The Hoarder - Funny but painful

In The Hoarder, by Jess Kidd, we enter the world of Maud Drennan, a care worker tasked with keeping the belligerent, and downright rude, Cathal Flood alive. Left to his own devices, he has accumulated a houseful of rubbish that threatens to overwhelm anyone who dares enter the property. Maud is at the end of a long line of carers who have come and swiftly gone, and Mr Flood is on his last warning following his assault on her immediate predecessor. Behave, or go into care! Maud is not your run of the mill carer, her life has fuzzy edges to it in that she has a number of Saints who accompany her every move, making comment on her life wherever she goes. She also has endless patience, and slowly Cathal starts to open up to her, as does his house - or at least, the restless spirits who inhabit it. Did Cathal murder his wife and daughter? Why is his son so desperate to get his hands on the house and is there any chance that Maud will find love and recover from a childhood trauma? Part thriller, part supernatural fantasy, the different strands of past and present are woven together with great skill. There is so much humour in this book - I particularly like the asides with the Saints, who don't always act very saintly (yes St Valentine, I'm looking at you!) But there is also a murder mystery to solve, packed with danger and plenty of red herrings. There are immensely tender moments too as we see the friendship develop between Cathal and Maud. I really enjoyed this book, although I did kind of guess the ending. This is the second book of Jess Kidd that I have read (Things in Jars being the first), and while the strange worlds the author conjures up are ones that might not be for everyone, I will certainly be seeking out more of her work.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 352 print pages.

Price I paid: £3.00.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.

Thank goodness it's 2021!

Happy New Year to you all.

Never have I been so glad to see the end of a year - and I know I'm not alone in that sentiment.

Many things took a bit of a back seat during 2020 and one of those was reading for pleasure ... but now that the COVID-19 vaccination programme has begun, there is a new hope dawning and I am determined to approach 2021 with a bit more of a spring in my step.

I am still finishing off a couple of books that didn't quite squeeze onto the 2020 blog, but once they are done, I'll be getting my Alphabet Randomizer Programme (which may or may not resemble a bag of letters purloined from Scrabble) at the ready to select my first author (and book) of 2021.

Any recommendations for authors whose surname begins with X, Y or Z will be gratefully received!

So, here we go 2021 ... onwards and upwards!

 

Sweet Sorrow - I didn't want it to end

Sweet Sorrow, by David Nicholls is a book that seems to have split those willing to leave a review on Amazon. I am happy to report that I am on the side of those who LOVED it! Charlie is nearly 40 and on the verge of marriage, but finds himself thinking about his first love, back in the heady days of when he was 16 years old and failing at school following the break up of his parent's marriage. While living with his depressive, alcohol swigging father, Charlie escapes the house by heading out on his bicycle to a quiet spot and taking refuge in books. One day, while reading alone in a field, he comes across Fran, a self-assured, confident girl who, Charlie is sure, must be the most beautiful person he's ever seen. To try and get her phone number, he joins a drama group who are just starting rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. His intention is to get her number and then duck out, but instead, he finds himself being drawn into this band of misfits and thespians and falls in love with both Fran and Shakespeare at the same time. This is a beautifully told, funny account of the awkwardness and wonder of first love and how it can stay with you for the rest of your life. It is not overly sweet, but does play with your emotions as you root for Charlie, who needs to find something positive in his otherwise tough life. It's also an exploration of friendship - and finding those life long friends who "get you" and with who you can just be yourself, something every one of us needs.I read the audio edition, which is narrated by Rory Kinnear who was totally brilliant at bring all the characters into fully fleshed out people. At the end of the book, I definitely felt that parting was such Sweet Sorrow indeed. Excellent!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 416 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98.

Formats available: print. unabridged audio, ebook.

The Odyssey - certainly was an epic!

Having read a couple of books recently that are reinterpretations of some of the Greek legends (Circe, The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller), I thought it was about time that I delved into one of the original inspirations for those works. And so, I found myself reading The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson, which is probably the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. In this modern translation, the first by a woman, we find a very accessible and gripping tale of Odysseus as he tries to find his way home after the Trojan Wars - a feat that takes 10 years - but, for me, more importantly, what's happening with Penelope, his wife who is trying to fend off a cohort of suitors who want to take over the throne of Odysseus. She is convinced Odysseus will return, and so finds ways to put them off, but time is running out for her and her son, Telemachus, whose life is threatened by those seeking power. Meanwhile, Odysseus is island hopping, trying to overcome all the obstacles his arch enemy, the god Poseidon, keeps putting in his way. He is, in effect, a plaything of the gods and they all seem to take much delight in making him suffer, though, to be honest, he does bring some of their spite on himself. He blinds the giant Polyphemus for example, and his crew eat Helios' cattle despite strict instructions not to touch them. He is imprisoned, kept as a love slave, almost drowned (several times) and his entire crew are slaughtered. However, Athena finally takes pity on him and persuades all the gods, except Poseidon, that he has suffered enough and should be permitted to get back home. To this end, she assists him in her own inimitable fashion. But what will he find when he returns ...? I found this story entertaining, though at some points, it felt a little repetitive. There is a long introduction, which, I suppose you could skip, but for me, it's definitely worth reading to get the background, context and place in history for this epic poem. I read the audio edition, narrated by the wonderful Clare Danes who brought what could have become a stodgy tale very much into vibrant life. I can definitely recommend this version, as it is easy to read and understand (which, I believe, is not always the case!) Now, where can I find a book centred on Penelope?

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 592 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

Formats available: print, unabridged audio, mp3CD, ebook.

Any Human Heart - An Unusual Life Story

There's no getting away from it, William Boyd, is a classy writer. And in Any Human Heart he demonstrates this once again. Set out in the form of a series of diaries from various periods in the life of one Logan Mountstuart, we follow his progress through the twentieth century. The action starts at public school in England, where the topics of interest and writing style are definitely those of a teenager discovering what life is all about, with a distinct focus on his sexual awakening. We see how losing his father affects him, and how he sets out on a series of jobs, including novelist, and relationships, which leads to his happy marriage and the birth of a child. But the Second World War changes everything. He kind of ends up as a spy (recruited by Ian Fleming), but is incarcerated abroad and when he comes home, it is to the shattering discovery that his wife and child have been killed by a bomb. I felt that Logan never really recovered from this, and he stumbles from one thing to another, usually fuelled by an inordinate amount of alcohol - at one time becoming involved in a subversive political movement (though probably more to earn money than actually believing in the cause!) - and other times he's an art dealer. He travels the world, but finally ends up in France after he inherits a property from a long term friend who he nursed through the last weeks of her life. It's here he seems to find little peace and his story comes to its natural conclusion. At times, Logan is a very unsympathetic character, but totally human in his flaws, hopes and dreams. I may not have always liked him, and he often brought his troubles onto himself, which usually puts me off a book, but the author writes with such aplomb that I kept on wanting to find out more. Would Logan redeem himself, would he find happiness? Maybe. Maybe not. His story is wrapped up in all the key events and people of the 20th Century - we even see him mixing with the Duke of Windsor and the waspish Wallace Simpson, which, unsurprisingly, doesn't end well! Maybe there was a little too much name dropping - could one person really have met all these people and had all of these experiences I wonder - but this is still a very readable exploration of the life of a man living through modern history and well worth anyone's time.

My STAR rating: 4 STARS.

Length: 528 print pages.

Price I paid:Free, borrowed from my husband.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, MP3 CD, ebook.

For Your Eyes Only - unexpected!

For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming took me completely by surprise. I was totally unaware that this book was a collection of 5 short stories: From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Quantum of Solace, Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity. None of the stories whose names you may recognise from the films of the same title bore any resemblance to those films, and some stories didn't even feel like spy stories at all (one was pretty much Bond having after dinner drinks with someone who was relaying a story to him). However, this didn't present me with any problems in terms of enjoying them. In fact, by the end of the book, I felt that Bond had been given a little more humanity than we had seen in his previous outings. Concise and to the point, it might be argued that Fleming was experimenting a little with his hero to see where he might take him, or indeed, trying out a story that worked in short form but couldn't be expanded into a full blow novel. All the usual Bond tropes are there - the violence, the women, the weapons and the food - and a couple of the stories gripped the attention, but others felt a little flat. Short and enjoyable for anyone wanting a quick hit of their favourite "Double O", I can recommend the audio edition narrated by Samuel West, who provided great company!

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 272 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

Formats available: print, unabridged audiobook, audio CD, ebook.

The Mirror and the Light - the final chapter

Apologies for the quiet time on my blog for the last month, but the world has been a crazy place and some things had to slip! But I'm back with a bang to tell you about The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel. This is the final part of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy which began with Wolf Hall. The action picks up from where we left off - it's spring 1536 and pretty much as soon as Ann Boleyn is relieved of her head, Henry VIII settles into a happy state with his new wife, Jane Seymour. Thomas still seems to be at the top of his game, and his power keeps on building with his influence over Henry seeming to know no bounds. But nothing ever stays the same for long, and a rebellion in the north of the country, together with a range of traitorous plots abroad and a new threat of invasion start to impose pressure on the one man who is supposed to keep Henry's reign glorious and trouble free. Thomas uses all his guile, but receives little support from men of power in Henry's court, who have always resented this lowborn, son of a blacksmith, his position as Henry's right hand man. When Jane Seymour dies just after giving Henry his long awaited son and heir, things start to sour - first with the unsuccessful contract with Ann of Cleves as Henry's fifth wife, for which Thomas is blamed, and then the failure of completely snuffing out the many plots against Henry. Sniffing blood, the blue blooded vultures start to gather and Thomas tries to protect his family and those close to him as he can see where this is going - well, he's been on the other side of it so often in the past! Thomas Cromwell isn't supposed to be a likeable person, but you can't help but admire him. Hilary Mantel presents us with a man who has ambitions for himself and his country, but who is also deeply loyal and generous to those close to him. He achieved so much from such humble beginnings and managed to survive and thrive despite standing so close to a king whose ever changing whims and temper could mean death for anyone, at anytime. The end was inevitable, and although we all know the outcome, you cannot help but hope that, somehow, Thomas will manage to wangle his way out of his final destiny. But history is history! I have thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and, despite the huge length of this last book, I was saddened when I reached the last page. I will definitely miss spending time in the company of Thomas Cromwell! I have read all three parts as audio books and each is a tour de force of narration - go on, immerse yourself in Tudor England!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 912 print pages.

Price I paid: £5.84.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook