Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Reviewer : Gillian Hamer, author of The Charter, Closure, Complicit, Crimson Shore, False Lights & Sacred Lake (www.gillianhamer.com)

What we thought: This is an outstanding debut novel and it’s no surprise to me it’s become one of the year’s bestsellers and that Hollywood have already snapped up the film rights.

Eleanor Oliphant is a complex human being. She survives each day, locked into her routine, without ever experiencing most of the emotions and sensations we as human beings take for granted. Monday to Friday she does her 9-5 job, eating lunch alone, avoiding human contact, and her weekends start with vodka to help her sleep through till Monday when her working week starts again.

The story joins Eleanor as the rigid routine of the past two decades begins to change when she finds herself drawn into other people’s world and is amazed by the kindness and compassion she finds there. And this is the beginning of both Eleanor discovering herself and the reader discovering the truth of her troubled past. Both of which result in a shocking and dramatic conclusion.

The writing here is superb and it’s hard to believe it’s a first novel. Pace moves us along at a cracking rate and the characters are beyond brilliant. The deeper messages about society in general, our attitudes to mental health, were unmissable - and the humorous traits described from Eleanor’s perspective had me laughing aloud more than once. Her first bikini wax will bring tears to your eyes as well as the characters!

I found myself beyond sad when I got to the final page and had to say goodbye to Eleanor. I hope  she finds happiness in her future and more than anything I hope the author is planning a sequel!

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Ruth Hogan, Jo Jo Moyes, Matt Haig.

Avoid if you don’t like: Human beings.

Ideal accompaniments: Magners cider and ice with vol-au-vents and party nibbles.

Genre: Contemporary

Available on Amazon

The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought:

Many years ago, when I was doing research in Coventry Central Library, I came across a list they were promoting of books by British Asian authors. One of those books was Maps for Lost Lovers, Nadeem Aslam’s novel set among the Pakistani community in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It became one of the first novels I read by a British Asian author.

In the intervening years, I lost track of Aslam, so I was delighted to be reintroduced to him via the Jhalak Prize shortlist, which this year includes his novel – the first for many years to be set in Pakistan – The Golden Legend.

The novel opens with the accidental shooting of Massud, one of a husband-and-wife team of architects, by an American. His widow, Nargis, is quickly caught up in the cross-currents of political expediency and religious extremism. As feelings run high, two Christian friends, Helen, whom they have brought up almost as their daughter, and her father Lily, are ensnared in accusations of blasphemy. When the Christian quarter of Badami Bagh is attacked, Helen and Nargis flee to a hidden island when Nargis and Massud once tried to build and mosque that would reconcile the four sects of Islam. Lily has vanished, but they are helped by a disillusioned Kashmiri insurgent, Imran.

The novel contains images of such lyricism they feel almost like the creations of a magical realist – beginning with scale models of two of the world’s most famous mosques, which in the winter form cosy work cabins for the two architects and in summer are winched up into the rafters out of the way. But the novel is in fact rooted firmly – and grimly – in reality. Key events in the novel – the shooting incident involving a CIA contractor with which the book opens, the attack on the Sufi shrine, the death of a Catholic Bishop – all are based on real events. One of the central characters, the Kashmiri Imran, is based on a young man the author met in Pakistan.

The Golden Legend examines religious extremism, intolerance, the concept of blasphemy, and the consequences of India and Pakistan’s long tug of war over Kashmir. Its portrayal of modern day Pakistan is brutal – a searing indictment of the ever-narrowing definition of ‘purity’ applied to determine who belongs in ‘The Land of the Pure’ – first rooting out Hindus and Sikhs, then all-but eliminating other minority religions, and now turning equally ruthlessly on sects within Islam. But just as importantly, The Golden Legend holds up a mirror to Britain and the USA, warning them of the consequences path they have both embarked on, of narrowing what it means to be British or American.

For Aslam, hope for the future lies in the people who are still prepared to struggle for something better. As one of his characters says:

“I am only speaking for myself when I say that despair has to be earned. I personally have not done all that I can to change things. I have not yet earned the right to despair.”

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: We That Are Young by Preti Taneja; A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam

Avoid If You Dislike: Stories centred round religious and political extremism; lyrical, haunting prose

Perfect Accompaniment: A cup of tea and a kulcha (Punjabi naan)

Genre: Literary Fiction

Available on Amazon

Worry Angels by Sita Brahmachari, Illus Jane Ray

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought:

My next review from the Jhalak Prize 2018 longlist is another children’s book, this time for young readers.

Two very different young girls, both facing massive life changes, are eased into their new Secondary School by the wonderful Grace Nuala and her messy colourful art house.

Amy-May’s parents have split up. Her father has gone to live in a tumbledown cottage on a remote hillside, and she’s not sure if that means he doesn’t want her any more. He’s been home schooling her up till now, but she and her mother have moved to the city, and she has to face the prospect of going to a big new school.

We stand and stare at the metal and glass building that looks more like and art gallery than a school. The outlines of hundreds of children move like ants along the corridors. “I can’t come here, mum,” I say, and turn away.

Rima’s journey has been even more difficult. She’s travelled all the way from Syria. She’s known hunger and fear, and her little brother’s leg has been crushed by a bomb. She feels guilty because she’s alive and safe, but she doesn’t want people to see her only as a refugee. She wants people to see who she is.

With the help of Grace, and the volunteer translator Iman, Amy learns that there are so many ways to talk to someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you:

With your hands, with your eyes, with pictures in the sand...You act things out... you let the feeling show in your whole body... whatever way you can to show them you want to be their friend.

Grace makes Worry Angels, little figures to represent her young charges, and when they are ready to fly up to the big school, she gives the angels their wings.

Written in clear, simple English and beautifully illustrated by Jane Ray, this would suit young readers struggling with anxiety or those learning about refugees. But equally, it would be an excellent book for slightly older children learning English as an additional language. Worry Angels is full of warmth and empathy and above all, hope.

You’ll enjoy this if you loved: Azzi In Between by Sarah Garland, The Lost and Found Cat by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes

Avoid If You Dislike: Stories about family breakup or children that have undergone trauma

Perfect Accompaniment: Chocolate Cake

Genre: Children, New Readers

Available on Amazon

Tipping Point by Terry Tyler

 Reviewer: Liza Perrat, author of The Bone Angel trilogy (Spirit of Lost Angels, Wolfsangel, Blood Rose Angel) and new release, The Silent Kookaburra.

What we thought: I am a great fan of Terry Tyler’s books, mainly due to her great storytelling and character development. That’s the reason I tried Tipping Point even though I’m not generally a fan of post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories. And I’m so glad I did! I found this story scarily plausible and realistic, and could totally imagine it happening, especially since it’s set in 2024, not so far into our future. 

It all stems from the new and highly popular social networking site, Private Life, something most of us are readily familiar with today. Our privacy is ensured, but is that what happens? 

When a lethal and rapidly-spreading virus is discovered in Africa, and spreads through the UK, a nationwide vaccination programme is announced. However it soon becomes obvious that not everyone is being offered the vaccination, for example, the ill, old, mentally ill and unemployed are not entitled. 

In the roller-coaster ride of this thriller that follows, the author deftly explores the vast conspiracy theory and evokes a sense of real fear into the reader, about gaining data from social media and that information being used against us. It is a worrying scenario, with terrifying consequences, that I can easily imagine happening.

That’s not to say this story is simply a dystopian horror tale, far from it. It also shows us, very realistically, human behaviour: how people behave in both negative and positive ways when society as we know it breaks down.

As in all her books, the author has created some compelling characters with whom I could readily identify and care about.  

Tipping Point is the first book in what promises to be an excellent series, the Project Renova series and I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the second, Lindisfarne, which is waiting for me on my Kindle!

You’ll like this if you enjoy: Plausible and feasible dystopian tales.

Avoid if you don’t like: the idea of what might truly happen to our world in the near future.

Ideal accompaniments: just any kind of food that is available, as tomorrow it might not be.

Genre: Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian


Available on Amazon

My Bookmuse reviews of more of Terry Tyler’s books:

TheDevil You Know

Kingsand Queens

LastChild

Come All You Little Persons by John Agard, illus Jessica Courtney-Tickle

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought:

It’s lovely to start the Jhalak Prize longlist for 2018 with this picture book by John Agard.

We’ve always been fans of Agard in this house. My daughter had a poetry anthology when she was small that included his delightful ‘Got a Date With Spring’. And his poem ‘Half Caste’ is a punch in the gut must-read for older children and adults. Sot to find a new poem by him is a delight.

The first test for a picture book is how it reads out loud. And, as you would expect from a poet like Agard, Come All You Little Persons has the rhythm that makes that a joy.

Each little person that is called forth is described by their clothing, and each summoning introduces different words – from a feathered cape, to a shirt made of spray, from an apron that shines, to an invisible gown – so there is plenty to talk about.

Jessica Courtney-Tickle’s illustrations are filled with detail that can be pored over night after night. The style edges towards pointillist and the colour palette is rich but soft and slightly muted. Most importantly, the little persons called forth come in all shapes and sizes – male and female, tall and short, chubby and slim – and with every shade of skin from pale to dark, so every little reader can see themselves reflected.

The final page shows all the little persons circling the earth in a great dance – those we have seen called forth and many more besides that you can have fun creating identities for yourself.

The second great test for a picture book is whether is stands being read again and again, with enough to hold the interest of both adult and child. Come All You Little Persons passes that test with flying colours.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: Lullaby Hullabaloo by Mick Inkpen, Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Avoid If You Dislike: Rhythm, Dance, Reading Out Loud

Perfect Accompaniment: Bedtime cuddles

Genre: Picture book. Children's


Available on Amazon

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Review by JJ Marsh

What we thought:

The Richardsons’ house is burning down. It wasn’t an accident.

Wealthy (four cars in the drive), comfortable (doyenne of Shaker Heights) and happy (three and a half high-achieving children), Elena Richardson knows life is good. She’s generous and charitable and good with people. So why would her youngest daughter set their house on fire?

Celeste Ng takes on a ‘perfect’ society and peers around the façade. Shaker Heights, a small town outside Cleveland, Ohio, is a model community, where everyone toes the line. There are rules here and everyone obeys.

When Mia Warren and daughter Pearl blow into town to rent an apartment, Elena sees a chance to do some good. An itinerant artist with a young daughter – similar age to hers – why not help the woman out. After all, she likes to patronise the arts.

The families’ lives become increasingly intertwined to the extent they almost swap daughters, but there are other familial questions threatening to bust through the neat backyards. Whose child is the abandoned baby? The parents who adopted her and lavished her with love or the biological mother who wants her back? Whose is the child made with surrogate sperm? Who gets to choose whether or not to terminate a teenage pregnancy?

Ng weaves this omniscient perspective with huge skill, making the reader change sides almost every chapter. Her depiction of character is economical, wrong-footing assumptions and avoiding cliché. Finally, the fuses that lead to the fire are far more complex than the fire service or even Elena can understand.

Wholly absorbing and thoughtful, this book kept me thinking.

You’ll enjoy this if you liked: Jodi Picoult, Helen Fitzgerald, Maeve Binchy

Avoid if you don’t like: Awkward questions, teenage girls, multiple POV

Ideal accompaniments: Satay sticks, banana milkshake and Jerry Springer in the background

Genre: Literary fiction

Available on Amazon

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought:

This is a book I have had on my radar for a long time.

Leon is almost ten years old. He doesn’t look anything like his mother or his new-born half brother, but he loves them both very much and wants to take care of them. In fact he takes better care of Jake than his mother does, which is just as well, as she keeps disappearing off and leaving them alone. Leon manages all right most of the time, but one day they run out of food. He goes to a neighbour for help – and that’s when things really starts to go wrong.

Leon and Jake are taken into foster care with a women called Maureen. Maureen is kind but she’s not his mum. And now some people want to take Jake away for good. All Leon wants to do is keep his family together. But how can he do that? Adults lie and keep secrets and take things away from him without asking. There is no one he can trust, so he is going to have to solve everything by himself.

Set in 1981, riots and racial tensions run through the background. The novel addresses adoption, fostering, the complexities of multi-racial families, and the many ways we let children in care down.

Reading as an adult, we may see the good intentions of the grown-ups around Leon. But de Waal understands that, no matter how dysfunctional the birth family or how caring the foster family, having one’s family broken up is still going to be traumatic. She takes us deep inside Leon’s head and makes us feel what it’s like to be tumbled from one place to the next, to lose the people you love through no fault of your own, and to have no control and little say over what happens to you or them.

It’s hard to place whether this book for young adults or not. The story is told entirely through the eyes of almost-ten-year-old Leon, and the story-telling is simple and accessible. But some of the themes and language used are probably not be suitable for younger children.

A tender, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story that sidesteps a fairytale ending in favour of realism and warmth.

My Name is Leon was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. The author is the founder of the Kit de Waal scholarship, a fully funded bursary on the Birkbeck College Creative Writing MA, for a student from a disadvantaged background. She is also the editor of Common People, an anthology of working class writers, currently seeking funding on Unbound.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, The Bed and Breakfast Star by Jacqueline Wilson

Avoid If You Dislike: Stories about adoption and fostering; children as point of view characters; strong language in Young Adult novels.

Perfect Accompaniment: Bacon sarnie with ketchup, and lots of tea

Genre: Literary Fiction; Young Adult

Available on Amazon

Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton

Reviewer : Gillian Hamer, author of The Charter, Closure, Complicit, Crimson Shore, False Lights & Sacred Lake (www.gillianhamer.com)

What we thought: If there is anything more Christmassy than turkey and all the trimmings it’s revisiting the world of Agatha Raisin over the festive period.

Agatha doesn’t have a good track record in life with two things – firstly men, ex James Lacey in particular, and secondly her attempts at creating her idea of a perfect world. So, when she decides to host the Christmas party to beat all other parties, then regular readers of the series are already sitting on the edge of seats chewing their nails.

Added to this, Agatha and her team of private investigators are faced with a complicated case of poisoning in a remote Cotswold village that has elements of witchcraft, family betrayal and intriguing historical links. She is grateful for the services of her latest protégé Tony Gilmore, a young girl from a similarly troubled background as Agatha, who has the makings of a top detective.

There are the usual cast of characters here lined up for this Christmas special - DS Bill Wong, Sir Charles and Mrs Bloxby to name a few. And there twists and turns galore to delight ardent crime fans in this very clever murder enquiry. For once Agatha’s personal life takes a back seat and seems a little more settled ... but then she never knows what is round the corner!

It was the perfect time of year to listen to Penelope Keith narrate the audiobook version of this novel and it was with a huge sadness that I had to say goodbye for a short time.


You’ll enjoy this if you like: J.J Marsh, Agatha Christie, Mandy Baggot.

Avoid if you don’t like: Crime fiction with a gentle touch.

Ideal accompaniments: Christmas pudding and a glass of mulled wine.

Genre: Crime

Available on Amazon