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.

I have been neglecting my beloved blog due to spending more time reviewing books and putting up the reviews on http://www.writing.ie    If you would like to read any of my reviews, please go to ‘Reader Reviews’ and click on General Fiction.  I also have some in non-fiction.  So far I have reviewed:

• Dublin Seven by Frankie Gaffney
• John Behan The Bull of Sheriff Street by Adrian Frazier
• The Footman by A.O’Connor
• Somewhere Inside of Happy by Anna McPartlin
• The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern
• My Best Friend by Elena Ferrante

There are probably a few I have forgotten.  I am thoroughly enjoying the practice of book reviewing.  Following a very informative workshop I attended with Sinead Gleeson, on the art of book reviewing, I know I am still learning and improving with every review.  I prefer to review literary fiction and historical fiction, but I am open to most genres.

So what are you currently reading?  I would also very much like to hear what your book of 2015 was…or maybe you will discover it during November and December?  Anyway I would love to hear.   I think mine has to be ‘The Paying Guests’ by Sarah Waters.  Ironically it was the first book I read in 2015 and it turned out to be the best!

I recently turned on to an Irish channel called TG4 one lunchtime, and discovered they were showing ‘Anne of Green Gables.’  I began watching and was suddenly transported straight back to my childhood.  Incredible.  I feel I want to re-read the books all over again.   Did any of you read the series by L.M Montgomery as a child?   I adored them and watching the TV series I am reminded what  wonderful stories they were.

Anyway, before I sign off this post, I would like to ask you a little favour.  I take full personal responsibility for this – as I have had no time to market this blog, or figure out how to improve the number of followers I have.  However what I notice from my stats, is that people are checking out the blog, but no-one is posting any comments.  Now, I would love some opinions and some feedback.  So, my question is, why aren’t you posting any comments?  What else would you like to read about/see on my blog?  I appreciate that more book discussions in more genres would be useful.  I will also do more articles about authors, latest releases, book awards etc.   I would be most appreciative if you could tell me what would inspire you to read my blog, or comment on it and follow it?  And just in case you think this is great opportunity to throw some abuse at me, don’t waste your time, it’ll just be blocked.  So constructive criticism and useful advice greatly received.  Thank you so much and I wish you, as ever, Happy Reading.

On Tuesday evening I drove the thirty odd kilometres to the Pavillion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire South Dublin, to see and hear Edna O’Brien interviewed by Sinead Gleeson.
It was my mother who first introduced me to the books of Edna O’Brien. Trust my mother to like something banned and risqué I thought, and promptly forgot about it. However, after my mother died, I was in the library one day and happened to see a range of O’Brien’s books on the shelf. Out of a feeling of nostalgia and remembrance to my mother, I borrowed ‘The Country Girls.’

I read ‘The Country Girls’ and in spite of my expectations I thoroughly enjoyed it. However it was her two books of short stories and her memoir ‘Country Girl,’ which I found to be just the most beautiful prose I had ever read. Her attention to detail astonished me, as well as her lyricism. Every word seemed to sing on the page. I was hooked.

To have the opportunity to hear her speak was one I was not going to miss. In her 85th year, she has just completed another novel called ‘The Little Red Chairs’ – I bought a signed copy at the event (she signed the books beforehand.) I will be reading that for pure pleasure over Christmas.

From the moment she began to speak, I was completely captivated and hung on her every word. She still retains a soft Irish brogue and has a beautiful voice. She talked about so many wonderful things, I just so wish I could have recorded it. She discussed the power of literature but said that the words come above and beyond anything else when she writes. She talked about how she adores stimulating conversation, and how, when she recently met the writer Teju Cole (who she admires) and they were having a very stimulating conversation, and after three hours he said: ‘I think I’ll have a gin!’ What I gleaned from this story was that O’Brien was only warming up and could have gone on talking for hours.

She is incredibly smart, witty, and not afraid of sharing her honest opinions on many subjects. What surprised me is how hurt she still feels about the criticism she received from Ireland, not just for ‘The Country Girls,’ which she said was over hyped and ridiculous, but for other books she wrote. She still carries that pain and that made me sad. I wanted to say, ‘forget the begrudgers Edna, the majority of us adore you!’ She has of course been honoured in Ireland, and you could also tell that means a lot to her.

She talked about her love of Joyce and how she agrees with Samuel Beckett, who said of Joyce: ‘He makes the words do the hard work.”
Her love of Joyce is abundantly clear. She credits him with a lot of her inspiration.

She talked of many interesting people she has known, with never a malicious word said about anyone. There was not a sound in the auditorium while she spoke. She received a well-deserved standing ovation. I could have listened to her all night. She is an inspiration and Ireland should be very proud of her.

Perhaps you would rather see the film before reading the book? To me, the book will always come first and I don’t mind knowing the story when I go to see the film.  I will still enjoy the film.  Plus the film is usually not a 100% accurate portrayal of the original story, and I prefer the book every time.  Whatever way around you do it – book then film, film then book or just film or book, I would love to hear your thoughts on Brooklyn.  Here are mine, after a short summing up of the story –

Eilis Lacey has lived in the village of Enniscorthy in County Wexford her whole life. She lives with her widowed mother and her older sister Rose. Her sister Rose is the breadwinner for the family, and there are few prospects for girls in Ireland in the 1950s to have a career. Getting married and having a family are usually the way forward. However Rose has other plans for Eilis, and she, her mother and a well-meaning priest, Father Flood work on a plan for Eilis’s life. Eilis soon discovers that a job and a new life in Brooklyn await. She accepts this with equanimity, although we are to discover that the women in this family never tell each other how they are really feeling and this is the tragedy of this story.

Eilis doesn’t want to go to America, but feels she has no choice but to accept the path laid out for her, Tóibín writes; “She had expected that she would find a job in the town, and then marry someone and give up the job and have children. Now, she felt that she was being singled out for something for which she was not in any way prepared.”

In Brooklyn Eilis is given lodgings with a Mrs Kehoe, along with some other female lodgers. She works on the shop floor of a department store called Bartocci’s. Following an initial period of numbness, followed by a severe case of being homesick, once she realizes the reality of her situation, Eilis settles down to life in Brooklyn and begins studying to become a bookkeeper. After a few months she meets an American called Tony at the local Parish dance organized by Father Flood. Love blossoms and it seems she may have found her happy ever after. However, when she is called back to Ireland following a family tragedy, she must make the ultimate choice between love and duty.

I was a fan of  Colm Tóibín before reading this book, but now I would say I am a super fan! The story will definitely go into my list of favourite reads of all time.  Tóibín portrays the dynamics of family life in Ireland in the fifties with such accuracy and subtlety, that I could almost feel myself there. Eilis respects her mother and sister and behaves accordingly. At times I wanted to scream with frustration that she wouldn’t tell them how she was feeling, and yet I understood how and why she couldn’t. Was the choice she made in America a type of revenge? I don’t believe so. I think it was sincerely done with no thought that she wouldn’t return.

Did she make the right choice? I think it was a choice between the head and the heart, and she made the ultimate sacrifice and went with duty and the head. For me she is a heroine for that reason.

What I loved about this book was how the author shows how place plays such a significant part in our lives. We can live in one place and when we are away from it for a while, it seems like a dream. Eilis states that Tony seems; “part of a dream from which she had woken.” Yet she is emotionally aware that if she returned to Brooklyn, then it would be her life in Enniscorthy that would seem like a dream. It is also a clever working of the plot that it is the nasty Miss Kelly who she worked for in Enniscorthy, before departing for Brooklyn, who discovers her secret and forces her decision.

I found it such a poignant book and found myself crying at several points during the story, sometimes without even realizing there were tears sliding down my face. In particular the author’s description of how it feels to be homesick: “All this came to her like a terrible weight and she felt for a second that she was going to cry. It was as though an ache in her chest was trying to force tears down her cheeks despite her enormous effort to keep them back. She did not give in to whatever it was. She kept thinking, attempting to work out what was causing this new feeling that was like despondency, that was like how she felt when her father died and she watched them closing the coffin, the feeling that he would never see the world again and she would never be able to talk to him again.”

It reminded me, I suppose, of my own journeys back and forth from Zambia to Ireland as a child and teenager. Thank goodness I never had to face a choice like she did. I don’t think I would have had the strength.

October’s Book Club Choice is Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I specifically chose this  book for two reasons.  Firstly, the film version starring Saoirse Ronan is out on 6th November, and secondly, someone recently reminded me what a fantastic novel it is, and I wanted to read it before the film came out.

Described by the New Statesman as ‘tremendously moving and powerful,’ this is a book not to be missed.    The story centres around Eilis Lacey, who moves to Brooklyn from Ireland to find work.  Desperately  homesick and miserable, she struggles to fit in.  Then one night at a dance, she meets someone and everything changes.  But when tragic news calls her back to Ireland, she finds herself facing a terrible choice: between love and happiness in the land where she belongs and the promises she must keep on the far side of the ocean.

Brooklyn is considered one of Toibin’s finest works and is a must read!  I can’t wait to hear your views.  Read it BEFORE you see the film! So here’s your link to get you started and I hope you enjoy it.

Brooklyn   

This is Fiona Neill’s fourth novel and I found it a compelling read. If you are the parent of a teenager, I would imagine this novel could leave you feeling more than a little unsettled, if not down right terrified.

Romy is  a straight A student who hopes to go to medical school.  Her mother Ailsa is the new Head of the school she attends in Norfolk.  The family have all recently relocated from London, but the three children in the family, Luke, the eldest son, Romy, who is 17 and the youngest child Ben have not been given a clear answer as to why they had to move.

Romy soon discovers why, and this changes her relationship with her parents forever.  I can say no more than that for fear of spoilers.  This is one strand of the story.  The main plot however centres around the fallout when Romy becomes caught up in a sex scandal at school.   When new neighbours, the Lovedays move in next door, both families lives become irrevocably entwined. The teenagers from both families become embroiled in secrets, scandals and more, while trying to find their place in the world.

This is a novel predominantly about the choices we make in life and the repercussions of those choices.  How one seemingly small decision can change the direction of your life forever.  It is also about the dangers of social media and the manner in which our lives can become so connected to our social media image, and what is known about us online.

The novel is told from the perspectives of both Ailsa and Romy. This highlights  their individual struggles and their beliefs of how others perceive them, which is usually inaccurate.  The family dynamics are portrayed with razor sharp accuracy and small touches of irony and humour.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  Fiona Neill deals with very complex issues such as sexting, pornography, parental responsibility (where does it begin and end??) and much more.   I thought her characters were authentically portrayed and empathetic, and the dynamic between both parents with each of their three children made for fascinating reading.

I would recommend this book and I am now interested in reading more of Fiona Neill’s work.

I would love to hear your views on this book, particularly if you have ever experienced any online trials by social media, or  perhaps you have teenagers of your own and have a view point.