Category: 2014

The Moth: 50 Extraordinary True Stories

Post author By Jackie
Post date October 7, 2014
6 Comments on The Moth: 50 Extraordinary True Stories

Five words from the blurb: truth, stranger, storytellers, spellbound

I’m not normally a fan of short stories, but this book fell through my letter box and after trying it for only a few seconds I couldn’t put it down – the stories were so compelling. They describe the most inspirational or unusual moments in a person’s life and they give the reader hope for the future and a greater understanding of the past.

The Moth is an American storytelling event in which people gather together to hear interesting aspects of each other’s lives. This book is a collection of the best stories told since its foundation in 1997. Many are written by established authors (eg. Nathan Englander, Andrew Solomon and Joyce Maynard), but the most interesting ones were often by ordinary people experiencing extraordinary events. My favourite was the story of a hospital porter who was trapped in a lift with a patient:

So now we’re stopped somewhere, in this tiny, dark box, and there’s three sounds I can hear: the elevator’s emergency signal buzzing, Melissa’s screaming, and Mr William’s heart monitor indicating that, like our elevator, his heart has stopped.

Other stories include the doctor sent to Dehli to treat Mother Teresa; a man who tracked down the pizza delivery driver who’d stolen money from his account; and astronaut Michael Massimino’s difficult space walk. All were totally gripping and I was amazed by the speed in which each author created emotion and narrative tension.

My only criticism is the American bias of the book. – I’d love to see a diverse mixture of countries represented. I hope that The Moth phenomenon travels around the world so we can experience a global edition of this book in the near future.

The Moth is entertaining, inspirational and jaw-droppingly unbelievable in places. The blurb states that truth is stranger than fiction and this book proves that over and over again. I highly recommend it.

2014 Memoirs

Confessions of a Ghostwriter by Andrew Crofts

Post author By Jackie
Post date September 14, 2014
4 Comments on Confessions of a Ghostwriter by Andrew Crofts

Five words from the blurb: author, hire, famous, shadowy, glamorous

Andrew Crofts is a successful ghostwriter. He has published over 80 books, many of which have been best sellers. I agreed to review this book because he has had a fascinating career – working with celebrities, world leaders and ordinary people who’ve lived extraordinary lives. Unfortunately the nature of his work means that many of his clients deny his existence and much of his past is shrouded by confidentiality agreements.

Writing a book in someone else’s voice allows the ghostwriter to abdicate responsibility for anything that is said. The release from that responsibility compensates for the inability to express your own views. In one way it makes it easier to tell a story dramatically and to introduce readers to the personality of the subject, but it is also an act of cowardice, a way of hiding behind the mask. It makes it much easier to express outrageous opinions, to justify shocking behaviour, if you are using someone else’s voice and letting them face any hostile responses that might come from readers.

Crofts is clearly a talented writer. His story was engaging and packed with a light humour that made it a joy to read. Unfortunately this book was ruined by the secrets. I became frustrated by the repeated introduction of interesting scenes which could not be completed because they might give away the identity of the client. Personal details about interactions with a ghost writer would have been interesting, but this book rarely got further than an initial greeting with an unnamed celebrity.

The book also had a fragmented nature. Most chapters were only a couple of pages long and seemed more like introductions to potential novels (each of which would have been great) than stories that could stand up on their own.

There were lots of interesting little snippets of information about life as a ghostwriter, but I’m afraid the confidentially agreements ruined this book. Such a shame as I think Andrew Crofts has had one of the most diverse and exciting lives I’ve ever come across.

2014 Memoirs

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Post author By Jackie
Post date August 18, 2014
7 Comments on H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Five words from the blurb: goshawk, taming, grief, nature, process

H is for Hawk gives an account of the winter in which the author acquires and trains Mabel, a young goshawk. This period of time coincides with the death of Helen Macdonald’s father so there is an emotional rawness that penetrates everything. Much of her grief is reflected in her attitude towards Mabel and these heightened emotions are beautifully described.

The writing in this book is excellent. I don’t have a special interest in birds, but Helen Macdonald managed to captivate me with her simple story. Emotion bounces from the page and I could vividly imagine every scene she describes:

The landscape is changing before my eyes. What I see is not just winter moving onwards to spring; it is a land slowly filling with spots and lines of beauty. There’s a brittle sun out on the hill this lunchtime, and a fresh westerly wind. Mabel’s pupils shrink to opiated pinpricks as I unhood her, both of her eyes narrow with happiness.

The English countryside has a special place in the heart of this book and I think any nature lover will enjoy reading about the wide variety of flora and fauna. There were some scenes in which the hawk hunts prey. I was impressed by the concentration and speed of these birds and found these scenes exhilarating, but some might find their graphic nature disturbing.

H is for Hawk also includes information about TH White, a man who wrote a book on falconry in the 1930s. It was interesting to see how their lives mirrored each other, but I found these sections less interesting – probably because they lacked the intense emotion of the rest of the book.

Overall this was an impressive book that gave me a new respect for those who train birds of prey. Not much happens, but this didn’t matter as the simple tension of the bird’s unpredictable behaviour was enough to hold my attention. Recommended to anyone who enjoys nature writing.

2014

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Post author By Jackie
Post date August 5, 2014
17 Comments on The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Five words from the blurb: truth, hidden, obsession, betrayal, love

The Miniaturist is set in Amsterdam during the 17th century and follows 18-year-old Nella Oortman as she begins a new life in the city. She marries Johannes, a rich merchant, but unfortunately he barely notices her and the household is packed with secrets. She feels isolated, but when she complains her husband buys her a miniature version of their house, including exact replicas of everything in it. This strange gift seems to have some magical properties and Nella soon becomes captivated by the miniature world.

Eight dolls are laid out on a strip of blue velvet. They are so lifelike, so delicate, items of such unreachable perfection. Nella feels like a giant, picking one up as if it might break.

This book started off really well – it was atmospheric, contained well developed characters and had an original premise that intrigued me.

Unfortunately everything came apart in the middle. The plot began to flag and many of the best elements of the book disappeared. As the forward momentum was lost I increasingly noticed flaws within the writing. There were many wonderful elements and some of the scenes will remain with me for a long time, but those looking for outstanding literature will be disappointed.

The magical realism aspects of the novel were wonderful and had a creepiness that few other books have been able to create, but unfortunately these weren’t followed through. There was no adequate resolution to this thread of the story and so the ending lacked the special spark it deserved.

This review sounds negative, but I did enjoy the reading The Miniaturist. My criticisms are mainly due to the fact that the first half of this book was outstanding so I felt let down as the brilliance began to unravel. The positives do outweigh the negatives and the multiple elements of this book, coupled with its readability, make it a great book club choice – I could discuss it for hours!

Recommended to anyone looking for an intriguing read!

The thoughts of other bloggers:

Jessie Burton is as good as Daphne Du Maurier. Utter Biblio

It is intelligently written although it is not for readers who want speedy action and easily-definable characters. The Elephant in the Writing Room

Nella feels less like a character than a vehicle through which Burton can make social commentary on the life and times of women in 17th century Amsterdam. Curious Animal

2014

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Post author By Jackie
Post date July 21, 2014
9 Comments on Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Five words from the blurb: forgetful, mystery, friend, missing, note

Elizabeth is Missing is an amusing, but poignant story about Maud, a woman suffering from dementia. The book alternates between Maud’s current life, where she is preoccupied with the whereabouts of her friend Elizabeth; and a second strand which shows what it was like for her growing up shortly after WWII – a period of time in which she is devastated by the disappearance of her sister.

The book gives a frighteningly realistic insight into the mind of a dementia sufferer, but somehow manages to avoid all sentimentality and insult. Some of the stories made me cry with laughter and I recognised many of the situations from interactions with my own grandparents.

I’m terribly thirsty.’
‘No wonder,’ Helen says, turning to leave the room. ‘There was a line of cold cups of tea on the shelf in the hall.’
I say I can’t think how they got there, but I don’t think she hears me, because she’s already disappeared into the kitchen and, anyway, my head is lowered as I’m going through my handbag.

I loved the first half of this book, but unfortunately the sad, repetitive nature of her actions, although completely realistic, began to wear a bit thin and I found myself losing interest. I think the book would have benefited from being slightly shorter.

The dual detective elements of the story were quite clever and I loved the ending, but there was something about it that didn’t quite work. I think it might be the fact that I didn’t connect with Maud’s younger self and so didn’t care whether or not there was a resolution to her story.

Despite the minor problems I really enjoyed reading this book and I will be recommending it to a wide range of people. I hope it makes readers more tolerant of those with memory problems and I expect to see it on a few prize lists later in the year.

2014 Historical Fiction

Darkling by Laura Beatty

Five words from the blurb: woman, adrift, history, Puritan, echoing

Darkling is part historical fiction, part reflection of modern-day living. The book begins with Mia, a woman who feels lost in the world, viewing a derelict castle in Shropshire. She is researching Lady Brilliana Harley, a woman who defended her home from Royalist troops during the English Civil War, and becomes fascinated by the similarities between their two lives.

I shouldn’t have liked this book (it has very little plot and is terribly over written), but there was something about it that grabbed my attention. The vividness of the writing captivated me and I found myself totally absorbed in each slowly unfolding scene.

The writing quality was excellent, but it had a meandering style – no single word was used when it could be replaced by twenty, more complex ones. It shouldn’t have worked, but for some reason it did. Wisdom oozed from each page and it is almost possible to open the book at random and find a beautiful quote:

Because while London teems and jostles and is so blind, at the ends of the roads that lead out of it and away, where the roads thin themselves to single track and get lost in the villages of deep countryside, there is space that opens out between people’s lives. There is room to just be. Like Mia’s father and her aunt, who sit not speaking, just clearing their throats now and then in their living room – and who knows what they are thinking – while the clock on the mantelpiece busies itself spilling out time, marks the silence with its small audible marks, with authority, as if measuring were system enough.

The book was beautifully researched and contained many wonderful details about life both now and during the English Civil War. The descriptions of nature were also particularly evocative.

Overall this is a slow, but vivid story about our relationship with others and how this is affected by our surroundings. Recommended to people who love the written word and are not bothered by the lack of a strong plot.