Category: Recommended books

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 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
2000 - 2007 Recommended books

Peripheral Vision – Patricia Ferguson

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to take a chance on lesser known books and I’m really pleased to report that my first venture into the unknown was a massive success. I decided to read Peripheral Vision after seeing a post on the Fiction Uncovered website in which Amanda Craig highlighted some undervalued authors. She described Patricia Ferguson’s novels as dark and dazzling – exactly the sort of books I love!

I chose to read Peripheral Vision because it is primarily about motherhood. Through the eyes of three different women we see how the relationship between a mother and child can be both powerful and fragile.

The writing is amazingly clear and a high degree of emotional intensity is built up in a very short period of time.

The first few pages read like a piece of quality chick lit, but this book quickly becomes more than that – the writing has a depth of both character and theme. The cover image implies that this is quite a light book, but there are a few disturbing scenes so I don’t advise reading this if you are squeamish!

The book begins as a series of short stories, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they all linked up in the end. This plot isn’t packed with action, but the power of the relationships was enough to grip me completely.

It seems to her that all maternal love degrades naturally, as the perfect baby becomes the imperfect adult; that such natural fading, from adoration to gentle mutual fondness, is normal.

The theme of vision also runs through the book and I especially loved the details of ophthalmic surgery – I felt as though I was being educated as well as entertained.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in books about motherhood, especially if you appreciate quality writing.

 

Have you read anything written by Patricia Ferguson?

Categories
Other Recommended books

My Favourite Reads in 2010

Earlier in the year I revealed my favourite books published in 2010, but what about all the ones older than that?

Narrowing down my favourite reads of the year to just ten books was very hard. I read a lot of wonderful books in 2010, but here are the ones at the very top of my list.

The Prestige – Christopher Priest

The Dark Side of Love – Rafik Schami

 

The Kindly Ones – Jonathan Littell

Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese

The Road – Cormac McCarthy

When I Was Five I Killed Myself – Howard Buten

The Siege – Helen Dunmore

The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham

The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

Are any of these your favourites too?

Thank you for following my blog in 2010 – I wouldn’t be here without you all. Let’s hope we can find many more great reads next year.

I hope that you have a wonderful 2011!

Categories
2011 Other Recommended books

The Best Books of 2011? Part 2: Debut/Lesser Known Authors

Last week I showed you books to look out for in 2011 written by authors you’ve might have heard of. This week it is the turn of ones you probably haven’t.

Here are the books I’m getting excited about!

Note: UK release month shown in brackets.


The Facility by Simon Lelic (January)

Rupture was one of my favourite books of 2010. I’m quite sad that it didn’t receive the recognition it deserved, but I am very excited that his new book comes out in January. I really hope that I’ll be able to persuade lots of people to try Simon Lelic in 2011.

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.The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht (March)

Tea Obreht was the youngest author on The New Yorker’s Top 20 Writers under 40 List. This story about a tiger escaping from a Balkan zoo during WWII looks like a cross between The Jungle Book and the most harrowing of war novels. I love the sound of it!

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. The History of History: A Novel of Berlin by Ida Hattemer-Higgins (January)

An American women finds herself in a forest just outside Berlin, clothes torn, with no recollection of what has happened to her. This harrowing story combines the history of Berlin with a bizarre world in which Nazi ghosts manifest themselves as falcons and buildings turn into flesh. If it is as interesting as it sounds then it could well become my book of the year!

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.The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud (March)

This book came from nowhere to become the surprise winner of the 2010 Giller prize. I think it might be too quiet for me, but I know a lot of other people will be excited about its appearance in the UK.  

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 Leela’s Book by Alice Albinia (June)

This book manages to combine India’s great epic, the Mahabharata, with a modern love story. I love books that defy genre and this sounds different enough to be worth trying.

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  How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu (30th December, 2010– it is near enougth to 2011 to count, isn’t it?!)

Dinaw Mengestu’s 2007 debut novel, Children of the Revolution, won the Guardian First Book Award. His new novel is a family history that takes place in war-torn Ethiopia and contemporary America. It is a story of identity and belonging that promises to be heart-breaking. I love a story that requires a box of tissues to be on hand!

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Annabel by Kathleen Winter (March)

Annabel was shortlisted for the 2010 Giller prize  and Canadian readers with a similar taste in books to me are raving about it. I loved Middlesex, the only other book about a hermaphrodite that I’ve read, so I’m intrigued by how this one compares.

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Waterline by Ross Raisin (July)

Ross Raisin’s last book, God’s Own Country,was nominated for eleven awards including the Guardian First Book Award, the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize and the Impac. Rumors are saying that this one is even better. This sounds like a book worth getting hold of.

The Echo Chamber by Luke Williams (May)

Narrated by a woman called Evie with uncannily keen hearing (she could even hear in the womb) it is the story of a childhood in colonial Nigeria, of travels with a lover across America and of Evie’s present-day efforts to record her life and adventures before her powers of listening fade completely …

The Free World: A Novel by David Bezmozgis  (May)

David Bezmozgis was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book award in 2004 for his short story collection Natasha and other Stories. Free World, his debut novel, was snapped up in a “substantial five-figure deal”. It centres on Russian émigrés living in Italy in the 1970s and promises to be a comic, but tragic tale about the intensity of family relationships.

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (April)

From the US and UK publishing teams of The Lovely Bones and Room comes a new novel that promises to be just as moving. It is about a thirteen-year-old girl who goes missing and her best friend who uncovers some dark secrets in a quest to uncover the truth.

Other books to keep an eye out for:

Ours are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota (January)

Caribou Island by David Vann (January)

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (April)

The Storm at the Door by Stefan Merril Block (May)

Africa Junction by Ginny Baily (June)

Which debut authors are you getting excited about?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Commonwealth Writer's Prize Historical Fiction Recommended books

Haweswater – Sarah Hall

 

Winner of the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize First Book Award and 2003 Betty Trask Award

I spent my teenage years living in the Lake District and so I have a soft spot for anything set in Cumbria. Haweswater is one of many lakes in the Lake District, but unlike the majority it is man-made; created by the construction of a dam and the subsequent flooding of the valley in the 1930s. Haweswater gives a moving account of how the remote farming community came to terms with the fact that their village was going to be destroyed and describes their final months as they prepare to leave a home that has been theirs for generations.

Photo Credit: Trevor Rickard

Haweswater had an extra impact on me as I visited the village of Mardale when it was revealed during a drought. The photo above shows a typical view of Haweswater as it is today; whilst the one below shows a similar view during a drought – with the roads, demolished houses and farm walls revealed.

Photo Credit: Janet Richardson

I loved the Cumbrian dialect in this book. You don’t hear it on television very often and I think it is the first time I have read a book containing it.

Teddy’s gone fer Frithy. Nowt else to dyah but wait. Thowt aboot garn misell, Sam. Twa arms better un yan, eh? Even auld bugger like misell?

When I first moved to Cumbria I couldn’t understand a word the locals were saying and I suspect that many readers will struggle to understand the dialect in this book. The good news is that the majority of the novel is written in beautiful, descriptive prose and so you will still understand everything that is happening even if you don’t catch what they are saying!

For the last three hundred years or more there often could be seen a man or a child pausing on the bridge to look below at the water, idling in conversation with a companion, or as a solitary, watching the trout rise and flick between the reeds under the bridge. Casting an eye over the river, as if for no other reason than there was water flowing past.

Despite the fact that you know what happens in the end, this is a fantastic story. The characters are very well developed and I felt a strong emotional connection to them. A dark sense of foreboding builds as the novel progresses and the ending is heartbreaking. This is a beautiful portrait of a lost community.

I’m slightly biased, but I highly recommend that you read it.

Have you read any books set in the Lake District?