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.