Thirteen in May (1)

I read thirteen books in May; I’ll tell you about them in two blog posts.

Diary of a Somebody by Brian Bilston

Like very many people I enjoy Brian Bilston’s way with words. The ‘Banksy of poetry’ and ‘Twitter’s unofficial poet laureate’ nails current topics on the head in clever and witty ways that you wish you’d thought of first.

Diary of a Somebody is allegedly his diary but I think we can take that with a large cellar of salt.

To quote from the blurb:

Part tender love story, part murder mystery, part coruscating description of a wasted life, and interspersed with some of the funniest poems about the mundane and the profound, Diary of a Somebody is a unique, original and hilarious novel.

I whizzed through it, loved it; this will be one to reread.

The Visitor by Lee Child

The fourth Jack Reacher book. ‘The visitor’ is Jack Reacher himself when he helps a couple of government agencies to solve the gruesome murders of two former female army high-flyers who had both been acquainted in the past with our hero.

Her Mother’s Secret: The Summer of ‘69 by Jan Baynham

Isn’t that a fab (as we used to say in the 60s) cover?

Dual timeline, set on the Greek island of Péfka. The earlier story is about Elin when she attends a summer art school there and, later, Elin’s daughter Alexandra follows in her mother’s footsteps and learns much about Elin that she never knew. Great premise and great sense of place – I’ve never been to Greece but enjoyed my virtual stay in Péfka.

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

This was produced in 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of the story of fiction’s most loved redhead.

I’ve had it on my shelf for about ten years and finally plucked up the courage to read it – if that isn’t too strong a statement. L M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and its sequels have for so (sooo) long been among my very favourite books that I resented the thought of someone else writing her story.

We know from the Anne books that she was orphaned as a baby and subsequently brought up in two foster homes where she was treated with rough kindness but also as an unpaid and overworked skivvy before being taken to an orphanage from where she was adopted (by mistake; they’d asked for a boy) by siblings Matthew and Marilla. 

If you have never read or owned a copy of Anne of Green Gables there are dozens of editions to choose from, some with very unappealing covers, and others which look lovely, like this one: 

 

I thought Before Green Gables was unnecessarily long and I wasn’t massively taken with Budge Wilson’s writing. Through her eyes Anne appears to look like a ragdoll or a cartoon character – her large eyes and ‘long skinny legs’ being mentioned rather too frequently. We know from LM’s books that Anne is precocious and a chatterbox but here she is attributed speeches (speeches I tell you) from the age of seventeen months that are frankly implausible.

But there were some terrific characters, not least Anne’s delightful and tragic young parents, and many things are ‘explained’, such as Anne’s love of big words, her appreciation of natural beauty and her longing for a best friend, a kindred spirit.

At the end of the book we leave her at Bright River station, Prince Edward Island, waiting for Matthew Cuthbert to arrive. Anne of Green Gables begins with that scene so of course I had to read it again and one thing led to another and another and …

At the beginning of this year my sister and I planned (but luckily had not booked) a holiday in Canada this autumn, including a visit to Prince Edward Island which I have been longing to see for more than fifty years. Well, we all know how holiday plans in 2020 have turned out … 

Maybe in the next year or two (or three) it will be possible but, if not, then thank goodness for the imagination which can travel even when the body is in lockdown. A sentiment I'm sure Anne Shirley would approve of.