Girl In a Red Tunic by Alys Clare

In medieval 1193, while the King, Richard the Lionheart is held captive by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, many people in England find themselves short of food and provisions, due to the efforts made to raise the ransom for the King’s release.  In Hawkenlye Abbey, things are no different, and Abbess Helewise is struggling to make ends meet.  So she is delighted when her son Leofgar arrives for a visit with his wife Rohaise and their young son Timus.  However, it soon becomes clear that Leofgar and Rohaise are hiding something; Rohaise is terrified of her own shadow, and Timus barely speaks.  As the family stay at the Abbey, their states of mind improve and things seem to be getting better.  However, when a man is found hung, strung from a tree near to the Abbey, Leofgar, Rohaise and Timus leave the premises unannounced and are nowhere to be found.

Aided by her faithful friend, the Knight, Sir Josse D’Acquin, Helewise sets out to solve the mystery of the man’s hanging and her own son’s disappearance.  In doing so, she has to look into her own past, when she was a wife and mother to the handsome Ivo, and ask herself if her husband’s family were really the good people that she believed them to be.

This book is one of a series set around Abbey Hawkenlye, with the Abbess at it’s centre.  However, this was easy to read as a stand-alone novel, and I did not feel that lack of knowledge of the background of the characters hindered my reading at all.

The story moved along quickly, without ever feeling too rushed.  It is an undemanding read, which made it perfect for curling up with to relax.  The mystery at the heart of the story was intriguing enough to hold my interest throughout, and I found myself engrossed enough to consider reading the other books in the series.

The sense of the period in which the book was set was conveyed well, but this book was really more about the events which happened, rather than portraying life in the medieval period.  For instance, the situation with the captivity of Richard the Lionheart was mentioned only at the beginning of the story, and in no way really effected the events in the book.  I also enjoyed the parts where Helewise reminisced about her past – for readers of the whole series, I imagine this may have filled in a lot of gaps about the character’s life.

Having said that, the characterisation wasn’t brilliant.  Josse was extremely likeable and was probably my favourite character throughout the book.  However, there was little exploration of the other characters.  However, this did not detract from my enjoyment.

Overall then, this is a leisurely read, and I don’t believe that a special interest in the medieval period is necessary for this book to be enjoyed.  I would certainly read more by this author.

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver

Lincoln Rhyme is New York City’s best Criminalist, who has helped solve some of the most perplexing crimes that have been committed in the city.  He is also a quadraplegic, as the result of an accident at a crime scene, three years before; and has decided to kill himself.  But then the Police need his help.  Someone is committing brutal and seemingly random attacks in the city, and the only person who can solve the clues left behind is Rhyme.  However, Rhyme can’t walk the crime scenes himself, so he needs somebody to do it for him.  Amelia Sachs is working her last shift as a Patrol Officer, before she transfers into Public Affairs.  But the scene she stumbles across in the morning, leads her head-first into a new investigation, where she finds herself being the eyes and ears of Lincoln Rhyme…

This is the first novel in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and I felt that it did a great job of introducing the two main characters, Rhyme and Sachs.  The story itself had a lot of twists and turns, and there were some genuine surprises along the way.  I was never able to second guess what was going to happen, and the action moved along at a fast pace, making me want to keep reading.

As well as the main storyline, about Rhyme and his hastily assembled team trying to solve the case, the relationship between Rhyme and Sachs is explored, and as a result, I felt that I got to know the two characters well.

The other characters weren’t so well developed (with the exception of Rhyme’s aide Thom, who I adored), but that did not detract from the enjoyment of the book.  As this is the first in a series, there is presumably plenty of time to get to know the others.

I did feel that at times, the storyline about the kidnappings stretched credibility somewhat.  Rhyme is certainly supposed to be brilliant, but on occasions he seemed able to deduce something very specific from the vaguest of clues.  This is the course the character’s job, but it did feel slight unbelieveable.  However, there was enough excitement and intrigue in this book for me to forgive that minor niggle.

Overall, this is a cut above a lot of other crime based novels, and is very cleverly written.  (it’s very evident that Deaver has done his research with regards to forensic work and equipment).  A highly recommended read.

Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen by Joanna Denny

Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous Queens of England. Typically in literature she is described as the manipulative schemer who lured Henry VIII from his devoted wife Katharine of Aragon and later met her death on (probably trumped up) charges of Adultery, Incest and Treason.

In this book, Denny presents a different view of Anne, as a victim of Henry’s cold blooded-ness.  She asserts that Henry relentlessly pursued Anne, who resisted because of his marriage to Katharine.  Anne finally succumbed to Henry’s advances and was then cast aside when it no longer suited him to be married to her.

The book is written in a very ‘readable’ way.  I often find non-fiction to be somewhat dry; however this book flowed easily and held my interest throughout.

It has obviously been very well researched, and Denny is clearly a Boleyn enthusiast, with a lot of passion for her subject.  However, this is a double edged sword.  While I firmly believe that it is important for any biographer to really care about their subject, Denny’s own view means that this book is extremely biased.  Katharine of Aragon is described as a vicious, manipulative and unreasonable woman, who lied to fulfill her ambition to become Queen of England.  Anne is painted almost as a saint, who could do no wrong and was blameless in every respect.

Joanna Denny wrote this book to bring balance to the general view of Anne; however, she has not created balance but has merely tipped the scales all the way to the other side.  She claims that the critics of Anne are biased – and this may well be true – but unfortunately, Denny shows herself to be equally as biased.  The women in Anne’s world are portrayed as evil and two faced, with the exception of Elizabeth I, Anne’s daughter.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Anne or the Tudor period, but I do not think that this book is ‘the truth’ about Anne Boleyn, as the author claims.

Fine Just the Way It Is by Annie Proulx

Fine Just the Way It Is is Annie Proulx’s third collection of Wyoming stories.  There are nine stories in this collection, and as usual, most of them concentrate on depicting the hard life of ranchers, politicians and cowboys, and the arguably even harder life of their wives.

As always, Proulx gives a subtle build up in each story, and then hits the reader with a punch right where it hurts.  Drama and a large dose of irony collide, sometimes peppered with a little humour.  Occasionally she depicts real flashes of happiness in her characters’ lives – such as when Archie and his young wife set up home in ‘Them Old Cowboy Songs’ or when young Dakotah feels a rush of love which she never could have imagined when she has a baby in ‘Tits Up in a Ditch’.  But although these moments of happiness are not generally expected to last long (at least not to any reader familiar with Proulx’s writing), events still manage to surprise with the way that they seemingly come out of the blue, although on reflection they were probably always inevitable.

Two of the stories are comedic, and are actually set in hell, where we meet the devil – a mischievous but charismatic character, who travels around in a golf buggy and devises a plan to make life more interesting in certain areas on earth.  In another story, a woman wants her grandfather to tell his life story for posterity, but he fails to convey what he actually feels.

Annie Proulx’s writing is always very ‘clean’ – she never uses spare words, and indeed they are not necessary, because she has the ability to transport her reader to the landscape in which the story is set, in just a few words.

I preferred this book to the first collection of Wyoming Stories (Close Range, which featured the love story Brokeback Mountain), but didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the second collection (Bad Dirt).  Overall though, I would certainly recommend this book to other readers, and would actively seek out more of Annie Proulx’s writing.

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley

Gabriel Swift lives in London in the 1820s, receiving tutorship from renowned Anatomist Edwin Poll.  Much of his job involves cleaning cadavers delivered from grave robbers, known as resurrectionists.  Edwin Poll then dissects the cadavers and teaches his students how they died, in order that they can learn his trade.  While there, Gabriel makes friends, especially Charles – Mr Poll’s colleague, and Robert, a fellow student (or ‘prentice’ as they are known).  However, due to the nature of the work, there are also a number of shady characters involved in this lifestyle – not least, Mr Tyne, who also lives in the same house as Gabriel, and Lucan – Mr Poll’s nemesis and the infamous leader of a gang of resurrectionists.

Gabriel finds himself drawn into both the worlds of his colleagues and friends, and that of Lucan, and when he makes an enemy of Mr Tyne and alienates those who may help him, it is to Lucan who he somewhat reluctantly turns.  From there, he becomes involved with some much darker and more dangerous characters, and his life becomes unstable.

I’m not sure what to make of this book.  I have read various negative reviews, but I actually did enjoy it.  Told from Gabriel’s point of view, I felt that we did get real insight into his character, and in particular his sense of isolation from those around him.  The chapters are generally very short (usually about three pages), and it makes for an interesting read.  I loved the middle part of the story, where Gabriel becomes involved with Lucan’s ‘work’ – there was a genuine atmospheric gloom pervading the narration, and there are several Dickensian villains, who made for some interesting reading.  It was during that point where I kept wanting to read “just a few more pages,” to see what happened.

The first part of the book was enjoyable, but I felt that there were too many unnecessary characters.  A number of Charles’s friends get involved in the story, and I felt that their part in the story would have been better if it had either been expanded upon to make them more rounded characters, or cut out completely – there was not much character development for them, and they served as a vehicle to move certain sections of the story forward.  I also found that Gabriel’s romance with Arabella, a local prostitute, added little to the story, although it did serve to heighten his disillusionment with his life and surroundings.

The final part of the story moves in a completely direction, and tells what happens 10 years after the events described in the first parts.  I liked the idea of this conclusion of sorts (although I’m not giving away any secrets), but the pace did slow down in this section and was not as compelling reading as the novel had been up until then.  This part would have been better as a short epilogue.

Some of the descriptions of the cadavers and the work of Mr Poll is described in great detail, and this may not appeal to more squeamish readers (although it did not bother me).

Overall, despite the criticism, I did enjoy this book.  The events moved along at a quick enough pace to hook me into Gabriel’s story.  I would certainly consider reading more by this author.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl in Nazi Germany, who having watched her family disintegrate, is fostered by the kindly Hans and Rosa Hubermann.  Liesel sees the atrocities committed in wartime, and sees the best and worst that humankind has to offer.  Hans is the father who takes care of her and teaches her to read – a gift that will be her salvation and the comfort of others.  Rosa is the coarse but warm hearted woman who fiercely protects her family.  During Liesel’s story, we meet a whole cast of characters – Max Vandenburg, the Jew who is hiding from the Nazis and just hoping to survive the war; Rudy Steiner, Leisel’s neighbour and best friend; Frau Holtzaphel, the Hubermann’s next door neighbour; and Adolf Hitler, who while never actually appearing as a character in the book, certainly looms over the whole story.

The book is narrated by Death himself, who is a surprisingly thoughtful and compassionate storyteller.

To put it bluntly, this book is fantastic.  It is apparently aimed at young adults, but I think this is a book that adults of any age would and should get a lot out of reading.  The story completely immersed me in wartime Germany and in particular, Lieisel’s world.  The characterisation by Markus Zusak is terrific.  Although there is a fairly large cast of characters, each and every one is beautifully drawn, and I felt as if I knew them personally.  They were utterly believable, and I cared about all of them.

The book held my attention through every page – I never once felt bored.  Death is an interesting, sometimes even amusing, and always thoughtful narrator – he reveals snippets of what happens to certain characters before the events actually occur, but despite this, when such things do actually happen, the impact is not lessened in the slightest.

As the vast majority of characters are German, the reader sees the war through the eyes of German citizens, and shows them as individuals rather than the collective nation which wartime Germany is often viewed as.

To sum up – occasionally, I come across a book which I want to tell all of my friends about.  I feel as though I want everyone I know to read it.  This is just such a book.  Very highly recommended indeed.

Anagrams by Lorrie Moore

Night club singer Benna Carpenter lives in a flat across the hall from Gerard Maines.  Gerard is in love with Benna and suffers when he hears her bring other men home at night.  Or Benna is an aerobics teacher who was Gerard’s lover for nineteen months.  Or Benna and Gerard live together in a house and hold a yard sale with Benna’s friend Eleanor.  Or Benna is a poetry teacher dating a mature student, whose best friend is Gerard, a pianist who aspires to be an opera singer…

There are a few things we know about Benna.  She is delightfully clever and witty, and makes some wonderful plays on words (“All the world’s a stage we’re going through” being my favourite example).  Gerard is her best friend, whatever other form their relationship takes.

With Benna as narrator, this book weaves in and out of her real life and her fictional life, until the reader is no longer sure which is which.  But when reality suddenly bursts through with a vengeace, the safety net that Benna has built for herself with her fantasies, suddenly snaps.  It is an unusual narrative, and one which took some getting used to – however, it was well worth the effort, as eventually the words flowed freely and I felt able to immerse myself in whatever world Benna was inhabiting at the time.

Despite the fact that so much of this novel blurs the lines between fiction and reality, Benna is an extremely well rounded character, and I found it easy to believe in her.  It is clear that she feels that something is lacking in her life, and doesn’t know how to find out what it is, or how to do anything about it.  Instead, she invents alternative realities which are all too easy for her to retreat into.

I don’t want to say much more about the plot of this book, because I feel that to give too much away would be to do a great injustice to anyone planning to read it.  I will say though that I thought it was a thought provoking book with a heroine who – ironically because of the fiction she creates for herself – was very believable.

The writing flows easily and I found constantly myself thinking “I’ll just read a few more pages.”  It’s a quick and easy read, but certainly not lightweight.  Highly recommended.

Misery by Stephen King

Paul Sheldon is an author, most famous for his collection of stories about Misery Chastain, a heroine loved and adored by many.  But Paul is sick of Misery and wants to concentrate on other novels, so he has killed off the character.  But then he crashes his car in a snowstorm in a part of the USA that he is not familiar with.  He would have died had he not been ‘rescued’ by Annie Wilkes, who describes herself as his (and Misery’s) biggest fan.  Annie is furious that he has killed off her favourite character and demands that he write another novel, where the heroine is brought back to life.  And what Annie wants, Annie gets…It doesn’t take long before Paul realises that Annie is dangerously unstable, and now, instead of writing for a living, he is writing for his life.

I really enjoyed this book.  For most of the book there are only two characters – Paul and Annie – which gives it a claustrophobic atmosphere.  There is also real tension within the pages – I found myself holding my breath while reading on as quickly as possible in order to see what happened next.  Annie is a terrifying character, and also a rather pathetic man.  Paul is our hero of sorts – although he is clearly portrayed as a somewhat selfish man, who is forced to draw on reserves of strength he didn’t know he possessed.

Although there are just two main characters, it was plot that really kept the book rolling along at such a quick pace.  It was established very early on that Annie was deranged (although the extent of her madness does not become clear until later).  It was also clear that she was able to out-manoeuvre Paul in all imaginable situations.  The reason that this book was so hard to put down was to see just how (if at all) Paul would escape this woman.

There are excerpts of ‘Misery’s Return’ – the book which Annie forces Paul to write – included in the book.  This was perhaps un-necessary (I only wanted to know what happened to Paul, not to his most popular character), but it did not detract from the main story at all.  I always think the scariest stories are ones which you actually believe could happen – as is the case with this one.  Very highly recommended to fans of the genre.  However, due to some of the graphic violent scenes, it may not be suitable for some younger readers.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Clare first meets Henry when she is 6 and he is 36.  But Henry is no normal man, and due to his chrono-displacement condition (in short, he involuntarily time-travels), he is able to marry Clare when he is 30 and she is 22.

Their love is enduring and strong, but due to Henry’s disappearances to other times – which he is unable to control – it means that they have to adjust to a life where Clare often doesn’t know where, or even when, Henry is.

Their life together is therefore sometimes difficult but (nearly) always wonderful.  Henry has met Clare when she was a little girl and has effectively watched her grow up while all the time knowing that they will fall in love and marry.  However, while Clare can remember these meetings, Henry (when he is in ‘real’ time) can’t remember them, because they involve time traveling expeditions that haven’t happened yet – even though in one way they have already happened.

Sounds confusing, but it isn’t.  Audrey Niffenegger makes this story ebb and flow beautifully, and it is always easy for the reader (if not the characters) to understand what is happening.

I loved the character of Henry.  Rather than making him a tragic yet supremely heroic man, he is portrayed as a man who through necessity, often indulges in theft, burglary and violence (the first two out of necessity – wherever Henry travels to, he always arrives naked and without provisions; and the third in self defence when he has arrived somewhere in said naked state).  This serves to make him more believable.  Clare was somewhat less of a fully rounded character, but she was certainly realistic enough to be believable, and for the reader to care about.

Where Audrey Niffenegger has really triumphed though, is in making an outlandish plot seem credible.  I absolutely do not believe in time travel, and yet for the duration of this book, I found myself totally buying into the concept.  It helps that other characters in the book are as amazed by Henry’s predicament as you would expect anybody to be.

This is an original and compelling love story, between two characters who I really found myself rooting for.  But it’s not all hearts and flowers.  Clare and Henry suffer a lot of pain and heartbreak during their life, but while their time together is unpredictable and inconstant, their love certainly isn’t.  I will be nagging friends to read this book, and will certainly be reading it again myself in the future.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Devil comes to Stalinist Moscow, with his band of associates, consisting of a mischievous assistant and a feisty black tom cat.  It is not long before people are dying, disappearing and ending up in institutions for the mentally ill.  Margarita is a Moscow citizen who is searching for her lover ‘the Master’, who has disappeared in Moscow after being depressed.  But in order to find the only person who matters in her life, she will have to deal with dark forces who are much stronger than she is.  Interwoven into the story is the tale of Pontius Pilate, who is the subject of a novel which the Master has written.  However, the rejection of his novel by publishers led to his misery and despondency with his life.

I enjoyed this novel a lot, and I can understand why it is hailed as a masterpiece.  The Devil (who here is called Woland), and his companions Koroviev, Behemoth, Hella and Azazello are extremely colourful characters and Koroviev and Behemoth (the tom cat) provide much in the way of laughs during the story.  Margarita is also a beautifully drawn character, trapped in a unhappy marriage, while pining for her one true love.

I liked the way that events would take a sudden and totally unexpected turn, sending the reader down an entirely different road than the one which they started out on.  There is almost a carnival atmosphere surrounding the actions of the perpetrators, and it’s hard not to to be entertained by them (some of the scenes involving Behemoth made me laugh out loud).

I honestly had no idea how the story would end, and when it came, the ending was a surprise, yet very fitting for the story which preceded it.

This book could be read on many levels; it can be read simply as a carnivalistic romp through a former time, or on a deeper level, where I compare the Master’s rejected novel to be a sort of parallel with much of the literature which was written and banned at the time (Bulgakov himself had his work frowned on by the authorities).  Either way, there is much to enjoy here, and this is a book that I can well imagine re-reading at some point in the future.