Everything Inside - Edwidge Danticat

It’s not often that you can say of a collection of short stories that they are “unputdownable”. That kind of plaudit is generally saved for tense, twisty, crime thrillers and action novels. But I really didn’t want to put this enthralling book down.

Eight stories that offer us, not just a glimpse into a culture that might be unfamiliar to us, but a window into that human condition that draws people to and away from one another. Danticat examines the leaving of one country and customs - Haiti - for another -  the US. She explores, with subtlety, the often confused and bewildering world of relationships on several levels. Also the lengths to which the human being will go to achieve their own desired ends and the consequences of such self absorption. Considerations of place and belonging, identity and family.

 With elegant prose that details not just the physical world but the emotional world too Danticat shows herself to be an astute observer of people and their motivations. This is not a book that shouts at you, rather, it delicately whispers its lingering messages that stay with you after you’ve read each story.

The stories are diverse yet the arrangement in the book works so completely and offers a cohesion to the collection overall. You feel as if these stories truly belong together. Often when I review a collection of short stories or poetry I hone in on my favourites.  But I can’t do that here because I loved them all. I will however mention the concluding story in the collection, Without Inspection. For it is unusual. It tells of Arnold who in six and a half seconds falls to his death. As he falls he is reliving those moments of his life which defined him and the life he is about to leave. Of course one can never know exactly what is going through one’s mind in a situation where foreknowledge of death is absolute so this is a work of pure imagination yet it reads completely believably. The sense of slow motion is poignant and the author cleverly allows us to know Arnold and his struggles. As we read and realise the full import of not just his loss but also the loss of those he leaves behind it is powerfully moving.

I sometimes feel the short story is an underrated genre. How often do you see a collection on the best sellers lists? Yet the skill required to achieve a point or intention in fewer words than a novel is not easy and requires an economy, not just of words, but of plot development and character exposition also. Danticat has it down to a fine art.

My thanks to Katya Ellis at riverrun and Quercus books for a gifted copy. 

The Thief on the Winged Horse - Kate Mascarenhas

This is one of those books where I feel that no matter what I write it won't do it justice or even convey half of what I actually feel after reading it. So I apologise in advance! It was also one of those books that I had one of my 'feelings' about.  I knew before I even opened it that I'd love it. And whilst that may seem an irrational and foolhardy thing to say it is absolutely true. It's happened on several occasions, and I love the feeling!

So what is it about this book that is so special? If you read the Psychology of Time Travel you'll know how meticulous, how complex and how precise yet expansive is the plotting of Kate Mascarenas. That book blew me away with the premise alone let alone the execution of the story. There is always the danger when an author follows up a laudable debut novel with that difficult second one that it might show the first one to have been a 'one hit wonder'. Relax. It isn't so. Not at all. The Thief on the Winged Horse serves to show that Ms. Mascarenas is here to stay. Why? Number one, it's consummate storytelling. To me it shows a writer who has an instinctive ability to weave a tale of complexity with characters of dimension and mystique. Number two, it's so well written. The narrative flows flawlessly, substantially, satisfying the readers' need for information and elucidation but not so much that you figure out the ending right at the beginning. It's as if you are captured within the magic.



Now to all matters blurbish -

'A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the author of the bestselling The Psychology of Time Travel. 

The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls for over 200 years. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn the family craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and a blood tie to the Kendricks, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires.

But then, one night, the family's most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her. Only a Kendrick could have committed this crime...'

'Crime, romance, magic and myth'? Couldn't have put it better myself?! And all these elements are balanced to offer an exhilarating reading spectrum. It’s multi plotted almost but the plots intertwine cohesively. And for the reader who likes to have something to go away and think about, ponder outcomes, reflect on what comes after when they've reached the last pages there's plenty.

Something I loved was the fusion between what appeared to be an almost historic fiction, fairytale, folklore type story but it was clearly set in modern times with references to mobile phones etc. And yet all the time I felt I was transported to some other world. The magic of magical realism. And if 'Time Travel' was dominated by the world of women this story seems to be the reverse where men play the controlling roles, or try to.

There are some fascinating characterisations. Larkin and Briar, Sephy and Hedwig, it was as if they were yin to each others yang. Contradictions. Because of the closeted community in which they were functioning their traits seems all the more apparent. There is a really useful dramatic personae at the beginning of the book to assist the reader in understanding the lineage of the Kendricks. Missing from that is the titular thief who is a master stroke offering a fairy tale quality that permeates the whole narrative.

The use of dolls in fiction and literature is not new yet it is never a device that loses its impact. For many dolls play a role in the socialisation of children, others see a more cultural bias. In this story the endowment of the dolls with specific emotions is a dazzling and original premise.  I'm pretty sure this captivating tale will find its way  to my top ten books of the year.

My thanks to Georgina Moore for gifting me a proof.

A Testament of Character - Sulari Gentill

 Oh my days! This is apparently the tenth Rowland Sinclair mystery but it is my first. Given how much I’ve enjoyed this one, it won’t be my last. I can’t believe how I’ve missed this series up till now. With a cover that reminded me of the British Library’s Crime Classics series I dived in this story and was immediately struck by its ‘classic crime’ feel. It’s historic crime. This story is set in 1930’s USA but Rowland and his friends are Australian. Their camaraderie was delightful. It kinda reminded me of the Famous Five or Secret Seven but for grown ups.

In spite of the fact that this is the tenth in a series it didn’t matter that I hadn’t read any of the others. If there were references to previous stories there was no impact on the enjoyment of this one. But it has made me keen to know more about Rowly, Milton, Clyde and Edna. I guess the previous books are probably set in other places as the quartet hail from the Antipodes. Rowland is a worthy hero. He’s fearless and quite the gentleman with a knack for some analytical thinking that gets mysteries solved. He’s loyal to his friends and seemed unerringly polite to his enemies!!


‘In fear for his life, American millionaire Daniel Cartwright changes his will, appointing his old friend Rowland Sinclair as his executor.

Soon murder proves that fear well founded.

When Rowland receives word of Cartwright's death, he sets out immediately for Boston, Massachusetts, to bury his friend and honour his last wishes. He is met with the outrage and anguish of Cartwright's family, who have been spurned in favour of a man they claim does not exist.

Artists and gangsters, movie stars and tycoons all gather to the fray as elite society closes in to protect its own, and family secrets haunt the living. Rowland Sinclair must confront a world in which insanity is relative, greed is understood, and love is dictated; where the only people he can truly trust are an artist, a poet and a passionate sculptress.’

The novel moves along at a cracking pace such that it could be easy to disregard the wealth of research and detail that has gone into the creation of an authentic 1930’s Boston and New York. Not to mention a spider’s web of a plot that has you suspecting the innocent and ignoring the guilty! Or was that just me? ;-)

Lots of action but also some emotion, maybe a little moral philosophy. And I loved the inclusion of real people and the part they played in the story. Scott Fitzgerald for example and Randolph Hearst. It’s a deceptive book for it was very easy to read yet there is nothing frivolous or superficial about it. I enjoyed the structure with each chapter being prefaced with an item of news relevant in some way to the action within that chapter. Again easy to forget the research that went into that.

Reading this has been an entertaining and absorbing experience which I am keen to repeat with some further Rowland Sinclair mysteries.

My thanks to the Crime and Mystery Club for my gifted copy.

Happiness is Wasted on Me - Kirkland Ciccone - Blog Tour

 Whilst the title of this book might not be the most uplifting one you’ve ever come across the resulting work is a kind of roman de clef novel that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. It may be presumptuous of me to assume that this is autobiographical but somehow I have an instinctive feeling that a lot of it is. You can’t write about events and feelings such as these with the depth and humanity achieved here unless you’ve at least touched upon some of them from the inside. 

‘Cumbernauld was built to be the town of the future...that is, if the future looked like a really rubbish episode of Doctor Who. It's also home to Walter Wedgeworth, a child stuck in a uniquely dysfunctional family controlled by the tyrannical Fishtank, whose CB Radio aerial is a metal middle finger to all the neighbours on Craigieburn Road. When 11-year-old Walter discovers the corpse of a baby inside a cardboard box, he resolves to ignore it, pretend it didn't happen. He knows the price of being a grass. But the child's fate haunts Walter, bringing him into conflict with the world around him. Walter's journey will lead him from childhood to adulthood; school, college, bereavement, Britpop, his first job, Blackpool, the Spice Girls, feuds with his neighbour, and finally...face-to-face with a child killer. Taking place in the 90s, Happiness Is Wasted On Me is a genre-blending tale that spans a decade in the life of Walter. It's a coming of age tale, a family drama, a mystery, and a biting dark comedy. Ultimately, it's the story of how even the strangest people can find their way in the world.’

The overriding emotion that engulfed me after reading the book was similar to that feeling I had after reading Rachel Elliott’s Do Not Feed the Bear and Ronan Hession’s Leonard and Hungry Paul. Why? Because it’s about somebody who potentially doesn’t fit in. Somebody who won’t willingly follow the crowd or run with the flock. Somebody who is unique and true to themselves.

And a novel has been created about a character with those characteristics. Walter Wedgeworth and his dress sense will have you smiling. His early childhood experience, finding the dead baby, will have you weeping. Weeping because of what it does to him and how it impacts upon the years of his growing up. Cringing too, at times, because of the dysfunctional family set up he is trapped inside. But although this all sounds very dark it’s not ultimately a depressing book. There are redemptions. And Walter emerges, certainly can’t say unscathed, but he emerges as a richer person and I’m not just talking financially!

Thematically the book covers numerous issues. And that makes it hard to pin down to any one specific genre. Good! Life is not a specific genre. Life covers numerous issues. And this is a story about one boy’s life, or 10 years of it.

The narrative has a pleasing flow to it. Conversational almost at times. But the reader is always rooting for Walter. It’s Walter who is telling the tale. It’s Walter’s take on events that the reader is treated to. Sometimes it strikes you as if it’s one of your mates telling you an anecdote, a protracted anecdote to be sure! But Ciccone has created that sense that the reader is being confided in. No one else is party to these thoughts and events. Which makes it both an immersive and inclusive read.

Any book that defies “genrelisation” is a brave book. Because it’s human nature to want to compartmentalise things neatly. Sometimes not being able to do so makes people uncomfortable. So a story like this is wonderful because it’s basically saying it doesn’t matter. You can be different and you can make your way.

I hadn’t come across this author before I read this book. Here’s a little info about him. 

‘ Kirkland Ciccone is a fat punk, author, and performer who has toured across the country in theatres, libraries, and schools. From the moment his mother sent him up to the Post Office with the Family Allowance book, Kirkland knew books would loom large in his life. One of his first jobs was a psychic consultant, that is if telling everyone they were going to meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger counts as seeing the future. He has guested on Janice Forsyth’s Culture Café (BBC Radio Scotland) and Scotland Tonight (STV). He has also appeared at several festivals including The Edinburgh Book Festival, ReImagination, and Tidelines. With the help of Cumbernauld Theatre, Kirkland also set up Yay YA, a book festival to encourage teens to get off their phones and read books. Other live shows include A Secret History of Cumbernauld, Kirkland Ciccone Plays Pop, and The Dead Don’t Sue. He has previously written quirky fiction for younger readers including Conjuring The Infinite and Glowglass. He hails from Cumbernauld, the world-famous 'ugly' town of Scotland.’

Happiness Is Wasted On Me is his first novel for adults. It's out in October 2020 because of Covid-19.

Buy Link 

https://amzn.to/3jBqAMZ

My thanks to Kelly Lacey at the Love Books Group for an opportunity to read this entertaining novel and a place upon the blog tour.

The Windsor Knot - S.J.Bennett

 One thing I would love to know - is the Queen aware of this book and what does she think of it? !

This is delightful. I suppose one might put it into the genre of cosy crime? Although the crimes themselves are grisly the treatment and the involvement of our glorious Monarch is just so unique. The author has done some detailed and rigorous research into royal palace protocols. I surmise, too, that she must have studied Queen Elizabeth in some depth because the characterisation is so complete. It was very easy to picture the events in this book. I suspect that may in part be due to the fact that the royal family have such high visibility on the media. But I enjoyed the author’s imaginings of the relationship between the Queen and Prince Phillip.

If you remove the fact that the Queen is a central character and look at it from the crime point of view it’s well plotted and the final denouement ties up all the ends. It’s an easy straightforward read. Well paced. It’s not a twisty, turny crime story, it’s more in the spirit of the golden age of crime classics where thinking is required on the part of the reader, and the characters in the story.

But of course the real highpoint is the fact that the Queen does a most wonderful Miss Marple impression! The observance of royal protocols and the Queen’s role within the hierarchy of her own household, in the media and with the public is so well illustrated by the events in the book. Never more than at the end. The conclusion, where the Queen allows somebody to believe that they have solved the crime without realising that actually it was her Majesty who did it, is most amusing. I enjoyed the way the Queen came across as such a warm, compassionate, highly intelligent person, in touch with the real world in spite of her privileged existence.

And back to my original question. Is the Queen aware of this book and what does she think of it? You know, I rather think she would like it.

My thanks to Readers First for a copy of this most enjoyable novel.
       

The Illustrated Child - Polly Crosby

What begins as perhaps a whimsical and fairy-tale like account of a young child’s bohemian type existence as the daughter of an artist metamorphoses into a story of depth. An exploration of the power of creativity, the complexities of the human heart and it’s capacity for love. A story of loss and longing and ultimately a redemption of a kind. A debut novel of some substance The Illustrated Child is an eloquent coming of age novel.

‘Romilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. She knows little about her past – but she knows that she is loved.

When her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the main character, everything changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV, and strangers appear at their door, convinced the books contain clues leading to a precious prize.

But as time passes, Romilly’s father becomes increasingly suspicious of the outside world until, before her eyes, he begins to disappear altogether. With no-one else to help, Romilly turns to the secrets her father has hidden in his illustrated books – realising that his treasure hunt doesn’t lead to gold, but to something far more precious…

The truth.’

This is a meandering tale that evokes long, lazy summer days in parts. There are aspects of it that lift you into an otherworld where time has no place. As the story unravels you begin to intuit certain truths that are revealed ultimately. It is not a comfortable or a cosy read. In fact I will confess that there were parts where the tears just rolled down my face unchecked, I was so upset.  It is a slow paced book, the chapters filled with evocative descriptions and images in a languid prose that reminded me a little of Kate Morton. Braër House is palpable and presents almost as an additional character in the book. I had the strongest sense that neither Romilly nor her father should stray too far from its debatable security.

Romilly is a complex character. By the time you reach the end of the book you wonder just how the hell she’s coped with any of it. She is a paradox. There were times when I actually found it hard to like her or comprehend her behaviour. But then when you learn the full story your heart breaks for her. There is such a sense of a child trapped in the uncomprehending world of adults where everyone speaks in riddles as if they are frightened of the truth. And indeed Romilly has to search her father’s storybooks about her to find the ultimate truth. Made all the harder by what happens to him, Tobias, another character, less complex, perhaps than Romilly but so full of love for his daughter that it seems to paralyse any objective emotion he might have in helping her deal with her past, her present and her future. 

It’s a deceptively dark book. Magical realism sprang to mind at one point when I was attempting to ‘genrelise’ it but there’s no genre exclusivity here. It’s almost a mass of contradictions for the perceived whimsy runs alongside an almost gothic bleakness.

As a debut novel it’s impressive  and arresting, one that will stay with you long after you close its heartfelt covers. 

My thanks to HQ stories for a proof of this unique story.

Interview with G D Penman November 2017

A few years ago I did a number of author Q&As for NB magazine. Sadly they're no longer available to read on their current website. But I still believe that what the authors have to say about their work and the writing process is important and relevant and interesting to read so I have decided to blog them.

 

NB Magazine/Nudge Q&A with G.D. Penman

 

 You were a new novelist to me so I did a little Googling before I read your book and I love that you describe yourself as writing ‘speculative’ fiction. It’s a term Margaret Atwood used when The Handmaid’s Tale was being called science fiction. Could you tell us a little about what you mean by the term? 

G.D. Penman: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror are the genres that I tend to lurk around in. They all use allegory to a certain degree to examine elements of life and society. When I say “speculative fiction” I mainly mean that I am extrapolating story elements based on human responses to similar things. I don’t know how people would deal with aliens showing up on their doorstep, but I do know, historically, what has happened when human beings from wildly different cultures first interacted. 

Margaret Atwood used the term because she didn’t want to be relegated to the “genre fiction” ghetto when she believed that her work was “literature.” I use it because it is easier than rattling off the dozens of genres and sub-genres that it encompasses, and it gives me a little bit of wiggle room within those genres.

 

 This may follow on from that question. In the front of the copy of the book I received there are several suggested categories; Fantasy/Urban, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance/LGBT/Lesbian, Alternative History. Do categories and genres interest you?

G.D. Penman: Because I have made the terrible mistake of writing a book that doesn’t fit neatly into a single category, I now have to wrestle with a list of 15 different genres. The Year of the Knife is a hardboiled detective mystery. But it is also an urban fantasy book. But the technological advancement has been limited by the existence of magic so it is also verging on Steampunk or Gaslamp fantasy. But the existence of magic has also caused history to diverge wildly from ours so it is an Alt. History book. But vampires and skinwalkers exist so it could also be called a paranormal fantasy book. The main character’s growth is certainly tied to her romantic engagements, so I suppose you could just about classify the book as romance?

Some people have an interest in categories and genres, some have categories and genres thrust upon them, and I suspect that I may be in the latter category (or genre.)

 

 There were various sections of the book which, when I was reading, I could clearly imagine myself playing some kind of associated video game. Is this incidental or was it a conscious part of your writing?

G.D. Penman: Video games are where I go to wind down, and I have a history of writing for games, so it isn’t too surprising that some gamey logic might have slipped into the book. And of course, I would be delighted if someone were to come along with a wheelbarrow of money to Witcher my book. 

I think that games have had a lot of flexibility in terms of the scale of conflicts portrayed compared to cinema over the last decade, so when I am constructing some of the larger set-piece conflicts it is only natural that our minds are drawn to them.

 

 Sully is a great character but when I first started reading “Agent Sully” it immediately made me think of “Agent Scully”, so obviously Dana Scully and the X Files. That made me wonder what your influences might be?

G.D. Penman: By the time I realised that there might be a Sully/Scully problem I was already far too attached to her to change something as integral to her character as her name. 

I did enjoy (some of) the X-Files, but they certainly weren’t an influence on the book. Laurell K. Hamilton’s early Anita Blake books were my go-to urban fantasy when I first started reading the genre. I ghost-write a lot of True Crime, so the criminology of real cases viewed through a more fantastical lens probably fed into it too.

 

 I was impressed by the world you have created in this story. I was thinking, for example, of the Schroedinger units and the references to Dante Aligheri and how they all nestle so comfortably within the story yet the historic and scientific allusions are there. Did you have to do a lot of research before writing the story? 

G.D. Penman: I read an awful lot of non-fiction, and I have done so for decades and while I seem to be incapable of remembering things like how to turn on the damned washing machine, my brain seems to retain strange trivia without any issues. You could argue that I have been researching the book for years? No. Honestly, I had to do some serious reading about American History to make sure that I was portraying things accurately, but things like Dante and my very tenuous grasp on Schroedinger’s experiments with the degradation of nuclear materials were just things that were knocking around in my head, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

 

 The Year of the Knife was also a song by Tears for Fears released way back in 1989. Just a coincidence or…..?

G.D. Penman: I wish that I had found the phrase “The Year of the Knife” in Tears for Fears’ b-side back catalogue. Sadly, it actually came into my life while researching the trial of O.J. Simpson. His son suffered from schizophrenia, and he was considered to be a suspect in the murders. In amongst the mound of diaries which were entered into evidence against him was the phrase “This is the year of the knife.” Which was considered quite chilling and pertinent evidence, given the way that Nicole Brown Simpson had been killed. If they had realised he was just quoting lyrics in his diaries like every other teenager they probably would have gotten through that investigation a lot quicker.

 

 The setting of the novel intrigued me; Sully is a witch of the British Empire yet the action takes place in the USA, which creates a wonderfully imaginative fusion of locations. Can you tell us a little about this?

G.D. Penman: Well, I just hate the American spelling of words so much that I had to find a reason for my American characters to still be writing properly.

Seriously though, when I introduced magic into the history of The Year of the Knife, I knew that it was going to cause some divergence. Because technology and disease were less relevant, the whole geopolitical landscape was going to shift massively. 

This meant small things like the Roman Empire still kicking about in a vestigial form. But it also meant that the Age of Empires never ended, the war for America was fought by evenly matched forces, Africa was never exploited by Europe, the Transatlantic slave trade never occurred, the AIDS epidemic never wiped out the generation that were fighting to secure equal rights for queer people decades ago… the list of differences is endless. 

I strongly encourage readers to try to backtrack from any confusing changes in history to try to work out what happened because if I had to suffer through puzzling itall out, everyone has to!

 

 Following on from that question, are these areas that interest you? Or are they just specific to this novel?

G.D. Penman: I am a history fiend. This book just happened to provide a more obvious outlet for my love of history than most of the other things that I have written. The world would greatly benefit from knowing and learning from its history. As recent events have proven yet again.

 

 I thoroughly enjoyed the humour in the book. Does that come naturally? Or did you seek to inject it into the story for a little light relief?

G.D. Penman: I don’t know if I wanted the book to be funny, exactly. I was conscious of the fact that this is a book about magic, and that the best magic in fiction is as whimsical as it is powerful. As for Sully’s sarcastic commentary, that is all her, don’t blame me.

 

 Something I love to ask writers, are you an avid reader yourself? If so, can you remember the first book that moved you to tears (if any have)?

G.D. Penman: You cannot be a good writer if you are not an avid reader. You just can’t. It would be like a chef with no sense of taste.

As for the first book that moved me to tears; I cry at the drop of a hat. I cried just thinking about Thorin and Bilbo in The Hobbit last month. Me crying at a book isn’t a testimonial to its emotional power, it is just a sign of my emotional instability. Literally any book I read as a child could have made me cry, so I can’t give you the first one, but the most recent one to reduce me to proper hour-long blubbering was Robin Hobb’s Fool’s Errand.

 

 

 And finally, having enjoyed this novel so much, I am bound to ask whether you have another book in the pipeline?! And if you’re prepared to divulge anything about it? Will there be any more Sully stories?

 

G.D. Penman: I have some romance books coming out in 2018, starting with Lovers and Liches in January, and Heart of Winter, the prequel to The Year of the Knife that focuses more on Sully’s relationship with Marie should be available shortly after thefirst book comes out. As for sequels… if one were hypothetically being written right now it would probably be coming out in 2019? As for the plot, it is difficult to talk about anything after The Year of the Knife without giving the ending away, so I am afraid you will just have to wait until then. In theory. If I was writing a sequel. Which I am neither confirming or denying.