Seven in April

I read seven books in April.

West by Carys Davies

This has been on my radar for a little while. When I suggested it for a book group read it turned out that others had thought of it too. Despite it being short (160 pages), it engendered wide-ranging discussions and – because it was short – its immersive yet very spare writing was much admired.

Carys Davies was an award-winning short story writer before writing novels (do check out ‘The Redemption of Galen Pike’ which won the 2015 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize and is included in the collection of the same name).

 

Cy Bellman, American settler and widowed father of ten-year-old Bess leaves his small Pennsylvania farm and his daughter, in the unsympathetic care of his sister-in-law, to find out if the rumours are true: that the giant bones found in Kentucky are from a species still alive who roam the uncharted wilderness beyond the Mississippi River.

 

Just One Weekend by Catherine Aitken

Sandy leaves Scotland, and her husband, for a weekend in New York with her widowed best friend Isobel. There’s going to be a reunion concert there for The Brig, the group they were obsessed with for years.

Control-freak Sandy’s (very) detailed itinerary is thrown into disarray immediately when Isobel’s virtual American boyfriend appears, and Sandy gets saddled looking after the inebriated passenger who’s been irritating her in (she was upgraded) First Class.

There follows a wild weekend across New York with the stranger (who’s not such a stranger after all) when both their lives are changed forever.

I do love books set in New York and this was an exhilarating visit to the city that never sleeps.

 

There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev

This book is partly set in New York! Mira Salvi, from an Indian family now living in Chicago is finally engaged to be married (at the ripe old age of 28 … ) to a highly respected doctor, to the delight of her domineering parents. But a visit, minus fiancé, to New York takes her life in a completely different direction when she finds a strange ring and is determined to reunite it with its owner.

After New York, Mira has to go to India with her mother and future mother-in-law for a lavish spending spree on wedding clothes and jewellery. But as she suspects the ring’s owner is somewhere in that vast continent her mind is not on dresses.

I mostly enjoyed this. My reservation is one, not only for this book, but others that are told in first person present tense. It’s mostly to do with facial expressions – how can you see on your own face that ‘a smile plays on my lips’, ‘I look at him quizzically’ or whatever?

 

The People Next Door by Kate Braithwaite

A psychological thriller/domestic noir billed as having a ‘shocking final twist’ – which it certainly did.

The premise is ‘how well do you really know your neighbours’? In this case, the neighbours live in an affluent suburb of Pennsylvania. Jen has moved there with her partner and her daughter but she has a secret reason for being there.

Told from multiple viewpoints, in the past and the present, this is a tense and twisty read.

 

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor

Well, each to their own. I Did Not Finish this. It has pretensions to be a classic girls’ coming of age novel but I found all the characters to be cardboard cut-outs. It’s set in the 1960s and reminded me of 60s sitcoms which were funny at a time when we were more easily amused but are just tiresome now.

 

So after that I revisited Maeve Binchy, for the first time in years, and sank happily into her world.

First of all, with Quentins: 

 

and then with Tara Road: 

 

 

Five in March

I read five books in March.

 

 

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry

Set in mid 19th century Edinburgh, the second in the Raven and Fisher mystery series – and featuring real-life medical hero Dr James Simpson.

Will Raven, assistant to Dr Simpson, has been in Europe for a year and has returned to the esteemed doctor’s practice in Edinburgh. He’s taken aback to find that former housemaid Sarah Fisher, for whom he had feelings (while at the same time thinking she was socially beneath him) is happily married to another doctor.

A series of mysterious deaths, one of which is being laid at Dr Simpson’s door, bring Will and Sarah together to find the cause – Sarah, with medical ambitions of her own being more than a match for Will.

 

 

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

I read this many years ago but didn’t have a copy in the house so when I saw one in a charity shop I bought it (although it didn't have this nice cover – there are dozens of editions). It stood the test of time – manages to be both erudite and very funny. My favourite set piece was of his friend Harris’s experience in the maze at Hampton Court.

Recently I adjudicated a Humorous Short Story competition for the Scottish Association of Writers. It made me think about what makes a piece of writing funny – although of course one person’s rolling in the aisles reaction is another person’s poker face. But, although I could think of quite a few funny novels, I couldn’t think of any writer who consistently writes humorous short stories – please let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations.

 

Death on the Small Screen by Jo Allen

I was lucky enough to read this before it went ‘live’ online as I know the author. (We are in a group called Capital Writers.)

It’s the latest in the DCI Jude Satterthwaite police procedural series set in the lovely Lake District.

A murdered body is found on the fells by a young actress. It turns out there is no shortage of suspects, mostly thanks to the victim’s tangled love life.

 

American Housewife by Anita Abriel

Farmer’s daughter, turned radio personality in 1950s New York, Maggie Lane is thrilled to be asked to host her own television show The Maggie Lane Baking Show. She has to ‘bake’ (I use inverted commas because all the cakes and desserts are from packet mixes … ) – and to sign a ‘morality clause’ and ensure that nothing will spoil her squeaky clean image. But Maggie has a past she is hoping to keep hidden, even from her husband.

Enjoyable, but reminiscent of Lessons in Chemistry without that book’s depth.

 

 

A Half-Baked Idea by Olivia Potts

Grieving the death of her mother, barrister Olivia Potts decided to leave the law and enrol on Diplôme de Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, in London. If that wouldn’t concentrate her mind on something else it’s hard to see what would – the course must be the most exacting anywhere, with its team of classically trained teaching chefs demanding perfection from their students.

She describes her progress – with recipes and very mouth-watering they sound (if someone else has made them).