The Fiction Class by Susan Breen

Synopsis:  Despite being named after a Georgette Heyer heroine, would-be novelist Arabellas life is not what it might be. Thirty-six, twice engaged but still single, none of the New Yorkers on her Creative Writing course show any signs of novel-writing promise but then, to be frank, neither does she. However, hope, and love, may be closer than she had realised and, who knows, maybe even inspiration.

Review:  This is a good read which incorporates not only a story about a creative writing class, but also the parallel story of the tutor’s relationship with her mother and is a mini writing course in itself.  Each chapter deals with each lesson and this also related to the story of the tutor’s mother. The book grew on me in the same way that the class grew on the tutor which was an aspect I enjoyed about it. A light and pleasant read.

LibraryThing rating: ***1/2

Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier

Synopsis: The new top ten bestselling novel from the much loved author of Girl with a Pearl Earring Flames and funerals, circus feats and seduction, neighbours and nakedness: Tracy Chevalier’s new novel ‘Burning Bright’ sparkles with drama. London 1792. The Kellaways move from familiar rural Dorset to the tumult of a cramped, unforgiving city. They are leaving behind a terrible loss, a blow that only a completely new life may soften. Against the backdrop of a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution, a surprising bond forms between Jem, the youngest Kellaway boy, and streetwise Londoner Maggie Butterfield. Their friendship takes a dramatic turn when they become entangled in the life of their neighbour, the printer, poet and radical, William Blake. He is a guiding spirit as Jem and Maggie navigate the unpredictable, exhilarating passage from innocence to experience. Their journey inspires one of Blake’s most entrancing works. Georgian London is recreated as vividly in Burning Bright as 17th-century Delft was in Tracy Chevalier’s bestselling masterpiece, Girl with a Pearl Earring. (taken from Waterstones website)

Review: I really enjoyed this – being thrust into London at the end of the 18th century and being able to understand the world in which Blake (and other writers and artists) lived particularly in the context of the French Revolution. It inspired me to read more about Blake so it took me beyond the story contained within the novel. I loved the descriptions – particularly of the walk through London – and I enjoyed the friendships formed between the characters. A good read.

LibraryThing rating: *****

Other books I have read by this writer: Falling Angels *****

Review by JudyB

The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose by Diana Janney

Synopsis: Harriet Rose, like any other teenager, is naive, overconfident and has always felt she has something important to say. However, unlike most of her peers, her hero is Marcus Aurelius, in imitation of whom she has been composing philosophical reflections on life for some time. When Harriet’s father dies, the urge to write these meditations is greater than ever. Then, on her fourteenth birthday, she receives a unique gift. Her doting mother and grandmother have had her by-now-substantial collection of meditations published. Having appointed themselves roles — Mother: publicist; Nana: sales rep; Harriet: esteemed author — they vow to get the book into the hands of a wide readership. Once this formidable team gets into gear, there’s no holding back, and Harriet is hurled into a lifestyle that not even she, in all her infinite wisdom, could have been prepared for. Bookshop orders soon stack up, and Harriet is plunged into a whirlwind of launch parties, newspaper coverage and television appearances. But is all this attention exactly what she thinks? And, more importantly, can her happiness — or her naivete – last?

Review: This was a delightful read – light and uplifting with touches of humour. It’s an unusual book and Harriet is a wonderful anti-hero; even during her arrogant and misguided moments you find yourself completely onside willing her to overcome the various obstacles she faces. I defy anyone not to have a favourite Harriet Rose meditation by the end of the book.  

LibraryThing rating: *****

Other books I have read by the same author: None but will look out for more.

Review by JudyB

Reading in Bed by Sue Gee

Synopsis: Opening at the Hay Festival, and ending with the prospect of a spring wedding, Sue Gee’s new novel is a lively story of tangled relationships and the sustaining powers of good books, loyal friends and conversation. Friends since university, with busy working lives behind them, Dido and Georgia have long been looking forward to carefree days of books and conversation, when each finds herself caught up in unexpected domestic drama. Dido, for the first time, has cause to question her marriage; widowed Georgia feels certain her husband will return to her. Meanwhile, an eccentric country cousin goes wildly off the rails, children are unhappy in love, and perfect health is all at once in question. This novel will bring a writer who ‘transforms the stuff of ordinary life into art’ (Philippa Gregory, “The Sunday Times”) to her widest audience yet. (taken from Waterstones website)

Review: Using a narrative that moves from one character to another Sue Gee has created a novel in which you care about the characters so much that you continue to think about them after you have put the book down. Her writing is very poignant – she captures feelings and emotions succinctly – reading about Georgia’s loneliness is quite painful at times and yet this story is not without it’s moments of gentle humour and recognisable family dynamics. I have often shelved The Mysteries of Glass (also by Sue Gee) at work and every time I do it catches my eye – next time I see it I will take it home to read.

LibraryThing rating: *****

Other books I have read by same author: None but will look out for others.

Review by JudyB

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

Synopsis: In 1944, a German Jewish refugee is sent to Wales to interview Rudolf Hess; in Snowdonia, a seventeen-year-old girl, the daughter of a fiercely nationalistic shepherd, dreams of the bright lights of an English city; and in a nearby POW camp, a German soldier struggles to reconcile his surrender with his sense of honour. As their lives intersect, all three will come to question where they belong and where their loyalties lie. Peter Ho Davies’ thought-provoking and profoundly moving first novel traces a perilous wartime romance as it explores the bonds of love and duty that hold us to family, country, and ultimately our fellow man. Vividly rooted in history and landscape, “The Welsh Girl” reminds us anew of the pervasive presence of the past, and the startling intimacy of the foreign. (taken from Waterstones website).

Review: I felt very disappointed by this – I’m not really sure what I expected but whatever it was it seemed lacking. It was essentially the way that it was written – I found the style very male. I enjoyed the story about Esther but continued to read really out of a sense of obligation to see it to the end. I feel that this is very much a personal reaction and would not put anyone else off from reading it.

LibraryThing rating: ***

Other books read by this writer: None  

Review by JudyB

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Synopsis: ‘You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.’ Bougainville. 1991. A small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda’s last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. When the villagers’ safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville’s children are surprised to find the island’s only white man, a recluse, re-opening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens. Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts’ inspiring reading of Great Expectations. But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. Mister Pip is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished.

Review: I fell very slowly in love with this book and once I reached that point I found it compulsive reading. I love Great Expectations and it was an interesting idea to use it in the context of a Pacific island. Through the use of the novel the writer was able to explore many issues including the power of storytelling, cultural differences and beliefs, and the Romansbildung. It is a gently told story seen through the eyes of the main character a young girl who is consumed by the character of Pip. The difference culturally of Pip’s character to the girl’s causes her to question her own culture and makes her think about the world beyond the island and like Pip she too goes through her own Romansbildung. My only criticism is the ending which almost seemed unnecessary – I felt I had got everything I wanted from the book and didn’t see the necessity of answering certain questions – I felt that they were questions that the character wanted answering more than the reader. Beautiful story with a particularly beautiful cover.

LibraryThing rating: ****

Other books read by this writer: None but will look out for others.

Review by JudyB

Boy A by Jonathan Trigell

Synopsis: ‘A is for Apple. A bad apple.’ Jack has spent most of his life in juvenile institutions, to be released with a new name, new job, new life. At 24, he is utterly innocent of the world, yet guilty of a monstrous childhood crime. To his new friends, he is a good guy with occasional flashes of unexpected violence. To his new girlfriend, he is strangely inexperienced and unreachable. To his case worker, he’s a victim of the system and of media-driven hysteria. And to himself, Jack is on permanent trial: can he really start from scratch, forget the past, become someone else? Is a new name enough? Can Jack ever truly connect with his new friends while hiding a monstrous secret? This searing and heartfelt novel is a devastating indictment of society’s inability to reconcile childhood innocence with reality. (taken from Waterstones’ website)

Review: I was a bit apprehensive about reading this not really sure what to expect. However I found myself gripped from the first page to the last. Predominately this story has to be described as thought-provoking, not only do you find yourself exploring the issues concerned but sometimes you find yourself looking at your own reactions. True that the format of the narrative manipulates them by revealing the story bit by bit but equally I feel this serves to take the black and white out of the situation and allows the reader to consider its complexities. I finished this last night; 24 hours later I’m still mulling it over, seeing patterns and thinking and rethinking. It seems trite to say I’ve been on a journey but I do feel that genuinely.

LibraryThing rating: ****½

Other books read by this writer: None but will look out for others.

Review by JudyB

Sweeney Todd or The String of Pearls: The Original Tale of Sweeney Todd by Anon

Synopsis: The String of Pearls – the original tale of Sweeney Todd, a classic of British horror – was first published as a weekly serial in 1846-7 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After 157 years of obscurity, it appears here for the first time in book form.A distraught Johanna Oakley wanders the streets of London seeking news of the missing fiance, Mark Ingestrie. She is befriended by Colonel Jeffrey, who is searching for his lost friend, Thornhill, last seen in Sweeney Todd’s Fleet Street barber-shop. Todd’s apprentice, Tobias Ragg, is struggling to break free from his terrifying and sadistic master, while the barber himself is frantically trying to sell a string of pearls. Meanwhile, just around the corner in Bell Yard, the enigmatic Jarvis Williams has landed himself a fine job – making the most delicious pies in London, to Mrs Lovett’s secret recipe…Originally published as a weekly serial in 1846-7, this chilling tale is available for the first time in book form. (taken from Amazon)

Review: Although this is a shocking story it is actually a fun read. The narrator speaks directly to the reader- at times with humour – making us very conscious of the story unfolding before us. For the reader unfamiliar with the tale it is a shocking story; for those who are familiar with it the fun is being party to the irony within the tale. Readers are less likely to be acquainted with the role of the asylum in Sweeney Todd – as the most realistic aspect of the story it is also the most shocking and unforgettable. This has all the ingredients of a good old-fashioned Victorian mystery – I loved it.  

LibraryThing rating: ****

Review by JudyB

E11even Terrible Months by R L Royle

Synopsis: Eleven Terrible Months explores what really happens in a haunted house and how it affects the people living there. This book is terrifyingly realistic and you’ll laugh and cry as you come to know the Walkingtons, the family subjected to the haunting. The Walkingtons – Sue, Roy and their three teenage children – were just like any other working-class Yorkshire family until January 1998, when they moved into their new home; a 3-bedroomed council flat in Beeston, West Yorkshire. What followed was a hellish year that almost ripped the humorous, tight-knit family apart. They eventually fled in November 1998, with their lives and nerves in tatters. What exactly happened to the Walkingtons during their time at 289 Millshaw Grove? In their own words, three of the five members of the Walkington family detail their lives at the time, their separate and shared unexplainable experiences, and the emotions, opinions and consequences thrown up from their eleven terrible months back in 1998. With frights so real they’ll give you nightmares, lashings of laugh-out-loud humour, and interesting explorations of family dynamics; Eleven Terrible Months is a fiction novel that you will never forget. (Taken from Waterstones site)

Review: This is a story which relates the events within a haunted flat and also the dynamics of an ordinary family. Although it was very creepy in places, the real interest however, turned out to be the story of the family itself. I completely related to the mother’s story and found the story of the teenage son, Chris, thought provoking, while funny and sad at the same time. This was mainly because it highlighted the tenuous nature of family relationships and how communication isn’t always as effective as it could be, consequently Chris was misunderstood at times. I admire R L Royle’s ability to understand the fragile nature of such relationships especially as she is able to relate the story from so many different viewpoints. It is those differing viewpoints which make the story so good – showing how the same events can affect the characters so differently. I found Sal’s story to be the creepiest and a couple of incidents set me thinking about things that I knew of that had happened. Coincidently something fell in the room next to me while reading this part – needless to say, I had to sleep with the light on afterwards! A wonderful read!

LibraryThing rating: *****

Other books read by this writer: None

Reviewed by JudyB

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Synopsis: This is one of the earliest novels of industrial alienation, tellingly linked to the plight of 19th-century women. It tells of the relationship between Margaret Hale, a girl from the old rural south, and John Thornton, a mill owner from the new industrial north. (synopsis taken from Amazon).

Review: Although this was well written and made some important points about industrialisation as observed first hand by Elizabeth Gaskell it was let down by its lack of event. Despite being informative, and valuable as a realistic picture of the social landscape of the time, it lacked the plot to drive the reader to continue. Continue though I did, but it was a long and slow read. I found myself continually comparing it to Emile Zola’s Germinal which depicted the working conditions of the miners in France. It is a far more dramatic tale, again drawing on Zola’s first hand observations, but I found in making this comparison that I could see Elizabeth Gaskell’s strength in that she was able to tell the story from the point of view of both the industrialists and workers. I will read other work by Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South feels like a work with a purpose to inform rather than to entertain and my expectations are that her other novels may be more plot driven.  

LibraryThing rating: *****

Other books read by same author: None but hope to read more.

Reviewed by JudyB