What I've read this month (May)

Two trips away, to Wiltshire and then camping in Hastings, plus an illness has meant that blogging hasn't been a priority this month. To be honest I'm giving myself a little break, over two years of regular posting has left me feeling burnt out, and as I began to see it more as a chore than a hobby, the quality of the content was suffering. 

I'm going to Istanbul on Thursday, so my hiatus is going to carry on for at least another week. Hopefully when I return I'll have the time and motivation to start posting regularly again. 

Anyway, here's what I've read this month-    

1. Robin Hobb, Golden Fool
2. Therese Anne Fowler, Z; A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
3. Chibunda Onuzo The Spider King's Daughter
4. Lauline  Paull, The Bees 
5. Rene Denfeld The Enchanted 
6. Anthony Doer All the Light we Cannot See (I was 2 chapters from the end when this was mistakenly taken back to the library) 

There wasn't a dud among this month's books. The weakest was The Spider King's Daughter, and that was still readable. it's sparse writing style just meant it was slightly confusing sometimes about what was going on, but it was still interesting. I know very little about Lagos, so it was good to find out more more about the city and Nigerian culture. 

Most of these books are deserving of a full blog post to themselves. The Bees - who would have thought that a novel about a hive would be so gripping? Yes it is about actual bees, but it is so much more than that,  it is a dystopian novel about oppressive regimes and power structures. I was cheering on Flora 717 just as hard as I did Katniss or Offred. 

picture source

The Enchanted is almost Kafkaian. A novel set on death row, it is psychological tract on criminal responsibility, mitigation and the American justice system. Odd, but provoking. 

I devoured Z in a day. If you haven't got a holiday book sorted yet, you may want to add this to your pile. A fictionalised account of Zelda Fitzgerald, the 1920's 'It girl' married to one of America's most famous classic writers, F. Scott. The real Zelda was complex, infuriating and glamorous, and this characterisation shines just as bright.

All the Light we Cannot See would probably be my monthly top pick - but alas due to a mix up I haven't finished it yet- so it may well have a poor ending! I'm betting it doesn't though. Books about World War II are available in abundance, but rarely are they this good, or this original. Once I've got it back from the library (I'm 9th in the queue) I promise to do a full review. 

Actually - once I got down to it, writing this blog was fun, I'm still going to take a break but I'll be back before you know it! xxx

Laila Ibrahim, Yellow Crocus

I borrowed this book from the library, but after I finished reading it I wished I owed it, because I can already see it's the kind of novel I'll want to read again and lend out to other people.  

The Plot: Mattie, a slave living on a Virginian plantation, is taken from her baby son and forced to be a wet-nurse to her newly born mistress. Mattie comes to care for Lisbeth, though she never forgets her son. As Lisbeth grows she is forced to confront her position in society, and her complicity in a system that dehumanises and brutalises her surrogate mother. 

Rating: 4/5

*Spoiler Alert*

Jackie Collins, Sinners & Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls

As promised - I've managed to finish one of my draft posts, sorry for being such a flaky blogger.

I read Valley of the Dolls last month but I thought it made sense to review it alongside Sinners as they are both similar.

The Plot (Valley of the Dolls) Anne, Neely and Jennifer are young and beautiful and trying to make it in the entertainment industry, Anne as a model, Neely as a singer and Jennifer as an actress. They become friends, when they are naive and idealistic, but the depravity of Hollywood begins to effect their relationships, appearance and self-worth. The higher they climb, the more they sacrifice. 

The Plot (Sinners) Sunday Simmons is on her way to stardom, but she is struggling the maintain her integrity, as directors push her into performing nude scenes. Charlie is a leading man, featuring in popular comedies, but his private life is a mess; his ex-wife is remarrying, so distract himself he is sleeping with multiple wannabe actresses. Herbert is a chauffeur to the stars, he also likes to send them anonymous explicit post and has started to target Sunday. 

Rating: Valley of the Dolls, 4/5. Sinners 2.5/5 

Lee Child, Never Go Back

I'm starting the year of with a complete trashy read, Never go Back. 

The Plot: Jack Reacher is a loner. Ex-military he is a rootless vagabond who hitch-hikes around the USA, who manages to run into trouble wherever he goes. He arrives in Virginia hoping to rendezvous with Major Susan Turner, commanding officer of his former unit, who he has spoken to a couple of times of the phone. She is not there, her arrest is soon linked with Reacher, has he charged with a crime from 15 years ago.      

Rating: 1/5

Patrick DeWitt, The Sisters Brothers

Oooh, we're only on the 5th and I've already got some good books to share with you.

First up is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, a Western populated by ruthless hardmen, cheaters and ne'er-do-wells.

The Plot: The notorious brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, have been hired by the commodore to track down and kill Hermann Warm.  As their journey takes them through gold-rush California they meet a an eccentric cast of characters and Eli begins to have doubts about the mission and his profession.

Rating:  3.5/5

Full review after the jump:-

Lionel Shriver, Big Brother

I’ve found it difficult to settle into a book the past week, I’ve started 4 or so but have abandoned them all. Not that any of them were bad books, I was just feeling restless and none of them were what I wanted.

Lionel Shriver’s BigBrother on the other hand was a novel I had no trouble getting into.

The Plot: When Pandora meets her brother at the airport after a four year absence, she is shocked to find Edison is now mortally obese. Edison’s appearance makes Pandora confront her own relationship with food, and her relationship with her sibling.

Rating: 4/5

Trigger Warning: weight, eating disorders, fatphobic.

Helene Wecker, The Golem and the Djinni

I picked up The Golem and the Djinni for £1.99 after reading a sample at the start of this month.

The Plot: Chava is a golem, shaped from clay and brought to life by a rabbi, who dabbles in dark magic. When her master, dies whilst a ship bound New York, Chava is left purposeless and alone. Similarly forlorn is Ahmad, a being of fire, trapped for centuries in a copper flask. Once freed, he is still tethered to the physical world, by a band of iron and must, like Chava, try to survive in a strange, human world. 

Rating: ««¶¶¶ (2.5/5)
full review under the cut:-

Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

I went through a stage of reading lots of Chuck Palahniuk novels back to back, until I got burnt out and forgot about him. Last month, when I was feeling mainly underwhelmed about my reading selection I thought it was about time I gave him another go, so promptly ordered Invisible Monsters from the library. Of course it took a little while to arrive.

The Plot: Successful model Shannon has been disfigured and left unable to speak after been shot in the face. Whilst in recovery Shannon is befriend by Brandy Alexander, who is one operation away from completing her gender reassignment surgery. Together with malleable Seth Thomas, the three go on a cross country road trip, funded by stealing prescription medicine from high-end estates. Unable to talk, Shannon recollects on her upbringing, seething on her parents preferential treatment towards her brother, and plotting revenge on fellow model and frenemy Evie.

Rating: «««¶¶ (3/5)

Holly Black, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

I ordered The Coldest Girl in Coldtown after reading a kindle sample last month, and it lived up to my exceptions. Trash is the best way, a proper guilty pleasure read.


The Plot: Vampirism is regarded as an infectious disease, those who are bitten are quarantined in Coldtowns, and have the choice of either drinking human blood and completing the transition, or resisting the urge for eighty-eight days and remaining human. Either way, they're trapped in the Coldtown. When Tana wakes up after a party surrounded by her dead friend, she knows vampires were the cause. After rescuing her infected ex-boyfriend Aidan and a crazed, chained up vampire called Gavriel, the three make their way to the nearest Coldtown. Tana, Aidan and Gavriel enter the town each with their own agenda and a shaky alliance.  

This will no doubt be popular with the Twilight crowd, but in my opinion it's a better book. Tana is a better heroine by far than vapid Bella. Though of course, there is the now obligatory love triangle between Tana, Aidan and Gavriel, it's not the main event of the story, the danger of Coldtown and the desire for vengeance gives the plot the twist and turns. 

Kate Manning, My Notorious Life by Madame X

I picked up My Notorious Life by Madame X in a huge library haul the other week, and I'm so glad I did. It's been a while since I've been really enthusiastic about a novel, last month's reads were all a bit meh, but this novel was gripping. I stayed up late and got up early to read it, plus my mum kept stealing it for herself.

The Plot: Axie Muldoon is the feisty daughter of Irish immigrates, growing up in poverty in nineteenth century New York. Rescued by a philanthropist, Axie and her siblings are sent West to be adopted by childless couples, but when the family is split up Axie returns home without her brother and sister. Back in New York Axie is taken in as an apprentice by a doctor, who teaches her the trade that will one day make her notorious.

Rating: ««««« (5/5)

If you enjoy historical fiction or would like to know about the history of abortions and contraception in America I highly recommend you pick up My Notorious Life of Madame X. Though a work of fiction, it is partly based on the life of Ann Trow Lohman, also known as Madame Restell, who practised midwifery for forty years. 

If you're looking for the next novel for your book club, this is it. Madame X is a book that you can't wait to talk about and it is guaranteed to provoke a reaction. 

For my full review see under the jump *warning may contain spoilers*

accept

"Accept who you are; and revel in it."

-Mitch Alborn, Tuesdays with Morrie 

beauty

"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it"

-Donna Tartt, The Secret History 

fatal flaw

"Does such a thing as "the fatal flaw", that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside of literature?"

-Donna Tartt, The Secret History 

Lyndsay Faye, Seven for a Secret

I've been eagerly anticipating the sequel to Gods of Gotham for a couple of years, so was mega excited when I saw my local library had Seven for a Secret in, luckily I wasn't disappointed. It's shaping up to be very good historical detective series.

The Plot: Timothy Wilde a talented copper star in the newly formed NYPD is still reeling from recent events, a case involving a sinister brothel madam, when he is once again plunged into the dark underbelly of  19th Century New York. Distraught, Mrs Lucy Adams appeals for Wilde's help, after discovering her family missing, she suspects they have been taken by black-birders, ruthless slave-catchers who hunt for runaways to sell back to the south. Determined to fight such injustice, Timothy Wilde fights to expose political corruption and rescue a family. 

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay

After watching the most recent Hunger Games film, (which is brilliant by the way) I wanted to go back and re-read the series, so I picked up the third instalment The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay. So far, the films are only up to the second book, so if you want to get ahead I recommend you get a crack on with the books. 

Unusually, with The Hunger Games series, the films are just as good as the books.   

I'm not really one for reading YA fiction (although I do like to periodically re-visit Harry Potter and think His Dark Materials is amazing) but The Hunger Games is, in my opinion, a successful crossover book that appeals to both adults and teenagers. If you're stumped for buying a book for ages 11+, I'd highly recommended this series. It has a strong female protagonist, and promotes the values of bravery, compassion and resilience. 

I don't want to give away to many spoilers so just a brief summery of the series:-
In a dystopian future, twenty-four tributes between the ages of twelve to eighteen are selected at random
 to enter the annual Hunger Games, in which they must fight to the death until only one survives.

The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay is, I think, the weakest of the trilogy, as the action takes place outside of the Hunger Games arena. It is however, still a tense and enjoyable read and a satisfactory conclusion to the series.

Justin Cronin, The Passage

If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, World War Z or 28 days later, you might want to give The Passage a try. It's the first part of a trilogy, the second part, The Twelve, was published just last month.

The Plot: In an attempt to create a new breed of super solider, the government inadvertently unleashes a highly contagious, vampiric plague which destroys most of humanity. Survivors shelter behind walls and flood lights, but the community is troubled and the lights are failing. Destruction and salvation hang in the balance, and the fate of the world depends on twelve condemned criminals and one six-year-old girl, Amy.

In my opinion this novel is a bit of a mixed bag, the beginning is strong, my interest began to wane about two thirds of the way through, but the cliffhanger at then end means I would like to read the sequel. 

Amy is a fascinating character, compassionate, beloved, vulnerable and solitary. Her interaction with other characters gives the book warmth and intrigue.  Therefore it is a shame she is absent for huge chunks of The Passage. 

The best part of apocalyptic fiction is how authors envisions the society of survivors Cormac McCarthy and Margaret Atwood are both experts at this in their dystopian novels. In The Passage the city under lights is claustrophobic, paranoid and with a hierarchy and feels very believable.  

Having the contagion be more vampiric than zombies is a inspired idea. You might not want to read this before bed, as there are genuine moments of suspense and fear.  

Carol Anshaw- Carry the One

Carol Anshaw's Carry the One was part of my library haul from the other week. 

The Plot: Returning from a wedding, a car filled with drunk and stoned guests accidentally run over and kill a child on a country road. The consequences of that night reverberate for the next twenty-five years, shaping the lives of all those involved. Siblings Carmen, Alice and Nick all react differently to the tragedy, and the novel follows their relationships and guilt.

If you enjoy novels about family dramas, this would be a good choice. The sibling relationship is beautifully observed, and anyone with brothers and sisters will recognise truths in Anshaw's novel. Carmen, the eldest, is an over-achiever, maternal and has strong convictions. Alice, is creative and talented, but has a disastrous love life. Nick is intellectual but self destructive.

Carry the One is good at balancing the small dramas of everything day life (marriage, parenthood, divorce etc.) with the far-reaching, life altering event of the car accident. Through a whole cast of well-developed characters, Anshew portrays a whole range of reactions to tragedy.

 

angelheaded hipsters

"angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly 

connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night, 

who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat 

up smoking in the supernatural darkness of 

cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities 

contemplating jazz"

- Allen Ginsberg, Howl 

Allen Ginsberg

I'm re-reading Dirty Havana Trilogy at the moment, and in the first chapter it referenced Allen Ginsberg, I've never heard of him before, but been curious I did a quick google. It turns out Allen Ginsberg was a major Beat Generation poet, and wrote a surprisingly decent poem about his Sphincter, "I hope my good old asshole holds out/ 60 years it's been mostly ok".

Ginsberg is a poet I should probably have been aware of, being an Eng Lit grad, but my course focused on British literature rather than American. So I'm pretty ignorant about the Beat Generation, I've attempted to read Jack Kerouac's On the Road, but I found it pretty dull- maybe I should give it another go? 

From the brief research I've done Ginsberg seems like a interesting character, the kind of guy it would have been cool to go to the pub with. He was a man of strong convictions, he was a nonconformist and an advocate for sexual freedom and homosexual rights. His poem Howl, published in 1955, became the subject of a obscenity trial. The poem was controversial as it depicted heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy and homosexual acts were illegal in the United States.

A recording of  Allen Ginsberg reading Howl is available of youtube:-

I thinking I'm going to investigate Allen Ginsberg a bit further, as what I've read/seen so far is pretty intriguing. Has anyone got any suggestions for other poets/authors from the Beat Generation?

Best minds of my generation

"who were expelled from the academies for crazy & 
publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull,
who cowered in unshaven rooms in underwear, 
burning their money in wastebaskets and listening 
to the Terror through the wall" 

- Allen Ginsberg, Howl