Category: Publication Date

Secrecy by Rupert Thomson

Five words from the blurb: Italy, sculptor, hidden, dangers, revelations

Last year I read The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson and was impressed by its original and thought provoking plot. So when an unsolicited review copy of Thomson’s latest book popped through my letter box I was keen to see what he’d written. Secrecy is very different in style to The Book of Revelation, but his ability to write such accomplished books in different genres is a testament to his skill as an author.

Secrecy is a vivid piece of historical fiction set in 17th Century Italy. The central character, Zummo, is an artist who creates macabre models from wax. Zummo has many secrets and is forced to flee from his home town to Palermo, then Naples. Luckily he finds favour with Tuscany’s Medici ruler, Cosimo III, who commissions him to make a large wax sculpture, the nature of which is to be kept secret from everyone around them.

The writing was atmospheric and reminded me of Pure by Andrew Miller in the way it also contained depth and insight:

Secrecy has many faces. If it was imposed on you, against your will, it could be a scourge – the bane of your existence. On the other hand, you might well seek it out. Nurture it. Rely on it. You might find life impossible without it. But there was a third kind of secrecy, which you carried unknowingly, like a disease, or the hour of your death. Things that could be kept from you, maybe for ever.

The plot contained many twists and turns, but none were jaw-dropping – it was simply good old-fashioned story telling. Unfortunately I never connected emotionally with Zummo, but I remained interested in his story throughout. He was a fantastic character and I loved the fact that he was so flawed; encouraging the reader to be disgusted by him one moment and then feel sympathy for him the next.

This period of history was unfamiliar to me so I enjoyed learning at little about life in the Medici court. This book was clearly very well researched, but I liked the way that the historical facts were present, but never over-burdening.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a good piece of literary historical fiction.

Tags Italy

2013 Audio Book

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (Audio Book)

Post author By Jackie
Post date March 7, 2013
15 Comments on One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (Audio Book)

Five words from the blurb: mistakes, divorced, refuse, operation, relationships

Jonathan Tropper is one of those authors that I’ve always wanted to try, but for some reason he never made it to the top of my TBR pile. When Sandy raved about the audio version of his latest book I added it straight to my wishlist. Since the book wasn’t published in the UK at the time she kindly offered to send her copy across to me. I’m so pleased that she did as this is a beautifully written book that works very well on audio.

One Last Thing Before I Go centres on Silver, a dysfunctional middle-aged man who is told that he will die unless he has surgery on his heart. Silver decides not to have the operation and is surprised when his ex-wife, daughter, and everyone else, try to persuade him that his life is worth living.

I have to admit that I initially struggled with this book. The first disc (of seven) bored me. I had no interest in this former rock star, his divorce, or his grumpy outlook on life.

Silver is forty-four years old, if you can believe it, out of shape, and depressed—although he doesn’t know if you call it depression when you have good reason to be; maybe then you’re simply sad, or lonely, or just painfully aware, on a daily basis, of all the things you can never get back.*

Then, part way into the second disc, Silver had his medical emergency and I was instantly engaged. The tone of the book changed as Silver began to think about his fate and I almost began to like him.

Many readers rave about the humour in this book, but I’m afraid it never made me laugh. The jokes were so dry that I barely registered their presence and I suspect that a lot of them went over my head as the Jewish culture is unfamiliar to me. Despite this problem I was impressed by the way Tropper made me sympathise with a man I’d never normally be interested in. His observations of a dysfunctional family felt realistic and there were many pieces of wisdom sprinkled through the text.

I initially thought the narrator was dry and boring, but as the book progressed I realised he was the perfect choice. He sounded exactly as I imagined Silver to be and his lack of enthusiasm reflected that of the character. By the end I was very impressed with everything he’d done.

One Last Thing Before I Go is one of those rare books that enables you empathise with characters that are initially repulsive. Recommended to those who like darker insights into dysfunctional families.

Have you read this book?

Which of Jonathan Tropper’s books should I read next?

* Quote taken from Goodreads, as it is difficult to get quotes from audio books.

2010 Memoirs Non Fiction

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Post author By Jackie
Post date March 4, 2013
33 Comments on The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Winner of the 2010 Costa Biography Prize

Five words from the blurb: Japanese, carvings, history, family, century

Last year I tried to read The Hare with Amber Eyes, but abandoned it after about 50 pages. I was therefore a bit disappointed when my brand new book club picked it as their first title. Unwilling to be defeated by the very first book I battled through the entire thing. Unfortunately it wasn’t to my taste, but it did at least provoke a good discussion.

The book is a history of the author’s family. Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of tiny Japanese carvings called “netsuke” and, by investigating the way these passed through the generations, he charts the story of his family through the last century. Beginning in Paris in 1871, passing through Nazi occupied Vienna, and finishing in Tokyo; the book gives a detailed history of the family as their fortune changes.

Unfortunately this book was too dry for me. It was very well researched, but the details were of no interest to me:

Ten houses down from the Ephrussi household, at number 61, is the house of Abraham Camondo, with his brother Nissim at 63 and their sister Rebecca over the street at number 60. The Camondos, Jewish financiers like the Ephrussi, had come to Paris from Constantinople by way of Venice. The banker Henri Cernuschi, a plutocratic supporter of the Paris Commune, had come to Paris from Italy and lived in chilly magnificence with his Japanese treasures on the edge of the park. At number 55 is the Hotel Cattaui, home to a family of Jewish bankers from Egypt. At number 43 is the palace of Adolphe de Rothschild…..

I just didn’t care! I wanted to know about the lives of these people – their thoughts and emotions. I didn’t care who they lived next to or how their house was constructed.

It probably didn’t help that I have no interest in art or classical music and so the famous names mentioned did nothing for me. I was also well aware of the plight of Jews in occupied Vienna and so none of the details were new to me. There were some beautifully described scenes, but I’m afraid these weren’t enough to make up for the long boring sections.

The first and last chapters, in which the author described his own thoughts, were the only ones that contained any emotion. I wished he’d been able to inject this emotion into other members of his family. I also wished that he’d been able to include more information about the life of his gay uncle. The story of a homosexual man living in less tolerant times would have been far more interesting than the story he actually told.

Overall this book was too dry and boring for me. Recommended to those who love the history of art.

My Book Club

The first meeting of my new book club went really well. It was a lovely group of women and we had a great discussion about the book. I was a bit worried about going to the meeting having had such a negative reaction to the first book, but luckily most of the group felt the same way I did! Only one member of the group enjoyed The Hare with Amber Eyes, but we managed to discuss its positive attributes and its flaws without any bad vibes. I’m looking forward to discussing the next book, Cloud Atlas, and getting to know these lovely women better.

2013 Non Fiction Recommended books

Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

Post author By Jackie
Post date February 25, 2013
22 Comments on Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

Five words from the blurb: parents, exceptional, children, difference, acceptance.

Far From the Tree is the most important book I’ve ever read. It is a masterpiece of research; giving an impressive insight into human relationships and our tolerance of those who are different. If everyone read this book the world would be a better place.

I requested a review copy of this book because, as the mother of a child with autism, I was hoping for some insight into the way my relationship with my son might develop. The book not only managed to do this, but also had a profound impact on the way I view the rest of society. It made me appreciate the similarities that exist between groups that I’d previously thought of as quite separate and it gave me an insight into the problems faced by other parents around the world.

The title takes its name from the phrase “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” and, through 700 pages of outstanding non-fiction, Andrew Solomon investigates how parents cope when their children turn out to be different from themselves. The book begins with Solomon’s own experiences as a gay man, and continues to include chapters on many different groups, including the parents of children who are dwarfs, deaf or born from rape. I expected to find the chapter on autism the most interesting, but this wasn’t the case as the details were already familiar to me. I was surprised to discover that I was most interested in the conditions I knew less about – the chapter on schizophrenia was particularly eye-opening and I found myself sympathising with those parents, along with the parents of children who committed horrific crimes, the most.

I normally like to make a note of the important passages that I find whilst reading a book, but just 10 pages into this one I gave up. Almost every page contained some sort of profound insight and this was especially true of the first chapter, Son.

Insofar as our children resemble us, they are our most precious admirers, and insofar as they differ, they can be our most vehement detractors. From the beginning, we tempt them into imitation of us and long for what might be life’s most profound compliment: their choosing to live according to our own system of values. Though many of us take pride in how different we are from our parents, we are endlessly sad at how different our children are from us.

This opening section was one of the most impressive pieces of writing I’ve ever read and, if the length of the entire book intimidates you, I urge you to at least read the first 48 pages – they summarise the key findings of Solomon’s research and, although you’ll miss out on many wonderful examples of parents explaining their problems and accomplishments, you’ll come to realise how people can be united and supported by others who experience difference.

The only negative aspect of this book was that after a while some of the parent’s testimonies began to feel repetitive. Overall this was a good thing as it emphasized the fact that the parents of this diverse range of children all experienced the same set of emotions.

For me, the take home message of this book comes from Ari Ne’eem, a man with Asperger’s syndrome who is quoted in the chapter on autism:

Society has developed a tendency to examine things from the point of view of a bell curve. How far away am I from normal? What can I do to fit in better? But what is at the top of the bell curve? Mediocrity. That is the fate of American society if we insist on pathologising difference.

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this book. It is a modern masterpiece and I’m sure it will be quoted from and referred to for many years to come.

Very highly recommended.

2011 Books in Translation Other Prizes

Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld

Post author By Jackie
Post date February 20, 2013
11 Comments on Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld

Translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green

Winner of the 2012 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

Five words from the blurb: Holocaust, Jewish, boy, hides, brothel

Blooms of Darkness is set during WWII and follows an eleven-year-old Jewish boy as he is forced to leave his family and hide from the Nazis in a brothel.

Blooms of Darkness is one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. It isn’t a roller coaster of emotions, it is an endlessly bleak book without a glimmer of hope anywhere. I think the fact it is narrated by an innocent child, separated from his friends and family, makes it have even more impact. The loneliness and grief were heartbreaking and the thought of any child growing up in such terrible circumstances is hard to take.

Very little happened, but the observations and emotions were powerful and realistic – the author’s own experiences as a Jewish boy in hiding gave this book a painful authenticity. The writing style was simple and quiet and it was surprising to see how distressing a book could be without actually containing any graphic scenes. The fear of discovery and imagining what might have happened to loved ones was enough to give this book a terrible sense of impending doom:

Hugo refused to think about what had happened to Erwin in the ghetto. One night they sealed off the orphanage on all sides, took the orphans out of their beds, and loaded them onto trucks while they were still in their pyjamas. The orphans wept and cried out for help, but no one did anything. Anyone who opened a window or went out would be shot.

It seems wrong to criticise a book for revealing the painful truth, but the continual darkness was too much for me. I longed for a few lighter moments to penetrate the bleakness, but I guess I’ll just have to take comfort in the fact that I’m lucky enough to never have experienced anything like this.

Recommended to anyone who’d like to know what it is like to be a child living in constant fear, but I’m sure it will be too distressing for many.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

Aharon has shown why he considered one of the foremost Hebrew writers. Winstondad’s Blog

…there’s nothing in the novel which makes it stand out amongst its peers and competitors. Tony’s Reading List

It’s a sombre work, because it deals with the Holocaust, but it’s beautiful all the same… ANZ Litlovers Litblog

Tags Holocaust, WWII

2013

The Good Father by Noah Hawley

Post author By Jackie
Post date February 13, 2013
11 Comments on The Good Father by Noah Hawley

Five words from the blurb: son, killed, President, questions, guns

The Good Father is a compelling novel that shows how a father reacts when he discovers that his son has shot the next President of America. It questions how responsible parents are for their children’s actions, whilst also including information about other assassinations in recent history.

This book was fast paced and gripping throughout, but it failed to come to any new conclusions. The issue of parental responsibility was covered with far more depth and emotion in We Need to Talk About Kevin; so although this book came from the slightly different perspective of the father, I felt as though it was treading on old ground.

I sat carefully on the edge of the bed. Between us I felt the weight of so much history. I was the father who had divorced his mother when he was seven. I was the absent dad, the one who had missed birthday phone calls, who had forgotten to send presents. I was the weekend dad, the summer-vacation dad. …What did he owe me? Why should I expect a straight answer?

Over the course of the book the father researched conspiracy theories and this interesting information allowed the reader to join the father in questioning his son’s innocence. This merging of fact and fiction was the best aspect of the book and I loved the way other high profile murderers were compared with each other in the futile attempt to find a link between them all.

There were many twists and turns and, although none were especially surprising, they were entertaining enough to keep the reader interested. This book will be loved by those who found We Need to Talk About Kevin too dense and disturbing.

Overall it was a light, entertaining read, but it didn’t have the insight I’d hoped for.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

…an intensely powerful book that is gripping from start to finish. The Little Reader Library

The story itself did not wow me. Bibliophile By the Sea

..a fascinating portrait of life, death, family, love, responsibility…all mixed up with some wonderful psychology! Shooting Stars Mag