Thursday 29 May 2014

The Liar's Daughter by Laurie Graham

Laurie Graham’s latest book visits the decades following the Battle of Trafalgar, and the legacy of its famous hero, Admiral Nelson. Nelson and Emma Hamilton were the celebrities of their day, and while Nelson fathered no legitimate children, there was plenty of gossip about his adopted daughter. This provides some of the background for Graham’s novel about Nan Prunty McKeever, the liar’s daughter of the title.

Nan’s mother Ruby asserts that Nan is Nelson’s daughter, fathered while Ruby was mending sails on the Victory, Nelson’s famous ship. While Ruby drinks her way into destitution, Nan has her sights on a better way of life, working in a dispensary and marrying a doctor. But her mind never strays from the idea of being Nelson’s daughter.

Nan visits the Greenwich home for retired sailors where fond memories of Nelson are the order of the day, and eventually meets Mrs Horatia Ward, who possibly really is Nelson’s daughter, but would rather not admit it. Meanwhile another war is on the horizon, and Nan’s daughter Pru is determined to join a nursing contingent bound for Crimea, in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale.

While the story behind Nan’s parentage is a key part of the plot, the rich social and historical background Graham creates is enthralling, with its glimpse of women’s working opportunities and details of medical treatments of the time. As usual with Graham’s novels, there is plenty of humour throughout, and her lively narrative style makes the story very immediate. If you haven't discovered Laurie Graham yet, you have treats in store.

Posted by JAM

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

“I figure if Doc is right about the time I have left,I should wrap up my adolescence in the next few days, get into my early productive stages about the third week of school, go through my midlife crisis during Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, redouble my efforts at productivity and think about my legacy, say, Easter, and start cashing in my 401(k)s a couple weeks before Memorial Day. ”

What if you only had one year to live...and you knew it?

18 year old Ben Wolf knows he is going to die. After being told by his doctor he has an aggressive terminal disease he makes the seemingly crazy decision not to tell his family. The reasons behind this decision become clear as the reader discovers his home situation. With a terminally crazy mother and a father with too much to cope with, Ben craves for his last year to be as 'normal' as possible.

This book is a roller coaster of emotions as the reader is taken along on Ben's journey. Whether you agree with his decision or not I found him to be a character of strength to be admired. His humour mixed with the determination to make the best of the time he has left made this read one of the best I have picked up for some time.

Should come with tissues.

Posted by Cookie Fan

Catalogue Link - Deadline by Chris Crutcher




Sunday 25 May 2014

The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

It has to be said, and there’s no other way to describe it, this novel is charming and sweet - the book form of chocolate or running through a field of daisies in springtime. And, for book lovers, it’s a treat to savour for its unapologetic celebration of the joys of reading.

A.J. owns the only bookshop on Alice Island. He and his wife Nic had abandoned their graduate degrees in literature and decided to embrace the literary life in a more physical manner, returning to Nic's hometown and opening their own bookstore. A few years later, Nic had a Danielle Steel moment, carelessly driving off the road, resulting in her tragic death. A bitter A.J. is still struggling to adjust to her loss.

When publishing rep, Amelia, comes on her first twice yearly sales visit, she is 'greeted' by a taciturn A.J. who has no hesitation in expressing his dislike of great swathes of her winter list. A.J. has particular tastes, including a pet hate for mash-ups, "Literary should be literary, and genre should be genre, and crossbreeding rarely results in anything satisfying."

When two year old, Maya, is abandoned in the bookshop, the story takes a new direction.  Where did she come from and who left her there?  And, most importantly, what should be done?

While the storyline keeps you turning pages, the richness in this novel doesn't come from the bare bones of the plot, but what hangs off them.  I was a little sceptical that this was going to turn out overly sentimental and simplistic, but Zevin manages to pull off a pitch perfect example of a self-consciously literary inspired tragi-comic Young Adult novel for adults - which proved to be surprisingly satisfying.

Reviewed by Spot

Catalogue Link - The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry

Thursday 22 May 2014

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Having enjoyed The Burgess Boys enormously, I was keen to sample some more Elizabeth Strout and was drawn to Olive Kitteridge which had won the Pulitzer Prize.

This book reads like a series of connected short stories set in the small Maine town of Crosby, each touching on the life of a retired school teacher. Olive Kitteridge is a raw-boned, prickly and patently rude woman, with a good understanding of the human psyche. At times you wonder if it is this understanding that makes her so difficult - she simply can’t be bothered with conventions of polite society when she sees the lives of silent desperation around her.

And there’s plenty of suffering on offer as stories deal with suicide, depression, parents coping with offspring in prison, anorexia, loneliness and loss. In spite of this, there are also humorous moments, such as Olive’s revenge on her daughter-in-law, and even the odd happy ending.

And for all her peculiar behaviour, Olive is interesting and oddly likeable. And similarly, this is an oddly likeable book as well, for all the sadness lurking in its pages. As with The Burgess Boys, Strout’s characters are very real and the dialogue and interactions between them are very believable, while in the background Crosby is vividly created with its wild seashore and weather. This is an unusual book from a very gifted writer.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: Olive Kitteridge

Sunday 18 May 2014

The Spark by Kristine Barnett

This is the true account of Jake Barnett, a little boy with autism, who defied his prognosis and went on, at the tender age of nine, to attend university and begin working on an original theory in the field of relativity. In The Spark, his mother, Kristine, describes his journey from infancy and how she helped Jake engage with the world through nurturing his passions.

With an IQ greater than Einstein’s, Jake astounds everyone who witnesses his seemingly limitless ability to learn. But no one predicted success for him as a toddler. Despite developing normally in his first year, Jake’s mother started to notice changes in his behaviour when he was about 14 months. Slowly, he started to lose the language he had developed and he stopped engaging in hugs and playful games such as peek-a-boo or rough-and-tumble. Jake had started to withdraw into his own world; staring into space for hours, repeatedly lining up his Matchbox cars, or upending any cereal box he came across.

What no one knew at the time was that Jake had a mind so attuned to the laws of maths and science that he was working out for himself things like volume and the way light moves through space. Watching his boredom and frustration with countless hours of therapy and special education, which focused on what he couldn’t do, Kristine came to realise that giving Jake the chance to learn what he was passionate about increased his ability to do the ‘normal’ things. So, it was off to astronomy lectures, where his language miraculously started to return.

There is more in the book than Jake's story though; Kristine writes it from her perspective as a mother and early childhood provider.  It is very much intended to be a source of inspiration for other parents and educators, but really, it's Jake's story that is absolutely fascinating. His mother was advised he wouldn’t probably read or talk, and yet he now teaches advanced maths and physics to others, whilst studying, and being paid to do research. His mind is so extraordinary it’s hard to believe that a human brain, not physically that much different from mine and yours, can be capable of so much.

Reviewed by Spot


Catalogue Link: The Spark


Wednesday 7 May 2014

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel by Anthony Marra

This harrowing tale will have you in its grip to the end. It is December 2004 and Chechnya has been a war zone for many gruelling years. People go missing regularly and informants are everywhere.

Akhmed wakes one morning to find his neighbour’s house ablaze. He discovers 8 year old Havaa hiding in the snow, watching her house burn. The Russian forces have abducted her father and she is alone and friendless. To hide her, Akhmed takes her to an abandoned hospital in the nearby town, where the sole remaining doctor, Sonja, tries her best to treat the wounded.

Sonja is not keen to help, for reasons of her own and Akhmed, a failed doctor, eventually manages to convince her to let Havaa stay on trial. There is danger all around, and an intricate pattern of connections weaves the pasts and futures of all three together.

I was unsure whether to recommend this one, as it’s quite hard-going. The background details are based on fact and life was very harsh for the Chechen people during this time. But in the end, with its final twist, this wonderfully written book was so good that I have decided to buy my own copy.

Reviewed at Young @ Heart Book Group

Catalogue Link: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Thursday 1 May 2014

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Among the throng of new novels set during World War One and its aftermath, Elizabeth Speller is making a name for herself as an author to watch. The Return of Captain John Emmett introduces us to Laurence Bartram who, while writing a book about church architecture, has enough time on his hands for a bit of sleuthing.

In this story, he is approached by Mary Emmett, the sister of an old school friend who is disturbed by the apparent suicide of her brother – once a fit and confident young man but who had been traumatised by his experiences at the front. A sequence of clues leads Bartram to unravel a story concerning the execution of a British officer; and as if this isn't bad enough, the members of the firing squad aren't faring too well, with several unexplained deaths.

There are odd bouts of danger, too. Thank goodness Bartram’s other school chum, Charles, is at hand with his trusty service revolver. Charles has had a better war than many and relishes the opportunity for a bit of action.

While there is all the drama of a good mystery novel here, Speller doesn't shy away from adding the details that make for a satisfying read with well-rounded and appealing characters. Bartram has his own personal tragedy and is made all the more interesting for it. In the background is added insight about shell-shock and battlefield justice to add a bit of depth. I shall certainly be keen to read more of Mr Bartram’s investigations and hope the author has plenty more in mind for him.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: The Return of Captain John Emmett