Kit De Waal has a big heart.  Big.  You just know this from reading her book.  Only someone with a big heart could write such a beautiful story.

Born in Birmingham to an Irish mother, who was a foster carer, and an African-Caribbean father she also has personal and professional experience of foster care and the adoption system.   This is in evidence in her debut novel ‘My Name is Leon.’

Written in the third person, but from the perspective of the nine-year-old Leon, the novel begins with Leon happily at home with his mother Carol and his baby brother Jake.  Leon has had to grow up fast.  His mother isn’t very good at looking after him and he is left ‘holding the baby’ literally and figuratively speaking.   But he doesn’t mind.  He loves his baby brother Jake.   It soon becomes clear that Carol is entirely incapable of looking after her children.  They are soon taken to live with a foster carer called Maureen. 

All of this would be hard enough for any nine-year-old to deal with, but when Jake is taken away, Leon’s world begins to crumble.  The sections dealing with the separation are heart breaking.

‘Leon uncurls his brother’s fist and kisses it suddenly, Leon’s trousers are too tight and he wants a wee and his legs feel bendy and he’s very angry with Maureen.  He picks up the yellow truck and gives it to Jake and tries to stand still.  Something inside is telling him to run away or to hit the lady but Leon stands still.  Everything goes quiet.’

I was sobbing by this point and the pain for Leon doesn’t end there, as he fails to understand why adults never tell him the truth and why his mother isn’t coming for him, and where has Jake gone?

De Waal is never overly sentimental and the innocence of Leon’s thoughts and feelings bring such emotional intensity to this story.  

We follow Leon’s turbulent life as he is moved yet again to live with Sylvie, Maureen’s sister, when Maureen falls ill.  His life changes when one of the social workers (amusingly called Zebra by Leon because she has stripes in her hair) gives him a BMX bike.  He goes for a ride and comes across an allotment and it is here that he will find the most unlikely friendships in Tufty and Mr Devlin. These two unique characters bring humour to the story.  They also bring another element to the novel about society and how it treats its citizens. As we learn more about them, we learn how complicated the world can be for those who don’t feel they belong.

Although this novel is heart breaking, it is also funny and warm and deliciously enjoyable. 

There is one part in the book where I just couldn’t’ stop laughing.  Leon has a gun which is just a toy, but he thinks it is real.  During a demonstration near his home in London Leon finds himself lost and is desperate for help. So he holds up the gun. Then he sees his friend Tufty and:

‘Leon raises the gun to wave and everyone drops to the floor.’ I found that hilarious, maybe it’s just me, but read in context it is very funny. 

De Waal takes on many serious topics such as racism, class, alcohol and abandonment, but the book never feels heavy going and this is largely due to the wonderfully unique voice of Leon.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  I simply adored it.  It is my book of the year so far.  I think it is going to be a huge best seller, because people will talk about this book and word of mouth will ensure it is widely read.  I am thrilled for the author because it deserves to be. 

The first Sarah Waters book I read was ‘The Paying Guests’ which I absolutely adored and it left me wanting to read more of her work.

Although I thought there was much to admire in this novel, for me, it didn’t reach the standards of ‘The Paying Guests,’ and if I am completely honest, left me slightly disappointed.

Narrated in the third person, five main characters live through the Second World War and their lives intertwine in various ways.  However the author begins at the end, and works backwards, so that we first meet the characters after the war, and as the book progresses, we find out why and how they have become the people they are today. The book jumps from 1947 to 1944 and then 1941.   We are led through the narrative as a puzzle, so my advice would be not to leave the book down for too long, or you will be entirely lost.   I felt it a shame she worked it this way, as it meant by the time you figured out what had happened to them in the past, you had forgotten the beginning of the novel and where they were in the present day. But perhaps that is just me and most readers have a better concentration span!

Where Waters excels is in her character portrayals, which are so vivid and detailed that within a few short chapters of them being introduced, I felt I knew Kay, Viv, Helen, Duncan and Julia, and I was invested in what happened to them.  Helen’s portrayal of jealousy of her lover Julia is uncomfortable in its truthfulness of how we feel when jealous of another: ‘These thoughts raged through her like a darkness in her blood.’

What I really could have done without was the abortion scene (REALLY? have we not had enough grim abortion scenes in novels by now?) and for me there were too many gratuitous sex scenes that added nothing to the plot or the story.  I also felt Duncan’s story was unnecessarily shocking at times.  A bit more subtlety would have worked better for me personally.

The descriptions of the horrors of World War II are powerful and disturbing in equal measure.  As Viv so simply but brutally puts it: ‘We might all be dead tomorrow.’

From the perspective of a wannabe writer, Waters is a genius and her prose is sublime with detail and expression.  I would recommend this book.  It is a fascinating look at London during the blitz, if nothing else. I would also certainly read another of her novels and in fact look forward to her next book.   But if I was to recommend one book by her, it would be ‘The Paying Guests. ‘

So, book lovers, did you read it?  What did you think? Have you read any other Sarah Waters’ novels? If so, which was your favourite?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts, please post your comments.

In other reading news, I have almost finished a novel by Kit De Waal, called ‘My Name is Leon.’  I would have to say it is probably the best book I have read so far this year.  I highly recommend it.  I will be publishing a review on it on http://www.writing.ie tomorrow, which you can find under the tab ‘For Readers’ on the far right of the page, and then go to ‘Book Reviews.’

I recently tidied up one of my bookshelves, and decided to put my books into something resembling order.  When I look at the shelf now, I can actually see the books, they are not all falling over each other and hidden under piles of other books.  The fact that I still have piles of books in my spare room, with no where to put them as yet, is another matter, but for now I can enjoy this bookshelf.

Do you see anything you have read and enjoyed?  Anything you fancy reading?

Some of the books above include (from left to right) Jane Austen The Collected Works, Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader, Dickens, Somerset Maugham (x2) 3 lovely Persephone books and more.

I do have to share that this is only a tiny portion of the books I own.  There are many more!  So I am currently trying to decide between properly made shelves by a carpenter or running down to IKEA.  It’s where to put the shelves, never mind the books that is becoming an issue.  Still, it’s all worth it when you love your books.

At the end of May, I will be reviewing the next book club choice, which is The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.  I hope you will feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on anything you have read on my blog.

Today’s blog post is not a book review, more a series of updates about books, new releases, and writing.

Firstly I apologize for the sporadic nature of both the blog and the monthly book club.  As I am sure you can appreciate, sometimes life throws up complications and jobs to do, and other aspects of your work/life have no choice but to take a back seat.

In my case it was clearing out my late father’s house which has been both physically and mentally exhausting.  However it is done now, and I hope to return to my regular routine of blogging.

I do plan to read the last ‘Monthly Book Club’ choice I posted, which was Sarah Waters ‘The Night Watch.’  So if anyone wishes to read along, you will find a bit about it under the ‘Monthly Book Club’ tab, and I plan to review it in May.

Secondly, I recently received an interesting email from Denny and Lies Velthuizen who told me about a new app they are developing, which they asked me to share with my fellow readers and writers.  I think the easiest thing is to share part of their email and let them explain:

“With the free Storytime app you always have a children’s story at hand. The app contains unique stories and rhymes, written by (grand)parents and writers. You can search for a specific story or topic, stories for boys or girls of a certain age or filter stories by the time you want to spend reading aloud. Some stories even contain fun sound effects to optimize the reading experience.

The Storytime app will soon be launched. Currently, we are looking for people who like to write children’s stories. The Storytime app will offer them a great platform to easily share their stories with others. Writers who submit a story won’t give up any of the copyrights of their story. We would appreciate it if you could share our website www.storytime.info/en and our call to submit stories, with your writing group.”

So if you know of anyone who write children’s stories, or indeed you have children and like to read them stories, this is definitely worth checking out.   Thank you.

What have you been reading lately?  Anything worth sharing?  I am currently reading the Dublin ‘One City One Book’ choice for 2016 which encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year.  The choice for 2016 is ‘Fallen’ by Lia Mills and I am reading it for my third Thursday book club.   I am enjoying it so far and there is a whole range of programmes to go with it.  Find out more here:

http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/

I look forward to hearing what you have been reading, and if you have any suggestions for the next Monthly Book Club choice, please feel free to post them in the comments section.

Keep Reading!

Link to Amazon

Just in case you were in any doubt ( As I have only mentioned it perhaps a few hundred times on this blog!) I am a HUGE fan of this incredible writer.   For me, she stands head and shoulders above so many others.   So I sat down with great anticipation and much excitement to read this novel. I was not disappointed.

The little red chairs in the title represent the 643 children that were killed by snipers and heavy artillery during the siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces.   On the 6th April 2012 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the siege, 11,541 red chairs were laid out in rows along Sarajevo high street to represent those killed.  643 of these were little chairs, to represent the children.

The novel is based loosely on the butcher of Bosnia – Radovan Karadzic.   The story is about a man who arrives in the small fictional Irish town of Cloonoila.  He calls himself Dr Vlad and claims to be a healer/sex therapist and all round good guy.   Slowly, the inhabitants of this small town fall under his spell.   In particular Fidelma who is in a loveless, childless marriage and who longs for a child more than anything else.   When she and Vlad meet, her life will be affected in ways she couldn’t have possibly imagined.  I am not going to say anymore about the story, for fear of spoiling what is a gripping, traumatic and extraordinary read.

Edna O’Brien breaks all the traditional rules of writing and in so doing, creates a masterpiece.  The narrative voice changes often, the tenses change often and the dialogue can last for pages.  Yet every word is perfectly in its place and she can bring a scene to life like no other writer I know.     Here is one such example as we meet some of the characters of this small village in the West of Ireland, who have heard there’s a stranger in town:

‘Desiree was first, a strapping girl in her pink mini-dress, her stout arms bare and a coat over her head, bursting for news. ‘God I could do with a fella, haven’t had a fella for half a year,’ she said, curious to know if the guy was presentable and married or single. Did he wear a ring?  The Muggivan sisters were next, slinking in, in their grey coats and their knitted caps and ordering peppermint cordial….and Mona, alerted by the hilarity, came down from her living quarters, and like any customer sat on one of the high stools and ordered her usual tipple, which was a large port wine with a slice of orange….There was also Plodder policeman, Diarmuid the ex-Schoolmaster and Dante the town punk.”

Following this is a hilarious scene where they all get a bit raucous and argumentative on hearing the stranger is a self proclaimed sex therapist.  My favourite line being:

‘Sweet Jesus,’ the Misses Muggivans said blessing themselves.’

However don’t be fooled, this is not a lighthearted read by any means.  There are some scenes that I found almost too shocking to read.   O’Brien describes life in a small Irish village to perfection, and when the action moves to London, the pace increases as does the intrigue.  Edna O’Brien’s descriptions are just so breathtakingly rich and her prose is unique and beautiful.

The Little Red Chairs reminds us of the horrors or war, the brutality of humans and yet also, and more importantly, the kindness of humans and how it only takes one person to save you.

It is incredible to think that Edna O’Brien is  now in her eighties.  All her worldly wisdom and incredible powers as a writer are alive and well – praise be!

Morvern Callar at Amazon

Being a prolific reader, I was quite surprised that I hadn’t heard of Alan Warner until now.  Particularly as I spent 5 years living in Scotland.  This book was a recommendation for me, as I am currently looking to read some strong first person narrative voices for my own writing project.

There is only one word I can think of for this book – astonishing.

Morvern Callar is a 21-year-old girl who works in a supermarket in a remote Scottish highland sea port.  She comes home to find her boyfriend has killed himself and is lying dead on the kitchen floor.  I know – that would put me off reading most books and when I read the premise I thought – oh no thanks.  But DON’T let that put you off.  The story is told from Morvern’s perspective.  The narrative is steely strong, matter-of-fact and lyrical.  I could no better than to steal Hilary Mantel’s description – it is a stylistic dazzler.

The dialogue is a strange mix of Scottish slang and the rural dialect that hails from that area of Scotland.  Morvern is uneducated, hedonistic, but also incredibly brave and strong.  The two people closest to her are her best friend  Lanna and her foster father Red Hanna.   As the story unfolds Lanna’s almost obsessive fascination with Morvern wakes her up to the truth that Lanna is not to be trusted.   Lanna cannot handle Morvern’s emotional self-sufficiency and the needier she becomes, the more Morvern withdraws.

Morvern’s actions are shocking to the core and yet we understand her need to survive and her search for some level of beauty and meaning in the world.  She describes simple pleasures and a large part of the novel is dedicated to the portrayal of whatever music she is currently listening to on her Walkman, which is essential to her mood.  

A nostalgic trip back through the 80’s give this book an added dimension and the pleasures enjoyed by Morvern and Lanna, although a bit extreme to most of us, bring back memories of youthful holidays in hot climates, when sunbathing and clubbing all night were happiness itself.

The descriptions of the beauty she sees around her when abroad are in deep contrast to the chaos of her own life.  The writing is masterful: “The sun slid up over the mimosas till cloud out at sea started to curl and light fell in masses on the water; the bottom of a cloud bank broke away while a bar of sky was stained pinkish then the purple- like shadows changed into a peach roof above.”

Morvern never states what she is feeling and the narrative is far stronger for it.   Instead we come to know how she is coping through her actions and her perceptions of her every growing world.

This is one of the most unusual books I have ever read and it is going straight into my top ten reads.  I imagine it may be marmite to some, but if you are looking for something wholly different, exquisitely written and viscerally haunting, then buy it now.   A revelation.  

I was leant this book by Yvonne Cullen, with whom I am doing a fabulous ongoing writing and research course entitled ‘From History to Story.’

She recommended this book to me, because part of the novel that I am currently working on (if it comes to pass!) will be set in Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles.’

However ‘The Blue Tango’ is set much earlier in 1952.  There is nothing like a conspiracy theory, on top of a murder, to intrigue the public and send them into a wild frenzy of speculation, gossip and morbid imaginings.

Eoin McNamee allows us to be a fly on the wall during this case of one of the most disturbing and horrific murders to take place in Northern Ireland.   Patricia Curran, a 19 year old from Whiteabbey, was brutally murdered on 13th November 1952.

This brilliant novel takes us through the narrative of those involved, and those affected by the murder in this small community.    Although this is a fictional novel, the case is based on fact and the characters described did exist, making this a fascinating read.

McNamee writes as the all knowing narrator, but although there is much reportage and fact finding, he writes in a uniquely lyrical style.  It is quite unlike any crime fiction novel I have ever read.

The author delves deep inside the insecurities of those investigating the murder, as we read of affairs, alcoholic lives and lives of quiet desperation.

He also portrays the complexities and vulnerabilities in each member of the Curran family; leading us down our own paths of speculation and wonder.

The portrayal of a family in crisis is superbly done. We read of a practically deranged mother, a father who is highly respected, but battling his own demons of gambling, and a brother who is religious in the extreme and trying to convert those he meets. At the centre of it all is Patricia Curran; the victim, who is described as independent and outgoing, kind and sensitive by those who know her well, yet by those who don’t she is considered a slut and an out of control evil marriage wrecker.   The reader is left to make up their own mind.

I found this novel intriguing, engrossing and rich in detail.  The writing is exquisite, and I can completely understand why it was long listed for the Man Booker Prize.

Eoin McNamee was born in Kilkeel, a small fishing town in County Down, Northern Ireland.  His research and descriptions throughout the book are meticulous.   The descriptions of ‘The Glen’ in Whiteabbey, where the Curran family lived are eerie and atmospheric:

“The Glen was not a comfortable house….Doris always felt that there were parts of the house where the sun had never penetrated…..it remained a place of cold parquet floors, unlit corridors.”

This is a dark, enthralling read that gets under your skin.  It makes you want to know more about the case and more about the family.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.  McNamee has also written two follow up novels – The Blue Orchid and Blue is the Night, which standalone as novels, but are connected to The Blue Tango.

I can’t wait to read them!    If you have read this novel or perhaps the whole trilogy, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.  This is the first book on my list I discussed in January.  Only another six to go!

I read and reviewed The Revenant as well.  You can read my thoughts on it at http://www.writing.ie/readers/the-revenant-by-michael-punke/

Two of my father’s favourite writers were Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham.  He encouraged me to read both.  I have read several of Maugham’s books, including ‘Of Human Bondage’ which I loved.  However I had never read any Greene – until now.

I had seen the film of ‘The End of the Affair’ staring Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and when reading the book it was those two actors I pictured as the two main characters Bendrix and Sarah.

For those of you who don’t know the story, it is a doomed love affair between a novelist and the wife of a civil servant.  Set in Clapham during the Second World War, Bendrix meets Sarah, as he is writing a book about a civil servant and wishes to find out more about her husband’s work.  They embark on a passionate affair.   One night while Bendrix and Sarah are together, the house is hit by a bomb.  Although superficially hurt, Bendrix is fine.  Sarah however leaves the house and breaks off relations without explaining why.

Jealousy and hate from Bendrix and Sarah’s tortured faith are the main themes of the book.  But it is their individual relationships with God, which form the basis for much of the dialogue and angst of the story.  Haven’t we all ranted and raved at God at some point in our lives?  Bendrix constantly questions God, he hates him, he doesn’t believe in him.  He says: “I hate you God.  I hate you as though you actually exist.”

Sarah, however, is the one who is constantly questioning her faith.  She is a believer and wants to believe so much, but her faith is tested to the absolute limit. She believes you don’t need to see God to believe in him.  She says to Bendrix: “You needn’t be so scared. Love doesn’t end. Just because we don’t see each other…”

Although I found Bendrix’s narcissism exhausting at times, I found this an astonishing book overall.  I thought Greene’s subtlety during the most dramatic moments was brilliant, while his ability to show the angst of both characters was mesmerizing.

This will definitely make me read more Graham Greene.  Any suggestions which one I should read next?

Funnily enough, having just finished the novel, I was sitting watching an episode of ‘The West Wing’ which I had downloaded from Sky.  I have to confess it has been my guilty  pleasure over the last few months.  It was episode 22 of Season 2, called ‘Two Cathedrals.’  If you haven’t watched it yet and don’t wish to hear some spoilers, I suggest you stop reading now.

Anyway, President Bartlett is about to announce to the world that he has Multiple Sclerosis.  He has lied to the American people and is trying to decide whether to run for a Second Term.  But a few days previously, his secretary Mrs Laningham was killed in a car crash.   After the funeral he stays in the church and rages against God.  He actually quotes Graham Greene and says: “You can’t conceive, nor can I, the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.” Greene.

He then goes back to the office and there is this incredible scene where there is a huge storm and he is having an imaginary chat to Mrs Laningham, before he goes to his press conference.  To add to this they play Dire Straits, ‘Brothers in Arms.’   Honestly I was watching it while a storm raged outside and it was the best bit of television I have seen in a very long time.  Brilliant Stuff!   If you were a fan of the West Wing I highly recommend re-visiting it.     In the meantime happy reading and keep your suggestions coming.