Book on Amazon

I can now fully understand why so many people have urged me to read this novel.  Gail Honeyman has brought to life an eccentric lovable character, who brings to life the themes of loneliness and isolation and forces us to confront them.

Written in the 1^st person we are introduced to Eleanor as she goes about her dull daily life.  Her eccentricity is immediately apparent.  She drinks vodka like water, yet her superiority towards the rest of humanity is at complete odds with the reality of her own life.

Following a chance meeting with a guy from work called Raymond (after they help a gentleman called Sammy, who has collapsed on the pavement) Eleanor finds herself making small changes to her life.  Raymond is gentle and kind, and despite herself, she finds herself accepting invitations to go places.

The heart of this novel is about how humans cope with trauma and loneliness.  Eleanor is seen as different because she doesn’t conform to the rules of beauty, fashion or some social norms. The rest of society doesn’t understand her, and bar the kindness of Raymond, Sammy and a few others, Eleanor would continue to live a tragic and lonely existence.

There are many laugh out loud moments.  My particular favourite was when she had her first make over (make-up etc) and described herself thus:  “‘I look like a small Madagascan primate, or perhaps a North American raccoon,’ I said. ‘It’s charming!’”

As the novel unfolds, we receive clues as to why Eleanor is as she is, and the life she has had. The spectre of ‘Mummy’ lurks in the shadows and Eleanor must deal with a weekly phone call with her mother which is littered with abusive put-downs.

Eleanor is a plucky, incredibly resilient heroine – now one of my favourites in literature.  Her need for human connection is visceral, and my heart ached for her. I cheered her on as she began to emerge from the cocoon of her traumatic life.

This book is a joy to read.  It is beautifully written and heart-warming.  I loved it.

Hailing from Northern Ireland myself, I was looking forward immensely to reading this Man Booker Prize winning novel.  I was a little trepidatious however, having read both glowing reviews and this odd criticism of it being ‘hard going.’  Well the reviews I can now agree with, and the idea of it being hard going, I must disagree with.

In saying that, I understand how it came to be said.  Anna Burns writes in such a unique style, and in my humble opinion, there are moments where the stylistic devises take away from the story itself.  She is fond of the repetition of three, long lists of adjectives, in fact long lists of anything.   There are also no names in the book.  Everyone is called by a title, which I thought added greatly to the humour.

The novel is set in an unnamed town in Northern Ireland, where our 18-year-old female narrator lives with her mother and ‘wee sisters.’  She also has three older sisters who are all married and living nearby.   She goes running with third brother-in-law, and life then takes a strange turn when she is followed by a character by the name of Milkman.

We soon come to know that he is a paramilitary and the novel follows our narrator’s journey, as she tries to deal with the unwanted advances of Milkman, as well as contemplating her current life with ‘maybe-boyfriend.’ All this takes place during the many complications of the Troubles which form the constant dangerous undercurrent of this brilliant novel.

She tells us about the ‘beyond-the-pales;’ anyone who doesn’t fit in or follow the rules of the tribe (there are many of them in the town including herself.)  She also describes the different tribes, ‘the renouncers,’ and the ‘issue women’ who hold power in the town.

Violence is part of everyday life:

“The only time you’d call the police in my area would be if you were going to shoot them.”

There is plenty of humour thoughout, although it is dark humour indeed, but I found myself laughing out loud many times.  There are also plenty of incredibly touching moments throughout the novel, where there is hope that light and love can replace the utter darkness of the time.

The writing is sublime.  It is ironic, black, harsh and yet gentle too.  Honestly it is hard to describe its nuances and cadences.  Just read it and weep at its brilliance.

I adored this book.  There were several lovely moments between the main character and her mother and wee sisters, not to mention her third brother-in-law.

I felt frustrated and yet completely understood how and why our heroine felt powerless to change her situation, always wondering how bad it was going to get.   No spoilers so can’t say anymore than that!

I highly recommend this novel.  I could read it again and I intend to. I will probably get a whole lot more from it the second or third time around.  It is not light reading but oh, (sighs with sheer pleasure) it is so worth it.  Divine.

 

Hello, dear followers.  Yes, I am still here!  I apologize sincerely for the lack of posts in 2018.  Not at all what I had intended.   You see, I was working extremely hard at developing my career in 2018, and this necessitated reading a lot of non-fiction for my work (I am an executive coach and trainer.)   Alas, this left little time for reading fiction.

This year I am going to make time to read fiction.  I intended to read so many books in 2018.  I can’t believe I haven’t yet read Kate Atkinson’s Transcription, or ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,’ by Gail Honeyman, two books I am SO looking forward to reading in 2019.

What I did read at the end of 2018 was The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Jackson.  Not at all my usual reading choice, but my 12 year-old niece could not believe it when I said I hadn’t read them, and promptly leant me all three books and requested my immediate opinion on completion!  I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  A gripping story, excellently told and I did enjoy it much more than I expected.

Over Christmas I read the final installment in Jeffrey Archer’s The Clifton Chronicles.  Once again, this is not my usual type of reading material, but long story short, I was given the 7th novel in the series as a present, so out of sheer stubborness,  I decided to read the other 6 books.  If you are looking for some light reading, it’s a good long family saga and will not tax the brain, but is no less enjoyable.  I thought the writing in the first few books of the series was deplorable, but I think the writing improves as the saga develops, and the 7th is by far my favourite.  It also has a few good twists along the way.

So with great hope, I intend to try and read at least a book a month and post a review every couple of months.    I am starting with this year’s Man Booker Prize Winning novel, ‘Milkman’ by Anna Burns.   As I am from Belfast, this is one I am really looking forward to getting stuck into.  I will report back next month!

Any reading desires for 2019?  Please share thoughts and opinions.   Thank you and I wish you all a Happy New Year.

This year my book reviewing has gone to pot, due to circumstances beyond my control!

Well, actually, whilst I have had to temporarily move out of my home (long story) and have also been busy with work matters, part of the reason I haven’t reviewed as much, is that I am also reading a lot of non fiction.

I have re-discovered the joys of non fiction and I am currently reading ‘A Tribe of Mentors’ by Tim Ferris, which I highly recommend.  It is a hefty book though, so taking me a lot of reading hours to get through.

With regards to fiction, I have discovered that when my routine is turned upside down, so is my reading.  I have been trying to get back into a regular routine of reading fiction, but haven’t as yet been able to do so.   I hope once I am returned to my home and my ‘normal’ routine, and all this house stuff is done and dusted, my reading life will improve!

Anyway, in fiction, I have been reading ‘Good Evening Mrs Craven,’  by Mollie Panter-Downes.   A wonderful book of short stories set during World War II.  Available from Persephone books.

With news of the death of both Philip Roth and Tom Wolfe, my husband is reading ‘Everyman’ by Philip Roth and enjoying it very much.  I am determined to add both authors to my reading list (yes I know….I can’t believe I haven’t read either of them yet.)

I have been meaning to read ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ by Wolfe for so long.   I plan to read it sometime over the next few months and will put a review up here.

If you have read any Roth or Wolfe, what would you recommend?  Would love to hear your thoughts on this, or anything else book related!

Due to the lack of reviews, I thought I would share some books worth a read this summer as recommended by Bill Gates.  This link came via Literary Hub which I read weekly.  A great resource for book lovers.

https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Summer-Books-2018 

Firstly, apologies to my few faithful followers for not posting a book review in ages!

I have been rather busy of late with work matters.

Today’s book won the Irish Winner of the Bord Gáis Novel of the Year 2017.

Bernard MacLaverty hails from Northern Ireland, so my interest was immediately piqued, and having heard great things about him as an author I ran out to buy the book.

The premise is this:  Gerry and Stella are happily married.  They head off on a four week break to Amsterdam.  We see that they are as comfortable together as a pair of old slippers.  Happily married, or so it seems on the surface.

As the novel progresses, we find out that Stella was injured in a bomb blast in Belfast many years previously, and the couple moved to Glasgow.   Stella has a deep spirituality and faith.  Gerry does not.  Gerry likes to drink – a lot.  Stella does not.  And yet, they obviously care for each other deeply.

So what do you do when you begin to question what your life is really all about, and whether the person sharing it with you, understands you at all?   These are just a couple  of issues Stella grapples with as she pounds the pavements of Amsterdam, while Gerry is either sleeping or secretly drinking.

This novel is a masterclass in the art of understated elegance and simplicity.  MacLaverty notices all kinds of details of both objects and personality traits, and describes them with relish. Here Stella dwells on a stone, as she remembers falling in love:

“She was always on the lookout for stones. Only white perfect ones would make her stoop. . . . When they were wet and glistening they seemed special but she knew that when they dried out maybe some yellow or grey would creep into their colour. The perfect ones would end up in a glass bowl on her table. It was their simplicity she found so attractive.”

Gerry is completely oblivious to Stella’s restlessness and ongoing spiritual ‘dark night of the soul.’

As his drinking worsens on the trip, her faith increases, and she visits a group called the Beguines, “a Catholic sisterhood who lived alone as nuns, but without vows.”   She considers joining them, but she is unable to, as they no longer exist in the place she had sought with them.

As she and Gerry are forced to confront the truth about themselves and their relationship, they find themselves stuck in the airport as a snow storm rages around them.  This apt metaphor will bring their feelings, resentments, hurts and fears to the surface, as they decide if they can survive their own storm.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the beautiful prose of this novel.   It’s not action packed, so if you like your books filled with action, then this won’t suit you at all.

However, if you like words, beautiful writing and the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of human relationships, then look no further.

This novel is breathtakingly wonderful.

 

I was interested to read this novel by Georgette Heyer, after listening to the Backlisted Podcast. It is one of my favourite podcasts, where Andy Miller and guests discuss unusual books that are of a bygone era.  The tagline for the podcast is ‘Giving new life to old books.’

Georgette Heyer (1903-1974) wrote forty historical romance novels set during the Regency period (1811-1820.) Venetia and The Grand Sophy appear to be two of her most popular novels.

The novel is written in the third person and begins with the main character Venetia Lanyon enjoying some witty banter with her younger brother Aubrey.  We discover that Aubrey has a slight deformity – a limp, as a result of a disease of the hip joint.  He is an exceptionally intelligent and articulate boy who reads a prolific amount. He and Venetia are very close.

Venetia is mistress of her own home in Yorkshire.  Both parents are dead and she remains at home with the help of Nurse, who has cared for them since they were children.

When their neighbour, the dashing and wicked Lord Damerel returns to Yorkshire, Venetia’s life is set to become a lot more exciting and dangerous.  Venetia already has two suitors and her reputation as a young woman living as mistress of her own home, (seen as scandalous) is always a topic of debate amongst the great and the good of Yorkshire society.  They see it as their duty to get her married off as soon as possible, but Venetia has other ideas.

On the whole, I am not really a fan of reading historical romantic fiction, so it took me awhile to get used to the language of this novel.

However, I was completely in after reading the following scene when Venetia first meets Damerel and he makes a pass at her: (note: she says ‘How splendid!’, in response to him saying he will be staying in Yorkshire for some time.)

‘How splendid!’ said Venetia affably. ‘In general it is a trifle dull here, but that will be quite at an end if you are to remain amongst us!’……’Goodbye!’

‘Oh, not goodbye!’ he protested, ‘I mean to know you better, Miss Lanyon of Undershaw!’

‘To be sure, it does seem a pity you should not, after such a promising start, but life, you know, is full of disappointments, and that, I must warn you, is likely to prove one of them.’

This wit and feistiness from Venetia had me sold.  As the heroine of the story, she is full of zest, joie de vivre and mischief.

I did find the story took too long to get going for my liking.  The first third could have been cut down substantially, but if you bear with it until after the first third, your patience will be rewarded, as it picks up pace significantly after that, and I thoroughly enjoyed the last two thirds of the novel.

One thing I couldn’t help but notice were the similarities with Jane Austen. I’m surprised she wasn’t done for plagiarism!  One of the country houses is called Netherfold (Netherfield in Austen’s P&P!) and the dialogue is incredibly similar.  However, Heyer made no secret of the fact that she was influenced by Austen, so it seems to have been accepted without any problem.

Where Heyer is unique, is in her attention to detail of the Regency era.  She has this down to a fine art, and it’s a fascinating look at the social mores of the era.

I would have loved to have read this book while lying beside a pool or on a beach, where I could have luxuriated in the wonderful language and taken my time to enjoy it.   I felt I didn’t give it the concentration it perhaps deserved.    I would certainly read another Georgette Heyer and may read The Grand Sophy next.    A perfect holiday read – pure escapism!

 

 

 

So, I finally reached the last book on my ‘Reading Gym’ list, although that term never really worked for me.  I still prefer Andy Miller’s term ‘The List of Betterment.’

Anyway, ‘The Ginger Man by J.P.Donleavy is a book I had been meaning to read for some considerable time.  Considered a classic of Irish literature, it was first published in 1955.  Mr Donleavy died last year at the age of 91.   The Ginger Man sold over 45 million copies worldwide and was banned in Ireland until the 1970s.

Apparently, Donleavy said that being a writer is about ‘just catching your unconscious.’

This is an apt and wonderful description of the incredible prose in this novel.  For incredible it is.  Donleavy has taken the rule book and thrown in out the window.  He jumps from third person to first, he jumps from past to present, sometimes mid-sentence.  He writes stream of consciousness. Yet every word is glorious, no word is wasted.  I began marking sentences I liked, but in the end, there were too many.  It is a masterclass of descriptive and comic writing.

Sebastian Dangerfield is a Trininty Law Student who comes from the States.  Married to the long-suffering Marion, they have a young child, and Dangerfield is down on his luck.  All we know he has going for him is his upper-class accent and his background (although this is also left as something of a mystery).  He is a Bon Viveur to the extreme.  No day is complete without a few good malts and a good fry up, perhaps followed with a rumble in the hay with whoever is obliging.  Faithful? Pah – it doesn’t exist in his vocabulary.  He loves with abandon and lust.

The setting of the streets and pubs of Dublin is so evocative and visceral I could almost smell the peat.  Just reading the book gave me a craving for sausages and copious amounts of tea, so vivid are his descriptions of the many breakfasts he is cooked by one of his many women, be it Chris, Miss Frost or his final female companion Mary.  He is more than a rogue and I was definitely not enamoured at all of the violence the character displayed towards women at times.

A lovable rogue?  More like a good for nothing violent, selfish, devil.  Yet why I found myself liking him slightly I couldn’t figure.  Many women hate Dangerfield for his drunken violence, yet to dismiss him as a violent drunk is to look far too simplistically at this character, in my opinion.

He is undoubtedly cruel to his wife and not always kind to the other women he meets, yet he loves and reveres women and is pushed to near breaking point by his circumstances.  People will see what they want to see, but I believe him to be a complex character, who, although he doesn’t deserve one iota of pity, also doesn’t deserve to be written off due to some of his behaviour.

Yet he is a horror of a man who drinks, gambles, fights and womanizes his way through life.  Despite always scrambling for his next penny, he has an unfailing optimism and resilience that sees him though many scrapes and has the women falling for his easy charm.  I think that may be what it is – he makes you believe that there is always hope and the possibility of a better tomorrow.

However, he himself convinces no-one that he will ever change, least of all himself.  He continues with his delusions. Here he reflects on all his passions with a practical attitude:

‘I’m starved for love. Not ordinary love but real love…..’If I got Mary as the maid, Chris as the boarder, Miss Frost as secretary and Marion to run the whole lot, we’d be a great bunch.  Then take my proper place in society, suits overhauled and the rest.  O there’ll be changes made…At least I have rules. And I know society respects a man for his discipline.’

He always believes he can be a good man, get his degree and earn a living, and yet at the slightest thought of hard work he is off to the pub for a swift one.

The humour that runs through the book is dirty and delightful.  Even at the height of his troubles, as the reader, you never doubt that Sebastian Dangerfield will survive. The comic mastery of this novel leaps off the page, and some of the bar brawls had me in stitches in spite of myself.

If you delight in the construction of a well written sentence and vivid description of place, you will love this book.   I found myself completely swept up in the madness and it certainly started January off with a bang!!   I think it is one of those books you just have to read!

So I have finished my List of Betterment started in 2017.  Here is the list of books I read ranked in order of preference.

1. Stoner by John Williams. Still my favourite novel by a long shot.   A subtle beautifully told poignant tale.  Read it and weep.
2. The Ginger Man by J.P.Donleavy. For all the reasons above!
3. Middlemarch by George Elliot. A wonderful saga.
4. Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham. I so enjoyed the style and content of his musings!  One I definitely want to read again.
5. Les Jeux Sont Faits by Sartre. Anything that makes you question the nature of life and death is right up my street!
6. The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.  An intriguing and riotous read!
7. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Mixed feelings about this one.  Don’t remember much about it – never a good sign.
8. Persuasion by Jane Austen. Enjoyable but a bit ‘beige’ for me.  I know – how could I?
9. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. Aaaargh – get an editor for goodness sake!
10. Atomised by Michel Houellebecq – just kill me now! Painful in every way.

So in 2018 I am reading for pleasure.  There are so many books I didn’t get to read last year, because I was ploughing my way through these and others.  This year I want to read Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.   The Break by Marion Keyes.  The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry…..oh and so many more I have piled up and ready to go!  Will try and post reviews as I go.  What are you reading in 2018?  Happy to have recommendations.  I can never have enough choice!  Thank you for following me/reading my post and I hope I may inspire you to read a book or two in 2018! We need to get off social media and back to reading.  Much better for the soul!

I had been looking forward to reading this novel for some considerable time.  I am intrigued by Russian literature and love 19^th century novels.

I had one major issue with this novel.  Its length.  Dear God, where was Tolstoy’s editor?  People had more leisure time and read more then, I get it, and this certainly would have kept you going through the winter, but I found reading it when I was tired was not ideal, and my patience was sorely tested on occasion.

In saying all of that, I can completely see why it is a classic.  The writing is sublime, the descriptions of both fatal events and turning points in the novel are breath taking in their brilliance.  “He stepped down, avoiding any long look at her as one avoids long looks at the sun, but seeing her as one sees the sun, without looking.”

As a writer, Tolstoy was a master.  Of that thee is no doubt.  As an entertaining read, I would say you need a lot of time and a lot of patience.

I can’t even begin to do a resume of the plot, so I will focus on the main characters.  Anna Karenina is a wonderfully complex character who has the misfortune to fall in love with the wrong man – the dashing Vronsky.   Is she a heroine or a tragic figure?  I believe she is a bit of both.  Beautiful, enigmatic and passionate, she is never dull.  Her passions rule her life and her jealousy is her ultimate undoing.   The descriptions of her increasing jealousy were some of my favourite scenes in the book.  Who hasn’t at times become paranoid, fearful and jealous when they are passionately in love? However, the lengths to which she goes, and her increasingly bizarre behaviour as her life spirals out of control, led me to wonder if she had actually gone insane.

I apologize – without having read the book, none of that probably makes any sense.  Suffice to say, she seeks a divorce so she can marry her lover Vronsky, but she is unsuccessful, leading to her being ostracized from society as well as losing custody of her son.  She is a victim of society’s rules in Russia in the late 1800s, but she was well aware of how society works and made the choice to proceed anyway.  In that sense I admired her courage but also felt she had brought her troubles to her own door.   Overall though, I am a sucker for a passionate love affair and certainly understood why she left her husband.

My second favourite character in the book was Levin.  A deep-thinking landowner, who is willing to work his land alongside the peasants in one scene, while holding his own in the highest society in the next.  Levin is a thoughtful, kind, intelligent man and I loved his story, but could have done without the never-ending descriptions of Russian society, and the differences between life in the country and life in the city.

This novel has everything you would expect from a sweeping Russian novel – family betrayals, love affairs, a commentary on society, poverty, wealth, jealousy, politics, life and death.  All the themes are covered.

Overall, I am delighted to have read this novel, but if I was to read it again (which I probably never will) I would read it when I had the time and space to reflect a bit on it.  An ideal holiday read.

So I have come to the final book in my ‘list of betterment.’   It is ‘The Ginger Man’ by J P Donleavy.  An Irish classic.  I will enjoy reading this one over the festive season along with something a bit lighter too.  Happy Christmas and thank you to all of you who have followed and commented on my blog.  It is growing slowly but surely!!