Dishonoured - Jem Tugwell

 

Oh! The audacity of the man! How could he do this to me? There was I, an innocent reader, thinking I had yet another psychological thriller, thinking I would figure it out by the end of chapter one, chapter three tops as I cut my way through the swathes of red herrings in reader-quick time. For I’ve read hundreds in this genre. I’m experienced!! Then Jem Tugwell goes and does this. What does he do? Oh, no, I’m not telling. But he takes this storyline, runs with it and then when you are least expecting it he turns the whole damn thing on its head and you just sit there open mouthed in disbelief.

But, I hear you ask, are you referring to the Jem Tugwell of iMe fame? Proximity and No Signal? Yes, dear reader, I am. But he’s left the dystopian nightmares behind and returned to a contemporary setting of diverse worlds, socially speaking, and he has genre-switched with alacrity and let rip with a novel that you might not want to put down.

Now, I won’t lie, I felt a twinge of disappointment when I received this book and realised it wasn’t an iMe story because I love Clive and Zoe. But I kind of wonder if the author anticipated that because there’s a nice little touch in the book and I’m saying no more! But here’s the blurb.

‘WE'RE ALL ONE MISTAKE FROM RUIN... Dan has worked hard for the perfect life. He has a loving wife, beautiful kids, a fabulous home and is a successful businessman. But one afternoon he steps onto a train with a stranger. It was a simple mistake... Four stops later, Dan is a criminal who has lost everything. Someone hates him enough to destroy him. Through a web of lies and deceit Dan battles to win his life back. Dishonoured is a compelling psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages. It's a new take on the familiar psychological thriller with a male protagonist and a cast of characters that will keep the reader guessing right to the very end. Perfect for readers of Lisa Jewell, Teresa Driscoll and Erin Kelly.’

So you begin with an interesting juxtaposition, riches to rags, that allows for some interesting character exposition. There is a dual narrative with some first person dialogue from the protagonist and third person from other characters. It’s a device that works particularly well in this genre because you know that the flawed narrator is almost requisite in a psychological thriller. But can you spot any flaws? There’s some social comment about perceptions and how we treat people. Windows into two different worlds, rich and poor. But as the author says in the afterword it’s a book about how one event can destroy the dynamic of a life, irrevocably. Sliding door moments. It’s a well paced narrative that carries the reader along. The characters are developed but enigmatic enough to keep your curiosity piqued. A tight plot that will have you racing to read on to the end.  And you just won’t believe the twist!

It’s a perfect book to envelop you on a winter’s evening as you let yourself accompany Dan as he spirals downward from his affluent, ostensibly secure existence, into a world of suspicion and dead ends. My favourite character? Has to be Anomaly. Anyone with a name like that and skills like hers gets my vote! It got me wondering about her future? Who is she? What does she do? Oh no, you still won’t get me! Read the book! But I will say this, with computer skills like hers surely there’s a place in the iMe world! ;-)

I always think it’s a brave move when a writer switches genres. But I also like it. I like to see a writer show diversity. For me it cements their place as an author to be reckoned with. And if this book doesn’t garner Jem Tugwell a whole legion of new fans I’ll be very surprised.

My thanks to Raquel Elias of Serpentine Books for my gifted proof.

The Prophets - Robert Jones Jnr

 I’m a blogger because, first and foremost, I am a reader. So it’s a given that I read a lot of books. I read a lot of good books. Well written books. Books from an eclectic mix of genre. Books from gifted, talented authors. Though I confess that I’m often looking for “literature“. But what is literature? I tried to answer that question for myself in a blog post several months ago. If you’re interested I’ll pop the link here.  

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2019/04/what-is-literature.html

I don’t find literature very often. That sounds as if I’m being critical, it’s not at all. For a book to satisfy my criteria of literature it has to be pretty special. They only come along every once in a while.  I believe that Robert Jones Jr’s The Prophets is one of those books. A book that will in time prove to be vitally important on several levels.

The writing was exquisite. Lyrical prose.  When the blurb suggested it was reminiscent of Toni Morrison I laughed. Surely that wasn’t possible? But it is. A fusion of both the physical and emotional sweeping through your very soul with depth and intensity.  So what is it about The Prophets that renders it a book in a class of its own. I’m not sure I can adequately express it! It’s one of those books where you feel that whatever you write it won’t be enough.

Ostensibly it’s a story about two gay teenagers. Nothing new in that is there? But these are two black, gay teenagers. Two black, gay teenagers on a cotton plantation from a past century. So they are slaves. And that leaves you pondering whether the concept of slavery goes beyond a physical incarceration,  to people as slaves to themselves? You might think that loyalty and solidarity might go hand-in-hand amongst the “inmates“ on a southern plantation. But here Isaiah and Samuel are betrayed by one of their own. 

And so we have a book that is fiction, yes, but it’s also historic fiction. With chapter headings that invoke the Bible on many occasions religion is never far from the surface. Throughout history people have sought to find ways and means of understanding the situations they are in and those things that they witness without truly understanding. This book examines a time and a place where the love that dare not speak its name didn’t even dare to show its face. 

Jones’ historical research is impeccable. But there have been many historical novels. There have  been many historical novels about slavery. What Jones does is inject emotion into the history.  So full of soul.  Humble. Beautiful. Love weaves its threads around Samuel and Isaiah and lets those threads dangle carelessly for anyone to catch hold of and understand the depth of feeling within their hearts. For some it will inspire, for others it will conspire to force them onwards to that cataclysmic conclusion that will prompt the volcano in your reader heart to erupt. The broader aspects of the cruelty of slavery never fail to reach their mark. But they contrast with the dignified intimacy of our two protagonists who understand the unstated predicament they are in. 

As characters Isaiah and Samuel are wonderful creations, The paradox of the human condition. The yin and the yang. So full of dignity yet also full of human frailty. Struggling to understand themselves and each other. That struggle created from the situation they are in. 

Thematically it’s also a novel about survival. However you interpret survival to be. A physical survival. An emotional survival. A mental survival. A spiritual survival. Or some fusion between the all of them, which is surely what we all aspire to?

Is it one of those books where you’re better off spending your time reading the book itself rather than reading reviews about it! 

My thanks to Quercus Books for a gifted proof. A proof in the truest sense of the word. Proof that literature is alive and well.

Featherhood - Charlie Gilmour

 

When you’re bookish kind of person sometimes people hesitate to gift you books at birthdays and Christmas. There is this misconstrued belief that because you are inclined to reading that you’ve “read everything“. (I wish!) I have one friend who always asks me what book I would like. It’s brilliant. Yes, it takes the surprise out of the gift but I love knowing that I’m going to be able to choose a book. (She didn’t this Christmas though. She knitted me a scarf and sent me the box set of Schitt’s Creek!) but another friend was bold enough to take a gamble and buy me a book. And it was an absolute delight. To be presented with something that you were unaware of, you knew nothing about. ‘T’is a joyous thing.

 

Ostensibly a memoir about a man raising a magpie chick through to maturity, Green light for a sustained piece of nature writing, but it’s so much more than that. The raising of the bird becomes almost a metaphor for one man trying to find himself and exorcise the ghosts of his past. The obvious play on words from the title is inspired.

The author is the son of Heathcote Williams, poet, amongst other things, who absented himself from the young Charlie’s life. And so through the parallel telling of the development of a little magpie and his demanding lifestyle we learn of the author’s struggles. We are offered insights into the nature and nurture dilemma. And, by no means unique, we are once again treated to the therapeutic and healing powers that nature can offer us. And that uncanny sense that animals have of knowing when the time is right. 

It’s a remarkably frank and open book. The author is articulate at expressing his confusions and his hurt and his innermost feelings about some of the challenges that adulthood is throwing at him. With eloquent prose that meanders towards the poetic on than one occasion we learn of a life lived in a paradox of hurt from one direction and love from other directions. 

I found references to mental institutions, prisons, aviaries and nests as a metaphor for the prisons that we can find ourselves in, sometimes through no fault of our own. And I suppose the book is about how to deal with those and how to break out of them. It’s poignant and there is a sense of sadness running through it but a sadness that ultimately breaks through to a moving redemption.

Magpie sometimes get a bad rap. And I don’t wanna crow about it but after you read this book I don’t think you’ll ever pass a magpie again without rethinking your opinions of the species. 

Inherent - Lucia Orellana Damacela and Medusa Retold - Sarah Wallis

 Inherent by Lucia Orellana Damacela is an evocative collection of poems examining a life through childhood to motherhood where all stages seem cemented by poignant and significant memories beautifully and delicately expressed in some intense and touching poems. The italics in the title are no accident and the subtle play on words hints of the deeper intent.  It’s very much a suite of poems from the female perspective. 

The poet’s Ecuadorean roots are expressed and explored in vibrant verse that allows us to vicariously experience an environment hitherto unknown to most of us. With a word or two we are treated to a sensory experience - 

‘Melt a lime candy 

under the sun’s tongue

hyphenate kisses

interlock shadows.

Grab the sunset by it’s colours

— drips from an orgasmic orange 

wipe it from mouths

Preserve the thirst.’

Subliminally intertwined is the love and bond with the natural world and the natural landscape, especially the sea. The subjectivity of poetry rules sublime and some of these verses touched me more deeply than others. Those that explore the enduring paradox of life. In the Ink-Carved Rusty Path for example the poet observes 

‘with oxygen that gives life

and oxygen that corrodes 

in every stroke.’

Rain Noir is an exquisite homage to that substance that has been in much abundance lately! Housekeeping is another favourite where emotions and states are compared to every day tasks. Something Borrowed - a poet’s expression of genetics! 

‘ I don’t have my mothers eyebrows;

I’m just passing them along.‘

It’s a cohesive group of poems that describe life - the highs and the lows, beautifully observed, beautifully expressed.

Not uncommon to see comparisons of a work of fiction offered in reviews. Comparisons perhaps with other books in a similar genre or style, or other authors. Not so common in poetry I think. Because poets tend to have such a unique and stylised voice. But thematically one can look at collections of poems and see some comparisons that can both illuminate and enhance both pieces of work.

And so we come to another poet’s work - Medusa Retold by Sarah Wallis. On the surface it couldn’t be more different until you start to read and experience the parallels between these two books.

Medusa retold is the retelling of the Medusa legend from the perspective of a young girl called Nuala. It’s set in contemporary times yet the imagery of the original legend with Poseidon and the sea, Medusa’s hair punctuate the poem. Nuala is a feisty maverick who struggles to fit in and relate to people. In part she is defined by an incident that happened to her as a child and she is drawn to sea creatures and reptiles. When Nuala finally feels she’s met somebody she can relate to tragedy strikes. It sends Nuala on a downward spiral with devastating consequences. And Medusa like she is perceived as something of a wrong ‘un, misunderstood, with no one heeding her mute cries for help. 

The poetry is direct, strong and you have a sense of anger bubbling beneath the consonants. Sometimes Nuala’s voice -

‘But I see a warning face staring in the mirror

and have to cover up the truth, can’t stand her staring

back at me with her snake tattoo rippling into muscle’ 

sometimes not - 

‘....she becomes what she always had the potential to become

the Godhead, the steely-eyed Gorgon, the Medusa re-born’ 

 I felt the poem followed the tradition of true epic, narrative poetry. A story is told of identity and rage where the emotion dominates the narrative. Female identity and female rage.

But, I hear you ask, what does any of this have to do with an expat Ecuadorian?! Well, I felt both books ooze with the spirit of the female. The woman striving to find and understand herself and her place in this often hostile world. The natural world, particularly the sea is important in both sets of poems. For Nuala the creatures are her comfort at times, yet the sea she revered is instrumental in fuelling her rage. Inherent sees the harmony of nature offering a peace and a catalyst for memory. In Inherent the poet is finding herself through the various stages of life we go through, childhood, motherhood, bereavement and so on whilst in Medusa Retold Nuala is looking for herself. There is a restrained peace in Inherent which contrasts with the tension and despair of Medusa Retold with its undercurrent of fury. 

Two books  - both alike in dignity to quote the bard, compelling, thought provoking and providing some literary entertainment for poetry lovers.

My thanks to Kayla Jenkins for offering me the opportunity to read, review and compare these two gifted chapbooks. 

Hungry - Grace Dent

 Sometimes I get annoyed by memoirs and autobiographies. People who have been thrust into the spotlight, perhaps from reality TV, a successful music deal maybe, or an exceptional sporting triumph,  seem to feel that they should write a book about their lives. Even if they’re still quite young. And I find myself wondering why, and questioning their motivation.

Not so with this memoir of Grace Dent’s. For I think this is truly a memoir. In fact I also think it’s a kind of social history book! Such an amazing depiction of social life in the 80s and 90s. Resplendent with recognisable artefacts, anecdotes and customs from those years that so many of us can relate to. There was such a sense of “I remember that!”  That little piece of nostalgia that has the ability to both warm your heart and make you sad in one fell swoop. Brownies! Cadburys Fruit and Nut! Sara Lee! The picture portraits were so vivid from somebody who lived through a vibrant age but also was perceptive and observant enough to pick out the meaningful and salient points of those times. It was all from the authors perspective of course, but there was a broader consideration that you don’t always get from autobiographies and memoirs.

One of the most refreshing things about this book is not just about what it is but also what it isn’t. It isn’t a self absorbed, self aggrandising resume of somebody bigging themselves up about their life. No, this is a book about lives, yes, Grace Dent’s. But also the lives of others with some appealing accounts about members of her family and beyond. You ended up feeling you got to know, not just Grace, but the members of her family too. Such was the quality of the writing that you developed your own affection towards them all.

It comes across as an incredibly honest piece of work. And it will have you laughing and crying. I was very moved towards the end, I struggled to put it down. I just wanted to read on and on. That’s normally something you say of an edge of the seat thriller. It’s a balanced book which makes it a very satisfying read. There is humour, there is emotion, and there is impartial observations also. This book is full of grace (pun thoroughly intended) and dignity without being staid. It sparkles.

Grace Dent loves her family. That unconditional love with all its ups and downs. I think if I had to sum up what this book is about. I would say it’s about  - love.

Thanks to Readers First for my gifted copy.

Finding Freedom - Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand

 In many respects this is an unusual choice of book for me. Non-fiction generally takes a lower place in my pecking order than fiction. And the subject matter isn’t one I would generally go for. But I can never explain the way I’m drawn to some books.

I found this to be a very readable and entertaining account of the lives of two of our royals. It interested me on two levels. As something of a history buff the whole concept of ruling royalty and the monarchy fascinates me.  I look back to the almost obsessive desire of people to become king/queen and rule the country. People who killed, schemed and plotted and spent a whole lifetime in some cases preparing their offspring for the role is in stark contrast with how things are today. (I'm thinking here of Margaret Beaufort and Henry VII!)The other thing is I struggle with the concept of somebody being born into that situation and having no choice in the matter. Is the privileged background any compensation for not having a life of freedom? And I guess this is the thrust of the book to examine how Prince Harry and Megan Markle arrived at the situation they are now in. 

Without knowing very much about it and just casually gleaning headlines from news reports when their discontent first surfaced I immediately thought of Edward VIII and his abdication so that he could be with the woman that he loved. However on reading this book the situations don’t really have any parallel. This situation is more complex certainly in Prince Harry’s case. Losing his mother at such a relatively young age has clearly caused him much anguish to put it mildly. I found it completely understandable that he should want to live a life away from the spotlight given what happened to his late mother.

And then of course historically royal marriages have always been within the domain of political intrigue, arranged to further cooperation between countries and improve the political situation. Love never entered into it! And the protocols of prospective partners pasts often impacted upon the royal marriages. I’m not gonna mention The Crown because I don’t have Netflix and I’ve never seen it! But I do remember the furor about Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend. How dare you fall in love with somebody who isn’t suitable! Like you have a choice.

Prince Harry fell in love with Megan Markle. A woman of colour and a divorcee. Maybe he learned from lessons of the past but he remained true to his heart and married the woman he loved. And of course she was the target of much media manoeuverings. Of the tabloids and social media. Many accusations as to her intentions.

So this book is really to show Megan and Harry as real people rather than people caught up in the royal family shenanigans. And to try and set the record straight from some of the potential inaccuracies put out there from the media. I think it does that. I found it readable and interesting and I found it engaged my sympathies towards both Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Two people wanting to raise a family out of the spotlight. I don’t see anything wrong with that. But because of the circumstances of birthright to do so becomes an issue. 

It's a subject that remains contentious. This book will have its critics as well as its devotees. One has to hope that it's unbiased although I'm not entirely convinced. There are always two sides to every story.

My thanks to HQ stories for a copy of his book.

The Word Trove - Elias Vorpahl

 This is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read. It’s quite enchanting. And for somebody who sees themselves of something as a wordsmith and a word lover it’s perfect. There is a fusion of fairytale, with something of a debt to Lewis Carroll (and I don’t think the author would disagree with me!) and fantasy. But also something of the parable or allegory. There are some universal truths here nestling sweetly within the intelligent and clever wordplay.

The story is about a Word who has lost their meaning. And the story takes us and the Word on a journey to rediscover that meaning. The book is beautifully arranged and beautifully illustrated. The Word takes a journey through language, through life, encountering some diverse characters on the way. I guess the thrust of that journey is for Word to rediscover their meaning, to rediscover who they are and what their place is within the world. 

It’s a novella rather than a novel but it’s one of those books where quality has far more worth than the quantity. So much is contained within its pages. A little whimsy. Some piercingly intelligent truisms in an imaginative and creative story that could appeal across the generations.

I’ve already mentioned Lewis Carroll but it also created something of the atmosphere you find in, perhaps, a fairy story by Grimm, it’s not all sweetness and light. I also found the book very visual, not just because it had some exquisite illustrations, but I could picture it as some kind of animation. 

There is a balance of gentleness and excitement. It has all the elements of a perfectly crafted story in a traditional sense. What is interesting and quite breathtaking is that the original is written in German. And it’s been translated. Well it won’t be the first German story to have been translated that’s for sure. But it’s a story about language. It plays with words. And one of the big challenges for any translator is to capture the nuances of the original language so that none of the author’s intent is lost. For a book like this the challenge must have been enormous. So I think a big shout out for the work that the translator, Romy Fursland, has done because it really is quite a stunning achievement.

This has been a difficult book to review. To précis it would be a disservice. The essence of it is immense. There is a desire on my part to quote great chunks of it but really you need to read it for yourself. You need to allow yourself to become enveloped and enmeshed within words, within language and follow Word on their journey, meet Mad. Meet Rhyme and Reason. Fear the vocal cords. Visit Langwich. Participate in the Linguistic Games. Listen to Wherefore. Am I speaking in riddles? 😉 You see what I mean? I don’t think this book can be reviewed. I think it’s been reviewing me.