Love in Five Acts - Daniela Krien translated by Jamie Bulloch

 This elegant, beautifully nuanced suite of stories is so cleverly constructed with a lesser character from one story becoming the main character in the next. They almost had a Matryoshka doll feel to them although the stories did not diminish in size in any way. There was a pleasing cohesion to the work as a whole.

Five women, five very different women, inhabit these intersecting stories. Each woman had some kind of connection to the others. Thematically the book seeks to explore what it is to be a woman, examining their roles as daughters, mothers, wives, friends, partners, sisters, colleagues, and states associated with those roles and what remains when and if those roles are fulfilled.

The book is translated from the german by Jamie Bulloch who has done a sterling job. Interestingly, though, the german title ‘Die Liebe im Ernstfall’ translates literally as ‘Love in an Emergency’ which does capture the essence of the womens’ love experiences to a degree. It explores the balance between fulfilling the ‘accepted’ roles of woman hood and becoming or remaining your own person, retaining your individuality which, of course, poses some unenviable challenges.

It’s a very pertinent read with a contemporary feel and opens up many considerations of feminism in our 21st century world. The dynamic of being yourself whilst maintaining your place with family, friends and lovers is treated with a subtle sympathy that renders the stories very poignant.

Although there are five stories  I never saw this as a book of short stories. I saw it as a complete entity of intertwined lives. There are relatable characters, some easier to like than others. I had a sense of the inevitable frequently as I read, almost that there were no satisfactory solutions to the dilemmas faced by the women. The concept of a freedom becomes a nebulous one and suggests that freedom almost become a prison when decisions are required that might threaten that freedom.

It’s a compelling read, evenly paced, palpably described and a book of thought rather than action. A book for our times, without a doubt.  A thoughtful book that seems almost understated which somehow renders it all the more powerful.

My thanks to NB magazine for a gifted copy.

Trap for Cinderella - Sebastien Japrisot translated by Helen Weaver

 

This is the third Japrisot book I’ve read now, thanks to Gallic books, and I am constantly amazed at how much he managed to convey in relatively slender volumes when compared with books of similar genre. He seems to achieve as much, if not more, the economy of his language gives the reader all they need. If I compare all three books his diversity, too, is to be admired. Yet all three books are firmly stamped with his inimitable style. A style that has not been compromised by the translation work of Helen Weaver.

Trap for Cinderella falls very much into the psychological thriller genre and possibly has more in common with The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun than The Sleeping Car Murders which is more of a straightforward crime story,.I use the term “‘straightforward’ loosely! This book messes with your head! It’s fairly unique I think and elicited in me a strange surreal, edginess as I read. The description of an amnesiac is one of the best I’ve experienced, I think, as you can really begin to feel the mist in the memory and the struggle to piece together what has happened. But the sense that something is off centre pervades the entire narrative contributing to the unease and unravelling of exactly what happened.

The opening - fairy tale like, fable like -  incredulously titled ‘I would Have Murdered’  is crucial to what follows and cements the Cinderella theme firmly in the reader’s mind inviting the traditional concept but the concluding sentence of the book is a masterstroke as you realise the intention was not as traditional as you thought! No character is exactly who they seem.Suspicion and mistrust build up within the reader to a crescendo as the book reaches its conclusion.

Japrisot’s economy of language demands you pay attention, failure to do so will leave you lost and floundering. That’s not to say that your faultless attention will answer all questions, no! There are twists and turns here to give your intellectual cerebellum a major workout. Enigmas and innuendo punctuate the narrative. I’m still not sure I’ve worked it all out! Identity, deceit, questionable motives and intentions, it’s all a tad far fetched on the surface but it never feels that way while you’re reading it!

I enjoyed it immensely. It’s entertaining yet remains intelligently plotted and executed. Thanks, Gallic Books, for my gifted copy.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev - Dawnie Walton

 I believe that this narrative style is called oral history in the literary biz. A debut novel that demonstrates a detailed knowledge of the myriad workings of the rock music industry. And a story that has race relations and civil rights as a theme running through the entire story.

Our two protagonists are an unlikely pairing on paper but the suggestion of a sustained connection is a dynamic that runs through the entire book. It’s almost tantalising as you sometimes feel that neither of them really get off the fence and say how they feel about each other.

But it is Opal who dominates the entire book. And in a sense it is more Opal’s story than Nev’s. Through the very clever technique of listening to what everybody else says about her we are treated to a portrait of this unusual lady. She is larger than life in some ways but not in a brash, pointless way. You get the feeling there is much consideration behind her actions that somehow balances out with a passionate spontaneity. How she looks, how she behaves has thought and depth behind them.  But that’s not to say she doesn’t have her own voice. She does. And she tells it like it is.

The novel spends several decades looking at the genesis of Opal and Nev through to what is their “final revival“. A pivotal event occurs in the early days of their career that has far reaching effects and conclusions on the rest of their lives, let alone their careers. And the narrator is a subtle part,  certainly, of Opal’s history.  It’s a clever technique which gives us a subplot almost, someone else’s life story that has a connection to Opal and Nev and it is this narrator who manages to expose a revelation that changes perception. I’m unwilling to give too much away.

The book comes at a time when it is pertinent and relevant within the context of #BlackLivesMatter but it also examines the place of black women in a creative industry that seems dominated by both money and men. But throughout Opal shines as a woman of passion and dignity, true to herself.

It’s an absorbing read on several levels. You can enjoy it as “just“ a story but you can dig a little deeper and look at some of the issues explored in the book which certainly give you food for thought long after you’ve reached the final full stop.

Stylistically it’s a intelligent and clever book. Character expositions are created purely from a kind of documentary type approach where the characters talk about themselves. And other people talk about the characters! Apart from the narrator. Another subtle move. For you learn about the narrator from the narrator herself. 

It’s an impressive debut novel. As a reader your emotions seesaw, for there are some very moving moments but there’s also some subtle humour. Dawnie Walton is a name to watch. And I shall be watching. My thanks to Quercus books for a gifted proof of the story.

Crowned Worthy - L.G. Jenkins - BLOG TOUR

 Oh, no, no, no! This shouldn’t be allowed! A cliffhanger ending like this? I want the next book and soon! I have to know what happens next.

Just a sniff of the word ‘dystopian’ and I’m in. I love that not quite sci fi, futuristic flavour that runs through the genre. That fusion of the recognisable from our contemporary world and the imagined from the created world. In Crowned Worthy Tulo is the location with a hierarchy of citizens ranging form the Unworthy to the Glorified all striving to improve themselves by making merit. This goal of increasing one’s merit gives the name to the intended series of stories - The Merit Hunters’.

Best we read the blurb…….

‘Ajay often wondered where Tulo would be without the invention of SkipSleep. Back when people used to sleep more, progress was so much slower. Then after SkipSleep, the City just flew.Ajay Ambers is the perfect Tulo citizen. His climbing merit score, prestigious job, and a host of merit-making friends, all help him get closer to the Glorified Quarters - home to the most Worthy in Tulo. With a Glorified-born girlfriend at his side and a natural talent for technology, Ajay happily settles into the life of success and ambition, without the fear of becoming Unworthy.

However, as the true brutality of the system takes hold, will that fear ultimately destroy him?

A new dystopian book series, this novel explores themes of success, work and relationships through coming-of-age characters, who navigate a society controlled by technology and demonstrations of each person's worth. Comparisons can be drawn with Huxley's Brave New World, Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and concepts presented in Netflix's Black Mirror.’

This is a well plotted story with a detailed and defined society dominated by technology that reminded me a little of Jem Tugwells’s iMe stories, No Signal and Proximity. But there are usually common threads in dystopian fiction and that’s part of the appeal. Without giving too much away the book takes elements of our current world and shows how potentially damaging some of our obsessions with technology and its various applications can be. But it’s subtle.

It’s a well paced narrative with some unexpected moments, not necessarily twists and turns because I don’t see it as a thriller. But there’s more to Ajay than first meets the eye and the turmoil he finds himself embroiled in is tense. The creation of a different society with its protocols and doctrines is extremely well done, immersive and believable. I got a sense of The Hunger Games from time to time more from mood and the atmosphere created than from specific actions.

It is one thing to imagine an alternate society but it’s quite another to construct a palpable and believable fiction around those imaginings. Every last detail has to be accessible, credible and stand up to reader scrutiny. L.G.Jenkins has done just that. And I so want to read the next book.

 

About the author
Lydia Grace Jenkins is a young, Christian novelist, with a degree in English & Foreign Literature from the University of York. An avid reader, Lydia loves to explore different genres, characters, and thought-provoking ideas, all of which inform and inspire her own writing. She has a particular passion for the lives of young people as they begin to navigate the working world and adult life.

Buy link
Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crowned-Worthy-Merit-Hunters-L-G-Jenkins/dp/1912863707/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Q58ZUCR9PS1W&dchild=1&keywords=crowned+worthy&qid=1615131097&s=books&sprefix=Crowned+%2Cstripbooks%2C181&sr=1-1

Thanks to Kelly and Meggy at LoveBooksTours for a gifted copy and a place upon the blog tour.

The Therapist - B. A. Paris - Blog Tour

 Are you sitting comfortably? Well, you won’t be for long!  Not when you start to read this book...........! But let’s start with the blurb shall we?

‘ Tell me your secrets......

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive....

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating, grisly secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbours are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem....’

What is it about a good psychological thriller, eh? It’s like a tub of Pringles. Once you start you just can’t stop! It’s like a literary vortex that sucks a reader out of oblivion and into this maelstrom of intrigue, twists and turns, secrets and deceits until your head is spinning with the speed at which you’re trying to read, to find out just what the hell is going on! Oh, but that’s only if it’s a good one. If it’s not it’s as big a disappointment as finding out that someone’s eaten all the green triangles from a tub of Quality Street. I know what you’re going to ask me now. You’re going to ask me if this is a good one aren’t you? OH MY GOODNESS, YES! YES! YES! What? You don’t believe me? Go ahead and read it. See for yourself.

I’m going to throw my hands up now and admit this is the first B A Paris book I’ve read. It’s all my loss. If her back catalogue is anything like this then my TBR pile is going to be very one-sided.  I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. I suspected everybody including Alice herself. Whoops! Is that a spoiler? I hope not. But no matter.  I don’t think anything could spoil this book.

It’s very clever. And without wishing to give anything away the book is as much about manipulating the reader into thinking a certain way as it is about the story itself.  That’s another of the aspects of psychological thrillers that I love. The way the writer is trying to get you to think one way and sometimes you just go willingly, without realising it. Sometimes there’s a bit of rebellion, a bit of resistance as you say no, no, no, I’m not going to be fooled this time. Ha ha!  but you often are. I also enjoy a psychological thriller that isn’t edge of the seat action but subtle twists and turns that creates such a crescendo of unease that, in this case,  you might find yourself requiring the services of a therapist afterwards!

Alice was a well-defined character and we enjoy all proceedings from her perspective. We feel her deflation at the betrayals and the snubs. We feel her elation as she seem to make progress in her investigation. We are engaged and we are rooting for her. We want her to seek out the truth. But we also want to warn her when we can see danger. And although the danger might not have been obvious from the start once you realise you just want to protect Alice. The other characters present themselves as if they’re tokens on a Cluedo board. They seem to materialise at salient moments. Or, conversely, they are conspicuous by their absence at others. And we scrutinise them as Alice does to see if we can somehow find the truth.

It’s a capable and professional piece of work. It’s what you would expect from an experienced writer. Somebody who knows their craft inside out and -  understands their readers. As a reader I keep reaching the stage where I think the psychological thriller has had its day. Are there any more plots and scenarios that can in any way engage today’s discerning reader? And then along comes a book like this that has you feverishly turning the pages and you  know the genre is alive and well.

My thanks to HQ stories for my gifted copy and the icing on the cake was a personal dedication inside from the author. My cup overflows. 

The Streets, Like Flowers, Come Alive in the Rain - Steve Denehan - Blog Tour

 

This volume grabbed my heart from the beginning because it began with a foreword written by the poet’s eight year old daughter. Her love and pride for her Dad shine through. And so they should.

I was fortunate enough to have a place on the blog tour for Steve’s previous volume of poems, Days of Falling Flesh and Rising Moons and I was captivated by his words. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity to experience some more of his work. I come alive when reading his poems because they express the insides of life not the outsides. Again I was struck by the paradox of the apparent simplicity that evokes a series of complex situations and emotions. It’s not merely an economy of words, it’s finding the right word, the most perfect phrase, to convey something definitively. So there’s almost nothing more to be said.

His observations of people are acute. I loved ‘The Little Girl in the Hotel Bar’ where he understands that desire for something can exceed the ability but the euphoria exceeds it all.

‘she looked at me
her eyes were summer lakes
her smile, the sky
her fingers, elegant, sure
and ready

she took a breath
closed her eyes
started to play
and frankly
she wasn’t great'

So many of these poems are vignettes; creating a word tableau of, sometimes, every day situations that we can all be familiar with but sometimes maybe we’ve never really thought about them. Denehan inspires you to consider the mundane even and give it a potent meaning.

As with the previous book his thoughts and observations on fatherhood and of watching his child grow are some of the most poignant in the collection. Unicorn Dressing Gown expresses so simply, so succinctly that sense of knowing that childhood doesn’t last and it will pass all too quickly.

‘but soon the unicorn dressing gown will be cast aside
the way of many other things
soon
she will brush her own hair’

There are numerous quotable maxims;

‘every silver lining has a cloud
and summer hides in every snowflake’

‘and I realise
that the problem
Is not that things end
but that they continue’

‘I suppose
that sometimes
the days themselves are poems’

‘while knowing
that things were better than
not at all
it is just
that they’re worse today’

Another favourite poem is Ticks and Tocks. I love the idea that if you don’t teach your child how to tell the time they remain unfettered by its restraints.

’time

can wait’


I found that several poems explored the yin and yang of life, U-Turn and Glass Bottom particularly resonated with me. The lack of punctuation offers a challenge for intonation and interpretation which is often exciting in terms of extracting intention and meaning. I believe I expressed something similar when I read …’Flesh and …..Moons’’ but it’s like reading a photograph album. Each poem captures moments, occasions and emotions.

And it wouldn’t be Steve Denehan if there wasn’t some kind of reference to a great jazz vocalist! In this volume it’s the wonderful Carmen McCrae’s interpretation of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five. Jazz and poetry. Can it get any better? And in a way we’re back where we started. For that reference comes from his daughter’s favourite poem ‘One More Week’. I’m inclined to agree with her choice.

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon for a place upon the blog tour and a gifted copy of the book.



‘

Madame Burova - Ruth Hogan

The thing about Ruth Hogan’s books is that you think you know what to expect but actually you don’t. There is a recognisable style in narrative and characterisations and the plots have an atmosphere that may be unmistakably ‘Hogan’ but they are very diverse . This new book is no exception. And whilst I retain a deal of affection for her debut novel The Keeper of Lost Things I’ve a sense that this one may be the best yet.

A palpably described Brighton -  you can smell the seafront - offers the setting for a tale of hidden secrets and spiritual clairvoyance. Hogan has created a delight in the  character of Imelda - Madame Burova - as we explore her life from the past and the present. T’would be a disservice to give too much away but there are issues explored regarding identity, various types of harassment, the importance and strength to be found in friendships, and, of course - love.

Hogan’s characters are defined and vibrant, from the main characters to the ‘bit part’ players. The ‘goodies’ have a warmth within them and leap off the page at you. The novel is set in two distinct time frames - the seventies and the present day -  Madame Burova is the cement between the two  and whilst it is very much her story it is Billie’s too. Their paths cross and their meeting serves as a catalyst for much of what follows. Who is Biilie? I’ll let the blurb explain.

‘Madame Burova - Tarot Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront after fifty years.

Imelda Burova has spent a lifetime keeping other people's secrets and her silence has come at a price. She has seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Her cards had unmasked them all and her cards never lied. But Madame Burova is weary of other people's lives, their ghosts from the past and other people's secrets, she needs rest and a little piece of life for herself. Before that, however, she has to fulfill a promise made a long time ago. She holds two brown envelopes in her hand, and she has to deliver them.

In London, it is time for another woman to make a fresh start. Billie has lost her university job, her marriage, and her place in the world when she discovers something that leaves her very identity in question. Determined to find answers, she must follow a trail which might just lead right to Madame Burova's door.

In a story spanning over fifty years, Ruth Hogan conjures a magical world of 1970s holiday camps and seaside entertainers, eccentrics, heroes and villains, the lost and the found. Young people, with their lives before them, make choices which echo down the years. And a wall of death rider is part of a love story which will last through time.’

Described as the ‘queen of uplit’ Ruth Hogan has written a heartwarming tale with humour, mystery and points to ponder, a perfect read for a gradual exit from lockdown.

My thanks to Readers First for a gifted proof.

 

Everyday Magic - Jess Kidd

 

 Everyday Magic by Jess Kidd

A book revue by Bookphace -  Aged Umpteen

I have red this book and I liekd it. It is a good book.. If yoo like magik you will love this book.. It is about Alfie and Calypso. My favrit witch yoosed to be Serafina Pikkala but now it is Gertrude and, a bit, Zita. If you wont to know why, you must read this book. It isn't Harry Potter sort of magik ,it is evryday magik in Little Snoddington. 

Also if you like circuses you will like this book becasue there is a circus in it. Calypso lives at the circus. Alfie dozent. He lives at Switherbroom Hall. This is a funny book too with lots of jokes in it. People do mad things. I did get frit a couple of times and I got wurried when Nova disappeared. But I musnt tell yuo wot happens bicoz if I do it is called a spoiler and it is naughty to do spoilers. Its a shame bicoz I'd like to tell you some funny bits speshally when the witches fly. Some witches are nice, soem arnt,  and they have a war. That is not a spoiler bicoz it tells you about it in the blurb.

But I am allowed to tell you that this is a very fun book and I wish I could read more books about alfie and Calypso. Also be careful if yuo try any of the spells. I dont rilly need this meny butter dishes. And I carnt tell you why I said that because of wot I menshuned earlier about spoilers. 

I think Jess Kidd is a very, very, very good writer. Somewun told me she writes books for grown ups too. But I am not shore if they are about magik. . She has dun a good book about magik for kids. 

 It's long time since I read a children's book. But it brought back many memories. And somehow writing a review in this style crept into my head and wouldn't go away. I enjoyed doing it as much as I enjoyed reading the book. But I apologise if there are those who feel it is inappropriate or disrespectful to kids or readers or writers.  No harm was intended in the creation of this 'review'. 

My thanks to Canongate books for a gifted copy of the book.