nb89 Summer 2016 by AMS Digital Publishing

SUMMER READING

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46 TRY NOT TO BREATHE Not as easy as you think! says Holly Seddon.

CONTENTS

ISSUE 89 SUMMER 2016

WHAT WE’RE READING

We are endeavouring to put more – and longer versions – of what we’re reading onto nudge-book.com Just click on the magnifying glass, top right and search with WHAT WE ARE READING and ONE TO WATCH OUT FOR.

humour as she attempts to remain elusive. This American wasn’t, however, the type to blend in anywhere, let alone the genteel English countryside of the 1960s. As Highsmith hides, writes and tends to her snails she becomes increasingly highly-strung as she pursues married lover Sam while being pursued herself by attractive young journalist, Ginny. It falls to local and fellow writer Ronnie to calm her down and tame her excesses - but in his absence her grip on reality falters, to fatal effect. Funny, horrific and moving in turn this is a riveting read and an intriguing glimpse into the

DANIELLE BOWERS Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler Vintage

I had never read an Anne Tyler novel before so when I read our interview with Anne I knew I had to rectify this. I started with Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, [conveniently one] of our recommended reads. Pearl Tull is dying and while she is lying in bed she tries to tell her son that he should have got another mother. We then learn the story of the Tull family and

What we are reading MELANIE MITCHELL

murky depths of an extraordinary writer. Jill Dawson captures Highsmith’s The Crime eccentricities brilliantly, while Writer somehow also managing to by Jill Dawson convey her humanity. By Sceptre seamlessly blending fact and Jill Dawson’s The Crime Writer fiction alongside the tender as well as grotesque sides of her is a fictionalised account of a short period of time in Patricia personality Dawson has coaxed the eternally reluctant Highsmith’s life that she spent in Suffolk. She was already well- Highsmith out of the shadows and made her relatable – a skill known at this point and was that Highsmith herself excelled often fearful of being found by at in her own fiction. fans and journalists. Her increasing paranoia amply accommodates the crime caper that follows and there are many moments of near-farcical 6

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all their secrets. Pearl was left by her husband and brings up her 3 children on her own - things were tough and she was not always very nice to her children. In many ways this book is amazing - I don't think I have ever read a story where I have felt I have known the characters so well, it is like you become a member of the Tull family. Family life, arguments, rivalry the norms of daily life, you feel like you are sitting in the kitchen eating dinner with them. I did not like Pearl or the oldest son Cody very much but after I finished reading the story I found myself wondering what

WHAT WE’RE READING

might have happened to Pearl's youngest son, Ezra. For me, the strange thing about this book is nothing really happens, you could even say there is no real storyline as such, but somehow it is captivating, funny and moving. It felt like this book was trying to teach me about people and their lives and I really felt like it did. This novel is not gripping or a pageturner or like anything else I have ever read but it is magnificent and moving.

GUY PRINGLE Lingua Franca by William Thacker Legend Press

For Miles Platting*, it is the public’s gullibility (nay, shallowness) that has provided him with a living in Lingua Franca by William Thacker, namely, solving a town or city’s problems by selling the naming rights to a multinational corporation for mega bucks. Well, it works for football stadia so why shouldn’t it work for, say, Doncaster, which was rebranded as Waterstones (surely an author’s in joke, complete with missing apostrophe?). I smirked at the subtle hierarchy of towns which would employ Platting’s company, Lingua Franca’s services. Obviously not Oxford, Cambridge or Bath who won’t even take their calls; yellow level are the minor posh towns – Cheltenham and

Winchester (!); beige includes Reading, Colchester, Maidstone; and bottom of the pile – Cumbernauld, Canvey Island and Barrow-in-Furness. The latter becomes our focus as the Lingua Franca team move in to replace signage and local thinking in the newly designated Birdseye-in-Furness. Co-conspirator Nigel directs operations like a virtual traffic cop in this very 21st century, cutting edge world – until things go awry. There’s a parallel strand with Miles’s wife, Kendal, (an unusual name for a woman and another place name?) that dips in and out, not always convincingly. I did enjoy this book but felt there was a certain ‘knowingness’ that I didn’t always catch – but that’s my fault not the author’s. You’ll probably curl your lip when I admit that I turn down the corners of pages that I’d like to find again – and there were far more turned down pages in my proof copy than for a long, long time so that suggests I was fully engaged. Truth is, I’d love to be part of a reading group discussion of this book as I’m sure it would be one where the scales drop from the eyes as other members share their impressions. *Miles Platting, by the way, is apparently an area of Manchester that is in the running as one of the worst places to live in Britain – surely another level of deviousness from Mr Thacker?

BERT WRIGHT Little Bones by Sam Blake, Twenty7

These days Ireland seems to be turning out crime writers the way the Romanians used to turn out Olympic gymnasts. It’s becoming difficult to keep up but Little Bones by Sam Blake caught my attention because it’s mainly set in the area of County Dublin in which I live. If, like me, you’re allergic to the red herring school of crime writing, you’ll like the way Sam Blake artfully weaves a manageable series of sub-plots into a coherent whole. The concept is genius – a baby’s bones discovered in the hem of a wedding dress found at a crime scene – but what separates this thriller from the pack is the special appeal of young female copper, Detective Cat Connolly. Feisty doesn’t do her justice; she’s a kick-boxing champion for starters. But unlike the gnarly old Rebus figures, she’s instantly likeable and yet vulnerable too. For Cat Connolly and author Sam Blake, Little Bones marks an auspicious debut.

You will find full reviews of these titles and more that the team have read on nudge under WHAT WE ARE READING.

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Books for your suitcase Sadly, we can’t fit everything into these packed pages, so here’s just some of the titles coming out this summer that we don’t want you to miss.

irst up are a couple of perfect beach reads for the BookDivas among you – Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty (a favourite of mine) and I Found You by Lisa

Jewell (a favourite of everyones?). I bet you’ll race through both so you’d better pick up a copy of I See You by Clare Mackintosh as well – could it possibly match the runaway success of I Let You Go? Sheila is keen to find out so look out for a review from her on nudge. If the sun isn’t shining where you are then maybe you’d better further embrace the chill by indulging in a BookNoir pick – I like the sound of historical crime title Mister 8

Memory by Marcus Sedgwick described as ‘a captivating literary mystery’ and Blood Wedding by CWA International Dagger winner Pierre Lemaitre (which our Real Readers will be getting their teeth into as you read this). Or perhaps Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent for a more domestic, but no less thrilling, take on the genre. Personally I’m looking forward to Smoke by Dan Vyleta, an other-worldly variant where sin can be seen... If it’s time you have to kill I suggest you linger over Tommy Wieringa’s meditation on marriage in A Beautiful Young Wife or The Mare by Mary Gaitskill about a couple whose lives are changed when they take in a young Dominican girl for the summer. Hide by Matthew Griffin, about a gay male couple battling to hold on to their relationship sounds moving and thought-provoking – one to consider for your book group, maybe? For something a little lighter Louis de Bernières is

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bringing out Blue Dog, a prequel to the much-loved Red Dog, inspired by the upcoming film adaptation of the original novel about his canine hero. If you have a luggage allowance to think about, Beside Myself by Ann Morgan, Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela and Coffin Road by Peter May will all be coming out in paperback. Just be sure to save yourself for September when the heavy hitters will be out in force – get excited for All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan, The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride, Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah, The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, Nutshell by Ian McEwan and The Trespasser by Tana French. Perhaps we need to extend the holidays? Mel Mitchell

O C O TI TI PE E M TIM N

There’s

for us all . . .

isappointment, Maddy Broome loneliness, unrealised pronounces Hope Farm dreams - not necessarily by Peggy Frew the ideal the ingredients for an reading group read – absorbing novel, but in Hope Farm, Peggy Frew AND we have a reading has managed it. group set to be won! The story is mainly told from the point of view of thirteen year old Silver, who has moved to the commune at Hope Farm with her mother, Ishtar. There are also excerpts from Ishtar's 'journal' to give a different view of the events. Ishtar is the name she adopts when she leaves the mother and baby home with the baby she has insisted on keeping and moves into an ashram. From here on, her life is a series of failed relationships in communes and ashrams across Australia. By the time they arrive at Hope Farm, her daughter Silver has begun to realise the hopelessness of it all. Because of their nomadic life style, Silver has never been able to make friends and is lonely and unhappy. This changes while she is at Hope Farm when she meets another lonely misfit, Ian, and they make a strong but secret friendship. There is also Dan, in love with her mother, but able to give Silver some of the care and affection she desperately craves. However, there is also Miller, the man her mother is living with and with whom all the problems seem to lie. Peggy Frew has given an authentic voice to Silver, still in many ways a needy child but on the cusp of understanding the adult world and its problems. Like many teenagers, she is resentful of not being consulted about decisions affecting her life, but with her background and her mother, it is perhaps more understandable. The author also gives us a seemingly authentic view of the hippy/commune scene in Australia in the 1980s - unrealistic dreams and hopes; failed attempts at communal living; lack of commitment in friendships and relationships and the effect all of this has on the children. I felt really worried about 5 year old Jindi, one of the other Hope Farm children. This novel was shortlisted for the 2016 Stella Prize, a major Australian literary award that celebrates women's writing. It has also been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, Australia's most prestigious literature prize. It is thoroughly deserving of this recognition and would make an excellent choice for a reading group.” Maddy Broome Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew is published by Scribe (£12.99 Paperback Original) and is now available. Win a reading group set of 8 copies! Go to nudge-book.com and search with Hope Farm. Competition closes 12th August.

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BLOG SPOT

Random Things Through My Letterbox In a world of weird names for blogs, Anne Cater’s must be one of the quirkiest. Where did it come from?

“

When I was a small child at primary school I ordered a book called 'Free Stuff for Kids', and that's when my obsession with receiving things through the post began. Now in my 40s, I still receive random items on a weekly basis. Books, hair dye, loaves of bread, stop-snoring devices are just a few of the delights I've opened recently. So, I thought I'd share my delights with everyone else. I'm not talking about bills and takeaway menus - everyone receives those. I'll review the books, test out the products - or get someone to test them for me. If you'd like to send something to arrive through my letterbox, please do and I'll let you know what I think of it.” And that's what Anne does as well as working in the voluntary sector and living in Lincolnshire with husband Martin and two rascal cats, Costa and Nero. And her policy? “I'm really happy to review books (or anything else for that matter ...... 10

designer bags, make up, Jimmy Choos!! .... a girl can try!). I don't read e-books and I don't listen to audio books, so good old- fashioned books, made from paper only please. I make a point of prioritising books for review, especially if there is a deadline. I receive no payment for reviews, and I'm honest. Just because I may not like something doesn't mean that other people will dislike it too, and vice versa.” Anne is a Top 100 reviewer on Amazon and also reviews pre-publication books through their Vine programme. “My reviews are always posted on Goodreads, and I'm also a Top Ten reviewer on the Waterstones site. I do read nonfiction, and especially enjoy travel and food books.”

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What else will you find on Random Things? • My Life in Books - an occasional feature where authors share a list of books that are special to them and have made a lasting impression on their life. Most recently it was Jenny Blackhurst. • Blog Tours: Again, most recently it was Emma Kavanagh for The Missing Hours • And of course book reviews – an impressive 24+ in April, 31 in March and a running total for 2016 of 91 books before May, including: The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish Not Working by Lisa Owens Roxy by Esther Gerritsen The Last Of Us by Rob Ewing This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell Only In Naples by Katherine Wilson So, no Jimmy Choos but plenty well worth checking out. www.randomthingsthroughmy letterbox.blogspot.com

’m a writer who loves TV drama. Shocking I know. The fashionable thing is to say ‘it’s not as good as the book’ but some lucky evening slots, I realise that what I’m watching is better than the book. Yes, you read that right. Better. The idea that novels are more culturally valuable than television is an interesting one. Please don’t get me wrong. Novels are immensely valuable – they are the basis of all story in our culture and alongside poetry, one of two forms of

which television adaptations were our favourites. The relief around the table was palpable and we talked for ages about why Poirot held Sunday night viewers in its grip for over a decade in the mid-80s and how serious subjects could be dealt with, with a light touch. As well as being the sole creator of the Mirabelle Bevan books I now feel part of the team that is helping to develop my stories into a new media. This is an exciting challenge. Readers often say that I write visually, but that is different

who will take my story off the page and onto the screen. Fingers crossed I am sitting on my sofa the night the first

EDINBURGH BELLE Sara Sheridan on why she loves TV drama

written art that is the sole vision of the writer. Every other kind of story relies on teamwork. In this sense, the making of a great TV drama, is actually a bigger feat to bring off. A huge team of people have to do their job well, to make that slot work. I recently had my 1950s Mirabelle Bevan Mystery series optioned by STV Productions. When I nipped down to London to meet the producers I could see they were wary of ‘writers’ and their expectations, but within five minutes of the tea being brewed we were heavily into a conversation about

from writing for a visual medium or understanding the differences in how a story works when told over an hour or two as opposed to being told over 350 pages of text. I’m lucky that the producers love my characters and the period as much as I do. A couple of weeks ago I was down in London again and this time we met up to discuss screenwriters. I’ve written a couple of short films (one was even nominated for a Sky Movies Max award) but I’d never dare make such a big leap myself. And besides, I have the books to write. So I’m dying to meet the wordsmith (and in this case picturesmith)

episode airs and I think ‘why didn’t I do it this way?’ Then I’ll know, we got it right.

Operation Goodwood by Sara Sheridan is published by Constable as a £19.99 hbk, available now.

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Whichbook of the Week Fiona Edwards walks us through a website worth checking out. and spread the word about their favourite reads. Daily sessions on Whichbook average about 1000 a day with an amazing spike of 90,000 on a day in May 2015. The desire to shine a spotlight on books without big marketing budgets or books published by independent presses and the occasional self-published gem continues and is perhaps most visible in the Whichbook of the Week feature. This taps directly into the universally acknowledged power of reader-to-reader recommendation. Shouting out from twitter, It’s hard to believe that the have continued after retirement, it operates as a regular personal Whichbook.net is over 15 years keen to maintain a contact with introduction from a Whichold. There are now lots of sucreaders. What unites them all is book reader to an individual (and often undiscovered) title. cessful book recommendation a passion for reading and an sites but Whichbook was one of even greater passion for sharing. A well-stocked backlist is available via the first. And it continues to The Whichbook model has http://www.openingthebook. offer readers a unique way of also travelled across Europe. com/resources/whichbook so if choosing what to read next. The Originator, Opening the Book combination of real readers and trained 60 Norwegian librarians you miss a week, you don’t miss the boat. And you can go back technology enables Whichbook for its sister site Onskebok for more. to do things no other recom(which ran for five years) and mendation site can – even two sets of readers from the Amazon! And, it has the added Netherlands for the Dutch ver- We are always keen to hear new and unusual book suggestions for bonus of linking to UK library sion, WelkBoek , which went Whichbook, so please do get in catalogues so that readers can live in 2013. Blog entries protouch either via Whichbook.net or see where to borrow as well as vide evidence of a growing by emailing buy. interest in the United States too Fiona@openingthebook.com. Fiona Edwards Whichbook was created in and much of the email traffic Online editor – Whichbook.net partnership with libraries and from the site comes from readWhichbook.net website was the readers are all connected to ers and writers in North created and is managed by libraries, including some who America, keen to make contact Opening the Book 12

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reviews The Wainwright Prize seeks to reward the best writing on the outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing and is sponsored by Wainwright Golden Beer. The prize will be awarded to the work which best reflects Wainwright’s core values of Great British writing & culture and a celebration of the Outdoors. And this year our own Mr BookLife, Paul Cheney has read all 6 shortlist titles. The winner will be announced on 5th August.

COMMON GROUND Rob Cowen Windmill Books, pbk Mar 2016 009195455X

Life has a habit of throwing curve balls at you. Cowen has relocated to Yorkshire, has just been made redundant and is confined by the weather to home. Longing for fresh air, sky and space, but not sure of the lie of the land, he ventures out to find somewhere. And on the fringe of a housing estate, he finds it. It is a forgotten area, frequented only by dog walkers and people who hurry through; a piece of land that isn’t wilderness, but feels wild and untamed, unloved and uncared for. Pylons pierce the sky, surrounding this edgeland, reminding you that precious little of the land in the UK is untouched by human hands. And it is in this place that he begins to feel free and to breathe again. Visiting frequently, almost obsessively, he begins to peel back the layers that form this place. With an almost forensic level of detail he observes: from tracking a fox, the brevity of the mayfly

life, the hunt from the perspective of the quarry and the silent, lethal owl. Intertwined through the book, too, is an honest account of his anxieties and thoughts on the modern world. He learns as well that he is to become a father, and the process of creating a new life is deftly woven into the narrative as his partner grows with his child. ‘I am dreaming of the edgeland again’ This is nature writing of the highest quality, on a par with some of the finest out there. It is imaginative, immersive, detailed and at certain points haunting. Cowen’s attention to detail is astonishing too, not just seeing, but making deep observations of all he sees captivating to read. The inclusion of his personal life, gives further depth to the book, but the more novel creations, portraying a hare as someone in a coffee shop for example, really didn’t do anything for me, and jarred with the rest. But other than that, this was excellent. Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE OUTRUN Amy Liptrot Canongate, hbk Jan 2016 9781782115472

The day Amy was born on the island of Orkney her father was sectioned and taken to an institute in Aberdeen. Not the most illustrious of starts. Apart from her father’s mental heath she had an idyllic childhood, she spent hours on the Outrun, a huge field that went right to the edge of the cliffs. Her mother and father were incomers to the island, and this field was part of the farm that they owned. There is precious little for teenagers to do on these remote Scottish islands and when they got together for parties, she started drinking, just wine and beer at first, but what she most wanted was to go to the big cities; London was calling. London was exciting, full of life and new friends, but whilst there her alcohol problem spiralled out of control. Her daily pursuit of drinking herself into stupor lost her friends, jobs and partners, gained her a driving conviction until it reached the point where she could carry on no more.

Admitted to Alcoholics Anonymous she stops drinking on one of the equinoxes, those pivot points of the seasons. Initial results are a success, so after three months she starts to apply for jobs again, but nothing seems to turn up. So reluctantly she makes the decision to return to Orkney. A decade has passed since she lived there, and now she is back at the age of 30. She now has to unpick and untangle the mess that she made of her life, provided she can stay sober. As she settles back in to island life, she has bleak and tough days, but there are times when the sun shines and the wind blows and she gains a little more clarity every time. She applies for jobs in London again, but when a job comes up on Orkney working for the RSPCA counting corncrakes, she gets it. Liptrot ends up tracking puffins and arctic terns amongst other creatures, and this exposure to nature opens wide her eyes for the possibilities that nature offers for her healing. An early interest in astronomy is rekindled too; this is one of the best places to see the stars with almost zero light pollution and there are the occasional glimpses of the Northern Lights. She joins a club that swims whenever possible in the breathtakingly cold sea, a much healthier way of getting the adrenaline rush she used to

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reviews get from the bottle. It is a heart-rending book in lots of ways. She has similar traits to her father who has suffered from mental health issues all through his life, her parents had split, too, further adding to the stresses and strains of her life, and then she reaches rock bottom. Her return to Orkney and the time spent on the tiny island of Papay gives her an opportunity to find an alternative direction. The landscape, the harsh weather and the wildlife bringing a new purpose to her life. It is not always the easiest book to read, but Liptrot’s writing is beautiful and lyrical, she conveys just what she observes without it feeling overbearing or too wordy. She is a talent to watch out for in the future. Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

LANDMARKS Robert Macfarlane Penguin, pbk May 2016 9780241967874

This is a difficult book to clearly categorise. It is a book about the natural world, about language to describe that natural world, but is also about the writers and in some cases friends, that he has learnt so much from in his journeys around the UK, up mountains and on long walks.

The Wainwright As he writes about those authors, Nan Shepherd, Roger Deakin, Richard Mabey and Richard Skelton, seminal writers that have provided so much influence, through their work and books, it comes across that this is as much about his formative years and the sense of wonder that nature has given him. Woven into their eulogies, are accounts of journeys taken to favourite places, icy cold lochs swum in, and natal and literary discoveries. But it is also a call to arms. Part of this was prompted by the Oxford Junior Dictionary dropping certain words like acorn, mistletoe and kingfisher. These were removed as children no longer hear or feel or see these things. The replacements? MP3, Blackberry and tablet – objects that are used inside and alone. MacFarlane wants them to bring these words back in to normal use, by getting children to discover them for themselves, and use them in their own ways as they explore the landscape and their imaginations equally. But more importantly, this is a reference, not complete, of local words to describe what people have been seeing around themselves for hundreds of years. There are words for places, water, weather, woods, rocks and animals. Drawn from all parts of the UK, Ireland and Jersey, some of these are familiar and others are brand new to me. They range from the brutally blunt, like ‘turdstall’ which means a substantial cowpat to ‘huffling’ which means sudden gust of wind. These lists punctuate the book,

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giving breathing spaces between the chapters, so you are not faced with the enormity of a huge list. MacFarlane is one of my favourite writers, his poetic prose and keen observation skills mean that the mundane can become the interesting, and the beautiful the breathtaking. It is different to his other books, but it is equally significant. If you have a moment, take some time to read this and immerse yourself in the evocative language he has sown you on the other side of the hedge.

THE MOTH SNOWSTORM: NATURE AND JOY Michael McCarthy John Murray, pbk Apr 2016 1444792776

Being out and about in the countryside has lots of positives; the views, the fresh air, the sound of bird song and restores our deep connections with the natural world. In The Moth Snowstorm McCarthy argues that we cannot be fully human if we lose those connections; for him the greatest gift that nature gives him is joy. The connections that link us to the outdoors run far back in our DNA; surveys have demonstrated that people subconsciously prefer the open savannah

landscapes above all others and that patients in hospital heal faster when they have a view of the natural world through a window. Using various examples, he provides evidence of the damage that we are causing to the animals and landscapes of this world in the pursuit of profit and control. He describes pointless civil engineering projects in the South China Sea, blocking mud flats from the sea and stopping millions of birds having a place to feed on their long migratory routes. McCarthy takes time to describe those pivotal points that changed his life. These moments of joy are deftly woven with the pain that the family suffered when he was young when his mother was admitted to an asylum and as his father was away at sea a lot; they were moved to his uncle and aunt’s house. While his brother was traumatised by this Michael sought solace in bird watching to avoid thinking of the pain and the loss. The family were reunited, though the relationships were fragile and strained. It took years for him to understand his exact feelings properly. It is a beautifully written book by an accomplished author. You are not left in any doubt by his fury at the destruction of habitats and places that creatures are totally dependent on for survival. Whilst we still have some fantastic things left to see, he reminds us of what we have lost. The title of the book is a recollection of the masses of moths that people remember driving through a few decades ago that were attracted to the headlights.

Prize 2016 The decline of some species has reached 90% and they are the lucky ones; others are no longer with us. He is critical of some of the attempts to reverse the trends, explaining why he thinks that they don’t go far enough. Frankly it is a worrying book; if we mess this up we don’t have another planet. Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE FISH LADDER: A JOURNEY UPSTREAM Katharine Norbury Bloomsbury, pbk Mar 2016 162040995X

Norbury has always been missing something from her past. She had been abandoned as a baby in a convent just outside Liverpool and adopted into a loving family. However, she had never been able to settle completely, wandering and moving around the globe. Whilst living in Spain she miscarried, losing a long hoped for sibling for her eldest daughter, Evie. Grief for the loss of the child and of what might have been, turned into an introspective look at herself, and the germination of an idea to follow a river from mouth to source. Moving back to the UK meant that she was closer to family and could start to develop this idea

fully. Hoping that the walk will distract her from the grief, a life changing event means that she has to try to find her birth mother who she hopes will have some of the answers to her questions. Norbury has drawn inspiration from several genres to write this book. Weaving travel, natural history, poetry and mythology it is also a very personal memoir. It is quite an emotive read too, with the highs and lows of family and life laid bare. The writing is poetic, lyrical and at times dreamlike and ethereal, almost with an imagined quality. Her writing when she is describing the natural world and landscape is very evocative too; you could be standing alongside her. Painful to read at times, you live with her trials and tribulations, but she is tenacious in the face of everything. Enjoyable generally, but occasionally felt a touch fictional. Would definitely read more by her though. Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

reviews

THE SHEPHERD'S LIFE: A TALE OF THE LAKE DISTRICT James Rebanks Penguin, pbk Mar 2016 1846148545

When people think of the Lake District the first thing that comes to mind is the landscape; the majestic fells, the lakes and tarns nestled among the peaks and valleys and the harsh beauty of our National Park. It is a place that has inspired writers and artists for hundreds of years, and has 16 million visitors every year. However, for a number of people they are completely dependent on this landscape to make their living. James Rebanks is one of those people. The Rebanks family have lived and worked as shepherds in the Lake District for generations. His father was a shepherd before him, and his grandfather taught both of them all he knew. The inexorable grind of the seasons defines what they do and when. The Herdwick flock is moved up onto the high fell during the summer, and all the farmers gather to bring it down at the end of the season. The shows and sales are in the autumn when they sell the spare lambs and look for the new male tups to add to their bloodlines and quality of stock. Winter is the hardest time; the incessant rain, heavy snows and storms make keeping the sheep alive

a daily battle, even for the tough Herdwicks. Spring brings new challenges as it is lambing time. Most of his flock can manage perfectly well, but there are always those that can’t and need that extra assistance. As another year passes the sheep are moved back up onto the fells once again. ‘This is my life. I want no other.’ Rebanks is not afraid of hard work. Following his father and grandfather into this way of life, he has chosen a tough and demanding career, but he loves it. He paid little attention at school, wanting to be out in the fields and up on the fells, continuing a way of life that people from the Viking age would still recognise. In his early twenties he started education again, this time with the single mindedness and determination to succeed. It gave him a separate career that supports the work on the farm. Like his father, he is strong minded and opinionated; great qualities for battling through all that the elements and bureaucracy have to throw at him, but not necessarily for making relationships straightforward. He is not the most eloquent or lyrical of writers, he tells it as it is, but the enthusiasm for his way of life comes across as deep hearted and honest and this is what makes this book such a pleasure to read. Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

www.wainwrightprize.com

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“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. .” Hopefully your summer is going to be full of jumpin' fish, high cotton AND lots and lots of good reading. So dive right into our Summer Reading supplement.

We ponder Jojo’s success, Adèle’s quirkiness, and Jessie's inspiration.

Travelling? So are we, with Dublin Literary Award’s truly international shortlist of recommendations.

And there's 5 Faves, a summer recipe, 3 perfect summer debuts and a quiz.

So that's the next 20 pages - all you need now is a quiet hammock with a glass of something cold to hand - iced tea or Pimms?

Why I Like... Karen Weatherly kicks off a new strand for nb, trying to put her finger on just why she liked Me Before You quite so much.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Michael Joseph £7.99 pbk) available now.

t’s been some time since I was haunted by a character in a book long aer I had read it but from the minute I turned the last page I couldn’t stop thinking about Lou in Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I would think about her when I was shopping, driving whatever I was doing I just couldn’t get her out of my mind and, for the life of me, I didn’t know why she had got to me in this way. I had read the book as a

reading group read and didn’t know anything about it beforehand but soon I was turning the pages and not wanting to put it down. I had of course heard of Jojo Moyes and in fact had actually met her some years ago at a Readers’ Day where she had been a delight. Published in 2012, Me Before You has already sold over 5 million copies worldwide. I expect by now everyone knows the story and if not then I don’t want to spoil it for you but brieﬂy a young girl, Lou Clark, becomes a carer for a young man, Will Traynor, who had everything to live for before becoming paralysed in an accident and who now wants to end it all. When Lou comes on the scene things change for them both as she tries to convince him that life is worth living. Why does she have such an eﬀect, I wonder? Well, she has a warmth about her that is easy to relate to; she is strong in her convictions and believes utterly and perhaps a little naively in what she is doing – Lou’s character is beautifully written

and yes there is some romance oh, and have the tissues to hand. I gather I wasn’t the only one who was haunted by Lou - Jojo was apparently flooded with emails and tweets asking, “What happened to Lou?” and so she finally wrote a sequel, Aer You (published last September) and there’s even a film out now in cinemas and starring Emilia Clarke (Game of rones) as Lou and Sam Claflin (e Hunger Games) as Will. I can’t decide whether to go and see the film – what will Hollywood have done to the storyline and will it be ‘my’ Lou? I couldn’t bear to be disappointed.

And the follow on... After You by Jojo Moyes (Film tie-in Penguin £7.99 pbk) available 30th June.

If there’s a book or author who has you spellbound then we’d love to hear – info@newbooksmag.com

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Quirky Q+A Adèle Geras, longstanding friend of nb and a subscriber has an interesting take on life’s challenges.

CATS OR DOGS? Cats, every time. I love them for many reasons, not least because they are always beautiful and because they do precisely what they want to do at all times, in the most elegant possible way and without offending anyone. I am also fascinated by their place in history and myth and there’s a cat in many of my novels. Now, though, I have a grand-dog, called Brewster, and he’s made me more pro-dog than I used to be. He’s a Welsh terrier with a bit of an eccentric streak, but he’s very endearing too.

TEA OR COFFEE? Coffee is what I say instinctively but I would be very sad not to be able to have some Lapsang Souchong or Earl Grey whenever I wanted to. I used to feel a bit bad about owning only mugs and not proper teacups with saucers, but I recently acquired two beautiful cups at a car boot sale.

CINEMA OR THEATRE? A friend who was with me when I first read these questions expressed surprise when I said CINEMA in a way that brooked no contradiction. “But you love the theatre,” she said. And that’s true, I do, but I’d almost always much rather go to the movies than the theatre. Even if the film isn’t that good, a visit to the cinema is pure pleasure. It’s been a magical part of my life since I saw The Red Shoes when I was five years old. If you’d asked me which I’d rather BE in, then I’d have said

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‘theatre.’ Nothing beats being on a stage, under those lights. And, like everyone else in the world, I love applause. BRIDGES OR TUNNELS? Bridges, which are beautiful. Tunnels are the setting for murder mysteries and you are going down into the dark, there’s no question about it. Still, I’m very fond of the Eurotunnel (see the Planes and Boats question.) And the light at the end of every single one… PAPER CLIPS OR STAPLES This was not hard. I am a stationery addict and keep on buying more pens even though I always write straight on to a laptop. I’m fond of paperclips and like new designs and fancy colours. Staples, on the other hand are the Devil’s work. You ruin your nails trying to get them out of bits of paper, then they fall on the floor and irritate your vacuum cleaner. I rest my case. CITY FLAT OR RURAL HIDEAWAY A rural hideaway would be a

kind of prison for me. I don’t drive and would be incarcerated wherever I was. I’d get very nervous without neighbours and I like being within minutes of shops, libraries, movies (see above) and railway stations. I wouldn’t mind a nice flat in the middle of a city, London or Paris for preference, but actually if the truth be told, I’m happiest in the SUBURBS and not ashamed to say so. I lived in a leafy suburb of Manchester for 43 years, which was great and my present situation, 12 minutes on foot from a huge Waitrose in Cambridge, seems like heaven to me.

DENIM OR LINEN Denim is a serious addiction. I am very distressed by articles telling me that old women can’t wear jeans. I live in them and that’s even though I am plump and short. So there. Mind you, lots of my denim is in the form of skirts, jackets and even a beautiful dress. The colour blue suits me…that’s my excuse. It’s a very good material when it comes to washing etc. Unlike linen. I love that too, but if it came to a choice, there’s no contest. STARTER OR DESERT See ‘plump’ above. I actually

like both but am sometimes shamed into skipping dessert when my companions are being very abstemious. That is annoying. If I had to choose, then I’d probably choose starter as being less calorific. But the truth is: BOTH!

bia. I would only fly in really extreme circumstances, e.g. a threat to the life of one of my children or grandchildren, or myself. So boats, I suppose, though I’ve had some hairy times on those as well. Am I allowed to choose trains? I love those.

ÉCLAIR OR SAUSAGE Sausages I can take or leave, so éclair. I am mad about cakes and not only eating them. I have become a fan of the Great ROCK OR CLASSICAL British Bake Off and love makClassical, with lots of rock and ing them too, though now I even more country music. The only do that when I have comBeatles, Bob Dylan, The pany. Again, see PLUMP, Stones, etc were the backabove. When you come to tea, ground music to my youth but you can have a slice of my fannowadays I don’t even know the tastic (though I say it as names of groups. I like Adele, shouldn’t) coffee and walnut or not only for her talent but also lemon drizzle and we’ll chat because I now no longer have to about books while we drink explain or spell my own name. Lapsang Souchong from very What I play is almost always pretty cups. classical. I also adore Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Dolly Parton etc and am a huge Nashville fan. I adore both the opera and the ballet. PLANE OR BOAT I used almost to live on planes as a child because my parents lived abroad. This was in the days when children on board an aircraft were invited into the cockpit to ‘help fly the plane.’ I’ve got worse and worse as I’ve grown up about being all that way up in the air, and since 1997, I’ve had real flying pho-

Love, or Nearest Offer by Adèle Geras (Quercus £19.99 hbk) available now.

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BIG INTERVIEW

Jessie Burton Ruth Ginarlis is a big fan so we asked her to put some questions to Jessie

Ruth Ginarlis: You previously had a career as an actress. Does this influence your writing in that you visualise the plot, almost cinematically? Jessie Burton: I definitely ‘see’ things in my mind’s eye – but then I think so does every writer. Perhaps it’s more when it comes to character rather than plot that I feel my acting background comes into play. A character’s speech, their mannerisms, the way they eat a bun, then it becomes cinematic to me, or perhaps a theatrical mise-en-scène. Ruth Ginarlis: Your debut novel e Miniaturist centred on the creation of a cabinet craed in secret; in e Muse the paintings at the heart of the novel are also created in secret. Was this a deliberate echo of your first book? Jessie Burton: Ha, no! Answering questions like these make me feel like I’m being psychoanalysed. But you know, our secret selves make us who we are when we go into the

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world. I love secret things. Sometimes you can only achieve your heart’s desire in secret. Ruth Ginarlis: Your original title for e Muse was Belonging. Why did you change this? Jessie Burton: I oen change the title as I go along. e Muse had about four. A moveable title helps me as I move through the work in progress, anchoring me to a theme or a preoccupation amidst the chaos. Belonging wasn’t right, in the end. e book was about more than belonging, and e Muse ﬁtted well. Ruth Ginarlis: You have brilliantly captured the “voice” of the modern character Odelle in your book. Again, did your experience in the acting world help with this? Did it give you an insight into her thoughts? Jessie Burton: anks. I guess it did – as I said, I do like dialogue as a way of constructing a character. But

Photo: Harry Borden

essie Burton was born in 1985, in London, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama at Oxford University. Jessie won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction, and was included in the Richard and Judy Book Club in 2015 for her debut novel e Miniaturist. is was on the Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller List for three months and was the No. 1 Christmas choice. It has also been a huge success in New York. e book has been translated into 36 languages. Jessie still lives in London with her cat, Margot, who assists with her writing. When she ﬁnds the time, Jessie hopes to read (among many other novels) Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner, e View on the Way Down by Rebecca Wait, Frog Music by Emma Donoghue and Eyrie by Tim Winton.

even when you’re an actor, you don’t know all the thoughts of the character you’re playing. e same applies to my novel characters. I like to leave a little hinterland. I’d be happy for Odelle to surprise me. Ruth Ginarlis: e cabinet in e Miniaturist is destroyed, but the paintings in e Muse become highly prized. is would seem to be a reversal of the plots. e creator of the cabinet lives, but the painter dies. Can you comment on this? Are great works inevitably associated with tragedy? Jessie Burton: I think in e Miniaturist Nella had to destroy that dollhouse because she needed to take control of her own life. In e Muse, the artist is in control of their creative life, and their paintings are a joyous expression of their power and talent. ey do not die because of their great talent, but because they get caught in the banal and wasteful crossﬁre of war. at said, I do hold the rather clichéd opinion that suﬀering, or tension, or adversity, oen make you up your game and do your best work. Your muscle is tested, your hunger is sharpened. But it can go too far and actually can ruin the work. And I’m sure Shakespeare had his happy days in the middle of writing King Lear.

Ruth Ginarlis: Nella in e Miniaturist moves from her home in the country to Amsterdam. Odelle moves from the West Indies, and the Schloss family move to Spain from Germany in the 1930s. Does this sense of displacement make it easier for a greater sense of drama to unfold? Jessie Burton: Outsidership is a rich field to plough for a writer. Alienation, allies, triumph, adversity…it’s about things being difficult for characters, and the tension that comes from not fitting into new worlds, or the harmony when they find a home. It does add a certain type of drama, different to be found when a community remains constant.

ex machina (well, she can, but not too much) – it has to make sense. So I oen work back once I’ve written it once, to make sure it all is there, in the hidden corners of the book. I cra them by literally asking myself ‘what has to happen?’ And then work out, through a process of trial and error, how to make it so. Ruth Ginarlis: e Miniaturist took, I believe, over four years to complete. We have not had to wait, fortunately, another four for e Muse. Are you in the planning stage for your next book? Jessie Burton: I’ve had a few ideas. A few stabs of the notebook.

Ruth Ginarlis: In both novels the ﬁnal twists are truly surprising. How diﬃcult for you was this, and how do you cra your plots?

Ruth Ginarlis: Are you drawn to historical settings, and can you give readers a hint as to what might be in store in future novels?

Jessie Burton: Ohhhh – it’s the hardest part for me. I could write you a descriptive passage, or a cod-philosophical treatise as soon as breathe – but plot? Plot is my nemesis. You move one domino, the whole lot tumble down. As a reader, I love to be surprised. So I tried to be my own reader. e thing with twists is this – the reader, once surprised, has to be able to move back through the novel and see the seeds you sowed. e writer can’t just be a deus

Jessie Burton: Yes, I am, but in all honesty, a love of ‘history’, shall we say, is not the reason I set my books in the past. I obviously like the ﬂavour of what are now unreachable scenes, but what I also enjoy is infusing them with a modern sensibility. I think certain things will be universal, whether you’re in 1593 or 1993. But you can never be sure of this. It’s all speculation.

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Sarah was unconscious, her face turned sideways, her artificial curls crushed on the pillow, the cuts on her bare legs covered in calamine smears. A soured scent of the night’s last glass rose from her mouth. On the bedside table was an overfilled ashtray, a pile of detective novels, and her Vogue magazines, their corners curled. Her clothes were everywhere on the dusty floorboards, here, stockings like sloughed snakes, there, a blouse, flattened in the effort of escape. Her rouge had melted in its pot. In the corner of the room, a lizard flicked across the tiles like a mote upon the eye. Olive stood at the door, the letter from the Slade School of Fine Art gripped in her hand. The letter was only two weeks old, but it had a handkerchief ’s flutter, the creases almost oiled from so much refolding. She walked over to her mother’s bed and perched on the end to read it again, although she knew it off by heart. It is our pleasure to invite you to undertake the Fine Art degree course . . . The tutors were highly impressed . . . rich imagination and novelty . . . continuing the rigorous yet progressive tradition of the school . . . we look forward to hearing from you within the next fortnight. Should your circumstances change, please inform us. If she read it aloud, maybe Sarah would hear her through the fug, and that would be that; Olive would have to stick to her word, and go. Maybe a shock like this was best administered under the residual effects of a sleeping pill? When Olive had received the letter, back in London,she wanted to shout from the skyline what she’d gone and done. Her parents had had no idea – they didn’t even know their daughter still painted, let alone that she’d applied to art school. But part of Olive’s problem was that she had always been used to secrecy; it was where she was comfortable, the point from which she began to create. It was a pattern she was superstitious to break, and so here she was, in this village in the south of Spain. As she gazed at her mother’s sleeping form, she remembered showing her father a portrait she’d made of Sarah from art class at school. ‘Oh, Liv,’ he’d said as her heart hammered, the expectation inching up her spine. ‘Give it as a present for your mother.’ That was all he’d said on the matter. A present for your mother. Her father always said that of course women could pick up a paintbrush and paint, but the fact was, they didn’t make good artists. Olive had never quite worked out what the difference was. Since she was a little girl, playing in the corners of his gallery, she would overhear Harold discussing the issue with his clients, both men and women – and often the women

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The Muse - Jessie Burton would agree with him, preferring to put their money behind young men rather than anyone of their own sex. The artist as naturally male was such a widely held presupposition that Olive had come at times to believe in it herself. As a nineteen-year-old girl, she was on the underside; the dogged, plucky mascot of amateurship. But right now in Paris, Amrita Sher-Gil, Méret Oppenheim and Gabriele Mu ̈nter were all working – Olive had even seen their pieces with her own eyes. Were they not artists? Was the difference between being a workaday painter and being an artist simply other people believing in you, or spending twice as much money on your work? She found it impossible to express to her parents why she’d applied, the portfolio she’d collated, the essay she’d written on background figures in Bellini. Despite all she’d absorbed about women’s shortcomings in art, she’d gone and done it anyway. This was what she couldn’t understand; where the urge had come from. And yet, even though an independent life was just within her reach, still she was sitting at the foot of her mother’s bed. Turning again to Sarah, she considered fetching her pastels. Once upon a time, her mother would let Olive parade in her furs, or her strings of pearls, or take her for eclairs at the Connaught, or to hear this violinist or that clever poet perform his work at the Musikverein – always friends of Sarah, and always, Olive had gradually realized as she grew up, in love with her. These days, no one knew what Sarah Schloss might say, or do. She resisted the doctors, and often the pills seemed pointless. Olive felt like she was nothing but a dreg, jetsam in her mother’s wake. So she drew her, in secret, in ways that Sarah would probably never forgive. The long windows were ajar, and a breeze made the curtains dance. The dawn wind had lifted an impressive cloudscape from the mountains beyond Arazuelo, a duckegg sky striated gold and pink. The letter still in her hand, Olive tiptoed towards the balcony and saw blank fields spanning towards rugged foothills in the distance, patched with scrub and wild daisies, where kites circled and grasshoppers sawed in the empty melon fields, oxen dragging ploughs across the earth in preparation for later seeding. Oblivious rabbits hopped across the orchard and far off in the hills goats were being herded, the bells on their necks clanking atonally and out of rhythm, a calming sound because it lacked any conscious performance. A hunter’s gun rang out, and birds rose in chaos against the baroque Andalusian morning. Sarah did not stir, but the rabbits scattered, expert hiders, deserting the surface of the waiting earth. Olive closed the windows and the curtains

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dropped. Her mother probably hoped her long-sought tranquillity was to be found here – but there was a wildness under the tolling convent bell, the chance of wolves in the mountains. The futile yaps of a dog in a barn would puncture every silence. And yet, since their arrival, Olive personally found the landscape and the house itself energizing, in a way that was unfamiliar and wholly unexpected. She had taken an old wood panel that she’d found in the outhouse at the end of the orchard, carrying it up to the attic as if it was contraband. She had treated it in readiness for paint; but it remained blank. Her father strode into the room, his large foot skidding a Vogue under the bed. Olive jammed the letter in her pyjama pocket and spun round to face him. ‘How many?’ he asked, pointing at the sleeping figure of his wife. ‘Don’t know,’ said Olive. ‘But more than normal, I think.’ ‘Sheiße.’ Harold only swore in German in moments of great stress or great freedom. He loomed over Sarah and lifted a stray strand of hair delicately off her face. It was a gesture from another time, and it made Olive squeamish. Following on the heels of Jessie Burton’s highly successful novel The Miniaturist, is The Muse. This novel is set in London of the 1960s and Spain on the eve of the Civil War in the 1930s. Each story relates to outsiders, Odelle Bastien is a recent immigrant from the West Indies, struggling against prejudice and a dead-end job in a shoe shop, for which she is truly over-educated. Odelle has a stroke of luck when she is offered a job as a secretary in an art gallery, and becomes involved in the search for a lost modern masterpiece. The history of the painting, and how it came into being, is told in the Spanish half of the book. A The Muse by family has left Germany for England, and finally has found a home in a Jessie Burton is small Spanish town. The father is a cold and distant man, and his wife published by an alcoholic addicted to drugs. The eldest daughter has been offered a Picador as a place at the Slade College of Art, but cannot tell her father, who has no £12.99 hbk on faith in her talent. A brother and sister arrive at the villa and work 30th June. there. Their past is mysterious, but the brother too is an artist, and a tragic, almost inevitable course is set for the family and their employees. The Muse is a brilliantly crafted work, and Jessie Burton has really found her voice with this new novel. The dialogue is genuine and evocative, especially in the patois used by Odelle when speaking to her friends. The heat and danger of Spain is wonderfully portrayed. There are twists and turns in the plot which the reader does not see coming (at least I did not), and the ending is a total surprise – just when you think you have it cracked. I enjoyed every page and I would recommend this as a perfect choice for a reading group. I look forward to Ms. Burton’s next book.

Ruth Ginarlis, Winchester

Personal 5* / Group 5*

We have copies to give away FREE. See page 63 to claim yours.

‘Tis our opinion, Alison Moore’s The Lighthouse should have won the Man Booker in 2012. Her Five Faves strongly feature ‘otherness and outsiderness’.

Faves

SONS AND LOVERS D. H. LAWRENCE This heavily autobiographical novel beautifully captures Paul Morel’s sensitivity to his mother’s frustration in her marriage to Walter, a miner. After the death of her beloved eldest son William, Gertrude Morel begins to live through Paul, who is torn between his deep love for his mother as well as a sense of belonging within the working-class mining community of Bestwood, and a keen awareness that he does not want to be trapped and that he has options and potential in the wider world. He takes a job as a junior clerk in Nottingham, but he also has ambitions as an artist. He feels obligated to Miriam, who he has known since childhood and who he has pressured into a physical relationship, but he also finds her suffocating. Desperate not to waste or suppress his life, he is torn between staying and leaving, between loyalty and freedom.

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THE PRICE OF SALT PATRICIA HIGHSMITH I was late discovering Patricia Highsmith, but as soon as I read her she became a favourite. In The Price of Salt, Therese Belivet – who is not in love with her boyfriend and is bored in her Christmas job – meets Carol, who is older, beautiful, rich, and going through a difficult divorce. Therese is instantly hooked; her early relationship with Carol is both a developing friendship and a growing obsession. It is the middle of the twentieth century, and in this less liberal era, Therese writes a love letter to Carol that gets into the wrong hands. After their relationship becomes sexual – on a road trip across America – it becomes clear that a private investigator is following them, collecting evidence to be used against Carol in a custody battle. I love the slow intensity of this narrative, the journey towards the point at which a crucial decision must be made.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE KURT VONNEGUT Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war when he witnessed the bombing of Dresden. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim comes ‘unstuck in time’, time-travelling from the war back to pre-birth and his childhood and forward to the rest of his life including the moment of his death. After surviving Dresden, he is kidnapped by a flying saucer and taken to an alien planet. This ‘short and jumbled and jangled’ story of time travel and alien abduction – a novel full of dislocation, and absurd and pitiful asides – is Vonnegut’s wonderfully idiosyncratic way of expressing his experience. Edgar Derby, a high school teacher, is shot in Dresden for looting a teapot; in the introductory chapter Vonnegut tells us, ‘One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn’t his.’ Slaughterhouse-Five is both about what happened in Dresden and about finding a way to write about the massacre.

MISERY STEPHEN KING I have a particular fondness for Stephen King’s novels about writers: The Dark Half, about a struggle between a literary fiction writer and his horror-writer alter ego; The Shining, in which Jack Torrance is trying to write a play while working as a caretaker in an out-of-season, haunted hotel; and Misery, in which writer Paul Sheldon has a car crash that shatters his legs and is rescued by Annie Wilkes, the ‘number one fan’ of his romance novels and their heroine, Misery Chastain. When Annie discovers that Paul’s new book kills Misery off, she is not happy, and as she is nursing Paul in her home, she is in a position to ‘encourage’ him to write the sequel she wants. In each of these King novels, there is some kind of dangerous entity interfering with the writer’s work, and in Misery this is magnificently embodied in the alarmingly unpredictable Annie.

Death and the Seaside is a psychologically astute novel of power, control and influence which will make you wonder how real your memories are and where your fears come from. Blending layers of memory and imagination there are signposts to the end everywhere, if you only know where to look. Clever and really quite disturbing. -

Mel Mitchell

Full review on nudge

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE SHIRLEY JACKSON Shirley Jackson has a knack for capturing otherness and outsiderness. Eighteen-year-old ‘Merricat’ lives with her sister Constance and their Uncle Julian in the Blackwood family home; the other members of the family were poisoned with arsenic during a family dinner some years ago. The three are ostracised by the local villagers; Merricat is taunted by adults and children alike when she goes into the village for groceries and library books. Into this isolated, suspended life of theirs comes their estranged cousin Charles, who upsets the strange balance of their world and, obliquely, brings all the villagers’ fear and hate to their door. The closing image of Merricat and Constance continuing to live ‘happily’ together in what are now the burnt, roofless ruins of their home, with the uninhabitable rooms closed off, is striking and haunting.

Alison Moore’s Death and the Seaside is published by Salt in pbk Aug 2016 £8.99.

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What if it was your fault? Shari Lapena focuses on every parent’s worst nightmare. for the loss of your own child, through some act of neglect or carelessness. I can’t imagine anything worse. I hit on the y introduction to the idea of tired, stressed parents world of thrillers has taking a short cut when a been...well, thrilling. It’s babysitter cancels at the last been a wild, exciting minute—and relying on a baby ride, to say the least! monitor and regular checks to I’d already written two keep their child safe while they critically well-received but dine next door. What could “quiet” literary novels. I was possibly happen? Who hasn’t proud of those books, but I was been tempted, at some point, to restless, and wanted to try leave the baby for just a second, something different. I’d always to do something that needs wanted to write a thriller. I’ve doing, something that would be always loved reading them. But so much faster, and easier, the prospect of it was without the baby in tow? daunting—I would have to I was really grabbed by the write so far out of my comfort idea, and I wrote the book zone. I was used to writing dark quickly, almost flying through comedy, but I would have to go it. As I wrote, I really tried to much darker to write a thriller. tap into the horror of a missing And I wasn’t sure I could child, and the guilt the parents manage the intricate plotting a would feel, and how it would thriller required. I knew the affect the relationship between pacing had to be just right. them. I got deeply into the Still, I couldn’t leave it alone; characters. No one is quite who I kept kicking ideas around and they seem. I’m interested in then one day I started thinking what’s underneath the surface, about every parent’s worst all the secret motivations nightmare—being responsible people have for what they do,

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the things they hide from each other, and from themselves. It takes a lot of craft to write a good thriller. I’ve spent sixteen years—so far—learning how to write. And I’m sure I will keep on learning, with each new book. It’s all been rather strange and wonderful. This is the sort of thing an author dreams about but rarely experiences. It’s the sort of thing that happens to someone else. I’ve been told that Stylist magazine has called it “2016’s most talked about new thriller.” It all still seems a bit unreal.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is published in hbk by Bantam Press on 14 July 2016

Follow the threads . . . Eleanor Wasserberg says she’s a “Writer, teacher, bookworm and lover of trashy TV.” We like her already!

hile writing Foxlowe, a story about a girl who grows up in a cult, I kept returning to images of threads and stitches. The narrator, Green, imagines her mouth sewn shut; she imagines a man called Kai, who unwittingly starts a dark chain of events, spooling out a line of thread from his teeth; Green and her sort-of-siblings play maze-making, chasing each other through high grasses while trailing red thread behind them. Now the novel is finished I can no longer unpick it. I can see separate threads crossing themselves, underpinning each other. Two main threads run through the story, their impact on Green stitched through her life and her narration. The first thread is a dark love letter to the Staffordshire Moorlands. In the novel, characters climb The Cloud, a rocky hill covered in

meadowsweet and heather; they visit the Standing Stones, based on a real stone circle called Sharpecliffe Rocks; the story hinges on beliefs about the double sunset, a local optical illusion that makes the sun appear to set twice on Summer Solstice. The real landscape of this place is even richer. A scattering of ancient burial chambers and stone circles sit undisturbed, silent and moss covered, beautifully spooky. Another thread is of a family gone wrong: this is a story of weak and ineffectual parenting, about childhoods lived at the whims of capricious and selfish adults, who are themselves gripped by the powers of group mentality and superstition. As the story began to unspool itself, I became fascinated by the question of how well meaning, even good, people can get caught up in group thinking, and explored it through what Green calls “the shoal.” Whether Green herself can ever find an identity outside of the world of the shoal is a

central question of the novel. Green tells her story in two parts, reflecting the two names and two selves that are at war in her psyche. There are other threads trailing through the story: relationships between parents and children, sibling jealousy and sexual awakening, the seductive power of storytelling. Like the maze-making game, they chase and cross each other, tighten and snap. Green’s story announces itself as a tragedy early on, so I hope it’s not giving too much away to say that the threads (hopefully) come together in violent, dark ways as the novel comes to a close.

Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg is published in hbk by Fourth Estate and is now available

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International Dublin

Over the years, we have kept an interested eye on the International Dublin Literary Award because it is truly international. While you may recognise one or two of the titles we suspect there are far more that are just begging to be added to your TBR list. So we are especially pleased this year to bring you the judges comments on the shortlist –

The Judges

Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan, non-voting chair of the judging panel, is a former Chief Judge of a US Court of Appeals and brings a wealth of experience from sixteen years on the bench. His first novel, The Majority Rules, was published in 2005. The second novel of his political thriller trilogy, The Report to the Judiciary, was published in 2008. When not recalled to the Federal Bench, Judge Sullivan is a partner in a Washington law firm.

OUTLAWS Javier Cercas translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean Bloomsbury, pbk May 2015

A journalist is commissioned to write a book on a young and legendary criminal called El Zarco. Outlaws is the fictional transcription of the interviews with the witnesses of his life, the testimonies that show us three unforgettable characters: el Zarco, Tere and Ignacio Cañas. Paradoxically, in this novel dressed up as journalistic research, the questions that really matter are those that remain unanswered, echoing powerfully: Where is the border between loyalty and betrayal? Where is the line that separates truth from fiction? Outlaws exposes the passage from youth to adulthood as a process where all you can learn is how to make the right questions. Juan Pablo Villalobos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1973. He is the author of Down the Rabbit Hole, Quesadillas and I’ll Sell You a Dog. He writes for several publications, including Granta, Letras Libres, Gatopardo and translates Brazilian literature into Spanish. He lived in Barcelona for several years, then moved to Brazil, and is now back in Spain. He is married with two MexicanBrazilian-Catalan children.

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ACADEMY STREET Mary Costello Canongate Books, pbk Mar 2015

This typical Irish story, very similar in spirit to Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín, is exquisite. A very strong and very skillfully written first part, when the main character is still in Ireland, but what seems extremely well accomplished here is that although told in the third person singular, contrary to the rule, the narrative sounds very intimate, painful and moving. Uncommonly, the narrator here, though omnipresent, is somehow very affectionate as if his voice comes right from the heroine’s heart. Very vividly . . . the difference between the dynamic and full of energy city of New York, which dazzles her, [is] compared to the dull and slow-moving life in her native rural Ireland. Tess Lohan, the heroine, witnesses the death of her mother and temporarily loses her [capacity for] speech. Goes to New York, followed by her brother and gets pregnant by a rich boy, who disappears from her life when he learns the truth. Hazards follow, in which she is all alone, but proves to be a fighter destined to survive at the cost of many incurable wounds. An emotionally beautiful story written with insight and with the evocative pen of a fine master.

YOUR FATHERS, WHERE ARE THEY? AND THE PROPHETS, DO THEY LIVE FOREVER? Dave Eggers Penguin, pbk May 2015

A very confused guy compulsively kidnaps a number of people and locks them up in an abandoned military base. What he wants is easy: to talk with them. What he expects is impossible: the answers to his existential crisis. It seems like a radical exercise of dark comedy, but it's much more than that, because the particular crisis of this loony is, in many ways, the crisis of our time. Who stole our dreams? Is there someone we can blame it on? A disturbing enquiry on the sources of frustration and violence in our world. A very risky, ambiguous and tremendously necessary book. Maybe you will hate it, but even in that case, you should read it.

Iglika Vassileva is the acclaimed translator of James Joyce’s Ulysses, of almost all novels by Virginia Woolf, the prose of Walt Whitman, Nabokov and many other distinguished writers. Her translations of Ulysses, The Waves and To the Lighthouse have been met with high acclaim by literary critics and reading public alike.

Literary Award

THE END OF DAYS Jenny Erpenbeck translated from the Germa by Susan Bernofsky Portobello Books, pbk May 2015

Jenny Erpenbeck’s The End of Days is a beautiful meditation on the different possible lives of one woman, born a Jewish child in the Hapsburg Empire. Each section or ‘book’ details the path her life could have taken, had history and fate not intervened. The prose is spare and moving; the structure fascinating – all echoes and repeated motifs down the troubled twentieth century. Erpenbeck deftly weaves an understanding of how power and politics play out in an individual life as the story moves to Vienna, to Stalinist Moscow and finally East Germany both pre-and post Wall. It is an intense study of guilt, grief, love and destiny both collective and personal. By the end of this concise novel we have lived through several lives – all distinctive yet interconnected. We have experienced something profound and important. Susan Bernofsky’s translation skilfully conveys Erpenbeck’s vision: to take us into the dark places and shed light there in unexpected ways.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS Marlon James Oneworld Publications, pbk June 2015

DIARY OF THE FALL Michel Laub translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa Vintage, pbk Apr 2015

Marlon James is a young and extremely talented AmericoCaribbean writer who has just won the Man Booker for 2016 and quite deservingly. A Brief History of Seven Killings is a powerful novel packed with violence and corruption, inspired by the assassination attempt on Bob Marley in Kingston. It has the aura of a masterpiece, for besides being original, intelligent and irresistible, it also boldly surveys and exposes the murderous world of politics and not only in Jamaica in the 1970s and early 80s. This is a story which might have happened in almost any part of the present-day world and its general message is an appeal to the world at large. The novel incorporates an enormous cast of characters, but this does not impede the reading at all. The story is gripping, its messages grim and alarming. Ian Sansom is a novelist, critic and academic. He is the author of 13 works of fiction and non-fiction, including The Truth About Babies, Ring Road and the Mobile Library series of novels. His most recent book is Death in Devon, book no.3 in his 44-book County Guides series of novels. He writes for The Guardian.

A man faces the remorse of a cowardly act from his past and recalls, at the same time, the history of his father with Alzheimer’s and his grandfather who survived Auschwitz. Diary of the fall is a supreme exploration of memory as a punishment, as a torture, as a longing, as a cultural imposition, as an imperative, as madness. A novel that reveals the repercussions of the Holocaust in the intimate life of a Brazilian family. A beautiful miniature built by an artist of the fragment.

Meaghan Delahunt was born in Melbourne and lives in Edinburgh. She is the author of novels In the Blue House, The Red Book and To the Island. Her latest book is Greta Garbo’s Feet & Other Stories. Awards for her work include the Flamingo/HQ Australian Short Story Prize, a regional Commonwealth Prize, a Saltire Book Award and a nomination for the Orange Prize. She teaches Creative Writing part-time at the University of Stirling and is an Arts & Culture editor for www.bellacaledonia.com

reviews

OUR LADY OF THE NILE Scholastique Mukasonga translated from the French by Melanie Mauthner Archipelago Books, pbk Sept 2014

Our Lady of the Nile, Scholastique Mukasonga’s first novel, is a work of great subtlety and power. Set in Rwanda, in an elite Catholic boarding school for young women, this is a classic coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a country slowly sliding into chaos and violence. It’s a book about friendship, about fear, about prejudice and hate. The book’s profound moral and psychological insights are more than matched by a plot that swerves and surprises and by characters whose misunderstandings and petty grievances have the most terrible consequences. A book of horrors and delights. Carlo Gébler was born in Dublin in 1954. He lives outside Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He is the author of several novels including A Good Day for A Dog and The Dead Eight (shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Fiction Prize), the short story collection W9 & Other Lives, works of non-fiction including the narrative history, The Siege of Derry and the memoir The Projectionist, The Story of Ernest Gébler.

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International Dublin Literary Award 2016

reviews

ABOUT DUBLIN CITY LIBRARY & ARCHIVE

DEPT. OF SPECULATION Jenny Offill

LILA Marilynne Robinson

FAMILY LIFE Akhil Sharma

Virago, pbk Oct 15

Faber, pbk Apr 2015

Marilynne Robinson’s Lila tells the story of the young wife of an elderly preacher– and through her eyes we see what it is to be poor and dispossessed; to live the flipside of the American dream in the early 20th century. Robinson here captures something beyond words, giving voice to the voiceless who build, who sweep, who mend and who try to persevere in the face of hardship and loss. Robinson’s mastery of language – her skilful play of tenses, points of view and structure – her visual imagery, draws us into Lila’s world. Robinson has an unflinching and unsentimental eye in this exploration of trust, belief and faith. She creates a memorable and compelling portrait of one woman’s struggle to make peace with her past; to understand the patterns of her life; to find comfort in the small, ordinary wonders of the present.

The narrative of Family Life is thus: the Mishra's mother, father and two sons, Birju and his younger brother Ajay (who tells the story and is the novel’s pivot) emigrate from India to the US in 1978. For Ajay's older brother, Birju, the New World is initially a triumph until an accident in a swimming pool causes catastrophic brain damage, after which he needs twentyfour hour care. Initially he receives this in medical settings, but then he goes home and is cared for by his parents and his brother. The story of Birju's care is the kernel of the novel, it's living heart. As a reading experience Family Life desolates and infuriates. It prompts questions too. Why should the suffering rich get better care than the suffering rest? Isn't all human suffering equal? However, alongside its subtle interrogation of inequality the novel also celebrates the Mishra family's achievement. For all their imperfections, and they have plenty, (there are no paragons in this novel), somehow they cope and somehow they meet Birju’s needs, which is a kind of triumph and, for a reader, it is profoundly consoling that they manage this.

Granta, pbk Mar 2016

Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation is a novel about the breakdown of a marriage, told entirely in brief recollections of happiness and grief by an unnamed narrator. These shards and fragments somehow amount to a coherent picture both of a couple’s life and of the narrator’s inner life. The narrator reveals herself through anecdote and aphorism, tormented by her ambitions and responsibilities and above all by her determination to become what she calls an ‘art monster’: ‘Women almost never become art monsters because art monsters only concern themselves with art, never mundane things.’ Concerning itself almost entirely with mundane things, the book magnificently achieves what Offill’s narrator can only dream of. A small shattered masterpiece.

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Dublin City Public Libraries, a service of Dublin City Council, is Ireland’s largest library service, with responsibility for the delivery of high quality, effective public library, information and archive services to a resident population of over half a million people. Designated as a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010, Dublin City Public Libraries aims to maximise opportunity for all – individuals and communities – through guided access to ideas, learning, literature, information and heritage resources supported by cultural programming.

The winning title was announced after nb went to print but you can find the winner (and the other 159 longlisted titles) at dublinliteraryaward.ie

Books to make a Book Group buzz It can be quite a responsibility picking a book for a book group. Will everyone like it? What makes a book that people really want to talk about? What if no one loves a book that you have sponsored . . .

The Quiet Twin by Dan Vyleta (Bloomsbury £7.99 pbk 2012).

laire omas contacted nb to say “we discussed e Quiet Twin last night (I have read it several times now) and it performed really well even though everyone loved it which doesn't always make for a good discussion - you usually want some disagreement to get everyone talking. I just think he's a writer that should really ﬂy and be better known but make sure you've got enough time 'cos you'll want to read until the end in one sitting!!!” So we asked her for more . . . Set in Vienna in the autumn of 1939 and the early months of

the War in “uncharitable times...”, the novel takes place almost exclusively in a block of apartments: eyes are always watching – reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window. ere is no privacy and it is impossible to keep a secret. People are terrified of being noticed. Vyleta introduces us to a breathtaking range of characters including Anton Beer, a psychiatrist, who is charged with discovering who killed the dog of a minor party official, a Zellenwart, Doctor Specstein. At least four other murders have taken place around the apartments. While the War feels rather distant at first, the thunder clouds are gathering. e novel never loses pace. Vyleta creates a realistic world of terror as the Nazi State increases its grip. is is an endlessly fascinating and insightful novel about moral dilemmas as we see terrifying glimpses of the Reich’s eugenics programme. It’s a novel that will really set people talking.

Some points to discuss:

1 - The action of the book is set almost exclusively in the apartments. 2 - We see Vienna changing at the start of the War. 3 - Beer believes he’s a coward. Different characters make different moral choices. 4 - We see the Nazi’s use of propaganda and Art. 5 - Vyleta uses factual information about real life cases and background material between the narrative sections. 6 - The novel ends with some associations to ‘Hamlet’ and there are many theatre metaphors and references in the novel. 7 - Is the novel a whodunit? 8 - Who or what is the Quiet Twin of the title?

Follow up read: Vyleta’s The Crooked Maid follows the story of some of the characters from The Quiet Twin and is set in Vienna in 1948.

If there’s a book that created a real buzz with your group then do email info@newbooksmag.com

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AUTHOR MEETS REVIEWER

My Husband’s Wife? My Husband’s Wife? Sheila A Grant wanted to know more. Jane Corry

Jane Corry is a writer and journalist, and teaches creative writing all over the world. Recently she spent three years working as the writer-in-residence at a highsecurity prison for men. In her own words: 'I had always thought prisons were terrifying places for people who had done terrible things. But after my first marriage ended, I found myself working in one, and discovered a world I could not have imagined without actually being there. A world in which no one was quite who they seemed. A world that I found strangely addictive - so much so that it wormed its way into this book.'

Sheila A Grant: How much of the plot would you say was attributed to your time as a Writer in Residence inside a high security prison? I couldn’t have written it without being in a prison. Jane Corry: No amount of research can show you how you feel when you have the keys to the prison round your waist. Or when you’re helping a murderer to write his life story. But I didn’t base any of my characters on one particular person. My novel is also about marriage too. My husband is my second. I am his ﬁrst wife. SG: I so enjoyed this story; so many strands and cleverly woven together: Lily and Ed/Carla and her Mum/Lily and Joe. But which one was the catalyst? JC: anks for the compliment. is is a hard one to answer because they all came together. None of them would work without the others. I knew I wanted to write a book about an ordinary couple on the Outside. Enter Lily and Ed. But I also wanted to bring in prison. Some of my men had to leave my classes early because their lawyer was coming in. it made me wonder what it would be like for a newly-qualiﬁed solicitor to defend them.

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Enter Lily and Joe. But I also knew I needed to add something diﬀerent with a touch of humour and pathos. I’ve always been intrigued by a mother/daughter relationship. And that’s how Carla and her mother came in.

SG: You have the ability to get right inside the minds of your characters. To what do you attribute that skill? JC: anks again! I’ve always had an imagination. I also love people. My family constantly accuse me of being a worrier or letting my mind run riot. But I was born that way. I can’t do maths, by the way. SG: It is quite a dark book in which few if any of the characters come out well. Was that your original intention or did they ‘take over’ as some writers say? JC: A bit of both. Good and bad are rarely black and white.

AUTHOR MEETS REVIEWER

I learnt that when I was [Ed: working!] in prison. Some of my men who had committed terrible crimes appeared to be very pleasant. We ﬁnd that in the Outside too where someone seems nice but is actually twofaced. I wanted to test this out in My Husband’s Wife. Ed, Lily, Carla, Joe (and all the others) helped me to do this because it is true that characters do take over.

SG: As well as Joe’s appeal, you use cameos of legal cases where, due to the skill of barristers, the outcome is not always what is expected, nor is it always morally correct. I suspect that these stories were based on real cases and if so it does not put the law in a good light. Is this the case and was it intentional? JC: My stories weren’t based on real cases. ey were really based on my characters and how they might behave. However, I interviewed several lawyers who conﬁrmed you could get some unexpected verdicts in law that didn’t always seem right.

SG: e plot is intricate and there is a big cast of characters but they are all well defined. And the book moves on so well. Did you have a story board or similar to keep track of where everyone was and the timescales etc. JC: I start off by holding the plot in my head. en as it gets more complex, I write down notes. Sometimes I leave myself messages on the landline. Or use my mobile to record ideas. During my many revision stages, I write down all the main events onto a timeline. SG: e finale was superb and unexpected. Did you know from the beginning of writing that was how the book would end? JC: No. I didn’t want to. Writing a book is like steering your own ship in unchartered waters. You don’t know where you’re going but that’s part of the adventure. At some point, the characters will kick in. One of them will shout out ‘Land ahead!’. And then you’re home and dry. Hopefully.

My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry is published by Penguin as a £7.99 pbk on 24th August.

Sheila A Grant Part of Sheila’s review Lily and Ed have recently returned from honeymoon after a whirlwind romance but their relationship is awkward. Lily, a young lawyer with little confidence, believes she is not his first choice and doubts his motive. Ed is a frustrated artist with a certainty that he will be famous. Lily’s first criminal case involves long hours and prison visits, [and] the tension and stress increase the discomfort of her marriage. A very dark book with disturbed and deceitful characters who, without exception, find truth a stranger. Human emotions flood this book. Avarice, infidelity, jealousy, revenge, fear, lust, and, without lapsing into farce, the writer displays just how prevalent these traits are. Despite displaying the worst side of human nature I was not unsympathetic to their plight, something I attribute to the high standard of the writing. The ending was suitably dramatic and with a novel twist that was totally unexpected. Personal 5 Group 5 Full review on nudge.

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Just for fun! You will find the answers to all of the following questions within this issue – but we warn you, we haven’t made it easy.

HOW MANY JUDGES ARE THERE FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD? 1

WHO SAID, “I WISH THINGS WERE DIFFERENT TODAY THAN THEY WERE IN THE SIXTIES, BUT I‘M NOT SURE IF THAT’S TRUE.’? 2

P 3

WHICH BEE GEES TRACK IS ALSO A BOOK TITLE?

WHICH PSEUDONYMOUS AUTHOR WRITES IN A SHED/STUDIO IN HER OXFORD GARDEN? 4

WHAT IS THE OCCUPATION OF ERNST VAN DE WETERING? 5

P 6

P 7

P 8

WHICH BOOK IS A DEAD CERT FOR MEL’S BOOK OF THE YEAR LIST?

WHICH BOOKSHOP HAS BEEN LIKENED TO A FLEA MARKET?

WHICH BOOK BECAME THE FILM, ONE EYED JACKS?

WHO WOULD LOVE TO SERVE YOU LAPSANG SOUCHONG FROM VERY PRETTY CUPS? 9

P 10

And if all this has whet your appetite then why not have a go at our 100 Word Classics?:

Here’s one Reg Seward - our very own Don Quixote – prepared earlier.

An elderly fan of chivalric literature, Alonso Quijano, decides to become a knighterrant and sets off in search of adventure on his aged mount, Rocinante. He thinks of himself as Don Quixote of La Mancha, imagines a farm girl is his lady love, Dulcinea, and a villager, Sancho Panza, is his squire. Panza's earthiness contrasts with Quixote's feverish imagination, but he too is fooled into thinking he has become the governor of an island. The novel's second part sees Quixote wrestling with the fact that he is now a famous literary character, thanks to the success of the first book. If you can 'do' a classic in 100 Words then email info@newbooksmag.com.

WHAT LINKS THE PRICE OF SALT WITH JILL DAWSON?

1. 6 2. Emma Cline 3. Staying Alive – there may be others! 4. Eve Chase 5. Art historian 6. The Museum of You by Carys Bray 7. Word Power Books in Edinburgh 8. The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones by Charles Neider 9. Adèle Geras 10. Patricia Highsmith

Answers:

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Mammissima O by Elisabetta Minervini

Stuffed peppers

Peperoni ripieni

ne day, my mamma’s oven broke down and she asked me to go to take our earthenware tiella pot to a public wood-fired oven. I thought that such ovens were just a thing of the past – but I was wrong. From two streets away, I was engulfed by a fabulous mixture of fragrances: oven-baked pasta mingling with focaccia in the air. I handed my precious earthenware pot to the owner, who was wearing a white vest drenched in sweat and listening to the latest cheesy hit on his transistor radio. The oven’s temperature must have been close to that of the surface of the sun, and I felt as if my hands, feet and nose were beginning to melt. My pot contained vegetarian stuffed peppers – other women had meaty versions, with minced meat, anchovies or pancetta cubes. Interesting though this comparison was, I must admit I was rather glad when the sweaty man handed me a slip of paper with my name on it and I could step outside to wait. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease the bottom of a ceramic baking dish (about 30 x 20cm) with about ½ tablespoon of olive oil.

Serves: 4 Prep: 10 mins Cooking: 30–40 mins Olive oil 4 yellow peppers 2 eggs 1 tbsp grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano 2 x mozzarelle (250g), diced 1 tbsp capers Leaves from 3 sprigs of flat parsley, chopped Sea salt 8 cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp breadcrumbs

Cut around the stalks of the peppers and pull them out, then cut the peppers in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Alternatively, you can leave the stalks in. Snugly position the pepper halves in the dish, in a single layer. Use a fork to mix together the eggs in a bowl and add half the Parmesan (or Pecorino). Mix in the mozzarella, capers, parsley, some salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Spoon the mixture into the pepper halves. Divide the tomato halves between the stuffed peppers, cut-side up. Dust with the rest of the Parmesan and the breadcrumbs, and drizzle on a bit more olive oil. Place the dish in the preheated oven for about 30–40 minutes. Use a fork or a cocktail stick to see if the peppers are properly cooked. Leave to cool before serving

Mamma says For added effect, you can cook whole peppers without cutting them in half, as my mamma does. For this ‘monumental’ version of the dish, use big yellow peppers with a fairly flat base, as they need to stand in the baking tray. Slice off the tops of the peppers and put them to one side. Remove the seeds from inside the peppers, then wash the peppers and place them upside-down to dry. Prepare filling as above, then stuff the peppers. Use the reserved pepper tops as lids, and secure them firmly with cocktail sticks (to be removed before serving). To avoid any spillage, make sure that you don’t fill the peppers to the brim before putting on the lids. Cook in the oven as usual, and then serve. Extract taken from Mammissima, by Elisabetta Minervini, published by Bloomsbury, £20.00, Hardback Photography © Jonathan Kennedy.

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BIG INTERVIEW

Emma Cline A name you’ll hear again and again this summer.

here’s a lot of hype surrounding Emma Cline’s debut, e Girls, which was reportedly bought for $2 million by Random House US and is just published in the UK by Penguin. Already feted by the likes of Jennifer Egan and Mark Haddon it is rife with sex, drugs and violence, or at least the implication of such, and based around the Manson Murders. It’s certainly a novel that’s not going to be inconspicuous so we asked Jade Craddock to investigate further.

The Girls by Emma Cline is published by Chatto & Windus as a £12.99 hbk on 16th June.

Jade Craddock: Your novel is said to be loosely based on the Manson murders, how aware were you about these events when you were growing up and how did this feed into your novel? Emma Cline: I grew up among all the cultural leovers of this era—in Northern California, 1969 isn’t so far away. ose stories and remnants from that time were always fascinating to me, and the Manson crimes were a deﬁning moment for my parents, both California teenagers when the murders happened. As I grew older, I felt there were large parts of this story that were missing for me. Everyone talked about Charles Manson as being the most fascinating part of the story, but he never interested me: I always wanted to know more about the women and girls. Writing a novel was a way to engage with this myth in a new way. Jade Craddock: What attracted you to writing about the experience of the cult and how important was it that your main

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character was on the periphery rather than fully immersed? Emma Cline: I find it a much more interesting fictional choice to come at a familiar story from the position of someone on the outskirts. Approaching the violence from the periphery allowed for a more honest engagement with a part of history that is already so familiar. As a writer, I’m always looking for access to characters with a conflicted experience—I don’t believe, for example, that a novel from the point-of-view of a murderer is so interesting. For all its salaciousness, that’s a somewhat basic story. But if you shi the story to the murderer’s parent or child or lover, there is a far deeper range of narrative possibility, and the scope suddenly widens. Evie’s position also allows for a certain moral ambiguity—without the comfort of being pronounced guilty or not guilty, Evie has to make her own sense of what happened that summer.

Jade Craddock: How significant do you think the breakdown of Evie’s friendship with Connie and the changing dynamics at home are in pushing her in to this new lifestyle? Emma Cline: Evie starts to lose all the structures that hold up her life—her family is breaking up, and her longtime friendship is ending. I think that definitely makes her more susceptible to a vision of an alternate life, especially when the ranch seems to offer a ready-made family. It seems like a shortcut to happiness.

Photo: Neil Krug

Jade Craddock: How do you view Evie as a character, is she just a typical girl of her age and era wanting to belong, to be part of something, or is there something about her/her life that makes her more interested in Suzanne and the ranch and more susceptible to becoming involved in it? Emma Cline: e circumstances in this book are extreme, but hopefully they also feel believable, or not so far aﬁeld from reality. Most every woman I know has some story from their adolescence of a near-miss, a moment when things could have gone sour for them. ere’s a way that danger becomes appealing at that age, something to be sought out, almost as a way to test boundaries, or have some power in a world that is oen a violent place for girls and women.

Jade Craddock: What do you think attracts/enables the other girls to become part of the ranch? Emma Cline: I think each of them has diﬀerent reasons for being there, but all of them feel they are loved and accepted at the ranch, and believe that it welcomes them in a way their own families don’t. Jade Craddock: What do you think Evie ﬁrst sees in Suzanne that piques her interest? Emma Cline: At that age, I

remember how susceptible I was to older girls, how they seemed to have access to a kind of confidence and seductiveness that felt very foreign to me. I’m interested in those early friendships as a proto-romance, a different kind of love story. Suzanne seems like someone who is confident and capable, all the things that Evie is not. And I think Evie also feels that Suzanne might accept parts of her that Connie can’t, especially the darker aspects of Evie’s personality

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Jade Craddock: At times, we see a side of Suzanne that suggests that she’s not simply an evil incarnation as the media portray her aerwards in the novel, how did you view Suzanne and do you think there was ever any possibility that she could have or would have wanted to escape the ranch? Emma Cline: I’m not interested in characters that are one hundred percent good or bad—that doesn’t feel real to me. I think it’s actually a lot more frightening when people who do “bad” things are more similar to ourselves than we realize. Suzanne has less of a family structure tying her to the world than Evie does, and that makes it easier for her to do certain things. But I think she’s suﬀered in ways that Evie doesn’t fully realize or can’t quite comprehend. Jade Craddock: What is it about Russell that speaks to the girls? Emma Cline: Russell is someone who can mirror people, who can reﬂect back at them the version of themselves they most want to see. At the end of the day, he’s a con man, pathetic in his own way, but I think he has a very powerful hold over the girls. ey believe he truly sees them, which can be such a heady drug, to feel that someone understands you and accepts you for who you are. It’s a very basic human desire that Russell exploits to his own ends.

Jade Craddock: e novel offers a very pertinent commentary on the way girls are used and manipulated, most especially by men, and whilst we would like to think that the behaviour of Evie and Suzanne is part of a bygone era of gender politics, the portrait of Sasha suggests that perhaps things haven’t come as far as we’d like to believe, do you think there’s much difference between Evie and Sasha? Do you think what happened is part of the past or do we face similar possibilities today? Emma Cline: Evie hasn’t psychologically dealt with the summer she was 14, so she is in many ways emotionally stunted, and still susceptible to adolescent thinking. I think Sasha recognizes that, or understands that this is an adult who isn’t fully occupying her own life. I wish things were different today than they were in the sixties, but I’m not sure if that’s true. I think there are more social structures to protect women than there were back then, but I think women are still subjugated by a deeply ingrained patriarchy. Jade Craddock: At one point, Evie says ‘just being a girl in the world handicapped your ability to believe yourself,’ is this something you think that still affects women today? If so, what can be done to overcome it?

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Emma Cline: A lot of how we raise girls seems flawed to me. A lot of women I know grew up with the idea that they were responsible for making everything okay, for being agreeable and not causing problems. at makes it very easy to feel alienated from your own experience. I’m not sure what can be done about this. One thing about writing a novel is you don’t have to have any good answers—this book is just a reflection of what I see in the world around me. Jade Craddock: What do you hope young women reading e Girls take from the novel? Emma Cline: Mostly I would hope that young women who read the book feel seen, and think I’ve honored the full humanity of teenage girls instead of resorting to familiar clichés. Jade Craddock: And finally, the novel has been optioned for a movie, how do you feel about the potential of seeing your film on the big screen? Do you have any concerns about handing your book over? Emma Cline: I am very happy handing my book over—I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time with these characters and this situation and it’s exciting to think of someone else making something new out of it. Read Jade’s review of The Girls on nudge.

The Girls - Emma Cline

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I LOOKED UP because of the laughter, and kept looking because of the girls. I noticed their hair first, long and uncombed. en their jewelry catching the sun. e three of them were far enough away that I saw only the periphery of their features, but it didn’t matter— I knew they were different from everyone else in the park. Families milling in a vague line, waiting for sausages and burgers from the open grill. Women in checked blouses scooting into their boyfriends’ sides, kids tossing eucalyptus buttons at the feral-looking chickens that overran the strip. ese longhaired girls seemed to glide above all that was happening around them, tragic and separate. Like royalty in exile. I studied the girls with a shameless, blatant gape: it didn’t seem possible that they might look over and notice me. My hamburger was forgotten in my lap, the breeze blowing in minnow stink from the river. It was an age when I’d immediately scan and rank other girls, keeping up a constant tally of how I fell short, and I saw right away that the black-haired one was the prettiest. I had expected this, even before I’d been able to make out their faces. ere was a suggestion of otherworldliness hovering around her, a dirty smock dress barely covering her ass. She was flanked by a skinny redhead and an older girl, dressed with the same shabby aerthought. As if dredged from a lake. All their cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. ey were messing with an uneasy threshold, prettiness and ugliness at the same time, and a ripple of awareness followed them through the park. Mothers glancing around for their children, moved by some feeling they couldn’t name. Women reaching for their boyfriends’ hands. e sun spiked through the trees, like always-the drowsy willows, the hot wind gusting over the picnic blankets-but the familiarity of the day was disturbed by the path the girls cut across the regular world. Sleek and thoughtless as sharks breaching the water.

FESTIVALS

Guildford Jane Beaton on the challenges of being Co-Director

YOU WERE APPOINTED CO-FESTIVAL DIRECTOR OF THE GUILDFORD BOOK FESTIVAL IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION YOU HAD BEFORE YOU STARTED?

I knew it would be hard work I have been involved with the London Sports Writing Festival for the last three years so understood a little of the number of hours involved - but I hadn’t expected quite how all-consuming the Festival would become. It isn’t just a question of contacting the publishers, booking authors and putting together a programme, it is finding out who does what within the town, learning how the ticketing system works, briefing the PR company, meeting existing sponsors, and finding new ones, collating material for the Festival programme, and visiting potential venues. The list seems endless. Luckily, I’m not alone. Working with me is Alex Andrews, and as she is also new to the role, we are learning together. I will be looking after adult programming, while Alex concentrates on event management and the children’s events so we make a good team. 42

Brian Blessed meets his fans

WHAT WERE THE FIRST THINGS YOU DID WHEN YOU WERE APPOINTED?

I went to all three days of The London Book Fair in April as it was a great chance to renew old acquaintances, spread the word on the Festival, and ferret around for the inspirational, the interesting and the irresistible. Next was a guided walking tour of Guildford! I’m not from the town, although I have lived in Surrey for many years and have visited occasionally, and it was essential I knew where everything was. Delighted to find that a former colleague from my days at HarperCollins, and editor of this magazine, Guy Pringle, runs the popular Reader’s Day at Guildford each year, so the next thing I did was ring Guy. Mightily relieved that he is up for hosting an event again this year. One box ticked. Only another 50 or so to go!

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THE FESTIVAL IS RUN ACROSS SEVERAL DIFFERENT VENUES – HOW DO YOU PLAN TO BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND WHAT WORRIES DO YOU HAVE ABOUT SOMETHING GOING WRONG?

As you say the town has a great variety of venues on offer, from the 1000 seat G-Live and the Yvonne Arnaud theatre to the historic Guildhall and Norman castle, which is fantastic in one respect as it means we can be so adaptable and stage several events at one time, but it does mean that Alex and I will have a lot of ground to cover each day. About half the events will be in the Electric Theatre, which holds around 200, and this is also our Festival Hub where the public can come and relax with a coffee or glass of wine with friends and meet other Festival goers. It’s also where our author Green Room will be situated.

Gill Hornby and Liz Fenwick with some bloke!

Book Festival Of course you never know where and when the problems are going to happen but Alex and I will be present at as many events as we can, and if we can’t be at an event we have the Festival trustees and volunteers to call on, who probably know more than we do at this stage. Things will go wrong during the eight days, whether it’s a speaker being ill or a PA system malfunction. It’s almost inevitable. However, we are working with some great venues, and fantastic people who are as passionate about the Festival as we are, and as long as we have planned everything thoroughly, we will cope with any difficulties as and when they arise. I am normally a fairly calm person, and don’t panic too much when things go wrong, so I hope I can sustain this over the eight days in October. ARE YOU PLANNING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE FESTIVAL THAT YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT?

I’m not sure the first year is the time to make big changes especially when I have so much to learn but I do want to attract some younger Festival goers, and have been targeting some authors that I hope will appeal

to the under 30s. I’m also keen to diversify the programme to make it feel more inclusive of everyone who lives in Guildford, and to stage some lively debates on thought-provoking and topical subjects.

Joanne Harris

YOU’VE BEEN A PUBLICIST FOR MANY HIGH PROFILE AUTHORS – WHO WAS THE BEST SPEAKER AND WHAT WAS IT ABOUT HIM/HER THAT IMPRESSED YOU/ THE AUDIENCE?

I have been lucky enough to work with some big celebrity names over the years including David Beckham, Gordon Ramsay, Stephen Fry, U2 and Gene Wilder but I suppose if I have to pick a favourite it would be the late Alan Whicker. I helped him publicise Whicker’s War, an extraordinary book about his experiences in the film unit during World War II. He was fascinating to listen to, and had that magical voice that was instantly recognisable.

WHO WAS THE WORST PERSON YOU HAD TO LOOK AFTER AND HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THEM? Jane Beaton

There are a few names that come to mind but there was one high-profile Hollywood actress, who had better remain nameless, who made so many demands in advance that I was on the verge of cancelling her tour. At the last minute she demanded a reflexologist to be in the car with her when we travelled from London to Bluewater Shopping Centre less than an hour’s journey in case she got car sick. I found one in the local health club, and a rather bemused reflexologist came with us to Bluewater! I don’t plan on going to quite such lengths for the authors coming to Guildford but, within reason, we will do all we can to look after all our speakers and give them a warm welcome in Guildford. That applies to our Festival goers, too.

Guildford Book Festival takes place from 9-16 October. For information and tickets visit www.guildfordbookfestival.co.uk

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FESTIVALS

Poetry = Winchester = Poetry Festival Chair, Stephen Boyce looks back to look forward.

we welcome writers whose cultural reference points include Iraq, the Caribbean, Ireland, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Nigeria and Germany. We are also especially proud to be launching the first WinSimon Armitage (c) Paul Wolfgang Webster chester Poetry Prize – an open Simon Armitage, Jo Shapcott, Some might say that Winchespoetry competition to be Roger McGough, Bernard ter Poetry Festival’s first judged by the distinguished and O'Donoghue to name a few. venture into the festivals busimuch admired poet Mimi KhalSimon Armitage will not ness in 2014 was unexpected. vati. With a first prize of only be giving a reading, he will £1,000 we aim to give serious Certainly it was a leap of faith, also be in conversation with Pip recognition to the successful deliberately setting out with high ambition – to put the po- Hall, one of the country’s leadpoets, whose work will also apetry into Winchester and to put ing lettercutters, about their pear in an anthology of winning Winchester on the poetry map. unique collaboration, Stanza poems. We were delighted when the Stones, in which Simon's poems The whole festival team of were carved in stone by Pip Hall Trustees, staff and volunteers distinguished Irish poet at six lo- are hugely excited by the Michael Longley announced cations that "This is not just a good fesprospect of this year’s festival on the tival, it's a great festival and this which we trust our audiences Pennine will find every bit as entertaincity should be very proud to Way. have it." ing, thought provoking, We are But we were even more gratisurprising and delightful as in equally fied by the buzz and the evident 2014. For as Walt Whitman pleased enthusiasm of our audiences, said “To have great poets, there to present many invigorating their sense of surprise and demust be great audiences”. new voices – Sarah Howe, winlight. It is now 2016 and as we have ner of the latest TS Eliot prize, Helen Mort, Shazea Quraishi, set up a biennial festival it is Kim Moore, Kei Miller, Inua Eltime to do it all again! We are lams, rising stars and distinctive delighted voices all of them. We are offering a range of to be prereadings, workshops, talks and senting Winchester Poetry Festival takes some well- close readings giving a personal place from 7-9 October. insight into a favourite poem. known For information and tickets visit On the international front names – www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org

Roger McGough

Sarah Howe

Samuel Johnson, who had something to say about most things, remarked that "the essence of poetry is invention; such invention as, by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights."

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m o c m re ded en Settling down with a good read is one of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outstanding pleasures. We present these cracking reads for your delectation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and you can have all of them FREE. All we ask is you cover our p&p costs.

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People ask what my debut thriller Try Not to Breathe is about and I launch into a blurb that is becoming easier every time I say it. “It’s about a woman called Amy Stevenson who was brutally attacked when she was fifteenyears-old,” I explain. “And she has been in a persistent vegetative state ever since…” I introduce Alex Dale, the journalist who becomes obsessed with Amy’s cold case, and mention the cast of characters who help – and hinder – her journey to uncover the truth. But actually, the answer is far more straightforward.

devoted mum and loving step dad. Unlike Alex, who burned her friendships to the ground, Amy did nothing wrong. Time and tragedy led every friendship to fall away leaving her alone. Well, almost alone. But I don’t want to give anything away. Over the course of the book, being a suspenseful thriller, the focus is on getting to the heart of dark, buried secrets that threaten the present day. But the theme, the heartbeat that pulses under the action. is about the bond formed between two unlikely friends and how vital and restorative friendship can be.

Try Not to Breathe

- not as easy as you think!

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon is published by Corvus as a £7.99 pbk on 14th July.

What’s Try Not to Breathe about? It’s about friendship. The vitality of its presence and the brutality of its loss. Alex Dale, my troubled journalist, has no-one. She’s ripped her marriage and career to shreds. But plenty of people are single and have lacklustre jobs. What is saddest about Alex Dale, the heavy black cloud that sits over her head, is that she has no friends. She’s beyond lonely. Solitude runs through her bones like sticks of rock. She has nobody. The bottle is her only friend, and that’s no friend at all. Amy Stevenson had tonnes of friends. And a boyfriend, a

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I have a family I love, a husband I adore. But when I look back over the last few decades, the consistent thing is friendship. I’ve lost friends. A punch to the guts that still winds me when I think of it. And I’ve gained friends. And the friends that have wound their arms through mine, laughed with me, cried with me and told me when to belt up, those people have helped carve me. They’re a part of me and a part of my story, just like Alex and Amy shaped each other’s stories and changed each other’s lives. Holly Seddon

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CHAPTER ONE

Amy 18 July 1995

usic thudded through Amy’s body and seized her heart. Music so loud that her eardrums pounded in frenzy and her baby bird ribs rattled. Music was everything. Well, almost everything. Later, the newspapers would call fifteen-year-old Amy Stevenson a ‘ray of sunshine’, with ‘everything to live for’. Her headphones buzzed with Britpop as she trudged the long way home, rucksack sagging. Amy had a boyfriend, Jake. He loved her and she loved him. They had been together for nearly eight months, walking the romance route around the ‘top field’ at school during break time, hot hand in hot hand, fast hearts synchronized. Amy had two best friends: Jenny and Becky. The trio danced in a perpetual whirlpool of backstories, competition and gossip. Dizzying trails of ‘she-said-he-said-she-said’ preceded remorseful, sobbing hugs at the end of every drunken Saturday night. Nights out meant lemon Hooch in the Memorial park or Archers and lemonade at The Sleeper pub, where a five-year-old wouldn’t have been ID’d. School nights meant 6 p.m. phone calls once it hit the cheap rate. She would talk until her step-dad, Bob, came into the dining room and gave her that look: it’s dinner time, get off my phone. Thursday nights were Top of the Pops and Eastenders; Friday nights were Friends and The Word. Amy’s Kickers bag grew heavier with every step. She shifted it awkwardly to the other shoulder, tangling her wires so that one earbud pinged out of her ear, the sounds of the real world rushing in. She had taken the long way home. The previous day she’d got back early and startled Bob in the kitchen as he stirred Coffee Mate into his

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favourite mug. At first he’d smiled, opening his arms for a hug before realizing that she’d made it back in record time and must have gone across the field. She’d had to sit through half an hour of Bob’s ranting and raving about walking the safe route home, along the roads: ‘I’m saying this because I love you, Ames, we both love you and we just want you to be safe.’ Amy had listened, shuffled in her seat and stifled yawns. When he’d finally stopped, she’d stomped upstairs, flopped onto her bed and smacked CD cases around as she made an angry mix tape. Rage Against the Machine, Hole and Faith No More. As she’d surprised Bob the day before, Amy knew he was likely to be home already. Waiting to catch her and have another go at her. It wasn’t worth the hassle even though the longer walk was especially unwelcome on Tuesdays. Her bag was always really heavy as she had French and History and both had stupid, massive textbooks. Amy hated learning French with a passion; the teacher was a dick and who needs to give a window a gender? But she liked the idea of knowing the language. French was a sexy language. She imagined she could seduce someone a bit more sophisticated than Jake by whispering something French in his ear. She could seduce someone older. Someone a lot older. She loved Jake, of course, she meant it when she said it. She had his name carefully stencilled onto her bag with Tippex, and when she imagined the future, he was in it. But over the last few weeks she had begun to see the differences between them more and more. Jake, with his wide smile and deep-brown puppy-dog eyes, was so easy to spend time with, so gentle. But in the time they’d been going out, he’d barely plucked up the courage to put his hand inside her school shirt. They spent whole lunch hours kissing in the top field, and one time he’d climbed on top of her but she’d got a dead leg and had to move and he was so flustered he barely spoke for the rest of the day. It had been months and months and she was still a virgin. It was getting embarrassing. She hated the idea of being last, hated losing at anything. Frustrations aside, Amy hoped Jake had skipped judo club so he could come and meet her. Jake and his younger brother, Tom, were driven home from school every day because his snooty mum worked as the school secretary. His family lived in the doublefronted houses of Royal Avenue. We have copies to give away FREE. See page 63 to claim yours.

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He was always back before Amy reached the two-bedroom terrace house in Warlingham Road where she lived with Bob and her mum, Jo. Jake’s mum, Sue, didn’t like Amy. It was like she saw her as someone who would corrupt her precious baby. Amy liked the idea that she was some kind of scarlet woman. She liked the idea of being any kind of woman. Amy Stevenson had a secret. A secret that made her stomach lurch and her heart thump. None of Amy’s friends knew about her secret, and Jake certainly didn’t know. Jake could never know. Welcome, please, some of our Real Readers

Real Readers is another part of the nb/nudge empire where we’re working with some of the UK’s finest publishers to bring readers, publishers and authors closer together. Real Readers gives you the chance to read and review books before they are published, comment on cover designs and feedback on specific topics to publishers. If you’re interested then just visit nudge-book.com and use the Discover Nudge drop-down menu to find all you need to know about Real Readers. But for now, here’s what some of our Real Readers thought of Try Not to Breathe: The main characters are complex and engrossing, leaving me desperate to find out more about what had happened to them, and frantic to discover the identity of Amy’s attacker. There are many twists and turns and suspicion is aimed at numerous characters along the way. Alex and Amy are fantastic characters and their unique relationship is extraordinary and gripping to read. I was unable to put this book down until I’d reached the unforeseen, shocking climax and discovered the identity of the attacker. A thrilling read, I’d recommend to fans of psychological suspense such as The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl. Claire Hill Wow! This is a roller coaster of a ride, as we are introduced to the three main characters – Amy, Alex and Jacob in short snappy chapters that make you want to read on. Amy was attacked at the age of fifteen and left for dead, an experience so traumatic that for the last ten years she has been comatose. Jump forward to 2010 and meet Alex who, through drink, has lost her way in life. Her husband has left her and her career in journalism is more or less over . . . and this is where Amy, Alex and Jacob’s story becomes entwined. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, desperate to reach the final conclusion that was well and truly satisfying. However be aware that this was more a ‘who-dun-it’, than a thriller, hence the four stars, but I loved it all the same. Clare Acton This is a great debut novel and one that will have you whizzing through . . . and I really didn’t want to put it down. It captured my interest and had me searching to find the answer . . . all the characters are well developed and all have their own reasons for either wanting to help Alex or not. I think this is a well written book and I enjoyed all aspects of the story . . . it was a complete surprise and I liked the fact I was left hanging so long before I found answers. This I feel is going to be a massive book this year and one if you like psychological thrillers to get your hands on. Samantha Bates The story bounces backwards and forwards over years culminating in the present day when the truth is finally revealed. It is told by the various parties involved both at the time and present day including Amy, lying in her hospital bed, listening to the people around her. A good story, well told and one I would recommend particularly to anyone looking to be introduced to the genre of psychological thrillers as it’s not too tense or chilling. Michelle Bradford

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Writing on holiday is tricky. Beaches call. Children don’t understand why you haven’t finished yet. You always find sand in your characters’ shoes, the sea trickling into the plot. But story ideas rarely pop up between nine and five on a working weekday, as requested, preferring to be the uninvited guest. So Black Rabbit Hall began its ant-like march across my laptop screen one afternoon on holiday, not so many summers ago, as I gazed out at choppy waves on the Roseland Peninsula, my favourite part of Cornwall, remote and wild, a land of secret coves, wooded

Cornwall is a crucible for action, hard to escape, perilous, which is why novelists have always been drawn to it. Much of Black Rabbit Hall – a time-slip novel – is set in the 1960s, an era when Cornwall was not so much remote as teetering on the very edge of the world. It can be an unforgiving place if things go wrong, as they do, catastrophically, one stormy afternoon, for the four siblings at Black Rabbit Hall. Cut adrift, left to fend for themselves, they learn that there is magic in the harsh wildness too, once you know where to look, a possibility of refuge. (Sadness feels different by the

”like something glinting at the bottom of a deep tin mine” Why Cornwall has to be the setting for Eve Chase’s mystery

Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase is published by Michael Joseph as a £7.99 pbk on 16th June.

valleys and patchy mobile reception. I’m very glad Black Rabbit Hall started life there – it would end in a caffeinated blizzard in my stuffy writing shed in landlocked Oxford – because it couldn’t be set anywhere else. If you relocated Black Rabbit Hall to Wales, say, or Suffolk, the story would suck back violently like a spring tide, leaving hard bare sand. The novel owes much to Cornwall’s mythic savage beauty, and its isolation. Like Black Rabbit Hall itself – the crumbling old family house at the heart of the story –

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sea. It is smaller. And so are you.) Those siblings must escape to survive. Not all manage it. And the survivors, wherever they go, are forever left with a bit of that Cornish house buried inside of them, like something glinting at the bottom of a deep tin mine. Writing the book that summer, it occurred to me that all I wanted was for one reader to turn its last page and feel the same. Eve Chase

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Eve Chase an engima? Apparently Eve Chase is the pseudonym of a journalist who has worked extensively across the British press. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a website, facebook and twitter feed all with photographs of an attractive young woman. Surely not quite the anonymity of Elena Ferrante? What we do know is, “I write from a shed/studio in my garden in Oxford, accompanied by bits of wildlife that creep over the threshold to investigate my biscuit crumbs. A small space, it's perfect for cooking up bigger ones: sprawling, richly dysfunctional families, stories that seed into the cracked mortar of old houses. I love to read about such things, and write about them. I also love a cracking narrative pace. Words that dance on the tongue. Characters you want to scoop up and put in your pocket for safe keeping. I'm married with three children. I dream of Black Rabbit Hall's boot room.”

Review of Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase For Amber Alton, Black Rabbit Hall is a family tradition; she spends her childhood summers there where time moves slowly and life is simple. That is until one stormy night in 1968 and tragedy strikes. Fast forward a few decades; Lorna is looking for the perfect wedding venue. When she sees Black Rabbit Hall she is drawn into it and memories of her childhood start to resurface. Could it hold the key to the mystery surrounding her life? I devoured this book in a couple of sittings; I was pulled into the story just as characters are drawn to the stately home at the heart of the book. The writing style is lyrical and it is easy to read. I could vividly picture the house and its surroundings, so much so it was almost like watching a film in my head. Dual narrative stories can sometimes be confusing but it was the perfect way to tell this story. The reader is drip fed clues to the mystery so

the suspense is maintained throughout, as the two narrators fill in pieces of the puzzle until we finally get the big reveal. Of the two storylines it is Amber’s that has stayed with me but all of the characters are well drawn and I believed in them and understood their actions. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone. It was the unfurling of layers to get at the roots of both Lorna’s and Amber’s torment that I enjoyed the most so here endeth the review. I will say there are plenty of issues within the pages for book groups to discuss and argue over! With elements of gothic and historical novels, and with family drama thrown in, it’s a book that’s perfect to curl up with on the sofa. Lovely cover too!

Vicky Jopling Personal 4 Group 4

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Prologue Amber, last day of the summer holidays, 1969, Cornwall I feel safe on the cliff ledge, safer than in the house anyway. A few feet from the coast path, it’s a twenty-minute scramble from the edge of the estate, far enough from Black Rabbit Hall’s watching windows, a secret place. I hover on the cliff above it for a moment or two, wind snapping my dress against my legs, soles of my feet tingling, then lower myself carefully, gripping the clumps of grass, sea roaring in my ears. (Best not to look down.) One small heart-stop drop and I’m perching right on the edge of sky. Jump too wide, it’s all over. I wouldn’t do it. But it occurs to me that I like the fact I could. That I have some control over my destiny today. Pressed against the cliff wall, I finally catch my breath. So much frantic searching: woods, rooms, endless stairs. Heels rubbed raw in too-small plimsolls. And I still haven’t found them. Where are they? Shading my eyes from the sky dazzle with my hand, I scan the bottle- green cliff tops on the other side of the cove. Deserted. Only cattle in the fields. I inch down then, spine against the rock, and hitch up my dress, brazenly, so that air tunnels through my bare bent legs. Still at last, I can’t outrun the events of the day any longer. Even the sound of the waves on the rocks makes my slapped cheek sting afresh. I blink and there is the house, silhouetted on the inside of my eyelids. So I try to keep my eyes open and let my mind loose in the vast pink sky, where the sun and moon hang like a question and an answer. I forget that I am meant to be searching. That minutes move faster than clouds at dusk. I think only of my own escape. I don’t know how long I sit there, my thoughts pierced by a huge black bird diving over the cliff, so close its talons might catch in my hair. I instinctively duck in its wing draught, nose meeting the cool skin of my knees. And when I look up my gaze is no longer on the sky but flotsam bobbing on the high tide swell below. No, not flotsam. Something more alive. A dolphin? Or those jellyfish that have been washing up in our cove all week, like a lost cargo of grey glass bowls? Maybe. I lean forward, dipping my face over the edge to get a better view, hair blowing wildly, heart beating a little faster, starting to sense something terrible shifting just below the shimmering blue surface, not quite seeing it. Not yet.

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One Lorna, over three decades later

t is one of those journeys. The closer they get to their destination, the harder it is to imagine that they’ll ever actually arrive. There is always another bend in the road, a judder to the dead end of a farm track. And it is getting late, too late. Warm summer rain is drumming on the roof of the car. ‘I say we cut our losses and head back to the B-and-B.’ Jon cranes over the steering-wheel to get a better view of the road liquefying behind the windscreen. ‘Grab a pint and plan a wedding somewhere within the M25. What do you reckon?’ Lorna draws a house with her fingertip in the condensation on the window. Roof. Chimney. Squiggle of smoke. ‘Don’t think so, darling.’ ‘Somewhere with a sunny micro-climate, perhaps?’ ‘Ha. Funny.’ Despite the disappointments of the day so far – none of the wedding venues has lived up to expectation, too much overpriced chintz – Lorna is quite happy. There is something exhilarating about driving through this wild weather with the man she is to marry, just the two of them cocooned in their wheezing little red Fiat. When they’re old and grey they’ll remember this journey, she thinks. Being young and in love and in a car in the rain. ‘Great.’ Jon frowns at a looming dark shape in the mirror. ‘All I need now is a massive bloody tractor up my backside.’ He stops at a crossroads where various signs, bent by the wind, point in directions that bear little relation to the angle of the corresponding roads. ‘Now where?’ ‘Are we lost?’ she teases, enjoying the idea. ‘The satnav is lost. We seem to have gone off grid. Only in your beloved Cornwall.’ Lorna smiles. Jon’s is a boyish, uncomplicated grumpiness, one that will evaporate with the first sign of the house, or a cold beer. He doesn’t internalize things, like she does, or make obstacles symbolic of other stuff. ‘Right.’ He nods at the map on Lorna’s lap, which is scattered with biscuit crumbs and folded haphazardly. ‘How are your map-reading skills coming along, sweetheart?’ ‘Well. . .’ She scrabbles the map open, bouncing the crumbs off to join the empty water bottles rolling on the sandy car floor. ‘According to my rough cartological calculations, we’re currently driving through the Atlantic.’ Jon huffs back in his seat, stretches out his legs, too long for the small car. ‘Brilliant.’ We have copies to give away FREE. See page 63 to claim yours.

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unconventional. It made me want to slip into his skin and to taste the fearlessness which I suspect he largely enjoyed. On a more serious note, I wanted to understand his state of mind when he created works such as The Jewish Bride, The Return of the Prodigal Son and the late self-portraits. Around this time Rembrandt experienced a series of losses and yet he created images that are not only technically innovative and breathtakingly beautiful, but also have an extraordinary power to move us. Ever since I saw Rembrandt’s Self-portrait at the age of 63 in my early twenties I’ve wanted to know what makes his art

then I think, no, courage implies an effort to overcome something. There was no doubt great effort in getting the composition right, as pentimenti* testify. However, when he came to painting his sagging skin, it was a matter of simply painting what he saw. And when I look at his ageing face or any face for that matter. I find it beautiful. I find each wrinkle beautiful. PR: I notice in your acknowledgements you mention a meeting with art historian Ernst Van De Wetering back in 2004, suggesting this novel had a long gestation period?

What does the artist see in the mirror? Phil Ramage was exceedingly impressed with our Recommended Read, Rembrandt’s Mirror and was keen to learn more about Ms Devereux’s debut.

Phil Ramage: What was it about Rembrandt which made you feel he had the potential to be a central character? Kim Devereux: Apparently, “Rembrandt handled his money and marketing in the same manner that he led his life and made his art: he was unconventional in every respect.” I read this statement by Paul Crenshaw in his book Rembrandt’s Bankruptcy. It crystalized why I find Rembrandt’s character so fascinating. He keeps surprising me. I must admit, I admire people who have the courage to be

touching and captivating, but even after years of study, I still cannot really answer this, except to describe what happens. I see his face looking back at me and I’m looking back at him and then I’m awed by the simplest of things – the drooping skin under his eyes, the wrinkles and the hollowness of his cheek where his teeth have fallen out. All these are harbingers of his mortality and they seem both nullified and embraced by his steady, open gaze. I’m touched that he is interested in his own physical decay, that he’s not hiding it, or skirting over it. I think it takes great courage. But

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KD: The history of my telling of Rembrandt’s and Hendrickje’s story is in itself a bit of a story. My background is in film and TV and I reworked the idea at least a dozen times both as a documentary and a drama. I got close to the idea being commissioned for TV a number of times and at one point I was asked by a feature film company to write the story as a screen play. I had just completed it when the producer called me and said he had been approached by Peter Greenaway to make a film about Rembrandt (Nightwatching). My project

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was ‘shelved’. That was the point when I gave up. However, a few years later when I embarked on an MA in creative writing I soon realized that Rembrandt still had not let me go. PR: I particularly like the way the research has been seamlessly employed in the novel. How did you immerse yourself into the life of seventeenth century Netherlands? KD: I travelled to Amsterdam on numerous occasions, losing at least one boyfriend in the process. It was billed as a romantic getaway but I spent all my time in the Rembrandt House or the Rijksmuseum, obsessing about Rembrandt in every way known to woman. I also read as much scholarly literature as I could. I really wanted to get the facts right. I am an art-historian so there is no excuse. I found Thijs Weststeijn’s book The Visible World very inspiring. It is about Rembrandt’s pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten and it is very evocative of the 17th century zeitgeist. The greatest challenge is to get the balance right of having, on the one hand a strong sense of what is considered customary and on the other, portray the attitudes of individuals which might well be diametrically opposed to the behavioural norms of the time. For example, just because the prevailing Calvinist doctrine is very restrictive and negative about sex, it does not mean that

every single person considered sex to be inherently sinful. In every society there are rules about what is acceptable and even in reacting against them characters are still being shaped by them. One of the most exciting things about immersing myself in another time is that it has made me pay more attention to the unspoken rules and assumptions that might be influencing my own thoughts and behaviour in our time. One surprising fact is that in 17th century Amsterdam it would have been most unusual to have sex in the nude. PR: Is there one piece of Rembrandt’s artwork that for you best conveys the genius of the artist? KD: For me it is the drawing he made of Elsje Christiaens’ body. She was the first woman to be executed in Amsterdam in 21 years. She couldn’t pay her rent and got into a quarrel with her landlady, who tumbled down a flight of stairs to her death. After Elsje was executed her body was strung up on a gibbet. Rembrandt was not the only artist to have made a trip to the field of gallows to see her body. Anthonie van Borssom did the same but his depiction is very different. It shows a wide view with a dozen gibbets with Elsje’s body only recognizable by the axe that dangles from the gibbet by her head. Rembrandt however, draws none of the surroundings, only Elsje’s body. Her arms hang limp. Her feet dangle in the air,

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high above the ground. He draws her close enough for her to be an individual, her face young and unmarked by life, in the repose of death. As ever, Rembrandt homes in on what makes us human. No-one and nothing is ever objectified. The smallest of seemingly insignificant details are the means by which he reveals fundamental truths. PR: Was Rembrandt a good catch? KD: I think he was a terrible catch – especially if you add up the sensible things you might want in a man. Having said that, if there was a time machine and I could beat Hendrickje to it, I would no doubt succumb to his genius, his unconventionality and, above all, his way of seeing . . . In his art Rembrandt doesn’t categorize or typecast women. They seem to be depicted in their fullness and complexity. There is a sense of liberty and strength about them. So perhaps he was a good catch after all. Full Q&A and Phil’s review are on nudge. *pentimento - a visible trace of earlier painting beneath a layer or layers of paint on a canvas.

Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kim Devereux (Atlantic pbk £8.99) now available.

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Rembrandt’s Mirror - Kim Devereux

The Night Watch Rembrandt’s house, Sint-Anthonisbreestraat, June 1642

All is darkness, except for the afterglow of what he saw before he closed his eyes. Two throbbing specks of light. How beautiful they are. And in between the two there’s a wisp of luminance, connecting them, like a half-formed thought. He opens his eyes to let the light in again. For a moment the entire canvas rears up at him, twice his height. He backs away until he’s up against the wooden roof support, taking the whole thing in: thirty-odd night watchmen in a restless broil, each jabbing in a different direction; but wait, the lieutenant is about to pull them back into order with his call to march. He squints. The image blurs, letting him see what matters: islands of ivory in a sea of dark. But the dark has teeth, forever gnawing at the light. He lets his lids part a little more. The brightest of the two islands is Lieutenant van Ruytenburch’s coat and there’s his visual echo – the girl with the dead chicken hanging from her belt. She’s a shade more buttery than him. His ivory calls out, her light form answers, so satisfying to the eye, which loves a repetition. A tension is growing between them, taut as a string, waiting to be plucked. The corners of his mouth rise into a smile. The sound of a cough. A reminder. He dismisses it from his mind. The canvas is waiting. He opens his eyes fully, struck by the carmine dress of the musketeer. Red is such a pregnant colour, drawing attention by its deep tone alone. He is a choirmaster listening. Right beside the sonorous black of the captain’s uniform soars the shining bright lieutenant. Baritone and soprano. Foils to one another. And all around, the choir, singing not with one voice but many: different coloured clothes, textures, characters and vigorous movements in all directions. And yet together they make a perfect harmony. It’s just as he intended it.

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Rembrandt’s Mirror - Kim Devereux

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He is imagining the other group portraits that will hang alongside his. Rows and rows of brightly lit heads, about as life-like as playing cards. Another intrusion. She coughs again. But he needs to take care of the details now. The dark silhouette of the musket butt is similar to the shadow of the captain’s hand. He makes them mimic one another – same length, same angle, adds a thumb-like hook to the butt. Now, they chime together – resonant. He scours the picture for more. The carmine of the musketeer and the sash of the captain, both the same red. The lieutenant’s partisan, and the captain’s outstretched hand. Perfectly parallel. Now the picture hums and whispers like a colony of bees – alive. More coughing. He listens harder to the bee choir. He won’t be distracted. Looks for more enhancements. The coughing stops. He waits, brush in hand, unable to look at the painting anymore, straining to hear. Samuel, his assistant and most promising pupil, seems oblivious to the pause, busy preparing lead white on the grinding stone. The boy is all limbs and yet so full of intent, so serious, at fifteen. Just as he was. The lean-to is two storeys high and shelters the enormous canvas and several ladders. Supported by a few columns it is open to the yard, making the silence from her open window opposite undeniable. She coughs again, uncontrollably it seems. The boy looks up at him, his eyes urging him to go to her. So he puts down his palette and brushes, strides across the yard, into the corridor, through the entrance hall, where he notices one of his paintings. He’s walked past it a hundred times but now he’s caught by it, forgetting where he meant to go. It’s her as Flora, wearing a red dress, her left hand resting on her bosom. Saskia. Above her blue eyes is that expanse of luminous forehead that he always wants to kiss, surprised each time that such a simple act can make him happy in an instant. Her right arm is outstretched, offering him a red carnation and some are strewn in the background, too. She smells of them, and other flowers – though not now she is ill. Was it only six months ago that he painted this? Another cough moves him on. He has a thought, steps into the print room on the way, picks up a copper plate and dry-point needle and continues on. It is her bedroom now of course. His clothes are still kept there but he has been sleeping in the guest bed in the anteroom so as not to disturb her while she recovers. He has to stop himself from breaking into a run. How could he have stayed away for so many hours? We have copies to give away FREE. See page 63 to claim yours.

A LIFE’S WORK

Paul Torday Paul Torday burst on to the scene with Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, at the age of 60 followed by 7 more novels widely appreciated by our reviewers and readers everywhere. PAUL TORDAY 1946-2013

THE DEATH OF AN OWL W&N 9781780222264 hbk Apr 2016

Sadly Paul Torday died before finishing his last book, but his son has completed it and so expertly that you can’t see the join. It’s a very enjoyable political satire, with many twists and turns, well-plotted and well-paced and I nodded knowingly on quite a few occasions, as it skewers political correctness and political self-serving with some biting and acerbic comments. It all starts when a barn owl flies into the windscreen of a car driven by a Conservative MP, and the ramifications of this unfortunate but unavoidable accident have far-reaching consequences. A simple enough premise but a pertinent one at showing how quickly such a small incident can spiral out of control. And there’s a bit of gothic fantasy thrown into the mix, which blends in surprisingly well in an otherwise realistic novel and seems perfectly plausible in a strange sort of way. What a loss Paul Torday is to us. Mandy Jenkinson Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

between the two of them and put them both in prison and finished Chris Huhne’s career. The basic premise of the book surrounds truthfulness and at the end of the day Charles could not do anything other than tell the truth even though he knew it would cause Andrew’s downfall. I would not be a bit surprised if the novel gives an insight into the true workings of the political wheel and, if so, makes me more nervous about the sort of people who are running our country. Dorothy Flaxman Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

I'm often dubious about political books, I tend to glaze over if they get too technical, however this kept me interested from start to finish with its slow build up to the event of the title and the far-reaching consequences. The ladies of the story I didn't feel came across as strongly - it felt like a man's world, they either got on with their own lives or complemented their husband's. As for the owl storyline, I wonder how much influence Piers had on the ending? It did feel, in retrospect, as though he may have had control there. I quite enjoyed the arc of the story, the ultimate final resting place of Andrew's scandal, it felt both outrageously ridiculous and also just. . . . as a swansong (I can't really think of an owl-related descriptor!), it's worthy of its primary author. Katy Noyes

[This] book could be likened to the Chris Huhne/Vicky Price debacle whereby speeding points were passed

Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

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Part political intrigue and part 'supernatural' mystery! Paul Torday died before finishing this book but when his son (an author of children's books) found the manuscript he felt compelled to finish it. Although there is no indication in the book to mark where he took up the story I personally think it is fairly obvious . . . when the 'supernatural' took over with the perceived actions of owls dominating the story and influencing the eventual outcome. Almost a story of our time but I found it slow to start and rather unbelievable at the finish. Dilys Killick Personal read........................★★ Group read.............................★★

I'm afraid I was very disappointed. It's slow and not much happens really. I think that what could have been an interesting political satire just fell short of the mark and I found my attention drifted off quite a lot whilst reading it. I wonder if people who enjoyed Salmon Fishing would enjoy this one and perhaps it's Torday's more political books that I'm not keen on. I will try the others that I have and hope I fare better with them. Reading groups might discuss how they would have dealt with the death of the owl, or talk about politics (although that might lead to arguments!). Nicola Smith Personal read........................★★ Group read.............................★★

This is not the kind of genre I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I couldn’t identify with the characters from a

A LIFE’S WORK

social class or political persuasion, I found the book interesting as the characters are of a similar age to me. The pace of the book, I would say, is steady. It’s not the pace of a thriller yet not too slow that you lose interest. One criticism I do have is that the book is very male dominated, with women playing virtually no part. But then again, maybe this says more about the Tory MP world than it does about the book! Christine Deudney Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

LIGHT SHINING IN THE FOREST W&N 9781780222240 pbk Oct 2013

Norman Stokoe is the new "Children's Czar" of Northumberland, but [has] no green-light to do anything. Then Willie, a local newspaper reporter, comes to him - some children have gone missing. Everyone has labeled them as runaways, but Willie doesn't believe it. If one had to choose a tagline for this novel, it would have to be "Every five minutes a child goes missing in the UK." In fact, this line actually appears several times, and was probably the inspiration for this book. One thing you have to give to Torday is that he is very original. This was the third book of his that I read, and not one of them is anything like the other. And while this was his last novel before his death, I'm not fully convinced that this was his best one. However, it was certainly the most compelling of all of his reads. Even when parts disturbed me, I just couldn't stop reading, and writing like that is a skill essential to this genre. All of this shows what a huge talent we lost . . . there's no telling what heights he could have soared to. Davida Chazan Personal read ................★★★★

THE LEGACY OF HARTLEPOOL HALL W&N 9780297863205 pbk July 2012

The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall tells the story of Ed Hartlepool and his (stately) home. When his father died and left the vast estate to Ed five years ago, Ed retreated to France to bury his head in the sand and avoid facing the massive tax bill and all the other problems associated with owning such an estate in modern times. When he has to come back he realises the scale of the mess he is in. I really enjoyed this book [which] was easy to read, humorous and a pleasure all round. I think the author has a light-hearted style which is a little quirky and whimsical. In a way I find myself wondering why I liked this book so much as the story doesn't go anywhere and there isn't that much depth to the characterisations, but I just found it to be a book that I looked forward to reading, and what more can you ask for? Nicola Smith Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE HOPELESS LIFE OF CHARLIE SUMMERS W&N 9780753823415 pbk Oct 2010

This is one of the few titles of Paul’s that I have not yet read [and] I can say that it did not disappoint. The story follows Hector ChetwodeTalbot, Eck to his friends, who is approached after leaving the army by an old army pal (Bilbo Mountwilliam), to act as a “greeter” to

persuade moneyed clients to join Bilbo’s investment fund company. On a golfing trip to France, Eck first meets Charlie Summers and this chance encounter sets in motion a chain of events neither of them could foresee. The story takes place just before the financial markets crash and the economic crisis is explained in a matter of fact way, so don’t let the thought of finance put you off this book. Paul Torday has a great skill in making each of his characters believable and, despite their faults, very likable. You think you know where the story is going, and to a certain extent you are correct but there always seems to be a twist or turn that surprises. Carolyn Fraser Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

I found the themes and ideas of this book interesting - the world of investments in the "boom" years, the "loveable rogue, Del Boy" conman and the potential links of their morality and honesty - which is the real criminal? However, as an overall read, I found it slightly disappointing. I found the character of Eck to be rather bland . . . Harriet, his "love interest" was underused. Charlie Summers, I loved, but, like the character, he had a habit of disappearing. As a taster of the world of finance, encouraging people to mortgage their homes to invest in "surefire, can't lose" schemes and then the realisation that all may not be as safe and secure as promised . . . a good idea, but . . . underdeveloped and it left me feeling disappointed. It was well enough written, and the characters were adequately outlined - I just felt that they could have been used more. Still, it's only my personal opinion and there were the bones of a good novel in there. John McCloskey Personal read ....................★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

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A LIFE’S WORK

THE GIRL ON THE LANDING W&N 9780753823408 pbk June 2009 Recommended Read in nb53

Paul Torday brings an undertone of superb disquiet into the opening chapter of this absorbing psychological thriller. Michael sees the picture of a girl in a green dress on the landing of his hosts’ house, but when he looks later, she’s not there. From this unsettling beginning, we move deeper and deeper into spooky territory. Elizabeth begins to realise that Michael is changing from the dull bore she married and after delving into his earlier life she finds that he suffered from mental health problems and has been on medication for years. But Michael has come off his pills, and is starting to feel truly alive again. The girl in the green dress pops up everywhere, seen mainly by Michael, and incites him into increasingly violent action . . . I was on the edge of my sofa, wondering how it would all end. There is a fascinating comparison between [medicated] Michael, talking and thinking like a robot, and the new Michael, emerging from his zombie state, but haunted by hallucinations urging him towards violence. Torday is a gifted writer, and while this is a compulsive thriller, it is also an examination of the nature of delusion, and the difficulty of ever really knowing the nature of another person, even in the closest relationships. Don’t miss it! Daphne Poupart Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

... confirms Torday's reputation as an incisive author of great range [yet] shows several characteristics distinctive of the author. Torday has taken one central theme and produced a thoughtful account of

some of the issues. Although not as humorous as Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, that is only to be expected with the subject matter. However, the scenes in the gentleman's club add some more light-hearted moments to the story, making it eminently readable, while also enabling a discussion about Michael's own identity, and that of British society as a whole. Ultimately . . . a thought provoking and readable treatment of a difficult subject. Unfortunately, like many of the author's books, it seems that very few people benefit in the end. Arguably, however, this is true enough to life, where, given our poor understanding of mental health, it is only natural to ask "who benefits"? Nicholas Cutler Personal read ................★★★★

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN W&N 9780753821787 pbk Jun 2007

This is a joy of a book to read. Dr Alfred Jones Fred - leads a quiet life, working as a fisheries scientist in the academic civil service. His childless and dull marriage to Mary, an ambitious financier, becomes even chillier when she takes a promotion abroad without any marital discussion. Out of the blue, Fred is approached to head an apparently impossible scheme, dreamt up by a rich Yemeni sheikh with a passion for fishing, to introduce salmon to the desert wadis of his native country. The basic storyline is quirky and original. So, too, is its telling. The plot develops through a variety of fictional mediums: memos, letters, diary entries, interviews, excerpts from an autobiography and even Hansard entries. This device is singularly effective in developing the characters of the principal players, Fred and Harriet . . . their deeper emotions and

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motivations only become apparent through their more personal exchanges. . . . this was a stunning debut. I rarely re-read modern novels, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it again. Even if you know the story from the successful film, this is a great read, which would appeal to fans of Marina Lewycka Ann Smout Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

I loved this book! And there was much more to it than I thought there would be. I enjoyed the format immensely . . . an excellent way of writing the different perspectives of the story, clear and concise; easy to recognise different characters' voices and you are soon immersed and involved in the project yourself. As a reader you are lured into a false sense of security as the book starts light heartedly and is quite comical. The author explores brilliantly the personal, national and international effect of turning one man’s dream into reality. I felt cheerful and high spirited reading the story and then bam; all of a sudden you are hit by a seriousness that you never considered. I highly recommend this read. A tale of politics, religion, loss, love, and learning to believe. The ending is not what I expected but it left its mark on me and I always love it when a book does that. Lisa Cox Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

14 of your reviewers were keen to share their impressions of Paul Torday’s work but space means we are able to bring you edited versions of what they had to say. However, you will find them all in full on nudge – just use Torday as your search.

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Join us on a stroll through this summer's visual highlights. has now become a regular part of our quarterly magazine because there are so many opinions on what has been filmed, how it was filmed even why it has been filmed. Books are only a short hop to TV and movie screens (with a skilled screenplay writer) and whatever you think of the result, stories are there to be told in as many forms as possible. On nudge, our partner website, we are beginning to cluster articles (as we do Best Books of the 21st Century and Around the World in 80 Books) so you can see details of upcoming new adaptations on film or TV. We also want to post reviews of new, recent or older film adaptations, to see how you think they compare to the books. We’ve been treated to some lavish TV and film productions this year already, so pick up your device of choice and do let us know what you thought of what you’ve seen recently. Now, we’re going to focus on the very recent or forthcoming cinema adaptations coming your way before our next issue in early October: 64

The BFG Released 22nd July. © Walt Disney Pictures.

Just in time for the kids’ summer hols, I can see this being a smash and Roald Dahl crashing back into the children’s bestseller lists all over again. It’s been done before, a film version, I mean, but that was cartoon, low budget and around 27 years ago with David Jason doing the voice over. Now we have a huge Steven Spielberg adaptation of the 1984 classic with stop motion cleverness throughout and a giant who looks like Thomas Cromwell, well, that’s because the film features Spielberg’s latest favourite muse: Mark Rylance, the star of Wolf Hall. He’s obviously trying to recapture

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the magic that brought us ET back in the director’s early years (Can that really be 34 years ago?). In any case, it’s a heartwarming story with a very old fashioned superhero complete with a West Country accent. What’s not to like about that?

Mark Rylance as The BFG and Ruby Barnhill as Sophie

Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones and Colin Firth as Mark Darcy

BRIDGET JONES’S BABY Released 16th September. © Universal Pictures.

And so, the 3rd instalment of the adventures of our favourite publishing executive. Actually now she’s a TV executive, but, Darcy (Colin Firth) is still around. Based (partly) on Helen Fielding’s 2014 long awaited follow up novel Mad about the Boy, Bridget has been brought back to the screen with a screenplay from the author herself, writing with Emma Thompson (who also appears in the film, as does Ed Sheeran, bizarrely).

Putting on her very best British accent, Texan Renee Zellwegger returns to, perhaps, her most famous role with gusto, but, will it hit the same audience 20 years on or have cinemagoers moved on?

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Released 7th October. © Universal Pictures.

the two finest proponents of the genre, Gone Girl and The Girl On A Train have been humongous-selling superbestsellers and every publisher is on the lookout for the next one. Gone Girl made a pretty decent Oscar-nominated film. The question of whether Paula Hawkins’ debut will too is a giant poser for the film industry this year, because there’s a lot riding on it. Brit Emily Blunt has been cast as the divorcee at the heart of the thriller, but, inevitably, the story has been relocated to the States. It is expected to be a huge Fatal Attraction-type hit and, why not? The book has only recently been released in paperback here, such was the massive and long-term success of the hardback.

As anyone can see from the bestseller lists, there’s a lot of ‘Grip-lit’ (as it’s now called in publishing circles) about these days. Principally, that’s because

Emily Blunt as Rachel Watson

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:Rosemary’s Baby

oman Polanski’s Hollywood debut was both directed and written for the screen by him. He must have kept the source material, Ira Levin’s novel from 1967, very close as much is taken word for word from the book. I cannot remember another occasion where dialogue is so close to the novel. Levin twisted horror story conventions for his tale of urban demon-spawning and by locating it in a bright, airy contemporary New York apartment with an easy-toidentify-with aspirational couple made the whole thing extremely scary, even though it’s mainly frightening through implication. Polanski did right to convey this exactly on screen,

(1968) © Paramount Pictures.

Rosemary’s Baby Ira Levin (Pan Books, 1968)

even down to small details. At one point in the novel husband Guy takes a book on witchcraft that he doesn’t want his pregnant wife to read and lays it on a full bookshelf on top of the two-volume Kinsey report on sexual behaviour. The only reason for this would be to further illustrate that this is a modern, sexually aware couple as it is never referred to again. In the film it’s laid on top of the very same books. Rosemary’s Vidal Sassoon haircut midway through the book is much criticised but he is on board as stylist for the film. A New York visit from the Pope doesn’t add much to the story (other than some unstated symbolism of “good” and “evil”

Mia Farrow was only 23 in this film.

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(1968) © Paramount Pictures.

Phil Ramage takes a look at the work of Ira Levin and Roman Polanski.

John Cassavetes explains the problem to Mia Farrow

being in the same location) and much of it is just shown on television screens but it’s kept in for the film. It’s more challenging to spot the differences. Rosemary does not escape to a cabin for a few days but remains in the oppressive city heat with her mounting paranoia and there’s the odd little change – probably due to sponsorship – but as Levin was such a brilliant storyteller and wrote perhaps the most perfectly balanced modern horror story ever, why change too much? Mia Farrow as Rosemary and Ruth Gordon as nosy neighbour Minnie are particularly superbly cast and the whole thing is like the novel brought to life exactly as it was in my imagination and you don’t get that too often with Hollywood versions do you?

What is it about

The Godfather? Your publisher tries to explain

et three men of a certain age together and eventually conversation will contain a reference to The Godfather which will probably turn into a full blown discussion. Put any of these sentences to such men and they will immediately smile and realize they are in the presence of another such as them: “A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." “That's my family Kay, that's not me.” "It's a Sicilan message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes." Thanks to the internet you can pick and choose a quote to suit virtually every occasion but everybody knows “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Back in 1972 it became an easy joke on TV and in everyday communication but look more closely and the whole film is redolent with powerful dialogue and even more powerful images. Even a single word can evoke a scene – try this: Tom Hagen is stood on the stairs outside a locked door and says, “Sonny . . . ?” Any redblooded male – and female -

could tell you what’s going on on the other side of that door. So what exactly is it that makes this such an all-pervasive movie? Why did I want to be Michael Corleone in Sicily with a handkerchief and two bodyguards? Why did I want to be the young Vito Corleone, in apron, jacket and cap, shouldering a crate of vegetables as he walked with supreme confidence out into the busy early 20th century New York street? Because yes, not only was this film fantastically good but the sequel was its equal if not actually better. I recently re-watched You’ve Got Mail where chain bookstore owner, Tom Hanks, is about to put local children’s bookseller, Meg Ryan, out of business. In a late evening conversation with her boyfriend, Greg Kinnear is typing "Except to say, 'Go to the mattress--' Ryan: "What does that mean?” Kinnear: “It's from The Godfather. It means you have to go to war.” Ryan explodes: “What is it about men and The Godfather?” As Hanks is having an anonymous email ‘conversation’ (er, love affair) with Ryan, this of course gives him the chance

The Godfather Mario Puzo (Arrow Books 2009)

to do his impression of Brando/Vito Corleone and better still his explanation that “The Godfather is the I-ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." What day of the week is it? "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday." Perhaps Hanks – or more accurately, Nora Ephron - says it all. [But] there has to be more to say and I’m dying to hear if Reg and Mike feel the same way. And on nudge you will find: Reg's riposte Mike demands: Show me some respect! Reg pays his respects to Mike's family Pacino and Brando - brave casting? Inspired casting? naaah!! says Reg And much more!

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Annabel Abbs reveals the five novels that helped her find/hone her writing voice

Faves

VANESSA AND VIRGINIA SUSAN SELLERS This was the book that made me want to write a novel. An account of the lives of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, it’s written in the present tense using supremely simple but elegant and sensuous prose, with a combination of first person and second person narratives. Through the lens of the two sisters, Sellers explores themes of artistic creation, mental illness and the female experience. These were themes profoundly relevant to the woman I wanted to write about: Lucia Joyce. I struggled to find my voice as I wrestled with my first draft of The Joyce Girl. Unable to attend any writing courses, this was the book that taught me, inspired me, and urged me on.

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BY GRAND CENTRAL STATION I SAT DOWN AND WEPT ELIZABETH SMART Usually described as a prose poem, this is a compelling account of an 18year long, tempestuous love affair told in the most powerful prose I’ve ever come across. Its raw, visceral intensity left me reeling after I first read it. There’s virtually no plot or characterisation and yet it tugs you into a fevered, dream-like world of doomed passion that is utterly absorbing. Angela Carter’s description of it as “Madame Bovary blasted by lightning” is perfect. Forced to raise four children single-handedly, Smart wrote very little else. The tragedy of her personal story makes this autobiographical masterpiece even more potent. This is one to read in a single, uninterrupted sitting.

ULYSSES JAMES JOYCE It took me three attempts to get to grips with Ulysses, an epic novel chronicling a single day in the life of anti-hero, Leopold Bloom. But when I finally realised how to read it, I was overwhelmed by its bold, inventive and lyrical prose. There are passages I come back to, time and time again, when I need inspiration. Joyce was also a master of economy. In a single line he can convey complex emotion and astute observation. I was inspired by his experiments with form and structure too: Joyce gave writers licence to play with language, punctuation, plot – everything. And while Ulysses doesn’t always work, it’s worth persevering for its scattered nuggets of gold. This was an extraordinarily brave and radical book when it appeared in 1922 – and in many ways it still is. But it isn’t a book to be read in the usual way. I only fully appreciated it when I joined a guided reading group and spent six months immersed in it.

THE MINIATURIST JESSIE BURTON A masterclass in combining atmosphere, character and plot in a skein of deliciously smooth prose, Burton’s debut novel lived up to all the hype. Exciting, accessible and hugely evocative, it was the book that encouraged me to rewrite a third draft of The Joyce Girl almost entirely from scratch. Underpinned by meticulous research, The Miniaturist is set in 17th century Amsterdam and tells the story of 18-year old Nella’s arrival at the home of her new husband, Johannes. It’s a novel that hits every nerve, cleverly combining suspense with sympathetic characters and intelligent writing. Few books manage to be both juicily pageturning and literary - this one does. It also explores race and sexuality, making it at once both historical and contemporary. No mean feat.

“A masterclass in combining atmosphere, character and plot in a skein of deliciously smooth prose”

THE PURSUIT OF LOVE NANCY MITFORD The ultimate comfort read, this is the book I return to whenever madness, displacement and tragedy become too much. Or simply when I’m in bed with flu. I read it first as a girl and was hugely envious of the colourful Mitford family and its various escapades with horses, hounds and larger-than-life aristocrats. I then read it as a teenager and longed to be like Linda, its dizzy, glamorous heroine. Reading it as an adult has proved to be a very different experience – darker and less enchanting perhaps. But Mitford’s deft prose, her succinct characterisation and her powers of spiky comic observation still make this, her fourth novel, an absolute delight. The sequel, Love in a Cold Climate, is equally delightful.

Annabel Abbs’ The Joyce Girl is published by Impress Books in pbk June 2016 £8.99.

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Welcome to Love Your Indie... . . . a loyalty card scheme for independent booksellers, in association with Nudge.

he nb/nudge empire stretches further than you might realize. Elsewhere in this issue we introduce you to Real Readers (see page 49). Then, of course, there’s the nudge List (our free iPhone/iPad App) and the nudge Update (a monthly e-newsletter) both focusing on events and books in which we think you’ll be interested (see page 61) and then there’s Love Your Indie. Launched in The Guardian in 2011, Love Your Indie is our loyalty card scheme for independent booksellers set up with the Independent Alliance. (This, in turn, is “a global alliance of ten UK publishers and their international partners who share a common vision of editorial excellence, original, diverse publishing, innovation in marketing and commercial success”.) And, of course, the Independent Alliance are particularly interested in the continuation of independent bookshops for you and I to be able to see, touch, sample 70

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To activ ate your card, vie of partic in t int a en sp wsp ip ing erer 00 aen full.op y£1£1 y ok to claimmppat r revevbo sh lis.t shop oksok bo myofofo bo t op sta nt sta ensh a an urepFR de a ndBO ct enEE llectww pe Colle ind inde gonontodto Co lo gve log ng w O s . .lo tin K ati ps mp m vis pa cip rtici sta itoosesea n sta parti ur ten te indie. choo veyo a pa dd ch have an.u an uuha k co k be e eyoyo Onc die.co.u UK’s Onc ’s st indi urin your veyo thme the UK love w.lo froKmfro www. K ww O s. O er O BOB s. erish t pu FREEEE a FR shbl publi st en bend indepe

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books before we buy. All very grand but how does it work? Well, spend £10 in participating bookshops and they’ll stamp your card.

www.nu nud dge gem me eno now.com

Read more about Love Your Indie – and claim free books! www.loveyourindie.co.uk

WORD POWER Next time you're in Edinburgh, make sure you call in!

set up the bookshop 21 years ago and James Kelman cut the red ribbon for us on 1st December 1994 . Our tagline: A Veritable Fleamarket of Books and Ideas - a comment made to me by one admirer of the bookshop after having had a good browse around and very apt it is as that's what Word Power Books is about in essence, books and ideas! Many writers who have visited the shop or had events here have written comments on our website - one of my favourites is from Kathleen Jamie, the poet and author of essay collections Findings and Sightlines, who describes her discovery of the shop in the following way: "When you find Word Power it's like sighting a fox or sparrowhawk in the city. You think, Yesss!" I think the best independent bookshops are often tucked away, usually not on the high street, and the rewards of stumbling across one or indeed seeking out the local indie bookshop can make for a delightful few hours or, on occasion, the start of a lifelong relationship with said shop and

its staff. It may sound cliched but good independent bookshops are not just shops selling books but become places where people want to go and 'be' even when they aren't really looking for a book (the book lover's vice!). The friendly welcome, the book recommendations, the shop dog/cat, the coffee, the cake, the funny cards, the general lure of the place. Bookshops become part of people's lives and are held in great affection by the readers who frequent them and this is something the internet can never replicate! In my humble opinion I think Word Power Books is such a place and I have customers who have been on the long journey with me and the staff, and others who are just joining us now. I don't just know their names and the kind of things they like to read but I know about their lives as they do about mine! Ok, we don't do coffee or cake and there is no shop cat, but there is a shop dog, Marshall, whose fan base is as big as my customer base. Ask him for his Top 10 book recommendations - it will surprise you!

We organise events throughout the year, the biggest ones being our Edinburgh Book Fringe when we offer free daily events at 1pm over two weeks in August, the Edinburgh Independent & Radical Book Fair now in its 20th year which is a 5-day event of readings, launches and discussion in late October, a Burns Supper, and an International Women's Day Dinner. Last month in-store our usual eclectic mix of events included a Polish comics writer and blogger, and launches for new books on Orson Welles, stories on Khartoum, the last Communard, and an EU round table discussion. It's a busy shop and we do lots of things. To find out more about Word Power Books and what we do or to sign up for our newsletter please visit www.word-power.co.uk Better still come and visit us we'd love to meet you! Elaine Henry Word Power Books, 43 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DB Tel 1031 662 9112 books@word-power.co.uk

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nb Publisher Guy Pringle reports on a new imprint unveiling great forgotten works of fiction.

oetry lovers may know Michael Schmidt as founder and editorial director of Carcanet and the Editor-in-Chief of Poetry Nation Review. However, he and Head of Zeus editor Neil Belton, are the driving force behind Apollo, attempting to “make great forgotten works of fiction available to a new generation of readers.” Phil Ramage and I have been working our way through their launch list of 8 titles (well, I’ve read one and . . . ) to see if Apollo does “challenge the established canon and surprise and move readers with its choice of books.” Now In November Josephine Johnson pbk, April 2016 9781781855362

Now In November won the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 as a debut novel for a twenty-four year old who, despite another ten novels, was unable to recapture the critical acclaim. Fourteen year old Marget arrives with her parents and two sisters to work a farm in an arid, hostile environment. The eldest sister, Kerren, is an intense

disturbed girl but is the only one who can make an escape from the farm when she commences a local teaching job. Marget and Merle are devoted to the life of the farm, although the environment and a hefty mortgage ensure that it will always be a struggle to survive. Their father employs Grant, a neighbour’s son to help out which inevitably stirs emotions in the young women. In the introduction Michael Schmidt compares the author to an Emily Brontë from a different era and continent. In Wuthering Heights the landscape infiltrates the novel, in this the landscape becomes the novel. There’s little joy to be found here, the cycle of the year brings its continual challenges. A birthday celebration ends tragically and even a period of plenty is dismissed because if everyone has plenty then no-one will buy. The most overwhelming challenge is drought. The novel does read like a prose poem and incidents away from the struggle of everyday existence are rare until the last third when a catastrophic event begins to heap tragedies upon the family. Characterisation is strong and it is much easier to read than the above would suggest. At times it reminded me of Steinbeck’s later Grapes Of Wrath as it shares his ability to step back from the story at times and let the environment tell its own tale. Phil Ramage Personal read......................★★★★ Group read...........................★★★★★

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The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones Charles Neider pbk, April 2016 9781784975135

The Kid is a gunslinger, better than Billy the Kid and less troubled as a character. Of course there’s a sidekick and he has to be called Doc, Doc Baker (although he isn’t really a doctor, it’s just one of those colourful nicknames that feature in westerns). Written in that conversational style that seems to come naturally to so many American writers, (think Cormac McCarthy), Doc is recounting events as if to a friend who already knows the gist but has asked for more detail. Neider cleverly unrolls his story from different perspectives, particularly when the action gets torrid so a character can be shot dead on the floor but, as if in flashback, we see things through his eyes or those of a bystander. This is no Zane Grey – no disrespect – there is a genuine depth to the way the characters age and act. Conversations feel real rather than expositional. In an era when the West was becoming less wild and some gunfighters became law keepers as a way of evading justice themselves, Sherrif Dad Longworth, a former mentor of the Kid’s, is now his gaoler. There’s no other way of saying it, the Kid is cool. Cooler than the Fonz, cooler than a Fox’s glacier mint, he is just, well, cool. No nerves at all as the week fritters away with a hanging on Saturday to look forward to for the locals.

Of course, there’s a gaolbreak but not in the way of the films of the late fifties (this book became One-Eyed Jacks starring Marlon Brando). Thought and precision are needed and a logic for when to make the move mean the Kid does escape and hightails it to Mexico. But something has shifted and as if being pulled back by a magnet the gang return to the inevitable. Even then it’s all staged realistically, Doc refuting the legend that is building round the Kid’s memory. It’s been decades since I’ve read a western but I have to say this has reawakened my interest. Highly recommended. Guy Pringle Personal read......................★★★★ Group read...........................★★★★

The Day of Judgement Salvatore Satta pbk, April 2016 9781784975708

This tale of Sardinia in the early years of the twentieth century was written by a notable Italian jurist who had grown up in the town of Nuoro, the isolated setting for his novel. Satta had abandoned fiction writing in his youth yet began this largely autobiographical work when he was nearly 70 and on his death it was found unfinished amongst his papers. Published in Italy four years later in 1979 it became a literary bestseller and Apollo believes it deserves a wider audience in this translation by Patrick Creagh. Don Sebastiano is a notary with seven academic sons and a housebound wife. He is devoted to his work producing legal documentation for the people of Nuoro. There is a large cast of characters, many who appear fleetingly in the narrator’s anecdotes, reviewing the past of this town where change occurs reluctantly, where some still wear traditional costume and to leave suggests the vain hope of looking “for bread made from better things than wheat.” In this highly conservative environment it is the times of change

that made the most impact on me, the arrival of electric lights, the sons’ discoveries of world literature and the effects of World War I which forced the young to leave and brought back outsiders and those returning with a different set of experiences which upsets the balance of the town. Even these momentous events are dealt with fleetingly in the course of a shifting narrative which requires considerable concentration. At times I just wanted Satta to linger on certain characters and events to realise their full potential which could have given the novel the greatness it just misses out on. We are, of course, not reading his finished manuscript and had he been granted more time to polish this might have been achieved. This is a novel of many magical moments which do not quite come together as a whole. It is also rather sombre in tone; when there are moments of hope they are often trampled upon. To leave Nuoro rarely provides the escape anticipated. One man who comes into an inheritance discovers; “Swallows leave their nests because God urges them to, but the man who leaves his home is egged on by the devil.” For him, all ends tragically. The location (I know little about Sardinia) comes across vividly, the importance of wine to the region is brought to life in some lovely sections, its production provides variety and uncertainty in lives which see little change. The days of a town steeped in tradition are numbered by the early twentieth century and this comes across strongly. Phil Ramage Personal read......................★★★ Group read...........................★★★

City during the war through Hans Fallada’s magnificent Alone In Berlin, but London-born Litivnoff has opened my eyes to the post-war years of the mid 50s when a paranoid and guiltridden Germany was attempting to piece the country together. This is a novel about restitution and identity. Martin Stone, formerly, Silberstein, arrives in Berlin from the England he escaped to as a boy. He is seeking financial reparation for the Nazi’s treatment of his family. The Jews he encounters are unsurprisingly hostile towards the German nation but choosing to stay there for a variety of reasons. There are some deep moral issues within their choices. Martin meets up again with Hugo Krantz, a pre-war theatrical star, also an exLondon refugee, who is seeking a man he loved who joined the Nazis and betrayed and tortured him. How much of the past can be forgotten and how is it possible to move on? No-one is sure who to trust and that paranoia comes across well to make a tense, gripping read. Everyone has been unspeakably damaged yet still the pulse of the city lures them in. Litvinoff ’s debut novel was originally published in 1958 and was a real treat for me to discover. I was fascinated by the characters and their dilemmas and I found the issues raised stimulating. I would like to discuss this book with a book group for as well as being an accessible read there is a lot going on under the surface. Occasionally Litvinoff is guilty of over-florid language and melodrama in the unfolding of the plot but this is still some achievement and has been the book I have enjoyed most to date in Apollo’s surprisingly wide-ranging series of eight of “the best books you’ve never read.” Phil Ramage

The Lost Europeans

Personal read......................★★★★★ Group read...........................★★★★

Emanuel Litvinoff pbk, April 2016 9781784970819

I’m familiar with Isherwood’s prewar Berlin and the

By the time you read this Phil will almost certainly have read a few more Apollos – which you can find on nudge.

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Writers & Lovers Nottingham is now the UNESCO City of Literature and of course one writer famously stands out. David Herbert Lawrence. Philipa Coughlan reports.

here is always a topic associated with DH Lawrence. Yes – sex. But that is to vastly underestimate the nature of his wealth of writing and his wonderful intuitive love of nature and life. However the recent BBC dramatisation of Lady Chatterley's Lover and countless other versions of both that novel and many others from him, are always influenced by the controversial banning of Lady Chatterley when first published, due to its explicit content. Born on 11th September 1885 many are now reviewing the life of DH Lawrence, as we have recently celebrated his 130th anniversary year, and in the East Midlands this writer remains firmly centre stage. On moving to Nottinghamshire myself I began re–reading Lawrence's work starting with, perhaps a little 74

known novel, The Plumed Serpent. Set in Mexico, a country in which he and his wife Frieda lived for many happy years, I was intrigued to read in a letter from Lawrence that “I consider this my most important novel, so far.” I certainly thought it different, delving with some detail into the mystical spirituality of Quetzalcoatl beliefs and gods. In the novel Lawrence writes of Mexicans seeking something in life, “Because there was a strange, submerged desire in the people for things beyond their world.” I think this sums up so much of Lawrence's motivation to write and explain these emotions all swirling around his mind and our lives.

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In The Plumed Serpent he also has the central character, Kate Leslie, as a widow coming to terms with loss and isolation in life. It is a somewhat complicated read, but, as with Lawrence's experience of Mexico, a startlingly sensual description of another culture. In fact it reminded me of Lawrence's deep empathy for widows generally. Losing his own mother affected him deeply, and life in close proximity to his sisters and other female friends gave Lawrence a very deep understanding of all 'womanly' ways, from wash day to mind and emotions – so far beyond that image merely of his sexual desire for women. In one of his classic

short stories, Odour of Chrysanthemums, Elizabeth Bates awaits her husband's return from the pit, believing his lateness must be because of another drunken evening in the local pub. In fact, Walter Bates is dead, smothered from a roof collapse, another victim of the horrific conditions under which Nottinghamshire miners worked during this time. Elizabeth is pregnant, with their third child, and now alone. In Lady Chatterley's Lover Ivy Bolton had also been a young widow, whose husband's early death due to Sir Clifford's mine, left her struggling, destitute and having to now nurse the injured man, whose obvious wealth is flaunted before her. It makes her, I believe, one of the unsung characters in the novel. But above all, Lawrence contrasts Lady Chatterley's intimacy with Mellors, to the tragic loneliness of Ivy and how she also seeks the loving touch of a man. Lawrence reveals much of his early life through such scenarios, where each day mothers, sisters, daughters or lovers could find themselves alone due to another death in the colliery. Lawrence's first home, 8a Victoria Street, Eastwood is a tiny, but comfortable place - now a museum – where visitors can see how the influence of the nearby pits and

communal facilities, like toilets and washing houses, not only physically got under the skin of all the family, but into the hearts and fears of those waiting every working day for the return of each miner. Lawrence's father worked in nearby Brinsley mine but, although a supervisor, he too would have seen and discussed the tragedies of the pit. At Durban House - the DH Lawrence Heritage museum visitors can recall how this was the grand office of the colliery owners, where Lawrence often had to queue in terror for his father's meagre wages, whilst down the road, the pit owners lived in even more palatial style. Because, never mind sex, Lawrence also wrote passionately about class. Its inequalities in money, status and treatment of the lower orders. In Lawrence's short story, The Prussian Officer, a lowly orderly kills the officer who has been viciously tormenting him even though he knows it will mean his own life will be ended, “He stood and looked at it in silence. It represented more than the thing which had kicked and bullied him”. No wonder the establishment did not like what they read. Lawrence called all this, 'the country of my heart', placing local beauty spots, people and childhood experiences into many of his novels, short stories and poems. [Conversely] Lawrence seems at times to despise his home country, mostly

I feel because of its boundaries preventing him from developing his writing. He also felt confined by normal 'work' – his brief and often erratic teaching career. After being a somewhat disenchanted scholar himself although he had gained academic scholarships much to his mother's approval, I guess - his career choice didn’t bring him much happiness. All the while his work day was only a 'means to an end' to time writing from his imagination – be it copious amounts of correspondence, or the manuscripts and articles which he was experimenting with. Through his writing Lawrence shared with us the sights but also the sounds and dialects of the people he did care for in the Midlands. And the women in Lawrence's life? Well there's a whole lot of them! As Doris Lessing said, “No one ever wrote better about the power struggles of sex and love.” It was familial love too, often deeply heartfelt and overwhelmed by death and other traumatic experiences. His mother obviously.

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But Lawrence ran into the arms of another woman. After meeting Frieda Weekley in early 1912 – and despite her already being married – they eloped and he wrote to tell Louie, “I am living here with a lady whom I love, and whom I shall marry when I come to England, D.H. Lawrence and Frieda Weekley if it is possible. We have been But then his sisters, particularly together as man and wife for six months, nearly, now, and I shall the youngest of the family – Ada, with whom he was closest. hope we shall always remain Then the local girls with whom man and wife”. Louie was heartbroken, but relationships were made, howmaybe in actions that would ever fleetingly. Particularly have played well with Lawrence Jessie Chambers (on whom as a writer, she kept all of his letMiriam in Sons and Lovers is ters and after his death visited based), and Louie Burrows, with whom a whole raft of inti- his grave in France. Lawrence was proved right about her demate letters were sent during votion, expressed in a previous their time at teacher training poem to Louie, that she “takes college and his short years of good care... of my good name.” teaching. Highly intimate and wonderful as Lawrence declared The new relationship had its love and affection and a hope to critics, not just past loves, friends and Lawrence's family, marry. Yet, after becoming enbut England as it went to war gaged in 1911 and with and was highly suspicious of a continued financial worries, writer (not fighting) but living Lawrence suddenly becomes with a potential spy as Frieda distant. Academics point to Lawrence feeling constrained by was German. [Unsurprisingly] Lawrence chose to spend the a woman who wanted only a final years of his life abroad. teacher as a husband, and that Despite the censorship trials Louie frustrated his literary amand criticism of much of his bitions, and that should he have married her, there would have been no DH Lawrence the writer. But I think Lawrence wanted more passion beyond the traditional. Lawrence also needed a strong woman to take the lead. So many writers do. “Somehow as soon as I am alone with her I want to run away”.

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written work and art (the Home Office closed his exhibition within hours of it opening), these were the most financially and emotionally successful of his life. Living on a ranch in Mexico, out in the warm wilds with nature, animals and the love of his life were perhaps the happiest years. But his health, always frail, deteriorated during the late 1920s and Lawrence died in the French hills at Vence on 2nd March 1930. A phoenix mosaic (his own design) decorates his humble headstone. Perhaps that is the dilemma for those who read DH Lawrence even today. His name as a literary genius is always linked with being a scandalous writer of explicitly sexual novels. Often using real life people he knew as characters in parts of society rarely discussed meant many were embarrassed to read. Yet reconnecting with his work, hopefully others, will discover a wider, vivid palette of words and pictures on the page. Not only was it life and words as Lawrence knew it, but the look between us as lovers, families and the surroundings of our own lives which maybe we overlook everyday, but which Lawrence was there to record. PHILIPA COUGHLAN

For more information: www.dhlawrenceheritage.org @dhlheritage #dhlawrenceheritage eastwoodhistoricalsociety@ hotmail.com

Although we are only sixteen years into the new century we thought it was a good time to take stock. You will find full reviews of previous nominations (above) on nudge. Use BB21C to find them all.

Essential poems from the Staying Alive trilogy edited by Neil Astley

Jade Craddock nominates our first poetry title – and sneaks in a trilogy!

In recent history, poetry hasn’t always been the most accessible or appealing of literary genres. Indeed, at times it can be demanding and alienating in ways that commercial and popular fiction simply isn’t. And yet as Somerset Maugham said, poetry is ‘the crown of literature.’ It is as poet Rita Dove affirms, ‘language at its most distilled and most powerful,' and what Samuel Johnson defined as ‘the art of uniting pleasure with truth.’ Whilst the truth has always remained, sometimes the pleasure of poetry has been lost. But Bloodaxe’s Staying Alive trilogy has been one of the most important contributions to making sure that poetry remains pleasurable and accessible in the twenty-first century. 78

Beginning with the eponymous Staying Alive in 2002, followed by Being Alive in 2004 and Being Human in 2011, the trilogy includes over one thousand poems that showcase poetry as a vital and relevant art form for the contemporary world. The selections in the anthologies do much to highlight the range and flexibility of poetry, to introduce poets old and new, and to allow readers to find within their ranks a poem or poet that they can connect with. The anthologies are just bursting with the energy and power of the written word in poetic form, and the poems themselves deliver artistically and emotionally. Covering the gamut of human feelings and experiences, as well as a diversity of voices and ages, it really is the go-to collection for our times.

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And whatever your taste or experience with poetry, whether you’re an aficionado or a newcomer, everyone is bound to find something of note within these anthologies. And for me, the Staying Alive trilogy - and the individual anthologies themselves - warrants being included in the best books in the twenty-first century for this ability to make poetry inclusive and far-reaching, modern and relevant, and for ensuring poetry, far from being forgotten, has its place at the heart of literature.

Essential Poems from the Staying Alive trilogy edited by Neil Astley published in pbk by Bloodaxe Books in May 2012.

I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes A thriller is added to our literary bunch

Published by Corgi, May 2014

Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. The book is over eight hundred pages in length and is a thriller throughout. The main character, Pilgrim, is attempting to lead a normal life but is dragged back into the murky world of his previous life after involving himself in a murder at the request of his policeman friend Ben Bradley. Pilgrim is a strong, intelligent and likeable man albeit a bit naive. Did he really think he could remain incognito for the rest of his life? The book isn't perfect by any means but what a debut. If, like

me, you read for entertainment and escapism, then you will not be disappointed. Parts of the action are implausible and read a bit like a James Bond novel, but I wanted to know how Pilgrim would fare and whether he would survive. I cared for his character. The baddie, Saracen, is another plausible character with a very sad background. I could see the events which led up to his demise through his eyes, even though I didn't approve of his actions. The book manages to be both character- and plot-driven moving briskly from event to event. It is hard to keep up with what is happening but short chapters make it easier. Terry Hayes was a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, covered the Watergate scandal and went on to be a screenwriter on such films as Mad Max. It is easy to imagine the book being translated for the big screen and I suspect that the author has written the book in the hope that it will be turned into a film script. This is a modern spy novel very much of the twenty first century. It is riveting, fast-

paced and everything a thriller should be. The writer frequently references website surfing, retinal scanners, music downloads and perhaps was a bit premature as I am sure none of these were around at the time the novel is set. There is a liberal use of artistic licence but this doesn't take away from the fact that this is a brilliant, brilliant book and a great read! I have seen lots of criticism of this book from the style of writing and poor research but I defy anyone to write a first novel of this magnitude and quality. It is a cracking yarn if you don't take it too seriously and just go along for the ride. I can't wait for his next offering but it isn't available until 2017. DOROTHY FLAXMAN Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

The Year of the Locust – to be published in hbk by Bantam Press in Apr 2017.

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Life After Life Kate Atkinson

Just one of 7 Kate Atkinson novels that could fit in our selection.

twentieth century so she is going to need all of the help she can get. In the prologue, Ursula walks into a Munich bar in 1930 and shoots Hitler; her Published by Doubleday hbk, 2013 many lives take her through both World Wars, the Spanish influenza and well into the This book was beautiful. 1960s. By Atkinson's choice of The concept is simple - the structure, the reader can never execution is magnificent. It's forget that Ursula is a fictional like a literary Groundhog Day, the reader knows what is going creation, but yet she still seems on even while the characters are very real and I found myself truly willing her that most not so sure. Ursula Todd is fairytale gift of all, a happy born in a snowstorm in 1910 ending. and is strangled by the cord. It is perhaps inevitable that Darkness falls ... and Ursula gets another chance. This time, Atkinson would slot some Doctor Fellowes arrives in time philosophy in, with one character pondering; 'Time is a and Ursula survives. It's an construct, in reality, everything instantly intriguing notion what if we really could go back flows, no past or present, only the now'. In the now, we can do and change our past? At anything but as the author, different points in the novel, Atkinson is God. She has it in the narrator remarks that her power to let Ursula die or 'practice makes perfect' ... but return her to life again. would it really? There is a sense, too, of This is a novel about wish-fulfilment; anybody who possibilities, about paths not has ever experienced grief taken but also about writing knows what it is to wish and the power of the author. Atkinson gives the characters a someone back, to wish, wish, second chance, a third chance, a wish with all your heart but in life, we cannot undo death. fourth. Ursula is trying to Atkinson's generosity to Ursula navigate her way through the 80

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in allowing her to redo, retake, try again creates a moving story but as the novel finished on the happiest possible note, I felt somehow duped, feeling that this might well be a story that Ursula was telling herself. A happier version than the sad reality that faced all too many people who had the misfortune to live through two World Wars. There was too much loss to face, far too much. Far easier to pretend that we can have another try and do it better next time. SUSANNAH PERKINS Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

Published by Black Swan pbk. 2014

HOLLAND but significantly not the shooter himself, nor any of the adults or teachers, the book depicts the way the normal school day descends into a day that will forever change the lives of all those connected with Opportunity High School. At its heart are Autumn, sister of the shooter, herself trapped in the auditorium, along with her girlfriend Sylv, Tomas, Sylvia’s No clogs or tulips brother who wasn’t in the auditorium when the shooter – this is a school took control but who is inside hostage. the school desperate to save his sister, and Claire. Punctuating each chapter are social media arieke Nijkamp’s This feeds as the outside world Is Where It Ends, is a begins to get word, tapping YA novel told over the into the contemporary way in span of 54 frantic which our lives are now played minutes during a school out via technology. hostage situation, in which a Crucially, Nijkamp doesn’t former pupil bearing a gun make the narrative about the traps the school community in shooter – in many ways, aside the auditorium. Inevitably, from a few hints as to some of Nijkamp’s is an unsettling and the experiences that may have harrowing read, a big subject to shaped his world, he remains take on for any author and throughout very much an particularly a YA author at that, enigma. Sibling relationships given the proximate age range are a feature of the novel and all and school setting between the of them are movingly depicted. focal readers and the victims in But it is the sudden and the novel. Indeed, in many ways categorical loss of life that is so it is too close to home for any dramatic. Indeed, Nijkamp reader, as there’s a very real punctuates the novel with sense in which this school, death, or rather, murder. these children, could be any It is difficult to criticise a school, any children. Told novel about such a harrowing through the various voices of a subject, as I’m sure it is difficult number of the key characters, to write one [but] for me the

novel did seem to lack a certain amount of urgency and fear. Focusing on the four main characters somewhat loses sight of the bigger picture and as such we lose the sense of the general hysteria and destruction. The emotion comes to a head in the finale and this does help to stabilise the novel somewhat, but it brings me back to the point about this being such a vast and difficult subject to tackle, and inevitably the author having to decide on a strategy and finding a balance. Overall Nijkamp’s is a bold and powerful read about a subject matter largely taboo in fiction but which should not be ignored. Jade Craddock Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. Published by Sourcebooks Fire hbk Jan 2016.

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MOLDOVA

Living the good life – what could possibly go wrong?

ituated between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is one of the smaller countries in Europe and also one of the poorest. And in Vladimir Lorchenkov’s The Good Life Elsewhere, this economic adversity forms the backdrop to the whole novel as a group of Moldovan villagers go in search of a better life in the promised land that is Italy. Given their meagre lot, the residents very much espouse the principle ‘the grass is always greener’, and it seems, in this instance, it may well be so; the only problem is how to get to it. And the story begins with the first wave of hopeful 82

emigrants, led by the strongest champion for a move to Italy, Serafim Botezatu, making the pilgrimage by clandestine means in the guise of two curling teams and two underwater swim teams. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything, as it happens. And thus the tone is set for this most exemplary of absurdist fiction that takes as its impetus the incompleteness of its characters’ lives in Moldova to explore human experience. Rich in satire, irony and dark humour, the novel has been described by some as hilarious, but for me the humour is more veiled than that and oftentimes set within or against compromising realities. There are indeed some very difficult and unsettling scenes in here. Nonetheless it is a wild and fanciful experience, as the villagers try variously to reach Italy by way of a flying tractor, a submarine, a holy Moldovan crusade, and not to miss out himself, the President attempts to parachute in, naturally! Given the absurdist strain of the novel, the structure of the story differs somewhat from a traditional novel, with short chapters that read like vignettes, capturing the lives and travails of different characters, with a wider thread, focusing on a few key characters, joining it all

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together. And at times, the chapters reminded me of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales not only in the fact that they stand alone within a broader narrative, but oftentimes in their satire and morals too. The author remains at a distance from his characters as is the expectation of the genre, but this compromised the emotional attachment to the novel and I found myself largely unmoved. However, as absurdist fiction it excels and certainly is a worthy read in this capacity. That the genre encompasses so well the national identity of Moldova is a delightful addition. The humour and sketches do cut close to the bone though and won’t be to everyone’s taste. Jade Craddock Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov, translated by Ross Ufberg. Published by New Vessel Press pbk Feb. 2014

directory The reviewers have their say

For reasons of space some reviews have been edited but you will find them in full on nudge. Tip: simply use dir89 as your search.

reviews

Of all the literary prizes out there – and nowadays there are many! – it seems to us that the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction – previously known as the Orange – comes closest to the interests of the readership of this magazine. (Sorry, gents, but you represent less than 5% of our readership so a prize that has a female author only criterion is inevitably going to appeal to our intelligent women readers, many of whom enjoy being members of a reading group.) The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed. This issue went to print just as the winner was announced but you can find full reviews of all 6 titles on nudge.

RUBY Cynthia Bond

THE GREEN ROAD Anne Enright

Two Roads, pbk May 2015

Vintage, pbk Jan 2016

This powerful and haunting debut novel is quite unforgettable. Beautifully written, with poetic and lyrical prose, it tells the story of Ruby, who returns to her native village for the funeral of her best friend. She left many years before to escape the violence of her childhood, but there’s no welcome for her now. She is shunned and made an outcast because of her life in New York as a prostitute. Only one person cares about her, lonely Ephraim Jennings, who has always loved her and now has to find the strength and courage to stand up to his domineering sister and his fellow villagers for what he believes is right. Cynthia Bond is a truly gifted storyteller, and in this perfectly paced novel she doesn’t shy away from describing the violence, abuse, racism and cruelty of the rural South. With an ear for authentic dialogue and understanding of the ways ignorance and prejudice can make people behave, she has created a whole small world in her novel, one that lingers in the mind long after the book is closed. A heartbreaking and disturbing tale.

Man Booker prize-winning author, shortlisted for the 2015 Costa Novel award, I had high expectations of The Green Road. Set in Ireland, it tells the story of the Madigan family over 25 years. In the first part, each chapter is the point of view of one of the four siblings and from this you get an insight into the personality of each of them. The second part tells the story of a family gathering at Christmas when they are all adults. I thought the way in which the story was told was interesting, but I didn’t find the characters particularly likeable. By the time I reached the family gathering I didn’t really care what happened. I enjoyed the second part of the book more than the first, when there was more of a story being told and there were a couple of twists and turns, although I found the ending a bit predictable. I would find it hard to recommend this book as a personal read. As a reading group book it could lead to discussions about the technique used by the author more than anything else.

THE GLORIOUS HERESIES Lisa McInerney John Murray, pbk Dec 2015

Mandy Jenkinson Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

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Julie Drewett Personal read........................★★ Group read.........................★★★ See also on nudge: Mandy Jenkinson, Phil Ramage 4/4.

Mistaking him for an intruder, fifty-nine-year-old Maureen has just killed a man with a Holy Stone. So she calls in the one person she knows who is used to handling such messes: her son, and notorious Cork gangster, Jimmy Phelan [who] turns to his former associate Tony Cusack [while] his fifteen-year-old son Ryan is busy . . . as a drug-dealer. Georgie is one of Ryan’s customers, and . . . the girlfriend of Robbie O’Donovan, the man Maureen biffed over the head. The book has been described as hilarious and riotously funny and whilst there are some elements of black comedy, particularly in unconventional murderer Maureen, the laughs are soon beaten out of the characters. There’s a fair share of linguistic, as well as sexual and moral deviance, but a literary quality subsumes it all. McInerney inhabits her characters incredibly seamlessly . . . with a film director’s precision, dropping in and out of their lives at various points. Jade Craddock Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★ See also on nudge: Mandy Jenkinson 5/5

reviews

THE PORTABLE VEBLEN Elizabeth McKenzie

THE IMPROBABILITY OF LOVE Hannah Rothschild

Fourth Estate, hbk Jan 2016

Bloomsbury, pbk Mar 2016

This nutty confection of a novel is a rom-com that’s not super-sweet and very original. Squirrels figure prominently and are responsible for much of the foreshadowing at the beginning of the book . . . partly rumination on marriage and family, partly statement about materialism and consumerism, and partly revealing about corruption in big business. Veblen and Paul become engaged quite quickly [leading] to a rather tentative engagement, especially when their eccentric families come into the picture and they realize how opposite they really are. And then there are squirrels portrayed both as pesky pests and as wise confidantes. It is mostly a whimsical morality tale about the values we choose to live by, and felt a bit like a modern fairy tail....er, tale. Described as “riotously funny and slyly profound”, I must say that all rang true when I started and I liked what the author was trying to do, but it did not sustain as the quirky thoughtful novel it could have been. Perhaps it just wasn’t my bowl of acorns. Joanne Booy Personal read ....................★★★ Also on nudge: Amelia Ashton

A LITTLE LIFE Hanya Yanagihara Picador, pbk Mar 2016

Annie is down on her luck recovering from a failed relationship . . . we all love an underdog so are delighted that the painting [she] buys on the spur of the moment is valuable. The portrait, which is imaginary, is also a narrator. Annie is a brilliant chef working for some of the people who urgently need to find the painting. The author is very good at capturing mood and character [but there are] too many unpleasant minor [players]. While Annie is, thankfully, a pleasant character, her interest in food and the detailed descriptions of meals that she cooks dilutes the pace. We’re told too much and not shown. It struck me there is an unresolved tension in the book - whether it should be a book about art, a satire or a thriller. The portrait narrating its own history doesn’t work at all. The ending really does collapse – it’s very rushed – and becomes rather farcical and unbelievable. It’s still an entertaining read but I couldn’t help thinking that there was a better novel trying to get out.

Four graduates move to New York after college, charting their friendships over several decades . . . their struggles to fit in and be successful, to hold on to relationships, and deal with past traumas. This is a rare example of a book that left me feeling exhausted. That’s not to say there’s nothing to like here: Yanagihara’s writing, at times, is insightful and poignant. Yet it’s the dark side of the book that I found most troublesome . . . scenes of sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, selfdestructive behaviour and self-harm, mainly from Jude. Sometimes so graphic that I had to put the book down for a while. More problematic though was the passage of time: the characters aged by 40 or more years, while the world around them stood still. I really wanted to like this book. Along the way it deals with important themes, with occasional moments of real beauty. Yet the quality of writing is mixed and the story sometimes slips into the ridiculous, dampening its impact. Overall, A Little Life left me deeply disappointed.

Claire Thomas

Brendan Wright

Personal read ....................★★★ Group read .....................★★★★ See also on nudge: Jade Craddock 4/2

Personal read........................★★ Group read.........................★★★ See also on nudge: Joanne Booy, Mandy Jenkinson 5/5

What didn’t make the shortlist?

Most literary prizes have to winnow down the submissions for their accolade which means that some perfectly good books are left behind on the long list. But for reading groups there are rich pickings to be had. . . Kate Atkinson: A God in Ruins

Shirley Barrett: Rush Oh! Geraldine Brooks: The Secret Chord

Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Jackie Copleton: A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

Rachel Elliott: Whispers Through a Megaphone

Petina Gappah: The Book of Memory

Vesna Goldsworthy: Gorsky

Clio Gray: The Anatomist’s Dream Melissa Harrison: At Hawthorn Time

Attica Locke: Pleasantville Sara Nović: Girl at War

Julia Rochester: The House at the Edge of the World

Elizabeth Strout: My Name is Lucy Barton

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reviews

ALL AT SEA Decca Aitkenhead Fourth Estate Apr 2016 hbk ISBN - 9780008142148

In May 2014, Guardian journalist Aitkenhead was on holiday with her partner Tony Wilkinson and their two young sons at Treasure Beach, Jamaica. A beautiful sunny morning suddenly turned disastrous when Tony swam out to rescue their son Jake. He was able to pass the boy off to Aitkenhead safely, but then got sucked into the undercurrent and drowned. After the tragic events of the first chapter, this wrenching memoir retreats to consider the ten years the author and Tony spent as “the most implausible couple I have ever known.” When they met as neighbours in Hackney, Aitkenhead was married to Paul. She came from a large, liberal middleclass family often mistaken for hippies or gypsies; she and her brothers called their parents by their first names. Tony, also married, was a mixed-race adoptee from Leeds with dreadlocks and an addiction to crack. He made his living selling cocaine, and had previously spent five years in prison for a non-fatal shooting. I’ve read quite a few memoirs dealing with the loss of a loved one. This one feels like a unique combination of a journalist’s forthright storytelling and

the kind of ‘magical thinking’ Joan Didion introduced. “What I know to be true, and what I actually believe, turn out to be poles apart,” Aitkenhead writes. “I believe Tony is about to walk through [the] door at any minute.” Just as she recognises that “tragedy plays havoc with truth,” she never loses sight of the fact that hers is a constructed story. Despite its potentially subjective nature, she knows it has to be told – she doesn’t want to forget anything about her decade with Tony, and her sons can one day read it to understand their unlikely, beautiful love story. Rebecca Foster Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE JAPANESE LOVER Isabel Allende Scribner Jun 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781471152177

Once more, Isabel Allende has produced an exceedingly good story, showing a vivid imagination, a detailed ability for characterisation and a brilliant way with words. The story races on, and held me spellbound and engrossed until the end, with new developments in every chapter. Two women: one aristocratic Jewish lady from Poland and her female companion, from Moldova. The setting: San Francisco,

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partly at Lark House, a home for senior citizens, with four floors: the ground floor for independent living, the first and second floors for those who need care and the top floor for those nearer death, aptly named Paradise. Alma, from Poland is on the ground floor and Irina from Moldova is an employee of the House and later of Alma. The earlier part of the story describes the escape of the young Jewish girl to the USA in World War 2 and also the bombing of Pearl Harbour, which resulted in war with Japan and the removal of Japanese residents to camps. Other political issues are the break up of USSR in 1991 and the creation of Moldova and the fall of the Berlin Wall, but these are combined with highly personal issues such as the forbidden relationship between Alma and her lover. It was forbidden because of race, colour and economic and social issues, but they manage some liaisons in a grimy motel. I thoroughly recommend this novel, with its clever translation, from a writer described by a review in Miami Herald as ‘Latin America’s and the world’s Scheherazade’. Jan Jeffery Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★ Seven Hanged On nudge Leonid Andreyev I read somewhere that a book published in 1908 was the blueprint for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo in June of 1914 [which] inadvertently propelled the world into the WW1 conflict. [Obviously] I had to read this account and make up my own mind . . . this is quite a superb short story, expressionism at its best in my humble opinion. Reg Seward 5/5

THE MIDDLEPAUSE ON TURNING 50 Marina Benjamin Scribe Jun 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781925228526

This is a book about what it means for a woman to turn 50 and also experience the menopause. The author approaches this "coming of a certain age" publication by intertwining personal stories, family reminiscences and the addition of general background to the medicalization of the menopause through the last few decades. This is a personal and selfsearching journey for Benjamin which brings up some difficult memories concerning the loss of loved ones and her own challenging health issues. I thought this book might resonate with me as I have also just reached the half century milestone. However, I found it too introspective and pessimistic. There were some interesting explorations regarding menopause and how it has been treated in the past. Nonetheless, if it was meant to be uplifting and selfaffirming for us 50 somethings then I'm afraid it failed to have that effect on me. I can’t see it being of interest to book groups. Sue Hardiman Personal read........................★★ Group read.............................★★

reviews was satisfied with the ending that justice had prevailed. I loved this book and would not hesitate to recommend it. I liked the character of Ellen Kelly and the fact that she was trying to do the best for her family as well as the job in hand. Dorothy Flaxman

ALL THINGS NICE Sheila Bugler

Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

Brandon Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781847177353

Charlotte Gleeson is living the perfect life she always dreamed of but it is nothing like she imagined. Her daughter hates her, her husband is having an affair, her drinking is out of control and now she is the prime suspect in a murder investigation. It is DI Ellen Kelly’s first big case in months. There is a lot riding on the result, including her reputation. The characters are well drawn and convincing. Charlotte is a weak woman worn down by her husband’s infidelities. Freya, her daughter, is spoilt by her father who gives in to all her demands. When Kieran, Freya’s boyfriend, is murdered, there are a number of people with the motivation to kill him. The structure of the book is good being split into days of the week. The chapters are short and make the story fast-paced and engaging. There seems to be a general theme of fathers and daughters and how their complex relationships can shape events. The book reiterates the fact that “noone knows what goes on behind closed doors”. The ending is a surprise and unpredictable. However, it makes absolute sense and I

LITTLE WARRIOR Giuseppe Catozzella Faber & Faber Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9780571322688

Giuseppe Catozzella’s tale is a particularly topical book considering the current migrant/refugee situation. This book is based on a true story. Samia is a Somalia girl who loves to run. She lives in a war-torn country with increasing repression of women by various extremist elements. She is desperate to be an Olympian – running is her passion and she works tirelessly to achieve that but even when she is recognised by the national Olympic committee they do not have the funds to train her, she must train herself. But doing this is increasingly dangerous as she represents something forbidden to the extremists running wild in her country. Eventually in her bid to compete in the 2012 London Olympics she

decides she has no choice but to undertake “the Journey” – the trip to Europe in the hands of people traffickers. This is an inspiring, thoughtprovoking and at times desperately sad book. It helps put a face to the countless people who are desperate enough to undertake the Journey and it gives you some insight into just how horrific that journey is. This book is translated from Italian. It can be a little stilted at times but its merit overcomes that. Samia comes from a supportive family, the members of which are characterised wonderfully. For instance, her Aabe (father) defies those trying to oppress women by actively encouraging his daughter and her musician sister, Hodan, to follow their passions because he can see that they have gifts. This is a hugely empathetic telling of one woman’s story and how she felt she had no choice but to take that journey. Eleanor King Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

THE WONDER Emma Donoghue Picador Sept 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781509818389

A nurse investigates the case of an Irish girl surviving

without food for months: miracle or hoax? Lib Wright, a widowed nurse who trained under Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War, is summoned to a small town in the Irish Midlands in August 1859. For two weeks of this hot summer, she will be a key witness in a peculiar case. An eleven-year-old girl named Anna O’Donnell has ingested nothing but water in over four months but isn’t bedridden or obviously ill. Her doctor intends to write up the story for the Irish Times, but first he wants two independent observers – Lib and Sister Michael, a nun – to mount a round-the-clock vigil for two weeks to prove that this is no hoax. The novel draws on about 50 historical cases of “Fasting Girls” that occurred in Europe and North America in the 16th to 20th centuries. It sets up a particularly effective contrast between medicine and superstition, that “fug of the ineffable” that so troubles Lib. It also reveals the disparity between men’s and women’s opinions in the mid-nineteenth century: Lib’s observations and diagnoses hold no weight compared to a qualified male doctor’s. Donoghue writes convincing and vivid historical fiction, peppering the text with small details. The Irish customs and speech feel authentic, and Donoghue’s wordplay surrounding words like “watch” and “fast” adds extra layers of meaning. This is the fifth book I’ve read by Donoghue, and it’s by far my favourite. I devoured the novel eagerly over just a few days. The absorbing plot divulges some juicy secrets about Lib

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reviews as well as about the O’Donnells, and it all leads to a conclusion I never would have expected. No spoilers, though – I’ll let you find out for yourself when this wonderful work of fiction comes out in September. Rebecca Foster Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

suave, handsome friend Robert as a main character. The narrator sometimes acts superior and contemptuous towards other students, but really that’s a cover for his own intense self-loathing. Remembering that this was written when Eliade was around 17, the same age as his fictional stand-in, it is impossible not to admire this playful piece of fiction; at the very least, one can see it as a scholar’s early exercise in soul-searching. Rebecca Foster Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

DIARY OF A SHORTSIGHTED ADOLESCENT Mircea Eliade Istros Books Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781908236210

This rediscovered Romanian classic is what you might get if teenaged Adrian Mole was studying for a philosophy degree. Although the narrator loves reading and his friends call him “the doctor” for his serious demeanour and spectacles, he’s an incorrigibly lazy pupil. One of the best passages, in fact, is a full account of everything he does while not studying trigonometry in his attic room as he knows he should. Resigned to failing his classes, he instead pins his hopes on writing an autobiographical novel. Yet how can he turn his tedious school days into an interesting plot? At first he has negligible experience of flirting with girls, so thinks he might have to use his

OUTSTANDING Kathryn Flett Quercus Apr 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781784298241

educational establishments and how children's differering needs mean that the same sort of teaching is not best for all. I have quite a lot of "howevers" though. The author seems to cram in as many topical social concerns as possible - gay parenting, revenge porn websites, financial fraud among others. Most of the characters feel like the representatives of various issues rather than someone you could identify with and warm to. There is too much trying to be trendy by using teenage slang and texting language, probably out-ofdate before the book was published. And, while I do know that teenagers are not chaste and do swear, the book would be better with less sex and fewer expletives. That all sounds as though I didn't enjoy it but it is an interesting story and some of the writing is very good. I would hesitate to recommend it to reading groups though there are certainly lots of issues for discussion in it. Berwyn Peet

At first I thought this was going to be a very good novel. Eve, a divorcee with two teenage daughters, is head teacher of a prestigious prep school. The rich parents of two of Eve's pupils suggest that Zoe, her 17 year-old daughter, should go for work experience at their company and on the first day she is invited to accompany the husband to New York. There were several aspects of the story I liked - the relationship between Eve and Zoe is explored in detail and, on the whole, feels true to life. I also liked the background discussion about different types of

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Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★ Leaving Before The Rains Alexandra Fuller The author writes in a compelling and highly entertaining way. It is full of humour and self-deprecation and paints a portrait of a woman who is, essentially, a survivor. However, it is at times rather sad and moving to read about how she gradually became aware that just because someone is a kind and decent man, that doesn’t necessarily make him the soulmate you have been looking for. I got the feeling that possibly no one would ever have been able to match up to her first love, Africa. Linda Hepworth 3/5 In full on nudge

WOLF BY WOLF Ryan Graudin Orion Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781780622026

Having read and reviewed The Walled City for nb I was excited to read this new offering by Graudin and boy, I was not disappointed. Set in 1956, the world is ruled by the Nazis, who won the war and now control all, along with Imperial Japan. To commemorate their victory over the Allies, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour, an annual motorcycle race that crosses continents. The victor attends the Axis ball in the presence of reclusive Hitler; the resistance movement see this as their only chance at assassination. Yael is a survivor; she was experimented on in Auschwitz by Hitler’s scientists who are trying to create the perfect Aryan. Yael is the first success story but she also gains the ability to change her face or ‘skin shift’. Fast forward 10 years and it is this ability that allows Yael to enter the Axis tour as the only female victor, Adele Wolfe, in order to get close to Hitler and kill him. Yael’s story is heart-breaking. In flashbacks we learn of her time in the prison camp, how she lost the important people in her life and how she escaped. I was enthralled by Yael; she is an incredibly

reviews complex character - strong but vulnerable, smart but doubtful. When faced with tough choices she reels at the thought of hurting anyone, despite being on a mission to murder. She constantly struggles to keep a sense of self whilst not being able to remember what she really looks like. The lyrical writing style meant I flew through the book, its actionpacked storyline held my attention and the ending left me slack jawed. I really didn’t see it coming! I can’t wait for the inevitable follow up. While I do know that teenagers are not chaste and do swear, the book would be better with less sex and fewer expletives. Vicky Jopling Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

and making a living translating for the Cocked Pistol bookshop, but he's getting bored and needs more adventure. But when Tom wants adventure he ends up in all kinds of trouble. Can he come up smelling of roses again? I love Antonia Hodgson's writing. It's so atmospheric and interesting, keeping me turning the pages as fast I can to find out what happens at the end. I hope this is not the last we hear of Thomas Hawkins. Telling his story in the first person makes it such a fast-paced read as we romp along with him as he gets into scrape after scrape. The supporting characters are fascinating too and as with the first book, you can almost feel that you are living in 18th century London. I loved this book! Nicola Smith Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

things are not what he would expect. The people that he meets along the way, range from the strange, to murderous, where in ghost towns, there seems to be little respect for the morals, laws and niceties that living amongst other people develops. It is when Norman meets up with Jacoby, a charismatic, but dangerous member of a gang of desert dwelling outcasts, he realises that his life has changed forever. This is a very adult book in every sense of the word, with strong scenes of violence, sex and depravity throughout, but it shows also great examples of humanity, in how Norman is accepted into the gang, and how trust develops between a group of near complete strangers. Like Lord of the Flies, this shows what happens to the psyche of individuals amongst gangs, and gives the audience plenty to think about. Ben Macnair Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE LAST CONFESSION OF THOMAS HAWKINS Antonia Hodgson Hodder July 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781444775471

What a brilliant read. Having read and loved The Devil in the Marshalsea I was really looking forward to The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins, but I wondered if it could live up to the brilliance of the first book. It did. In The Last Confession.... Tom Hawkins is living with Kitty Sparks

GHOSTS OF THE DESERT Ryan Ireland Oneworld May 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781444775471

Ghosts of the Desert is one of those novels that looks at the whole fish out of water scenario from a new perspective. It starts with Norman, using a research grant to study the ghost towns and economically desolate areas of Utah, but

THE WATER BOOK Alok Jha Headline May 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781472209542

A former Guardian science correspondent and the author of three previous popular science titles, Alok Jha here turns his attention

to a humble substance that has been the very basis for life as we know it. Water doesn’t follow normal scientific rules – its solid state floats on its liquid form; it dissolves almost anything in chemical reactions; hot water freezes faster than cold; and there are 16 possible phases of ice. Jha helpfully traces some early developments in meteorology and oceanography. For example, Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries were aware of how ocean currents influenced ships’ journey times. The Antarctic voyage is one of the best aspects of the book; although Jha uses it as an effective framing device, I would have liked to see even more about it. Sections about the structure of ice are more digestible when sandwiched between personal observations on icebergs and Adélie penguins. For the most part, Jha pitches his work at an appropriate level. However, if it’s been a while since you studied science at school, you may struggle a bit during the final third or so. All in all, I was hoping for less hard science and more in the way of reflection on water’s importance to human culture – with passages of memoir that would help explain the topic’s meaning for the author. I would recommend this to readers keen on chemistry and astronomy, but laymen may prefer to read Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction. Rebecca Foster Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.............................★★

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reviews sheds a lot of light on one corner of Merry England over 300 years. Now that the place is owned by the National Trust and rented out as a hotel, the public can still visit and marvel at its grandeur. This book makes me want to go there sometime soon. Reg Seward

THE MISTRESSES OF CLIVEDEN Natalie Livingstone

Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

Arrow Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781472209542

The sheer ambiguity of the title may tend to lend people, mainly men perhaps, into believing this book is full of erotic details of scandalous behaviour over 300 years in the Cliveden House. Granted the original concept and construction were to house the Duke of Buckingham and his already married mistress Anna Maria Talbot. As it transpired, she was asked to quit the relationship by the House of Lords after Buckingham fought a duel with Anna’s husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, who later died of his injuries. But no, this book instead details, rather astonishingly well in fact, the successive ladies who resided in the various manifestations of Cliveden from the mid 1600s right up to the present day. (The place actually burnt down twice.) The history of Cliveden includes the more recent notoriety during the latter stages of the 1960s, for the Profumo and Christine Keeler scandal. Each chapter deals with a different character, either portrayed as prints of oil paintings or early photographs. An excellently written, and compiled, very readable history book which

Orville III – left to her by her late father . . . The novel certainly encourages engagement with the Brontë oeuvre but also a creativity and imaginative licence to reading the books that will allow readers to pick up new threads and make new discoveries in the text. As for this novel itself as a read, it is engaging and fascinating. Lowell balances the literary and popular elements of the novel perfectly, making this at once both an intriguing literary mystery and a contemporary coming-ofage love story. Jade Craddock Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS Catherine Lowell

the descriptions of the barren Texan landscape are very evocative and feel totally authentic. However I felt that the first part of the book, describing Aggie’s life on the family farm was more successful than the second half after her escape. The characters she meets along the way aren’t always totally convincing, occasionally verging on stereotype although each in his or her way evoke much sympathy from the reader, and they all have their own demons to combat. But it was the sub-plot that I really didn’t enjoy which I felt pushed the boundaries of credibility a bit too far. However, these are really quite minor criticisms. Overall this is a powerful exploration of abuse and its consequences, and a glimpse into a usually hidden world. Mandy Jenkinson

Quercus Mar 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781784297688

This book has managed to do what no other book has ever done so convincingly and remind me of why I chose to, and why I loved to, study literature. I’ve read many novels that celebrate books and reading, but few that manage to capture the academic love of literature without becoming heavy and obscure, but The Madwoman Upstairs achieves just that. The novel is centred on Samantha Whipple, a twenty-year-old literature graduate at Oxford University and the last of the Brontë descendants, as she tries to uncover the mysterious inheritance – with the help of the Brontë novels and her Heathcliff/Mr Rochesteresque tutor, James Timothy

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ARMADILLOS P.K. Lynch Legend Press Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781785079597

This dark and compelling coming-of-age story tells of 15 year old Aggie, a “sub” from a “sub” family in rural Texas, abused by her father and brother, protected by her sister, but who knows deep within herself that there must be a better life than the one she is leading. One day she finds the strength to escape, but running away isn’t a simple solution. There’s much to like and admire in this novel, and the writing is consistently good. It’s wellpaced and well-plotted and

THE WEATHER EXPERIMENT: THE PIONEERS WHO SOUGHT TO SEE THE FUTURE Peter Moore Vintage Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 0099581671

Moore brings to us the men who went against the convention and dogma of the day, with the hope of unlocking the secrets of the skies and understanding what made our weather. The

reviews pioneers of science first sought to quantify and bring order to the atmosphere. There is Luke Howard the man who described and named the different cloud formations, Francis Beaufort who devised a scale so that wind strength could be quantified. James Glaisher started in astronomy but his fascination with the weather meant that he was the ideal man to take measurements in the first trips in hot air balloons to understand the upper atmosphere. Key to it all was Admiral Robert FitzRoy, sailor, explorer, scientist and the founder of what we now know as the Met Office. Yet others contributed, in other technologies, such as Samuel Morse who gave us the telegraph, and allowed rapid transmission of the data collected by individuals across the country to the office in Whitehall. Moore describes the fight that they had against the vested interests of the day, as well as the complete disbelief that these men could predict the weather and, in particular, storms. The author brings these men together in a narrative that is fascinating and compelling in equal measure. The legacy that they have given us is a much better understanding of the atmosphere, weather trends and cycles - and, of course, the Met Office. One of our national sports is slating them when they get something wrong, especially on long term predictions or missing the odd hurricane, but for the day to day forecasts they are normally [surprisingly accurate]. Overall a pretty good book, but I would have preferred a more UK focus as he did head across the Atlantic and

Channel fairly often, but still well worth reading. Paul Cheney Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

this is a feisty book which will doubtless encourage some energetic discussion in even the most sedate of reading groups. Eileen Furze Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

MORANIFESTO Caitlin Moran Ebury May 2016 hbk ISBN - 9780091949044

Journalist, broadcaster and author Caitlin Moran is back with a new non-fiction collection combining humorous observations and passionate polemic. Following on from her other books, How to Be a Woman, Moranthology and How to Build a Girl, Moranifesto continues in much the same style, but with a move away from popular culture towards more political issues. It covers everything from hipsters, the trouble with printers, fame, TV and the Olympics to social mobility, feminism, the ruling elite and equality, plus many other important contemporary issues. It is as wide ranging, varied and potentially powerful as any manifesto, but fortunately much more grounded and readable. I found the writer’s energy and ideas engaging and very thought provoking, even though the hardback edition does include some irritating typos and readers may find the language a bit too blue at times. Overall,

GOD HELP THE CHILD Toni Morrison Vintage Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9780099555926

What a privilege and pleasure it is to read and review this latest Toni Morrison novel, a short book (less than 200 pages ) but a very powerful one. The three main themes are firstly, skin colour, secondly, the significance and long lasting effects of childhood experiences on our adult lives and thirdly, love, the violence of love, the need for love and the strength of love. A black child is born to a white mother (and father, although he is absent) as a result of a quirk of genetics. In her community, it would not be unusual for a group of white boys to knock down a black girl and laugh, just because of the colour of her skin. The book hooked me from the first chapter…the first page…the first sentences. “It’s not my fault. So you can’t blame me. I didn’t do it and have no idea how it happened”. It continued to

engross me until the final line –“ Good luck and God help the child.” There are unanswered questions. Why does Lula Ann change her name to Bride? (Part of her surname.) The names of the 3 characters in the book all begin with a B. And why is it better for the child to call her mother Sweetness, rather than Mama? Fascinating. I recommend this book, as I would all the others by this author, of whom the New York Times says, ‘The nearest thing America has to a national novelist’. And for those book group members who say, “I like it when we choose a short book…”, I would say that because it is short, it does not mean less. Jan Jeffery Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR Yewande Omotoso Chatto & Windus May 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781784740337

Love thy Neighbour? Easier said than done!! Hortensia James and Marion Agostino are neighbours. One is black, one white. Both are successful women with impressive careers. Both have recently been widowed and both are sworn enemies. One day an unforeseen event forces the women together and

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reviews gradually the bickering and sniping softens into lively debate and from there into memories shared. Is it too late to expect these two to change? Every now and again, a book comes along which is very special and different to the run of the mill. In my opinion, this is such a book. I was swept along with the lives of these two women sharing their stories. The two have been separated for many years due to prejudice, guilt and downright stubbornness. Eventually due to an accident, they are both able to talk about their lives and share the ups and the downs. Their colour soon disappears into the background as they realise they have more in common than either ever realised. The book is funny and sad. I loved this book. It made me think and it made me laugh. Women, in particular, will love this book as it identifies some of our idiosyncrasies so well. Maybe it would not be good for men to read it as it would give away too many of our secrets! This book is one to watch out for and I can't recommend it enough. Dorothy Flaxman Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★ On nudge Ray Davies: A Complicated Life Johnny Rogan Lots of anecdotal evidence of misadventures, fights, infighting, court cases, attitude and clashes with management . . . be prepared for feeling yourself somewhat peeved at [Davies’] attitude sometimes . . . A fascinating book on so many levels, I heartily recommend it to anyone that remembers The Kinks in all their many guises. Reg Seward 5/5

THE DAMAGE DONE James Oswald Penguin July 2016 pbk ISBN - 9780718180249

The sixth novel in James Oswald's Inspector McLean series. Following an embarrassing raid on a suspected brothel, Inspector McClean is haunted by a similarity to his first case. He refuses to drop the case, even as he struggles to find the connection between a series of bizarre deaths; a refusal which could put his career, and even his life, in danger. This book, therefore has all the makings of a good 'police procedural': intrigue, murder, and an independently minded detective who won't toe the party line. All in all, there is plenty in this novel to appeal to devotees of crime fiction. Beyond that, the plot is well developed, if occasionally a little complex; and the book well written, although the detective work sometimes comes across as a series of lucky guesses. What makes this book really stand out in a crowded genre is the way in which the author has exposed the vested interests and political compromises which serve only to silence dissenting voices and perpetuate an established 'elite'. This theme is ultimately behind the confused, and slightly farfetched, closing chapters (perhaps an echo of the

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author's epic fantasy series). Although this won't win any converts from readers who like crime fiction where cases are neatly resolved, and justice prevails, it does however add to the sense of mystery. On the more positive side, however, it does serve to highlight why so many of fiction's most successful detectives are independent characters, and perhaps even lonely. All too often, this is the price we pay for maintaining our integrity, and for refusing to be part of the 'in' group. Nicholas Cutler Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

THE SLAUGHTER MAN Tony Parsons Arrow Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9780718180249

In an exclusive Hampstead gated community lives the perfect family – beautiful, wealthy and talented. Mother, father and two children are found horribly murdered by a cattle gun and the youngest child is missing, feared kidnapped. Enter DC Max Wolfe, who with his colleagues has to work out what has happened and why, before attempting to find the murderer. There are many secrets kept by the family and the more Max Wolfe discovers, the more

involved the case becomes. The trail eventually leads to a travellers’ site in Essex where all is not as it seems and it takes a lot of sleuthing and ingenuity before we learn what really happened. This is a fast-paced novel, (second in a series), and it is fairly gory in places. Visits to the Black Museum of murder weapons do not spare our feelings but this is nicely contrasted with Max Wolfe the single parent of four-year-old Scout and master of Stanley the dog. The scenes of this odd family life are very moving. Tony Parsons has explored this literary territory before in his novel Man and Boy and he makes it very real. This complex story of family secrets is well-written and well-plotted. The jerky sentences, short and without verbs, make the story seem very urgent and macho [although] there are rather too many of these for my personal taste. The series would make excellent films or TV adaptations. The London landmarks and the lesser known parts of the city are evocatively described. I enjoyed this novel but prefer his earlier books which have more warmth, wit and humanity. Dorothy Anderson Personal read ....................★★★ Group read.............................★★ In full on nudge Black Earth Timothy Snyder This book has been highly praised, and indeed it is a worthy contribution to the subject. It is not, however, the best, and the author distracts the reader from the text by constantly reiterating his thesis about the destruction of the state and Jews being rendered stateless, not just in every chapter, but virtually on every page. Ruth Ginarlis 2/5

reviews

THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET Natasha Pulley

WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER Peter Robinson

Bloomsbury July 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781408854310

Hodder & Stoughton July 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781444786712

This is one of those books that I enjoyed but that I got to the end of and hardly knew what happened or how to review it. It's 1883 and Thaniel Steepleton is a telegraphist for the Home Office and one day he returns home and there is a clockwork watch in his room. He's puzzled by its appearance but some months later the watch saves his life from a bomb. He traces the maker of the watch, a Japanese man called Keita Mori to whom there is more than meets the eye. The third person in the story is Grace Carrow, a young scientist whose life becomes intertwined with the two men. This is a fascinating and interesting book and I really enjoyed reading it. It needed some concentration and as I said, I'm not entirely sure it all made sense but it's clever and intricately plotted. Oh, and there's a wonderful array of clockwork inventions that really make the story original. I liked Thaniel very much - he's level-headed and kind and I just wanted things to work out well for him. Great read. Nicola Smith Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

Newly promoted to Detective Superintendent, Alan Banks is investigating a politically sensitive case of historical sex-abuse. The alleged perpetrator is now an old man in his eighties but prior to his retirement had been a popular entertainer, well-known for his charity work. Used to being protected by influential friends, it soon becomes clear to the investigating team that he regards himself as untouchable. However, Banks is convinced that Linda, a poet in her 60s, who claims she was raped by the entertainer in Blackpool when she was fifteen, is telling the truth about the assault. Peter Robinson is always very skilled at controlling several complex story-lines but I think he excels himself in this satisfyingly long, highly-topical and gripping story. In addition to the developing police investigations, there are extracts from a memoir Linda is writing in order to help her to recall even the smallest detail of the events surrounding her traumatic experiences in 1967. By the end of the story I felt that I knew each of them so

much more intimately because well-developed observational skills enable him to include those tiny details which “flesh-out” a character – and I always enjoy discovering more about Alan Banks’ eclectic taste in music and literature! I love the way in which junior colleagues are gradually finding their own, distinctive voices and I look forward to learning more about all of them in the next book – I just hope it won’t be too long! Linda Hepworth Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

ALBERTO'S LOST BIRTHDAY Diana Rosie Mantle Aug 2016 pbk ISBN - 978144729301

Following a traumatic event, when he was a young child during the Spanish Civil War, Alberto spent the rest of his childhood in an orphanage and has no memory of anything prior to this, including his date of birth. His young grandson, Tino, feels very upset that his grandfather does not know when to celebrate his birthday, and so can never enjoy a proper birthday party. When his own father is seriously ill in hospital and Tino can do nothing to help make him better, he focuses

all his emotional energy on something he thinks should be achievable, a quest to find Alberto’s lost birthday. This is a charming and delightful tale which is told in a dual time-line; through flashbacks and gradually revealed events from the past, the mystery of Alberto’s lost birthday is eventually resolved. Central to this lovely story is the very special relationship between Alberto and his grandson, and how this shared journey helps each of them deal with the emotional upsets they face – one a trauma which is decades old, the other a more immediate one, but each needs to be resolved. Although easy to read and become engrossed in, this is definitely not just a lightweight, sentimental story. However, at its heart, a sense of optimism comes from the exploration of the strength of all the relationships, past and present, which make up the lives of Alberto and Tino. The evocative descriptions of rural Spain provide an additional delight to this engaging, well-written story. This is an impressive first novel from Diana Rosie and I look forward to her next one! Linda Hepworth Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★ In full on nudge Where the River Parts Radhika Swarup This novel looks at the Partition of India – when Pakistan was created – and the friends and families that were torn apart when this happened. This was an interesting read but frustratingly most of the plot was given away in the blurb on the back of the book.This is certainly worth a read and there would be plenty for a reading group to discuss. Eleanor King 3/5

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reviews

MURDER RING Leigh Russell No Exit Press May 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781843446774

A business man is killed, shot to death and robbed, another body soon turns up and DI Geraldine Steel is on the case. With a new boss and a list of suspects Steel has her work cut out for her, dealing with personal issues and a past that won't go away whilst making sure the team focuses on catching the right guy. Steel has a lot of issues going on in her personal life, however she does not allow this to cloud her judgement and pushes her colleagues to fully investigate all suspects and evidence. Her new boss has a lot to prove and his character is quite annoying at times as is her colleague, Sam, who is quick to make assumptions and judge. The pace of the story is relatively fast, a murder occurs within the prologue and the investigation kicks off immediately. We delve into Steel's personal life as she has some closure on issues from previous books which opens up a potentially new can of worms. Sorry, I know that is a bit vague but I don't do spoiler reviews and feel this needs to have a wee sentence to highlight it is addressed for fans of the previous books. This is a busy wee book, I have read one or two of this

series and whilst you could get away with reading this as a standalone I would suggest reading the others as you get the full picture of current events and characters. The chapters are short and frequent, not everyone will enjoy this style but I personally love it - I read this in one sitting, the old 'just one more chapter' happened. There are twists and turns along the way, themes covering spouse abuse, family secrets, lies, betrayal and jealousy are only a few that are covered. Russell cleverly creates a tale of murder, police investigation and personal issues whilst trying to pursue the truth, uphold the law and fling in some surprises to keep the reader on their toes. Lainy Swanson Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

THE TRUTH ABOUT JULIA Anna Schaffner Allen & Unwin Apr 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781760290115

Radicalisation is one of the hottest topics there is at the moment. What makes a person turn to violence, by what means are they corrupted, how do we combat this process? Granted, currently we tend to think of it in terms of Islamic extremism, but nevertheless, Anna

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Schaffner’s debut novel has some interesting observations to make on the subject. In June 2014, Julia White detonates a bomb in a central London coffee shop, killing twenty-four people. Julia is a beautiful and brilliant middle-class woman – what can have caused her to commit such an atrocity? Investigative journalist Clare Hardenberg had a 14 week deadline in which to understand, and to write a book on the subject. As the deadline draws near, Clare interviews Julia’s family, friends and acquaintances in the hope they will take her beneath the skin of this gifted, attractive massmurderess. However… Clare writes to us now from prison herself, on remand awaiting trial. How has Clare found herself in this situation? This is the book’s other great mystery. The Truth About Julia is written largely as a series of quasi-love letters from the imprisoned Clare to her friend and publisher, interspersed with transcriptions of Clare’s interviews. It’s a daring approach. While there is plenty of immediacy and urgency in the transcriptions, particularly that featuring Julia’s parents, we are perpetually at one remove from the action. There is a sense that this is an intellectual exercise; we must tackle Julia’s case through the eyes of an academic or a psychologist, rather than attempt to use empathy to feel out the person at the heart of this atrocity. The world has enough books that deal with neat, explicable good and bad. What Schaffner is trying to

do here is to challenge the reader, ethically and intellectually. She does so with intelligence and alacrity, and The Truth About Julia is a commendable effort. Mike Stafford

MISSING, PRESUMED Susie Steiner The Borough Press Sep 2016 pbk ISBN - 9780008123284

It’s been a while since I’ve become so gloriously engrossed in a novel all the way through; Susie Steiner’s writing is brilliant and she has created the first in what I hope will undoubtedly be a brilliant new police procedural series. The main allure of this novel is the fantastic characterisation. Manon is really likeable despite being a bit cold towards others at times, and I really felt for her towards the end of the novel. Various other characters really grew on me as I read on, and by the end I wanted to adopt Davy and take him home! Steiner also includes so many little details that you might assume would be too much, but actually just make you feel like you’re there with the characters and really relish what’s happening. Obviously the fact that Edith has disappeared and her family are devastated about it is, in

reviews itself, rather dramatic but this does happen and the way the investigation is laid out for the reader manages to be both convincing (or as far as I would assume it to be!) and interesting. It’s not so realistic though that it takes out the gripping element of the story, which is definitely there in full force, but the pacing is slower than many police procedurals but to me, it’s just right. Fans of well written, authentic crime/police novels: this is definitely for you! Highly recommended, and I’m now hugely looking forward to the second in what I assume (and hope) will be the ‘DS Manon Bradshaw’ series! Laura Nazmdeh Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

EDGAR ALLAN POE & THE LONDON MONSTER Karen Lee Street Point Blank Apr 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781780749303

This delightfully entertaining read is set in the summer of 1840, when Poe travels to London to meet Dupin, who is an experienced detective, a ratiocinative, making him very Sherlock Holmes-esque. Poe requires Dupin’s help to solve a mystery regarding some letters he has inherited.

These letters have allegedly been written by his grandparents, who were struggling actors and suggest they were involved in the infamous London Monster assaults that terrorised ladies between 1788 and 1790 by slicing the clothes and derrieres of over 50 women. A man was eventually arrested and tried for these assaults, narrowly avoiding being hung for his crimes, but this novel suggests he was wrongly arrested and adds these letters to the mix to engineer a clever and plausible alternative fictional history. Poe is depicted as a portly, uncertain individual, at times plagued by doubt and dominated by Dupin, an intense, humourless individual who enjoys being superior. Poe in his desire to rule out his grandparent’s involvement in the crimes is very open to suggestion and manipulation, that some people are keen to exploit. Dupin’s sharp observational skills along with his strong deductive logic, gives their sleuthing good momentum. Street has produced a fascinating portrayal of London at that time, the surroundings are vivid and she has even managed to include Charles Dickens in the storyline. The discourse is florid and a joy to indulgently read. The plot comes together skilfully in a flowing manner with a satisfying denouement. With strong characterisation, a wellcrafted plot and engaging dialogue and description, it ticked every box and subsequently I thought it was a great quality read. Sara Garland Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

THE STRAWBERRY GIRL Lisa Stromme Chatto & Windus Apr 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781784740580

This debut historical fiction features the imaginary muse of one Norwegian artist and her summer of 1893 spent with another, Edvard Munch. I have some knowledge of Munch and his works and was very interested in how the author wove many of his famous images into the story, either directly as paintings or as a scene in the narrative. The eponymous heroine, Johanne, is a country girl at heart, summer-jobbing as a servant to the wealthy, but she has artistic flair and through her we come to imagine how it is to 'feel' a painting or to 'hear' it, uncomfortable as it is with the famous "The Scream". The raw power of colour is emphasised again and again. Budding relationships feature throughout this book: Munch, the mentor, and Johanne; Munch the lover and Tullik, daughter of Johanne's employers and younger sister of a former lover of Munch; Johanne and her fisherman first-love Thomas. The 'simple' life of a small fishing village is subsumed by the rich and well-to-do's for the summer only, and both of these lifestyles are contrasted with

the arty bohemians who flood there too. All with different temptations and troubles. The domestic scenes enhanced the reading experience for me as much as the art work, the humdrum detail as much as the raw emotion. I appreciated the author's Afterword which clarified the fact and the fiction contained within the novel and added to my reading satisfaction. I read this book in two sittings, pardon the pun, and look forward to reading Stromme's next novel. Cath Sell Personal read ................★★★★ Group read.........................★★★

THE BOOK OF SPECULATION Erika Swyler Atlantic Books Jul 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781782397649

A house clinging to the edge of a cliff, a family of ‘mermaids’ who are destined to drown, a curse that reaches through the centuries. This is the world of librarian Simon Watson who lives in the endangered house, waiting for it to fall into the waters, waiting for his damaged sister, Enola, to return. When she does it coincides with the arrival of an old book, detailing the workings of a travelling carnival. As Simon investigates it becomes

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reviews apparent that this book details the history of his family. For generations the women in his line have drowned at a fairly young age on 24th July. As Enola becomes more troubled and the 24th July comes closer Simon has to investigate what really happened to the women of his family in a bid to stop history repeating itself. This is a bewitching tale that crosses the centuries. Simon and Enola have fascinating characters in their history – the mute Amos who worked as a ‘Wild Boy’ then fortune teller; the man who took him in – the showman Peabody; the troubled Evangeline; the mystical Madame Ryzhkova; and numerous other members of the carnival. All these characters make for a rich tale of wonder. The dual narratives throughout the novel are equally interesting. The colourful, larger-than-life world of the carnival contrasts with the day-today life of an impoverished librarian surrounded by decay who is drawn to research the history of his family and to make sense of the tragedies he has faced. Wonderful characters and wonderful prose. A mustread book. Eleanor King Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★ Birth of a Theorem Cedric Villani I enjoyed this book, especially the short biographies of contemporary mathematicians such as John Nash, and also of those who inspired Villani such as Joseph Fourier . . . This is a book which will be fascinating to anyone interested in maths and science and will hopefully encourage others to take an interest. Sue Glynn 4/5 In full on nudge

FATHER'S DAY Simon Van Booy One World Publications May 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781780749693

It is no spoiler that this book starts with tragedy. We know that from the back cover synopsis. Harvey is a little girl and she will soon be an orphan. Which makes the opening chapters about Harvey and her parents immediately poignant and the reading of those introductory chapters so keen. An ominous foreshadowing occurs when Harvey hears about a troubled uncle she doesn’t know she has. Her mother explains, “Jason is not part of our family anymore…He’s not a nice man.” Jason, Harvey’s father’s brother, is a disabled felon with a criminal record. The narrative is not even 20 pages along when it jumps forward 20 years. Harvey is living in Paris and her father is coming to visit. At first we are not even sure who that father is. She has prepared a Father’s Day gift for him—a box full of memorabilia. She also has a mysterious envelope which contains some official documents which she is nervous about sharing with him. I loved the characters in this novel and how they develop. Van Booy is himself no stranger to tragedy, which gives the book an authentic

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feel. There was an amazing surprise in that envelope of information and a further twist at the end of the story which will no doubt generate discussion for book clubs. Van Booy’s simple straightforward writing style felt slightly awkward at times, but overall I found this to be a captivating story about family, belonging, and home. Joanne Booy Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

SHELTER Jung Yun Picador Jun 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781509810505

A Korean-American family faces up to violence past and present in this strong debut novel. Kyung Cho is a Boston-area biology professor. He and his wife Gillian, who is studying to be a counsellor, are in dire financial straits: they owe the bank more than they can list their house for. Their choices are a short sale, which would be ruinous, or renting the place out and moving in with his parents, who live in a mansion just three miles away. Having grown up in a traditional Korean culture of honour and shame, Kyung has come to “believe that owning a house meant something. Losing a home like this—that would mean

something too.” The tables turn in a shocking way when Kyung’s parents are the victims of a violent house break-in; his mother, Mae, and their housekeeper, a young Bosnian woman named Marina, are also sexually assaulted. Where one moment Kyung thought he could turn to his parents for refuge, he now has to take them in and charge groceries to his credit card. Seeing his mother bloodied and bruised has been a cruel reminder of his father Jin’s history of domestic violence. I did wonder if there were a few too many secondary characters here. Yun has to spend time fleshing out people who don’t play an indispensable role, while a character like Marina gets short shrift. However, the novel stands out for the potency of its themes. Revenge, expectations, and remaining in a cycle of violence versus breaking free are all key topics, and the context of Korean-American manners makes a perfect setting. “Children are supposed to honour their parents,” Jin pronounces. “And parents are supposed to take care of their children,” Kyung counters. This is an accomplished literary fiction debut I would recommend to fans of David Vann and Richard Ford. Rebecca Foster Personal read ................★★★★ Group read .....................★★★★

otwofs? In the Discover nudge menu you’ll find Ones to Watch Out For (or otwofs) which are books the team have read – usually well ahead of publication – that we think are especially deserving of your consideration. Currently 46 reviews are listed in chronologically descending order - an interesting and eclectic selection. Here we present the 2 most recent.

JOE SPEEDBOAT Tommy Wieringa Scribe Jan 2016 pbk ISBN - 9781925228175

I was introduced to Dutch author Tommy Wieringa by nb84 and a five star review for These Are The Names, later short-listed for Bookhugger Book of The Year. This was a chilling, thought-provoking novel of a search for a modern Promised Land. Fuelled by its success, publishers Scribe have embarked upon a series of reissues of his earlier works. Joe Speedboat was his debut from 2009 and [on] domestic release it became the best selling debut novel in Dutch but didn’t find that much of a worldwide audience. I think it’s time to

change this with this 2016 reprint. It is one of the best books I have read this year and surpasses, in my opinion, These Are The Names. Teenager Frankie Hermans awakes after a horrific accident to hear his parents talking about a new arrival to their village, a boy called Joe Speedboat with a predilection for making bombs. His arrival in Lomark was equally explosive - through the wall of a house in a truck in a crash which killed his father. Joe is adamant no-one knows his real name as he transforms the lives of those around him. This book is touching, eccentric, laugh-out-loud funny and completely unpredictable. I found myself hanging onto every word. It is a marvellous achievement. It is a coming of age novel with a difference and has immense vitality and like the very best novels it is life-enhancing. Phil Ramage Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

THE MUSEUM OF YOU Carys Bray Hutchinson Jun 2016 hbk ISBN - 9781925228175

I'm happy to confirm this is a strong contender (OK - a dead cert) for my best books

of 2016. Clover Quinn lives with bus driver dad Darren in a cluttered, unfinished house where things are held on to 'just in case' but nothing ever seems to change. Clover knows that the spare room contains things belonging to her mother and following a school trip to the Titanic exhibition in Liverpool is inspired to catalogue and display them as a tribute and, ultimately, a surprise for her dad. During the summer holidays she divides her time between doing this and visiting their allotment and it is the care-taking element of both, along with Darren's anxiety about leaving Clover on her own while he works, that give the novel its major theme. As Clover [realises] how little she has been told about her mother, she creates her own family history deciding for herself what is important and what can be discarded, the heartbreaking story of Clover's mother slowly unfolds. Although slow I found it perfectly paced, allowing each and every character to be seen, heard and felt and creating a subtle but authentic sense of time and place. I appreciate working class life novels like this that don't become bogged down in bleakness and hardship yes, it is there but there is also a great deal of humour and joy and community, which is incredibly uplifting and much more credible on a day to day level. This really is a beautifully written story, nowhere near as sentimental as you might think but carefully and lovingly crafted with a generous dose of warmth and compassion. Carys Bray is a very good writer and one

reviews to continue watching. Highly recommended. Mel Mitchell Personal read ............★★★★★ Group read .................★★★★★

More OTWOFS: Lingua Franca William Thacker

The Truth about Julia Anna Schaffner

Now In November Josephone Johnson Tall Oaks Chris Whitaker

Soft in the Head Marie-Sabine Roger

Freya - Anthony Quinn Rebel Bully Geek Pariah - Erin Lange Landskipping Anna Pavord

Jonathan Dark or the Evidence of Ghosts A.K. Benedict Eichmann before Jerusalem Bettina Stangneth

Gold Fame Citrus Claire Vaye Watkins The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones Charles Neider The Summer Before The War Helen Simonson

Invincible Summer Alice Adams

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WHAT WE ARE THINKING

To blurb or not to blurb - that's Mike's question!

poilers, curse of the modern era. If you put them out there, you're going to make enemies. Trawling the internet the other day I came across this story about a university lecturer. Forced to compete with the noise of a discussion about the HBO series Game of Thrones, the lecturer resorted to extreme measures; he advised his audience that he had read George RR Martin’s books, and that as lecturer either he would have order or his students would have spoilers. Order descended in seconds. True or not, the story is credible. We live in perpetual fear of spoilers, attempting to hide from them like Bolam and Bewes’s Likely Lads, desperately fleeing friends who know the football results. 98

And yet, we also tolerate them in our crime novels every day. Pick one up… go on, pick up the nearest crime novel to you. I'll give you odds of 2-1 that the description on the dust jacket makes clear elements of the plot that feature in the first twenty pages. Those are the pages that the author uses to hook us in; done properly they apply the rivets that fix us to the chair. It's those first few precious pages that the author uses to set out their stall, so why on earth do we allow dust jackets to turn reading them into a chore? Only recently I began reading a magnificent opening chapter by a popular Liverpudlian crime writer. It was spellbinding, establishing character, mood, and making the heart race. How much better would it have been if I hadn't known from the start what would happen in a few moments’ time? We can only imagine. The solution seems clear to me: treat spoilers relating to the first twenty pages the way we treat spoilers relating to the last twenty, and cast them out! Is this radical? Probably. How are books to be marketed if not with a little precis of the curtain raiser? Thankfully, these are no longer the days of Doyle or Dame Agatha. The body on the first page, the manner of its death and the nature of the investigation are increasingly irrelevant. We're

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not approaching crime novels like crossword puzzles any more, but as worlds to immerse ourselves in. We could understand so much more about them with a system like the old “Sex, Language, Violence, Other” coding that once adorned films. How about “Style, Setting, Protagonist, Peers?” This description of my favourite crime novel of all time would cover it Style: Atmospheric Setting: Urban, Glasgow Protagonist: Philosopher, Detective Inspector Peers: Rankin, none It doesn't make clear any of the elements of the plot, but it’d convince me to buy. It also gives the reader a little credit for wanting to be hooked in by something other than a murderer’s modus operandi. So how about it, publishing industry? Ditch the spoilers and connect with us on a deeper level. I'm game if you are... Mike Stafford

P.S. The book in question is William McIlvanney's truly peerless Laidlaw. A rare gem, revered by all those who know it, but well under the radar! Want to get something off your chest? You can rant all you want for our What We Are Thinking – we’ll print what we can but the whole piece will go on nudge where you will find previous rants!! Email: info@newbooksmag.com

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