing how the interpretation of a five year old is different to that of an older child.  Yet, their memories are a bond that ties them, despite their years apart.  I like stories about families, particularly sisters.  It is a gritty read, but even though it is dark, I didn’t find it depressing.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking out for other novels by the same author.  

The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri

Set in Bombay in the 1980s, the story charts the relationship between two families, from different casts, linked by their love of classical Indian music.  Mallika Sengupta is the wife of a wealthy businessman and mother to Nirmalya.  She is a talented singer, but chose not to pursue her musical dream and to focus her energies on being a wife of a successful businessman.  She hasn’t cut her ties with music altogether and wants her son, Nirmalya to learn her craft.  She employs Shyamji, the son of an acclaimed classical Indian musician to teach her teenage son. Nirmalya hates his parent’s corporate world and is searching for fulfilment, which he finds through his love of music and his relationship with Shyamji and his family.  I enjoyed the observations of life in Bombay and the interactions between the two families.    I enjoyed the beautiful prose, but prefer a pacier read.