Last Christmas in Paris - Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

When I received this as a maverick choice from Nudge Books my expectations were low. I thought it might be a left over from the festive period, a fluffy, cuddly, tinselly chick lit tale maybe, that nobody else wanted. But it has proved to be a most moving and engrossing read. 

Briefly it’s a First World War epistolary that details the war on several levels primary through the letters of Tom and Evie. There is their personal story through all the years of the war. And there is both social and political commentary on the war. To convey all this through a series of correspondences is impressive to say the least. The research is thorough and authentic which one might demand from a work of historical fiction but that doesn’t mean one gets it! But we sure do here and it’s done in such an effortless way. I suspect the letter structure of the novel allows this ease to impose itself on the reader and draw them into the tale. The bulk of the novel is through the letters but there are a few conventional narrative passages that act as a link between the letters and an exposition of situations beyond the war that the letters don’t convey. 

I also admired how the characters developed through the letters in a sustained manner which I feel somehow must be harder to do than writing a straightforward narrative. Cleverly we see how these people grow and develop because of and in spite of the war. What is also noteworthy is how the writers seems to have got into the heads of people living through those troubled years and written and conveyed their lives and emotions so convincingly. 

You know that in a war story there has to be some heart breaking moments which could easily descend into over sentiment in a fictional work but that never happens here. There is a realism that doesn’t shy away from the atrocities of war and how people gritted their teeth and ‘got on with it’. There were certain events that seemed predictable while reading but maybe inevitable is a better word? Thematically the story covers love, loss, heartache, grief, fear.

Interesting too, is the co-authorship of the book. When you read you smugly think you have it sorted! One person ‘did’ the letters the other person did the ‘other bits’!! But when you get to the Afterwords you realise that was not the case at all!! I loved reading the joy expressed at each writer’s anticipation of what the other had written.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, all the more because I wasn’t expecting to and although subdued and chastened by much of the subject matter there was some upliftment and satisfaction from the conclusion.

Anything is Possible - Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout’s book My Name is Lucy Barton was long listed for the Man Booker prize in 2016. Although aware of the book I haven’t read it. But I was intrigued as I began Ms. Strout’s latest novel to meet Lucy Barton!! For she appears as a character in Anything is Possible proving beyond a doubt that anything is indeed possible! 

This book is deceptive. On one hand it is an elegant collection of beautifully crafted short stories populated with some quirky, damaged people. Stroud’s prose is descriptively detailed and her characterisations are perceptive and empathic. But as you delve deeper into these stories you realise they are all interconnected. with characters from one story popping up, sometimes just by name, in another. It is fascinating and makes for compelling reading as you strive to make the connections clear in your head. But you don’t have to, Each story works perfectly well as a standalone tale.

And as desperate and lonely as many of these characters are. the novel seems to see something almost beautiful in their states. It is a quite perplexing paradox that can totally engage the reader. Small town America, yes, but a collection of people who could be from any small town in the world, types we may all have come across to some degree in our lives. And this book makes you look at people differently, hopefully with a wider understanding.

I was briefly reminded of Carson McCullers for I felt Ms. Strout has a similar ability to delve into the very heart of a person and understand their raison d’être. Whatever quirks, hurts, faults, shortcomings or flaws a character may have it is somehow rendered acceptable and comprehensible by this writer.

I had few expectations of this book other than that undefinable, call it hunch or readers instinct maybe that this was a book or substance. It is. I mentioned earlier that I hadn’t read My Name is Lucy Barton but by heck I’m going to.

Crimson and Bone - Marina Fiorato

This is the first of Marina Fiorato’s books that I have read and I was suitably entertained by her writing. This was an easy to read book, historical in its basis and veering towards romance and almost thriller. Set initially in Victorian London with a protracted stay in Florence and a couple of eventful visits to Venice there was a flavour of the gothic about this tale of revenge and obsession. 

The authenticity of historical fiction depends upon the quality of research  and whilst I noticed a couple of anomalies that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story overall and I see no reason to detail them here. The story flows pleasingly enough and it was one of those novels where the reader is encouraged almost to predict outcomes and make assumptions that are not necessarily so. We are handed many clues but it is up to the reader to use them wisely! 

I’m never a one for spoilers so I hope this isn’t considered one but I did find it almost amusing that the names of several characters  seem to derive from the suspects and victims in the Jack the Ripper case - Annie Stride, Mary Jane, Francis Maybrick Gill - I thought it was my imagination at first but these surely aren’t coincidental names? Annie imposes herself as the character with the most substance. Francis is unnerving but how could you fail not to love a character whose Italian moniker is ‘l’uomo arcobaleno’ ?

I enjoyed the Pre-Raphaelite art theme in this book and the descriptions were vivid enough to imagine how the canvases must have looked upon completion. The discourses on colour and pigments were fascinating. The novel is colourful and the writing style lent itself to these themes. It would seem that the writer is an art lover as well as a history lover. But there are several allusions to the contemporary cultural arts of the age - Dante, Dumas, Verdi almost attempting to present this as an intellectual work which it isn’t. 

It’s a very dark tale with an undercurrent of danger and uncertainty, competently written with an economy of language that doesn’t skimp on the necessary but doesn’t overload on the waffle. I won’t say that I’ll immediately rush to read another of Ms. Fiorato’s books but she’s done herself no disservice with this compelling fiction.

Hotel on Shadow Lake - Daniela Tully

This novel is a debut work from an erstwhile film producer. Not surprisingly there are some visual elements to the story and it has many of the hallmarks of a debut novel encompassing what I always like to call debut novel exuberance syndrome. Starting the book I was both tantalised and confused in equal measure; the blurb references Maya and her grandmother with no mention of lakes, hotels and shadows. The prologue of no more than a paragraph introduces us to Maya. But the main commencement of the book acquaints us with Martha. And this, what I would call ‘patchiness’ for want of a better word, pervades the whole book. There is a dual narrative between Maya and Martha but that was interspersed with other letters, diaries and stories all fundamental to the plot  but their inclusion rendered the narrative overall as a little staccato. Gosh, I sound like I’m being overly critical aren’t I? I would prefer to call it being honest though because I celebrate and appreciate the debut novel. 

I enjoyed the story very much and where the book demonstrated the strength and potential of its writer was in the straightforward passages of narration and story telling. Initially there seemed to be a tentative feel to her words almost as if she couldn’t quite believe she was writing a novel. The passages where Ms. Tully really gets into her stride allows the words, the plot and the characters to flow with ease and there were sections of the story that were quite unputdownable and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. Events did seem a little tangled at times and I did get a bit lost with some of the family members.

One could compartmentalise it as historical fiction and applaud the research but it is also a human tale of standing up for beliefs, overcoming obstacles and persisting in the search for truth. There’s a mystery to be solved with some complexities that aren’t always convincing. And there’s some pleasing word pictures painted that might hint of some celluloid promise for the future.

With this one book under her belt I’m sure Daniela Tully can look forward to developing and progressing as a writer and hopefully offering her readers further entertainment. My thanks to Nudge Books and  Legend Press for an uncorrected proof copy.

Crimes of the Father - Thomas Keneally

I remember going to see the film Spotlight and wondering how such a subject could make for an entertaining movie. But it does, for it is compelling viewing and allows the factual storyline to evolve without anything gratuitous forcing it along. I had the same feeling when I began Thomas Keneally’s latest work. I ended up feeling that Keneally, too, has produced a compelling book without resorting to shock tactics to get his point across. Not that the story itself is unshocking, it is, it’s theme not unfamiliar it’s sad to say. But you know that in the hands of such a respected story teller as Keneally it will be worth reading no matter how disturbing. 

This is a powerful fiction set in Keneally’s home city of Sydney and deals bluntly with the celibacy and child abuse of and by Catholic clergy. The central protagonist Father Frank Docherty is a likeable, though slightly maverick priest who becomes caught up in several cases perpetrated by the same abuser who is the brother of a close friend. He is a flawed character by his own admission but all the more real for it. One of the good guys.

Running through the book is a sense of smouldering anger at the guilty clergy and their spurious attempts to justify their behaviour. Also the Church’s manner of dealing with it. The damage done to victims is heartbreaking and as you might expect from Keneally there is no soft pedalling, he tells it like it is. The book is better for it.  I am not of the Catholic faith but I imagine this will resonate very strongly with those who are. 

But this is the tip of the iceberg surely; this story is set in Australia, Spotlight was set on the east coast of the USA. Miles inbetween.  Books like these are very important, especially one as well written as this, for they insist we do not sweep such unpleasantness under the carpet nor forget what has and is going on. And to quote Santayana ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

If you’re looking for a fluffy, cosy little read steer well clear of this book but if you wish to experience a brave fiction that tackles an uncomfortable subject head on, then read on. People who win Booker prizes deserve to be listened to.

Origin - Dan Brown

Dan Brown has his critics and his writing style has oft been criticised from a linguistic point of view at the very least. In fact there are those who condemn him as a downright bad writer. However his books sell. So all those who condemn his writing, would they also condemn his readers for buying and enjoying his books? I don’t care!! I do enjoy his books. Plot holes, implausibilities, inaccuracies of research, contrivances, yep, all there if you wanna look but if you just wanna lose yourself in a rollicking good yarn it’s an easy accessible read. And I’m sure Mr. Brown is sobbing all the way to the bank.

Origin is his most recent work and features the indubitable Mr. Robert ‘Mickey Mouse Watch’ Langdon. Does this guy ever age!!?? All the Brown hallmarks are here, conspiracies and twists and another female accomplice. This time the story is a vehicle that airs the eternal debate between science and religion and  attempts to come up with a plausible theory as to our origins and our future. It’s fast paced and the reader moves along eager to find out what happens next. And Brown doesn’t disappoint. What you think you’ve figured out isn’t so and what you thought couldn’t be turns out to be so. 

If you’ve enjoyed the Langdon series up to now I doubt you’ll be disappointed with this. Its formulaic, yes,  but if you’re happy with Brown’s formula you’ll be happy with this. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

Having recently read both Affinity Konar’s Mischling and Elisabeth Gifford’s The Good Doctor of Warsaw I was prompted to observe the increase in the number of fictional works about the Holocaust and to affirm my admiration for the bravery of writers prepared to tackle such a powerful and emotional subject. And here is another from Heather Morris who has used her friendship with Lale Solokov and his son to create a moving, readable fiction of real life events. It is one thing to create a fiction on factually based research but this novel is elevated by the writer’s personal interest and friendship with the protagonist of this story, Holocaust survivor Lale Solokov. I believe that shines through in the writing. 

It’s a wonderful story and the redemption is uplifting. it isn’t often you can come away from a Holocaust work having cried and smiled. And because it’s a true story those emotions burn fiercely. It would be easy to sum this book up as just being another book about Auschwitz and the Holocaust but it is more. It is about Love. optimism, the human spirit, endurance and determination. I get the impression that wherever and whatever befell Lale he would have endured. The book demonstrates the respect and kindness he showed everyone in spite of the appalling circumstances in which he found himself. 

But please don’t get me wrong, there are no punches pulled here, no sugar coating. No watering down of the brutality and atrocities perpetrated. The descriptions of Mengele are chilling. But what I found very important  here too was Lale’s relationship with Victor and Yuri which I think helps emphasise the fact that there were German people who were not sympathetic to the Reich and could find ways of metaphorically sticking two fingers up at the Nazis. 

The numeric tattoos are almost synonymous with our perception of the inmates of Auschwitz. I have read a great deal of material about the holocaust and visited the camps at Auschwitz. But prior to reading this book it had never struck me so forcibly that someone did that job. Someone tattooed those poor souls and for some reason I had always imagined it to to be an SS officer or Nazi administrator.  Somehow I found that very moving. 

At the end of the book are some photos of Lale and Gita, his wife and co protagonist in this amazing tale. There is also an afterword by their son Gary. They round things up beautifully and upraise this tale even more. It’s the first book I finished in 2018 and I can’t think of a better book to start the year with.