Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding: A Review

I have had a busy, busy few months organising such life changing events as my own wedding (at last) and finally securing a promotion at work, whilst also volunteering to be involved in a pilot for a bookselling course and reading an extensive longlist for a bookprize. Needless to say I have been slacking with regards to my treasured little book blog and am feeling a wee bit rusty on the old keyboard. What better book to throw myself back into blogging than Helen Fielding's 'Bridget Jones's Diary'! There are very few women over the age of 25 that don't know of Bridget and her madcap escapades as a singleton in her 30's trying to navigate the terror that is dating in the 1990s. Admittedly a lot of us have experienced Bridget on the silver screen and laughed, and cried with her as her life takes one calamitous turn after another. I felt it was about time I delved into the literary roots of Bridget and get stuck into Fielding's first novel in this bestselling series. Also, with the renewed interest in this series due to the release of a new Bridget Jones's novel, I felt it was pertinent, as a bookseller, to get to grips with this much loved character.


First off, I loved it! I was slightly concerned in my observation of similarities between my own life and Bridget's, her approach to food (especially the calorie counting) made me laugh out loud and her over thinking of every situation she ended up in was distressingly familiar. Fielding proves herself to be a keen observer of people and the ways we behave towards one another, she creates a host of incredibly believable characters that have you thinking about your own friendships and how they tend to follow similar patterns from time to time!

As for the delightful love triangle, brilliant! I knew, without a doubt, that Daniel was a total prat from the outset yet the journey I took with Bridget was still surprising nonetheless as she discovers for herself how much of a womanising cad he really is. Mark Darcy was charming to the core, the perfect gentleman in spite of his poor choice in female partners early on in the novel. These two gentleman were very obvious stereotypes, and in all honesty a little one dimensional in their emotional capabilities, but they fitted well into the tale and were important additions to the narrative.

The humour in the novel never ceased to please me and cause fits of giggles, there is a lightness to Fielding's writing that makes even the most dire of situations seem incredibly amusing, even the horrid behaviour of Bridget's emotionally battering, controlling mother is mirth inducing. This is really where the author's true talent shines through and what makes this novel such a great joy to read. What I really loved, in spite of Bridget's sometimes worrying emotional state, was that Fielding threw everything at her and she bounces back every single time. This is a novel as much about optimism as it is about Bridget as a victim of pop culture and social 'norms'.

I did struggle to understand a couple of chapters, when Bridget soothes her emotional suffering with alcohol she becomes indecipherable, as do we all, instead of being frustrating, these little asides ramp up the empathy factor even more.

Upon finishing the book I gained a better understanding of what has made Bridget Jones such an iconic and identifiable character, this is, without a doubt, a genre defining novel and one that is very deserving to be read by anyone who adores chick lit. I can't help but think that without the drunken ramblings of the loveable Bridget we wouldn't have such a wealth of wonderfully light beach reads to chose from every summer. This is not to say that Fielding's work is trash, far from it. This is an apt and memorable observation of single life during the 1990s, written with admirable flair and great fun to boot. There is a little piece of Bridget hidden away in all of us!

I am having strong urges to watch the film again, now where did I put that chocolate bar.......?

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink: A Review

I was given a copy of The Reader by a friend as part of the World Book Night scheme in the UK so thought it only polite to give it a shot. I am still not entirely certain as to whether or not I enjoyed it and the my opinion of it improved mostly due to the novel's final chapters because they almost moved me to tears. Schlink tells a woeful story of shame, obsession, guilt and cruelty, one that grips you right from the start as his two protagonists engage in a short, inappropriate and unbalanced love affair. It is when the novel jumps forward many years that you begin to realise the gravity of this novel as the object of the narrator's affection is put on trial for atrocities committed during her service in a Nazi concentration camp.

The writing itself goes from compelling to tortuous, and I quite often found myself drifting off when the narrator goes on about law and philosophy, I felt that some of the passages were not crucial in the understanding of the message given. It was interesting as a reader to observe the narrator battling with his feelings for Hanna, as he goes from deep obsession over his first love into denial, guilt and coldness although it was clear to me that the obsession had never passed and he carried it with him indefinitely. Hanna is an intriguing character study, my feelings on her fluctuated throughout from hate, to disgust to empathy. She is the enigma in the narrative, and one that is not so easy to understand. Her treatment of the narrator seems cruel at times and she takes advantage of his youth and innocence to meet her own gain, then we go on to learn that her past has hidden horrors that paint her as guilty of war crimes and my hatred of her felt all the more justified. Schlink turns this around as we reach part three, and we are shown more of Hanna as a person, and what was black and white suddenly becomes grey. In spite of the atrocities committed I started to empathise with Hanna, she becomes a bit more real and less ghoulish, yet still retains her otherness. 

This is not just a novel about character, but also one about time and place. Schlink uses The Reader to explore and reveal the thoughts of a generation of Germans overshadowed by the crimes committed under Nazi Germany. He talks of the differences between generations, the shame felt by the youth with regards to their parents and grandparents and the movements of a community to restore themselves and atone for that which has gone before. I do not know enough of the impact of this terrible history on German culture to really go into any informed depth about Schlink's observations, but it is clear to me as a reader that the events in this novel are indicative of a country trying to move on whilst facing it's past all the while, Michael's emotional journey with Hanna is another indicator of this as he tries to block her out yet his feelings, his memories of her never go away and continue to plague his actions in life.

This is not an uplifting novel, it's deeply sad and moving in spite of some of the more clunky prose, and this might be due to the translation more than anything else. Well worth the read, even if you are not sure about it, the story is fascinating and has a realness to it that makes it all the more harrowing. The Reader is one of those rare books that is an engaging read although it's impossible to actually 'like' any if it's characters. I still feel unsettled by my reading of it and have no doubt that the novel's ending will stick with me for some time.

Thousand Cranes: A Review

I am a big fan of anything Japanese, being one of many westerners that struggle to resist the pull of something more exotic and different from our own life experience. This is why I picked up Thousand Cranes, I love Japanese literature having read through a number of Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami and Natsuo Kirino's novels I felt the need to travel further into a world laden with cultural fascination and enviable rigidity in tradition.

Kikuji has been recently orphaned due to the death of his adulterous father in post World War II Japan. He is invited to the tea ceremony of one of his father's meddling mistresses who intends to marry him off to one of her students, from here on in Kikuji begins to realise he may have inherited more than just his father's possessions.

Yasunari Kawabata penned this beautiful novel and has even earned the Nobel Prize for his contributions to literature, so I expected to be more than a little bit baffled by this novella as it sits rather far outside of my reading comfort zone. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this novel is incredibly readable and can be enjoyed on many levels, as I reader I found I could even enjoy it at face value without having to go too deep into the subtleties and metaphor rich prose with a fine toothed comb. This story reads incredibly well and I found myself getting swept into the plethora of extreme emotions put forward by the actions of the characters.

None of the people represented in this novel retain an air of innocence, even Kikuji himself is unable to tear himself away from his father's emotional legacy as he gets drawn into the unfinished drama between his father's mistresses. That these characters are driven more by their emotions than by logic is what makes this novel so beautiful, deserving of being re-read in order to delve further into this poetic world. If I was more informed about Japanese tradition I could offer a far more involved perspective on this novel, however, as I have already stated, you don't need to look too deep in order to enjoy it.

My favourite character by far was Chikako, just because I ended up hating her so much! She is a feisty forceful woman driven by envy, she spreads her spiteful poison exponentially as the plot develops. She has ties to every character in the novel and uses the tea ceremony to draw them into further levels of despair. It is because of her actions that decay, through hate, becomes a central theme to the novel, Kikuji allows for his father's tea house to fall into disrepair simply due to his dislike of Chikako. It becomes obvious very quickly that this woman is the reason behind Mrs. Ota's descent into depression and shame resulting in an action that can never be undone. Chikako forces Kikuji into his father's fate, as he continues the drama left by his father's death and to a degree becomes his father. She is an extraordinary character, no doubt about it.

The ending itself was perhaps the best part of the novel as it is left unresolved. I love ambiguous endings and as a reader I felt compelled to make my own mind up about Fumiko's mysterious fate. I shan't say any more, leastwise I ruin the journey of any reader wishing to give this story a crack.

A totally engrossing read that would suit just about anyone's taste, it's short and sweet so doesn't pose any sort of chore in reading. This novel was a true delight to read.

The Uninvited: A Review

I have tried, and failed, a few times to get my hands on this interesting looking book. I struggled to secure a reading copy from the publisher and the copy I got through as a digital proof was packed full of errors, so I was ecstatic when I saw it in the local library and as such snapped it up and ran off to read it snuggled under a blanket with a mug of hot Ribena. The Uninvited is Liz Jensen's eighth novel, and this is my first encounter with her writing. I am still not entirely sure what I thought of this novel, it leaves you feeling a touch mystified, maybe in keeping with the supernatural elements that this novel explores.

Terrible events are starting to occur all over the world, in short, children are killing their loved ones. At first cases seem to be isolated and under control, however, as time passes, more and more incidents indicate that the world is facing a terrible pandemic. Shortly after the first murder Hesketh is called out to investigate a mysterious business sabotage, a case which begins his journey into a more spiritual and terrifying world than he could have ever expected. Soon, parallels emerge between the murderous children and Hesketh's cases, parallels that force him to question the very basis of reality and how powerless human beings really are.

The first chapter of this novel is utterly compelling, it's fast paced and draws us straight into a vicious attack administered by a child with a nail gun. My jaw hit the floor and I couldn't help but feel I had discovered a disturbing gem of a novel. Sadly, however, the pace slows as soon as we are introduced to the narrator and the story unfolds a little less dramatically. This is not to say the pace doesn't pick up again, believe me it does, it just takes a while to establish the looming dread needed to push this novel along.

The story itself is brilliant, I couldn't wait to discover what happened next and it forced me to indulge in the darker side of humanity, a side we are not usually encouraged to explore, especially in children. I couldn't help but think I had been drawn into a world of creepy Japanese horror, one in which the kids are the ones you should be running from. I had flashbacks from The Ring and Dark Water....not pleasant. These children really do get mean, as soon as Jensen talks about cannibalism and ritualistic violence you know this novel is not going to have a happy ending.

I will admit, in spite of the excellent story, I was not particularly taken with Hesketh as a narrator. He serves his purpose well, nonetheless, documenting the goings on of the narrative with an organised and practical view. However, he is not very likeable as a character. His frequent mishaps in social encounters are attributed to his suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, but the way in which he treats the women in this novel are hard to overlook. He is, by all accounts, just mean. His saving grace is his love for Freddy and his willingness to do anything to pull the young boy back from the precipice, even to the detriment of those around him. What is interesting is watching Hesketh's understanding of the world around him change, as the order of reality shifts to become something entirely different. It is because of his honesty and frankness that other main protagonists take his observations seriously regardless of how bonkers they appear to be.

This novel's slow, spiralling descent into madness and disorder has a deeper meaning. I felt as though there was the implication that we, as a species, are destroying the world in which we live. These terrifying, time defying spirits are brought in to try and restore a type of order, to push humanity in a different direction. It is sad that violence is the only solution on the table, and this is perhaps a comment on how we solve real life problems. Jensen does not ram this down the readers throat, but we are encouraged to at least ponder these ideas.

The turning point in this novel, which takes it from average to good, is when Hesketh witnesses a suicide in Dubai. A young girl seems to disappear into the man as he falls, this is when I knew that this novel was going to take an unexpected and exciting turn, one that would keep me hooked until the very end.

The Uninvited is a good read, not one of the best books I have picked up but one I would recommend to anyone looking for something a little bit different, rich in imagery and thoughtful. If you get a bit queasy at the thought of a child shooting a nail-gun into someone's face, I would suggest that perhaps this book is not for you because this is not the only violent outburst in the novel. As I mentioned at the start, I was left feeling mystified with a small number of unanswered questions. In the answering of these questions I don't think that The Uninvited would have left it's mark, sometimes it is just better that you don't know and this novel is a great example of that.

The Universe vs. Alex Woods: A Review

This is the second novel to be featured as part of the Waterstones 11 for 2013, a campaign that celebrates and highlights strong debuts from new authors. I must say, the panel that decided on the books for this list deserve a massive pat on the back, The Universe vs. Alex Woods is a beautiful and original book. I managed to get my grubby little paws on a reading copy that magically appeared on the proof shelf in the staff room. So first and foremost, thank you to Hodder for sending this one out, I loved reading it. Now, on with the review....

Alex Woods has lost nearly a month of his life, his memories have disappeared with no sign of their return. The reason? A freak accident where a meteorite shot from the sky, through the roof of Alex's home and struck him in the head, knocking him into a coma. This is the catalyst for massive changes in Alex's life. He takes time out of school to help him deal with frequent epileptic fits of varying degrees of severity and discovers he has a thirst for knowledge beyond that of any normal child. The plot thickens when he returns to school and has to learn the tyrannical rules of the playground and sadly he becomes the target of a trio of bullies. As a result of a stressful escape from his tormentors Alex meets Mr Peterson, an elderly widower, and then the story really gets going. These two form an unlikely and important friendship that takes the both of them on a journey about the importance of freedom of choice and the strength of human spirit.

Gavin Extence opens this gem of a novel with a scene from the narrative's finale in order to introduce us to the varied and charming protagonist that is Alex Woods, who also serves as the first person narrator. This opening is what got me hooked, you desperately want to discover why Alex is wanted by the police and why he has his best friend's ashes on the seat next to him when he is stopped at the Dover border on the way back into the U.K.  It also creates intrigue through the little snippets of information that Extence plops into the narration that he doesn't explain until later in the novel. He uses this clever little trick throughout because you have no doubt all will become clear, as it ultimately does. I honestly thought that a retrospective narrative would irritate me, but it works incredibly well in the telling of this story.

Alex is an astonishing character and you would have to have a heart made of stone if you don't end up caring for him and wanting the best for him, he becomes more and more real as the novel progresses. Alex provokes a deep sense of empathy and I appreciated his simple honesty, this is a protagonist that is not afraid to ask questions even if the answers are hard to understand. His friendship with Mr. Peterson enriches the story and his dedication to his old friend's wishes encourages us to question our own thoughts on how far we would go for our loved ones.

From Alex to Mr. Peterson, a stark contrast of characterisation. Peterson is a stubborn but kind and worldly wise man from Texas who writes letters to try and encourage the righting of some of the wrongs in the world, and he is a man with strong beliefs. Extence handles Peterson very well, as it is this character that introduces the most moving theme of the novel and arguably the most important situation for Alex to overcome. 

It is hard to discuss the taboo theme of euthanasia in any capacity, but I can say with confidence, that Extence handles this subject with the utmost respect and in admirably good taste. This is a subject that comes up time and time again for debate in contemporary media and Extence actually uses the media towards the end of the novel to express the more negative views on the procedure. It is worth noting that although euthanasia is the matter at hand, it is made very clear that it is more about a person's freedom to choose and I was so pleased to find that the writing wasn't too bogged down by this moving and thought provoking subject. 

What I did love was the description of playground politics, and it's exceptional accuracy. I was teleported back in time to my own school days, when it was all about what designer sports wear you owned and how kids were ostracised depending on their interests or the way you carried your backpack. Alex is made a victim of this fickle exclusion and he actually seems to become a stronger person for it. There is a scene in which he is called to the head teacher's office along with one of his tormentors after a very public incident on the school bus. The dialogue and narrative that ensues is outstanding and I laughed out loud when Alex finally said exactly what he was thinking. This scene in particular is a ripe example of Extence's skill in creating a high level of tension and offering perfectly timed comic relief. This is by far my favourite chapter in the book and it's an important turning point for Alex's personal development. 

It is hard to believe that this is a debut, the story is sound, the writing almost poetic in places yet still what I would consider an easy read. You never get lost and the characters are extremely memorable, I never felt like I had to go back over parts of the book when I picked it back up to read. This is a real achievement and the careful balance of humour and drama is what makes this an all rounder, I can well believe that just about anyone could easily enjoy The Universe vs. Alex Woods. 

If you are a fan of discovering new and exciting fiction, have a peek at this year's full list of Waterstones 11 titles. There is something for everyone on the list.

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: A Review

This unusual and slightly obscure novel grabbed my undivided attention when it appeared in the Waterstones Book Club list at work alongside 11 other novels vying for my readership. Why did it stand out? Well how could I resist a book that promised me mad monks, a doomsday device and as a quote on the cover says "pure unhinged delight"? Clearly I couldn't and I was not disappointed, Angelmaker is a thrill ride deserving of its many gushing reviews featured in and outside of the cover. 

Enter Joe Spork, a man trying to escape his father's criminal shadow by repairing clockwork and desperately seeking the quiet life. He is asked to repair a one of a kind, unknown device and is henceforth plunged into a world of violence, corruption and a plan to unravel life as we know it. Joe's tale is helped along by the back story of the mysterious and elderly Edie Banister, a woman with more to hide than your average pensioner. Throw in some hardy, golden clockwork bees, a disgruntled, blind pug and a crazed dictator seeking immortality and you have a tale that will stop you in your tracks and demand you read on.

This is the sort of novel that is almost impossible to review because of its ambitious scope and the achievement the author has made in writing such an intricate, involved novel. The story runs like one of the complex clockwork devices contained within. 

It is easy to imagine that Nick Harkaway lives in the crazy world that is Angelmaker. Everything is beautifully (or gruesomely where necessary) imagined using realism sprinkled with the fantastic. You never doubt this world is real, and to be honest I really wished it was. I would have loved to travel on the Lovelace, a steam train that hits high speeds and is more advanced than any train you could possibly imagine and to travel to the depths of the ocean with a merry crew of Ruskinites. The world seems so real that time passes far too quickly when you are reading, this novel devours time because it is hard to put down and return to reality. 

This is a tale that challenges the very notion of genre, as soon as you begin to think you are being submerged into a sci fi steampunk world you are swiftly whisked away by a thrilling spy novel and then smoothly dropped into a coming of age yarn. I loved this and it is perhaps why this is not a predictable tale, generic conventions get tossed away willy nilly. I also enjoyed the literary edge this novel has, it is not trashy in the slightest (an unusual choice for me). 

The characters are a mixed bunch, all of them are well formed and believable and there are a hell of a lot of them as the novel progresses. Joe is the main focus and his journey alongside his personal development is brilliant. He unravels his true nature one small piece at a time and the end result is startling. Even though Joe's journey is fraught with torture, loss and corruption he comes out the other end as a powerful, terrifying man, as far from the life he thought he wanted as he can get. Edie also deserves a mention, she is, in the narrative present, an astute old lady with a past that is completely unexpected. Edie's troubled history of espionage and love is the driving force for Joe's present. 

By far my favourite character is the barbarous Bastion, Edie's formidable pet pug. At first sight he is seemingly harmless, what with his two pink glass eyes and his one lonely tooth but anyone would be a fool to cross him. Bastion is loyal, ferocious and absolutely adorable. I was also taken with the baby war elephant, another mammal you would be wise to leave well alone. 

Every madcap apocalyptic novel needs a super villain and Shem Shem Tsien is one of the maddest, baddest nut jobs to be set loose in the world of literature. He is cold, calculating and perversely cruel, Harkaway makes sure to give him not a single redeeming feature and he is easy to hate. Shem Shem Tsien is everyone's worst nightmare that keeps coming back for more. The battle of wills between him and Joe as the novel draws to a close is tense and gripping in a jaw dropping fashion. 

I only have a single complaint, I struggled with one part of the narrative. Joe is imprisoned for a time in a ward where he is constantly tortured for information. I felt myself drifting off at points here, not because of the torture but because the writing wasn't quite so smooth and delightful as it is throughout the rest of the novel. But this is only a small chunk, pivotal to the story, so an easy niggle to overlook in light of its crucial relevance. 

This is a long novel deserving of the commitment needed to finish it and upon completion I was delighted to discover that Angelmaker ties up every loose end neatly in a bow, an impressive feat considering the vast scope of this novel.

I can't recommend this enough as you can probably tell from my gushing review, I can appreciate this is not for everyone but it hit all of my sweet spots. It reminded me of China Mieville and Neil Gaiman in places so I would image if you are fans of these two sci fi/fantasy behemoths you are likely to enjoy this book as much as I did. 

Storm Front: A Review

How Jim Butcher's writings of wizard for hire, Harry Dresden, have never before graced my reading interests I will never know, this is exactly my type of novel, urban fantasy, witty, gruesome and written well (unlike a lot of urban fantasies that are mediocre and easy to forget). I haven't yet seen any episodes of the TV adaptation of Butcher's series, and would now like to see how the world of silicon has captured a very engaging, slightly silly character and his many mad cap exploits.  

Storm Front introduces us to Harry Dresden, a wizard for hire and occasional police consultant for anything weird and unexplained. He is in need of money, can't be too close to electrical equipment and his car is constantly getting the better of him by breaking down. On top of that, he is also on his last chance with the White Council, who will execute him if he makes even one tiny magical mistake. Harry is in desperate need of a break. He is called into a case to look at a double homicide, one that will result in him being threatened by mobsters, hungry toad demons and an unhinged black magician. Seemingly all in a day's work for Harry Dresden. 

First and foremost, I devoured this in a couple of sittings. Storm Front is ridiculously fast paced and almost impossible to put down, I always wanted to know what came next. Jim Butcher never dawdles with the telling of the tale and for this sort of novel, that's just perfect.

As for Harry, named after a few famous magicians (Harry Houdini being one of them, NOT Harry Potter), he is a brilliant character and reminded me in places of a bumbling, socially adept academic and in others of a wisecracking detective. Harry is a varied and well formed fellow and it is hard not to feel some sort of empathy for him, he receives far more beatings than is normal for someone outside of a boxing ring. He is not Prince Charming however, he doesn't respect women particularly well and every woman in this narrative becomes a victim in some way or another. This becomes more noticeable the more you think about it and is my only niggle with Butcher's storytelling. I am hoping that in a later novel a magic wielding, vengeful woman comes in and kicks Harry's ass. Fingers crossed. 

Harry is of course only one of many characters, and you invest enough thought into all of them to have concern over their well being, or in the black magician's case, their demise or capture. I loved Murphy, the detective who calls Harry in to consult on a visually disturbing homicide. She is bossy and slightly scary, perfect for her role and happy to give Harry what for when he is being a bit of a wally. Bob, a talking skull, was hilarious, he is excessively pervy and indulges in sexual voyeurism whenever he is allowed time outside of the skull (he is a caged air spirit, not technically a 'talking skull', but near enough).

Butcher's imagery is compelling enough to make the reader feel quite unwell at the beginning, the double homicide is somewhat savage, even Harry vomits into a thoughtfully provided bucket. The narrative drive is that an evil practitioner of magic is making people's hearts pop out of their chest cavity, leaving a bloody mess at the crime scene. Storm Front is very much a magical whodunit. A whole host of creatures make their way into the telling, they are imaginatively rendered and leave a lasting image. Toot was adorable, a small, forgetful, yet informative fairy who loves pizza. The toad demon was vile and terrifying and I still can't quite shake the scene in which Harry is stark naked with his staff pointed at the electrical storm above (not a euphemism) with his other arm stretched in the direction of the demon, hoping to smite it with the power of the storm, brilliant. 

Storm Front is by no means a literary breakthrough but it is a novel that stands out from the rest of those categorised as urban fantasy, this is obvious in the series' success alone. The storytelling is sharp and events tie up neatly, and the style reminded me of Laurel K. Hamilton's 'Anita Blake' novels and also the work of Ben Aaronovitch. There is no doubt that I will be hunting down more of Butcher's Dresden novels, and I hope to enjoy them just as much as I did this one. Overall, a super sharp magical roller coaster and an enjoyable introduction to the series. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: A Review

This much talked about novel has sat idle on my bookshelf for a fair amount of time, the beautiful design on its cover has finally drawn me to it as has the reading of a number of conflicting reviews online. I felt it was time to form my own opinion of a novel that continues to sell well from the shelves at work without even having to push it into the hands of customers. It seems it is indeed hard to resist the pull and the mystery of Erin Morgenstern's 'The Night Circus'. 

The title itself refers to a circus, one that appears unbidden and as if by magic. The tents and performers draped in black and white, the only real colours coming from the curious guests that pour through the circus gates. Little are these happy, wowed consumers aware that beneath the jovial, fun exterior of the circus there lies a secret, one that threatens to pull the circus apart along with everyone within it. 

First and foremost, this novel is just great fun. It never sways too far into the world of surrealism and magic to make it confounding and tricky yet doesn't brush too lightly across it's surface as to make the wonders of the tale seem trivial and unimportant. Morgenstern has created a tangible balance between realism and the world of magic that deserves a gargantuan pat on the back. I was completely and utterly drawn into this beautiful world and grumbled audibly whenever it needed to be put down for some reason or another. 

The narrative is written in chapters headed by dates and geographical locations, and it soon becomes clear that there is some time lapses going on. We are brought in towards the story's end as well as its beginning. I was expecting this to be aggravating as it has to be done well in order to allow for a tale to run smoothly. However, I was gladly proved wrong as the seemingly separate narratives reach a natural and unobtrusive convergence in a timely manner before the novel's grand finale is reached. The two stories that appear separate at the start feature characters that differ immensely from one another. One narrative string follows the awestruck Bailey and his obvious love of the mysterious Le Cirque des Reves, from his sneaking in during the daytime to his forming of a close friendship with the circus' only pair of children. The other takes us through the inception of the circus, created by an elite group of midnight diners and tells the intriguing love story of Celia and Marco, arguably the most important characters of the narrative.

It is tricky to write a review of this novel without giving too much away, because this is a book best read without really knowing too much about the direction of the story itself. So all I will say about the story is that the magic within the circus is as a result of a tortuous duel, one which even it's participants fail to understand the implications of. It is this duel that results in the creation of the circus itself as a stage, a place to show off one's skills, an extremely public stage nonetheless. The descriptions of the various attractions within the circus are intoxicating, each tent holds its own sort of magic. I was particularly fond of the ice garden, a beautiful display made from what appears to be a flowering garden hewn from ice. Even as the ice sculptures are accidentally broken, they reform to restore the beauty of the exhibition.

It is worth mentioning that the descriptions in the novel are more fleeting than padded, Morgenstern clearly does not feel the need to add too much and it is a tactic that works. Descriptions of time, place and magic are handled beautifully and well enough to conjure up dazzling images that stick with you and don't bore you slightly to death (ahem, Salem's Lot). 

I have drivelled on enough about the magic and intents of the circus, obviously the characters are important too. Morgenstern creates very believable personalities, none are all knowing and each of them has their flaws. Celia is a delight, a mistreated child grown to become a beautiful yet haunted illusionist, one who forms friendships somewhat easily yet suffers her losses greatly. Marco I found to be a bit of an enigma, his love is obvious but there is a cruelty to him that put me off of him a bit, but not in a disappointing way, it merely adds more depth. I fell in love with the clockmaker Friedrick Thiessen in much the same way as he falls in love with the circus, a kindly, pro active gent undeserving of his eventual fate. The only character I did not feel a particular affinity with was Bailey, he just felt a little under formed and in need of some vibrancy. 

All in all a fantastic well rounded and well paced read. It's style reminded me in parts of Audrey Niffenegger's writing and as such I am sure that if you have enjoyed her books then this will spark your interest as well. Be warned, once you start reading this the real world will lose its sparkle as you get drawn further into the enchantment that is 'The Night Circus'. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's a Review

I have had this recommended to me time and time again by close friends and customers and after reading The Great Gatsby I felt in the mood for picking up another short, modern great to leaf through. I feel it's important to note here that I knew nothing of the plot or the back story of this novel and neither have seen the film starring the charming Audrey Hepburn. I came to this novel a clean slate and left it wanting to know more about Truman Capote's inspiration and what other people thought about the rambunctious Holly Golightly. 

The story itself is a simple one, our helpful narrator sets the scene as he returns to an old local bar to reminisce about an unforgettable woman whose very presence affected those around her in number of ways. We are then transported back to his times as a writer struggling to be published living in a small flat in New York, this is when he met Holly and hence the tale really begins. The two become friends as Holly continuously forgets or loses her keys, forcing the narrator to have to let her into the building on any number of occasions. This is an unusual and passing friendship that feels almost voyeuristic to a point as he observes Holly's life from within, a whirlwind passing through New York. Parties, men, madness and tantrums ensue as we are given a brief peek at the tour de force that is Holly Golightly. 

This novel is absolutely brilliant, I enjoyed it immensely and fell head over heels in love with the exceptionally unusual Holly Golightly. It is this character and her brazenness that really makes this novella tick. At the time in which this story was written the open references to numerous sexual partners and homosexuality would have shocked Capote's audience and this is why Holly is so alluring, she doesn't give a rats arse what people think of her. The metaphors hidden in plain view about wild birds and cages allow us to understand the nature of Holly all the more, a wild bird that should always fly free. Obviously not quite so shocking now, Holly is still a character that should please and amuse a modern audience. 

Holly isn't the only character Capote exposes to the reader, yet each character has some sort of tie to Holly. There is the long lost husband, the smitten barman, her unpleasant model acquaintance and her eventual undoing, the gangster Sally Tomato. Each and every character seeks a bond with Holly in a manner of ways. All of these people give us a brief glimpse into a New York that has vanished with time. It's decadent, exciting and, to some degree, an age of innocence.

Perhaps the most interesting accompaniment to Holly is 'cat' an unnamed stray feline she houses in her flat. Unnamed because Holly does not wish to seek ownership over an independent being, yet by the time we reach the novel's conclusion 'cat' has found itself a home, somewhere to belong. Perhaps this is an implication that even the wildest of creatures can be tamed, maybe even Holly herself however we are never privy to this development. Holly's fate remains a mystery.

It is not all glitz, glamour and gaiety, Capote writes of a darkness hidden beneath the surface. Holly completely loses the plot when stricken with grief and her eventual arrest is as a result her involvement with her imprisoned gangster friend. It is this darkness that brings the reader back to reality, not everything in life is peachy. 

Written with grace and style this is a novel that will no doubt continue to stand the test of time effortlessly. It is a quick read, easily achieved in one sitting should you set aside the time for it. This novel is an enormously enjoyable and I would implore anyone to give it a go. As it stands I am currently planning a Breakfast at Tiffany's film evening with a few friends, fake pearls and party dresses in tow, all because this novel is unforgettable and deserves exploring even further. It also makes for the perfect gift, this is a story that demands to be shared with friends!

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King: A Review

I suppose it's natural in being a fan of various types of vampire fiction that I turn to one of the masters of horror, Stephen King, to get stuck into how he writes of these pesky monsters that chomp on their victims throats and drain them of their life giving blood. 'Salem's Lot has been evading me at the library for months, popping in every now and again to see if it's there and not ordering it in because I do quite enjoy the thrill of the chase (and it costs money, I am cheap). So I made squeaking noise when it finally appeared on the shelf, looking inconspicuous and like it had been there all along.

'Salem's Lot is a small town in New England, a town abandoned and one firmly set as a place of evil and myth. King begins his tale at it's end as two of the survivors of the 'Lot have hit the road and are trying to come to terms with the horrible past behind them. We are then yanked back in time to learn about the terrible tragedy that befell the town, one which evokes whispers and suspicions from the surrounding towns and folk. Ben, a novelist has returned to 'Salem's Lot to write, instead he falls in love, causes a stir and becomes an unlikely vampire hunter. It all starts to go horribly wrong when someone buys the long abandoned and supposedly cursed Marsten House set atop the hill overlooking the 'Lot. With the arrival of it's occupants comes chaos, blood and many, many sacrifices.

First of all, I did love this. I do enjoy a good story that speaks of nasty, hissing grotesque vampires whose only desire is blood. King is one hell of a visual author and these creatures conjure up terrifying images as you read of their vile exploits. The thing that hit me the most was the parasitic spread of the vampires, a small town disappearing into the grip of a harrowing, unstoppable death. He hid them everywhere, in cupboards, food stores, cellars, under buildings and in any hole the nasty things could fit into. By the novel's grisly conclusion the vampires were literally everywhere in town.

As for the writing style, this is something that King is celebrated for. He has an exceptional attention to detail and in 'Salem's Lot he brings a whole town to life, you feel as though you have, at the very least, brushed past every occupant of the town and could give directions to anyone visiting. It wasn't only his thoroughness that grabbed me, this novel has a timeless quality to it in spite of the dates given. It would still work effortlessly if you said it was set in 2012, an impressive skill in light of his descriptive writing.

There was one thing that disappointed me, I never felt particularly engaged with the protagonists. King goes into so much detail about so many places and people that the focus which needed to be applied to the lead characters was lost in this jumble of small town folk. I must say this does improve as you hit the end of the novel, but only because most of the town have become the blood sucking undead. I did wince when one of the main characters fell down a pit onto a booby trap of knife blades, that affected me massively. So there are moments when you feel an affinity with these people, just not enough of them.

This is much more clever than your average vampire novel, and offers far more than constant action and gore. I can really see why Stephen King has a massive fan base and I know there are other novels by him that I would like to read. I just think 'Salem's Lot could have been a shorter novel, I was starting to struggle by the end and could tell that the novel would not have lost it's intensity if you were to cut out a few chunks.

Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill: A Review

A kindly colleague at work secured an early reading copy of Dreams and Shadows for me to read, thinking that it looked like something I would enjoy. I have already told him that he was spot on, this is one hell of a book and I can't stop nattering about it's weird and wonderful creatures to my friends (soon they will be buying earplugs). Due out in February 2013 this is the debut novel from director C. Robert Cargill, known most recently for horror flick Sinister.

Dreams and Shadows is about a world that exists just out of our reach, a world where fairy-tales are real and they come armed with sharp teeth and pole-arms  The novel begins with a couple falling deeply in love, love at first sight, and they have a baby. A creature crawls down the bedroom wall of their love nest and promptly replaces the beautiful gurgling child with a changeling and then, all hell breaks loose. This all happens in the first few pages and the novel then descends into a world of darkness, where fairies hunt humans, the Wild Hunt decimates fairies and a small boy named Colby has his seemingly innocent wishes granted by a genie. Little does Colby know, but his wishes are set to change his life, and the lives of many others (fae and human alike) forever.

Love, fear, jealousy, innocence and vengeance permeate the pages of this amazing tale. I will be honest and admit that I was not too certain at the start. The tale seemed disjointed, jumping from one storyline to the next, integrated with fictional scripture on the world of fairies. However, it becomes apparent that this is deliberate as Cargill deftly merges each of these threads as the novel progresses. I found myself exclaiming aloud, "ahhhh I see", as I was leafing through the novels pages in my comfy chair at home. His style becomes addictive, you begin to love the insights of the mysterious Dr. Thaddeus Ray as he explains the pitfalls and nature of this magical world just beyond the grasp of us mere mortals.

The characters are explosive, Colby develops into a fascinating chap, trying so desperately to protect his friends, yet in spite of his wisdom he still has his wild mistakes to answer for. Ewan is a bit dippy, but this is to be expected of a child stolen by fairies, and his finale is suitably epic. Knocks, a disgusting changeling modelled on the form of Ewan, is a terrifying figure, his jealousy and vengeance oozing from the pages of the book. There are many more characters, but if I were to go on this would become a novel in itself. Needless to say, they are all memorable and leave remarkable visuals as an after-burn in the brain.

Moving on from characters, of course there is a host of weird and wonderful grotesques walking through Cargill's world. Most of these are explained by the rather helpful Dr. Thaddeus Ray as the narrative brings more and more weird and wonderful creatures to the fore. I was equally fond of and terrified of the 'red caps' a particularly nasty bunch of small chaps that survive only though keeping their rep hats dripping with the blood of their slain victims, lovely.

Speaking of visuals, the scenes are well written, the right amount of realism mixed with fantasy to create a world easily imagined and equally terrifying. There is a scene set atop a roof with a half cut angel and Colby that is impossible to forget as they pass a bottle of booze between them whilst watching the Wild Hunt from hell career through the streets below. Where would you be in an urban fantasy without some gore? Well there is a balanced amount of no nonsense blood splattering to be had, all of it relevant and none of it gratuitous which suited me just fine. Again Cargill writes enough into the descriptions to conjure up some savage visuals. This would certainly work as a film, crossing my fingers for that eventuality as I would love to see this world come to life again.

Hopefully this is not the last we will see from Cargill as an author, he has gifted to us an urban fantasy filled with action and enough of a social commentary centred on the back streets of America to keep it's feet firmly in the grounds of a good read. In my opinion a great read if you love Neil Gaiman, or like a great many of us, enjoy a journey into the more sinister world of fairies.

The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers, a review.

Who doesn't enjoy a good myth? Especially one filled with magical beasties that capture the imagination and never leave your memory. Unicorns have filled our tales with whimsy and beauty for centuries, and I am just as excited about the notion of their reality as anyone else, wishing deep down that a creature of such elegance and beauty once existed. Chris Lavers sets out to explore the origins of the unicorn myth in his book, The Natural History of Unicorns, and even promises to reveal to us some real unicorns along the way. Understandably I was completely sucked into this rather beautiful little piece of nature writing, hoping for an insightful journey into how the unicorn became.

I feel it is safe to say that this is a piece of non fiction written for a specific, rather learned audience and I can appreciate the fabulous effort that has gone into the research of such an interesting, much debated subject. The archive images are brilliant and well spaced throughout, these are well worth a little nose through alone. "A One Horned Ass" launches us into the world of unicorn hunting as Levers' first chapter, I felt drawn around in circles by it's references and had difficultly remembering one avid scientists name from the next, constantly having to back track to figure out whether names had been mentioned before. This repetitiveness and circling seems to dissipate as you progress, yet it still didn't grab me.

I was sadly a little disappointed by this book, not because of it's vast, exceptional research or because of its subject matter. I felt let down by the writing, lo and behold we are dealing with a magical creature here, yet the writing is rather dry, prescriptive and altogether lacking in sparkle. I can only assume this is aimed at a far more academic audience than the title implies. I cannot feel the passion of the writer behind the words and neither could I read too much in one sitting without my eyes beginning to droop and my mind beginning to wander. This is a fair old shame and resulted in me not finishing the book, half way through I had just had enough.

Not one for me, but I can appreciate its value in the world of natural history myth hunting. Stick with it and you might love it, or nod off, just like me. Back to the library for you mon cherie!

Lace by Shirley Conran, a review

After a prolonged absence from the world of blogging I have decided to return with a review of a scandalous classic. The past couple of months has seen me ploughing though about 40 books classified as children's titles, from picture books right through to teenage, so I felt it time to shrug off all the kid's literature and get my nose firmly inserted into Lace by Shirley Conran. What a blinder of a decision. This novel has consumed my life for the past fortnight and quite rightly so. This has just seen a big re-release after a few years out of print, having first been published in the 1980s. I have not doubt we are seeing this adorning our shelves due to the massive success of ladies smut as per the sales of the E.L. James Fifty Shades trilogy, but don't think this is the same sort of novel, you would be very, very wrong.

We are thrown into the tumultuous world of five very rich and very powerful women, sharing an unexpected and awkward reunion in a room in the centre of New York for one very important reason. Four of these women share a secret and the other is determined to discover an answer to a question that has plagued her life since childhood. Known worldwide as a film star, Lili wants to know "which one of you Bitches is my mother?" Conran takes us back in time to an affluent school in Switzerland to begin a tale of four young girls and their journey into adulthood. This story spans several decades and takes us from the charming streets of Paris to the war torn countries of the Middle East, from the fashion industry to the film industry, to the magazine industry. Most poignantly it reveals the lives of five very different women and the importance of their friendships above and beyond the glamour, the men and the money.

Wow, this was guilty pleasure central. A pulse beating, addictive narrative, impossible to put down. This is no flimsy tome either, at a staggering 750 pages, don't expect to finish it in a day.  In spite of the hefty page count, it never feels like a chore, this is a gossip columnist's dream, no story really goes on for too long and the novel is effortlessly split into manageable parts and chapters to allow the tale to move along quickly and offer very different stories within the main body of the narrative. We are drawn into the personal lives of all of these fabulous women, to see their strengths, their flaws and, not forgetting, their deepest desires. This is the sort of novel that leaves its mark, not in a deeply philosophical manner you understand, but in the manner of friendship, you feel as though each woman in the book has become your best friend over the course of the novel. It becomes effortless to empathise with Kate's attraction to awful, controlling men and with Lili's alluring innocence, exploited time and time again.

Let's face it, there is smatterings of sex throughout the novel, used to expose the characters in a multitude of ways and to reveal some very old fashioned ideas about sex and where women fit into the world. This adds an interesting insight into a time I never lived through, and am grateful for having avoided. These ideas are of course rather old fashioned now, but it is clear how much of an impact this novel will have had upon its release. People talk at great length about 'that goldfish scene', which to be honest loses it's shock factor in this day and age. I was more shocked by the revelation at the end, kept as a coveted secret throughout the telling of the story. Conran gives nothing away of Lili's parentage, whilst tossing red herrings here and there to keep us guessing. Crafty writing that will bring a smile, a tear or a grimace to every readers face this is certainly worthy of a cult classic status and I will be throwing this novel at every woman I know. It is true what India Knight says on the back of the new edition, "There was life before Lace and life after Lace, and nothing was ever the same again".

If you were ever tempted by the Fifty Shades trilogy, don't bother, read this instead and you wont be sorry!

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared: A Review

My goodness this book was amazing, the title alone had me drawn in like a fat kid to candy. We have seen great success with this one at work and I have been waggling it in the faces of anyone that asks me to recommend a good book! So a big thank you to the people at Hesperus that sent me a copy of this!

Jonas Jonasson introduces us to Allan, a centenarian no less, who has decided he does not wish to attend his hundredth birthday party at the nursing home in which he currently resides, oh no. So Allan takes it upon himself to climb out of his window, in his pee slippers of course, and embark on one last adventure across Sweden. It soon emerges that Allan is not quite as insignificant as one might think, he has had his hand in some of the major incidents in the past one hundred years of world history, and so follows a tale of atom bombs, murder, gangsters and a lovely elephant called Sonya.

You couldn't ask for a book with a more varied host of characters, not to mention some very famous historical figures and tyrants (such as Stalin, Mao and Churchill).  Allan is such an endearing, vodka swigging old chap whose influential adventures across the world will have you in fits of giggles, even if, like me, some of the historical references are a bit lost on you (I need to brush up on my history).

The light, playful humour throughout also offers a darker edge which will leave you pondering some of Allan's wise words and actions.  This novel is the perfect read for a lazy afternoon and it is easy to pick up again even if you have had to pop it to one side for a few days. Jonasson pokes a great deal of fun out of useless law officials and puts a cynical twist on anything even remotely political, Allan does not believe in politics you see. It is just pure black comedy genius.

My favourite part? When the rather lovely Sonya (the elephant) shows off her understanding of the word 'sit' to her new friend Allan, whilst a rather nasty chap is waving a gun around behind her. Brilliant. I was also quite fond of Albert Einstein's illegitimate brother, Herbert, a man of rather limited intelligence.

Essentially this novel is a completely bonkers road trip across Sweden, on the run from gangsters, police, journalists and the head of Allan's nursing home, it is also a glorious, humorous rewriting of some of the last century's key events. There are so many memorable moments in this novel you will be waffling to your friends about them for weeks. Jonasson's masterpiece has been, quite aptly, likened to the film "Forrest Gump" and I can't help agree with that perspective, but I loved this novel more because of its ability to be a story that just about anyone could enjoy!

The Teleportation Accident (an 'almost' review)

I never lay claim to having a vast level of intelligence, but, I am not uneducated.  So I thought nothing of it when I read the blurb for Ned Beauman's "The Teleportation Accident", it looked fun and unusual, always a good indication of an enjoyable read.  There is a slim chance I was very wrong here, this book made me feel rather uneducated as I would need to have a dictionary on my lap to make sense of Beauman's descriptive, rambling musings.

I am being a little unfair here, I didn't get far with this novel so there is a chance it is a work of complete brilliance and I shall never know of its delights.  I am a big fan of a good story, and when in the first few pages of a novel it doesn't feel as though a story really begins, I am unlikely to continue reading.  This is sadly how I found this novel, it is more a case of an author showing off his masterful grasp of language and vocabulary right from the starting line, and I just don't get on with that sort of thing.

I am sure Mr. Beauman is very deserving of being nominated for the Man Booker Longlist this year and I wish him the best of luck the running of the prize.  Maybe I shall revisit this when I can focus a bit more and have a little more time on my hands because the write up on the back sells it as a fascinating novel, but for now, I will stick to some lighter reads more suited to my level of understanding.

Perhaps this is a good read for someone that has inhaled a dictionary, so enjoy!

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller (An unsung love story)

Well it's been a while since I have graced my keyboard with a good rat a tat tat but I just couldn't neglect writing a review for Madeline Miller's "The Song of Achilles".  Having won the Orange Book Prize this year I thought it would be rude not to dust off the proof copy adorning one of my bookshelves and give it a bash as I have yet to really indulge in any contemporary prize winners (I usually take one look at them, blink and walk away).  Why was this one different, well it's about the ancient Greeks and although I do love a good action movie based on the many myths and legends of Greece I am ashamed to admit I know very little about this era beyond the surface of sun bronzed, muscular Olympian demi gods and frequently savaged women. I wanted to learn a little bit more about the rich era of the Ancient Greeks.  From what I gather (and I say this because I have never read it) this is a retelling of Homer's great work "The Illiad", a tale of battles, godly intervention and great tragedy.

Patroclus, an unassuming Prince born to a King and his mentally unfit Wife, is exiled to a Kingdom far from his own and stripped of his titles.  It is here, in the court of Peleus, King of Phthia, that Patroclus first meets Achilles, Peleus' son, a Demi god born from the womb of a tempestuous sea nymph.  Thus begins a tale of love that stretches though childhood, into manhood and into the savagery of a war fought for the most beautiful woman of her time, Helen of Sparta.

This novel is just fantastic, it really is.  From the moment the young Patroclus first sees Achilles you are hooked.  Miller draws you in with sumptuous, liquid descriptions of Achilles' beauty and finesse and you can't help but fall in love with him alongside Patroclus as his and Achilles' bond becomes stronger and stronger.  This tragic yet gentle story of love is the focus of the novel and is handled with such taste and subtlety that you can see why Miller choose to write so fondly of such a pairing.  It is of course by no means the only element of the novel that will capture you, believe me, there is plenty of goings on to keep just about anyone happy, but this part of the story is unforgettable and it forms the core of the narrative.

You just know when Patroclus makes the decision to follow Achilles to war, that this is going to be a tear jerker (I was indeed weeping like a small child lost in a supermarket towards the end).  It is at this point in the novel that Achilles becomes what he was always meant to be, a warrior, and the strongest and most fierce of them all.  This shift in the novel is jaw dropping, there is a fantastic scene where Achilles throws a spear directly into the waiting Trojan army and it rips through the chest of an esteemed general.  We see Achilles for what he was truly meant to be, the greatest of warriors. There is no shortage of climatic scenes like this throughout, in one way or another as Miller deftly manages to control the pace of this legendary tale.

Patroclus and Achilles are not the only characters that play an important part here, this is the story of the great war between the Trojans and the Grecians over Helen of Sparta.  We also get to tag along with Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, Ajax and of course the savage general, Agamemnon as they spend a decade fighting a bloody war on the battlefield.  In essence it is Agamemnon that makes us realise that Achilles is not as perfect as we were led to believe.  We learn of the price Achilles is willing to pay for eternal fame and to earn the chance of becoming a God.  It is at these times as well we begin to understand the importance of Patroclus, a mere mortal, yet a man that feeds his humanity into Achilles.  Patroclus' honest and brave nature help to shape Achilles' legend, not just as a warrior, but as a saviour of men and women alike.  It is heartbreaking when Achilles falls into a grievous rage, we know what is coming, Miller never hides that from us, but it still has the power to move you deeply.

There is of course plenty of wonderfully fantastic interventions from gods and mythical beasts, all of which are dealt with in such a manner that you are quite ready to believe that this all really happened.  Miller's description of place, of the sweeping scenes and even of the various smells, plant you firmly into Patroclus' well worn sandals, you feel a part of Greece, of the rich teachings of the gentle centaur Chiron and of the bloody and tragic battlefield of the Trojan War.  Nothing feels overdone, everything seems to have its place even to the point that it is quite easy to picture Apollo throwing Patroclus from the walls of Troy without it seeming fantastical.  This is a novel you become a part of, it is so easy to get lost in.  At no point does it become tedious, this is written with the reader in mind and is just glorious as it shrugs off the academia associated with the study of the ancients whilst remaining a cleverly written piece of fiction.

As you can probably tell, I loved this, it surprised me and I couldn't put it down.  I will be sharing this one with anyone and everyone and have already started to tell customers just how brilliant it is.  What an explosive debut!

P.S. Don't watch the film "Troy" after reading this, it sucks, not even Brad Pitt's bronzed good looks save it. I made the error of watching it and it was wet lettuce in comparison to Miller's decadent novel.

UFO in Her Eyes...a review

This is a sad, sad tale indeed.  A sighting of a UFO in a small rural village incurs a thorough investigation from a team of officials from Beijing.  This incursion brings about a gradual but catastrophic series of events that leads to a community all but vanishing in identity as it becomes influenced by contemporary blandness.  There is hope and black comedy installed into the writing itself, but the hope is for a better life in the city, not for the triumph of a vanishing community.

A very interesting novel, one that can easily be read in one sitting.  Xiaolu Guo uses interviews with the members of the village of Silver Hill to tell her story, giving you peripheral vision of the story itself.  I was not keen on the idea behind this and didn't see how the technique could be maintained throughout.  However, it works, and the style itself is perhaps a comment on the voice of the population of Silver Hill, that it is only vocalised through others, and that it has been reduced to a piece of paper locked away in a file in the basement of some nondescript government building.  There is certainly the implication that these people don't matter enough to speak for themselves.

I am making this sound far too depressing, but in many ways this is a sad tale and should be treated as such at the right points.  But there is light at the end of the tunnel, a blossoming romance dispels some of the sadness and the warm, yet dark, humour with which the novel is told overshadows some of the misery.  There is some brilliant wit injected into the words of the villagers, and the progress of the plain Kwok Yun as a character is just delightful.  Kwok Yun is the lucky character that originally spots the UFO and is thought of by her peers as an unintelligent woman with no chance of marriage, yet sometimes she seems like the most intelligent one of the lot.  Kwok's simplicity and innocence draws the reader in, it allows her story to perhaps be the little glimmer of hope, as she finds love and moves on from Silver Hill.

Now, that darn UFO.  This is the catalyst that pulls Silver Hill into the abyss and as such is an easy metaphor to identify.  This is an invasion, not of the alien variety, but of the modern life mentality.  Chief Chang's plans to change her village into a place for visitors begins with the sighting of the UFO, the phone calls start and she decides to plan a new future for her and the people of the village.  This future is one that sees nearly every villager lose their place. Supermarkets, apartment blocks and tarmac take over and the beauty and tradition of rural China dwindles.  What is so sad about this is that the Chief forgets the needs of her people even if she sees the changes as being positive to their wealth and their place in the world.  She has their best interests at heart but never actually consults with them.  The talk of Mao might imply that this is in some way the role the Chief assumes, one that is steeped in a desire to be better without considering consequence.

I am not the most knowledgeable person concerning China's modern history, but this novel certainly made me think about it and perhaps with a bit more context on my behalf I would have gotten a bit more enjoyment out of it.  That said, this was a good read, just the right amount of quirky and clever to keep you reading through to the end.  Worth reading if you want to try something a little different and especially worth reading if you know more about China's history than I do!

PURE by Julianna Baggott....or, mutants running around in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Sexy black proof copy on the table in the staff room, yes please.  There seems to be an abundance of titles at the moment that have been released with the word Pure in the title, probably best not to confuse them all as the Orange Prize winner by Andrew Miller is very, very different from this grim apocalypse laid out by Julianna Baggott.  This novel is likely to be referred to as a "Hunger Games" for adults, but I don't think that does it justice.  This is a cleverly written dystopia novel that echoes elements of Justin Cronin's "The Passage" and even Stephen King's "The Stand".  I am not saying she matches the rather legendary talent of Mr. King, but I feel it is more appropriate to compare this novel to his work than it is to compare it to "The Hunger Games".  In saying that however, this would be a brilliant novel to move onto after Suzanne Collins' masterpieces as it is certainly of the same genre and would be a good branch between Teen and Adult Fiction.

We are thrown mercilessly into the world of Pressia, a survivor of The Detonations, a series of bombs set off in America that genetically mutated or killed anything outside of a safe haven known simply as 'The Dome'.  Pressia must create small trinkets to earn food for herself and her Grandfather, in order to survive the barren and dangerous wasteland left behind by the bombs.  Everyone is mutated in some way, mostly by being fused to objects or other living beings.  Pressia wields a doll's head as a fist, fused to her wrist and her Grandfather wheezes through a handheld fan lodged in his throat.  This broken community lives in the shadow of 'The Dome', a place where a select few breathe clean air and are known as 'Pures'.  No one can get into or out of the Dome, or so both populations are led to believe.  Pressia's life is changed forever when she helps a young man escape death in an alley by the hands of thugs as she soon realises that he is a Pure, escaped from the Dome and is on a mission to find someone.  A mission that will take Pressia deep into the heart of corrupt leadership and connections to her own identity she thought all but lost.

This is truly a carnival of the weird, a collection of broken, mutated individuals, whose strength in survival is a testament to their endurance.  Baggott creates such vivid imagery, the characters we encounter leap from the pages and burn their identities into you retinas.  So brilliant and so unusual, I was almost expecting the descriptive imagery of the novel to somehow damage the integrity of the narrative.  I was so very wrong.  Every little detail and every little happening is integral to the story, everything has a role to play.  Prior to picking this up I did go through a few reviews online, and one stood out as saying that it seemed as if there are too many unessential stories in the plot itself.  I can only assume the person that wrote the review never finished the novel itself, because they couldn't be more wrong.  This is crafted almost to perfection, nothing stood out as unfinished, and in spite of this being the first in a series it ends well, the quest to find Partridge's mother comes to a conclusion and it is through this quest that more questions are raised and are unanswered.  So really, this leads well into what will be the second novel.

The narrative itself is told in chapters headed by Pressia, Partridge (the escaped Pure) and Lyda (left inside the Dome), there is also one chapter headed as El Capitan.  This approach gives the reader a much more rounded view of each of the characters and of the lives they lead.  Pressia's chapters were my favourite, probably because she is the character with the most depth and the most courage.  The blossoming and fraught story of love between Pressia and Bradwell (a boy with live birds fused, flapping in his back) is just beautiful.

Baggott works with a lot of themes in the novel, family, loss, identity and even religion.  In the opening pages the week following the Detonations is set out for us as flyers are dropped from the sky, into the arms of those left outside the Dome.

"We know you are here, our brothers and sisters.

We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace.

For now, we watch from afar, benevolently."

Those inside the Dome have assumed the role of a deity, creators that control the fortune of those within and without the boundaries of their safe haven.  I think we all know what happens when individuals adopt the role of God, it never ends well for them.  This is certainly the case for the man in charge of the Dome.  More and more of the cracks beneath the surface emerge as the narrative goes on and we are exposed to his role in the horrific Detonations and to his own desperation.  This is a brilliant warning, and one that fits well into this apocalyptic future.

As with any good fantasy, there are of course some startling revelations and twists but it would certainly ruin the story if I were to reveal them in this review.  You can see some of these coming and the narrative allows you to second guess yourself a lot, this novel was just great fun to read.

Another part of it that I loved was the description of the landscape outside the Dome, ripped apart by the brutal detonations.  Everything is covered with ash, an ash that whips up storms and fills peoples lungs.  The landscape itself is also full of danger as there are living beings that have fused to the very ground itself, Dusts that prey on anything that moves.  These monsters are brilliant and make more than one appearance in the novel.  The attack by a swarm of Dust mice is particularly memorable.  So bleak and so barren, it conjures up some amazing visuals as you read.  It is not just the Dusts that pose a threat, there are also death marches  by an insurgent group called the OSR that also steal away children as soon as they turn sixteen.  Such a dangerous world to be a part of, yet somehow there are those that survive.

I could go on and on about the different oddities that surface in the novel, but I would be here all day and it is probably best for the reader to stumble upon these treasures themselves.  Basically, you should read this, it is absolutely fantastic and I can't wait until the next one comes out! 

Starters....the apocalypse theme has me by the throat.

Hunger Games + Death of Grass = An uncontrollable thirst for teen dystopia novels

I have been rooting though my rather large collection of reading copies lying about in the flat and have tracked down all of the ones that squeeze nicely into the Dystopia theme, and Starters by new author, Lissa Price, was on the top of the ever increasing pile.  An eye catching book with a beautifully rendered sketch on the front of a girl with mismatched eye colours, I knew nothing of the book or the author and I do so love surprises.


Starters is set in a future a healthy distance away from the present, with holo technology saturating the human landscape and a world dealing with the aftermath of biological warfare.  The Starters are essentially children, and Enders are of an older generation, capable of living past the 200 years mark.  Anyone in between perished during the conflict as a result of an infection spread by spores, lending to the name of the war as the Spore Wars.  Callie is a Starter, and one without any legal guardian, with both parents dead she must squat in abandoned buildings with her younger brother Tyler in order to survive, all the while trying to avoid getting shipped out to the Institution, a place for any unclaimed Starters and a place where you would never want to end up.  In order to provide a better life for herself and her brother, Callie makes the difficult decision to offer her body up for use to Prime Destinations, a company that 'rents' the bodies of Starters out to wealthy, thrill seeking Enders.  But nothing is ever that simple, and on her final contracted job Callie is inhabited by an Ender with a plan, a plan to expose Prime Destinations for what it really is and someone who is willing to kill to get her own way.

This was an excellent exploration of humanity, and such an awesome way of stretching and testing the relationships between the very young and the very old.  Callie's characterisation is strong and really becomes the driving force for this fast paced, inventive narrative.  I am by no means saying I have not come across similar concepts before, I mean I loved the TV series "Dollhouse" which deals with similar ideas for a more adult and cult TV based audience.  However, Callie is a very fresh and interesting character, one with which the reader can easy empathise as she takes on the role of being a parent as well as a loving sister.  Her decisions are almost all based on her being able to offer Tyler something more than the life they now lead, trying to take back some of the life they once had.  She is an admirable girl whose deepest emotions and fears are laid bare for us to devour in very much the same way as her body is used as a holiday in the novel.

Set amongst the action, the thrills and the epic plot twists we are also treated to some romance, not too much, but just enough to get you rooting for Callie to steal a kiss with the wealthy and incredibly handsome Blake.  Not forgetting that there is the implication of a blossoming love triangle.  Even this element of the plot is not what it seems, and I just love how Price makes every little detail matter, every interaction and every memory, even down to the tiny detail of a photograph taken on a mobile phone that becomes an important key in the relationship between Callie and Blake.  It is this wonderful grasp of plot and character that makes this such an engaging read.

Starters is a hard book to ramble about without giving too much away of the plot, it is a novel that is much more fun to be surprised by as a reader rather than approached with an intimate knowledge of it's key players.  So I shall cease my rambling, to a point.

This is beautifully written, poignant read for the "Hunger Games" generation of teens (and adults) that challenges our very notion of what it is that makes you who you are.  Deliciously sinister and packed full of promise for further instalments in the the series.  Starters does end well, and you are not left with too many loose ends, just the right amount to make you want to read on in the follow up novel "Enders" which I believe is due out next year (2013).  I loved this novel and I always enjoy a quick read, you can't go wrong with something like this, it has a little bit of something for everyone....unless you detest science fiction, in which case, go pick up a Mills and Boon novel or read some Jane Austen.  This one gets a massive thumbs up from me and I will be sharing it amongst my friends just to see if they agree.