The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - murderous Groundhog Day!

This is a book I started in 2020, and is my last book to be completed before my new reading challenge begins (a month late, but hey, I seem to be a bit of a slow reader at the moment!). I have a feeling that The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton could be a bit of a "marmite"book - you love it, or hate it. Fortunately, I am fall into the former camp. We start with a man coming to his senses in a forest. He doesn't know who he is, or how he got there, but when he hears a scream and sees a man chasing a woman through the trees, one memory strikes home - the woman is called Anna and she is important to him. He hears a shot and assumes that things have taken a tragic turn, but before he gets a chance to find out, someone creeps up behind him, thrusts a compass into his hand and gives him an instruction - "East!" He flees from the forest and heads towards a country house. As he bursts in to try and get help, the people there seem to know who he is and try to take care of him. As his day of confusion progresses, he comes across a whole gamut of characters, many of whom are deeply unpleasant. The only one who seems to want to help him find out what happened to Anna is Evelyn Hardcastle. So when she dies at the end of the evening, it is an horrific shock. But the next day, Aidan wakes up in a different person, and the day starts all over again. With the guidance of a shady figure he calls The Plague Doctor, he is told that he must solve the murder, and that the day will repeat in different hosts until he does, but he only has a set number of hosts. If, at the end of that time, the murder isn't solved, he goes all the way back to the beginning, with all of his memories removed once more. With me so far? This is most definitely a novel where you have to keep on your toes, with Aidan switching between hosts as each one loses consciousness. As I listened to the audio version, which I do when I can't sleep, I found that when I had nodded off and woke up late, I kept having to rewind as Aidan had switched bodies ... and I knew I couldn't afford to miss one single clue. There are so many threads and switches in action, or the same action but from different perspectives. It's a cracking read for anyone who thinks ... what if Christopher Nolan took on an Agatha Christie novel? The development of the main character, who has to fight with the character of whoever's body he is inhabiting at that moment in time, as well as the relationships he forms, is really clever. We slowly start to unravel the sequence of events, and when Aidan realises he can actually change those events, things get really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it did surprise me, which you wouldn't have thought it would after reliving the same day so many times. Complex it may be, but still totally accessible. Would definitely recommend.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 528 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.85

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

The Pillars of the Earth - Cathedral Building Epic

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, is the first of a trilogy set in medieval times. This book spans 1123 to 1155. Tom Builder is a master mason struggling to find work. As he and his young family travel the country looking for a job, his wife tragically dies during childbirth. Knowing he cannot look after the baby, he leaves it to die, but very soon regrets his decision and returns to the spot to retrieve it, only to discover it has gone. He finds comfort with a woman who has been living in the forest with her own child, Jack, and she goes with Tom and his two children to Kingsbridge. Unbeknownst to him, his baby had been rescued by a passing monk, and was taken to Philip, the prior at the monastery, who decides to raise the boy himself. When the cathedral at Kingsbridge is destroyed by fire, Philip hires Tom to rebuild it. Meanwhile, brother and sister, Aliena and Richard, suddenly find themselves homeless after supreme baddy William Hamleigh takes over their father's castle (and, in effect, his earldom) and rapes Aliena. Upon their escape, Aliena supports her brother and becomes a canny business woman, only to lose it all at the hands of William. With the passing years, Aliena and Jack grow close and finally fall in love despite many missteps and misunderstandings along the way. Jack inherits his stepfather's love of building and, when Tom is tragically killed, becomes a master builder in his own right. This all happens against the backdrop of political intrigue and unrest as King Stephen and Maud are battling over the kingdom. Plus, the general nastiness of the power-hungry Hamleigh family is a constant threat to Philip and Aliena. There is plenty of action and the plots come thick and fast. It's a mixture of architecture (flying buttresses anyone?), politics, religion and family trials and tribulations. There are way more bad times than good, but it's the little victories that keep you going. There are some grim and violent scenes, and this certainly won't be to everyone's taste. But if you like your historical fiction to be full of intrigue, where the baddies really are baddies and the setting isn't during the well-worn Tudor period, then this could be for you. As if the trilogy weren't enough, he's also just finished a prequel! Many hours of reading to come I fear!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 1076 print pages.

Price I paid: 50p (in a second hand bookshop).

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

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.