Review - Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Doubleday
November 2012

Sweet Tooth

By 

Ian McEwan

Following her time at Cambridge University and after a brief affair with an older tutor, Serena Frome is groomed for the intelligence services, however, Britain in 1972 remains a closed bastion of male supremacy, and women in MI5 are still treated as little more than glorified secretaries. When Serena is recruited to the aptly named Sweet Tooth mission, the story takes on an altogether more complicated rhythm and as the seeds of deceit and disillusionment are sown, the intelligence of the narrative starts to emerge.

Overall, the story is well thought out, the characters are believable, and although at times I was irritated by Serena, I think she was representative of educated women of the time, who frustrated by the lack of advancement endeavoured to discover the world for themselves, without really knowing what they were striving to achieve. The rather lost and forlorn feel of England in the 1970’s, with the decline of the Cold War and Britain’s struggle under an avalanche of unrest, is eerily accurate.

There have been times when I have been profoundly disappointed by McEwan’s novels, but I'm relieved to note that Sweet Tooth is back on track. I read the book quickly, which is a first for me, as I sometimes find McKewan’s books a little over complicated to read with ease, but Sweet Tooth engaged my interest from the start and soon became a real page turner. 

 5*****


My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for a review copy.

Friday Recommended...

The Island House

 by 

Posie Graeme Evans

Hodder & Stoughton (2 Aug 2012)

Mystical Pictish Gods combined with the power and superstition of ancient Christianity and the ruthless power of the Vikings, all merge together in this fascinating and compelling dual time historical novel. Freya Dane is the modern day protagonist who after her father’s tragic death inherits the Scottish island of Findnar. In order to complete her PhD in archaeology, Freya must make sense of her father’s handwritten notes about the history of the island he once called home. But the island is steeped in mystery and has its own terrible story to tell, and all too soon Freya is aware that ancient forces are challenging her to put right a terrible wrong.

Without doubt this is one of the best dual time books I have read in a long time. The author has managed to convey time and place quite beautifully so that neither time period outshines the other, and the air of menace which lingers in the air is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The characters both ancient and modern are vibrant and compelling and the added power of ancient superstition resonating across centuries forms a stunningly good story.

In The Island House,Posie Graeme Evans has conjured the ancient world in such a way that long after the book is finished the story lingers in the shadows of your mind, and as the sea breeze blows in your hair and the sound of sea birds float on the wind, the island house still resonates with echoes of the past.

If I could give it more than five stars, I would.

Guest Author - Mhairi McFarlane

It is my pleasure to introduce 

Mhairi McFarlane

Photo Courtesy of the author

Author of

You Had Me At Hello

 Avon (6 Dec 2012)

Mhairi has kindly taken the time to tell us all about her life as a writer.

Welcome Mhairi to Jaffareadstoo.

What inspired you to become an author?

I love writing, and it's the only thing I can do to any vague standard of competence. Seriously. I'm omni-useless. But I don't think unless you're frighteningly posh and confident and Oxbridgey that you graduate with an idea you can write fiction for living though. (And even if I had tried to, you probably need a bit of life under your belt and practice before you'd produce anything half-decent anyway.) So I went into local papers instead. I have a theory that feature writing is the most amazing flat-pack starter kit for fiction - you get the main characters and quotes supplied, and the setting, you choose the description, select the best bits of dialogue, add the colour and the mood. (Does all this sound luvvie? I am really worried about sounding luvvie, especially with only one book under my belt.)

Fast forward to me turning 30, working at local paper in Nottingham, fairly sure I didn't want to make the leap to nationals, and being asked to write Bridget Jones' Diary style copy for an advertising supplement. A little light came on somewhere that said: 'Ooh this is a fresh challenge, and a really, really fun one at that.' Not long after, I went on a holiday to New York, and waving a chick lit at my brother in Heathrow I said: 'I could write one of these!' and he said: 'Prove it.' You do need that person to set you the test, I think. Otherwise, it just stays something you say every time people talk 'dream jobs' in the pub.

 


Where did you get the inspiration for You Had Me At Hello? 

Various places - I had the best time at Manchester University, so the book's a love letter to those years. Like Rachel, I had a very good male friend from London on my degree course, who made me laugh a lot - the passage about trying to scam out of revising Old English using past papers is taken from real life (I should stress there was no romance in our case though!) I knew I wanted to write a contemporary romance and one morning, thinking about getting in touch with a friend, I thought: 'Imagine how incredibly poignant and vivid a lost love from those years would be, given how poignant and vivid uni memories are anyway.' And it went from there.

By the way, when people ask 'where do you get your ideas from?' top tip: lying in bed when you should be getting up, spending too long in the bath and generally gazing out of rain-spattered windows is highly underrated. Obviously actual productivity needs to kick in at some point...



Do you write stories for yourself, or other people? 

That's a very good question. Both! Is the annoying answer. I write first and foremost to please myself. I try to find a story that makes me laugh, or feel romantic, or sad, create characters I love (or want to boo-hiss.) There's a truism that you have to please yourself first and I heartily agree, it's the only reliable yardstick of quality you really have. If you don't believe in it, why should anyone else? Also, on a practical level, how the hell do you power through 100 thousand words of something you're not in love with? It's interesting - you know how there's sometimes debate about badly-written or dubious novels that are huge hits? There are some bestsellers that might not make the mark as great prose, but I've yet to find the one where the author wasn't writing with enthusiastic conviction and smitten with their story. (No contradictions please! I've warmed to this theory..) Enthusiasm translates. 

But, obviously, it's not as if you can write without an audience in mind. I think the journalist is too hardwired into me, not to do that. I have trusted friends, and my brother, who give me the earliest feedback. If I convince them and make them laugh, I take it as being broadly on the right track.



Do you have a special place to do your writing? 


Hah, only my shamefully messy attic! As well as the necessary desk and Mac, it features a giant bubblegum-pink glass lamp from Ikea, a cartoon from my old paper of me getting kicked up the arse by the Jolly Fisherman in Skegness (long story) and a LOT of junk. I'm so going to have to get a set dressing pot plant and do a frantic tidy up if I ever get in one of those My Study, Where I Produce My Magnificent Art features. It's usually women in Hampstead with French windows opening onto a herb garden, heirloom furniture and solid-silver picture framed pictures of their beautiful family isn't it? *looks balefully at Viz calendar, fluffy cat rolling in the dust* 

Can you share with us your next writing project?


It's another funny romance (or hopefully funny) with Avon which comes out in December 2013. It's about a Greek woman in London who's had the absolute worst time at school, the roly-poly geek bullied to hell, and grown up to be successful and attractive. And then meets one of the old enemies, the school heartthrob (that word sounds very 1955 now doesn't it! What else do you say? Hero of the football field is vaguely American, somehow?) at a reunion. And at first they hate each other, but....shenanigans and lols and heartbreak and catharsis. And a grumpy grey pedigree cat called Luther, inspired by own dim feline, Mr Miffy.

If You Had Me At Hello was a pop culture take on the Persuasion plot, this is Pride & Prejudice. Not that I'm comparing myself to Jane Austen directly, as obviously I'd come off pretty badly.



And finally for fun..



What books are on your bedside table?


Ooh bloody hells *rifles around to check* David Simon's Homicide! Hah, how un chick lit! I read it ages ago but loved it and need to post it back to my dad. More appropriately for my genre: JoJo Moyes 'Me Before You', as I follow her on Twitter and heard her books are great, only just started it. Lisa Jewell 'After The Party' which a friend lent me, I love Lisa Jewell (my favourite: 'Vince & Joy'). And the proof copy of my book. It's possible when I first got the proof copies in, I took one to the pub with me, because I couldn't stop gazing at it, as if it was my newborn. DID I SERIOUSLY ADMIT TO THAT? It seems I did.

Thank you and good night.

Mhairi - thanks so much for spending time with us - it's been great fun !

We wish you continued success in your writing career.

You Had Me At Hello is now available in paperback

and also as an eBook

Enter this giveaway to win a paperback copy of You Had Me At Hello (UK only) - Closes 7th December 2012

Wishlist Wednesday...

I am delighted to be part of wishlist Wednesday which is hosted by Dani at pen to paper

The idea is to post about one book each week that has been on your wishlist for some time, or maybe just added.

So what do you need to do to join in?

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.

The Queen's Promise 

by 

Lyn Andrews

Headline September 2012

From Goodreads

From the best selling author Lyn Andrews comes a compelling historical epic set at the endlessly fascinating Tudor court about the most infamous woman of the age - Anne Boleyn - and the man who loved her before she became queen. From the moment Henry Percy, the future Earl of Northumberland, first glimpses the beautiful Anne Boleyn he is captivated and quickly proposes marriage. Anne has been taught to use her charms to her advantage and to secure her family's position of power at court. She sees that Henry Percy's affection is sincere and agrees to marry him. But a match of the heart has no place in a world where marriage is a political manoeuvre. Torn apart, the lovers are exiled to separate ends of the kingdom. For Henry a lifetime of duty awaits, while he remains true to the only woman he will ever love. But he is not the only man to be bewitched by Anne. And when King Henry VIII determines to make her his queen, the course of history is changed for ever.

My fascination with the enigmatic Anne Boleyn began when as an impressionable eleven year old I watched the film Anne of the Thousand Days . For me there is always the ever present conundrum of, what if Anne had married Henry Percy?

Most certainly the course of British History would have been forever altered, but whatever would romantic historians have written about in the 20th and 21st century ?

Guest Author - Annemarie Neary

It is with great pleasure I introduce 

Annemarie Neary

Photo courtesy of the author

Author of

A Parachute in the Lime Tree

Published by The History Press Ireland
2012

Synopsis

April 1941. German bombers are in the air, about to attack Belfast 

Oskar is a Luftwaffe conscript whose sweetheart, Elsa, was forced to flee Berlin for Ireland two years before.War weary, he longs for escape.

In remote Dunkerin, Kitty awakes to find a parachute trapped in one of the lime trees. When she discovers Oskar, injured and foraging for food in her kitchen, he becomes a rare and exciting secret.

But Ireland during the ‘Emergency’ is an uneasy place, and word of the parachute soon spreads.

Meanwhile Elsa is haunted by the plight of the parents she left behind. With the threat of Nazi invasion, she feels far from secure.

A chance encounter with Elsa, and Charlie, a young medical student, finds himself falling in love.

Oskar, Kitty, Elsa and Charlie. Their lives intertwine in a climate of war, exile and ever-uncertain neutrality.

Annemarie welcome to jaffareadstoo ...

What inspired you to become an author? 

I always wrote a bit but only started taking it seriously about 4 years ago. Now, I can’t imagine not writing – I'm obsessed with it. I don’t really see myself as an author. Somehow, that seems too big a word for what I do.

Where did you get the inspiration for A Parachute in the Lime Tree?

I grew up in Ireland and it always seemed to me that we were at the edge of things. Ireland was neutral during the war and that sense of being on the periphery is fertile territory for fiction. All my stories start with a ‘what if?’ In this case, what if a man fell from the sky?

 

What comes first the plot, or the people?

For me, the people come first (or perhaps, the dilemma). The plot emerges by pulling coherent strands out of a large mass of material once the initial splurging has taken place. 

Where did your research for the book take you?

I read a huge amount about the period, most of which I never even used. I also spent at lot of time in the newspaper library – photos and small ads are so illuminating. I corresponded with various people, both on and offline (a former Luftwaffe crew member, the widow of a German internee in Ireland, people who just lived in Ireland during that time.)

Do you have a special place to do your writing?

I work at home most of the time – at a desk overlooking Clapham Common. That means red buses, dog-walkers, and the thump of footballs. I work in the London Library too because sometimes it’s best just to turn your head to the wall.

Can you share with us your next writing project?

I have finished a second novel, working title Siren. I hope to send it out on submission very soon. I have also got enough stories for a Venice collection and I'm developing ideas for a couple more. I love writing short stories, but each one takes a huge amount of work as I do a lot of re-writing. I'm roughly 35,000 words into third novel. I haven’t looked at it for several months, so I hope it’s still bubbling away inside somewhere.

And finally for fun.. 

What books are on your bedside table? 

I have an awful lot of books on my bedside table that I never seem to get to. My husband sleeps like a cat, 

so it’s hard to read in bed without waking him. However, these are the books at the top of my pile 

The Truth Commissioner by David Park, 

The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman, 

The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy, 

The Lighthouse by Alison Moore 

The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift. 

Annemarie , thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions and for giving such a fascinating insight into the writing of your book A Parachute in the Lime Tree.

Jaffa and I wish you continued success with your writing.

Find out more about Annemarie on her website

My review 

Review - The Land Beyond Goodbye by Barbara Scott Emmett

Kindle Edition, 244 pages
Published June 23rd 2011 by Pentalpha Publishing Edinburgh

Book Blurb from Goodreads

1987. The morning after the Great Storm. A letter drops through the door of Jess Whitelaw's London flat and sets her on a journey through the Australian Outback and her own damaged psyche.

In the heat and dust of the Northern Territory, Jess’s protective armour is chipped away as painful truths are revealed. Tension builds like thunderheads heralding the start of the Wet.

My thoughts

The wild and often cruel landscape of the Australian outback is expertly captured in The Land Beyond Goodbye. From the beginning of the story it is obvious that the author has an affinity with this untamed landscape and uses this knowledge to bring together a skilful and at times spiritually moving story of one woman’s gradual awakening into what is significant and meaningful in her life. Interestingly, the story is not as it first appears, I expected a love story, but what I got was a multi-layered and quite intricate narrative, which blended mystery, mysticism and complexity to really good effect. At times the quirkiness of the characterisation left me a little bit unsure, as some of the main protagonists are not easily likeable, however as the story progresses and the characters start to blend together, the story then becomes a detailed and perceptive look at human nature.

5*****

This is is my first book by Barbara Scott Emmett and as I enjoyed it so much I am sure I will be looking out for more of her work in the future.

Guest Author - Tracey Sinclair

It gives me great pleasure to welcome back the author Tracey Sinclair who very kindly gives us a fascinating insight into writing her latest short story.

A Vampire walks into a Bar

 Photo courtesy of the author

The problem with being a writer is that the characters you write about never really leave you alone. (OK, there are actually loads of problems with being a writer, including your friends thinking you spend all day in your PJs eating biscuits – OK, that’s quite often true – your mum thinking you know JK Rowling and your bank manager thinking you’re a vagrant, but let’s stay on topic.) So when I finished my first urban fantasy novel Dark Dates earlier this year, it was a relief that I already had an idea for a sequel planned out, something I could throw myself into without having to leave the world I had fallen so in love with.

But when it became clear that due to other work commitments (that pesky bank manager again!) it would likely be next spring before the sequel would be completed, I felt like I wanted to do something to bridge the gap between books, so the idea of doing a short story set between the two started to germinate. I was inspired, also, by two of my favourite writers, Jim Butcher and Kelley Armstrong, who regularly publish short stories set in their central universes, but also do interesting things with them. Butcher’s Dresden Files books are narrated by Harry Dresden, so he has used his short stories to put across other viewpoints of his character (my favourite is narrated by the white vampire Thomas Wraith). Armstrong, admitting she felt strait-jacketed by calling her series Women of the Underworld, uses short stories to give a male perspective on that universe. But how to do that without ruining the continuity of a book that had quite a definite ending?

Salvation came – as salvation so often does – from Joss Whedon. I remembered the episode of Buffy where Angel came to town without her knowing, and so I thought: what would happen if I create a story where my heroine and narrator, Cassandra, is actually unaware of what is going on around her, so it doesn't impact on the timeline of the books, and allows us to get an outside perspective on her and her world? The idea of her two suitors – the vampire and the vampire hunter – having to put aside their differences for her sake came to mind, and I loved the idea of the two of them being forced into a ‘buddy movie’ scenario, complete with arguments, tension and flirtatious banter (let’s not forget, Laclos is almost as keen to get into Cain’s pants as he is to get into Cassandra’s) and a nice little trip round London, my home town, thrown in for good measure. I wanted it not only to be a treat for those readers who've told me how much they liked Dark Dates, but also something any fan of the genre could enjoy without any knowledge of that book. It was enormous fun to write, and while it does mean I've had to rewrite a lot of the sequel, throwing in references for people who read the story without alienating those who don’t, I hope people enjoy it.

Tracey is the author

 of

Dark Dates (Cassandra Bick #1)

and

**A Vampire Walks into a Bar (Cassandra Bick #1.5)

**Just for this weekend A Vampire Walks into a Bar is a free Kindle download on Amazon- but if you want my advise also download Dark Dates , and read the first book - it's a great read !