The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

‘The Boy who loved Anne Frank’ tells the story of Peter van pels, also known as Peter van Daan in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and what if he had survived the war. The story begins with Peter seeing a doctor because he has lost his voice, he does not understand why he has lost his voice but as the story progresses you find out why, as hard as he tries to forget, Peter cannot leave his time in annexe in the past, his experiences following his liberation. Peter struggles with himself, he hides his true self, he will not speak to his wife, as time goes on, the situation becomes worse for Peter, as ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is released, then to the stage show and finally, the film, Peter begins to question his past, and begins to face it.
I had a lot of sympathy for Peter, he was so unhappy, angry, he misses his parents, in some ways he has lost his identify, at times, I wished that Peter would speak to his wife, tell her who he was.
I found this book to be very insightful, a lot of research has went into the reactions regards Anne’s diary, the questions raised towards Otto Frank, the family of Fritz Pfeffer, it showed that there is more to the members of the annexe, the lost of so many lives, the ripple effect of loss and the questions raised from it. I found at times the questions concerning Anne where slightly unfair, the people who complained and found problems seem to forget that she was a teenager in unusual circumstances.
Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Paula Mc (Gyre/Heen)

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The story begins with Eleanor Vance, 32 years old and alone in the world following the death of her mother, Eleanor cannot cope with her selfish sister and brother in law who berate her at every turn. Eleanor thinks her life is improving when she is invited to Hill House by Dr John Montague, a doctor of Philosophy with an interest in the supernatural. Hill House already has a reputation of deaths and suicides and Dr Montague has rented Hill House for 3 months for an experiment, Eleanor is part of the experiment.

‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is not your typical haunted house story, it starts with friendships forming, then to paranoid, you see the slow decline of Eleanor’s mind, there is something in Hill House and only Eleanor can feel it.

The 1963 version of ‘The Haunting’ based on the book is closer to the book compared to the 1999 version of ‘The Haunting’, which was more violent.

An interesting read with plenty of atmosphere and tension.

Reviewed by:  Gyre

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Synopsis ~

Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, the preservation of all species, the tending of the Earth, and the cultivation of bees and organic crops on flat rooftops – has long predicted the Waterless Flood. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have avoided it: the young trapeze-dancer, Ren, locked into the high-end sex club, Scales and Tails; and former SecretBurgers meat-slinger turned Gardener, Toby, barricaded into the luxurious AnooYoo Spa, where many of the treatments are edible. Have others survived? Ren’s bioartist friend Amanda, or the MaddAddam eco-fighters? Ren’s one-time teenage lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the CorpSeCorps, the shadowy and corrupt policing force of the ruling powers Meanwhile, in the natural world, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo’hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through a ruined world, singing their devotional hymns and faithful to their creed and to their Saints – Saint Francis Assisi, Saint Rachel Carson, and Saint Al Gore among them – what odds for Ren and Toby, and for the human race? By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most effective.

‘The Year of the Flood’ can be read as a stand alone book but I would recommend reading ‘Oryx and Crake’ first because it’s a wonderful and interesting read.

‘The Year of the Flood’ starts from the end of Snowman (Jimmy) story from ‘Oryx and Crake’ and the beginning of Ren and Toby stories, women who have both survived the pandemic (also known as the ‘Waterless Flood’ by the God’s Gardeners), Ren is isolated in the Scales club she danced in and Toby in the AnooYoo Spa, its early days and both of them are surviving as much as they can, waiting to be rescued.

Ren and Toby know each other because at one point they were both members of the God’s Gardeners, a group who believe that all life is sacred and use their skills and knowledge to live the life they have chosen, they grow their own food, make their own clothes, make their own medicines. The story highlights Ren and Toby’s pasts leading up to the present.

At different times in their lives Ren and Toby meet Jimmy (Snowman) and Glenn (Crake), characters from ‘Oryx and Crake’, Ren becomes Jimmy’s girlfriend, Glenn helps a member of the God Gardeners member who is with Toby at the time. All of the characters have interacted at some time, which I thought made great reading because I had so many questions about Snowman, Crake and Oryx.

Margaret Atwood brings the characters to life with two strong female characters who are both survivors, along with the rest of the God’s Gardeners, as the story progresses, things change within the group, which eventually leads to the ‘Waterless Flood’.

‘The Year of the Flood’ is an excellent read and it does answer a lot of questions but it is very different from ‘Oryx and Crake’ (I know there is a risk of comparisons being made between the two books) I found there was more a feeling of hope in ‘The Year of the Flood’, the God’s Gardeners had so much faith in what they did, which was refreshing, at times there was low points but they worked well, they highlighted how quickly everything changed for some of the characters.

The book delves further in the ideas of modified animals, food and so on, the God’s Gardeners have very strong ideas about that. The lifestyle of the God’s Gardeners is explored brilliantly, yes, they are trying to make the world a better place, they are living what they feel as a good life but at the time they are affected by the same frailties of human nature, love, loss, jealously, I felt it showed human nature excellently.

My favourite part was finding out what happened to Jimmy (Snowman), because I did worry about him (yes, sad but true) and you also found other things and there is a lot of potential for a sequel.

It is a strong story about life and how to survive it, how to react with the situations surrounding you, finding out who you are as a person, no one is perfect, you do the best you can with what you have.

A great read.

Rating: 10/10

Reviewed by:  Paula Mc (Gyre)

The Sound of Waves by Yukio MishimaThe Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

Let me begin by telling you that I enjoyed ‘The Sound of Waves’ so much that when I finished it last night, I went back to the start and read it again.

‘The Sound of Waves’ tell the story of Shinji Kubo, a eighteen year old fisherman who lives on Uta~Jima island which means ‘Song Island’ with his widowed mother and his younger brother. Shinji is very quiet and hardworking, he works hard on the ship, ‘Taihei~maru’ with his master, Jukichi and Ryuji, a fellow fisherman.

Shinji falls in love with Hatsue Miyata, the only daughter of Old Uncle Teru, the wealthiest man in Uta~Jima, Hatsue has returned from Oizaki in Shima after training to be a pearl diver, ‘a diving woman’ and she works alongside Shinji’s mother who is a diving woman. The return of Hatsue is the talk of the villagers, everyone wants to know who will Hatsue married, the obvious choice seems to be Yasuo Kawamoto, the son of one of the leading families in the village but Hatsue falls in love with Shinju, soon they become the talk of the village and Shinkju must prove his worth.

‘The Sound of Waves’ is a story of first love but it is also a story about tradition, life, love, family and what you can do if you want something enough. Shinji is a mature eighteen year old but as the story continues, you see him changing, discovering his love for Hatsue. Shinji and Hatsue are both lovely characters, you want them to be together so much, you feel every disappointment they experience. I also like Jukichi, Shinji ship master, who was a father figure to Shinji and despite his way of saying things, he always knows the right thing to say.

I loved the way Yukio Mishima describes the village, the traditions, it was all written perfectly, Yukio Mishima was a strong traditionalist and it shows in the book.

A truly lovely read.

Reviewed by:  Gyre (Paula)

Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist

‘Let the right one in’ also by John Ajvide Lindqvist is one of my favourite reads of this year, a remarkable story, not just a vampire story but so much more. ‘Handling the Undead’ is just as good, another amazing story from John Ajvide Lindqvist.

‘Handling the Undead’ begins in Stockholm on a night when the weather is heavy and everyone can feel that something is about to happen and it does, in the worse way imaginable, people who have been dead for two months are returning from the dead, the government are not sure what to do, the families of the ‘reliving’ (as they are eventually called) are at a loss of what to do or how to feel about it?

‘Handling the Undead’ is a book that makes you think, what would you do? So much happens once the ‘reliving’ return, the government find themselves making the wrong decisions, how do you handle people who are technically alive but not alive, do they have rights? Do they have a place in the world? Can they return to their families?

‘Handling the Undead’ is more than a story about life after death, what do you do when you lose someone and they come back from the dead? All the characters in the story are conflicted, they have lost someone in some way and now they have returned but the ‘reliving’ are different, they are not the people they once were, they are a shell of what they were but at the same time there is a faint glimmer of the person they were.

All of the relationships are strong relationships, you can feel the strength as you read, and you feel their pain and their loss, their confusion, coming to terms with a loss and then their happiness when their loved ones return.

I found ‘Handling the Undead’ to be a powerful read, so many questions are raised and so many social problems are brought forward, you will get very engrossed in this story, there is so much to this book that you will find enjoyable, enlightening, scary and most of all make you look at the world around you.

A must read.

Reviewed by Paula Mc (Gyre)

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Title of book:   The Good Thief

Name of author:   Hannah Tinti

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Headline Review (19 Mar 2009)

ISBN-10: 075530747X

ISBN-13: 978-0755307470

Synopsis ~

Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. He longs for a family to call his own and is terrified of the day he will be sent alone into the world.

But then a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother, and his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand and his parents persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? Journeying through a New England of whaling towns and meadowed farmlands, Ren is introduced to a vibrant world of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves. If he stays, Ren becomes one of them. If he goes, he’s lost once again. As Ren begins to find clues to his hidden parentage he comes to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well.

‘The Good Thief’ tells the story of Ren, abandoned as a baby and left at the gates of St. Anthony’s orphanage. Ren’s left hand is missing and the only thing that remains is a scar where the flesh was turned over and sewn, an act of kindness that Ren does not remember. The only item that Ren owns from his past is a piece of collar from the night-shirt he was wearing when he was abandoned, sewn on the collar in dark blue thread is simply his name, ‘Ren’

Ren lives his life the best way he can within the walls of the orphanage, surrounded by the brothers of St.Anthony (seeker of lost articles), he has his friends, the twins, Brom and Ichy, who the brothers of the orphanage see as unlucky due to the suicide of their mother. Ren lives for the day when he is adopted or his family return for him, and it does happen in a way, in the form of Benjamin Nab, Ren’s long lost brother, Ren is suddenly in a middle of an adventure which not only tests him to the limit but helps him to find his way in the world.

‘The Good Thief’ is a lovely book, Ren is an original and heart-warming character, a boy who has grown up fast and despite everything that happens to him he keeps his faith and his good character, he is a good thief in so many ways.

All the characters in ‘The Good Thief’ were to me very vibrant and great to read, they all had their own stories, Tom, a former teacher who carries guilt with him, Benjamin, a young man who lives on his instincts and wits, Dolly, a complicated man who finds in Ren someone who believes in him, that he is capable of change and Mrs Shaw who helps Ren.

‘The Good Thief’ is a memorable, sad, and funny book with a great story that you will not want to end and a hero in a boy called Ren.

Read it if you get the chance .

Rating: 10/10

Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Title of book:  Let the Right One in

Name of author:  John Ajvide Lindqvist

Synopsis ~

Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city’s edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he’s frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn’t go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend, a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty.

I am a fan of vampire genre and ‘Let the right one in’ is a vampire tale but with a whole new take on the genre.

‘Let the right one in’ (named after the Morrissey song ‘Let the Right One Slip In’) is a brilliantly well written book, John Ajvide Lindqvist has created two characters in Oskar and Eli who deserve good things in their lives but due to certain circumstances have not had good lives, they finally find it in each other with their friendship.

The main story is about Oskar and Eli, with the underlying tale of Eli’s vampirism and the lengths she must go to, to survive, the individual she depends on to her help her and the ripple effect it causes, suddenly the residents of a bleak housing scheme in Stockholm are living in fear.

Oskar and Eli are both lonely in their own way, Oskar by the constant bullying he receives at school, trying to work out his place in life and Eli still struggling to deal with her past and what she is now, in each other they find a friend and the main feelings of the book are shown, their loyalty and friendship to each other.

As I said, the book is brilliantly written, you feel the pain that Oskar and Eli go through, I found myself becoming more and more protective of them both, the isolation of their environment is described brilliantly, you feel the bleakness, the cold weather.

If you enjoy reading vampire genre books, I recommend ‘Let the right one in’ but read it with an open mind, there is gruesome parts, parts that will make you feel uncomfortable but they are written in such a way, that you are able to read on, to finish the journey with Oskar and Eli.

I know I will re~read ‘Let the right one in’.

Rating: 10/10

Reviewed by ~ Gyre

Piercing by Ryu Murakami

Synopsis ~

Every night, Kawashima Masayuki creeps from his bed and watches over his baby girl’s crib while his child sleeps. But this is no ordinary domestic scene. He has an ice pick in his hand, and a barely controllable desire to use it. Deciding to confront his demons, Kawashima sets into motion a chain of events seeming to lead inexorably to murder…

This is the second book I have read by Ryu Murakami, the first one being ‘In the Miso Soup’, which I read last year and recommend highly.

‘Piercing’ tells the story of Kawashima Masayuki, a man who has recently become a father, a significant event in any man’s life but Kawashima has secrets he cannot share and his own demons to face.

‘Piercing’ is a very dark read, some parts will be upsetting for readers due to the abuse that Kawashima and Chiaki both suffer but the abuse plays a part in the story to show how lost both characters are and the reasons behind their actions.

‘Piercing’ stays with you after you finish it, you want to know what happens next for Kawashima and Chiaki but the ending is left open, so you make your own mind up.

A great read, although some parts are upsetting.

Rating: 9/10

Posted by:  Paula McGerr (username~Gyre)

Perfect Family by Pam Lewis

Synopsis ~

A story of a family secret with deadly consequences.When Pony Carteret is found drowned in the waters of Lake Aral her family is quick to accept a verdict of accidental death, but something doesn’t seem to fit: how could Pony, an able and experienced swimmer, die within feet of their exclusive holiday home while her toddler son played on the shore? Pony’s death opens a whole Pandora’s box of questions: who is her son’s father? Who was the man a neighbour saw arguing with her only hours before she died? What had she meant to tell William, her older brother, whom she had summoned to the house that day? William is absolutely shattered by his favourite sister’s death, and as he begins to challenge the official version of events he makes a devastating and very personal discovery. And how should he respond to Keith Brink, a stranger who spoke at Pony’s funeral, and has now begun to insinuate his way into the life of their vulnerable younger sister, Mira?

‘Perfect Family’ is the story of the Carterets who are anything but a perfect family, William, the eldest, finds out. Following the death of his youngest sister, Pony, William and the rest of the family are in turmoil. Jasper Carteret their father fails to recognise, along with his remaining daughters, Tinker and Mira that Pony’s death was suspicious. As the story progresses, you find out more of the family’s secrets, told in separate chapters with each character which was interesting to read because you were focusing on that particular character.

I enjoyed ‘Perfect Family’, it was slow paced but in a good way, leading up to the conclusion, you saw the family changing as the story progressed, in positive and negative ways, I felt quietly relived for the characters at the end.

‘Perfect Family’ is an engaging read with lots of suspense, an interesting story of families and the damage that secrets can cause.

Rating: 10/10

Review written by Gyre

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Synopsis~

A classic collection of stories — all told on the skin of a man — from the author of Fahrenheit 451. If El Greco had painted miniatures in his prime, no bigger than your hand, infinitely detailed, with his sulphurous colour and exquisite human anatomy, perhaps he might have used this man’s body for his art! Yet the Illustrated Man has tried to burn the illustrations off. He’s tried sandpaper, acid, and a knife. Because, as the sun sets, the pictures glow like charcoals, like scattered gems. They quiver and come to life. Tiny pink hands gesture, tiny mouths flicker as the figures enact their stories — voices rise, small and muted, predicting the future. Here are sixteen tales: sixteen illustrations! the seventeenth is your own future told on the skin of the Illustrated Man.

This is the second book by Ray Bradbury I have read, the first one being ‘Fahrenheit 451’, which I really enjoyed.

‘The Illustrated Man’ is a collection of stories which are being played out on a un~named man’s tattooed body, he was tattooed by a woman who claimed she was from the future and since then the tattoos have been a curse, every tattoo tells a story except for the tattoo on his right shoulder blade which changes to show the fate of the person who is looking at it.

The stories in ‘The Illustrated Man’ are very much a sign of the times (it was written in 1951) which I found brilliant to read, Ray Bradbury had a very real view of the world of the future and you can tell he enjoys sharing his stories.

All of the stories are gorgeously written, Ray Bradbury’s outlook of the world may seem odd but makes a lot of sense.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 10/10