Category: 2011

Categories
2011 Historical Fiction Recommended books

The Report – Jessica Francis Kane

Five words from the blurb: crowd, crushed, testimony, guilt, community

Shortly after writing my predictions for the Orange Prize I received an email from the publisher of The Report. She had high hopes it would make the Orange long list and having read the book I can see why – if I was on the judging panel I would have put it straight on the list. 

The Report is a fictional story based around the Bethnal Green Tube disaster – a tragedy in which 173 people were crushed to death trying to get inside the station during an air raid. It was the worst civilian disaster in Britain during WWII and I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t even heard about it before.

The book personalises the terrible event by focusing on the experience of a mother and her two daughters, as well as those in charge of overseeing proceedings at the station. I immediately connected with the characters and felt their emotions very clearly.

Bertram stretched up as tall as he could, trying to see what was keeping the crowd back. All he could see was a jostling mass darker than the night. He smelled sweat on his shirt, and the breath and sweat of the people all around. His stomach heaved, his mouth convulsed as if it were not his own. He knew this street; it had always seemed so spacious. He remembered a bus accident that had once blocked the junction for hours, but that was a crowd paralysed by tragedy. This was a crowd in motion, a crowd with a destination, unprepared to change its course. Bertram felt elbows and shoulders; tears and sweat covered his cheeks, but he couldn’t raise his hands to wipe them – his arms were pinned.

The book also covers time after the incident  – showing the way in which authorities tried to cover up the tragedy and details of the subsequent enquiry. I found the testimonies gathered for this enquiry particularly interesting, as everyone responsible for making a tiny mistake that night felt an incredible weight of guilt. It showed our society’s terrible habit of needing to attribute blame when something like this happens, but also the futility of it all. I found this insight into our culture of blame thought-provoking and it has altered my perception of accidents like this – we should all just feel sadness; pointing the finger at someone does nothing to help.  

The Report is very well researched and totally gripping. If you like thought-provoking books with an emotional punch then I guarantee you will not be disappointed by it. Highly recommended. 

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

….somehow manages to play for its’ readers the full symphony of motivations, emotions, personalities and perspectives… Book Sexy Review

….a moving novel about a horrible event, and without any flowery description, Kane is able to generate much emotion. Diary of an Eccentric

….a surprisingly compelling novel about a seemingly unlikely subject. Devourer of Books

Categories
2011 Other Prizes

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

 Shortlisted for the 2010 Giller Prize

Five words from the blurb: baby, secret, boy, girl, struggle

Annabel begins in 1968 with the birth of a baby in a remote part of north-west Canada. Everything about the infant is normal, apart from the fact it has both male and female sexual organs. In order to fit in the parents decide to bring their child up as a boy called Wayne, keeping the dual sex a secret from almost everyone – including Wayne. This book is a coming-of age story in which Wayne slowly learns the truth about his birth and battles against the inner female feelings he calls “Annabel”.

The writing was very crisp and precise, with many beautiful descriptions of life in this harsh, cold community. Unfortunately the distant, almost clinical writing style made it hard to connect with the characters on an emotional level. I longed to know what was going on inside Wayne’s head, but instead the reader is just an outside observer, witnessing only the major events in his life. I wanted to know his thoughts on a day-to-day level, but unfortunately I was only able to get brief glimpses of his inner turmoil. 

The child knew that a grim, matter-of-fact attitude was required of him by his father, and he learned how to exhibit such an attitude, and he did not mind it because it was the way things were, but it was not his authentic self. His authentic self loved to fold paper in half and cut out elaborate bilaterally symmetrical shapes: curlicues, geometrics, architectural planes that bore elaborate sills at the bottom and came to luxurious apexes.

Much of the book was written from the perspective of the parents and this raised some complex parenting issues. I initially enjoyed thinking about the pros and cons of letting a child be themselves versus the importance of fitting into society, but I quickly realised that I really wanted the book to concentrate on Wayne. Every time the narrative followed another character I became frustrated and longed for the focus to switch back to him. The last few chapters almost managed to satisfy my craving for knowledge of Wayne, but it was too little, too late.

Annabel was compelling enough to draw me through to the end, but I was left unsatisfied by the novel as a whole. In comparison to the wonderful Middlesex this book was lacking depth and emotion.

Recommended to those who like their fiction restrained, without any hint of melodrama.

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Opinions were mixed on this one:

The whole story was heartbreaking and beautiful. Amy Reads

To be honest, I had a hard time with the first half of this rather large book. The Mookse and the Gripes

I feel like I’m doing a lot of gushing lately, but I really, really loved this book. Reading Through Life

Categories
2011

When God Was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman

When God Was a Rabbit is the story of a brother and sister growing up in England during the 1970s. The family seem to be a magnet for literary themes – with everything from paedophilia, murder and terrorism affecting them. Initially I worried that too much was happening, but I quickly realised that this book isn’t meant to be realistic. The ridiculous number of tragic events meant that it was impossible to take anything seriously and so the mood was far lighter than should have been possible given the amount of suffering taking place.

I found myself laughing as someone was kidnapped and rolling my eyes at the mention of cancer, but I was also moved by many of the events – especially those towards the end of the book. This combination of humour with dark themes is difficult to achieve and I was very impressed.

My father’s Evening News was handed around in a quiet daze. All vital signs were missing and so his Atheist family had agreed to turn off the life support machine.

“Christ that was quick,” said Nancy. “What were they doing? Saving electricity?”

“Not funny Nancy,” said my mother hiding her face. “Not funny at all.”

But even I saw my father laugh and my brother, and Jenny Penny swore that she saw my mother laugh as she looked up from her hot chocolate. She loved moments like that. The inclusiveness of family. I guess because she had none.

I especially loved the beginning of the book – the childhood innocence added to the charm. Naming a pet rabbit “God” is something only a young child can get away with, but I loved the way it allowed for all sorts of profound statements to be sprinkled through the text.

“And so at Christmas, god finally came to live with me.”

I’m sure that some people will find this sort of thing distasteful, but I loved the originality.

The book was easy to read and had a gripping plot. I can see it being a big hit with book clubs as I’m sure it will generate a lot of discussion.

The enormous number of themes in this book should have been a recipe for disaster, but somehow Sarah Winman managed to make it work. Recommended to anyone looking for an entertaining, original book that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

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Categories
2011 Recommended books

The History of History – Ida Hattemer-Higgins

Five words from the blurb: Berlin, Nazi, ghosts, flesh,  grief

The History of History is an outstanding piece of writing. It is original, moving and thought-provoking. I think it will scoop a host of literary awards this year and I hope you’ll read the rest of this review and decide to give it a try.

The History of History is set in Berlin. The central character, Margaret, is a tour guide in the city and so we learn all about the history of Berlin and its buildings through her. That makes it sound a bit dull, but it isn’t. This book is packed with quirky details that make the city come to life and I learnt an incredible amount about Berlin, especially its uses during WWII.

The primary focus of the book is suicide. The bombing raids and trench fighting of war have been covered in books many times before, but this is the first time I’ve read something which investigates these quiet, almost forgotten deaths. The tragic stories include that of a Jewish family, those who were close to Hitler at the end of the war and also the traumatic decision of mothers to murder their own children. Many parts of the book are devastatingly sad, but the book as a whole manages to avoid being overly tragic as the mood of the text is lifted at regular intervals.

I’m in love in the way I thought only thirteen-year-olds could be and I haven’t felt anything close to it for such a long time and the terrible thing is that I don’t think he loves me back. It’s ridiculous, this kind of full-blown sweet torture, that poets know so well and is so utterly ridiculous, where one vacillates between intense ecstasy and intense agony throughout the day, because one feels as if one were walking a tightrope where falling one way will mean waves of joy unknown to humankind and falling the other will mean the darkest hell. Your mood depends on which possibility you take most seriously at the time. Meanwhile, you attempt to stay on the tightrope, because that way you preserve a chance at the ultimate beauty.

Ida Hattemer-Higgins lived in Japan for a few years and the Japanese influence has clearly entered her work. Be prepared for anything to happen in this book, but don’t be worried because the author makes even the strangest things believable. There are points when the buildings of Berlin turn to flesh and Nazi ghosts haunt Margaret, but somehow it never seems ridiculous.

The book isn’t perfect. There is so much going on that it occasionally fails to merge the scenes together seamlessly, but I’m willing to overlook these minor teething issues as I’m sure that in a few months time I’ll have forgotten about any tiny problems I may have had with this book and only remember the vivid scenes.

The History of History is very well researched and if you have any interest in the way WWII affected different groups of people then this is for you.

I’m sure this will be one of my favourite reads in 2011.

Highly recommended. 

Categories
2011 Novella

Caroline – Cornelius Medvei

Five words from the blurb: donkey, relationship, office, chess, fable

This is a lovely little book! It begins as a simple, but engaging story about one man’s bond with a donkey, but it slowly ventures away from reality, leaving you questioning what is true and what has just been invented by the author. It is very cleverly written and it took me a while to work out what was happening. The text is initially littered with fascinating facts about donkeys, but when I found myself wondering whether or not donkeys really can play chess I realised that I’d been had!

The exhilarating novelty of playing chess with a donkey more than made up for the successive defeats, and Caroline was positively skittish when we finished; she butted Arthur playfully in the back as he was returning the chess pieces – marked faintly with the imprint of her teeth – to the box.

My only criticism is the word “Mystery” in large type on the cover. I picked this book up because I was in the mood for a bit of crime solving and so was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to exercise my brain cells in that way.  

This is a short, but sweet book that could charm even the grumpiest of souls. Anyone who knows me would point out that any book described as “charming” would normally send me running in the opposite direction, but for some reason Caroline didn’t have that effect. I think that this was because the bizarre escapades of the impressively intelligent donkey entertained me in such an original way. I’m afraid I can’t let you know any more about the plot for fear of ruining this lovely little book, but I hope that I have revealed enough to intrigue you.

I recommend it, especially as a gift to animal lovers.

Categories
2011 Crime Thriller

The Facility – Simon Lelic

Rupture was one of my favourite books of 2010  and I am sad that it didn’t receive the attention it deserved. I was pleased to discover that Simon Lelic’s second book was going to be released so soon after his first and I jumped at the chance to read it.

The Facility is set in the near future and centres on a secret prison which the British Government are using to hold people under their new “Unified Security Act”. Initially created to hold terrorism suspects without charge, the authorities are now using it for questionable purposes. The book follows one man who doesn’t understand why he has been imprisoned and those on the outside who are desperate to discover why he has disappeared.

The book is a fast paced thriller which is gripping throughout. It isn’t for the prudish as there is strong sexual content from the start and I must also warn you that it gets quite dark and violent in places.

Unfortunately I didn’t find it as thought provoking as it could have been – it read like a conventional thriller instead of being a deeper investigation into this complex issue.

It also lost the wonderful one-sided-conversation writing style of Rupture. The writing quality was still high, but there was nothing to make it stand out from the crowd of other thrillers produced each year.

The Facility is a wonderful thriller, but I had hoped it would be so much more than that. I urge you to read Rupture so that you can understand why I had such high hopes for this book. The Facility is worth reading if you are after an absorbing, fast paced read, but I’m hoping that his next book returns to the magic of his first.