Karen regularly reviews fiction and non-fiction titles. Please see below some of her latest recommendations.
A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
Anita Shreve is a writer who is adept at writing about relationships and at the heart of her new novel, A Change in Altitude, the relationship between a young American couple takes centre stage. The book opens with them living in Nairobi, Kenya – Patrick working as a doctor; while Margaret spends her day unemployed but busy with errands and indulging her passion for photography. In the manicured suburb of Karen they rent a lovely white stucco cottage – the guest house of a British couple Arthur and Diana. When they are invited to climb Mt Kenya with Arthur and Diana and another couple, Patrick is exhilarated, while Margaret is nervous but willing to make the climb with her husband. They are not to know the disastrous outcome of going on this expedition. When there is a horrific accident on the mountain their lives are irrevocably changed.
The book is written from Margaret’s point of view and in the first quarter of the book the author deftly builds up a picture of their marriage, the relationships they have with the couples they will be climbing with, and the life they lead in Kenya. The author easily captures the exotic setting, both the beauty and the squalor; the country’s fascinating history, and the lives of the local people. The stories of Arthur and Diana’s servants are particularly heartbreaking – James only gets to see his wife and family once a year, and Dymphina, the family nanny, is the victim of a traumatic and extremely violent attack but has little support to help her after.
It is difficult to write any more about this wonderful book without giving the plot line away, but it is not so much the accident that impacts on Patrick and Margaret’s marriage but a small, but key event that occurs prior, an event that should have been inconsequential. Instead this event is heartbreaking in its later effect – one that the couple will spend the next year trying to overcome and put behind them. This is a powerful and beautifully written book – nuanced and thoughtful, accessible and compelling. The characterisation is superb and the plot swings on the axis of an event that will surprise.
A Good Girl Comes Undone by Polly Williams
If you like your ‘chick lit’ light but not too light, fun but not farce, then this is the book for you. Polly Williams has a distinctive and appealing writing style that spins a great tale about a young woman, Anne, who is a hard-working, controlled and, well, good. She’s a woman who’ll work late without complaint even as her boss swans out of the office for a beauty appointment leaving her with even more problems to solve – and she’s ready for the responsibility of a mortgage with her gorgeous live-in boyfriend, Nick. But things take a turn for the unknown when Nick chucks in his job to ‘find himself’ and there is a new alpha male executive at work, Don. You guessed it – Anne finds herself increasingly attracted to Don, despite the growing evidence that he is not just insufferably rude and opinionated, but also secretive and possibly dishonest. There are plenty of surprises as the story unfolds at a tearaway pace and Anne’s controlled and perfect life begins to unravel in unexpected and seemingly, disastrous ways. This novel also features a delightful cast of supporting characters, friends, family and work colleagues, that will make you chuckle. A Good Girl Comes Undone is funny and fresh; a fabulous easy read that ultimately satisfies.
A Whispered Name by William Brodrick
This is an outstanding novel about the First World War and the long shadows the war casts. The writing is so accomplished and compelling I had to keep reading despite the horror of the story that was unfolding. Moving between the events at Passchendaele in 1917 and the terrible conditions of trench war fare, and a serene monastery more than sixty years later, a secret long hidden is uncovered. Father Anslem embarks on a journey of discovery after allegations are made against his mentor, the deceased Father Herbert Moore, who was once a Captain in the army. Was Moore responsible for sentencing a young Irishman, Private Joseph Flanagan, to death by firing squad for the charge of desertion? But did Flanagan really desert? And was he ever executed? And why are the records from this time incomplete?
Father Anslem unravels a truth that gives testimony to a terrible incident in one of the darkest chapters of modern history, while capturing the complexities of people who were caught up in exceptional – and impossible - circumstances. A Whispered Name is profoundly moving and beautifully constructed, with convincing characters that are complex, raw, and utterly human. It is a book that lingered in my mind for a long time after I had savoured the last sentence.
Accused by Mark Gimenez
Accused is the sequel to the jaw-droppingly good legal thriller The Colour of Law – and it features again the character of lawyer Scott Feeney. Accused is just as good, if not better, than the first book, and you don’t need to read The Colour of Law to enjoy Accused (although I’d highly recommend that you read the first book anyway).
The novel opens with Scott’s ex-wife, Rebecca, waking up to discover blood everywhere in her bedroom and her lover, Trey – the golfing pro she left Scott for – dead with a kitchen knife in his chest. Accused of her lover’s murder, she phones Scott and asks him to represent her. He says yes because he doesn’t want to see the mother of his daughter in prison – and also because he wants to know why their marriage failed. As he delves into the world of professional golfing searching for the truth he uncovers many people with a motive for wanting Trey dead. But, curiously, as the list of suspects mount, there still remains nagging doubts about Rebecca’s actual innocence. Did she or did she not murder her lover Trey? But if she did, what was her motive? His death has resulted in her losing everything. The five-star lifestyle is over and all she has left is some clothes and a few pieces of jewellery.
In this book there is infidelity, drugs, gambling – it seems Trey had many vices. It is interesting to note that Mark Gimenez wrote this novel before the real life Tiger Woods scandal. Accused is a fascinating insight into the world of celebrity sporting. Fans and sponsors expect their golfing heroes to be squeaky clean – but what really goes on in their lives off the course?
This book is compelling and page-turning. It is extremely well plotted – but I think its greatest strength is the wonderful characters. Scott Feeney is highly likeable – he is principled and honest, trying to bring up his biological daughter and adopted daughter as best as he can, while trying to figure out what went wrong with his marriage. Rebecca wasn’t a likeable character in the first book, and in the Accused she emerges as a highly complicated woman – one that keeps you wondering about her until the very end. This is a fabulous read – a great legal puzzle with plenty of pace, but also a book about a man and his family searching for answers.
All the Nice Girls by Joan Bakewell
This beautifully written historical novel set in Britain during the Second World War centres around a little known, but true-life ‘Ship Adoption’ scheme. All the Nice Girls follows the story of the Ashworth Grammar School for Girls that signs up to this scheme, ‘adopting’ the crew of the SS Traverran. The ship’s officers visit the school and letters begin to flow back and forth between the sailors and the young women in the school. As you can imagine, various romances ensue – and the consequences disrupt many lives and even reverberate to the next generation. The plot alternates between 2003 and the early 1940s, allowing contrasts of light and shade, immediacy and reflection.
Joan Bakewell has a broadcasting career that spans 45 years, so as you would expect of a journalist of her calibre, the book is extremely well researched. However, she has also shown remarkable skill as a debut novelist of capturing the danger and excitement of the times, the high emotion of the illicit love affairs and the pain of separation, as well as the horror of the battles at sea. This is a book that is moving and compelling, a wartime novel of romance that also has action and adventure, and excellent characters that are easy to care for. The most compelling character of all? Not the schoolgirls experiencing heady love and lust for the first time – but instead the ‘tall straightbacked’ headmistress of the school, a woman whose fiancé was killed in the First World War and who has closed the door on the possibility of ever knowing love again. But all that changes when she meets the dashing Captain Josh Percival… This is a first class book with much to recommend it.
Bait by Nick Brownlee
This is a debut novel that really packs a punch. Admittedly, I found the opening scene of a man being gutted by a filleting knife difficult to stomach, but after that Bait quickly settled into a very enjoyable and satisfying read. Set in Kenya, this is a fast-paced thriller that captures the exotic land and seascape, but also the pervading corruption in the country away from the tourist glitz.
Hardworking and honest Inspector Jourma appears to be the only member of the police force not taking bribes from criminal gangs, and he is busy trying to make sense of the clues in an increasingly complicated murder investigation. Jake Moore runs a game fishing business and seems an unlikely helper for Jourma, until you discover that Jake is an ex-cop, and his old skills of observation haven’t waned. When the daughter of the murdered man turns up from America and her boyfriend follows, bullets begin firing and events take a surprising turn. With a high-energy plot line, great characters and plenty of surprises, this is a novel that quickly had me hooked. I believe this book will be the start of a series, which is great news. Jake and Jourma are a great crime-fighting duo – characters that are fresh and memorable, nuanced and believable.
Beautiful Dead by Eden Maguire
A fast-paced young adult novel, Beautiful Dead begins with Darina seeing her dead boyfriend Phoenix standing in an old barn with a group of other dead teenagers from Ellerton High School – Jonas, Arizona and Summer. At first Darina naturally thinks she is seeing things, going crazy even, but then she learns that they are all the ‘beautiful dead’, caught in limbo between the living world and the after world. Each of them died in mysterious circumstances and they are there to resolve unfinished business. Darina becomes involved with these beautiful zombies by agreeing to try to solve the mystery of Jonas’ death. Was it a simply a tragic motorbike accident or something more sinister? Her motivation in helping is the opportunity to spend time with her beautifully preserved living-dead boyfriend.
This is an intriguing read and the first book cleverly sets the stage for the rest in the series, where Darina will clearly have a murder mystery to solve in each book. Darina is a feisty character – although initially she is so self-focussed she isn’t as likeable as she is by the end of the tale. She has a supporting cast of fairly stereotypical teenage characters in the backdrop, generally hindering her investigations because she is forbidden to reveal to anyone the existence of the beautiful dead. But the plot races away and the beautiful dead are compelling and original. I guarantee you will want to keep reading to see the first mystery solved.
Before We Say Goodbye by Louise Candlish
The latest novel from UK writer Louise Candlish quickly establishes an unhappy relationship between the central character, the dependable and reliable Olivia, and her flighty and selfish mother Maggie. Olivia and her mother have never been on good terms after Maggie abandoned the family when Olivia was a teenager, returning a year later with a new man in tow. Maggie also returned with a step-brother for Olivia, the tanned and likeable Richie, a teenager who eventually becomes Olivia’s first love – and Olivia is convinced that her mother deliberately split them up. So the day her mother dies after a long illness, Olivia is disturbed to receive a letter from her mother that contains nothing except the current address for Richie. Just what is her mother playing at beyond the grave? But it doesn’t take long for Olivia to decide to journey to the country to find this man that she hasn’t seen for twenty years.
I must confess that despite being quickly drawn into Olivia’s world I was very uneasy when Olivia set off to see Richie – especially when she continued to stay in his idyllic corner of the world, abandoning her husband and two children, seemingly in a similar way to her mother when she was younger. But just when the novel could have become tacky and melodramatic, instead in Louise Candlish’s capable hands it becomes a satisfying read of a woman in crisis examining her life and re-examining the past. There is certainly a second chance at happiness for Olivia, but her eventual gain is not without loss (and to say more would be to give the plot away). This novel will definitely keep you turning the pages to find out the outcome. It’s a great saga of love and conflict, misunderstanding and forgiveness.
Black Hills by Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts is a one woman publishing phenomenon and she has had millions of books published world-wide. If you have never tried a Nora Roberts novel I’d suggest you start with her latest, Black Hills, to see why she is so popular. It is a wonderful read – one that will have you hooked before you know it. Nora Roberts sure can tell one heck of a story! She has a natural talent for great characterisation, and just like her other novels, in Black Hills she quickly creates strong and believable characters that vividly come to life – characters to really care for.
Lil Chance first meets Cooper Sullivan when he comes to visit his grandfather’s cattle ranch in South Dakota. She’s ten and a confident country girl; he’s eleven and a city slicker through and through, sulky and miserable, sent away by his parents who are on the verge of separating. But against all odds, the pair strikes up a friendship, one that develops over time with Cooper’s annual visits into adult passion.
The story fast-forwards twelve years when Cooper returns to the ranch, after abruptly breaking up with Lil many years before. He returns to help his grandparents but quickly learns that a psychopathic killer is stalking Lil and her Chance Wildlife Refuge. Old instincts take over as Cooper battles to keep Lil from harm – and as they struggle to understand who is threatening Lil, they also are forced to examine their past. Why did Cooper really leave and break Lil’s heart? What does an unsolved murder from the past have to do with the psychopath who is after Lil? And what does any of this have to do with the beautiful cougars and other wild animals that Lil cares for? Black Hills is a compelling read. The tension mounts as the killer circles closer to Lil – the hunter pursuing the hunted – and the sexual tension notches up even higher as the two protagonists circle each other, still desperately in love, but angry and wary of each other at the same time. Read this and you’ll see why Nora Roberts is a number one bestseller around the world.
Bleed for Me by Michael Robotham
Michael Robotham is fantastic writer! After reading Bleed for Me, I am eager to read all of his other novels. Bleed For Me follows the story of psychologist Joe O’Loughlin who is trying to figure out what happened to his daughter’s best friend, Sienna, after she turned up at his family home one evening, covered in blood and clearly in shock. When her father, a retired cop, is found murdered in his own home many believe his daughter is responsible for his death as the blood covering Sienna was his. But she can’t remember anything from that night and although she doesn’t mourn her father’s death, Joe becomes involved in trying to discover what really happened – and what part her charismatic teacher Gordon Ellis played in the event.
I couldn’t put this book down. It wasn’t just the intriguing plotline that kept me reading, but also the wonderful and compelling characterisation of Joe – a man burdened by the onset of Parkinson’s disease and separation from his wife of twenty-six years, perplexed about what went wrong when he loves her just as much as when they first married. He can only explain it as ‘I am not the man she married. I am not the man she left. I am half that man, searching for the rest.’ Indeed in this novel he is searching for answers to what has happened to Sienna and her murdered father – but he is also searching for reasons why his own life has unravelled. This is an intelligent psychological thriller that is compelling and multi-layered.
Breathing in Colour by Clare Jay
What an exquisite book! Like an onion being peeled until you get to its core, the story slowly reveals the truth of an event that has destroyed a family and caused immense difficulties between a mother and her daughter. The story opens with a phone call that Alida’s daughter Mia is missing – presumed dead – while backpacking around India. Alida immediately arranges to fly to India to search for her eighteen-year-old daughter.
The novel alternates between the viewpoint of Alida who is desperate to find her daughter, and diary entries from Mia who is recording various events from her life. As Alida shows Mia’s photograph to strangers and tries to piece together the places she was last seen, pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together of the terrible event that occurred before Mia turned six, and the possible whereabouts of her now. At the heart of this puzzle is Mia’s condition of synaestheria – a condition where she sees the world in a kaleidoscope of shapes, colour and smells. Alida teams up with an artist, Taos, in her search for Mia, who also has tragedy in his past. Colourful and exotic, filled with lucid dreams, disturbing memories, and moments of touching despair and heartbreaking hope, this is a beautifully written book with family relationships at its core. Just how far will Alida go to find her daughter? It would seem physically and emotionally a long, long way. This is a stunning book. I would highly recommend it.
Breakneck by Erica Spindler
Moving at breakneck speed, Erica Spindler’s latest novel is a page-turning read that ticks all my boxes for a great thriller. Pacey plot. √. Strong, believable characters you can relate to. √. Tight prose. √. And twists and turns that come to a satisfying conclusion. √.
Detective M.C. Riggo and her partner Kitt Lundgren are called out to a student’s apartment where a young man appears to have been murdered in his sleep – his neck broken. The trail to find his killer quickly turns cold, but then M.C.’s fiancée is shot dead and other victims are murdered, seemingly by a professional killer, and the two detectives have a number of different leads to follow as they race to catch the killer. Erica Spindler expertly creates a tale that is suspenseful and keeps you guessing what might happen next. The author also creates a believable and, at times, difficult relationship between the main protagonists – two headstrong women, battling to keep their hard-earned partnership and friendship on track. M.C. struggles with her grief, determined to find her fiancée’s killer at any cost, while Kitt has to make sacrifices in her private life to try to stop her partner taking the law into her own hands.
Erica Spindler is an assured thriller writer and I would highly recommend her latest novel – but be warned, you’ll want to keep reading to find out what happens next so make sure you start this book when you have a few hours spare. It’s compulsive reading.
Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mendanipour
I picked up this novel expecting a poignant and touching ill-fated love story – and found a novel that has all these ingredients, but it is also a tale that is darkly comic. Censoring an Iranian Love Story is an astonishingly original tale and also an insightful look at Iranian history and culture. And what a plot this book has! The fictional narrator wants to write a love story, but he has to write it in a way that will be agreeable to the censors. Despite being an experienced writer with all the writing tricks up his sleeve, such as being an expert in Iranian and Islamic symbols and metaphors, the narrator is forced to cross out much of what he writes. He then goes to the trouble to explain why he has crossed out the material – and the narrator’s numerous asides are as welcome as the main plot line. It doesn’t take long to discover that in Iran writing a love story that will pass the censors is almost as impossible as having a real love affair. This is a society where males and females are strictly segregated from each other – where ‘any proximity or discourse’ between men and women who are ‘neither married or related’ is a ‘deadly sin’ – with punishments such as ‘imprisonment, whiplashing and even death.’
As the story progresses the two unrequited lovers, Sara and Dara, become increasingly frustrated by the narrator’s inability to bring them together and they begin to take matters into their own hands. Even the censor, Mr Petrovich, begins appearing at inconvenient times to talk to the narrator about his novel, censorship and writing. Censoring an Iranian Love Story is a thought-provoking, but highly entertaining read which reveals elements of Iranian history and culture, and also a far bit of the process of writing. It is probably the most entertaining example of magical realism I’ve read in some time. Shahriar Mandanipour is an award-winning writer in Iran and this is his first full-length book in English. He is a very talented writer and I’d highly recommend this book – but just beware of the recurring hunchback midget.
City of Thieves by Cyrus Moore
The current global recession and credit crunch has been headline news for some time now, so I approached City of Thieves with some interest. It was recommended as a page-turning thriller set in the world of investment banking – and I was curious to see if a book set in the financial world would actually captivate, or if it would be a dull account of bankers and number-crunching. I admit it took me a couple of chapters to get into the novel, but then it was a fast-paced and exhilarating read. The main character Nic Lamparelli is very compelling as a moral and principled man at odds with nearly everyone around him. Not since Wall Street or The Bonfire of the Vanities has greed and power been so accurately depicted.
The story opens in the days before the current financial crisis. Nic is offered a job as financial analyst for a leading bank. Of course, he takes the job, and soon seems to have it all – money, a high-flying career and a gorgeous girlfriend. But then things start to go disastrously wrong as information begins to emerge of an insider trading ring and then a colleague is mysteriously found dead. Who can Nic trust in the midst of crisis? And can Nic maintain his principles when those around him have succumbed to temptation? This modern-day morality tale is a gripping read. City of Thieves is also an insightful look at the things that can go wrong behind the scenes of our financial institutions if powerful people are able to manipulate markets for their own ends. Fascinating.
Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend by Jenny Colgan
This is a fresh and funny riches to rags tale that is thoroughly entertaining. Sophie Chesterton is daddy’s little darling and he won’t deny her every whim – designer clothes, a hefty allowance and all the freedom in the world to be seen in all the right places with all the right people. But then her father dies and his will stipulates that she has to make her own way in the world for a set period of time until she can receive her inheritance.
Sophie has no choice but to square her shoulders and make her own way. She finds a hovel to live in with four smelly boys, scraping together a living as a photographic assistant. Having never even made even a cup of tea in her life, hers is a hard learning curve when she can’t afford to pay full rent so is put in charge of doing the flat housework too. Sophie is desperate to get her old life back and soldiers on bravely – but what if she never enjoys the high life again? Does she need diamonds to make her happy?
Sophie’s character is an absolute delight as she flounders around in her new world, the poor little rich girl completely out of her depth with everyday life we all take for granted – making mistakes that had me laughing out loud. (Can you imagine using oven cleaner to clean a toilet? The results are hilarious!) The cast of characters around Sophie are equally memorable. Her bitchy old friends turn up at inconvenient times to witness her humiliation, but as her relationship with them is tested her new friends prove to be a source of support even if they live on beer and baked beans instead of caviar and champagne. This is a fabulous, light-hearted read with a big heart.
Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid
I’ve never read a Val McDermid novel before, but after reading Fever of the Bone I’d like to go back and devour the entire series she has created featuring criminal profiler Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan – which many people will know from the TV series, Wire in the Blood.
The novel opens with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body, brutally asphyxiated and mutilated. Later on a teenage boy disappears and is later found murdered in the same way. It’s not long before Tony and Carol realise that a dangerous psychopath is targeting young people, chatting to them online on the social networking site Rigmarole before luring them to their deaths. But just when Tony should be in the middle of the investigation, he’s pushed to the sidelines by Carol’s boss – and he takes this time to go on a surprising personal pilgrimage.
Val McDermid’s writing is tense and precise, conveying the horror of the killings through the reactions of the parents and friends, rather than lingering on gory crime details. Dr Tony Hill is an incredibly compelling character, as is DCI Carol Jordan, but together they have a unique chemistry that drives the book, and no doubt, the series. Val McDermid is a master at psychological suspense and I was on the edge of my seat when I was reading Fever of the Bone. This is crime writing at its best.
Food Glorious Food by Patrick Holford and Fiona McDonald Joyce
Somewhere between a cookbook and a nutritional guide, Food Glorious Food is a fantastic addition to any home. I freely admit that I am the world’s worst cook, but fortunately I am married to a man who is skilled in the kitchen. He has created many of the meals that feature in this book and a number of them have become personal favourites that we enjoy regularly – in particular the Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Olives, Sage and Walnuts (just divine) and the Moroccan-Style Chicken (fabulously flavoursome). My husband tells me the recipes are easy to prepare. The best part is that I can eat these wonderful meals and feel self-righteous that the food is not only delicious but incredibly healthy. The recipes are all low-GL and inspired by Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean and Caribbean cuisines.
Patrick Holford is a leading nutritionist and has written a number of books explaining which foods will achieve optimum health and it is interesting to read the section that prefaces the book that answers the question, ‘what is a well-balanced diet?’ when there is so much contradictory information on basic nutrition. So forget faddish diet books or cookbooks laden with fatty sauces – this cookbook/nutritional guide is packed full of dishes that are mouth-watering while still being healthy. This book proves you can have your cake and eat it too!
Goodnight, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson
Goodnight, Beautiful is an exquisitely-written book that explores the sensitive subject of surrogacy with honesty and compassion. It is Dorothy Koomson’s fifth novel and proves her to be a writer who is adept in exploring our fragile and complex humanity.
A multi-layered tale that also explores secrets, mental illness, love and friendship, Goodnight, Beautiful centres around three characters and their respective relationships. Nova Kumalisi agrees to help her best friend, Mal Wacken and his wife Stepahnie have a baby by being their surrogate. At first Stephanie is overjoyed at the thought of becoming a mother – until she finds a text from Mal to Nova saying, ‘Goodnight, Beautiful.’ Terrified she is losing her husband to his closest friend, Stephanie asks him to cut all ties to Nova and their unborn child. They walk away, leaving Nova pregnant, scared and alone. But eight years on, their son Leo is in a coma and Nova makes contact with the couple – opening a Pandora’s box for all of them.
This novel is a thought-provoking read, and at times, a book that is incredibly moving. I highly recommend this wonderful book, the characters are superb, and the moral dilemma of the situation compelling.
Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom has sold around 28 million copies of his books worldwide, but he’s probably best known for his first book, Tuesdays with Morrie, a non-fiction book that was championed by Oprah Winfrey and also made into a movie. His first non-fiction book since then, Have a Little Faith, is out now – and what a truly wonderful and moving read it is – in my opinion even better than Tuesdays with Morrie.
Have a Little Faith opens with Mitch asking the reader to ‘Picture the most pious man you know. Your priest. Your pastor. Your rabbi. Your iman.’ In this case, Mitch’s man of God is Reb, an 82-year-old rabbi from his hometown – and he has an unusual request. He wants Mitch to do his eulogy for some undeterminable time in the future. Mitch feels unworthy of such a task, but agrees only if he gets to know his old rabbi better – which throws him back into a world of faith he apathetically left long ago. Mitch also becomes involved with Henry, a Detroit pastor who is also an ex-convict and reformed drug dealer, who preaches to the homeless and downtrodden in a decaying Detriot church.
Moving between these two worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, poor and comfortable, Mitch writes truthfully and respectfully about these two remarkable life stories and his own memories of his religious upbringing. However, this is not a book about religion. This is a book about every day life and all its foibles. It’s a book about love, hope and the importance of faith. It’s about life’s purpose and finding your place in the world – and perhaps even believing in something bigger than yourself. Have a Little Faith is written with such honesty and understatement I am sure everyone will find something of value in this thoughtful and moving book.
Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig
What an extraordinary novel! Hearts and Minds is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It tells the story of five people whose lives intersect in modern day London. Job is from Zimbabwe, an illegal mini-cab driver, trying to eek out an existence of sorts. He hopes that one day his wife will join him – even though she no longer answers his letters and he doesn’t know what has become of her. Fifteen-year-old Anna is from the Ukraine and travelled to London believing she was going to work as a hotel chambermaid, but instead she endures the horror of being trafficked into sexual slavery. Katie is from New York after being jilted by her fiancée and is miserable working as dogsbody at a political magazine, her life seemingly stuck in an endless bleak rut. Meanwhile Ian is an idealistic school teacher exiled from South Africa yearning for the chance to make a difference with his students. The fifth character, Polly Noble, is not an immigrant – but as a human rights lawyer she knows better than most how easy it is for people to fall between the cracks of regular life in London. And when her au pair, Iryna, disappears, Polly’s life is suddenly linked with the immigrant underbelly of London life in a much more personal way. Following the discovery of a girl’s corpse in Hampstead Ponds, all the characters are dragged into a world of danger.
This is very much a book about the problems of immigration in modern day Britain. Hearts and Minds is utterly riveting – thought-provoking and moving, entertaining and engaging. I couldn’t put it down. It is a wonderful piece of writing that also shows how all of us are interconnected, especially in a city such as London, and it raises serious questions about how we live.
Home by Marilynne Robinson
If most thrillers or chic lit novels are like hamburgers, then Home is a lovingly made slow-cook meal with subtle favours – a recipe that is likely to be passed down generations in the future. Marilynne Robinson won the Pulitzer prize for an earlier novel, Gilead, and Home was awarded the 2009 Orange Prize. Set in the arguably gentler times of 1956 in Iowa, this is a beautifully written book about family, slightly reminiscent of William Faulkner’s novels.
In this novel, Glory returns home to care for her dying father, the retired and widowed Reverend Robert Boughton. He is an exceptionally kind and loving man who worries about his children – especially the prodigal black sheep of the family, his son Jack, who has been estranged for twenty years. When Jack returns home to help Glory care for their father what emerges is a sensitive and gentle exploration of their family life and the different relationships within and outside the family. Both Glory and Jack hide secrets from their father – Glory is trying to shrug off a disastrous affair of the heart; while Jack has a history of alcoholism, depression and some very dramatic disappointments – and while they go about the day-to-day rituals that involve caring for a frail, and increasingly bedridden old man, the book tenderly fills in the blanks of those lost twenty years.
Be warned, the pace of this book is slow – but unlike some award-winning literary novels, this is a very accessible read. It has beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking observations of this family – their triumphs; their failures and misunderstandings; as well as forgiveness and understanding – with larger themes of faith, identity, ageing and community. Without fad or fashion, this is a book that tenderly looks at the losses and vulnerabilities that are often part of living and loving. Despite some sad moments, this is ultimately a novel of honesty and hope.
How We Saw the War by Ron Palenski
This is a remarkable book, especially if you have an interest in New Zealand history. Ron Palenski has taken newspaper clippings during World War II as the basis for this book so the result is the unique perspective of seeing the war ‘played out’ through 1940’s New Zealand media eyes. By doing so the book has an immediacy that prevents the subject matter from being dry or dusty – instead How We Saw the War bursts from the page with the blood, sweat and tears of real New Zealanders at war.
How We Saw the War details all the major battles and events that New Zealanders were involved in during the Second World War, but it also vividly brings to life the people at the centre of this upheaval. How We Saw the War details the exploits of our World War II heroes. Charles Upham is there, of course, but also Sergeant J.A. Ward who was the first New Zealander to win a V.C. in the war. (He climbed out on the wing of his bomber aircraft to put out a fire 13,000 feet over the North Sea, but afterwards referred to it as ‘our affair the other night’ in a letter to his father.) The book also honours the many men and women who didn’t receive any awards, but who fought bravely for their nation or helped the war effort at home.
The book details the role of women during the war, the fierce fighting of the Maori Battalion, conscription, life at Maadi Camp and at the various fronts, a supposed ‘mutiny’ and the effect on society (and Kiwi women) of having American soldiers stationed in New Zealand. With understated but engaging prose the reality of war is told – stoicism and great bravery, innovation and adaption to change, as well as the heartbreak, loss, injury and death that war inevitably brings.
In the preface of the book Ron Palenski says that the aim of the book was to give the reader ‘some idea of what it would have been to live through the war and read day by day of fighting in hitherto unheard of places, of fighting by people known to them, people they may or may not see again.’ In my opinion he succeeds admirably in his aim. This book is extremely readable and gives you a sense of what it would have been like to live during those extraordinary times. The book is also filled with fascinating newspaper clippings, posters, cartoons and photographs from the time.
La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
This is a beautifully written stand-alone novel that is unlike anything that prolific and popular Alexander McCall Smith has written before. Set around the Second World War, La moves from London to the Suffolk countryside nursing a broken heart. This novel is an endearing story of La’s time there when war breaks out. She proves to be a resourceful young woman who wants to do her bit for the war effort, and part of her efforts is organizing an amateur orchestra – which doesn’t save the world, despite the catchy title – but it certainly keeps spirits high as the war continues, and captures the mood of determination and survival of the people of England shaking their fists at Hitler. One of her musician recruits is the handsome Polish refugee, Feliks, and as time progresses she finds she has feelings for him – but does he feel the same way?
This is a poignant story of love and friendship, and an insight into country life in England during wartime, the pitching in together for the common good, and the resolve to maintain their way of life. It is also a novel that highlights, in a gentle way, the injustices that the Polish people suffered during and after the war. At the book’s heart is a mystery – is Feliks who he says he is, or is he someone completely different? This is a lovely novel, light and easy to read, but full of depth and wisdom. I would highly recommend this to fans of Alexander McCall Smith, but also to people who might not have read him yet. Give La’s Orchestra Saves the World a go and be prepared to be transported to another time; to be charmed by La, the main protagonist; and to be moved by a story that is essentially about love and compassion, hope and forgiveness.
Living Dolls by Natasha Walter
Empowerment. Liberation. Choice. In this passionate and thought-provoking non-fiction book, Natasha Walter argues that these terms have now been taken over by society to create a highly sexualised and an increasingly narrow vision of what it is to be female. While young women have always placed value on their appearance, never before has sexualisation of girls started at such a young age or has been so pervasive.
Indeed the author’s argument that today’s highly air brushed and sexualised culture is reducing options for young girls and women who see their appearance as their only option for success in life is compelling. This is a fascinating and highly readable book that certainly got me wondering why women are more and more defined by sexual allure – rather than their skills and personal qualities – and ultimately how damaging that is for so many women. Advertisers use sex to sell products and seem to be aiming at a younger and younger demographic. And the media print biased articles based on sometimes flawed studies so that routinely people now believe that it’s all down to biology or hormones for our choices in life – so that it’s natural for boys to like blue, to be active and not talk a lot, and for girls to like pink, to be very social from a young age and like dressing up as princesses. But is that actually true?
I’d highly recommend this book to any woman. While I didn’t agree with everything, it was filled with many things that gave me reason to pause. Natasha Walter highlights the shadowy area of ‘glamour’ modelling, the acceptance in mainstream culture of pole-dancing , the addiction of pornography for a growing number of men, the branding of Playboy and other ‘sexy’ brands to young girls, the acceptance of plastic surgery, and sexual bullying in schools. The list goes on.
I was very struck by the comparison of adolescent girls’ diaries from today and around hundred years ago. “In 1892, the personal agenda of an adolescent diarist read: ‘Resolved not to talk about myself or feelings. To think before speaking. To work seriously. To be self restrained in conversation and actions. Not to let my thoughts wander. To be dignified. Interest myself more in others.’” What a difference when we fast forward to a real diary from today. ‘I will try to make myself better in any way I possibly can with the help of my budget and babysitting money. I will lose weight, get new lenses, already got new haircut, good makeup, new clothes and accessories.’ Is this what we mean by empowerment, liberation and choice? Read Living Dolls and you’ll probably question some of the things that are currently happening in our society. The new sexism is insidious and very alarming.
Made in the USA by Billie Letts
Billie Letts’ wowed the critics and public with her debut novel, Where the Heart Is. I predict that her latest novel, Made in the USA will earn her even more fans. This is a beautifully written book with a strong emotional centre. A tale of loss, love and survival it follows the story of two children searching for a place to call home. 15-year-old Lute is an ‘almost pretty’ teenager, moody, selfish, gymnastically talented but also emotionally damaged. Her eleven-year-old brother, Fate, is a nerdy, but extremely bright boy with a passion for learning. Their mother died years ago, so when their father’s hefty ex-girlfriend suddenly dies, instead of waiting around to become wards of the state they head off to Las Vegas in search of their dad. But will they be able to find him? And if they do find him, will this drunk who abandoned his children be able step up to give them the love and security they so desperately need?
This is a very moving coming-of-age tale as the two youngster’s battle for survival in Las Vegas, their situation becoming increasingly desperate. Behind the bright lights Las Vegas quickly proves to be ‘Sin City’, a place of vice and corruption, and certainly no place for two gutsy, but vulnerable young people. But just when life is at its most frightening, Juan, a Mexican man with his own troubled past connects with the children. He offers them hope for the future – although Lute, in particular, seems unwilling to let him help her after years of pushing people away, bitterly aware of past disappointments, heartbreak and loss.
Made in the USA is a wonderful read – at times heartbreaking, but more often life-affirming. The two damaged children are compelling and memorable characters, idiosyncratic yet loveable. Ultimately this is a book about the power of love to change lives, and you will want to read to the end to see if the children find the home they long for. Billie Letts is an accomplished writer with a talent for creating characters you will remember long after you have finished the book. This is a first-rate book with a big heart!
No Impact Man by Colin Beavan
The premise of this non-fiction book is intriguing. Writer Colin Beavan set out to live for a year in New York without making any impact on the environment, dragging his wife and their young daughter into the experiment also. They decide to do their best to create no rubbish, cause no carbon dioxide emissions (which meant no driving or flying) and limit themselves to only locally grown food. They even unplugged themselves from the electricity grid, stopped buying anything new, didn’t use subways and elevators – and they even gave away their TV.
This radical attempt at being ‘No Impact Man’ is fortunately not a boring eco-extremist read – Colin Beavan is an engaging writer who approaches the entire project with a great deal of honesty, humility and humour. We know on day one that things won’t be smooth sailing when he needs to blow his nose and realises he shouldn’t be using a paper tissue, let alone the issue of his daughter’s plastic diapers that need changing. The reader joins Colin on his journey as he researches the various problems of living as a ‘No Impact Man’ and their possible solutions – and then begins the hard task of implementing them. Some things are a great success, others a disaster, but it certainly had me thinking about many of the issues that he explored – everything from ensuring that everyone in the world has access to clean drinking water to recycling and using less of our precious resources.
After reading this book I had a clear impression that New Zealand is ahead of the US in many of the areas that he raised, but No Impact Man still provided plenty of food for thought. However, this book is not one to read because of it’s ‘worthy’ value, but simply because it is a very enjoyable read – an entertaining mixture of memoir and investigative journalism. I found myself really liking Colin and his family during their attempt to make the world a slightly better place and would recommend you read about their experiment first-hand.
Noah’s Ark Quest by Boyd Morrison
This is a rollicking read that features the square-jawed explosives expert and engineer Tyler Locke, an ex-army man who is adept at getting himself out of tight spots, and Dilara Kenner, the raven haired beauty and archaeologist who is following a trail of clues that just may led her to her missing father who has spent his life searching for Noah’s ark.
Page-turning and exhilarating, this is a book with plenty of action as Dilara and Tyler try to understand the dying words of Sam, an old friend of her father’s, who was poisoned and died in Dilara’s arms while he was warning her that someone was planning to kill millions, possibly billions of people the following Friday. But just what do his dying words of ‘Hayden…Project…Oasis…Genesis…Dawn’ really mean?
The clock is ticking as Dilara and Tyler try to make sense of the clues – although their efforts are continually thwarted by the power-crazed leader of a strange cult who sends out his heavies to try and kill the pair – and they also have to factor in the discovery of a mysterious bio-weapon that has the ability to dissolve people down to their bones. Slightly corny and predictable in places, this is nonetheless a fabulous read. Think of this as a modern-day Indiana Jones-style adventure with the same level of action, romance and humour and you will know what to expect. Perfect escapism that you don’t have to strain the brain over – this is an enormous amount of fun!
Or She Dies by Gregg Hurwitz
Gregg Hurwitz is a writer with many hats. He is a Shakespearean scholar, a screenwriter for film and television, and he is widely considered one of America’s most exciting young thriller writers. Having just read Or She Dies I have to say it is the best suspense novel that I’ve read in years. This is a novel that I would recommend to anyone who likes a fast-paced, heart-palpating book that is still an intelligent read with memorable and believable characters.
The main protagonist, Patrick, is a man who has followed his dreams only for them to turn to disaster. One of his screenplays was finally picked up by Hollywood, but after a better part of a year of rewriting and babysitting the lead actor, Keith Connor, all he has to show for his writing dreams is an expensive lawsuit after an altercation with the actor. His beloved wife of eleven years spends her mornings crying into her coffee after a brief moment of neighbourliness with the next-door neighbour turned to infidelity. This is a marriage in crisis. It is in this situation that Patrick receives mysterious and creepy DVDs taken by hidden cameras around their home showing him washing, sleeping and going to work. Next the emails begin arriving. Tell No One….Go Alone….Or She Dies. The unhappy couple find themselves in an increasingly desperate situation and things quickly become a matter of life and death. Can they pull together to save themselves and their marriage? Or will this be the end of their relationships, or even their lives?
Or She Dies is a roller-coaster read from start to finish, with twists and turns that you will never see coming, but twists that make perfect sense when you get to the end of this exhilarating read. This is a fantastic suspense novel! I wouldn’t be surprised if it is made into a movie one day, such is the entertainment factor.
Red Lotus by Pai Kit Fai
This epic novel is action-packed and completely unputdownable. It grips from the opening chapters. ‘Number Four,’ an elderly farmer’s beautiful but wilful fifteen-year-old concubine, gives birth to a ‘worthless’ girl-child. When the farmer is on his way to bury the child in a field – the same place he has buried previous newborn girls – a fox fairy appears. The farmer quickly decides to spare his daughter, superstitiously fearful of the fairy fox. Meanwhile the concubine manages to escape the clutches of his three legal wives, and thinking her daughter is dead, throws herself to her death. The farmer names his daughter Li X’ia – the Beautiful One – and later decides when she is old enough he will bind her feet in the forbidden practice of the Golden Lotus so he can sell her for a high price.
Red Lotus boasts exotic settings, wonderful detail and fantastic characters with villains who are truly despicable – and heroines who are beautiful and courageous and who battle on despite the overwhelming odds. This wonderful novel is a ‘Yes! No! reading experience.’ By that I mean that I spent much of the book shouting, ‘No! You can’t let that happen’, and the rest of the book, saying, ‘Yes! Yes! Now it looks like everything is finally coming right.’
The book spans three generations of women – the concubine who kills herself in the first chapter, her daughter Li X’ia who becomes a scholar and falls in love with a mysterious ‘foreign devil’, and her daughter who becomes a fierce warrior. This is a highly entertaining read, and some of the story is apparently based on the ancestry of the author’s wife. Evocative, original and memorable, this is a book I would highly recommend. You won’t want to put it down until you have reached the glorious end.
Roses by Leila Meacham
Roses is a wonderful saga that spans three generations of a Texan family. From the early chapters it is clear there is going to be lots of trouble when strong-willed 16-year-old Mary Toliver inherits the ‘Somerset’ cotton plantation from her father, instead of her mother and brother. And the trouble from that point on just seems to multiply. Estranged from her family, Mary is packed away to boarding school, but when she returns she is determined to make the cotton plantation successful, even though it is heavily mortgaged – and she pours all her efforts into the plantation wanting to continue the Toliver dynasty. But things become complicated when she falls in love with the handsome timber magnate Percy Warwick – but their love affair has terrible consequences that reverberate through the decades.
This is a sweeping story of passion, heartbreak, love and loss. It is also a book about family secrets, with a ‘sins of the fathers’ element as each generation suffers because of decisions made by their parents. Add in money and intrigue, alcoholism and madness, suicide and estrangement, scandal and seduction and it makes for a highly enjoyable book – one that will keep you gripped to the extremely satisfying ending. Think of the old TV series Dallas with cotton instead of oil and you’ll have an idea of what to expect.
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
What a stunning historical novel! Sarah Dunant has a huge following for her Italian Renaissance novels, but Sacred Hearts could very well be her best book yet! Set in 1570 this is a book of passion and power, religion and music – and it grips from the opening pages to the remarkable ending.
Sarah Dunant writes like a painter and quickly brings to life the Italian city of Ferrara and the convent of Santa Caterina – many of the nuns noble women who are married to Christ because their families cannot afford the dowry for a husband. The convent is an oasis of calm routine, devotion and selflessness, until 16-year-old Serfina arrives against her will – howling with rage and despair and determined to escape the convent walls so she can be reunited with her lover. In an era where religious, political and social forces were stacked against women, Serfina shows amazing resilience in holding on to her dream of escaping, despite the overwhelming odds that she will be incarcerated for the rest of her life. Naturally her arrival disrupts the entire convent, and as much as she tries to remain aloof from the nuns around her, she forms an unlikely friendship with Suora Zuana, the nun who runs the dispensary and tends to the convents medical needs – which may very well work against her aim of escape.
This novel is dedicated to the nuns who were shut up against their will and ‘deprived of all contact with the outside world,’ – although it also reveals the religious life of the devout who chose to be there also. It highlights a time and place in history where noblewomen had only three choices in life – they married (if their families could afford the massive dowries); or they spent the rest of their days living in a convent – or a few independent women became courtesans. Sacred Hearts is beautifully paced and is historical storytelling at its very best – impeccably researched, emotionally charged, mesmerizing and powerful.
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
Sweetsmoke is the debut novel from a writer with unmistakable talent, set in 1862 in Virginia. I found the book a little slow to begin with, but suspect this may be because I began reading it on a plane when I was dog-tired. However, several chapters in I was gripped by the story of Cassius Howard, a skilled carpenter and slave on the ‘Sweetsmoke’ tobacco plantation, who searches at great personal cost to find the truth about who murdered freed black woman, Emoline, a remarkable character who secretly taught Cassius to read and once saved his life. He soon learns that there is more to Emoline’s death – and her life – than first meets the eye.
Part whodunit, part love story, part historical fiction, Sweetsmoke is a highly original work that captures the harrowing daily indignities suffered by the slaves during this period in history, of being treated as little more than beasts, of being reprimanded or beaten for little or no reason – or everyone’s worst fear, that at any time their families could be torn apart and on-sold, never to see spouses or children again. This is a world where to be a black woman and beautiful was ultimately a curse. Sweetsmoke is also a story that reveals the brutality of the American Civil War, a hellish conflict resulting in great loss and devastation, of shattered families and broken minds. Sweetsmoke is a subtle, but powerfully written book, and its main protagonist Cassius is unforgettable. This is a book about people dealing with a legacy of loss and injustice, and the fight for identity and freedom. Sweetsmoke is an accomplished, thought-provoking read.
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
I’ve never read a novel by Judy Blume before, although many people I know read her young adult novels growing up. Having read Summer Sisters, an adult novel about two friends Caitlin Somers and Victoria Leonard, I wish I’d discovered this wonderful writer earlier. Judy Blume creates a mesmerising tale about two very different young women – privileged Caitlin: beautiful, wild, emotionally fragile and determined to live an extraordinary life – and working class Victoria: quiet, reserved, sensible and a little plain in comparison.
They become ‘summer sisters’ after Caitlin invites Victoria to join her on vacation at Martha’s Vineyard. They discover a friendship that is extremely special and the summer holidays to the island become an annual outing. Judy Blume captures all the angst and insecurity of being a teenager, of sexual yearnings and first love, of taking the first tentative steps into the world, of fitting in but also making a mark. She also creates a rich supporting cast to the two central characters, of parents and siblings, lovers and friends, as Caitlin and Victoria’s friendship begins to unravel and lose its early magic. At the heart of their problem seems to be love, lust and betrayal – but who has really betrayed whom and how did things get so complicated?
This is a sensational novel about friendship and love and Judy Blume really captures the female psyche and the wonder of close friendship. This is a book about a friendship that spans 18 years and the lasting effect that relationship has on both of them. Summer Sisters is beautifully written, at times joyous, and at other times incredibly sad. Keep the tissue box nearby when you read this fine novel.
Testimony by Anita Shreve
Anita Shreve has always been a strong storyteller, creating books with nuanced, believable characters. She has a knack of exploring complex human relationships with a great deal of compassion. Her latest book, Testimony, is a work that is darker than her previous books and reveals a grittier tale. This time a sex scandal derails a New England boarding school. Even more shocking than the sexual acts involving an underage girl is that every sordid detail was captured on videotape. And even more destructive than the actual event, are the repercussions that ripple through the school and surrounding community.
The story is told from a wide array of characters – the school principal, the participants that were involved in the sex scandal and their parents. As each character gives ‘testimony’ the reader is taken on a journey of ever changing sympathies as new revelations and background to the event come to light. It is a compelling and fascinating novel that effectively explores the human condition and the way people’s lives interact with each other for both good and bad – and how one foolish decision can have such a negative outcome on so many lives. It is polished storytelling from a writer who is only getting better at her craft.
The Fraud by Barbara Ewing
The Fraud was the cause of much trouble in my household recently. Instead of doing all the things that I was supposed to one Saturday I started reading Barbara Ewing’s latest and then I found that I literally couldn’t put the book down. However, I was forgiven by my husband when he started reading it also and found the book impossible to resist.
The Fraud is set in the 18th century art world and centres around a young woman, Francesca, who is desperately trying to find her true place in the world, and her older brother Filipo di Vecellio of Florence, who is a portrait painter and the toast of London. He is rich and successful – his social gatherings include the crème de la crème of artists and their agents – but beneath this glossy surface a terrible fraud has been perpetrated, one that will rock the art world to its very core. Barbara Ewing is renowned for her meticulous research and she brings 18th century London so vividly to life I felt I was walking the streets with her characters – but it was the characters themselves that kept me reading, especially the passionate, artistic, headstrong Francesca who burns with such desire and obsession! This is a book of secrets and scandals, love and tragedy, art and ambition. This is a truly captivating read and one that I would highly recommend.
The Kissing Gates by MacKenzie Ford
Set during the Great War, The Kissing Gates opens with the extraordinary Christmas truce of 1914. From Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, ordinary soldiers on both sides of the war laid down their arms in defiance of the orders from High Command. They swapped cigars, buttons and badges before returning to their trenches. English solider Hal strikes up a conversation with German Lieutenant Wilhelm and learns that Wilhelm is in love with an English girl, Sam. Hal promises to give Sam a photo of Wilhelm in his uniform if he makes it home. Wounded in action, Hal does make it home, but when he sees Sam he also falls in love with her. The photograph remains hidden and therein follows a compelling love story. Sam slowly comes to grow fond of Hal while always yearning for the father of her child, Wilhelm. Hal is essentially a decent and honest man, but he makes the choice not to tell Sam that he has met Sam’s lost German lover. But can their fledging relationship survive when at its foundation is his deceit?
The Kissing Gates is much more than just a love story with a moral dilemma at its heart, however. When Hal begins working gathering intelligence, it also becomes a fascinating insight into how German newspapers and other documents offered up clues that were follow up by British intelligence. The novel also captures the essence of the time, of the changing attitudes towards women’s roles, and the difficulties of families adjusting to the loss of loved ones. I’d highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good historical read. It is a novel about the consequence of choice – and a man at war with himself. The settings and characters are beautifully written, and the ending of the book, while incredibly poignant, made me dwell on the moral aspects of love and war for some time after.
The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama
This is a book that brought a smile to my face as I read it. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is truly delightful and peopled with characters that are charming, funny and even, at times, wise. Mr Ali quickly becomes bored with retirement so he decides to open a marriage bureau, with the full support of his wife (who is fed up with him disturbing her household routines). Business is so busy he hires a local girl, Aruna, as his assistant. Together they arrange many successful matches, although Aruna herself seems to be doomed of ever marrying due to her family circumstances.
What follows reminds me a little of a Jane Austen novel, such is the detailed observations of humanity, but the story is very contemporary and the settings taste and smell of exotic India. I found myself getting wonderfully sidetracked by the vivid detail of traditional Indian life, ceremony and etiquette without ever losing interest in the main story. This is a debut novel from a writer with clear talent and I would expect this book to easily be the beginning of a very successful new series. This is a first-class novel and enchanting love story.
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
The Shack is one of the most original and emotionally engaging books I have read in some time. A novel about brokenness and restoration, forgiveness and healing, it would be a hard person not to be moved by this story of a family and their loss, and the responses to the question that many people ask in the face of personal tragedy – where is God in a world full of pain?
Mack, the central character, has had to try and deal with the worst thing any parent could ever face – the abduction and murder of his beautiful daughter, Missy. Four years later, he is still stuck in the midst of terrible grief, a condition he refers to as his Great Sadness. But then a suspicious note, apparently from God, invites him to the very shack his daughter’s blood-stained dress was found. Against his better judgement he returns to the shack, and what he finds there is extraordinary and life-changing. The story is beautiful written, almost like a pitch-perfect song or prayer. It is creative, imaginative, spiritual and daring. It is a story that moves the heart while challenging the intellect, and it is filled with hope, compassion, wonder and surprise. This book will certainly resonate with anyone who has encountered loss in their life – but be warned – you are likely to need some tissues handy while you read.
The Various Flavours of Coffee by Anthony Capella
The Various Flavours of Coffee is a beautiful love story that grips from the opening page. A sensual and intoxicating experience to read, the author successfully evokes the world of the late 1800s and the pursuits of Robert Wallis as he is commissioned to categorise the various flavours of coffee. The book is written from Robert’s point of view, looking back at himself as a younger man and self-professed ‘bohemian’, ‘dandy’ and ‘would-be-poet’. This is all true, but Robert is a charming character who is extremely likeable, as are the various women that he encounters, particularly the strong-willed and independent Emily. The book takes a turn into the unknown when Robert is sent to Abyssinia to create and then oversee a new coffee plantation, and his world is turned upside down when he encounters a beautiful, exotic slave.
This book is a sensory delight. The smell of coffee is as powerful as the feelings of love, the settings masterfully handled whether in London or Abyssinia. The book also explores larger themes of business and the women’s suffragette movement, without ever forgetting that it is foremost a love story. The ending is shocking and moving, but ultimately satisfying and assured. This is a wonderful novel that I would recommend to anyone who likes a read that resembles a great cup of coffee – perfectly flavoured, satisfying, but somehow just a little mysterious and exotic at the same time.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
This is the first book of a series that has fascinated millions of readers. It is a publishing phenomenon that has topped bestseller lists, attracted fan groups and has recently been made into a movie. But putting aside all the publicity and hype – is it actually a good read? In my opinion Twilight more than lives up to the hype. It is a wonderful piece of storytelling that grips from the opening sentence right through to the sensational climax.
Seventeen-year-old Bella moves to a perpetually rainy town in Washington and meets the unpredictable Edward Cullen, an impossibly handsome classmate who is hiding a gigantic secret: he’s a vampire who is thirsting for Bella’s blood. It is not long before she discovers his secret and they embark on a relationship that threatens Bella’s life, especially when a new group of vampires arrive on the scene. Sounds melodramatic? Definitely. This is Romeo and Juliet with bite. Twilight has a WutheringHeights quality of heightened passion and unrequited desire – and I predict Edward Cullen will go down in the halls of literary fame as one of the most appealing heroes of recent times – he is handsome and devoted to Bella, but also dangerous, unpredictable and capable of intense jealousy and passion. I couldn’t put the book down, and was delighted to discover there are three more books to devour after finishing the first. Like many people I know who have read this book, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall
I am a huge fan of Kate Furnivall’s debut novel, The Russian Concubine, so opened her latest offering, Under a Blood Red Sky, with enthusiasm. The story opens in 1933 with two inmates, Sofia and Anna, trying to survive the daily horror of the Davinsky Labour Camp in Siberia. When Anna falls ill, Sofia makes a daring escape with the promise that she will find Anna’s lost girlhood love, the passionate revolutionary named Vasily, and then return for Anna.
Sofia’s escape results in months of desolation and hardship, but she subsists on the belief she will track down Vasily, inspired by Anna’s stories of him. When she finds refuge in a remote village she also finds Mikhail Pashin who she is convinced is Vasily in disguise. Caught in a web of secrecy and lies, she finds herself drawn to Mikhail/Vasily, although he belongs to Anna. Does Sofia have the loyalty and courage to keep her promise to Anna? An epic historical novel, this is a tale that delivers both danger and desire. It is an atmospheric read that captures the sweeping nature of pre-World War II Soviet Russia, and it has wonderful, nuanced characters that are finely drawn. It is a beautifully written book that I would highly recommend. This second novel from Kate Furnivall is just as good as her first. And to fans of The Russian Concubine, please note Under a Blood Red Sky is not the anticipated sequel, but word is her next book will be!
Worth a Detour by Peter Janssen
I am a big fan of the Lonely Planet travel guides and they have become well-worn souvenirs after any adventure overseas, but when I’m travelling around New Zealand they are not the books for me. I already know all I need to know about the currency, temperature, banking hours and major attractions here – but what I don’t know is all the quirky places and things to do off-the-beaten track. That’s where Worth a Detour comes into its own. It is a gem of book filled with idiosyncratic attractions from Northland to Stewart Island – and includes everything from secluded beaches, to gorgeous waterfalls, to quirky museums, to walks the whole family can enjoy. Some of my favourites include the Elvis Memorial Room in Hawera, the Durie Hill Elevator and tunnel in Wanganui, and the trolley bus and doll collection in Foxton – but I’m sure that I will have more favourites as my copy of Worth a Detour becomes more well-worn.
As well as being packed with different places to go and explore, the book has the special charm of giving you a flavour of each attraction, but Peter Janssen has very cleverly written everything in a way so there is still more to discover when you get there. I would definitely encourage you to get a copy of Worth a Detour – it is the travel guide to the real New Zealand, and as a bonus, most attractions are inexpensive or even free.
