Category: Publication Date

Categories
2010 Recommended books

The Nobodies Album – Carolyn Parkhurst

The Nobodies Album is described as a murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It is an insightful look into the relationship between a mother and her grown-up child, but it is also a clever piece of meta-fiction – questioning whether a story ever really ends and what rights an author has to a book once it has been published.

The Nobodies Album begins with Octavia Frost, a famous novelist, discovering that her son has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend. She dashes across the country to be with him, despite the fact that they haven’t seen each other for years. Scared and emotional she waits to see if she will be accepted back into his life and begins the painful process of discovering whether or not he is guilty of the crime. I thought that the book perfectly captured the emotions of parenthood – covering the nature versus nurture debate as well as the guilt experienced when a child behaves inappropriately. The meta-fictional style made these emotions seem all the more honest and realistic.

Now that the moment is here, it’s not what I expected at all. That’s the fundamental flaw in the illusion that writers like to maintain, the idea that we can craft anything approaching truth. No matter how richly we imagine, no matter how vividly we set the scene, we never come close to the unambiguous realness of the moment itself.

Interwoven with the narrative are snippets from Octavia Frost’s novels. Life experiences have altered the way she views the world and so she has decided to create a new book in which she rewrites the ending to all her previous novels. The snippets didn’t come across as realistic endings as each contained the sort of information that normally begins a novel, but I’m willing to forgive this because each of the stories was so interesting in its own right. I could easily have read full-length versions of most of them – especially the one in which people forget everything that is too traumatic.

It is difficult to explain just how clever this novel is. There is so much going on, but Carolyn Parkhurst’s skill as a writer ensures that the reader is never lost. It could easily have felt gimmicky, but the emotional rawness of the text lent an authenticity to it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in parental responsibilty or how the writing process changes with experience, but also to anyone looking for a gripping narrative with an original, thought provoking style.

.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

….the writing is stellar. It is smart, insightful, and real. You’ve Gotta Read This!

….an incredibly creative novel that I definitely recommend. S. Krishna’s Books

……accessible and thoughtful. The Literate Housewife

I think I may have discovered a new favourite novelist!

Have you read any of Carolyn Parkhurst’s earlier books?

Categories
2010

Mr Chartwell – Rebecca Hunt

William Churchill often spoke of his “black dog” of depression. Mr Chartwell imagines what might have happened if that black dog had been real.

Black Pat is the man-sized Labrador responsible for Churchill’s depression.

‘Sometimes I drape across his chest. That slows him down for a bit. And then I like to lie around in the corner of the room, crying out like I have terrible injuries. Sometimes I’ll burst out at him from behind some furniture and bark in his face. During meals I’ll squat near his plate and breathe over his food. I might lean on him too when he’s standing up, or hang off him in some way. I also make an effort to block out the sunlight whenever I can.’

The book begins with Black Pat replying to an advertisement for a room to rent – surprising the landlady, Esther. Bemused, she offers him a room and begins a difficult relationship with the over-sized dog.

Black Pat has to be one of the best characters I’ve come across recently – I loved the originality of the talking, giant dog and enjoyed his attempts at fitting into human society. Some of his scenes had me crying with laughter (especially the one where he tried to barbecue a coot), but despite the comedy of several sections I found this book to be unsatisfying overall. I thought that the book contained a series of fantastic scenes, but thought that the plot was quite weak and some of the connecting sections failed to grab my attention.

Mr Chartwell was short and easy to read and so I flew through it in a couple of sittings, but I felt that the lightness and humour took something away from the subject matter. I never felt Churchill’s depression or saw Black Pat as anything more than a giant mischievous animal. This book should have had darker undercurrents and some insight into depression, but instead it just skirted around the real issues.

Overall this book had a fantastic premise and some sparks of genius, but it didn’t quite work for me.

.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

I loved the opening chapters of this book but started to lose interest a little bit as I got further into the story. She Reads Novels

I completely fell for this book; it was a single sitting read. It’s original, compelling, poignant, witty and rather dark too – a perfect mixture. Savidge Reads

I came away from Mr Chartwell feeling that it hadn’t quite achieved what it seemed to be aiming for. Follow the Thread

Categories
2010 Orange Prize

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives – Lola Shoneyin

  Longlisted for 2011 Orange Prize

Five words from the blurb: polygamous, family, wives, children, Nigerian

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives is set in Nigeria and gives an insight into the problems faced by women within a polygamous marriage. In a series of interwoven narratives the book tells the story of the four women married to Baba Segi, a rich patriarch. We see the strict hierarchy that exists within the family and the wives’ struggle to conceive the children that their husband demands.

The book was very easy to read – the text flowed simply and quickly. There were many humourous sections and the book retained a light tone throughout, despite some darker moments.

I loved seeing the relationships within the family change with the addition of each new wife and it was really interesting to see things from the perspective of each woman.

Iya Segi has two children. The eldest Segi, is fifteen. She is a dutiful sister to her siblings but I think she is afraid that I have come to take her place. I see anger when I offer to help the other children with homework. She doesn’t speak to me but I often see her shadow by the door.

My only complaint is that there was very little description of their surroundings. By the end of the book I felt I knew the wives really well, but I couldn’t picture their house or village at all.

Overall this was a wonderfully entertaining novel that raised many important issues. Recommended.

.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

….a startling but beautiful evocation of a Nigerian woman’s inner world. Lotus Reads

The author set out to expose the ugliness of polygamy. And she does achieve this but it comes at a cost to her characters. Kinna Reads

 I found myself laughing out loud at some of the episodes in the book. CardiganGirlVerity

My faith in the Orange Prize has returned. I wouldn’t have come across this book if it hadn’t been longlisted for the Orange Prize and I am very pleased that I read it. I hope my next Orange is just as rewarding.

Categories
2000 - 2007 Crime Mystery Thriller

In The Woods – Tana French

Five words from the blurb: detective, body, woods, family, secrets

Tana French is an author who has been raved about so much that I have forgotten where I first heard about her. I am often disappointed by thrillers and so was nervous about approaching this book, but I shouldn’t have worried – In the Woods is just as good as everyone says it is.

The book is set in Ireland and follows Detective Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie, as they investigate the murder of a little girl. The case brings back difficult memories for Rob, as two of his childhood friends disappeared in the same wood twenty years earlier. The pair try to establish if the cases are linked, whilst trying to hide Rob’s connection to the previous investigation.

There was a time when I believed, with the police and the media and my stunned parents, that I was the redeemed one, the boy borne safely home on the ebb of whatever freak tide carried Peter and Jamie away. Not any more. In ways too dark and crucial to be called metaphorical, I never left that wood.

The book was gripping all the way through and there were plenty of twists and turns to entertain me. The pacing was perfect – keeping me hooked on every word at the beginning and then speeding up towards the end.

The writing was simple, but effective and I was especially impressed with the character development – all were well formed and I connected with them on an emotional level quite quickly.

There were a few moments when I had to suspend my disbelief as police procedure was abandoned for the benefit of a more thrilling plot. HIGHLIGHT TO READ SPOILER (for example the fact no-one searched the archaeological site or the tool sheds at an early stage in the investigation), but I was willing to overlook these minor problems as they did make the story more entertaining.

I loved the ending. It tied up many of the questions raised by the book, but left some things unanswered so that the sequel is now calling to me very loudly.

There isn’t anything profound or informative in this book, but as a piece of pure entertainment it is almost flawless. Recommended.

.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

The wonderful thing about this novel is that while it’s ostensibly a mystery, it’s really a character-driven story dressed up in a mystery’s clothing. Fyrefly’s Book Blog

Tana French is a goddess. Not just any goddess, but the Goddess of Mystery. You’ve Gotta Read This!

French’s writing is extremely evocative and effective at ratcheting up the suspense. Steph & Tony Investigate!

Categories
2000 - 2007 Other Prizes

This Blinding Absence of Light – Tahar Ben Jelloun

Translated from the French by Linda Coverdale

Winner of the 2004 IMPAC Award

Five words from the blurb: prison, struggle, survive, darkest, terrible

This book is based on the real experiences of a survivor of Tazmamart – the secret prison in which sixty people were imprisoned for taking part in the 1971 failed coup to oust King Hassan II of Morocco. They were locked in appalling conditions –  with no light, little food and virtually no protection from the freezing cold winters or the stifling heat of summer. For twenty years the men battled against disease and boredom, before the survivors were finally released in 1991.

This book is a gripping, but harrowing account of an almost unimaginable suffering.

The cold interfered with my thinking. It made me hear friendly voices, like a mirage for a man lost in the desert. The freezing cold muddled everything. It was an electric drill piercing holes in the skin. No blood spurted out; it had frozen in the veins. It was vital to keep our eyes open, stay awake. Those so feeble they succumbed to sleep died within a few hours.

Very little actually happens in this short book, but the full range of human emotion leaps from the page.

It could never be described as an enjoyable read, but it is as an important book. It is a vivid account of the terrible things that humans are capable of doing to each other, but also proof that with the right frame of mind it is possible to survive in even the harshest of conditions.

Recommended to anyone interested in imprisonment and its affects upon the human mind.

.

Thank you to JoV for sending this book to me!

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. 

.

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