Astray by Emma Donoghue

From the author of Room, this is a collection of fourteen short stories, some of which have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.  The theme is travel to, within and from the United States and Canada.  The stories are inspired by historical facts and I liked reading the notes at the end of each story to see what lay behind it and what inspired the story and the characters.  My favourite was Counting The Days, a story told from the points of view of both a husband and wife.  Many of the stories are moving and thought provoking, some gave me an insight on a particular incident in history and others I found hard to believe, even though they are based on historical fact.  Without exception, each narrator tells the story in their own individual voice and style.     Reading the Afterword gave me an insight into life as an immigrant.   

Starter for Ten by David Nicholls

This was laugh out loud funny.  Set in 1985, it is the story of Brian as he leaves his home in Essex, his Mum and childhood friends to embark on his first year reading English at university.  Ever since he was a child he has dreamed of appearing on University Challenge and, it seems, his wish is about to be fulfilled or is it?  It is a coming of age novel.  I enjoyed it as much, if not more, as One Day.  

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

I wasn’t sure of this at first as it is written from several viewpoints.  However, as each section is headed up with the narrator’s name it was clear who was narrating the story.  As the story developed so did the individual voices.  The story is set over a ten year period from 1901.  It is about two middle-class households whose lives become entwined due to the fact their family plots in the local cemetery rest next to each other.  The daughters of both families and the son of a gravedigger meet on the day of Queen Victoria’s death and there begins an unlikely friendship between the three children.  I enjoyed the attention to detail.  It captures the frivolousness of the Edwardian period when the rich were comfortable, but bored, especially the women, who longed for something more meaningful to enrich their lives with.  No wonder a lot of women at the time embraced the suffragette movement, which the story also touches on.  I liked all the characters and it was interesting seeing the same scene through different eyes.  

The Shock of The Fall by Nathan Filer

Winner of the Costa Book Awards 2013, this is the debut story by Nathan Filer.  The novel explores mental health in a sensitive but not an overly sentimental or bleak way.  It is also about grief and grieving.  It is the story of Mathew Homes and how he is haunted by the death of his older brother Simon who suffered from Down syndrome.  In the end, it is the memory of Simon that tips Mathew over the edge and the reader is taken on his emotional journey as he writes his story about living with mental health issues.  The story jumps about a bit just as if it is Matthew’s mind flitting from one subject to another and this gave it a unique style.  I found all the characters believable and I liked Matthew and found myself routing for him.  I look forward to reading more from Nathan Filer.           

The London Train by Tessa Hadley

The London Train consists of two novellas that are linked in a clever and unexpected way.  Both novellas could stand on their own as complete stories.  As the title implies, both have the London Train as a theme.  The first story is about Paul whose mother has just died.  Her death triggers a mid-life crisis and makes him question the direction his life is going.  A call from his first wife asking for help to track down their missing daughter seems to fulfil his restlessness and, as he goes to London to track her down, he finds himself drawn to her new friends, a group of Polish immigrants.  The second story is about Cora who is also facing a mid-life crisis.  She has moved back to her parents’ house in Cardiff, which she has inherited following their death, leaving her husband in London.  As she settles into her new life she is forced to question whether she should end her marriage.  As we discover more about Cora’s past and her reason for escaping to Cardiff, the connection between the stories is revealed.  The characters in both stories are realistically drawn.  It was an enjoyable read.

The Story of You by Julie Myerson

I have not read anything quite like this before and I was intrigued by the poetical style of the writing.  The story opens with a flashback of a snowy scene and two young students sharing a single bed in a cold room.  Then the story jumps to the present day, some 20 years later, and it is clear from the narrator’s halting voice that some tragedy has gone before.  The narrator, Rosy, is struggling to come to terms with the death of her baby daughter, although the reason for her daughter’s death is not revealed until much later in the book.  Her husband Tom has taken her to Paris in a bid to escape the past, but Rosy is unable to confide in him.  Instead, she returns obsessively to the memory of her younger self and the man she shared a cold night with 20 years previously.  In Paris, as if conjured up by her memory, she bumps into him.  They catch up over coffee and he tells her he has become a successful business man and how he has never forgotten her or the night they shared.  She is unsure whether it is really him or a figment of her imagination.  It is a story of loss and grieving.  I enjoyed the writing style, but felt let down by the ending.    

A Song for Issy Bradley By Carys Bray

This story follows a Mormon family and how they deal with the fallout from a tragic family event.  It is told from the point of view of all members of the family – Ian, a Mormon Bishop and maths teacher, stands firm in his faith, but his wife Claire has lost hers and has retreats inside herself.  We meet sixteen year-old Zippy who is experiencing first love and is desperate for some motherly advice; fourteen year-old Alma who finds the Mormon faith tedious and dreams of becoming a famous football player and seven year-old Jacob who thinks he can work miracles and hopes to mend his broken family.  It is an emotional read, but it doesn’t become too heavy as the author cleverly interlaces the sadness with moments of laughter and pure joy.  The characters were so realistically drawn that I felt I got to know each one.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave me an insight into the Mormon faith, something I knew little about.  Carys Bray is one of the authors appearing at Parisot Literary in October this year and I’m looking forward to meeting her. 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in the future, this is the story of Offred and her life in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopian society where women have no power, individualism is repressed, sterility is the norm and fertile women are treated as production machines.  The position of women in society is indicated by the colour of their uniforms.  Handmaids where long, loose fitting blood red dresses and huge white headdresses that restrict their sight.  Offred is a Handmaid and, as such, her role in the Republic is to breed.  Once a month, she is taken to her Commander and his wife for a bizarre breeding ceremony.  Forced to live her life under this new dictatorship, Offred dreams of her old life and of being reunited with her husband Luke and their daughter, but she knows that if she breaks the rules she risks severe punishment or even death.  She remembers what it felt like to desire and be desired.   In the end it is desire that makes her risk everything. I liked the way the author made the ordinary extraordinary.      

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.  

The Narrow Road To The Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2014.  The story follows the life of Dorrigo Evans born in rural Tasmania to a poor family.  He goes on to become a surgeon.  The story is multi-layered, but the main topic of the book is Dorrigo’s experience as a Japanese prisoner of war in a camp on the Burma Death Railway.  Running parallel to this is Dorrigo’s affair with his uncle’s young wife, Amy.  This affair haunts him throughout his life.    At times a harrowing read, it is beautifully observed and told from different points of view.  I disliked the style of writing at first as I found it too fragmented dealing with the different strands of Dorrigo’s life in what seemed a random way.  Towards the end of the book the strands come together in an unexpected way.  I liked the way the stories of the other main characters are tied up, but not too neatly or in an overly sentimental way.   As always with books about war, it paints a grim picture of the human race and the cruelty inflicted by mankind.  It made me cry and will be a book that stays with me.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The story is not a Whodunit, but a Whydunit.  Like the Goldfinch, the narrator, Richard Papen, is a misfit desperate to reinvent himself.  The story is set in a college in New England in the 1990s and, like the Goldfinch, features drink and drugs.  Richard, feeling rudderless and wanting to escape from his boring suburban life and his uncaring parents, gains a scholarship to Hampden College.  At Hampden he finds himself drawn to a group of five clever and elitist students (Henry, Camilla, Charles, Francis and Bunny) who are studying Greek under a charismatic classics professor. Richard is invited to study with the closely knit group, but he is never fully accepted.  It opens with a prologue depicting the aftermath of the death of Bunny and it is clear that one of the group has murdered him and the others are implicit in the murder.    The first half of the book leads up to Bunny’s death and the second half the fallout and impact of his death on the group.  

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary

Winner of the Theakston’s 2015 Crime Novel of the Year, this is Sarah Hilary’s debut novel introducing the character of DI Marnie Rome.  It is a fast-paced read as you would expect in this genre.  I liked the character of Marnie Rome – she was sufficiently complex with a backstory of her own.  I also liked her side-kick, Noah Jake.  The book opens with a devastating scene from Marnie’s past.  We’re then back in the present day with Marnie and Noah making a visit to a woman’s refuge to take a routine statement.  Their arrival interrupts an attempted murder.  It all seems a straight forward case of domestic violence, but as the investigation continues all is not what it first seemed and Marnie is forced to confront her own ghosts. The book deals with a serious subject in a sensitive way.  The chapters are short and punchy.  I look forward to spending more time with the characters in Sarah’s second book, No Other Darkness.     

Instructions For A Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell

I’m a big Maggie O’Farrell fan so I was looking forward to reading this.  The story is set against the backdrop of the heatwave of 1976.  It’s a story about relationships.  It is written from multiple viewpoints – I’m not usually a fan of multiple viewpoint novels, but this worked for me as all the voices were distinct.  The story opens with Gretha in London.  She is up early baking her usual soda bread despite the heat.  Her husband, Robert, greets her as usual and then pops out to the newsagents – something he’s done every day since his retirement.  What starts as a normal day turns into an extraordinary one when Robert doesn’t return.  We then meet their children:- Michael-Francis, a teacher with two young children and marital problems.  Monica, the favoured child, who has just re-married and become a step-mother; she should be happy, but she’s not.    And, Aoife the youngest and wildest child, living in New York after falling out with Monica.  As the crisis deepens, the family pull together as they try and solve the mystery of Robert’s disappearance and face up to their own problems.  The story depicts the intricacies of family relationships so well.  I could feel the sticky heat of the summer of 1976 and there was a real sense of place, especially when the story moves to Ireland.  I wasn’t sure when I started reading if I was going to enjoy this as much as Maggie O’Farrell’s previous novels, but it didn’t disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

The Girl In The Photograph by Kate Riordan

This is the story of two women, Alice Eveleigh in 1933 and Elizabeth Stanton in 1898.  The setting is Fiercombe Manor located in an isolated valley in Gloucestershire.  The chapters alternate between Alice, written in the first person and Elizabeth, written in the third person.  Unmarried Alice is pregnant and has been sent from her home in London to Fiercombe Manor to be cared for by Mrs Jelphs, the care taker of the manor.   Edith Jelphs is an old childhood friend of Alice’s mothers and Alice’s mother hopes that by sending Alice away no one will know of the pregnancy.  Alice, unused to life in the countryside, soon finds her imagination running riot in the eerie atmosphere of the house and the overbearing presence of Mrs Jelphs.  Alice becomes fascinated with stories of the Manor’s ancestors and, in particular, Elizabeth Stanton.  In 1898 Elizabeth Stanton was also pregnant and Mrs Jelphs had been her maid.  The mystery of what has happened to Elizabeth soon becomes an obsession and, as the unborn baby grows, Alice worries that her life is mirroring Elizabeth’s.   An easy read, I would have liked to know more about Alice’s mother’s past and her connection with Edith Jelphs.      

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

The Guest Cat is a gentle, thoughtful read.  It is about a couple in their thirties who have lost their way and have stopped communicating with each other when a cat starts to visit them.  The uninvited guest keeps coming back and brings a cheerful respite in their daily grind.  They become attached to the animal closely observing its habits.  They look forward to the cat’s visits.  The author is a Japanese poet and the writing is lyrical.  The story has been translated from Japanese and offers a window to a different culture but, because of the translation, I think I missed some of the subtle messages the author was trying to get across.