🎧 Featured Book of the Month ~ Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

Doubleday
2022

Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.

But it's the 1960s, and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her male peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen on her road to professional fulfilment is a run-in with famous colleague Calvin Evans, legend and Nobel nominee. He's also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry.

But life is never predictable and three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother and star of America's best loved cooking show Supper at Six. Her singular approach to cooking - 'take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride' - and empowering message prove revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn't just teaching housewives how to cook, but how to change their lives.

📖 🎧 My Review..

I have to own up to being rather late to the party with this one as it was published last year but with an Audible credit newly arrived in my in-box I decided to listen to the words and haven't been disappointed as it's a wonderfully immersive sort of read.  

Beautifully narrated by Miranda Raison, Elizabeth Zott comes gloriously alive, along with all her single-minded eccentricities, her foibles and her determination to empower women, not just in the work place, but also in the home. Elizabeth’s brilliant analytical brain is overshadowed by the misogynistic attitude of the men working alongside her, as even in the laboratory, Elizabeth, although an exceptionally gifted scientist, is seen as second best and not good enough to be one of the boys. However, it is her meaningful relationship with fellow scientist Calvin Evans which takes Elizabeth Zott's life in a very different direction.

Thanks to skilful storytelling we get to know Elizabeth very well, and whilst at first I wasn’t terribly keen on her, I did start to warm towards her as we gradually get to know her as woman, a scientist, a mother and finally a celebrity hosting a successful TV programme. I found Lessons in Chemistry to be a real breath of fresh air, it’s an interesting read which kept me entertained from start to finish. Elizabeth Zott is funny without meaning to be and her deep bond with 6:30, meaning will become apparent if you read the book, is so endearing that I couldn’t help but come to love her. Elizabeth is definitely one of those characters who stays with you long after the book is finished.

I have no hesitation in making Lessons in Chemistry my Featured Book of the Month for June.

Bonnie Garmus was recently awarded Author of the Year at The British Book Awards 2023

Twitter @bonniegarmus #LessonsinChemistry

@DoubledayUK @TransworldBooks

@Audible

📖 Book Review ~ The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas (Translated by Frank Wynne)

 

Doubleday 
17 June 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

A literary historical novel detailing the horrors faced by institutionalized women in 19th century Paris—soon to be a major film with Amazon Studios.

The Salpetriere Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Madwomen’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.

Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugenie—the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugenie is determined to escape from the asylum—and the bonds of her gender—and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve's help.

📖 My thoughts...

I love the kaleidoscope cover of this book and what strikes me about The Mad Woman's Ball, is that it's a true mix of thoughts and emotions all swirling together in an atmospheric French historical drama.

Setting The Mad Woman's Ball during the latter part of the eighteenth century and, particularly at the Salpêtrière Asylum in Paris introduces us to a different way of life and for those who both live, and work, at the lunatic asylum there are compelling stories to be heard.

When Geneviève, the senior nurse at the Salpêtrière, meets nineteen year old hospital inmate Eugénie Cléry their paths cross in ways they could never have imagined and it is this association together with the connection with the celebrated psychiatrist and neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot which forms the focus of the novel.

Stories of women who were incarcerated in asylums during the fin de siecle highlights the dangerous way that women were all to often moved out of society, especially if their, sometimes, scandalous or unusual behaviour gave cause for concern in a world where to conform and be respectable was the only thing required of them. The latter part of the eighteenth century with its moral and ethical restrictions is vividly described, I enjoyed the gothic feel of the novel and the supernatural elements add an extra frisson of excitement.

I see that it is to be made into a film by Amazon Studios and I think that the cinematic elements of the story will translate really well to the screen. It will be interesting to see how it works out for this talented debut author.

About the Author

A French native, Victoria Mas was raised in the south of France. After studying in California, she got her Master's degree in Literature from the Paris Sorbonne University. The Madwoman's Ball is her debut novel ( Published in France as Le Bal des folles)

Twitter @DoubledayUk  #TheMadWomensBall

📖 Book Review ~ Tall Bones by Anna Bailey

Random House
Transworld
1 April 2021

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes, like most girls her age, that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again.

Abi's disappearance cracks open the façade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi's family, there are questions to be asked - of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father - both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him.

Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones...

📖 My thoughts..

When seventeen year old Abigail Blake goes missing after a party in the woods the small US town of Whistling Creek becomes the focus of scrutiny as old grudges and long time resentments come to the forefront. This is a town with secrets not just between the townspeople and Abi’s friends but also between the dysfunctional members of Abi’s own family who all seem to carry simmering burdens of resentment and none more so than Abi's father, Samuel Blake, a Vietnam veteran, who is fighting his own demons.

Multiple points of view and a flipping forward and back in time make this a story you have to concentrate on. However, the author does a great job of keeping just the right amount of tension, which on occasion feels a little slow, but I think this is all a deliberate ploy to keep alive the placidity of life in Whistling Creek, and as the story continues it becomes impossible not to suspect absolutely everyone of being involved in Abi’s mysterious disappearance. Tall Bones moves with languid ease, there’s nothing rushed about Whistling Creek, no real sense of urgency in tracking down what happened to Abi but there is lots of gossip and sly innuendo which is in itself a dangerous motive for those who could be guilty of a crime. 

This psychological drama takes a close look at the oppressive nature of small town America where hidden in dark corners festering resentment and the dark prejudices of evil are allowed to flourish. Tall Bones is this author’s debut novel and it certainly gets her writing career off to an exciting start.

About the Author

Twitter @annafbailey #Tall Bones

@doubleday

 

Blog Tour ~ V for Victory by Lissa Evans ☼

☼I am thrilled to be hosting a stop on today's Blog Tour ☼

Doubleday
1 September 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book
and to Random Things Tours for my invitation to this blog tour

It's late 1944. Allied victory is on its way, but it's ruddy well dragging its feet. Hitler's rockets are slamming down on London with vicious regularity and it's the coldest winter in living memory. In a large house next to Hampstead Heath, Vera Sedge is just about scraping by, with a household of lodgers to feed, and her young ward Noel (almost fifteen) to clothe and educate. When she witnesses a road accident and finds herself in court, the effects are both unexpectedly marvellous, and potentially deadly, because Vee is not actually the person she’s pretending to be, and neither is Noel. The end of the war won’t just mean peace, but discovery, and not in the way any of them could ever expect. 

What did I think about it..

Vera Sedge maintains an air of respectability in the lodging house on Hampstead Heath where she lives, known only as Mrs Margery Overs, with her fifteen year old ward, Noel and an assortment of paying guests who form this rather eccentric household. Living in London in 1944 is not without its challenges especially as Hitler is determined to wreak havoc on the population by dropping V-2 rockets and Doodlebugs with devastating regularity. 

For those readers who enjoyed Crooked Heart and Old Baggage, it's a chance to catch up with Vee and Noel, and yet it's also the opportunity to learn more about the war effort during this latter stage of WW2 when spirits where at an all time low. Rationing was very much biting hard and it was fascinating to see how Noel, with this culinary skills, made ends meet in his own inimitable style.

In many ways V for Victory is a quiet story about ordinary Londoners living in extraordinary circumstances but which succeeds in capturing the charm and wit of people going about their everyday business. However, what this author does so well is bring a sharp eye for historical detail, especially in the heartbreaking description of the work of the ARP wardens who deal with such devastating human tragedy on a daily basis, and again readers will recognise some characters from Old Baggage albeit several years older.

I've been an avid fan of this set of novels so it comes as no surprise to find that V for Victory is every bit as good as I hoped it would be. It's compassionate, descriptive, feisty and funny, and with a few new surprises thrown in for good measure. I'm not sure if the author intends to continue with this theme but if not,  V for Victory is a fitting ending to this fascinating series of historical novels.

About the Author

Lissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including Their Finest Hour and a Half, longlisted for the Orange (now Women’s) Prize, Small Change for Stuart, shortlisted for many awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Book Awards and Crooked Heart, longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. OLD BAGGAGE was a sell-out Waterstone's Book of the Month; THEIR FINEST HOUR AND A HALF was adapted into a star-studded film with Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy.

Website

Twitter  @LissaKEvans #VforVictory

@DoubledayUK

@RandomTTours

Blog Tour ~ The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks ☼

 

☼ Thrilled to host today's Blog Tour Stop ☼

Doubleday
6 August 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book
and the invitation to be part of this blog tour

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella’s suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella, a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought. Driven to find out more about her sister’s secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya’s relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out.

What did I think about it..

Freya Lyell discovers Byrne Hall whilst she is attending a wedding reception in its stately grounds and despite the house being out of bounds to wedding guests, Freya immediately senses some sort of connection with the hall and its inhabitants. There's a definite sense of foreboding about this novel, as right from the start you get the impression that all is not well at Byrne Hall, and as Freya gets drawn further into the lives of those who live there, so the tension starts to mount. Freya is such a vulnerable character, lost and frightened since the untimely death, five years ago, of her older sister and the connection she feels with Byrne Hall only serves to heighten this vulnerability.

The Whispering House is a creepy character driven novel which reveals its secrets ever so slowly, so slowly in fact that there are times when nothing much seems to happen, and yet the sense of foreboding never really goes away, it's as though even the narrative is holding its breath. There's a distinctly gothic feel to the novel, it's dark and brooding, and even, as one character observes, the house has an evil face, there is no doubt that those who live there guard their secrets close. The story maintains its secretive atmosphere throughout, and there are some genuinely chilling moments, which made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. 

Gothic, gloomy, secretive and dangerous, The Whispering House, is a slow burner of a story which builds to a dramatic conclusion. 

About the Author

Her debut novel CALL OF THE CURLEW was shortlisted for the Waverton Good Reads award. The setting for her new novel, THE WHISPERING HOUSE, is a manor house named Byrne Hall and is inspired by the home of Agatha Christie. It is full of dark corners and old portraits that carry untold stories of their subjects. Elizabeth Brooks lives on the Isle of Man with her husband and children.

Twitter @Manxwriter #TheWhisperingHouse

@Doubledayuk @izzieghaffari

Blog Tour ~ Shelf Life by Livia Franchini

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's Blog Tour stop

Doubleday
29th August 2019

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Random Things Tours for my invitation to be part of the Blog Tour

Ruth is thirty years old. She works as a nurse in a care home and her fiancé has just broken up with her. The only thing she has left of him is their shopping list for the upcoming week. And so she uses that list to tell her story. Starting with six eggs, and working through spaghetti and strawberries, and apples and tea bags, Ruth discovers that her identity has been crafted from the people she serves; her patients, her friends, and, most of all, her partner of ten years. Without him, she needs to find out – with conditioner and single cream and a lot of sugar – who she is when she stands alone.

What did I think about it...

First off it has to be said that I was influenced by the book cover, which I think is especially eye catching, so kudos to the jacket designer, as this is definitely one of those books I would pick up in a book store. 

The premise of the story, which focuses on Ruth's break up with Neil, her fiancé, is devised around a shopping list which is the only thing that remains of their time together. By using the mundane items on the list to tell her story, Ruth's feelings about who she thinks she is and where she wants to go with her life starts to emerge.

I think the author has been quite intuitive in her manipulation of the story, and rather than reveal everything at once, and this become just another story of a bad relationship break up, what actually happens is a dissection of Ruth's life, the good and the bad, both in the past and in the present, until we get to know everything that there is to know about her relationships, not just with her ex-fiancé, who has his own problems, but also Ruth's relationship with her mother, her friends, and work colleagues.

The author's unique writing style makes this into a jigsaw puzzle kind of read where at first the pieces don't seem to fit neatly together but as the story moves along, and as we get to know more about Ruth's troubled life, so we start to piece together the fragments and begin to understand more about why she behaves in the way she does.

Shelf Life is quite a sad story which the author does well to bring it to life in a meaningful way.

About the Author

Livia Franchini is a writer and translator from Tuscany, Italy, whose work has been published in numerous publications and anthologies. She has translated Michael Donaghy, Sam Riviere and James Tiptree Jr. among many others. In 2018, she was one of the inaugural writers-in-residence for the Connecting Emerging Literary Artist project, funded by Creative Europe. She lives in London, where she is completing a PhD in experimental women’s writing at Goldsmiths.

Twitter@livfranchini #ShelfLife

@DoubledayUK

#RandomThingsTours

Review ~ Old Baggage by Lissa Evans

Black Swan
28 December 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

During the eventful years of the suffragette movement, Matilda Simpkin was a fully fledged member of the organisation and has medals to prove it, but in the 1920s Matilda now finds that her life is uneventful. When she discovers something from her past it spurs her into action as she recognises that despite all the suffragette's hard work and the sacrifices they made, things remain largely unchanged, and girls are growing up without ambition. Matilda forms a girls club which she appropriately names the Amazons and sets to work instilling strong values into this group of young women.

It's interesting to see Matilda's character emerge as there are still glimpses of what she was like as a younger woman, idealistic, purposeful and driven by a strong sense of belief in the rights for women. The momentous time she spent as a militant suffragette has, without doubt, shaped her personality and the terrible losses she suffered have made her into the strong character who comes to life so forcibly in this novel. I think in Old Baggage we get to know and understand her so well, her character literally leaps off the page and comes to glorious life.

The eponymous old baggage of the story intrigued me as I wasn't quite sure what this referred to and yet, by the end of the novel I could well see how the term could be interpreted in several ways and was a clever play on Matilda's life and the complications she would always carry with her.

I found much to enjoy in reading this story, it's a charmingly eccentric and old fashioned glimpse into a forgotten world but with a powerful reminder of just what the women of the suffragette movement achieved against all the odds.

About the Author

Lissa's previous novel, Their Finest Hour and a Half was long listed for the Orange Prize and made into a 2017 britflick sensation Their Finest starring Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy. Her last novel, Crooked Heart was longlisted for the Bailey's Prize for Fiction . She lives in London.

Website

Twitter @LissaKEvans #OldBaggage

Amazon UK

🎄Blog Tour ~ Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield

✨Jaffareadstoo is really excited to host today's Once Upon A River Blog Tour stop✨

Doubleday
14 January 2019

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours for my copy of this book and the invitation to the blog tour

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can it be explained by science? An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

My thoughts about Once Upon A River...

Once upon a River starts on a dark midwinter night at The Swan Inn at Radcot, where within its ancient walls, stories linger and grow with the telling, and for all those who sit around the inn’s tables that night, there’s no story ever told as strange as the one that’s about to happen. An injured stranger and the corpse of a tiny child set the whole story in motion.

In Once upon a River the myths and folklore that so often infuse this author's stories come to life in a richly detailed account of interwoven lives, circumstances which blend well together to form a richly suspenseful story and one that I’m not about to spoil by giving any clues as to what happens. The only point I will make is that the story requires slow and careful reading; it’s a hefty story, filled as it is with lots of fascinating detail, so it’s well worth taking your time to allow the story to evolve as gracefully as the tide on which the book turns.

So often during the reading of Once upon a River, I was reminded of a dimly lit fireside and a huddle of bodies keeping close, keeping warm and sheltering from harm, and of those ancient teller of tales, recounting stories which are passed from one generation to another. Reminiscent of the stark beauty of a Grimm’s fairy tale, the darkness of Dickens, the Gothic imagination of Ann Radcliffe, the story weaves and dances along with the tides of the great river Thames, which ebbs and flows, as much a character in the story as the people who call its river bank home.

There are a few authors I get excited about and, without doubt, Diana Setterfield is one such author. There’s no doubt that she is a talented weaver of tales, creating stories so darkly imaginative that time, place, people and circumstances are instantly recognisable and, at the same time, beautifully evocative of times past.

Once upon a River seems to have been a long time coming, but believe me, it’s been well worth the wait.

About the Author

Diane Setterfield’s bestselling novel, The Thirteenth Tale was published in 38 countries, sold more than three million copies, and was made into a television drama scripted by Christopher Hampton, starring Olivia Colman and Vanessa Redgrave. Her second novel was Bellman & Black, and her new novel is Once Upon a River. Born in rural Berkshire, she now lives near Oxford, by the Thames.

Website

Twitter @DianeSetterfie1 #OnceUponARiver #Passthestoryon

@DoubledayUK @TransworldBooks @AlisonBarrow

#RandomThingsTours

Facebook

Blog Tour ~ The Light Between Us by Katie Khan

Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to be hosting today's stop on The Light Between Us Blog Tour

Doubleday
9 August 2018

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours for my invitation to the blog tour and for my copy of the book

Thea and Isaac were once close, but they’ve grown apart.

Thea works tirelessly, convinced that she can prove everyone around her wrong - convinced she can prove that time travel is possible. But when her latest attempt goes awry, she finds herself picking up the phone and calling her old friend.

Isaac is in New York - it’s the middle of the night, but when he sees who’s calling him, he cannot ignore his phone. At Thea’s request, he travels home, determined to help her in her hour of need. But neither of them are prepared for what they will discover when he gets there.

The Light Between Us is a story of second chances and time travel. It begs the dangerous question that we all ask ourselves - what could have been?

My thoughts about it..

I'm rather partial to a story which involves time travel and The Light Between Us is an interesting take on the subject which starts with Thea, a PHd student at Oxford University, trying to discover if her complex research into time travel is going to succeed. Her theory concerning travelling through time needs to be proven, so, when her attempt goes badly wrong, Thea must do everything in her power to make things right.

What then follows is a story about righting wrongs and of Thea's need to prove that, if given a second chance, she can begin to make amends for what has happened in the past. It's also about the power of friendship and I enjoyed the interaction between Thea and her friends, and of course, wanted everything to work out well for Thea and Isaac. Just what happens between them all takes us into the heart of the story. 

The author writes well and controls a complicated plot with a degree of charm which I found fascinating, and there are some lovely light touches which I enjoyed reading. However, there were times within the story when I became a little confused as to what was going on, and had to back track a couple of times to check up on things, but overall, I did enjoy wondering just how the story would eventually play out.

Time travel novels are notoriously difficult to carry off without the whole plot-line seeming overly fantastical and I think that, on the whole, the author has succeeded in making the concept of time travel seem quite believable 😉

The Light Between Us is an entertaining read for a sunny afternoon in the garden.

About the Author

Katie Khan has spent 10 years working in online editorial in the film industry, including 4 years as Head of Digital at Paramount Pictures. She joined Warner Bros. in 2017 to work on a major film production. Her first book, Hold Back the Stars, is being adapted into a film by the producers of Stranger Things.

She is a graduate of the acclaimed Faber Academy writing course. Katie lives in London with her boyfriend and rescue cat Artie.

Twitter @katie_khan #TheLightBetweenUs

@TransworldBooks

#RandomThingsTours

Blog Tour ~ Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's Blog Tour stop for Call of the Curlew

Doubleday
28 June 2018

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours for my copy of the book
and for the invitation to be part of this blog tour

What's the story about...

Virginia Wrathmell has always known she will meet her death on the marsh.

It’s New Year’s Eve 2015 and eighty-six year old Virginia Wrathmell feels like the end is upon her. As she lookout on the dark and desolate marshes that surround the house she’s lived in since she was young, Virginia is overcome with the memories of one winter that have stayed with her since childhood.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1939 and Virginia is eleven, an orphan arriving to meet her new parents at their mysterious house, Salt Winds, on the edge of a vast marsh. War feels far away out here amongst the birds and shifting sands- until the day a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh. The people at Salt Winds are the only ones to see it.

When her adopted father goes missing, and a mysterious stranger arrives in his place, Salt Winds becomes a very dangerous place to be. Virginia’s failure to protect the house’s secrets will leave her spending a lifetime dealing with the aftermath.

What did I think about it...

Call of the Curlew begins at Salt Winds, on New Year’s Eve in 2015, as eighty-six year old Virginia Wrathmell takes stock of her life. Her discovery of a fragile bird’s skull seems to act as a portent and a catalyst for what happens next.

Moving seamlessly between two time frames, the story starts in 1939 when Virginia was first taken to live at the house on the marsh. Adopted by childless couple, Clem and Lorna Wrathmell, Virginia makes her home with them on the edge of Tollbury Marsh in the house known as Salt Winds. The salt marsh around the house is an eerie and disquieting sort of place and Virginia is warned never to go onto the marsh as the shifting sands are potentially lethal.

There’s a strange sort of atmosphere about Salt Winds, which comes not just from its occupants, although, there is no doubt that, Clem and Lorna an odd couple, but it is also in their unusual involvement with their neighbour, Max Deering, which adds an extra and rather creepy dimension to the story. There’s a real sense of uneasiness in the way that Salt Winds seems to enfold everyone in a web of silence and this air of disquiet never really goes away, creeping insidiously throughout the whole of the story like a ghostly wraith.

There's a dark secret at the heart of the novel, a moment fractured in time when the atmosphere in the house stood still and lives were changed on a whim. I was so emotionally connected to the characters by this point that I felt the change quite acutely, and such is the pull of the story that I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had another choice been made.

Beautifully written from start to finish, Call of the Curlew has a wonderfully melancholic air about it which captures the very essence of the place and the people so perfectly that there is never a moment when the story doesn’t come alive. The brooding nature of the marsh nestles alongside that of the house itself which is such an integral part of the plot that Salt Winds becomes a vital and important character in its own right.

There is no doubt that Call of the Curlew is a stunning debut. From the beauty of its evocative cover, to the glory of its content, it is one of those special stories which, as you read, makes time stand still, so that you forget the here and now and escape willingly into the magic of a good story, beautifully told.

About the Author

ELIZABETH BROOKS grew up in Chester, and read Classics at Cambridge. She lives on the Isle of Man with her husband and children. Elizabeth describes herself as a “Brontë nerd”; Call of the Curlew is her homage to the immersive and evocative writing of Charlotte Brontë.

Twitter @ManxWriter #CalloftheCurlew

@DoubledayUK

Blog Tour ~ Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on Meet Me at the Museum Blog Tour

Doubleday
17 May 2018

My thanks to the publishers and Random Things Tours for my invitation to be part of this Blog Tour 

What's it all about..

Sometimes it takes a stranger to really know who you are When Tina Hopgood writes a letter of regret to a man she has never met, she doesn’t expect a reply. When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator, answers it, nor does he. They’re both searching for something, they just don’t know it yet. Anders has lost his wife, along with his hopes and dreams for the future. Tina is trapped in a marriage she doesn’t remember choosing. Slowly their correspondence blossoms as they bare their souls to each other with stories of joy, anguish and discovery. But then Tina’s letters suddenly cease, and Anders is thrown into despair. Can their unexpected friendship survive?

What did I think about it..

This gentle, epistolary novel focuses on the shared experiences of two unlikely people who start a correspondence based on their shared interest in the Tollund Man. Their interest in the Iron Age isn't really what the story is about , although I did find some of the descriptions of Tollund Man quite fascinating, however, it is in the quiet build-up of a relationship between two lonely people where the story finds its heart.

The letters between Tina Hopgood in Bury St Edmunds and museum curator Anders Larsen at the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark gradually expose the loneliness of their lives and their regret at time passing. Their considerate and, almost, rueful recollections of the relationship they each have had with their respective spouses and children, adds a perceptive glimpse into those reminisces which come all too frequently in later life.

There's a real difference in reading a novel which is entirely epistolary as it gives the story a unique ability to get right into the minds of the characters and Meet Me at the Museum, succeeds where perhaps a conventional novel wouldn't, as it allows a unique perspective into the souls of the correspondents in an intimate and inclusive way.

Quietly thoughtful with a sensitive and considerate look at all the vagaries of life, Meet Me At The Museum is a story which is expressed with kindness, gentle humour and an awareness that love can be found, often in the most unlikely of places.

About the Author

ANNE YOUNGSON worked for many years in senior management in the car industry before embarking on a creative career as a writer. She has supported many charities in governance roles, including Chair of the Writers in Prison Network, which provided residencies in prisons for writers. She lives in Oxfordshire and is married with two children and three grandchildren to date. MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM is her debut novel, which is due to be published around the world.

Twitter #MeetMeAtTheMuseum

#RandomThingsTours

Amazon UK

Blog Tour ~ From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on From a Low and Quiet Sea Blog Tour  

Doubleday
22 March 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and to Random Things Tours
for the invitation to be part of this blog tour

From a Low and Quiet Sea is Donal Ryan’s most expansive book to date, partially set in Syria and partially in the familiar territory of rural Ireland.

Farouk’s country has been torn apart by war.

Lampy’s heart has been laid waste by Chloe.

John’s past torments him as he nears his end.

The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home.

Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways.

My thoughts about it...

Beautifully written, with not an ounce of triviality, From A Low and Quiet Sea, is deceptively astute and lays bare the frailty of humanity in its most distinct form. Told in 4 parts, there seems little to connect the story of Farouk, the Syrian refugee, with that of Lampy living in rural Ireland who drives old folk around in his bus, and even less in common with the business man, John, who at the end of his life repents his past sins.

Three men with very different stories to tell, share the remnants of their lives in stark and contrasting stories which highlight their search for meaning and resolution.That their lives are all so very different, adds a subtle poignancy to the eventual coming together of all the loose ends which tether them, irrevocably together.

The author has a wonderful ability to spin a good tale. He is a magical weaver of words, bringing the narrative to life in such a beautifully controlled way, that there is never a word wasted or an emotion unexpressed. Deftly stitching together the whole process of storytelling and instantly connecting with your imagination, the characters come alive and are so sharply drawn they could be etched in glass and linger long after the story is finished.

From a Low and Quiet Sea says all that needs to be said in just 181 pages and even now, after finishing the story, it still gives me goosebumps.

About the Author

Donal Ryan is from Nenagh in County Tipperary. His first three novels, The Spinning Heart, The Thing About December and All We Shall Know, and his short story collection A Slanting of the Sun, have all been published to major acclaim. The Spinning Heart won the Guardian First Book Award, the EU Prize for Literature (Ireland), and Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards; it was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Desmond Elliott Prize, and was recently voted ‘Irish Book of the Decade’. His fourth novel, From a Low and Quiet Sea, will be published in March 2018. A former civil servant, Donal lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. He lives with his wife Anne Marie and their two children just outside Limerick City.

Do follow the other stops on the blog tour

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Review ~ The Ballroom by Anna Hope

Doubleday
Random House UK, Transworld Publishers
February 11 2016

In the long hot summer of 1911, the inmates of Sharston Mental Asylum in Yorkshire swelter in the heat. A touch of breeze and a glimmer of sky are only possible for a few fortunate men who find release in the oblivion of hard manual labour, and yet, just sometimes, a glimpse of swallows in flight reminds them what it is to be human. The women, often subjected to repetitive and monotonous drudgery, have no such escape from the mundane of this desperate world. Closed doors and segregation mark this as a place of hopelessness, a place were neither love nor charity is allowed to flourish.

Doctor Charles Fuller, one of medical officers, struggling to find his own place in the world, uses his love of music to try to get into the psyche of the damaged souls in his care. A weekly dance held in the ornate ballroom is the only time that the men and women are allowed to come together, and in a macabre ritual, the social niceties, whilst not observed in the usual sense, allow the participants a small dream of pleasure. John, Ella and Clem are inmates, incarcerated in Sharston Asylum for very different reasons and yet, though lost, lonely, forgotten and hopelessly subjugated, they find that their lives are irretrievably tangled together.

There is no doubt that the author has done a commendable job in allowing this story to take flight, and by weaving together some factual information with compelling fiction, a strong story emerges. Her extensive research reveals not just the sensitive subject of mental illness in an age when incarceration was the only viable treatment, but it also exposes the shadowy and rather disturbing world of selective eugenics. The characters literally leap off the page and enter into your subconscious. They beguile and mesmerise, they make you both angry and sad and undoubtedly, they make you rant at the injustice of a system which created more far problems than it ever solved. 

By giving a voice to those hopelessly demoralised souls who spent their lives languishing in mental institutions for the simple offense of being different, Anna Hope has written a book of extraordinary compassion and overwhelming beauty.

Best Read with....thick slices of humble pie and restorative gulps of brandy...

About the Author

Anna Hope is a writer and actress. Her first novel, Wake was published, to great acclaim in 2014.

Twitter @Anna_Hope

End Note :

It’s fair to say that most major towns in the UK had a mental institution of some kind. They were those crumbling Victorian edifices, which stood like sentinels, guardians of terrible secrets which were too harrowing to recall. I remember as a child passing the red brick walls of a local asylum and my mother quietly telling me that that's where the sad people lived. And as a nurse working in Leeds in the 1980s, I am familiar with the psychiatric hospital, High Royds, in Menston, on which The Ballroom is based.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

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Review ~ Bryant & May - London's Glory by Christopher Fowler

Doubleday
Penguin Random House
Transworld
5 November 2015

The first-ever collection of Bryant & May stories not only sheds light on eleven classic cases but also contains everything you need to know about the two octogenarian detectives and the Peculiar Crimes Unit.

In every detective’s life there are cases that can’t be discussed, and throughout the Bryant & May novels there have been mentions of some of these such as the Deptford Demon or the Little Italy Whelk Smuggling Scandal.

Now Arthur Bryant has decided to open the files on eleven of these previously unseen investigations that required the collective genius and unique modus operandi of Arthur Bryant and John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit - investigations that range from different times (London during the Great Smog) and a variety of places: a circus freak show, on board a London Tour Bus and even a yacht off the coast of Turkey.

And in addition to these eleven classic cases, readers are also given a privileged look inside the Peculiar Crimes Unit (literally, with a cut away drawing of their offices), a guide to the characters of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and access to the contents of Arthur Bryant’s highly individual library.

My thoughts:

I'm rather a latecomer to the world of Arthur Bryant & John May. So, to have a compendium of short stories in one volume and for that volume to have a perfect introduction, including an illustrated guide to the Old Peculiar Unit and a fascinating Dramatis Personae, is a really good way to begin reading this very popular crime series. There are eleven short stories to enjoy, all are roughly twenty or so pages long, some a little shorter, but always complete in themselves. And, as always, the stories are the perfect showcase for Bryant &May’s own brand of peculiar eccentricity.

I’m not a huge reader of short stories but when I do read them, I want them to be like these, short, succinct, wide-ranging, with a fine eye for detail, and above all entertaining. I enjoyed dipping into the book at whim, and being allowed moments of complete enjoyment as I traversed the streets of London in the company of two men, who, if I’m being perfectly honest, were I to meet them in real life, I would probably cross the street to avoid. However, be that as it may, there is no doubt that Bryant & May exude a certain fascinating charm. Old school gentlemen detectives in a world which has to them, seemingly, gone completely mad. I especially liked Bryant’s wry observation in Bryant & May and the Secret Santa on Strictly Come Dancing’s use of two verbs and an adverb in its, to Bryant , anyway, offending title. It must be said, though, that the book is not without some quite dark moments, there are stories like Bryant & May and The Seven Points which have a distinctly sinister edginess.

There’s no doubt that Bryant & May make me smile, they’re incredibly engaging and in the hands of this hack writer employed by Mr Bryant’s publishers – the author’s words – not mine, I am sure they will continue to enthral readers for some time to come.

Bryant & May London's Glory would make a perfect Christmas gift for any crime reader who likes quirky crime stories.

Best enjoyed with a nice glass of Merlot and maybe a few ginger biscuits.

About the Author

Christopher Fowler is a Londoner born (in Greenwich) and bred. For many years he jointly owned and ran one of the UK’s top film marketing companies.

He is the author of many novels and short story collections, from the urban unease of cult fictions such as Roofworld and Spanky, the horror-pastiche of Hell Train to the much-praised and award-winning Bryant and May series of detective novels - and his two critically acclaimed autobiographies, Paperboy and Film Freak.

He lives in King’s Cross.

Follow Christopher Fowler on Twitter- @Peculiar
Find him on Facebook
Or on his website

My thanks to Sophie Christopher at Transworld for my review copy of this book

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Review ~ The A-Z of You and Me by James Hannah

Doubleday
12th March 2015

A crocheted blanket of memories and a young man lost in the reminiscences of life is the main focus for The A- Z of You and Me. Ivo is dying and is struggling to find any comfort in his memories. When his hospice nurse, Sheila, encourages him to concentrate on the A-Z game and think of stories or memories associated with alphabetical parts of his body, at first this seems a little outlandish, but gradually, piece by jagged piece,  Ivo learns to analyse the story of his life and tries to make sense of those people who have tried to make his life important.

This is a very different view of a difficult subject and the author confronts death and dying in very contemporary style which neither sensationalises nor patronises the journey Ivo has taken. Ivo makes no apology for the life he has led and whilst he is blunt to the point of rudeness, neither wanting nor needing anyone, there is, under the bravado, an aching vulnerability which I found to be quite heartbreaking.

In many ways it’s an emotional read, both sad and funny in equal measure but also quite uplifting about the power of the human spirit and how, in the end, we all need to reach out to each other as we never really know when or how our own journey will end.

Overall, a commendable debut novel from an author who I am sure will continue to go from strength to strength.

My thanks to Transworld / Doubleday Publishers for my review copy and for the chance to take part in their knit a square project which is associated with the publication of this book.



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