Anything Could Happen - Lucy Diamond

 

If there’s something that we need in these strange times that we are continuing to live through it’s a booster. I’m not talking about Covid vaccines, I’m talking about a literary booster.  Something uplifting, undemanding but entertaining. And here it is in Lucy Diamond’s new book Anything Could Happen. The premise of the book revolves around the idea that throughout our lives we make many decisions that can set us off on a certain path. Those paths are not always the right ones, if we did but know it and circumstances along the way can sometimes thwart our intent. For Laura, and daughter Eliza, their seemingly ordinary life changes its path when Eliza comes of age and wishes to reconnect with her father. A lifetime of secrets are exposed and a host of new decisions are required, no one knowing whether they are the right ones. And so we have a story of life, love and relationships, of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood  and the challenges that parents face. It’s the work of an experienced  writer who knows just how to construct a story with a well paced narrative, who knows how to present us with characters that will make us laugh, make us cry, infuriate us on occasions,  but also make us root for them, root for everything to work out okay in the end. And does it? Oh no! You’re not gonna get me on that one. You read the book for yourself.

Thanks to Team Bookends for a gifted proof.

B: A Year in Plagues & Pencils

 The first thing I love about this book is that you cannot easily place it into a genre. The desire to compartmentalise everything and label it neatly can sometimes be tedious so unless, heaven forbid, a pandemic genre evolves this book will float in nebulous categories to tantalise and delight.

The ‘B’ refers to the grade of drawing pencil used by the artist to create this portrait gallery of sometimes whimsical illustrations. I defy anyone not to find a picture of someone or some creature who means something to them.The second thing I loved about this book was how often I found myself delighting and exulting at how many of my favourite people and fauna populated its pages. Although each drawing is considerately labelled, most of them seemed easily recognisable unless they depicted somebody hitherto unknown. I found myself wondering whether Mr Carey drew them from memory or did he copy them from pictures or photographs. A drawing a day! I wondered how he decided who or what he would draw. And then as I read the book I realised he was acting sometimes upon suggestions from other people which I thought was wonderful. So that makes it a very inclusive book.

The accompanying narrative reminded me of journal type writing. This writer, like most of us, struggled to make some sense of the peculiar state the world finds itself in. It’s honest writing and tugs at you as as you recognise in reading about the author’s attempts to navigate the unfamiliar protocols of lockdown, your own floundering and pondering amidst the confusion and frustration that pervaded year one of this pandemic. And there is a sense of not feeling quite so alone. In reading the book alongside the drawings you are privy to someone else’s personal headspace which feels like a precious privilege - that’s the third thing I loved about this book. It also heightened awareness of how difficult it is when you’re far from your homeland. 

The fourth thing I loved about the book was the presentation. My copy is a hardback but is a smaller size to many. The size somehow made the book so comfortable to hold, small but all the larger in intent. Can I call a book cuddly? Yes I can if I want to. This book is cuddly. It fits in your hand and it fits in your heart.

The fifth and final thing I love about this book is that it embodies and encompasses so much about the world, not just the present of the pandemic, but about things past, things national and international. And it looks at a way of marking a passage of time. Maybe it’s a time we’d all like to forget but this book reminds us that so many people dealt with it with integrity and dignity and ………..imagination.

review copy provided by the publisher

The Royal Game - Anne O’Brien

 The Royal Game is a novel that is based on the Paston letters. The Pastons were a Norfolk family who rose from humble beginnings to become landowners and courtiers around the time of the Wars of the Roses. The large collection of correspondence has long been considered of historical importance because they offer a fascinating insight into life during this volatile period in history and also enables linguists to study the vernacular of the time. I believe the letters are held at the British Library and various museums elsewhere in the country. 

What Anne O’Brien has done in this novel is to offer us the perspectives of three Paston women: Margaret Mautby who married John Paston, Eliza Paston, John’s sister who married Sir Robert Poynings and Anne Haute, a cousin of Elizabeth Woodville, who became betrothed to one of  Margaret and John’s sons.

The history of the family and the events of the time are seen through the eyes of these women. And it makes for fascinating stuff. I guess it’s very much in the style of Philippa Gregory which is no bad thing! These women have varying motivations but they are all shackled within the social and cultural restraints of their age. How they deal with the many challenges and obstacles thrown away is engrossing. It’s Margaret who seems to dominate the narratives. She is strong, loyal and intelligent. The reader is invited, encouraged even, to feel her frustration when her strength and intelligence do not always enable her to achieve a desired outcome.

I found it an absorbing narrative. It’s a period in history that I’ve always found interesting to read about. The historical research is thorough and I have little doubt that the writer must have pored over the Paston letters to achieve the plausible and believable characters who populate the novel. I suppose initially when I saw the title I thought there might be more royalty involved in the story! But the game seems to refer to the struggles of property ownership and the intrigues and machinations of people at Royal courts. Ultimately they are all playing the Royal Game. But the rules are not always clear cut. And people do not always play by the rules.

However I will admit to being very disappointed when I got to the end to find that it was not conclusive and I must patiently await the next book in the Paston series! 

My thanks toHQ stories for a gifted copy of this book.

Thinkers and Doubters - Michal Arbel

 Thinkers and Doubters is a collection of reflective poetry and prose musing on the many meanings of life, love and the human condition. And you might be forgiven for assuming, perhaps, that these observations might come from a mature, experienced poet who has seen a great deal of life. In fact this collection is written by 17-year-old Michal Arbel, an American student. Her accomplishments belie her youth and her observations are expressed with an eloquent dignity not always associated with the “youth of today“!

Not only is the poet an astute observer of life and people,  she’s endowed with a generous helping of self perception. It is a paradox to find the innocence of youth expressed with a maturing and blossoming wisdom. Much of the work expresses “young” thoughts and will surely resonate with her contemporary readers but it seemed to me that Michal is in possession of an intuitive wisdom about life and in some ways her observations are timeless.

The verses themselves are uncomplicated but embody a depth of thought so that they present as lines of substance. It’s an auspicious collection and one can only imagine what this talented young poet may go on to produce.

If I may I’d like to quote the final poem from the book. Entitled “Goodbye“ it seems to offer a blueprint for a decent way to live and the poet’s understanding that sometimes simplicity is all that is required.

I discovered the meaning of life,

Or at least the meaning of my life,

At seventeen years old.

Maybe by accident,

And probably thanks to some streetlamps, 

I learned how my truth can be put in a few simple words.

The meaning of life,

Is to grow and evolve

Every single day.

To wake up every day better than your yesterday self,

To learn patience and forgiveness,

Especially towards yourself.

To be able to go to bed at night

With a huge smile

And say:

“Today I did something better,

I was kinder,

I was more patient,

And even if I wasn’t,

I always have tomorrow. “

My thanks to Library thing for an early reviewers copy of this book.

Mike Leigh on Mike Leigh - edited by Amy Raphael

 Like many people I first became aware of Mike Leigh with the television presentation of Abigail‘s Party. A notable occasion because I can vividly remember sitting watching what I thought was an amazing play. Laughing and then feeling dreadful for laughing, but all the time recognising that somebody had an eye and an ear for the nuances of human behaviour. I guess I’ve been a fan ever since.

So this book caught my attention. You might think that it is just a book for Mike Leigh fans. And of course it is but there’s so much more in it that relates to the making of film - the practical aspects, the technology as well as the artistic considerations, the art of the actor, the sourcing of locations and props that I think it has a broader appeal.

The book goes through Mr Leigh’s career from its start through to Peterloo. This is an updated version of the original book and begins with forewords to the new edition and the 2008 edition. The book then works chronologically through Mike Leigh’s productions offering a synopsis with cast details and then the editor, Amy Raphael, knowledgeably talking to Mike Lee about each of those productions. It’s fascinating stuff. And you really feel that you’re getting to know the man behind the lens, his motivations and his beliefs.  Known primarily for his film and television work the book concludes with details of all his stage plays containing his own commentary. 

This is as comprehensive a work as you’re ever likely to get on this talented director. It’s very readable and offers many insight into the life in the world of a film director, both specifically and broadly. Mike Leigh is as articulate outside of the camera as he is behind it and he’s quite happy to offer his opinions -  his agreements and disagreements - with his interviewer. 

Something I found fascinating was the number of people he works with who have stayed loyal to him throughout his career from all aspects of the creative process. That tells me a lot about a person. Especially as perhaps his methods are not necessarily conventional. Reading about the improvisation process was quite an eye-opener. And I ended up admiring his work all the more.

My thanks to NB magazine for a gifted copy.

Wonder - Ana Sampson

As a reader of fiction, primarily,  I have my favourite authors. Writers whose work I seek out avidly. Up to two or three years ago I couldn’t have said the same about poetry. Then I read Ana Sampson’s She is Fierce and it jumpstarted my poetry mojo, not just back into motion but supercharged it! Now I will always grab a copy of any anthology she produces. Why? What makes this anthologist different from all the others?  I’m not sure I can say finitely but whatever she does it resonates with me. I always get the sense that her books are lovingly curated. I enjoy the way she arranges the poems and gives just the right amount of commentary to complement rather than dominate the poems. There is a sense that the poems have been arranged much like the installations in an art exhibition. So you have such a sense of cohesion throughout the work

So it’s no wonder that I grabbed myself a copy of Wonder! This collection is affiliated with the Natural History Museum which I think is wonderful. 

Once more you know that every poem has been thoughtfully considered for its inclusion in the collection. And as you go through the various sections in the book - Mammals, Earth, Space etc it’s like taking a walk through the museum itself. 

Something else I’ve always admired about this anthologist’s work is the range of poems included. There will be classical poetry with the likes of Shelley and Wordsworth but there will also be more contemporary poetry from folk like Neil Gaiman and Carol Ann Duffy and poetry from poets you may never have heard of. It’s so inclusive. 

And in this collection there are some relevant photos also to complement the poems and the museum itself. It’s a wonderful advert not just for poetry but for visiting the natural history museum. And as with all of Ana‘s anthologies you can dip in and out of it and find some gem each time you do. And there’s something in here for everybody. 

 

The Mask - Elisabeth Horan

Frida Kahlo and her work has fascinated me since I first beheld one of her self portraits in a book. I then saw a film about her which motivated me to find out more.  I was fortunate enough to attend the 2005 exhibition at Tate Modern and stand before her powerful paintings in the flesh so to speak. The impact of that reality was far greater then ‘merely’ beholding the images in a book or postcard, of course. So it’s unsurprising when the prospect of reading a collections of poems inspired by Frida’s work was presented to me I snapped up the offer with both hands.

The Mask, taking its title from one of Frida’s many self portraits, is a collection of poems celebrating the art of Frida Kahlo offering an interpretation of her paintings through poems.  What shines through is the poet’s love and admiration for Frida and the sense of the many parallels between their lives. Frida painted numerous self portraits and in many ways poems are the poet’s self portraits, too. In this collection there is a fusion between the poems inspired by the paintings creating almost double self portraits!

I had the sense of this being a deeply personal and emotive suite of poems, exploring the pain of life; physical pain, emotional pain and mental pain. I somehow feel as if it is Frida herself speaking almost as a commentary to her paintings, and frequently peppered with Spanish? Mexican? Her frankness and openness were there as they are in her art but then I realised, too, that these were the words of a poet, powerful, direct. There is anger and frustration in the words but there is much love, too, and courage. I think that both Frida and Elisabeth Horan are brave women.

When I’m commenting on a poetry collection I usually cite my favourites and offer quotes from them but I found that impossible and almost irrelevant here. For I read them as a whole. Yes, each poem is separate as are Frida’s paintings but they comprise a cohesive unit, unfit for separation. Elisabeth Horan uses words and imagery as Frida used colour and composition. The end result is startling.

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon at Fly on the Wall Press and The Broken Spine for a copy of this absorbing collection.