Human Traces - Traumatic Epic (another one!)

Human Traces, by Sebastian Faulks, follows the lives of two men and those they love and lose along the way. It's another huge book, both in terms of length and also breadth of the topic - the nature of humanity! It starts in the 1870s with Jacques Rebiere, son of a peasant who lives in Brittany, and Thomas Midwinter, a Lincolnshire merchant's son. Jacques, who is taken under the wing of a local priest who sees the potential in his scientific mind, wants to find a cure for his beloved brother Olivier who is kept in the stable because he hears voices. Thomas, meanwhile, is unwillingly forced into medicine by his father. Both meet by chance in Deauville, forming an instant respect and admiration, and they determine that when they qualify as doctors, they will work together to further the study and cure of people like Olivier. They toil through many years and in trying circumstances, until they finally get their chance to create a new kind of clinic in Austria. By this time, Jacques is married to Thomas's sister, Sonia, and Thomas finally finds love with an ex-patient. However, the strong bond they once had begins to loosen as their thoughts and theories on how to treat the people in their care starts to take different paths. Tragedy is never far away, and, into the mix, the First World War also features. There aren't many laughs in this epic story of two men driven to the point of their own madness by their desire to understand and cure those whose mental health has deserted them. Both Jacques and Thomas are used as cyphers to show how the medical profession at the time dealt with such patients and the new ideas that were coming out about the nature of man, his origins and the reasons behind such conditions as schizophrenia and dementia. Whilst some of this is interesting, the immensity of the details given - which included full transcripts of lectures or papers the characters were delivering - left me a little cold. I didn't quite believe some of the actions of the characters either, including a strange affair by one of the men, which made me lose sympathy and interest in them - I think because it kind of came from nowhere and didn't really go anywhere. I can admire the level of research and the epic nature of the work, but sometimes the work felt more like a lesson than a story and my attention began to wander. There was also, for me, a bit of an imbalance in that so much time and space was given to the early years of both Thomas and Jacques, and the beginning of their time in their clinic, but then the ending felt raced through. It was almost as if the writer had said all they wanted to say and so decided to end the book without a satisfactory conclusion for my part. But then, life often isn't all wrapped up in a neat little bow .. but somehow, I'd like my fiction to do so ... unfair I suppose, but there it is! Hard going at times, but with passages full of feeling and heart, this was a curate's egg of a book for me, but I know others will feel very differently. 

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 615 print pages.

Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook. 

Into the Silence - A True Epic

Into the Silence by Wade Davis is a monumental work in terms of depth, detail and length! At the heart, it is the story of the three attempts to climb Mount Everest by British-led expeditions in 1921, 1922 and 1924. However, the backdrop to this is World War I and the effect it had on the men who took part. They had seen so much death, and many of them were still suffering both mentally and physically from that time. Conquering Everest was also driven by the influence of "Empire" ... despite all the evidence to the contrary, there was still a certain belief amongst the upper class that somehow, the British could still achieve anything they set their mind to - whether they had any experience of it or not. The teams of mountaineers were made up of a hotchpotch of experience and skilled climbers (like George Leigh Mallory) and total beginners, not necessarily in the best of health but who had the "gumpf" to have a go. Much of the first expedition was to try and map out the area and find a potential way to the summit. The next involved specific attempts to reach the top which failed miserably - primarily due to the belief that using oxygen was somehow ungentlemanly and "cheating". On this expedition, George Finch, an excellent climber, who had done the research and built devices to deliver oxygen at altitude and was pushing for its use, was pretty much ignored because he had not gone to the right school or university ... yes, the class system was very much alive (and still is to this day)! This attitude cost lives, just like the idiocy of the generals in the first world war who wasted so many sons, brothers, husbands and fathers through their incompetence and pig headedness. However, the experience of this trip led Mallory to also believe that without oxygen, the climb to the top of Everest would be impossible. In 1924, despite his misgivings, Mallory returned to Everest and on June 6th, he and Sandy Irvine - a 22-year-old Oxford scholar with little experience - set out from their camp at 23,000 feet to make an attempt to conquer the mighty mountain. They never returned. Mystery still surrounds the fact as to whether they made it to the top and met their end on the way back down, or whether they never reached their goal at all. There is so much in this book that it is hard to take all of it in. I found the first expedition particularly hard going as it detailed where everybody went pretty much every day, and I got lost amongst the place names (and indeed, all the people). However, as the book reached the last expedition, it was definitely more gripping. I felt anger, curiosity, excitement and sadness. Yes, there were heroics on show, but also stupidity and ignorance, and the disregard for the local population from many of those involved, without whom nobody would ever have succeeded, was shocking. It has left me understanding a bit of history I was only vaguely aware of, and for anyone interested in Mount Everest, this would be a must read, despite the heavy going at times ... but then, maybe that's in keeping with the challenge it is describing! 

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 672 print pages.

Price I paid: £3.00

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download, ebook.

Blood Count - suspend your disbelief!

Blood Count by Robert Goddard is a thriller in which the past catches up with surgeon Edward Hammond in an unexpected and dangerous way. Thirteen years ago, he was paid a substantial amount of money to perform a life saving operation on Dragan Gazi, a unsavoury Serbian gangster, who subsequently went on to lead his men in the slaughter of thousands during the Balkan civil wars. But now, with Gazi on trial for war crimes in The Hague, his family blackmail Edward into finding the Italian financier who knows where Gazi's many millions can be found. If Edward doesn't succeed, his ill-advised operation will be exposed and his reputation and career ruined. But Marco Piravani isn't an easy man to find, and so begins a dash across Europe that Edward hopes will give him some kind of redemption. There is so much action in this book that it can leave the reader a little breathless at times. Lots of characters, not always believable ... in fact, mostly unbelievable ... populate the pages to either place, or remove, hurdles in front of our hero - and sometimes, it seems both! There is a hint of a love interest, both regarding Edward's ex-wife and a former lover of Gazi who gave birth to his child, but it is only a hint. The real star of the book is the break-neck chase across the continent ... with Edward hot on the heels of Paravani, and then Gazi's family hot on the heels of Edward. But honestly, this is a totally bonkers plot, but told really well by the author, who has definitely mastered the art of the page-turner. So, park your logic and common sense for the duration and you cannot help but race through this ridiculous romp of a story.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 336 print pages.

Price I paid: £0.50

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Goldfinch - a tour de force!

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, follows the troubled life of Theo Decker, who, at the age of thirteen, survives a bomb attack in a New York museum. The blast kills his mother - although he doesn't know it at the time, as he is trying to comfort a dying man who persuades him to save The Goldfinch (a painting his mother had specifically brought him to the museum to see) and also to deliver his ring to his partner, Hobie. When Theo gets his head around things, he visits Hobie and discovers that a young girl who he'd also spotted in the museum before the blast is now in residence with Hobie. "Pippa" has been badly injured and Theo keeps coming to visit until she is sent to live with relatives. In the meantime, Theo is taken in by the Barbour family - whose son, Andy, is one of Theo's school friends. Eventually, Theo's very absent father turns up and takes him to Las Vegas to live with him and his partner. His father is a gambler and his partner doesn't want to be a mother to this strange child, and Theo is very much left to his own devices until Boris, a wild and exotic boy from school, takes a shine to him and they strike up a loving but very unhealthy friendship involving drugs, alcohol and absenteeism. When Theo's father dies on the run from people he owes a heck of a lot of money to, Theo heads back to New York and throws himself on the mercy of Hobie, who takes him in, with Theo eventually becoming his business partner in the antiques trade. But things sour, and Theo ends up making some very poor life choices, which lead him back to Boris. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014, and a very, very long book, this would usually put me off, but this story is well worth the effort,  even though it does sag at certain times and gets a little rambling towards the end. Full of trauma, longing, disappointment, misunderstandings and drugs, this isn't for everyone and, indeed, is not always an easy read. But there is also a lot of love in this book - even though much of it was on the destructive side. The characters are not easy to like and you can't always believe that Theo could make such poor decisions, but you still end up rooting for him, as well as for Boris, who we know is a very, very bad boy! And what about the fate of painting? Well, The Goldfinch starts as a source of comfort and the one constant in Theo's troubled life, but as he grows up, this all changes ... but to find out how, as well as the impact of this change, you will have to read the book. 

My STAR rating: FIVE. 

Length: 880 print pages.

Price I paid: Free (borrowed from my husband).

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

The Essex Serpent - a story of obsession!

The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry is a novel set in Victorian England and is full of strong, but not always likeable, characters. Cora Seaborne is happy when widowhood means she can finally escape her abusive husband and moves from London to Essex to pursue activities that were barred to her in her married state. With her, are son, Francis, who is a curious and obsessive boy, and her companion, Martha. Both women are strong minded and opinionated and welcome the freedom that the Essex countryside brings them compared to the stifling "society life" they had endured in London. Cora is a keen naturalist as well as a scoffer of superstition and religion, so when she hears of the rumours that the mythical "Essex Serpent" has returned to a coastal parish called Aldwinter, she sets off to "discover" what she believes is a previously unknown species of animal. And it is here she meets the local vicar, William Ransome, who also does not believe the rumours but who is trying to calm his panicky parishioners. Despite them not agreeing on anything, they and their families become firm friends. As strange events and tragedies hurl the area into further unease, Cora and Will develop intense feelings for each other that threaten to tear everything apart. This is a very enjoyable story, with lots of characters besides the two main families who all bring something to the tale - particularly Martha, who has an amazing social conscience and big heart, and the obsessive and driven Dr Luke Garrett, a surgeon whose unrequited love for Cora is almost his ruin. Great dialogue, characters and full of menace and threat, as well as mystical moments, this is a study of how obsession, in all its forms, can make you selfish and self-absorbed, and make you hurt the ones you love without you realising it. I highly recommend this book and almost gave it full marks, but felt that it meandered somewhat and lost a little focus towards the end. Still worth the read and I can totally understand why this has been made into a TV series.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 432 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

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

Mr Loverman - don't waste time

In Mr Loverman, by Bernadine Evaristo, we follow the life of Antiguan born Barrington Walker, who is seventy-four and has lived in Hackney, London since the 1960s. He lives with his wife, Carmel, with whom he has raised two daughters, Donna and Maxine. "Barry" is flamboyant, loves quoting Shakespeare and wearing dapper suits. But his life with Carmel is not a happy one, and one of his daughters barely speaks to him. His wife is convinced he is cheating on her with other women, but she is only half right - yes, he is cheating, but it isn't with other women. Barry is secretly gay and has found comfort over the years from many sources, but, primarily, with his childhood friend Morris, with whom he has had an on-off affair since they were both 14 years old, back in Antigua. Barry keeps threatening to divorce Carmel and go and live with Morris, but always backs out. But things are coming to a head once more and it's time for Barry to come out of the closet once and for all, or risk losing the true love of his life. This is a fantastic read. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, the characters are well rounded and the cracking dialogue throughout is hugely entertaining. You feel for all the characters who have found themselves in an impossible position, and you root for them to make the change so that they can try to live the lives they have always wanted in the time they have left. A story about not wasting your life trying to conform to the expectations of others, this will leave you with a warm glow and wanting more. 

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 240 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

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

The Lessons - Love Hurts

In The Lessons by Naomi Alderman, we follow the life of James, who, from an early age, never seems to fit in anywhere but makes it to Oxford University where he thinks all will be well. But even here, he feels like an outsider and is on the point of leaving when he finds himself, almost by accident, among a circle of intense friends who live together in a house owned by fellow student - the immensely wealthy Mark Winters. Mark is a kind of puppet master, being incredibly generous, fun and loving one minute, but horrifically cruel and destructive the next. Mark moves into the house with his girlfriend Jess (far too good for him!) and becomes embroiled in the life and loves of Mark - helping to pick up the pieces when drink, drugs and dangerous sexual relations, primarily with men, threaten his benefactor's destruction. Life carries on, with more parties than studies, but graduation finally happens and the housemates break up and go their separate ways but not before Mark strings James along, awakening a desire in the latter that is instantly thwarted. But a tragedy pulls them back together, with James falling back under Mark's spell. But can James really help Mark without losing himself completely? This isn't an easy read and some of the characters are hard to like, and maybe unbelievable at times. But as a study of toxic love, it is a masterclass. You want to shout at James when you see how bad Mark is for him ... why oh why does he keep going back for more? But then, occasionally, you realise how damaged Mark is, and what may be lying underneath the self-centred chaos that emanates from every pore. With echoes of Brideshead Revisited, this is a more modern take on doomed relationships amid fabulous wealth! 

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 288 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98.

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