“Everything Is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer

Goodness me, what an arduous read Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer was! The story of an American author who travels to the Ukraine to try to track down the people who helped save his grandfather during the second world war, it’s told in three formats. Firstly, there is the story of the journey told by Alex, the young Ukranian man who acts as guide and translator for the author, and these sections are written as if Alex had written them himself in his broken English translation. In addition, Alex also writes letters to the author that accompany his chapters as he sends them to America. Finally, we are also told the story of the authors ancestors are told from the eighteen century onwards.

I found the “translated” sections very hard going, and made slow progress as I was constantly trying to unravel the sentences and translate them into proper English myself. Having said that, at times they were in turns charming, funny and heartbreaking, but initially, I did have to force myself to keep reading as I waded through these chapters.

On the other hand, I loved reading the historical chapters. Full of beauty and melancholy, I was able to slow down and savour these chapter, all the time guessing that it was likely to build to some tragedy at the end.

Having said that, the final chapter is possibly my favourite of the book despite being another translated letter, and while sad to read, left me with a feeling of hope for the future of the characters, and felt like a fitting end to the book.

I’m glad I read it, as it’s one I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but I have to say, I read his second book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close a few years ago, and for me, it was a much more satisfying book to read, even though it had a similarly quirkiness to its style and language. Definitely an author I will look to read again in the future.

“The Crimson Petal and the White” by Michel Faber

It’s taken me four months to finish The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber, but I have loved every single page. A tale of a prostitute, Sugar, one of her customers, William Rackham, the unwilling heir to a perfume factory, and his wife, Agnes, a young woman whose health has failed her of late, all set in Victorian London. Written with the flavour of a Dickensian style and elegance, this modern novel is able to delve in to the real depths of Victorian morals, lifestyle and sexual attitudes, in a way that Dickens never could.

Eminently readable, I felt instantly swept up in the story, but there is such a depth and detail to the lives of the characters on the page, that I couldn’t read more than a chapter at a time, in order to savour and envelope myself in this society that Faber has created. There is no getting away from the fact that there are some graphic descriptions of sexual scenes, but they feel that they fit within both the plot and period of the story.

But, for me, the overall glory of this epic book, is the wealth of characters. No character is too small or insignificant not to warrant a colourful description, from the larger secondary characters of, for example, William’s brother, Henry, with his tortured goodness, to his shallow, hedonistic friends, Bodley and Ashwell, to the calculating servant, Cheeseman. All come alive on the page and alongside the descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of historic London, made the whole world of this book a completely immersive place to visit each time I picked up the book.

The end comes quite suddenly, and although you don’t really get a resolution for the characters, this felt right, as no-one’s life should be able to have all its loose ends tied up cleanly, and after spending so long with these people, I was actually quite glad to be able to think for myself where their lives would take them next.

I’m actually sad I’ve finished it, and won’t get to come back tomorrow for another installment, which must surely be the highest praise I can give any book.

“The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps” by Michel Faber

Siân wakes up from the same nightmare of her grisly death every morning. Hoping that manual work can distract her from the terrible dreams, she joins an archaeological dig in Whitby Abbey, but after meeting Magnus, her skills as a paper conservator are invaluable to help solve the mystery of the confessions written on a centuries old scroll that has been imprisoned in a bottle.

In this short but wonderfully written story, a Gothic mixture of romance, murder mystery and the ghosts of both Whitby and Siân’s past, the parallel threads of the unravelling of the delicate manuscript and the unravelling story of Siân’s past converge to a satisfying (although not altogether unpredictable) conclusion.

The acknowledgements tell us the artist in residence at Whitby Abbey requested a short story to be written inspired by the English Heritage dig, and I liked that although the dig is part of Siân’s life and escape, it is more the Abbey and the reason for the dig that prove the inspiration, not the dig itself.

The character of Siân felt very real and genuine, and it’s through her narrative that the story is told. However, my only slight criticism is that due to the brevity of the format and writing, the character of Magnus tends to be slight in comparison and I didn’t always feel I understood his actions or reactions.

The story itself was gripping, exciting and fast paced, unusually so, considering it relates to what would seem to be the detailed, considered work of a paper conservator. A very good read, and I’m looking forward to reading more of the books from this author I have already lined up.

“Snobbery With Violence” by M. C. Beaton

At a time when class still rules the country, and women are presented during the season to ensnare suitors and obtain marriage proposals, Lady Rose has ruined her chances by taking part in a Suffragette demonstration which ends up being reported in the national newspapers. When an apparently suitable gentleman takes an interest in her, her father engages the services of Captain Harry Cathcart to find out if the gentleman’s intentions are honourable.

M.C. Beaton writes the Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin books, and I wondered why I’d never come across her Edwardian Murder Mystery series before, but I’ve just been looking into it, and I’ve found out it’s because they were originally published under a pseudonym, Marion Chesney, but the Kindle version I downloaded has been attributed to M.C. Beaton.

As with the Agatha Raisin books, this was light and cheery despite being a murder mystery, and although I did think it was a completely ludicrous melodrama of a mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a humorous Sunday afternoon read. The characters are flawed, she makes fun of all classes of the Edwardian age, and there are enough twists and false to make this a traditional British farce.

There are three other books in the series so far, and I definitely want to find out what happens with Lady Rose and Harry, so I’ll be adding them to my wishlist for when I need some light-hearted, fun reading to cheer me up.

“Brooklyn” by Colm Tóibín

In a time of poor employment rates in 1950s Ireland, Eilis has already seen her brothers leave home to find work in England, and while her sister Rose has been lucky enough to find a good job and a fulfilling life at home, there doesn’t seem to be much chance of that for Eilis. So she leaves Ireland for the shores of America, a young girl making her way with the help of the church to the land of opportunity. In her new lodgings in Brooklyn, Eilis is homesick for Ireland but starts to build a new life, but news from home may soon change everything she has worked for.

What an absolutely wonderful book. This is the second Tóibín book I’ve read, and as with the first, the beauty of his writing captivated me throughout. He really seems to capture the essence of Eilis and her being seems like a very real person. An affecting portrayal of the young woman and what struck me was how you completely understood how Eilis was feeling all the time, but he managed to keep a slight distance to of all the other characters. This is exactly how we all as individuals truly are around all other people – we can never know exactly how they feel or think, no matter how close we are to them. Having said that, there was enough description of all the other characters that you were led to believe what sort of person they were, and what their motives for their actions were at any time.

One of my favourite reads of the year, and I will be looking for more to read from this author in the future.

“The Outcast” by Sadie Jones

As the book opens, it’s 1957 and nineteen year old Lewis has just returned to the family home after being released from prison. Kit is the youngest daughter of the pillar of the local village who has hero worshipped Lewis from early childhood. The story goes back to Lewis’s early childhood and tells the tragedy and grief that leads up to his imprisonment, and then follows on from his release to look at the fall out and the effects on himself, his family, Kit and the rest of the village.

There are so many interesting things about this book, I don’t know where to start!

I guess the first thing that struck me when I finished the book was the narrative. Although told in the third person, the focus is always on either Lewis or Kit, and while they never directly speak to the read, you always feel as though you’re seeing their unique perspective on the story and it results in a very personal and close relationship with the reader.

I usually prefer linear plots, but this one starts at the mid point of the story for the prologue, then jumps back to the beginning and follows the rest of the story in the traditional chronological order. This actually add to the story for me, as you know what has happened and you gradually come to understand why it has happened and the ongoing fallout from the tragedy.

The claustrophobic society of the village, the lack of communication between family members and the repression of emotions are all indicative of the 1940′s and 1950′s before the advent of the idea that people need to share feelings and talk about traumatic experiences to get comfort from each other. This leads to one of the characters starting to self harm, something that while I’m aware of it, I know very little about. I thought the descriptions and explorations of the feelings of the characters involved, and also those of the people who eventually find out what has been happening were compelling to read.

This is not a pleasant read, but I have to say, it held my attention and I savoured reading it, taking care to understand an unusual subject matter. Well written with heart and feeling, and a very worthwhile read.

“The Red Queen” by Margaret Drabble

This was one of my reading group books for this month, and something I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own, but I thought the blurb sounding promising and was looking forward to reading it.

Unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing books I’ve read in ages. The story is split into two parts, the first part being the memoirs of a Korean princess in the eighteenth century, and the second part following an academic who reads the memoirs and the impact they have on her life.

Firstly, I didn’t like the style – apart from the two halves to the book, there are no chapters, and the first part was a first person narrative, while the second part was third person/reportage, but I never felt engaged with either of the characters whose tale was being told. I also felt that the memoirs were actually quite sketchy and vague, fitting the whole of her life story into 150 pages. I’ve read a couple of other books based on Chinese women in this era, which were detailed and explored the society of the time, but this one was particularly lacking in detail and atmosphere.

I have to admit, I only read 50 pages of the second part of the book before I gave up. I didn’t care about any of the characters or where the story was going, and decided that I have far too many other books demanding my attention to both reading another 150 pages of a story I just wasn’t interested in.

“Ghost Hunter” by Michelle Paver

The last book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness books, Ghost Hunter is a fitting, thrilling, heartbreaking finale to a fantastic series of books. I have loved reading the six books that make up the series, beautifully written with a wonderful use of language, but full of action and, although firmly based in the real world, the fantasy elements seem otherworldly yet still completely realistic and believable.

Torak is now fifteen, and although his life is far removed from the modern world we know, he still has to struggle with all the emotions and choices any teenage boy would need to make, but added to that, he knows he is special and must face his destiny and defeat Eostra to save the Clans.

The beauty and the importance of nature and the elements in a prehistoric world have been one of the many joys of reading these books. So much research has gone into hunting methods and the landscape of the world, but with seemingly effortless ease, it blends into an thrilling, action-packed tale of good against evil. The plot it kept tight, and there is no meandering off onto tangents, or introducing characters or plot lines which are merely padding. Every word seems to be necessary and this makes the books incredibly readable and genuine page turners.

I loved every book in the series, and this last one did not disappoint.

“The Earth Hums in B Flat” by Mari Strachan

Gwenni Morgan is growing up in a 1950s Welsh town, and she has a special gift – she can fly in her sleep. She flies over the town, occasionally over the sea, and watches the world from above – at least, that’s when her sister isn’t disturbing her sleep by invading Gwenni’s side of the bed. This gift makes Gwenni inquisitive, and when a neighbour disappears, she’s determined to help bring him back to his family. But what else will she uncover along the way?

On the inside cover, this is described as “a magical novel that will transport you to another time and place”, and I have to agree – it is a magical book and as you experience the story through Gwenni’s first person narrative, you will indeed feel transported to the small town Welsh community and into the Morgan’s family home. Gwenni’s naivety means that while she doesn’t initially comprehend the significance of her observations, as a reader I was one or two steps ahead of her and able to piece together the truth for myself; this does not, however, take away anything from the reading experience and enjoyment of the book.

I really loved the brevity of the writing. That’s not to say it’s a short book, or has a sparse style, but Strachan doesn’t describe any of the characters in much detail, and yet the brief glimpses of physical features make all the people feel very real and genuine, and I had a vivid picture of each of them in my head. The details of the period are also only ever hinted at, with occasional vague references or gently interlaced details of the time, but there is never a specific description of the setting, merely enough to give a feeling of the period.

I became completely engrossed in Gwenni’s life and her journey to understanding her own family as well as the world around her. There is no sentimentality or mawkishness about this tale, merely lovely, and at times, moving, storytelling. Very impressive for a debut novel.

“Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death” by Gyles Brandreth

When Oscar Wilde starts the game of ‘Murder’ during his Sunday Supper Club, where all of the guests anonymously choose someone they would like to kill, little does he realise the chain of events he will set in motion. That very evening, the first ‘victim’ chosen in the game dies in mysterious circumstances, and the game appears to have taken a very deadly turn. Along with his trusted friend, Robert Sherard, Oscar will need to use his instincts, intelligence and power of observation to find the killer – but time is of the essence, as Oscar himself is destined to be ‘victim’ number thirteen.

This is an unusual Victorian crime novel, as Brandreth has chosen to use real people as the main characters of his book, and using the author Oscar Wilde as his detective, at a time when he was at the height of his success and fame. The story is told by narrator, Robert Sherard, who was a life-long friend of Oscar Wilde and an author is in own right, publishing poetry, novels and biographies in his lifetime, including five books about Wilde. This is a very interesting tactic on Brandreth’s part, as it allows Sherard to show us the investigation as Wilde conducts it, without giving away his thought processes and conclusions, and allowing us to try and solve the mystery as the plot unfolds.

There are plenty of Wilde’s contemporaries involved in the plot, including fellow authors Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker as well as artist Walter Sickert, which adds to the colour and interest of the world that Brandreth creates in the novel. It is obvious from the warmth of the writing that the author has a great regard for his subject, and on the book website he tells us that Oscar Wilde was his first real life hero. With a plot that touches on class and social issues of the time, as well as including the classic mystery elements and set in an interesting time in British history, this books is very evocative of the period and a rewarding and entertaining read.

I’d never considered to be a great reader of crime novels, but I’ve recently realised that I actually enjoy what I would call ‘alternative’ crime fiction. I don’t like modern crime, with graphic descriptions of violent crime, but I do very much enjoy period crime novels like this, or funny, light hearted crimes books like the Jasper Fforde novels or the Agatha Raisin murder mysteries. This book definitely falls in to my ‘alternative’ crime list, and I’ve found out it’s actually the second in the series, so I shall definitely be on the look out for the first book (“Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders”) and eagerly anticipating the next one (“Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man’s Smile”) which will be published later this year.