Blogpology

 Some blogger I’ve turned out to be, eh? At the beginning of lockdown reading and writing were all I wanted to do. All I seemed able to do! I was making great inroads into my TBR as well as all the gifted copies of books I received. I was writing short stories and  poems and overflowing with ideas. But, sadly, I’ve not been able to sustain that momentum. My reading has dwindled and some days I’m lucky if I even read 100 pages.

Photo courtesy Margoth Bonilla Flickr

 I’m not going to blame it all on the pandemic. My own indisposition, a dear friend’s unexpected cancer diagnosis and treatment. Cousins breaking their wrists and necks and having tumours on their ovaries, beloved aunts and uncles in care homes have all contributed to my blogger’s block.

It hasn’t helped that Blogger, in their infinite wisdom, have changed their interface to a far less user-friendly one. I can’t even use it on my laptop browser as the laptop is too old. So there’s a sense of immense frustration as I’ve had to go search for alternate browsers or use my iPad. Or are these just excuses?

One good thing is that I haven’t missed any deadlines for blog tours or publication dates........yet. And my aim is to never let that happen.

I’ve worried in the past because of poor followings and lack of readers that I’m not a very good blogger. But if you’re a blogger who doesn’t blog you’ve only got yourself to blame. So I suppose I’m writing this post to apologise for having been a dreadful blogger these past few months. And to convince myself that I am still a blogger! And maybe this will be just what I need to shift the momentum. But I’m also wondering if other bloggers have experienced a similar block? Or is it just me? 😟

Difficult Decisions - Giuliano D’Alessandro

‘How many difficult decisions will we all make in our lives? Learning to recognise these moments with preparedness can let us make good decisions. A sense of awareness of the environments we live in teach us much about our behaviour and the ability to tackle challenging situations. Indecisive in-action can be replaced with knowledge to help empower the mind and make the good decisions we all strive for.’

There are those who seem to make decisions very easily. Very decisive. Very positive. And then there are those who struggle. They weigh up the pros and cons, look at the pitfalls and advantages, come to no conclusion and often end up making no decision at all, or worse the wrong decision. I’m afraid I place myself in the latter category! So this slender volume was of immense appeal to me.

It seems to me that we are living in a time where decision-making is crucial. For everybody; our “leaders” and ourselves. Decisions that range from wondering whether to go out for a meal or go shopping in these covid-cautious, lockdown times. 

It’s easy to call this a self-help book. But I think it goes a little further in that it looks at the philosophy of decision-making as well as offering some practical help for those of who us who flounder in the fear of making the wrong decision.

The book offers a simple structured template in the form of three questions to assist in the decision making process; a ‘What?’ a ‘Why?’ and a ‘How?’. By reducing the task to a step by step procedure the nervous decision maker is given the security of a framework that they can return to for whatever decision they may be required to make.

The author makes the most salient of points. “Right or wrong, we live with the outcome of our decisions.” . It seems a very obvious thing to say, and the writer goes on to acknowledge that all of us have made some terrible decisions at some point in our lives, but it seemed to me that one of the points of the book was to prevent us getting to that stage where we will make a wrong decision that we have to live with. 

The book also examines the psychology of decision making acknowledging that characteristics like absence of interest, poor organisation, low enthusiasm and indiscipline  can hamper the decision making process. 

It’s a straightforward book that isn’t trying to bog anybody down with vast scientific theories. It’s written clearly and intelligently with compassion and understanding. Once you’ve read it through it’s useful to dip in and out of when those decision-making demons threaten to strike.

Whatever decisions you do or don’t reach today, make reading this book one of your better decisions !

My thanks to the author for a gifted download of this book. 

An Interview with E.C.Fremantle

I was sent a proof of Elizabeth Fremantle’s debut novel Queen's Gambit several years ago . I fell in love with the narrative style and the characterisations. I felt, instinctively, that here was a writer I needed to keep an eye on! 




I did! I read each book.  I’ve just read her sixth novel, The Honey and The Sting, published last month and my enthusiasm and admiration for her work has not diminuished.

But I found my head full of questions after I finished this recent book. It saw a slight departure in style from the previous books where she took a figure from history and weaved a fiction around the facts. Here was a Jacobean thriller. But more than that I started to wonder about the person behind the pen. Being a nothing ventured, nothing gained type of person I contacted Elizabeth via her website cheekily asking if I could interview her for this blog. Reader, she agreed! So I am utterly thrilled to share with you her responses to my questions.

 The Honey and the Sting sees a departure from your previous style of taking a defined character from history and developing a fiction around them. I imagine that may place constraints upon a fiction because the facts need to be accurate. So was there a greater freedom in the writing of this novel and what was the motivation for The Honey and the Sting?

I had wanted to write a thriller which focussed on the theme of revenge, as I was inspired by the revenge drama of the period, in which women were inevitably cast as the agents of moral collapse.  Initially I set out to weave the story of Felton and Buckingham with that of Frances Coke, who was Buckinghams sister-in-law. Frances was an heiress who was forcibly married to Buckingham’s mad brother, in order that Buckingham could access her lands and titles for his own family. When she had a son he hounded her on a charge of adultery, insisting the child was not his brother’s, and she was forced into hiding as a result.

I had written two full drafts of this novel, when I realised I had run into problems that simply couldn’t be fixed if I kept the two strands of real life story. I was unable to make the complicated time scheme work, whilst retaining the pace my thriller plot required. So at that late stage I decided the only way to fix it was to abandon one of the threads and replace it with a fictional narrative. This was how Frances became my three fictional sisters, Hester, Melis and Hope.

 I’ve always admired the depth of you research and the way your narrative envelopes the reader so you feel you are in that era, the sights, sounds and smells are palpable.  In what way did the research differ in this novel compared to the previous books, if indeed it did?!

Historical fiction requires a certain amount of scene setting and I tend to approach this by using all the senses to bring a scene to life. This novel did arise from the eighteen months I spent living in a remote rural setting and immersing myself in the sounds, sights and smells of the countryside. 

 Women feature predominantly in your books as strong and independent. But during the periods in which you write these traits weren’t always appreciated! What is it about these times, and the place of women in them, that interest you so much?

I mention above about women being cast as the agents of moral collapse in Jacobean drama and I have always been interested in the way women were perceived during this period in history. The Stuart period came after an unprecedented fifty years of female rule in the aftermath of the Reformation, which heralded great social change and cultural flourishing. It was a time when female voices began to emerge in literature. Women were making themselves heard. I have always been interested in these voices from the past and what they can say about our culture now. Let’s not forget that many women living now, live under similar restrictions to their Tudor and Stuart sisters.

I find your books very much character driven, The Honey and the Sting is no exception and the multi narration emphasises that. I found myself marvelling at how you create each character’s voice and sustain it throughout their chapters. I wondered whether you write chronologically or deal with one character at a time?

I always write chronologically. I spend a long time developing the characters so I know them very well, their foibles and the ways in which they might be likely to react to the situations they will face, by the time I start writing. I feel it is important for the plot and pace to write in sequence – both of which are very important in thriller writing. 

 Following on from that question, and particularly if you do write one character at a time, how did you go about plotting the novel?

This novel, as I have mentioned above, did not unfold easily. Making the plot work required several drafts and many many changes. I don’t usually write like this. More often I have an outline that I stick to. This one simply refused to behave!
 

 I also find it interesting that Hester was written in the first person but the other characters in the third. I think I realise why!  I don’t want to offer any spoilers, suffice to ask whether it was a decision from the outset?

Actually it was a decision that came very late in the process. As the primary voice of the novel, I felt that I wanted the reader to see the narrative through her eyes and the first person seemed the way to achieve this. Hope’s voice had, at one point, also been in the first person but it didn’t quite work. I tend to experiment a great deal with the tense of my voices and often make changes.

 I felt at times that Felton wavered in his loyalties. It seemed possible that he might follow a different path from the one he did follow in terms of his relationship with the sisters. Again I’m trying not to give anything away for potential readers. But I was wondering whether there was ever a temptation to have him follow a slightly different route?

In fact Felton, who I greatly enjoyed writing, never veered off my original plan for him. I had a very clear sense of who he was and what his trajectory would be from the outset. At times I was tempted to make the story entirely his.

 How do you write? By that, I mean do you have any strict routines, superstitions or rituals that you adhere to?

I find that working to a daily world-count of 1,500 works best for me. There is a pleasing regularity to this discipline. I write every day and am at my desk for most of the day, though a little less on weekends. I’ve discovered that discipline is the only way I can produce good work. It sounds horribly boring but it is the case.

I know that being an avid reader is almost compulsory for a writer, so a question I always ask is whether you can remember the first book you read that moved you to tears (if any have)?

I’m afraid that when I read I become too caught up in analysing the writer’s technique to lose myself in emotion. I have sometimes found myself crying when writing scenes that are heart-rending. For example a scene in which one of my characters was forcibly separated from her child had me in tears. It must be because I have to feel what my characters are living through to make them seem authentic on the page.

 And finally, having enjoyed this novel so much, something else I am always bound to ask is when we can expect another one!?

Now I’m writing a novel set in Rome in 1611 – so a departure for me. It is called A Lesson in Perspective and is about the painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who was an extraordinarily gifted painter with a fascinating and complex story, which touches on all the themes that interest me about women and voice. An exhibition of her work was meant to open at the National Gallery  in the spring but was postponed because of COVID and will now open in October. Fingers crossed it will not be postponed again.

Boundless thanks to Elizabeth for these fascinating insights and the time she has so generously given to answering my questions. 

Elizabeth's books in order are as follows:-

Queen's Gambit focuses on the life of Catherine Parr

Sisters of Treason looks at the younger sisters of Lady Jane Grey

Watch the Lady is about Penelope Devereux

The Girl in the Glass Tower is the story of Lady Arbella Stuart

The Poison Bed features the Earl and Countess of Somerset

The Honey and the Sting is a Jacobean thriller 

I doubt that anyone who enjoys historical fiction can fail to be completely absorbed by these books.

The Fallen Persimmon - Gigi Karagoz - BLOG TOUR

Japan 1985 - a young English woman battles her conscience.
A page turning suspense novel..

Money blows across a field, the notes slapping against the stubble of dry rice stalks. Mr Ito walks towards the irrigation ditch at the end of his field, his rubber boots kicking up dust.
When he gets there, he remembers the rumour; the one about the missing English woman.

But this is Mari’s story. She knows it's her fault that her sister died, and trying to move on, she takes a dream job teaching English in small-town Japan. It turns into a nightmare when Mari learns that she’s employed by the yakuza (Japanese mafia), and that the man she loves has his own dark secrets. When the yakuza play their final hand, Mari believes that once again, it's all her fault.

If you like a novel that builds suspense, is set in an unusual location, has a strong female lead, and a pinch of romance; then this book is for you.

Whoa! If you ever travel to foreign climes and find yourself strongly tempted to flout their customs and fly against their cultural protocols, read this book first. Such desires will dissolve instantly! A genre fusion fiction that marries romance and thriller with a narrative that hurtles along at a startling pace. Sinister and uneasy you find yourself looking over your shoulder as you read in case the terrifying yakuza are watching your every move and may even feel that your reading of the book is some treachery directed against them!

It all starts innocently enough. Two English girls take jobs as English language teachers in Japan. Should be perfect shouldn't it? An opportunity to explore and experience a culture as diverse from England as you can get. And then you find out that your employers are the Japanese equivalent of the mafia - yakuza. But even that should be fine as long as you toe the line and don't mess with them. Ha ha, but if you did that you wouldn't have a story would you? Do Mari and her friend Kate toe the line? I'm not going to tell you! You have to read the book! But there is a pretty good chance that maybe there are levels of obedience, shall we say, which leave a little to be desired.

But this isn’t just a 'straightforward' crime tale. Mari has some demons to grapple with from her past and the situation in Japan only serves to deepen her feelings of guilt. You get a sense that she is in part running away to Japan to escape herself but ends up having to face herself and peel back the layers to see who she really is.

The author's knowledge of Japan, its cultures and customs is impeccable. she demonstrates, too, an understanding of its people, their motivations and attitudes. The collision between those and two free spirited Brits makes for an explosive tale. There are no punches pulled as you might expect from a mafia infused fiction. It’s a high intensity turbocharged tale where the reader sometimes feels they are hanging on for dear life. Plenty of diverse characters, some you’ll love, others you’ll loathe, but who can be trusted and who should be avoided? 

So grab yourselves some chop sticks, salivate over your sushi and fortify yourself with rice wine as you prepare to experience the Fallen Persimmon. 

Author Bio

Gigi has spent most of her life living and working in countries all over the world. Her big passion is travel, especially in Asia, and India is a favourite destination. Giving up a career in tourism, she qualified as a holistic therapist and worked in yoga retreats in the Mediterranean for twelve years. Currently, Gigi lives in Wiltshire with Isabella, the cat she rescued from the streets of Fethiye, in southern Turkey.

Buy link.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DPXG523/?ref=exp_kellysloveofbooks_dp_vv_d

My thanks to Kelly and Meggy at Love Books Tours for a gifted copy of this book and to Gigi Karagoz for writing it. Check out my blogging colleagues for their takes on this tale of suspense. 

The Honey and the Sting - E.C.Fremantle

I’ve read six books by Elizabeth Fremantle/E.C.Fremantle now. I would read more but she has yet to write them! When she does, I’ll be there!

The Honey and the Sting sees a departure from the author’s usual style of taking a character, usually female, actually always female, from a period in history and creating a fiction around their lives. These books have invariably sent me googling to find out more. But I love it when a writer seeks some variety in their field. Yes, it’s still #histfic and in a familiar historical period but it demonstrates a broader depth to this author’s oeuvre. 

One of the strengths I find in Ms. Fremantle’s work is her ability to develop characters of substance and depth that leap off the page at you, even if they are characters from history who you’ve read about, feel you had some kind of knowledge and understanding of, but she brings them alive in a most exciting way. I remember being absolutely blown away by Queens Gambit because for the first time I felt I knew Catherine Parr as a person, and not just the wife who survived Henry VIII. She became a woman in her own right.

So I’ll admit I was a little bit concerned when I realised that the Honey and the Sting was not about an historical character. But it didn’t last long! A few pages in and I was completely transported into the world of these three sisters. Once again characters so well drawn, so palpable, you felt that if you came across them in the street you’d know them. A fine example of a character driven novel. Of course the main male characters, George Villers and Felton are historical figures but those aspects aren’t the dominant part of the story. That being said Villiers was reputed to be an unpleasant person which is crucial to the story. 

Another aspect of this writer’s work which I admire is the depth and quality of the research. It’s so good you barely notice it. If that sounds like a contradiction so be it. But it’s when the research is bad that you notice the glaring errors and anomalies. The problem when it’s good is that you sometimes have to step out of the book in order to appreciate just how good the research is. Here it’s less factual, in terms of political and court history, its more social history, practices and protocols according to class and situation. The setting and locations were familiar to me. I practically leapt out of my seat when I read that Felton was living in a room in Budge Row. That's because my mother lived in that street as a child. The street no longer exists so it has a greater impact when it is mentioned. I am also familiar with The Feathers inn as I have a brother who lives in Ludlow. If that information seems a little self-indulgent and irrelevant within the wider context of a book review it's because it further shows how impeccable the research is.

The themes are universal and have been explored many times in contemporary and historical settings. Sibling bonds, maternal love, the hunger to survive and protect particularly from the female perspective. I was transported back to seventeenth century England and found myself entwined in the world of Hester, Melis and Hope, my interest and sympathies engaged almost immediately. 

A sense of tension and unease is created, particularly through the middle sister Melis who is subject to visions. The narrative sparkles along at a cracking pace barely giving the reader time to breathe. I felt as stressed at the sisters must surely have been feeling! There are some heart stopping moments and some heart breaking moments! And the story veritably drips with deception, power and desire and how those states can weaken and corrupt. 

The independence of women is fundamental in this book. Their strengths, and their frailties, are what drives the story forwards. The bonds between them, existent or newly forged, tie in with the bee symbolism. A sense of community and industry together with a sense of personal power. And the paradox of the sweetness of the honey and the barb of a bee sting and what happens to a bee who loses its sting. 

My thanks to myself for buying myself a copy of this book!

Gilding the Lily - Justine John BLOG TOUR

What! Another psychological thriller, I hear you say? Yep. I was thinking the same. Here we go again. Another flawed narrator. Another twist that everyone can see coming. But …….WAIT. Wait till you actually read this book. And there is no flawed narrator. Or if there is there’s more than one! And the twist. Oh yes, there is a twist. There is a twist but I don’t think anyone could’ve seen it coming!

Shall we look at some  blurb? Let's check out the blurb.......

'A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies. An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics. Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her… When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits' end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…'

This was one of those delightful books where I had no expectations at all when I started it but once I settled into it I just didn’t want to stop reading. I had to read on and on and on to see just what was going on. The narrative had a curiously retro feel about it. There were times when I was reminded of Virginia Andrews Flowers in the Attic series. Evelyn reminded me of the grandmother in those books. And there was almost a Patricia Highsmith sense of taking a decision and allowing things to spiral in a direction no one could’ve anticipated.

What I also liked, and I think this comes from having read numerous psychological thrillers, is the almost reflexive need to suspect everybody and question their motivation. So that even if they were doing something that seemed kind and well intentioned I was immediately suspicious that there was more to it all than met the eye. Amelia’s husband Jack is a fine example. Oops is that a spoiler? But it creates a very palpable reading atmosphere.

I also enjoyed the book’s structure because it was a multi narrated book, mostly between Jack and Amelia, occasionally Evelyn, and Bill which in itself isn’t a new device but here there was also a switching between first person and third person. This made me read the first person narrative very carefully because I wondered if this was the flawed narrator I’d been expecting. Was it?  I’m not gonna tell you! Read it for yourself. 

As is often a feature of this genre of book the characters seldom come across as particularly likeable. And I think that's important because in order for the story to work you don't need to develop any kind of real bias one way or another. This relates very much to the notion of reading suspiciously that I referred to in the previous paragraph. I guess I felt some sympathy for poor old Roger! But I also wanted to yell at him, open your eyes and see what's going on, you numpty! But I did feel some outrage at what Amelia had to contend with. And Jack? Could I have a Jack, please? 😉

By the time I reached the conclusion I found my head was still reeling with unanswered questions. There are things that are still niggling away at me; Did she? Did he? Was he? 

Now here’s the thing that the puzzles me most. For I note that this book was originally

published in 2016. And here we are now in 2020. I’m puzzled because I would’ve expected a book like this, it holds its head up alongside girls that are gone and girls on trains, to have at the very least nibbled at the psycho thrillers noteworthy lists. Maybe that’s the reason for giving it another push. Perhaps I’m not alone in thinking that. Certainly on Amazon there is nothing below a three star rating for it! 

My thanks to Kelly of the Love Books Group for accepting me onto the blog tour  and my thanks to the author for a delightful, inscribed copy. Please check out all the other bloggers, mine is but one opinion.

A Girl Made of Air - Nydia Hetherington

Envy? Not a pretty emotion, is it? But envy is what I felt when I saw this book pop up on social media in the hands of those bloggers greater than I. Why is it some books call to you? It’s indefinable. There are books popping up on social media all the time, for goodness sake. But this one. Oh, I wanted this one. I don’t know why, but I did. You know, sometimes, if books are meant to find us then they do. I think this book wanted to find me, wanted me to read it.

Then a while after seeing these enticing posts on social media I received an email invitation for a social media blast for the book, initially only offering e-books. I don’t ’do’ ebooks. My tummy was somersaulting. I replied tentatively, enquiring if there were any physical copies. There were. I was definitely meant to read this book. 

When I finally reached the final page and put the book down, I was lost for words. I saw the world of the circus and I saw us all on the tight rope of life, the high wires of our existence. And the potential for falling is always there isn’t it? And I was reminded of Jess Richards’ City of Circles. Another book that wanted me to read it. The similarity of the names -  in ‘Circles’ there is Danu, in ‘Girl’ there is Manu, in both there are circuses and in both there is a search. For what? For who? That would be telling. I also thought of Nina Allan and The Doll Maker with its stories within a story device.

When you have a book that can be experienced and enjoyed on more than one level you know you have something special. A Girl Made of Air is rich. If you’re after a story of imagination and magic you’ve got it. If you’re after some allegorical stories pointing out ways in which we can live our lives, you’ve got it. If you hanker for some folklore and the richness of Manx traditions you’ve got it. If you’re in the mood for some philosophy about life; about loss, about truths, about friendship, about love, about family, you’ve got it. 

Using a variety of narrative devices Nydia Hetherington has created a “someother” world with one foot In the ethereal, spiritual land of lore and tradition with fairy folk, another foot in the every day world of earning a living, loving and being, getting tattoos and riding the subway,  and another foot (the triskelion Isle of Man foot/leg symbol! - I can count!) in a more metaphysical, existential consideration of people and our ultimate relationships to them, and with them.  

The central character has no name. How perfect is that? She, it is a she, is called Mouse by one of the other characters so I guess that’s how I will refer to her. Given her challenging start in life you fear for how she will negotiate the future years. The other main character is Serendipity Wilson. (Oh, I am so tempted to change my name by deed poll to Serendipity). I love the word. It suggests one thing, positive and uplifting and yet the last four letters of the word are ‘pity’. And I felt pity for Serendipity for her journey in the novel. But I felt elation for the potential of her taking her place as one of fiction’s memorable characters. (I bet Dickens is kicking himself from the grave for not grabbing this one!) But the book is populated with a rich and diverse cast of players, some with stories that will tear at your heart. 

Mouse is a funambulist. And that’s another great word, if you’re a wordsmith. Because it begins with ’fun’. Serendipity taught her to be the greatest funambulist. But she also turns out to be a gifted teller of stories, hers, and those of others. For this is a story book. And all the stories, no matter how different and irrelevant they may appear, they aren’t. At some point you realise the inter connectedness of everything. 

This book is a search. Mouse is searching. It seems like her whole life she has been searching for both the concrete and the abstract. And the telling of the stories is her search for herself. Does she find herself? You have to read the book to find out. You have to enter the striped portals of the Big Top and watch as life unfolds before your eyes with clown humour, daring acrobatics, exceptional people who may even swim in tanks and the tightrope walkers who perform their routines as deftly and accurately as we all wish we could perform our lives. And we watch with wonder and marvel in case they should fall. We watch and we search, even when that search takes us beyond the confines of the circus……. for answers.

If you are in possession of a fully loaded and functioning imagination, a heart as wide and open as the deepest ocean and the willingness to be taken wherever the story teller’s whim should propel you then the experience of this book is for you. There’s fun and there’s pity, funambulist and serendipity. There’s sadness and there’s hope. There’s mysteries to be solved. 

I’ve told you everything about this book yet I’ve told you nothing. Some books are so magical they are one thing for one person and another thing for someone else. How can you ever know? Read the book. ‘You just might find you belong……” 

Thanks to Milly Reid at Quercus Books, for gifting me a physical copy of this book. And my place upon the social media blast. I was always meant to read this book…….. But maybe so were these other bloggers......

Who They Was - Gabriel Krauze

Early comparison with Guy Gunaratne’s This Mad and Furious City softly eroded as I made my journey into this dark and seamier side of London gang life . It’s a raw, brave, honest and disturbing book. The author/narrator tells of his life when as a young man he walked the walk and talked the talk, innit? At times some kind of lexicon would have been useful as I adjusted my reading ear, in much the same way as one adjusts one’s eyes to the darkness of an auditorium, to the language and idioms of London gangs and ‘mandem’. It’s a life of violence, vengeance, drugs and  crime with a perceived immorality to those on the outside. But to those on the inside there are codes of behaviour and a stylised morality that seems contradictory to the whole culture. For it is a culture we are reading of. A culture that many of us play no part in other than as observers or ‘tutters’ when we read in the news of the latest stabbings and muggings or even shootings. It was heartening to read in the author’s note that he understands this completely acknowledging,

 ’It’s about a world many people can only imagine from what they see in the news and on TV.’  

For otherwise if you read wondering if this is the norm it makes you feel very displaced from the world at large.

It’s a compelling read. Maybe there is a rubbernecker in all of us but I found myself with a weird fascination for what is contained in these pages. Horrified but not surprised. There’s always an underworld and as you read this it is as if there’s a whole parallel life running alongside my comfortable little one. I say that but I need to temper it for many of the locations described here are familiar to me. I realised that I could have been walking alongside some of these people on the occasions I exited Westbourne Park tube station and made my way to the Harrow Road. It affords me a kind of portal between one world and the other if you like. 

This is what I believe is called ‘auto-fiction’ in the publishing biz which suggests that unlike a straightforward memoir or autobiography there are some aspects that are fictional?  Again we go to the author’s note for clarification where he tells us,

‘Everything in this book, in this story, was experienced in one way or another - otherwise I wouldn’t be able to tell it.’

I believe the old term was ‘roman de clef’. And that reminded me of what Jack Kerouac did with his fiction. And if Jack were alive today maybe this is the kind of book he would be writing? For it struck me as very much a stream of consciousness, spontaneous prose kinda style. Events spilling out one after the other in a mostly chronological order. It’s as if the words themselves are high on some kind of recreational substance.  I imagine Krauze is writing as he speaks. At times it is as if it is one long exhalation of confession and neither the writer nor the reader can draw breath until it’s done. The prose is lively and poetic in places. It’s substantial. It is more than a straightforward telling of a tale for there is emotion injected into the whole book. 

Two aspects of the author I found fascinating were his intelligence, he was studying for a degree and his colour, a white man. Fascinating because it struck me as paradoxical. There was a feel maybe that this book was the writer’s way of making sense of the life he had led. I am assuming he doesn’t lead it now!! in fact I know he doesn’t for he eloquently refers to it as an ‘echo’. And this is an eloquent book. Not for the fainthearted but for the curious, the open minded and to quote my beloved Jack, 

‘The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.’

My thanks to Matt Clacher of 4th Estate books for a proof of this extraordinary book. If you got the p's buy it....... innit.