Summer is coming to an end, but before it vanishes completely, I've slipped
a garden party into the schedule on Sunday to celebrate all the work we've been
doing at home. However in the four days since I first drafted this blog post, the
weather forecast has now taken a rather drizzly turn and I’ve ended up lighting the fire
twice this week. Still, I'll keep my fingers crossed for a dry, if not warm weekend.
Work on the house and party planning are just two of the many things keeping me
busy lately, but I've been trying to keep some time aside to read, even if I'm
not doing a great deal of purposeful writing just now. With this in mind,
here's a round-up and review of some of the things I've been reading over the course of
this summer, followed by a handful of things on my ever-growing ‘read this'
pile. This has turned this into a rather large post, but I hope you enjoy it
and please let me know if you read any of them and let me have your thoughts.
Saturday - Ian McEwan (Vintage, 2005)
Let’s just talk McEwan for a moment. I'm a huge McEwan fan - half of the time. It would be fair to say Atonement is my favourite novel. The language, the plot, the characters; everything is perfectly crafted. Yet, I couldn't get past the second page of On Chesil Beach. I hated everything about it. And so, I packed Saturday as a holiday read, and then followed it up with several contingency options before setting off for Greece in the hope that I wouldn't need to be downing daytime cocktails to make it past the opening paragraphs.
Saturday follows neurosurgeon
Henry Perowne through one rather eventful Saturday in London. McEwan famously
shadowed a surgeon whilst researching this book, but that research is
unobtrusive and the plot unfolds naturally through a series of events, whilst
little tangents lend insights and backstories which feel plausible and are
welcome additions to the main storyline. McEwan ventures into music and
literature through the protagonist's relationships with his children; he
ventures into politics, particularly Blair-era, in a fantastic little passage
which really stuck with me, and he discusses terrorism, the NHS, relationships,
morality and far more with such clarity and precision it is impossible not to
be drawn in to his opinions on all of them.
If I had to criticise this book, I'd say it crescendos to what is perhaps an implausible end, made necessary by drawing an entire novel from just one day's events. But still you can forgive it. It sweeps you along and is so beautifully written that you find yourself unwilling to argue.
Sweet Tooth - Ian McEwan (Vintage, 2013)
Having enjoyed Saturday, I picked up Sweet Tooth, another more recent McEwan, the blurb of which makes it sound far more glamorous than it actually is. Sweet Tooth is the story of Serena Frome, a MI5 spy in the 1970's, and her romance with the aspiring author on whom she is keeping tabs. I suspected it would tick my boxes, and in some ways it did. It contained some fantastic short stories which were real highlights. Ultimately though, I found the 70's politics too heavy for my taste; they were frequent, cumbersome and did nothing to enhance the plot. And, whilst McEwan never shies away from graphic descriptions of sex, those too seemed heavy, unnecessary and very repetitive here.
I wrote something like the following on Facebook whilst halfway through reading this novel and it is perhaps the best review I can offer: 'I get the feeling McEwan wanted to write a book of short stories but his publisher said, 'No, not commercially viable even from you, but write any novel you like and we'll publish it." So he went away and wrote a novel about a short story writer, (and included the short stories within), who is very successful, receives a large no-strings-attached subsidy, wins several major awards and lives happily ever after. He then posted the manuscript off to said publishers with a rather smug grin on his face.'
Good Me, Bad Me - Ali Land (Penguin, 2017)
I bought this debut novel after hearing the author read the opening paragraphs on the radio and being completely sucked in. I even splashed out on the hardback so I could start reading it the following day. I have since lent my copy to a friend and find myself vague on some character names, but here goes. I don't want to give too much plot away but a quick Google search will tell you that the story is about a girl who turns her serial-killer mother in to the Police and what happens thereafter. You can't read this without allotting yourself at least two hours to do the opening chapters in one go as the protagonist, Millie (really called Annie), has her world turned upside down. Or rather, she turns her own world upside down.
The plot races at first and keeps you guessing in the way any decent psychological thriller should. Millie’s inner dialogue is clear and compelling and this is what makes this book intriguing. There are uncomfortably accurate descriptions too, of how despicable teenage girls can be, of bullying, dysfunctional families, loneliness and of the broken social care services many young people face today; the author's background in children's mental health is very apparent.
My few gripes with this novel were that Morgan, Millie's only friend, is under-utilised in the plot and drops away at the end of the novel without mention, despite the fact I was waiting to find out what her relevance was. It makes the ending feel rushed and a little untidy. I also struggled to find the foster-faster cum therapist's character and reactions believable at times; I found him quite irritating, though I wonder if perhaps he was designed this way. Finally, there were a few oddly fragmented sentences which stuck as I read them and which made the copyeditor in me antsy. Altogether though, a clever and original novel which is definitely worth a read.
An Honest Deceit - Guy Mankowski (Urbane Publications, 2016)
I first read this book immediately after it's launch last year and promised a review which I never found time to write, so I put it on my desk and intended to pick it up again for a quick flick through, but ended up doing another in-depth read - and an in-depth read is exactly what this book requires. The subject matter cannot be skimmed over or shied away from.
This is a beautifully written and well-constructed story in which the
protagonist is faced with the worst kind of tragedy and corruption - the
needless death of his young daughter - and the reader is taken along on his
journey into the unimaginable. The result is characters which we can truly care
about (or loathe) and a plot which demands real emotional investment.
Whilst the cover-up storyline drives this novel forward, the real strength here, as in his previous novels, is Mankowski’s masterful exploration of what makes human beings tick; what drives them, their feelings and their relationships? It constantly demands that we question ourselves too: How would we react, and how far we would be willing to go, if we were in these characters' shoes?
Fragile Lives - Prof. Stephen Westaby (HarperCollins, 2017)
This amazing memoir is without doubt one of the best books I have read not just this year, but ever. My husband asked me to pick it up for him after hearing the author speak on the radio (we seem to listen to a lot of authors on the radio) but when he hadn't started it within a couple of days, I decided I would read it first. He still hasn't read it and I'm now on the verge of a re-read.
Prof. Stephen Westaby is a pioneering cardiac surgeon and his memoir reads
as only those authored by such exceptional individuals can. The opening passage
where he observes his first surgery from a disused gallery above an operating
theatre in the old Charing Cross Hospital is masterful. He conveys the sense of
time and place -right on the cusp of incredible medical breakthroughs, yet
hopelessly and frustratingly limited - so perfectly that when the unknown
patient inevitably dies on the operating table, emitting a geyser of blood from
her chest, you cannot help but cry.
The medical jargon is just enough to be accurate and not enough to alienate the layman. It contains stories both wonderful and tragic. I simply cannot recommend it enough.
Where My Heart Used To Beat - Sebastian Faulks (Vintage, 2016)
The front cover of this book tells me that the Sunday Telegraph called it 'A MASTERPIECE'. I would like to know what it was they were reading.
Robert Henricks, a psychiatrist, spends the first chapter of this book having rather uncomfortable relations with a prostitute in a New York hotel room. I expect that having read the blurb and being told it is a novel in which a well-to-do doctor is off to the south of France, we are supposed to be shocked by this opening. Well, perhaps I might have been, was it not so painfully overwritten. I made it to page 27 before calling it a day. There is a short passage of Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' at the front of this book, and it doesn't manage to become any less pretentious from there on.
The Complete Short Stories - Franz Kafka (Vintage, 1992)
I'm a Kafka fan and have been since I first discovered his short stories several years ago. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I'm often very busy, but if I haven't the time or headspace for something longer, I turn to Kafka's short stories, many of which are very short musings, before switching out the light and going to bed. I’ve actually downloaded the e-book to my phone for this very reason. My favourites are The Sudden Walk; I often feel energised simply by reading it, and On the Tram.
Drive - James Sallis (Poisoned Pen Press, 2005)
Another book which I first read some time ago and have come back to. This is
the novel from which the famous film starring Ryan Rosling was adapted and the
book is equally as stylish, and possibly even more violent. Unlike the film,
the plot is non-linear. However, if the jumbled up storyline throws you for a
moment you simply won’t care as the writing is so good you'll want to keep reading
just to appreciate the author's skill. If ever you want a masterclass in how to
write setting, look no further. He describes California so sparingly and yet
with such clarity that I often read sentences over and over again just to enjoy
them. It's fairly short, you can do it in one all-night sitting if you're
dedicated.
On the reading pile:
My Absolute Darling - Gabriel Tallent (Fourth Estate, 2017)
This book is getting rave reviews right now and I would buy it, except it's only available in hardback and my reading list is so long that it will be available in paperback before I'm anywhere near the bottom of said list. Yet between typing the last sentence and this one, I've been in search of the book's blurb to reproduce below and been so drawn in by the comments and reviews that I may end up in Waterstones tomorrow anyhow.
Here's what the Guardian has to say:
"His debut novel grabs you by the throat and hits you with a swift series of shocks from the word go. In prose as lush as the verdant California coastline on which he has set his novel, and which he clearly knows in intimate detail, Gabriel Tallent reveals the hard reality of life for Turtle Alveston. She’s 14. She lives with her father in an overgrown, rotting house in Mendocino. He taught her to shoot when she was six, in preparation for the end of civilisation. He helps her with her homework. And he rapes her at night in his bedroom, “where the moon-cast shadows of the alder leaves come in and out of focus on the drywall”. Guardian link here.
White Teeth - Zadie Smith (Penguin, 2001)
I'm ashamed to say I have never read anything by Zadie Smith and I have it
on good authority that White Teeth is
where I need to start. Apparently she was paid a £250k advance on it as
her debut novel!
More from Guardian here.
Behind The Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson (Doubleday, 2005)
I borrowed this book from the mother of a GCSE student I was tutoring last year. She had a lot of McEwan on her bookshelf, coincidentally. If the witty blurb is anything to go by, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. It would be nice to find another author whose style I enjoy and who has a large back catalogue I can work through. Amazon page here.
It's now the middle of the night and I'm about to head to bed with my current read, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, by David Lagerkrantz, continuing Larsson's Millenium Series. I'm undecided how I feel about someone else adpoting these characters, but as one reviewer for The Washington Post put it, "Though purists were skeptical, [The Girl in the Spider’s Web] received terrific reviews, many praising Lagercrantz for evoking Larsson’s numbed noir atmosphere while eradicating the worst of his stylistic tics (among them: robotic dialogue and neurotic attention to his characters’ coffee consumption.)" This made me laugh. Perhaps because I also enjoy writing about my characters' coffee habits a little too much.
Saturday - Ian McEwan (Vintage, 2005)
Let’s just talk McEwan for a moment. I'm a huge McEwan fan - half of the time. It would be fair to say Atonement is my favourite novel. The language, the plot, the characters; everything is perfectly crafted. Yet, I couldn't get past the second page of On Chesil Beach. I hated everything about it. And so, I packed Saturday as a holiday read, and then followed it up with several contingency options before setting off for Greece in the hope that I wouldn't need to be downing daytime cocktails to make it past the opening paragraphs.
If I had to criticise this book, I'd say it crescendos to what is perhaps an implausible end, made necessary by drawing an entire novel from just one day's events. But still you can forgive it. It sweeps you along and is so beautifully written that you find yourself unwilling to argue.
Sweet Tooth - Ian McEwan (Vintage, 2013)
Having enjoyed Saturday, I picked up Sweet Tooth, another more recent McEwan, the blurb of which makes it sound far more glamorous than it actually is. Sweet Tooth is the story of Serena Frome, a MI5 spy in the 1970's, and her romance with the aspiring author on whom she is keeping tabs. I suspected it would tick my boxes, and in some ways it did. It contained some fantastic short stories which were real highlights. Ultimately though, I found the 70's politics too heavy for my taste; they were frequent, cumbersome and did nothing to enhance the plot. And, whilst McEwan never shies away from graphic descriptions of sex, those too seemed heavy, unnecessary and very repetitive here.
I wrote something like the following on Facebook whilst halfway through reading this novel and it is perhaps the best review I can offer: 'I get the feeling McEwan wanted to write a book of short stories but his publisher said, 'No, not commercially viable even from you, but write any novel you like and we'll publish it." So he went away and wrote a novel about a short story writer, (and included the short stories within), who is very successful, receives a large no-strings-attached subsidy, wins several major awards and lives happily ever after. He then posted the manuscript off to said publishers with a rather smug grin on his face.'
Good Me, Bad Me - Ali Land (Penguin, 2017)
I bought this debut novel after hearing the author read the opening paragraphs on the radio and being completely sucked in. I even splashed out on the hardback so I could start reading it the following day. I have since lent my copy to a friend and find myself vague on some character names, but here goes. I don't want to give too much plot away but a quick Google search will tell you that the story is about a girl who turns her serial-killer mother in to the Police and what happens thereafter. You can't read this without allotting yourself at least two hours to do the opening chapters in one go as the protagonist, Millie (really called Annie), has her world turned upside down. Or rather, she turns her own world upside down.
The plot races at first and keeps you guessing in the way any decent psychological thriller should. Millie’s inner dialogue is clear and compelling and this is what makes this book intriguing. There are uncomfortably accurate descriptions too, of how despicable teenage girls can be, of bullying, dysfunctional families, loneliness and of the broken social care services many young people face today; the author's background in children's mental health is very apparent.
My few gripes with this novel were that Morgan, Millie's only friend, is under-utilised in the plot and drops away at the end of the novel without mention, despite the fact I was waiting to find out what her relevance was. It makes the ending feel rushed and a little untidy. I also struggled to find the foster-faster cum therapist's character and reactions believable at times; I found him quite irritating, though I wonder if perhaps he was designed this way. Finally, there were a few oddly fragmented sentences which stuck as I read them and which made the copyeditor in me antsy. Altogether though, a clever and original novel which is definitely worth a read.
An Honest Deceit - Guy Mankowski (Urbane Publications, 2016)
I first read this book immediately after it's launch last year and promised a review which I never found time to write, so I put it on my desk and intended to pick it up again for a quick flick through, but ended up doing another in-depth read - and an in-depth read is exactly what this book requires. The subject matter cannot be skimmed over or shied away from.
Whilst the cover-up storyline drives this novel forward, the real strength here, as in his previous novels, is Mankowski’s masterful exploration of what makes human beings tick; what drives them, their feelings and their relationships? It constantly demands that we question ourselves too: How would we react, and how far we would be willing to go, if we were in these characters' shoes?
Fragile Lives - Prof. Stephen Westaby (HarperCollins, 2017)
This amazing memoir is without doubt one of the best books I have read not just this year, but ever. My husband asked me to pick it up for him after hearing the author speak on the radio (we seem to listen to a lot of authors on the radio) but when he hadn't started it within a couple of days, I decided I would read it first. He still hasn't read it and I'm now on the verge of a re-read.
Prof. Stephen Westaby is a pioneering cardiac surgeon and his memoir reads
as only those authored by such exceptional individuals can. The opening passage
where he observes his first surgery from a disused gallery above an operating
theatre in the old Charing Cross Hospital is masterful. He conveys the sense of
time and place -right on the cusp of incredible medical breakthroughs, yet
hopelessly and frustratingly limited - so perfectly that when the unknown
patient inevitably dies on the operating table, emitting a geyser of blood from
her chest, you cannot help but cry.The medical jargon is just enough to be accurate and not enough to alienate the layman. It contains stories both wonderful and tragic. I simply cannot recommend it enough.
Where My Heart Used To Beat - Sebastian Faulks (Vintage, 2016)
The front cover of this book tells me that the Sunday Telegraph called it 'A MASTERPIECE'. I would like to know what it was they were reading.
Robert Henricks, a psychiatrist, spends the first chapter of this book having rather uncomfortable relations with a prostitute in a New York hotel room. I expect that having read the blurb and being told it is a novel in which a well-to-do doctor is off to the south of France, we are supposed to be shocked by this opening. Well, perhaps I might have been, was it not so painfully overwritten. I made it to page 27 before calling it a day. There is a short passage of Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' at the front of this book, and it doesn't manage to become any less pretentious from there on.
The Complete Short Stories - Franz Kafka (Vintage, 1992)
I'm a Kafka fan and have been since I first discovered his short stories several years ago. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I'm often very busy, but if I haven't the time or headspace for something longer, I turn to Kafka's short stories, many of which are very short musings, before switching out the light and going to bed. I’ve actually downloaded the e-book to my phone for this very reason. My favourites are The Sudden Walk; I often feel energised simply by reading it, and On the Tram.
Drive - James Sallis (Poisoned Pen Press, 2005)
On the reading pile:
My Absolute Darling - Gabriel Tallent (Fourth Estate, 2017)
This book is getting rave reviews right now and I would buy it, except it's only available in hardback and my reading list is so long that it will be available in paperback before I'm anywhere near the bottom of said list. Yet between typing the last sentence and this one, I've been in search of the book's blurb to reproduce below and been so drawn in by the comments and reviews that I may end up in Waterstones tomorrow anyhow.
Here's what the Guardian has to say:
"His debut novel grabs you by the throat and hits you with a swift series of shocks from the word go. In prose as lush as the verdant California coastline on which he has set his novel, and which he clearly knows in intimate detail, Gabriel Tallent reveals the hard reality of life for Turtle Alveston. She’s 14. She lives with her father in an overgrown, rotting house in Mendocino. He taught her to shoot when she was six, in preparation for the end of civilisation. He helps her with her homework. And he rapes her at night in his bedroom, “where the moon-cast shadows of the alder leaves come in and out of focus on the drywall”. Guardian link here.
White Teeth - Zadie Smith (Penguin, 2001)
More from Guardian here.
Behind The Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson (Doubleday, 2005)
I borrowed this book from the mother of a GCSE student I was tutoring last year. She had a lot of McEwan on her bookshelf, coincidentally. If the witty blurb is anything to go by, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. It would be nice to find another author whose style I enjoy and who has a large back catalogue I can work through. Amazon page here.
It's now the middle of the night and I'm about to head to bed with my current read, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, by David Lagerkrantz, continuing Larsson's Millenium Series. I'm undecided how I feel about someone else adpoting these characters, but as one reviewer for The Washington Post put it, "Though purists were skeptical, [The Girl in the Spider’s Web] received terrific reviews, many praising Lagercrantz for evoking Larsson’s numbed noir atmosphere while eradicating the worst of his stylistic tics (among them: robotic dialogue and neurotic attention to his characters’ coffee consumption.)" This made me laugh. Perhaps because I also enjoy writing about my characters' coffee habits a little too much.
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