📖 Review ~ This Much Huxley Knows by Gail Aldwin

 

Black Rose Writing
8 July 2021

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

Funny and compassionate, this contemporary novel for adults explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.

📖 My thoughts..

Huxley is an only child, living with his parents in a London suburb, and even though he has friends of his own age, sometimes Huxley is a little bit lonely, so when he meets Leonard, who is also a little bit lonely, the two of them, despite the great disparity in their ages, recognise a kindred spirit. 

Even though Huxley is only seven, it never felt like the dialogue was contrived and all credit to the author for getting Huxley’s voice absolutely spot on. However, I think, what really comes across is that we are viewing Huxley’s world exactly as he is seeing his life and, it must be said that, Huxley sees things differently, he watches, he listens, and whilst he doesn’t always have it right, and sometimes gets the wrong idea altogether, especially about what people have actually said, there is a sense of a wisdom to his observations which made me smile. I especially loved Huxley’s quirky way of putting words together and found myself nodding my head whenever he came up with something different to say.  

There are some important elements to the story, especially about loneliness, about finding your place when you’re a little bit different, about bullying, about prejudice and misunderstanding, but what also comes across is the need for us to try to be kinder to each other, and Huxley, in his special way, speaks sense, he knows much, and shows how important it is to listen and not be judgemental.

Funny, poignant, compassionate and beautifully written, This Much Huxley Knows is a joy to read from start to finish.

About the Author

Novelist, poet and scriptwriter, Gail Aldwin’s debut coming-of-age novel The String Games was a finalist in The People’s Book Prize and the DLF Writing Prize 2020. Following a stint as a university lecturer, Gail’s children’s picture book Pandemonium was published. Gail loves to appear at national and international literary and fringe festivals. Prior to Covid-19, she volunteered at Bidibidi in Uganda, the second largest refugee settlement in the world. When she’s not gallivanting around, Gail writes at her home overlooking water meadows in Dorset.

Gail, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter @gailaldwin

Website

Facebook

☼Summer Picnic with Jaffareadstoo ~ Gail Aldwin

☼ Jaffareadstoo is delighted to welcome you all to our Summer Picnic ☼

Summertime is here 

☼

☼ I'm delighted to welcome author Gail Aldwin to our Summer picnic ☼

☼What favourite foods are you bringing to our summer picnic?

I love a scotch egg and a bit of quiche. Tomatoes and chunks of cucumber are compulsory. A slice of cake goes down well for afters.

☼What would you like to drink? We have white wine spritzers, locally brewed beer, traditional Pimms, sparkling elderflower cordial, or a thermos of tea or coffee.

Alcohol at lunchtime sends me to sleep so I better stick with a cup of tea, Earl Grey if you have it.

☼Where shall we sit, by the pool, in the garden, in the countryside or somewhere hot?

I do love a stomp through fields to find a picnic spot under the shade of a tree. The weather has to be warm or what’s the point?

☼Do we have a wicker hamper, tablecloth and cutlery, or is everything in a supermarket carrier bag?

I’ll put the grub in my backpack and I’ll make sure we have ceramic mugs for the tea. I’ll carry the collapsible chairs, too.

☼Do you have a favourite place to have a summer picnic?

Anywhere off the beaten track suits me.

☼Which of your literary heroes (alive or dead) are joining us on the picnic today?

As I’ve been reading lots of novels with child narrators, I think I’ll bring one of them along. Children love picnics. I wonder what eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku from Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English would make of this very British tradition? Being a new arrival from Ghana, I’m sure he’d have something to say about it!

☼Which summer read are you bringing with you today?

If only I could get a copy of The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan before its released in August. I spent the spring in Edinburgh and lived just around the corner from the Botanic, so I’m dying to read this novel.

Hodder&Stoughton
August 2021

☼What is your earliest summer memory?

Paddling in the sea. My older sister was daring, she launched herself into the water and had to be rescued!

☼Do you have a summer music playlist? And if so will you share with us a favourite song or piece of music that makes you feel happy?

This is a dreadful admission, but I rarely listen to music. I prefer the company of spoken voices to song. My favourite summer song relates to a carefree time in my twenties – it’s got to be Loveshack by the B52s.

☼Do you find that your reading tastes differ between winter and summer?

I always have a huge TBR pile, and I try to read books according to the date they are acquired. Some end up jumping the queue but I’ll enjoy a good novel whatever the season.

☼Do you find it easier to write in the summer months or during the winter?

I’m a focused writer so summer or winter makes no difference to my writing schedule. I do like to write about summer in the summer and winter in the winter. I find it challenging to write out of the season I’m experiencing.

☼What can you tell us about your current book or WIP?

My second contemporary novel for adults was released in early July 2021. This Much Huxley Knows uses a seven-year-old narrator to shine a light on adult experiences. It was a joy to write and re-experience the joys, thrills, dangers and surprises of childhood. But now Huxley is out in the world, I’m working on a new novel. This time I’ve turned to crime fiction and I’m writing a dual timeline novel. Following redundancy in 2010, menopausal journalist Stephanie Brett investigates the earlier disappearance of a teenage, west country girl in a cold case podcast. Through the 1978 storyline, Carolyn Forster tells her own story of infatuation and exploitation.

Gail, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter handle: Twitter: https://twitter.com/gailaldwin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gailaldwinwriter/

Blog: https://gailaldwin.com

About This Much Huxley Knows

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

Funny and compassionate, this contemporary novel for adults explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.

‘Read this and feel young again’ ­– Joe Siple, author of The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

‘Moving and ultimately upbeat’ – Christopher Wakling, author of What I Did

‘A joyous novel with the wonderfully exuberant character of Huxley’ – Sara Gethin, author of Not Thomas

Pre-order links

AmazonUS, AmazonUK, Barnes and Noble, HiveUK, Book Depository

About Gail Aldwin

Novelist, poet and scriptwriter, Gail Aldwin’s debut coming-of-age novel The String Games was a finalist in The People’s Book Prize and the DLF Writing Prize 2020. Following a stint as a university lecturer, Gail’s children’s picture book Pandemonium was published. Gail loves to appear at national and international literary and fringe festivals. Prior to Covid-19, she volunteered at Bidibidi in Uganda, the second largest refugee settlement in the world. When she’s not gallivanting around, Gail writes at her home overlooking water meadows in Dorset.

Gail, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter @gailaldwin

Website

Facebook

Thank you for sharing your picnic with us today.

Follow on Twitter 

#SummerPicnicWithJaffareadstoo

🌠

Author Spotlight ~ Gail Aldwin

It is with great pleasure that I introduce the author in my spotlight

Gail Aldwin

Hi Gail, welcome to Jaffareadstoo and thank you for spending time with us today..

I’m delighted to join you on Jaffa Reads Too. My name is Gail Aldwin and I am the author of Paisley Shirt a collection of short fiction. In April, I was delighted to find Paisley Shirt had been longlisted in the Best Short Story category of the Saboteur Awards. These annual awards are designed to highlight small-scale literature so I’m delighted my collection has achieved this recognition. Although working on a collection involves considerable independent work, today I’d like to share with you my experience of working collaboratively.

Although writing is perceived to be an isolated occupation, writers frequently seek collaborative support from others through membership of writing groups. Here stories are shared and critiqued to support redrafting. Some writers have critique partners who exchange manuscripts for feedback and comment. There are also online possibilities to find beta readers to support the development of writing. While these are examples of how collaboration can support the individual writer, I’ve gone a step further and have sought to work with others on co-written projects.

I’m part of a collaboration working on a 90-minute screenplay called The F Word. This tells the story of a woman who takes her friends on a foraging experience to celebrate her fiftieth birthday. You can imagine things don’t work out as the birthday girl expects with all sorts of shenanigans taking place. In working on this script alongside four other women writers, I have learnt so much about different approaches to writing. We had to do a lot of work on the backstories of the characters in order to be competent at writing in a consistent voice. Likewise, detailed plotting was necessary to ensure no one veered from the agreed story line when it came to divvying up the writing tasks. So, although sections of the screenplay are written individually, the product is developed through collaboration. 

As an offspring from the screenwriting group, three of us started a collaborative group working on comedy shorts. I am the least experienced in writing comedy and I learnt so much from my partners in how to set up humour. We have enjoyed success with Killer Ladybugs, a short play which applies Trump’s America-First policies to a loveliness of ladybirds. Cast Iron Acts in Brighton staged this last year. We continue to work together to develop sufficient material for a short play night. We are lucky in Dorset to have organisations willing to support emerging writers so we are confident this will happen at some point in the future.

In terms of Paisley Shirt my collection of short fiction published by Chapeltown Books, it has been in the promotion and marketing of this book that collaboration occurs. As Chapeltown Books is a small, independent publisher there is an expectation that authors will help to sell the books. Through a closed group on Facebook, I am in contact with other Chapeltown authors where we share tips and advice for marketing our work. There are currently eight collections in the series of ‘little square books’ which all have the same border design and title font but different cover images. It is great to have Paisley Shirt in the company of other collections including the vividly written Brightly Coloured Horses by Mandy Huggins and Potpourri’s glimpses of life by Anusha VR. Other collections such as Badlands by Alyson Faye send terror shooting through the veins and From Light to Dark and Back Again by Allison Symes has you absorbed. But, if you’re interested in a life affirming collection of short fiction, Paisley Shirt is the book for you. It contains twenty-seven fascinating stories that reveal the extraordinary nature of people and places.

Twitter  @gailaldwin

Facebook 

Blog

Gail’s new collection of short fiction Paisley Shirt is available here or you can order it from any good bookshop.

My thanks to Gail for being the author in my spotlight today. It's been great to share this fascinating guest post.

To find out more about Gail please visit her blog or connect on social media.

Review ~ Paisley Shirt by Gail Aldwin

Chapeltown Books
February 2018
(56pages)

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

I'm not overly familiar with the concept of Flash Fiction. I see it mentioned from time to time but have never really been tempted to go further and see what it's all about, so when approached by the author of Paisley Shirt to read her book of Flash Fiction stories, I was intrigued to find out more.

Paisley Shirt is an eclectic collection of 27 short stories, some longer than others, and one a little more than a list, but collectively they are all beautifully expressed and are self-contained within themselves so that there is nothing superfluous about their content.

There's a lyrical quality to the stories which drew my eye and took me by surprise as it allowed my senses, so often jaded by reading too much, to gently search each story for its hidden meaning.  That there can be so much hidden meaning in a story of just a couple of hundred words, or on some occasion less, reiterated the concept that less is more and that emotional expression doesn't always require huge meanderings of prose.

I have some personal favourites amongst the 27, one in particular, Stone is a story so poignant in its simplicity, and which took up less than 100 words, and yet, it expressed love so eloquently that it quite took my breath away. Others made me smile by their twist in the tale and Restaurant is a fine example of this, I loved the final dénouement.  And one story, Accidental Brother, made me so sad that I had to go back and re-read it.

Paisley Shirt is a small book which packs a real punch and reading through the cleverly observed stories has definitely given me a real insight into world of Flash Fiction. I understand now that good story telling is not merely restricted to the full size novel and that so much can be expressed and observed in just a few short words.

About the Author

Gail Aldwin is a prize winning writer of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. There is a novel incubating. It is Gail's long ambition to become fluent in Spanish. She may one day escape to Guatemala to make this happen.

Amazon UK