Fool’s Errands - `Michael Smit-Drury

 

Very much a curate’s egg of a book. There were times when I wasn’t sure whether it was a full-length fiction or a series of short stories that interconnected. At other times I wondered whether the author was using fiction as a vehicle to get across his feelings about the technological age in which we live and the capacity for its future.

 

There were parts of the book that I found fascinating. Sequences and situations that were compelling.  There were characters I found engaging, especially Henny, but equally there were parts of the book which just went over my head. 

 

However, I think the book has a lot of promise. I think a lot of what the author has to say about technology, social media, AI and its place in this beleaguered world in which we live is important. But I think the book would benefit from some editing. I would love to think that one of the big publishing houses would take it on and allow an experienced editor to help hone this book into the story it could potentially be. I think it might take its place as a significant work. 

 

My thanks to the author and Librarything for a copy of the book. 

This is How You Remember It – Catherine Prasifka

 

I read Catherine Prasifka’s first novel, None of This is Serious a couple of years ago. Blogged here - https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2023/05/none-of-this-is-serious-catherine.html - this second novel seems to continue the exploration of how our lives can be shaped by the internet, and social media specifically. 

 

I found it quite a sad book.  The protagonist, who is never named, but narrates the book in the second person, begins as a curious, innocent child seeing life though a lens to a degree until at the age of nine the family buys a computer, and her life is changed irrevocably by her exposure to the internet. 

 

From computer she moves to phones and smartphones, documenting her life on social media, a slave to peer group pressure and when an intimate moment in her life is captured and shared across a social media platform her mental health is compromised.

 

The world of teenage girls is accurately depicted as they compete and bitch, uncaring of the consequences. This is a coming-of-age story where there is redemption towards the end, but for an old lady who grew up free from the shackles of the internet it makes for unconformable reading and a fervent fear for the youngsters of today. 

 

However, I think it is important to have stories like these because the damage the internet can inflict needs to be articulated.

 

Prasifka’s book begins with a captivating portrait of the young protagonist. It’s a well-sustained study of a child’s innocence slowly becoming corrupted. As the child becomes teenage schoolgirl and then student the story becomes more oppressive and reminiscent of some of the stories one reads of the exploitation and impairment the internet has caused to young lives. 

 

There is a balance, though, in the character of Lorcan. He is a childhood friend of some influence who endures throughout the book and somehow manages to remain largely aloof from social media. 

 

There’s a rawness and honesty to the writing that I found quite chilling. Whilst as an ‘oldie’ I can’t relate to the lure of social media, as a book blogger it’s a necessary evil (!), the writing makes me think that the author is writing from first-hand experience which also made me sad. And what is even more regrettable is that this experience is not unique. However, I think the book is, to a degree and that makes it important reading. Those who have been though these experiences may feel comfort from it. And any parents who read it may wish to draw their children close and consider strongly how they allow their offspring to interact with the internet. 

My thanks to Canongate Book for my gifted copy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Marriage Rule – Helen Monks Takhar

 I had the pleasure of reading Helen Monks Tahar’s debut novel, Precious You, (although I believe it has now been retitled as That Woman) a few years ago and experiencing that strange paradox that sometimes occurs with a book where the narrative has you feeling edgy and unsettled, it’s uncomfortable reading yet so utterly compelling that you can’t put it down.

 

So, when the good folks at HQ Stories sent me a copy of The Marriage Rule, I felt like I knew what I might be in for. However, when I began the prologue, I encountered a kind of ‘genre gymnastics ‘where I thought I might have hit a chick lit/rom com story! That’s okay, I thought, a writer diversifying. Nothing wrong with that. But, by the time I reached the end of this opening section I knew I was headed for another thriller – domestic maybe, psychological possibly?

 

Elle appears to have the perfect husband and doting father to her baby in Dom. Competent at her job until the new boss, Anton, thinks otherwise. But all is not well, as we might surmise, or we would not have a book!

 

It’s an unsettling narrative, yo-yoing between the past and the present, spanning three weeks, and creating an atmosphere that is both claustrophobic and tense. It’s a slow drip feed to begin with but the astute reader will discern what is going on between Dom and his wife. 

 

I couldn’t really warm to the characters which is not intended as a criticism as I don’t believe I am supposed to. None of their behaviours were beyond reproach, all flawed people in their own ways, responding to situations as they thought best.  There were times when I wanted to shake Elle and get her to wake up and get the hell out of Dodge! 

 

There are twists a plenty to keep you on your toes and guessing all the way to the end with a pacing that I might call syncopated for want of a better word, which adds to the unrest you experience.

 

It’s dark, brutal even, with some challenging themes that offer much food for thought. The ending was not wholly conclusive. For some readers that can be unsatisfying, for others it allows their imaginations to continue where the story left off. 

 

I thought there were elements of implausibility but ultimately this was mitigated by the points that the author is trying to convey, important points for all women. 

 

My thanks to HQ Stories for my gifted copy.

April Round Up

 With a generous helping of sunshine this month, I've had the opportunity to sit outside and read. But I find when I do that I want "easy" books to read. Ones where I'm not reaching for a notepad and pencil to remind myself of salient points and pertinent quotes.

So, first up this month was a charity shop find  - Val McDermid's 1979. Blogged here - https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/04/1979-val-mcdermid.html

I've been an infrequent visitor to my local bookshop this year. That's due to my slow Covid recovery so I was delighted to make a trip there where I treated myself to a book. I heard a programme, I think it was on Radio 4, about Shirley Jackson and I thought that I would like to read something of her work. I chose the Haunting of Hill House. Amy, the assistant in the bookstore is a firm Shirley Jackson fan and was thrilled that I chose this book. She recommended that I also read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I'm not normally a fan of ghost stories or horror stories, but I do like good Gothic fiction. And I was intrigued to read this. I blogged about it. https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-haunting-of-hill-house-shirley.html

My yoga teacher had recommended Anne Youngson's Meet Me at the Museum which I read last month and really enjoyed. However she reckoned that Three Women in a Boat was her favourite Anne Youngson book so this was one of my Library books this month. I really enjoyed it. I wanted to be on that boat and sail with them. And I thought Anastasia was a brilliant character. It's a lovely story of friendship and chance and the taking of opportunities.

The next book was a book that I won from the Library thing March giveaway. It's a collection of short stories about female hypnotists. An unusual subject and I found the stories quite entertaining. I blogged about them. https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/04/probably-something-of-niche-volume.html

Regular readers of this blog, (are there any though?) will know that I am passionate about using my local library. If we don't use libraries, we will lose them and that would be an absolute tragedy. So I try to read a couple of library books a month at least. Some I reserve, usually if I've heard some buzz about them on social media. But sometimes I just see a book there on the shelf and I think I'll read that. And that was the case with Natasha Pulley's The Mars House. I would think it's something of a marmite book. It's genre blending, ambitious in its concept and pertinent in many respects. I guess you'd call it science-fiction but it's also political and cultural, difficult to summarise but basically a politician from Mars and ballet dancer from earth agree to a marriage of convenience! Definitely not a premise I’ve come across before.

Useless blogger and reviewer that I am I do still get the occasional proof to read and review. And the wonderful Isabelle Kenyon from Fly on the Wall Press still sees fit to include me and offer me such diverse and stimulating books that I am eternally grateful to her. This book from Donna Moore, the Devil's Draper, is a sequel to The Unpicking which I read a couple of months ago. And features Mabel from that book as a police woman in 1920s Glasgow. I have prepared a review but I am holding onto it until publication day. Watch this space!

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-devils-draper-donna-moore.html

This next book was definitely one that I didn't read outside! In fact it's taken me months to read as I kept making copious notes because it's really quite difficult to understand and get your head round. It's Barbara Hand Clow's Alchemy of Nine Dimensions. It's a book that explores the concept of the nine dimensions of human consciousness. And it builds upon the teachings of the Pleiades. It's incredibly complex and I'm not sure I've understood it all. There's lots of maths and science in it. But I did find it quite mind blowing and uplifting and something I'd like to explore further.

But the next book was definitely a sitting outside in the sun book. The Night Visitor by Lucy Atkins. I picked it up in a charity shop. It wasn't an entirely random purchase as I had previously read and enjoyed Magpie Lane by the same author. I guess you'd call them psychological thrillers.

This one is very creepy and uncomfortable almost as the uneasy relationship between Vivian and Olivia is described. It's quite sinister in places but completely gripping.

Sometimes I'm bold enough to approach a publicist on social media and ask if I might have a proof of a book. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time it did! I had the pleasure of meeting Nina Allan a few years ago when The Doll Maker was published. Since then, I've always read her books. So I was thrilled when Ana McLaughlin at Riverrun sent me a copy of her current book A Granite Silence.

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-granite-silence-nina-allan.html

I'm not a fan of romantic fiction on the whole. It just doesn't do it for me. It's generally too saccharin, predictable and unrealistic but that is the nature of some fiction. I do understand the appeal. If you want pure escapism and upliftment, then it's a great genre. It just isn't one I seek out. However, I make an exception when it comes to Beth O'Leary. I read all her books. They're an easy read, a quick read and I cannot put my hand on my heart and say I don't enjoy them because I do. But they won't turn me into a romantic fiction fan! I think that one of the reasons I enjoy them is because some years ago when I was still a blogger of repute, I was invited to a book event at Quercus Books. They were pushing Beth O'Leary's first book, The Flatshare. I had a proof copy and I asked Beth to sign it for me. She said it was the first time she'd been asked to sign a book. Looking at her success now it's a moment I treasure. I guess I'll continue to read her books. I borrowed Swept Away from the library. 

The Devil’s Draper – Donna Moore

 

Well, I have three words to say after reading this book.

 

     More. Mabel. Please.

 

Hmmmm, I don’t think I’m going to get away with that as a review, am I?! 

 

I read Donna Moore’s The Unpicking, which was an unsettling tale in many respects, and quite dark. Three generations of brave Scottish women endure abuse and the corruption of a police force. All three protagonists were resourceful, plucky and my heart broke for them. An atmospheric piece of historical fiction. At the end of that book, we meet Mabel trying to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. And it never crossed my mind, after I had finished the book,  that I would ever get to meet Mabel again. 

 

Fast forward to The Devil’s Draper, where Mabel is now a fully-fledged member of the police force. Some of the characters we first met in the previous book return here, including the indomitable Winnie and some of the policeman, and the tragic Lillias. But it’s a new story with some new characters. Again, it’s a trio of women who dominate the narrative. Johnnie, a 1920’s female Artful Dodger, Beatrice, a shrewd but caring businesswoman team up with Mabel to investigate rumours of abuse at one of Glasgow’s prominent department stores. They’re all prepared to go that extra mile, even at risk to themselves, to try and uncover the truth.

It's a meaty, substantial story that you can just enjoy as the uncovering of a crime, a competent piece of story storytelling, or you can dig a little deeper and consider the place of women in society, in the police force, in employment and the misogyny that endured during that period in history. 

 

It's well written and well plotted. There are sub plots that nestle obligingly alongside the main one. Unanswered questions from The Unpicking are addressed. The narrative flows easily. The characters, new and old, are well rounded and believable. The historical research is excellent, and the reader is quickly transported to the streets of Glasgow. 

 

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve read The Unpicking or not because you get the general gist of what’s happened in the past within the narrative of the current novel. But my guess is that if you haven’t read it, you will want to after reading this.

 

I’d love for there to be more stories with Mabel as a policewoman. In fact, I’d love to read more of Johnnie and Beatrice too! There are lots of crime solving duos in fiction. Perhaps we could have a crime solving trio?!

 

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon from Fly on the Wall Press for my gifted copy.

 

 

 

 

 

A Granite Silence – Nina Allan

 

My tummy goes wobbly when I know there’s a new Nina Allen book published. Since The Doll Maker I’ve read each one of her novels and I continue to explore her back catalogue. One of the things I love about her books and her work is that it cannot be easily categorised or compartmentalised. I’ve used the term “genre defiant” many times before in respect of her work and I’ll continue to do so. Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

 

A Granite Silence Is quite extraordinary. It is offered as a novel but so much appears as factual, believable facts, autobiographical,  social history, that I would like to call it a “ficumentary”. I even went as far as googling Helen Priestly just to confirm that the events depicted in the book did have their feet in fact and truth.

(I even found a photo of the little girl’s grave.😢)

So it’s in part an historical novel depicting 1930s Aberdeen yet it also hints of autobiography where the writer is travelling on the later cusp of covid and lockdown coming across the true crime story of Helen Priestley’s murder from a photograph. She states that her journey is not essential, and we learn that the initial idea for a new book has nothing to do with murdered children. It’s to do with a Russian émigré, escaping the Bolsheviks! But she doesn’t leave that idea, or cast it aside when another idea seems to take precedence. It’s all woven into the complex narrative.

 

Nina Allen has always layered her work. One thinks of The Doll Maker were there are stories within stories, epistolary and a first-person narrative but it seems that with The Granite Silence she’s become more sophisticated, more diverse with these layered techniques.

 

Much of the book appears to be a direct account of the crime itself. Courtroom transcripts, newspaper articles are all referenced, some in full. But the book shifts in times and places pausing the crime exploration to examine the lives of those involved. From Jeannie Donald, accused of the crime, to the forensics professor who was instrumental in the progress of the crime investigation. The lines between fact and fiction become blurred and it’s as if a collection of short stories, thematically linked, are fused together to form a cohesive novel.

 

And if, after reading the factual parts of the book, the reader is left in any doubt that it is a work of fiction, the concluding chapter is utterly masterful.

 

The book is empathic, cathartic even. It looks at people, their motivations, their frailties. It tells of a community bonding through a crisis. It’s about telling a story. It’s about the different points of view. Who do we listen to? Who do we believe? And it leaves you almost breathless knowing that you have just read something quite extraordinary.

 

My thanks to Ana McLaughlin at riverrun books for my gifted copy.

 

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

 

I’m not usually a great one for ghost stories or horror stories per se. My imagination is far too active for them, and they play on my mind. But I listened to a programme about Shirley Jackson which I found it fascinating. I was browsing in my local bookshop and came across this volume, considered to be a modern classic by penguin. So, I treated myself to it. The cover blurb suggests the story is acclaimed as one of the finest ghost stories of the 20^th century. I couldn’t comment on that because I’ve not read enough! But I have to say this was most absorbing. 

 

The word Gothic is much bandied about these days, but I would say that this really does tick all the boxes. The entire narrative has a chilling quality to it. Even the most prosaic of events still makes you feel a little off kilter. The description of the house’s layout made me feel like I was in one of those theme park houses with uneven floors and ceilings. Come to think of it they often have a haunted house theme!

 

It Isn't an out and out in your face, scary, ghosty, story. And I think that what makes it so disquieting. For it is subtle, nuanced, suggestive. The characters are all flawed, misfits in a certain sense with sub texts that leave the reader wondering and questioning.

 

Ultimately, I found myself struggling to differentiate between an actual haunting or whether the mental state of Eleanor was in question. So, I guess it’s also a psychological thriller as well as a ghost story!

                                                                                       

I won’t rush to read any more Shirley Jackson, but I won’t pass any by if they come my way.

  

1979 – Val McDermid

 

When I want to sit down and just read without having to worry about deadlines or publication dates, I go to my TBR shelf and pluck something. Well, I’m still struggling to recover from post Covid fatigue, I’ve found that I want books that just entertain me rather than books that I’ve really got to think about. On this occasion I happened to pick this Val McDermid novel. I’ve read most of her books and I’ve always found them to be very entertaining. This one is introducing a new protagonist Allie Burns, who is a journalist. It’s all that you might expect from a McDermid novel. Plenty of action, plenty of red herrings, a painstaking attention to detail. Here it is the world of journalism at the end of the 70s. So, it’s a palpable read. 

What is also interesting is that she wrote it during lockdown. It’s not the first book I’ve read by an author and it seems to me there could almost be an entire genre of lockdown literature! Granted you do need to concentrate on these type of thrillers but on the whole it’s an under demanding read that just lets you enjoy a book for the sheer escapism of it all. I believe this was a charity shop find.

The Female Hypnotist - edited by Donald K Hartman

 

Probably something of a niche volume, although I think it might appeal to short story aficionados, this collection of short stories are all about female hypnotists. The stories are all from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Some of my well-known writers like Louisa May Alcott and Arthur Conan Doyle and some are from people I’ve never heard of!

 

What struck me having read all of these stories is how similar they seem to be. It’s almost as if a female hypnotist is a particular species, culturally, socially and physically! Not possible? Or are we simply experiencing the writers’ imaginings of such a person?

 

There was something deliciously Gothic about several of the stories. And I’m wondering how much they appeal to the feminists out there. For to be sure it is the male of the species who seem to suffer throughout this collection of stories! But do all the women necessarily triumph? Maybe they do and maybe they don’t! I’ll not offer any spoilers here.

 

Stylistically all the stories are of their time. They are well written and completely accessible unless you are hellbent on books and stories that employ a more modern vernacular. But as one might expect the language is formal with much detail. 

 

And if reading the stories whets your appetite to find out more there is one of the most extensive bibliographies I’ve come across in a long while. I have absolute admiration for Donald K Hartman, who must have compiled it.

 

My thanks to Librarything where I won the book in a giveaway.

 

March Round Up

 I began the month with a book that I received for a blog tour at the end of the month. Stephen Oram’s We Are Not Anonymous. I reviewed it for the blog tour. 

 https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/03/we-are-not-anonymous-stephen-oram-blog.html  

I’ve read a previous book of Stephen’s called Extracting Humanity, a Collection short stories. Although there is a strong science-fictiony flavour to his work, I would say it’s more speculative fiction. I reviewed that on the blog. 

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2024/01/extracting-humanity-stephen-oram-blog.html

 

Back to the library for the second book of the month. And this was a random, unplanned pick. I came to return a book and I saw this displayed on the shelf. It’s called Heartbreak is the National Anthem by Rob Sheffield who is a writer for Rolling Stone. The book is about Taylor Swift. It’s an essay, love letter even to the artistry of Taylor Swift. He wrote about the songs as if they are poems looking at imagery and metaphor and I enjoyed the way that he examined her work as a serious creative artist rather than a popstar.

 

From time to time as a blogger, writers approach you to enquire whether you would be prepared to read and review their work. It can be a lottery. But I feel like I hit the jackpot here! A wonderful quirky offbeat collection of short stories by Katie Wimhurst called An Orchid in my Bellybutton. Who could resist a book with the title like that? It’s a wonderful collection and is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I absolutely love the stories.

 

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/03/an-orchid-in-my-belly-button-katy.html

 

Another library book recommended by my yoga teacher. Anne Youngson. Meet me at the Museum. It’s an epistolary novel which won a Costa prize back in  2018 for a First novel. A delightful story of a long distance friendship and endurance, a sharing of lives and confidences. Beautifully written.

 

Last October, a good friend of mine took a trip to Louisiana. And she visited some of the old plantations. She picked up this book at one of the plantations that she visited, and the owner of the plantation signed the book. The book is called Chained to the Land and it’s edited by Lynette Ater Tanner. The interviews took place during the 1930s.It’s absolutely fascinating to read accounts of the lives of the former slaves whose memories go back to before the Civil War. 

 

In spite of the fact that my TBR book shelves are groaning with an abundance of volumes I still can’t go past a charity shop without looking to see if there are any gems just waiting for me to buy them. I found Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty in one of those charity shops. I’d watched the TV series when I had Covid. And I was interested to read the book. It’s better than the TV series, I think. There are some significant details that differ. In my opinion they make a better story than the changes that they made for the small screen. I’d read one of Leanne Moriarty’s books before and quite enjoyed it. This isn’t a book I would have read had it not been a pound in a charity shop! That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I did, but I guess other books take priority.

 

Another charity shop volume is next. Without a dust cover, but who cares?! I don't read the cover, I read the book! Quite pertinent too. It’s Suzanne Collins The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It’s the prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy and as I’ve just received my copy of Sunrise on the Reaping I thought I would read this one first. It’s the type of book I just lose myself in and give myself up to escapism and adventure. And I’m a real sucker for dystopian trilogies!

 

Last but by no means least Sunrise on the Reaping. For those of you familiar with the Hunger Games series the character of Haymitch Abernathy features here and this book tells his story. We learn the reason he’s taken to drink. The familiar Hunger Games brutality endures here and in a sense there’s nothing new under the sun (no pun intended) but it’s immersi

We Are Not Anonymous – Stephen Oram - Blog Tour

 

Many dystopian tales are high tech, stylised, futuristic fantasy fables that entertain us without making us unduly uncomfortable - think Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent. Bureaucratic, autocratic, technocratic. They entertain us without hurting us or alarming us unduly. 

But every once in a while, one comes along that hits home with a chilling sense of prescience. Often, they depict a near future with enough familiarity for the reader to relate. 

We Are Not Anonymous is one of those once-in-a-whilers.

 

The story spans two decades in a three country England still struggling with climate change. Beth is a ‘caster’. Naomi is a rebel opposing the regimes via Resist and Regain an organisation that makes Just Stop Oil look like kindergarten. 

 

Dystopia embraces the us versus them, good versus bad, dark versus light concepts, Anonymous is no different. Here it is the tech elite Narcissists who are the bad guys headed by Kia who experiments on children and wants complete control. Beth and Naomi want to oust Kia. But activism comes at a price. 

 

This book is heavy on mnemonics and my advice is to get them sorted in your head right at the beginning of the book – OS, BP, ANN, UBI, the L’s and, of course, AI. 

 

The creation of an alternate regime and society is at the heart of dystopian fiction. But it must be plausible. Terminologies must be relatable without extensive explanations. The reader needs to learn and understand though the narrative itself. It’s a skill for the writer and not always achieved. It is here. Trust me, you’ll be thinking about globules as if you’d had one your entire life. 

 

In some ways a story like this offers future consequences for the actions of today. The book looks at how our reliance on technology and our devices underpins everything we do. Recognisable areas of our country permanently flooded. Individuals seek to control and dictate. Surveillance and observation are everywhere. Is this a chilling blueprint for our future?  However, you cannot merely seek to preach and warn, even if you do it under the guise of fiction, without some broader dimensions. Stephen Oram has done that with a rip-roaring tale of subterfuge and skullduggery, some of it taking place on the seven seas like a pirate escapade. High octane adventure nestles alongside some domestic and family dynamics, considerations of friendships and parenthood. And the nature of activism. 

 

It is an immaculately plotted story. It has to be for there is so much going on, at times it made my head spin! But the story remains highly pertinent, this line for example.

 

‘We will resist this onslaught of unfettered belief in the flawlessness and omniscience of artificial intelligence. It’s species suicide. We will resist.’ 

With current events unfolding in this world of ours today a novel like this cannot fail to make us think about what might be ahead. 

 

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon of Fly on the Wall Press for an advance copy of this book and a place on the blog tour. 

Links...

https://linktr.ee/WeAreNotAnonymous

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228567029-we-are-not-anonymous

 

 

 

 

Graffiti Girls – Elissa Soave

 

I remember reading Ms. Soave’s first novel Ginger and Me , and believing it to be something of a coming of age story. 

(I wrote about the book on this blog - https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2023/04/ginger-and-me-elissa-soave.html)

 

Graffiti Girls looks at a completely different female demographic – women in their forties looking back at their lives and wondering if they are past their sell by dates! Very different from the previous book. There’s an element of the feminist novel here but it’s also about friendships and how different women react in given situations. I found it a keen observation of the misogyny in our society. 

 

I should say that I don’t actually approve of graffiti! There are ways to get your points across, I think, particularly nowadays, but ultimately some poor sod has got to clean the graffiti off! That takes resources and manpower and detracts from the intent of the graffiti artist, I believe. I have no arguments, though, with what these four women are saying in their graffiti.

 

The four women, Amy, Carole, Elenore and Susan are friends since schooldays. They have a tight supportive friendship despite their very different characters. I liked the format of the book where each woman had a section devoted to her and the reader leant more abut her as an individual. And there were chapters that were general to all the women. They are all likeable characters, so the reader is invested in their stories and their motivations.

 

The book has an easy flowing narrative with much appeal to those of us who are older and can identify with some of the situations described in the book.  

 

Ultimately, it is an uplifting read that has a point to make but not in a preachy, hard or angry way  (even though Amy is pretty feisty!) 

 

My thanks to HQ Stories for my gifted copy. 

 

An Orchid in My Belly Button – Katy Wimhurst

 

The short story is an underrated genre. Character, plot, setting and suspense all combine succinctly to a satisfactory conclusion. It used to be far more prevalent amongst writers of substance. Think of Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Daphne Du Maurier, Franz Kafka, Raymond Carver…… I could go on.  But now it seems that many short story authors fall below the radar. I long for the day when we see the longlist for the Booker Short Story Prize 20whatever……. But I guess in our money dominated times it is an economic issue that inhibits the major publishers from embracing the short story collections. 

 

I’m an eclectic reader, maybe that helps, but I love short stories. I love the skill that a short story writer displays with their ability to create a concise narrative without compromising literary integrity. So, I jumped at the chance to read this absorbing collection from Katy Wimhurst. For a start I adored the title!! Who couldn’t resist a book entitled An Orchid in my Belly Button?!

 

I laughed, I cried, I marvelled. The stories are diverse. Some juxtapose what we might see as the norm; snow falling inside rather than outside, predator rabbits and a Buddhist wolf. Another takes the capability of an everyday item to an extreme - a vacuum cleaner that can suck up literally anything! 

 

There are tales of magic, dystopia, shapeshifting, dreamlike tales, bizarre imaginings. There are fables for our contemporary times; materialism that causes a boat to sink, a stroppy mermaid aghast at the plastic pollution.

Accounts of flora and fauna growing on the human body. There is something euphoric about an imagination running so freely. 

 

I think my favourite story was Bootleg Chocolate. It was certainly the one that made me laugh the most. At times it was almost Kafkaesque, with a helping of Lewis Carroll. It’s a short story but it defies a precis, it’s so offbeat with such creative episodes within the story, very clever.

 

But as well as making me laugh I was also touched by the empathy and understanding of the natural world - The Ghosts of Crabs where little Luke can communicate with the ghosts. So many of Katy Wimhurst’s characters are in tune with the rhythms of nature and possess a reverence for living things that is almost spiritual. 

 

It may only be March, but this has been one of my favourite books so far this year. I loved it. 

 

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. 

February 2025 Round Up

Unfortunately, my covid recovery is taking longer than I would have liked. One visit to the surgery later and I was told it can take up to six months to fully recover. Six months?! Not what I wanted to hear. But the only silver lining is that I seem to read more books while I’m trying to recover my energy.

 

First up this month was Katie Lumsden’s The Secrets of Hartwood Hall. Reviewed on the blog here - https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-secrets-of-hartwood-house-katie.html

 

Closely followed by Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other. One of those books I’ve been meaning and meaning to read and finally got around to it. I thought it was marvellous. I loved it’s structure and the way each of the women’s stories merged with the others in some way. It's a pertinent book and it stays with you for a long time after you finished it. I’m still thinking about it to be honest, which is probably why I haven’t braved a review as yet because I’m still cementing my thoughts.

 

I received a copy of Nick Stapleton’s How to Beat Scammers from Tandem Collective. I wrote about this book on my blog. https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/02/how-to-beat-scammers-nick-stapleton.html

 

Since having Covid and having such poor energy levels, my usual routine of walking to the library and the bookshop have been curtailed significantly. One of my goals, as I try to build up my stamina, is to get to these beloved venues. I’ve managed the library on a couple of occasions now. First of this month’s library books was Lottie Hazell’s Piglet. Quite an unusual book in some ways as there is an onus on the reader to summon their imaginations because we are never told what it is that Kit has done to cause such a sense of betrayal in Piglet just weeks before their wedding. Piglet loves her grub, hence the nickname, but hunger can be interpreted on more than one level. I must confess that I didn’t warm to Piglet as a character, but I did find the book an interesting one. I found there were several issues to consider - the strength of female friendship, considerations of social roots and whether you ever can completely cast them aside. An interesting debut novel for sure.

 

Canongate Books sent me a copy of Doon Mackichan’s memoir, Lady Parts. I blogged about it.

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/02/my-lady-parts-doon-mackichan.html

 

Another Library book. This time it’s the wonderful Chris Whitaker’s All the Colours of the Dark. I’ve read all of his books. I’d read his shopping list if he’d let me.

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/02/all-colours-of-dark-chris-whitaker.html

 

Amy Engel - new writer to me, thank you HQ Stories – with I Did it for You is a deliciously twisty tale of small town America. The paperback published on the 27^th of February, blogged here. 

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2025/02/i-did-it-for-you-amy-engel.html

 

Another book from HQ Stories Elissa  Soave’s Graffiti Girls doesn’t publish until 13^th March so I’ll hold on to the review until then. Four women, Amy, Carole, Elenore and Susan are friends since schooldays. They have a tight supportive friendship despite their very different characters. United in their despite of misogyny they decide to take action.

 

My final library book of the month was recommended to me by my yoga teacher who has been kind enough to do some online yoga sessions with me, free of charge, until I’ve regained my stamina. It was Jo Browning Roe’s A Terrible Kindness. I loved it. I thought it was very well written, and I liked the structure. I thought the characters were well drawn and the story raised so many issues and points of discussion. I’m old enough to remember the Aberfan disaster. In this story William is one of the four hundred volunteer embalmers. Newly qualified and nineteen years of age the experience affects his whole life and relationships and causes him to appraise his past.