The House of Whispers - Anna Kent

 ‘“Best“ friend returns to toxic friendship after falling out’ could hardly be considered a genre! But there have been enough of them over the years so I was initially underwhelmed when I came across the House of Whispers. But this has a twist in it that I didn’t see coming till I was fast approaching the conclusion. A twist that turned the story into a psychological tour de force as Abby and Grace explore old memories and routines.

It’s a chilling read at times and it has what I like to call the Patricia Highsmith effect where the normal and mundane are out of sync, off centre and creates a deep unease in the reader as the story spirals to its shocking conclusion.

Thematically it’s a tale of obsession and guilt. Our empathy is guided very much toward Abi, rather than Grace. Abi seems so vulnerable, almost a cliche of the tortured artist feverishly creating to exorcise the demons within. But the true nature of these demons is revealed bit by bit as the truth emerges. I was momentarily prompted to think Dorian Gray as Abi worked on her suite of portraits but the comparison lost impetus as the story progressed.

Some well drawn characters populate the novel, Abi’s well-intentioned and concerned husband, Rohan, his almost overbearing mother, Meena, and indeed the rest of his family but it’s always Abi and Grace who take centre stage. I suppose one could also include the house as another character for it does impose the hints and suggestions of its past on the story. 

The structure of the narrative draws the reader in from the beginning transcript of an interview with Abi’s husband. Right away I was thinking, Who is Abigail, what has she done? Is it a police interview, a lawyer interview, a medical interview? An opening like that can’t fail to peak your curiosity. The transcripts occur from time to time throughout the rest of the narrative still not giving anything away as to who might be conducting the interviews. Very clever.

It would be a disservice to give too much of the story away because it relies on the shock twists to work and I refuse to be Miss Spoiler 2021 but that makes it hard to review. Suffice to say a tense and heavy atmosphere is created and sustained throughout. There’s a lot of emotion in the book too particularly where Abi is concerned. Some of the action is also a little unsettling and upsetting. 

If I might be a little contrary I would’ve preferred the last chapter to have been omitted! To say why would require me to give more detail about the actual plot and I’m unwilling to do so but the preceding shocker would to my mind be a great place to end the book! 

My thanks to NB magazine for a gifted proof.

Letters of Note - compiled by Shaun Usher

 

 One of the many things I loved about this collection was the presentation. Each entry had some background information and circumstances of the individual correspondents, the printed text of the letter and in many cases a photograph of the actual document which is as close as you can get to beholding the original, without the inconvenience of those very fetching white gloves! And it’s absolutely fascinating. To see the Queen offering an American president her recipe for drop scones was somehow so uplifting!  And even if some of the “participants ” were unfamiliar to me the letters were just as interesting as the famous names I knew and revered. It’s a book I’ve been dipping in and out of since I was lucky enough to receive a gifted copy from Canongate books.

In an age where letter writing has sadly declined digital messaging seems to be the way in which we prefer to communicate. Or maybe prefer is not the right word, it seems to be a convenient way to communicate and for some people it’s the only way. So I think a book like this is so refreshing because it’s not just interesting sociologically and historically it’s also saying, hey letter writing is important. Paper trails are important. I cannot see a future where anybody is going to offer up a comparable collection of emails or WhatsApp chats. 

The first thing I did was scan the table of contents to see if any of my “favourites” were included in this collection. I’m happy to say they were. Highlight for me was one of my literary heroes, Jack Kerouac, writing to Marlon Brando! The collection boasts an eclectic mix of people from all stations in life. The emphasis, I guess, is about how interesting the letters are, how quirky and offbeat some of them are and how pertinent, thought-provoking and intelligent many of them are. In that sense it doesn’t matter whether our epistolary activists are “famous“ or not! There’s even a letter written in China in about AD 856. But in case you’re worrying that it’s all going to be “old “stuff! Fear not. People like Tom Hanks and Nick Cave feature. I would say there’s something for everyone here, and for me, it’s not a book I’m going to put away on a bookshelf it’s a book I’m going to have around me to dip into and marvel at the ‘ancient art’ of letter writing. Bring it back. And thank you, Shaun Usher, for what I think must be an absolute labour of love. I understand Mr. Usher has compiled several collections arranged thematically, love, music etc,  which I intend to explore.

Piranesi - Susannah Clarke

 

I guess this may be a marmite book. For readers who prefer the realist approach to literature this may be too challenging. For those with expansive imaginations it is sublime and surreal. Does it help to know that Piranesi was an 18th century Italian archaeologist, artist and architect? Possibly not. But subtle and nuanced cultural allusions populate the novel. Or they did for me! Narnia was conjured, quite obviously I think! And I can remember feeling that if Kafka were writing today this is the kind of book he would be producing. Lo and behold there was a reference to “The Castle” , not directly alluding to the Kafka novel, but that was my interpretation. I was reminded too of Erin Morgenstern and the Starless Sea, and in some of the descriptions of the statues, the halls, the birds, visions of Gormenghast entered my head. I started to look for these allusions. For example, what did each statue mean? We’re the names relevant? Did Raphael refer to the healing angel? But I had to stop. I felt I was trying to interpret too much from the novel. When all it was asking me to do, really, was to read it!  

It’s a story, yes. But I found it so much more, so multilayered. Allegorical. Considerations as to the notion of freedom, which always interest me, are dominant. Also the nature of isolation and solitude. The creation of an alternate reality has to be plausible. And whilst that may sound like a paradox it isn’t. When you find yourself completely immersed in the world and picturing this world as you hope the author imagined you know you’re reading fantasy fiction of quality.

It’s detailed and precise writing. Ponderous almost in places but when you realise the nature of Piranesi’s existence and the limits of his world it couldn’t be more fitting. The descriptions are incredibly visual. I wonder whether it will ever be filmed! I can picture it clearly in my head. The characters are relatively few which serves to emphasise the nature of solitude.

Piranesi, himself, is such an appealing character. There is an intrinsic calm and gentleness to him that offers the reader an almost meditative experience as you read the book. His meticulous and ordered approach in logging his life in his journals offers a curious kind of reassurance. His belief in the inherent goodness of The House, his reverence for life, and past lives, is touching. The contrast between his character and The Other further cements the reader’s loyalty to Piranesi. The adherence to his rituals almost suggest that he might be somewhere on the spectrum but he needed to follow them in order to survive. And he seems to have such a belief in the goodness of others. That was challenged certainly as the novel gathers momentum but I’m loathe to offer spoilers. This is oft quoted from the book - 

““The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”

 - so I don’t see that as a spoiler but it comes more from the essence of Piranesi than from the world he’s describing. And I found something quasi religious, spiritual almost about it rather than some of kind of a epigram. So  - the beauty of the book is immeasurable. 😉 

It’s a book to return to I think for I can’t get the sense of allusion out of my head. I want to go back and make copious notes much in the manner of Piranesi’s journals. And it is as if by so doing I will be able to extract some deeper insights, some fundamental truths from the narrative. They may or may not be there. Sometimes I feel I’m in danger of trying to extricate too much from the book! But, arguably, is that the mark of a good book?

The Writer’s Cats - Muriel Barbery and Maria Guitart

 There was something incredibly satisfying about discovering that one of my favourite writers loves cats. Why? Because I love cats too. But I think it’s also something to do with the relationship that exists between cats and writers that offers validity for my intrinsic belief in this writer, Muriel Barbery. For me if a writer loves cats then they must be a good writer! It is a statement without substantiation, I know, for if I extrapolate it back it means that because I love cats then I must be a good writer. Sadly, I’m not.

This volume presents as deceptively simple on the surface, A cute little picture book about cats with some amusing cartoonlike drawings? Oh, look again. Delve a little deeper. Especially if you are a writer. For you will find the most acute and perceptive observations about the nature of writers. Okay, I hear you ask, so what have cats got to do with it? The entire book is narrated by a cat! One of the author’s four Chartreux cats, Kirin. Kirin introduces us to the other three cats, Ocha, Mizu, and Petrus but she also allows us a glimpse into the life and work of the writer.

The premise of the book is that the cats are actually literary consultants! They use their feline wiles to approve or disapprove of portions of the author’s manuscripts. It’s an absolute delight. It’s witty and clever. It reveals a high level of the author’s self-awareness. But it also highlights so many of those traits that writers possess - restlessness, doubt and denial. The cats call them afflictions but I do believe that without them much would not be written!

I’m in danger of revealing too much perhaps and it would be a shame because one of the delights of this book is discovering that each page is an absolute gem. From a literary sense, certainly,  but of course the book would be incomplete without the wonderful drawings by Maria Guitart. I am inclined to suggest that she too is a cat lover for with startling simplicity she has caught whiskered expressions and angles of tails that any lover and observer of cats will recognise and smile at.

There is an elegance to the book, (no hedgehogs though😉) that celebrate the wisdom, the sagacity and the sheer beingness of cats alongside the nature of writing and books, and certainly in this instance, the fusion of all of those that allows Muriel Barbery to produce the stunning work that she does.

I’m absolutely besotted with this book. It’s a delight to turn each page. It’s the perfect book for cat lovers and for writers. 

My thanks to Gallic books for a gifted copy.

How To Bring Him Back - Claire HM

This is a succinct novella which opens with a bewitching poem, it seemed to me,  rather than any kind of introduction or prologue and straight away the reader is enchanted and swept, spell like, into a paradox of prose that fuses contemporary, almost street, vernacular with whimsical insights that only a poet can compose. A maturer, wiser Cait wishes to atone and apologise for the misjudgements of her younger self as she remembers and shares with the reader her dilemma of becoming involved with two best friends, Rik and Stadd. The writer creates a palpable picture of 90’s Midlands, Birmingham to be exact, and, unflinchingly, recounts the details of her associations with these two guys who, apart, offer different relationship dynamics but if they were fused as a whole might even offer a perfect one! But, as we all know, relationships do not come with an instruction manual and there is a sense of Cait floundering through her own chaos.The basic premise is that Cait acknowledges from the persepctive of her older, more enlightened self that she did not behave in the best possible way when younger. She even describes herself as a monster. She wants to apologise to Stadd and she begins by conjuring his physical being before she begins her written reparation.

This is a poignant piece of work that I’m sure will resonate and evoke memory and regret in the hearts of many a reader. It’s a place many of us have been, considering the ‘what ifs?’ of life and knowing that that wonderful commodity - hindsight- is never there when you want it. The short story format is a perfect vehicle for this premise. To have drawn it out in a full length novel would have diluted the impact. Here, you feel Cait’s pain, her regrets and her realisations. It’s a touching piece of work, dark in places but honest in exploring the hurt people can exact upon each other when their desires yoyo from one need to another.

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon at Fly on the Wall Press for a place upon the blog tour.

A Woman Made of Snow - Elisabeth Gifford

 I became familiar with Elisabeth Gifford’s style when I read the Good Doctor of Warsaw which I admired greatly. The Lost Lights of Kilda is on my TBR list so I was delighted when Readers First sent me a copy of her latest book, A Woman Made of Snow.

It’s historical fiction at its best. It’s well researched and the narrative flows authentically and plausibly. The scenes aboard a whaling ship are heart in the mouth moments but that is only achieved through the authenticity of the writing and research. However it’s  more than “just“ a history story. It’s a novel that examines the relationships between people and the conflicts and misunderstandings that can arise. It’s also a mystery story that requires the untangling of a complicated past and how that past can come to define not just a present but also a future.

With dual time frames between a 1940’s Northampton and Fife and an 1874 Fife Ms Gifford weaves an intriguing tale of failing fortunes, affairs of the heart, a mystery body, life in the Arctic, all of which could be crucial pieces in the jigsaw mystery of Kelly Castle and its past and the relevance of that on it’s continued existence. As the plot develops and we start to peel the layers and get to the truth the complexities are fascinating.

 Caro Gillan is the lead character who is determined to seek out the truth of the past history of her husband’s family castle and to seek her own truths in her post war world. Many strong characters populate the novel with a perception and understanding of people and their various stations within life and the world, prejudices borne out of ignorance and the lengths folk will go to satisfy that ignorance and discrimination. There are some truly heartbreaking moments in this book. But it is balanced with a great deal of positivity too.

I thought the title was ingenious. I’m sure the writer had an intention for exactly who the woman made of snow is but I found various interpretations and therefore more than one candidate who could be described thus! I’d be curious to know if other readers felt the same.

I found it to be a most satisfying read, a very enjoyable story.

        

The Apollo Murders - Chris Hadfield

I guess that fundamental to the success of any space mission, or space travel in general, precise and detailed planning is crucial. And I think that shines through in this book, the attention to detail and full descriptions even down to the shoes the characters are wearing.  And whilst in some stories this might be considered over wordy and tedious here it is one of the book’s strengths. For the reader needs all this information to process thoroughly all that is going on in this space tale of espionage, mystery and jaw dropping action on the lunar surface.

And who better to write such a tale than an astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station., Chris Hadfield. It’s authenticity with a capital ‘A” and it’s a capital yarn, to boot. Advised before the tale begins that ‘Many of these people are real. Much of this actually happened.’ had me googling! Was Apollo 18 an actual mission? There was a film of that name but as a mission Wikipedia advises it was cancelled after the Apollo 13 incident and with some financial budget concerns. Hmmmmm? The latent conspiracy theorist in me wonders……..

It might be easy to feel that this is a science fiction novel. However, I didn’t see it as that. A novel of space exploration, yes, but I feel it owes more to the thriller, psychological thriller even, genre than traditional sci fi. Let’s allow the blurb to explain.

‘As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras ‘Kaz’ Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals.

But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be.’

Kaz is your regular nice fella, the good guy, and the reader knows they need to stick with Kaz to retain some reassurance and safety as they proceed further into this reading mission. He is something of a lynchpin  throughout the entire novel. There was a sense of relief when Kaz figured in the narrative. For it gets a bit hairy in places. Some of the action that takes place would be bad enough if it were happening on earth but in space? Wow! Hang on to your hats…

But Kaz is just one in a strong cast of characters. Hadfield gets under the skin, particularly the astronauts, of his characters rendering them believable and convincing in their various and diverse roles. To a degree there was a sense of us and them, i.e. Americans and Russians but this was balanced out by demanding the reader consider the characters as people, too, rather than political players.

The narrative blasts its way along much like the spacecraft it describes. There are many threads to this novel. And the reader needs to stay on top of it all to get a real sense of the immensity of what’s going on. The breadth of the action is quite breathtaking on both a cerebral level and a good old swashbuckling level.(although I’m not sure if you can actually swash buckles in space!?!)

There is a sense of good old-fashioned storytelling, yet paradoxically there are wider, deeper issues of a political nature to be considered. The detailed technical knowledge is very accessible which was very refreshing because sometimes it can go over your head but I felt that I understood the various processes being described. That makes for a very satisfying and substantial read.

All in all this book is out of this world. Quite literally.

My thanks to Ana McLaughlin at Quercus Books for a gifted proof.
 

The Stoning - Peter Papathanasiou - Blog Tour

As a genre the crime thriller is not lacking in candidates. Folk love a good crime yarn. Often such tales are formulaic in their execution but that’s part of the appeal, maybe? It’s almost fitting the plot to the formula, standing back and lighting the blue touch paper. And there seems to be such an abundance of convoluted plots that I continue to marvel at the imaginations of crime authors. To come up with a new perspective must be hard, and a risk even? It’s a challenge that Peter Papathanasiou seems to have relished with his first novel set firmly in the crime genre. And whilst the crime is dominant in the novel it is set against a piercing backdrop that looks at the plight of refugees and indigenous peoples, gender and sexuality,  amidst a small town mentality of prejudice and racism and examining the lengths to which people will go to express their opinion of people and regimes.

The story is set in the Australian outback, so palpably described that you can feel the heat and the dust, smell the sweat and the alcohol and feel the undercurrents of anger and tensions that consume the town of Cobb. Into this cauldron of lax police procedures Detective George Manolis returns to Cobb to investigate the brutal murder of a local school teacher. As well as the murder Manolis investigates his own self, his own past and is forced to confront the skeletons in his closet.

In Manolis, Papathanasious has created a believable character, flawed yet intrinsically decent, and committed to solving crime with an attention to detail, an adherence to the correct protocols and procedures. He remains just the right side of pedantic which ensures the reader stays on his right side. Law and order seem elusive as those in relevant positions to enforce it do not seem inclined to do so. Manolis is up against it intellectually, morally and, physically even but I’ll not go down the spoiler route!

The author sustains a sense of menace throughout such that, as a reader, you only feel safe with Manolis! But the character development is skilful and first impressions can be modified as the story unfolds. Papathansiou doesn’t shy away from telling it how it is so there’s some raw, gritty confrontations which don’t aways have desirable outcomes.

There’s plenty for the reader to think about too, pertinent and topical issues, for example situations  regarding refugees and migrants and the effect of a detention centre on the ethos of a town like Cobb. But the crime and the solving of it is never far from our consciousness and, along, with Manolis, the reader grapples with the truths hidden amongst the red herrings.

The cover notes suggest this is the first story to feature Manolis. I do hope that means there will be more. I’d also like to surmise whether we might have a new antipodean police partnership on our hands, Manolis and Kerr? Over to you, Pete?! 

 My thanks to Katya Ellis and MacLehose Press for my gifted copy and a place upon the blog tour. Do check out what other bloggers felt about the book.

Hidden Hands - Mary Wellesley

As someone who has a penchant for the past and a hunger for history I sometimes ask myself what history actually is? And why does it fascinate me so? Mary Wellesley’s Hidden Hands, and books like them, play a part. For if you stop and pare it down all we know of the past, history and its people is from what has been left behind. I am of an age now where events from my younger life are now considered history and I know they are well documented, not just because I was around then and can remember them but because our methods of communications and the dissemination of knowledge and events are, not so much more sophisticated (is there anyone living today who could produce from scratch an illuminated manuscript?) but far wider reaching due to the advancements in printing and media. So anything pertaining to ‘old’ history becomes so precious and so awe inspiring. 

Hidden Hands looks specifically at manuscripts and scribes with some detailed explorations of artefacts like St. Cuthbert’s Gospel, The Winchester Bible and The Lindisfarne Gospels and some investigations into the lives of those handful of scribes and authors whose works have survived with enough detail to tell us a little about them - Bede, Chaucer. It’s not all historical figures, either, ordinary people feature, too, with their everyday struggles to earn a living and pay their way.

It’s a scholarly work with a loving attention to detail and the authors passion for her subject shines through. I learnt so much from this book. How ink was made, how colours were achieved and the sheer labour involved in these creations. The lives of some of those who were active in the productions of manuscripts was absorbing. I was fascinated learning about the anchorites.

Something else that occurred to me, too, was how through time there are some issues that endure. We like to think, in our 21st century ’freedom’ that women are slightly more emancipated than they were so nothing could have prepared me for a 15th century Welsh poet’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’! Gwerful Mechain? You rock!

Discovering that Henry VIII annotated what he read made me glad that the nowadays ubiquitous Post It note was not available to him or they might not have survived to let us know his kingly thoughts!

I also wondered that for all the material that has survived the rigours of time how much more must have been lost? Ms. Wellesley tells us of specific fires and confrontations that jeopardised some of the artefacts she refers to in the book. But all we know of history, certainly early history, is from those relics that have survived.

My copy of this book was a gifted proof from Ana McLaughlin at riverrun books but I will be purchasing a finished copy so that I can behold the visual beauty of the manuscripts. I am someone who gets a palpable buzz from concrete evidence of history. I cannot pass the Tower of London without getting goosebumps. and I know that were I to physically behold something that Henry VIII had actually written on every nerve ending would be fizzing!

My final thoughts are about words and books and how much they have contributed to our detailed knowledge and understanding of the past. But also the skill and artistry that existed and allowed such manuscripts to be produced. And I was also reminded of Amy Jeff’s Storyland which retells myths and legends of Britain and Cnut is mentioned here as well as in Hidden Hands. The synchronicity of reading two books in the same month that mentions Cnut somehow delights me! So much of the past is revealed to us through words and pictures. Not merely the events of the age but the social histories and protocols of an age we might find hard to comprehend in our ‘enlightened’ lives today. And without the past there is no present - and certainly no future.