Five in June

I read five books in June.

 

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

Book 5 in the excellent Maisie Dobbs series from which I read Birds of A Feather (Book 2) in April. (There are 18 altogether.) I follow the author on Facebook (she has very interesting posts) and was intrigued to learn that for this one she drew on her own background, an East End family who annually went hop-picking in Kent. So …

 

This Time Next Year We’ll be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear

… I downloaded her memoir and although I would perhaps have liked to learn more about how she came to write (ie the jump between always wanting to be a writer and becoming a best-selling one) I always find other people’s families fascinating and hers more than many.

The title comes from a favourite saying of her dad’s.

 

A Death Most Monumental by J D Kirk

My brother has been telling me for ages that J D Kirk is one of his favourite authors – and having read this I can see why. This is an excellent police procedural with absolutely cracking (sweary) dialogue and a satisfying plot. A young woman, daughter of an American billionaire, is found hanging from the Glenfinnan Monument, near the ‘Harry Potter’ viaduct. But who would want to kill her – and why?

 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Although I very much liked the premise of this debut novel (‘When Mukesh Patel pops to the local library, forgoing his routine of grocery shopping and David Attenborough documentaries, he has no idea his life’s about to change.’) I thought there were far too many characters and the writing quickly became predictable.

 

The Magazine Girls 1960s-1980s: The Inside Story by Ann Carpenter et al

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have had short stories published in Woman’s Weekly. I’m a Friend of one of their ex-fiction-editors on Facebook and jumped on this when she flagged it up. It’s the experiences of seven women who worked in best-selling teen magazines of the time (Petticoat, 19, Rave, Mirabelle, Valentine, Loving) and (before the gate-keeping of PR agents) got immediate access to some of the biggest stars such as David Bowie.

They didn’t get their jobs (proper jobs, not unpaid internships) because of who they knew or what school they went to or what university degree they had – they were state-school educated ‘from sprawling pre-war suburbs and housing estates’ and were able to move straight from school into work.

It was a new era, a time of youth, no particular qualifications required, just ‘curiosity, the ability to learn new skills’ and being in the right place at the right time.

Six in May

I read six books in May.

The Almost Truth by Anne Hamilton

There is a lot to get to grips with here but it certainly rewards careful reading. Through the book’s wide reach, I’ve travelled to Edinburgh, Bangladesh and Dublin. I’ve physically been to Edinburgh and Dublin before so it was a pleasure to go again virtually, and fascinating to ‘visit’ Bangladesh for the first time, feeling Alina’s excitement as she returns to the Bay of Bengal and the life she has there. The stories from each place, from now and in flashback, are cleverly woven. Alina’s life has had its complications ever since she was young and to say that these come to affect her now, in her forties, is somewhat of an understatement. Every time I put the book down I looked forward to picking it up again to see how the complicated web of relationships was going to play out, while having absolute confidence in the author’s handling of them. A thought-provoking and beautifully written novel.

 

 

At the Table by Clare Powell

Their up-to-now seemingly happy parents have split up and their adult offspring, Nicole and Jamie, are finding that difficult to come to terms with. Jamie is of a passive, peaceful nature (which spills over into his relationship with his wedding-planning girlfriend Lucy) while Nicole, his polar opposite, takes refuge in alcohol, in a remunerative but unrewarding job, and in blaming her mother for the break-up.

A thoughtful and often funny account of the healing of a fractured family. 

 

 

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

I loved Brick Lane, Monica Ali’s first book but this, ten years since her last novel, is the only other one I’ve read. With memories of Brick Lane still in my head, I was a bit disappointed with this one. I still like her writing and particularly enjoyed Yasmin's and Anisah’s stories but didn’t have much sympathy with some of the other characters and thought one particular ‘voice’ unnecessary. Mostly set in present-day London, the relationships/marriages we see are ‘love’ rather than arranged – until the shocking reveal at the end.

 

 

The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

Contemporary, with flashbacks to 1994 when – shock, horror! – a young woman is expecting a baby out of wedlock. Despite her aunt’s violence towards her, which includes locking her in an attic, she refuses to name the father and for unexplained reasons seems incapable of removing herself from the grim household.

In the present day when that baby, now the adult Harriet, visits and in turn is given the attic room there’s a Mrs Danvers-type housekeeper who hisses sinister but unhelpful warnings … this Gothic-y melodrama might have passed muster a few generations before 1994 but makes no sense now.

 

The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri

Having visited Sicily, I was intrigued to read this police procedural set there in which present-day crimes and grim discoveries have solutions harking back to the Second World War. Inspector Montalbano is a most interesting character. The writing style is interesting too – it takes no prisoners with its quick-fire, untagged, dialogue. I did find it quite difficult to remember who was who but enjoyed the Inspector’s appreciation of fresh anchovies all’agretto and other delicious-sounding dishes.

 

 

Home Stretch by Graham Norton

The second GN I’ve read. The first was A Keeper which I thought was going to be gentle enough for a late-night read but had me in wide-awake fright instead (that’s a compliment). This one is quite different – beginning in Ireland, taking us to London and America and back to Ireland, it’s principally the story of Connor, beginning when he is a teenager, and a tragic accident that changed many lives, not least his own. So no wide-awake fright this time but a compelling story that had me in its thrall. Plus, his writing is so good; this was a real pleasure.

Eight in April

I read eight books in April.

 

V for Victory by Lissa Evans

The conclusion to the trilogy (I read Crooked Heart last month, and Old Baggage some time ago). Schoolboy Noel (except he doesn’t go to school) and his guardian, Vera, are running a boarding house and still lurching from one financial crisis to another, with the ever-present threat of being found out for Vera is not who she has to pretend to be. Noel’s parents, hitherto unknown to him, are revealed but his bond with Vera is now unassailable after such a bad beginning. A perfect conclusion, an absolute joy.

 

 

Under a Brighter Sky/A Light to Guide us Home by Dianne Haley

 

Following The Watchmaker’s  Daughter which I read in February these two books continue the gripping story of Valérie, operating in the Resistance in Switzerland, helping refugees escaping from Occupied France.

 

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

 

The second in the wonderful private investigator Maisie Dobbs series, set in the aftermath of the Great War. I’ve read a few of them, not in order but always a pleasure.

 

 

The Harbour Lights Mystery/The Rockpool Murder by Emylia Hall

 

The second and third titles in the Shell House Detectives series, the detectives being an unlikely duo of sixty-something widow Ally, and Jason, a young former London cop now relocated to Cornwall. Great stories and lovely writing – although I’m getting a bit weary of books written in the present tense.

 

Past Lying by Val McDermid

 

More crime; this is a Karen Petrie cold case. Karen has more time than usual to investigate the murder of a female student because it’s the first lockdown in 2020. The streets of Edinburgh are eerily quiet and one of her colleagues is grappling with the reality of the virus. The suspect is a crime writer and several actual crime writers are mentioned by name, as an in-joke I guess.

 

The Two-Headed Whale by Sandy Winterbottom

 

Read for book group; suggested by a member who, by the time we came to read it, had done what the author did and visited part of Antarctica on a sailing ship.

Sandy Winterbottom left her husband and teenage children behind in Edinburgh and embarked on this voyage, partly for the adventure, partly for respite, and as it turned out to find out more about the history of the whaling industry pertaining to Scotland (far more recent than you might think).

When she saw the grave of a teenage whaler born very near where she lives, and buried so far from home, she imagines his early life and also embarks on finding his relatives.

All these strands come together to make a fascinating (and beautifully written) read. I am the world’s worst sailor so was glad to be able to make this amazing journey vicariously.

Highly recommended.

 

 

Seven in March

 I read seven books in March.

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans

This is a trilogy. I read the first one Old Baggage a few years ago for my book group – about wonderful Mattie. Earlier in her life she was a militant Suffragette who was imprisoned five times. Now it’s 1928 and she needs a new cause. Into her life came young lad Noel. Now, in Crooked Heart, we gather that Noel and Mattie have lived together very happily but WW2 is approaching – and Noel finds Mattie dead and himself on his own.

Evacuated to St Albans, he ends up with Vera who lives with her unsatisfactory grown-up son. She supplements her meagre income in various dodgy ways (bogus collecting boxes for example). Precocious Noel, with his Mattie-taught literary skills and mathematical brain, proves to be an excellent accomplice. The development of the relationship between the two of them is brilliantly done and I’m looking forward to V for Victory which is the third book.

 

Yellow Face by Rebecca F. Kuang

Read this million-selling title for my book group. There has been much in the literary press in recent years over who has ‘the right’ to tell a particular story and who has not. In this case June, the author protagonist, definitely does not have the right to publish the story of exploited Chinese workers – because she didn’t write it; she stole the manuscript from her dead friend Athena, an incredibly successful young author of whom June has always been wildly jealous.

Ironically, this very 21st-century scenario hinges on one 19th-century invention; Athena always wrote her first draft on a manual typewriter with no copies so there was no digital evidence. Told through June’s voice – an increasingly desperate voice as she gets found out – this is an easy read, and of extra interest if you’ve ever worked in the publishing business.

 

 

The 1960s-1980s Magazine Girls: the Inside Story

Another publishing story but one which could not be more different to the one above. Seven women who worked on women's magazines spill the beans about everything from fashion shoots to hanging out with pop stars. Bright young school leavers could walk into jobs then – no university degrees required, no unpaid internships. Happy days!

 

Game On by Janet Evanovich

The 28th book in the Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, series and the first I’ve read in years – the last one was probably the 15th or 16th. Nothing has changed – not her madcap family or ex-hooker colleague Lulu, not her relationship with handsome cop Joe Morrelli (nor her occasional hankerings after the mysterious Ranger) and not, sadly, the casual acceptance of gun culture. I think I’m done here.

 

 

Goldberg Variations by Susan Isaacs

I’m keen on Susan Isaacs (especially Shining Through). This book has two grown-up siblings and their cousin being invited to stay with their estranged grandmother who intends to decide who will inherit her very successful business. But do any of them want it?

The story is told from each of the four viewpoints and each rounded character walked off the page. Enjoyable though it was, however, I didn’t think it was any more than the sum of its parts.

 

 

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

One of two rereads this month. If I’ve finished a book and it’s getting late I tend to look for a book I’ve read before rather than embarking on a new one. I had it in my mind that I would read this one again and then donate it to a charity shop.

Nope. Couldn’t do it. Get rid of it, I mean.

High-flying lawyer and financial wizard Samantha walked out of her City job and has (very improbably – the clue is in the title) been employed as a housekeeper.

Sophie Kinsella is so brilliant at set-pieces and I will pop back in just to read these bits again – too many to mention, and there would be spoilers, but the scene in the greenhouse … and the moment when an entitled girl gets her comeuppance … are particularly satisfying.

 

Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

In the case of this book, it’s a re-re-read (or maybe more) of my favourite Mary Stewart book. I picked it up again this month because it’s set in Vienna and other parts of Austria, and I just came back from three nights in Vienna and one in Salzburg.

Having now been lucky enough to have sat in the Blue Bar in the famous Hotel Sacher in Vienna for drinks (be sure to book a table … ) it was brilliant to read about Vanessa’s visit there.

Sadly we weren’t able to see a performance of the Lipizzaner horses, which play a vital part in the plot, but I was thrilled when we came across the stables (I hadn’t expected that they would be right in the middle of the city) and we could see some of the beautiful white animals looking over their half doors.

My visit did not include being chased by a circus performer over a castle roof … but Mary Stewart’s superb writing made me feel that it had.

 

Seven in February

 I read seven books in February.

 

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Love a road trip book, love an American road trip book, love an American road trip book set in the 50s. So, job done, Mr Towles – and you delivered on the premise in spades.

A young man and his much younger brother (Billy, one of the most precocious but delightful child characters ever, sees the world through his book of classical heroes) set out from Nebraska with the intention of driving to California to see if they can find their long-gone mother. However, they acquire some unexpected passengers and things very much do not go according to plan. Adventures aplenty, good and bad, ensue.

Manages to be both screwball and quite dark with gorgeous writing – I adored it.

 

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Another favourite genre, the Depression in America, not sure why it appeals so much – perhaps because it was such a testing time and so much good writing has come out of that adversity.

This is Amor Towles’ first book and, again, I loved it.

‘On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate New York City jazz bar trying to stretch three dollars as far as it will go. But a chance encounter with the handsome banker at the next table changes everything, opening the door to the upper echelons of New York society and a glittering new social circle.’

 

 

 Home/Land by Rebecca Mead

A memoir.  In 2018, British-born New Yorker writer Rebecca Mead moved back to London, with her husband and son, after thirty years in New York. It’s a culture shock for all of them. She reflects on her career in America (and one of the reasons they left – the outcome of the 2016 election), her childhood and family history. I found it absorbing.

 

The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Dianne Haley

I had an all too short holiday in Austria this month: three nights in Vienna – and one in Salzburg where we went on a Sound of Music tour. So when I was thinking what to read on the plane and thinking of the plot of the Sound of Music I remembered I’d bought this for my Kindle when it came out. It seemed an appropriate read and it turned out to be a terrific one. I’ve now downloaded the two sequels.

It’s a WW2 Resistance novel (another of my favourite genres) but with a difference – this one is set in Switzerland. The country was technically neutral but, with occupied France just across the border, life is precarious. Valérie helps the French resistance by smuggling messages with her father’s watch deliveries and hiding refugee children in his workshop – all the time worrying about her boyfriend Philippe who is in the army. Tense and exciting.

 

 The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley

On holiday is when I do most of my Kindle reading. This was next up, an easy but satisfying read. No one speaks to anyone else on their daily commute from south London – until an event forces a disparate group of people into contact and relationships which will change all their lives.

 

 The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas

I think this was the free book I chose one month through Amazon Prime. More America, east coast this time … Noah, in his seventies, has moved to ‘an independent living community’ but it feels more like a prison to him. A newcomer, eccentric Cassandra Joyce, turns out to be someone he knew fifty years earlier. Noah invites Cassandra to his ramshackle Cape Cod cottage out of season, and realises he would like their relationship to move up a level.

 

 A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin

And, started on the plane journey home, and completed later, the latest Inspector Rebus. He’s retired now but when it looks as if his daughter might be arrested for murdering her partner he hurries to the far north of Scotland to carry out his own investigations which see him, amongst other things, visiting a WW2 prisoner-of-war camp and a stately home. Meanwhile back in Edinburgh his ex-colleagues may have some information to help him. Terrific.

Eight in January

 

I read eight books in January.

 

Preloved by Lauren Bravo

Gwen is 38 and has just been made redundant from a job she didn’t much like anyway. She seems to be adrift from old friendships and her relationship with her parents has become distant (the reason for which is slowly revealed). She volunteers to work in a charity shop and this becomes her saviour. It’s not just that she makes new friends (one of whom briefly becomes an unexpected lover, and one gives her bad advice) but in sorting the donated items she manages to sort out herself.

In between Gwen’s story there are chapters on the stories behind some of the donations and gradually we come to realise how these fit together. It’s very cleverly done.

I volunteer for a few hours a week sorting books in a branch of Shelter and that added to my enjoyment of Preloved.

The online strapline for novels rarely live up to their promise (in my experience) but I’ll certainly go along with this one – ‘sparklingly witty and relatable’.

I heard of Preloved through the blog https://portobellobookblog.com/ Joanne and I have (mostly) the same taste in books and her recommendations invariably have me adding to my to-be-read pile.

 

 

Limberlost by Robbie Arnott

This was a present from a lovely Tasmanian cousin when she visited last year. It’s a coming-of-age story set in Tasmania during the Second World War. Ned, too young to go to fight alongside his beloved older brothers, longs to buy a boat of his own. He dreams of getting away from working in the family orchard and from his father who’s become almost silent in his worry about his sons in a war on the other side of the world.

Ned finds a way of making money but the path to fulfilling his ambition is far from smooth.

Do love a coming-of-age novel. I learned a lot about various subjects in the book (what a quoll is, for example) – I do like to learn. But my main takeaway was the fabulousness of the writing from this young man who has already won/been shortlisted for prestigious awards.

 

 

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

Another absolute corker! Three children, half-siblings, bring themselves up, more or less, in a country house in the 20s/30s – delightful characters all of them. A whale washed up on the beach gradually becomes skeletal and their favourite playground. They grow up; WW2 comes; two of them end up in Occupied France … that’s all I’ll tell you.

 

 

Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves

The latest Vera, set on Lindisfarne. Fab as usual, with more shocks than usual.

 

What Lies Buried by Margaret Kirk

Terrific police procedure, the second in a series, set in Inverness/shire.

 

Victory for the Op Room Girls by Vicki Beeby

Third in a series (I haven’t read the first two which would probably have been a good idea).

‘With Jess newly promoted to Filterer Officer at RAF Fighter Command HQ, she is delighted to be reunited with Evie and May. However, now that they can enjoy socialising in London, Jess fears her friends will discover the secret she keeps there.’

 

The Last Voice You Hear by Mick Herron

Best known for his Slow Horses series of which I have read a few. His character here is private investigator Zoë Boehm investigating a possibly suspicious death. I was with her every step of the way (however scary … ) and that of her friend Sarah who gets caught up in the case.

 

Green Dolphin Country by Elizabeth Goudge

Last month I mentioned that was rereading a book by this author whose other titles are inspired by her background and beliefs. This one starts in the 19th century in the Channel Islands (where her mother’s family was from) and is based on a true story of something that happened to an ancestor. And so we then enter uncharted waters ... two of the three main characters – a young sailor and ten years later a thirtyish woman – take to the perilous seas and end up in New Zealand, during the time of the Maori Wars.

Elizabeth Goudge wrote the book while living quietly in the Devon countryside during the Second World War. She said she ‘made it New Zealand because my ignorance of Australia was, even more, total than my ignorance of New Zealand.’ So much for the advice often given to writers to ‘write what you know’!

Green Dolphin Country brought Elizabeth Goudge to international attention and was made into a film. Further info here. If you want a fabulous long historical to get stuck into these cold February days I would urge this on you.

 

Lastly … due to technical changes, for some months it has not been possible to Follow this blog, and those who had already Followed were not informed of new posts. This has now been rectified I hope – see the Follow button below the post. Please let me know if it works, or not!