All Things Cease To Appear Elizabeth Brundage

ALL THINGS CEASE TO APPEAR - ELIZABETH BRUNDAGE *****

Pratītyasamutpāda

I don’t know if the title of this book is a known saying or epithet, it isn’t credited as such but it brought to mind the pragmatic Sanskrit concept of ‘Pratītyasamutpāda’. 

And it was a pleasure to read this book, no, it was more than that, it was a privilege. A beautifully constructed story that luxuriated in the depths of its language. Some perceptive metaphors and observations that make you think ‘Yes, that’s it, exactly’, as you read it. A novel where you savour every word, for every word fulfils its role in this story. Ms. Brundart’s words are characters too.

This is a multi layered fiction; on the surface it tells a chilling, thrilling, unsettling tale of families in a small town, an octopus novel with its tentacles delving richly into the psychological, the spiritual, the supernatural, sometimes gothic, sometimes contemporary, moving between time periods. And it’s also an eloquent piece of prose writing where words and phrases can lift and inspire you as only a good writer can do. 

The characters are keenly observed and developed, brought to life as we are encouraged to both loathe and empathise and our emotions are manipulated almost but with the assurance that what we are feeling is just how we should feel. The writer seems to be able to get under the skin of all, particularly the women in the novel, despite their difference in age and personality. They are all three dimensional.

In some ways it is a book without a conclusion but paradoxically the conclusion was always there right from the beginning. The plot is almost clear from the start but in a curious way the plot is  secondary to the other aspects of the novel, another character, as it were, satisfying its role in this story.

I am tempted to put aside other commitments and seek out all of Elizabeth Brundage’s other work for she is a new writer to me.

But I’ve waxed lyrical about this book long enough. Long enough, I hope, for you to seriously consider reading it.

Five Rivers Meet on a Wooded Plain - Barney Norris

Five Rivers Meet on a Wooded Plain - Barney Norris ****

Merrily Down The Stream

The opening chapter in this book belies what is to follow. And as I began the book I feared my interest would not be sustained throughout. For much as I admired the poetic prose in all its eloquence, at that point I couldn’t see where it was going or see how an entire novel could continue in this way.

But as the structure of the novel became apparent I appreciated the diversity of style. I liked the premise of the book which I guess is to say that we are all tributaries navigating into the great river of life.

I was impressed by how the seemingly disparate lives of five different people were linked through one event. And the narrative of each character was somehow constructed to convey the personality and temperament of that person. There is a certain skill in the rendering of fairly ordinary lives as interesting. These lives are cemented by an extraordinary event. I can say it’s a car crash as the blurb does detail the event so its not a spoiler.I liked the idea that the city of Salisbury was almost an additional character in the book.

For a debut novel this is a credible offering. This writer keenly observes people and their lives in a non judgmental way with a detached yet empathic demeanour.

I note Mr. Norris is also a playwright but I will be interested to see how he develops as novelist. If this first book is anything to go by then we are in for a treat.

The Buried Giant - Kazoo Ishiguro

The Buried Giant  - Kazuo Ishiguro *****

Buried No More

I am filled to the brim with awe and admiration for this man. The diversity of his style and imagination leaves me breathless. I hesitate to use the word genius because it is bandied around indiscriminately sometimes and yet I feel that if any contemporary writer comes close to that epithet it would be Ishiguro.

I loved The Unconsoled because it reminded me of Franz Kafka with its unsettling dream narrative. and I’m getting a comparable buzz with this beautifully moving story, both surreal and ethereal within the paradox of its gentleness and sometime ferocity.

Again the situations and landscapes are Kafkaesque. Axl and Beatrice travel through this post Roman dystopian landscape encountering the stuff of fairy tales and Arthurian legend. If Kafka was master of the parable and allegorical fiction then Ishiguro has been an exemplary student of those arts and treads purposefully in Kafka’s wake. For this is so much more than a mere act of story telling. 

Guardian reviewer Alex Preston called this book ‘Game of Thrones with a conscience, The Sword in the Stone for the age of the trauma industry’  - a very perceptive description of the book.

It raises fascinating questions about memory and it’s purpose. And it’s one of those fictions that remains in your consciousness long after you finished the act of reading it. It raises questions and asks that you seek the answers from within yourself. It doesn’t attempt to explain itself, it demands commitment from its readers if anything is to be gained from the experience of reading it. 

And where does it stand within the body of Ishiguro’s work? For me Never Let Me Go can’t be beaten. That continues to haunt me in a way that this probably won’t. Its as quirky as The Unconsoled and less ‘commercial’ than When We Orphans and The Remains of the Day. But a curious thought has popped into my head. If this were a debut novel from an up and coming writer how would it be received?  

Ishiguro is a giant. A giant among novelists and I doubt he will ever be buried!!!

A Pitying of Doves - Steve Burrows

A Pitying of Doves - Steve Burrows

Apparently this is the second in the series of ‘Birder Murder' mysteries but not having the read the first one was no barrier to enjoying this one. The crime/thriller/detective genre is in many ways oversubscribed these days and I think a writer needs a unique yet plausible angle to really pique and sustain the interest of those loving this genre. Having an interest in birds myself went a long way to endear this book to me and the writers own love and knowledge of ornithology was almost palpable here so I feel that box is ticked. I was momentarily reminded of Ann Cleeves The Crow Trap but only momentarily.

Inspector Domenic Jejeune is a Canadian detective living in Norfolk and, as is the fashion these days for fictional detectives, is a conflicted, somewhat flawed character. I did wonder sometimes whether he was somewhere on the spectrum as I found him hard to get to know. There were plenty of other characters, maybe as flawed, but somehow more accessible. I also felt there was plenty for development for all of them. My understanding is that there are to be more in the series. Perhaps it would be something of a first to have a whole team as your main ‘character’ and allow them to develop through a series of novels.

The plot is as twisty and as convoluted as you would wish in a good crime yarn. I also liked the way the ornithology theme was ever present, crucial to the story but not to the extent that it saturated the readers’ sensibilities. It would have been easy for that to happen. 

It kept my interest going, sufficiently to consider seeking out the first story and I am grateful to Real Readers for the opportunity to read this novel.

The Midnight Watch - David Dyer

The Midnight Watch - David Dyer

When this volume popped thorough my letterbox from Real Readers I was ecstatic!! This could not have been a more appropriate choice of book for me. Long have I been a student of the Titanic, the history of the ship and all the events surrounding it before, during and after the tragedy. I have even had the unbelievable privilege, many years ago, of meeting a Titanic survivor which I still regard as one of the highlights of my life. (She had very strong opinions about Captain Lord).

This novel tells the story of the Californian and her captain Stanley Lord, no spoiler I don't think as history documents his part well. 

And so I loved this book. I accepted it as an historical, fictional account of a controversial aspect of the whole Titanic phenomenon. The details were known and familiar to me. So I responded to the authenticity of the research. I enjoyed the fact that the writer has placed it within a broader social context as it is sometimes too easy to look at an historical event in isolation. I took delight too in the human aspects of this fiction; we have the public perception of many of the persons featured in this history but the writer attempts to burrow beneath that and encourages us to see them as people, human beings with their strengths and their weaknesses. All this, too, from a debut novel? Can it get any better?

But…. (There had to be a but didn't there? ) How much appeal will this book have to anyone with scant knowledge of the Titanic? Does the book have enough momentum to keep an indifferent reader satisfied? I’m not sure it does. Publication date is due to coincide with the anniversary of the sinking, that may propel it along a little further. But if I am to be objectively honest I doubt this book has a wide appeal. It is very well written and I think Titanic ‘fans’ (for want of a better word) will lap it up but beyond that I fear appeal and interest will be limited. I would love to be wrong though. And I hope I am.

Gold Fame Citrus

Gold Fame Citrus - Claire Vaye Watkins

I received a copy of this from Real Readers to review and I am grateful for the opportunity to read this purposeful new fiction. 

An intriguing title, for sure.  As I began to read it seemed to have all the hallmarks of a debut novel, extravagant descriptions and an abundance of detail from an enthusiastic writer that is often not sustained throughout the whole book.

But as I plunged into the meat of the story I realised this poetry is very much the style of this young author. Some of the writing is exceptional.

As a bare bones story there is much that is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy and James Dashner. And I suppose it was the references to the dune sea and the scarcity of water but I was fleetingly reminded of Frank Herbert’s Dune.

None of the characters are especially nice people, but they are trying to survive in a not very nice world. And nothing is at it seems. 

I think this is an ambitious work for a first novel and there is something here that makes me think we either have a pretention that defies true literary fiction or we are on the brink of a unique and significant new talent. I fervently hope it is the latter.

Is this just another dystopian tale of pre apocalyptic demise, love, betrayal and survival or is it an intuitive allegory of the  current state of our world? 

And the answer to that question is, I think, what will define this as landmark novel or something to be dismissed. 

I am dithering on the fence with my answer but I just have this goosebumpy feeling that this book is important.

David Bowie

I was numb on Monday. I couldn't quite believe what I had heard. And it is isn't that I am an obsessive Bowie fan. I loved his early work but I went though a period of finding him just okay. However I thought The Next Day was excellent and I was finding BlackStar quite haunting and now I find it was prophetic. How is it that the death of someone you never knew can affect you as much as this has affected me? I remember Al Stewart's  song 'Post World War 2 Blues' from the 'Past, Present and Future' album - I can still remember the last time I cried 
The day that Buddy Holly died 
I never met him, so it may seem strange Don't some people just affect you that way
And maybe that's just it, some people affect you that way...............