Melmoth – Sarah Perry – 19.01.21

I see from other people’s reviews on Amazon, that this is something of a ‘marmite’ book with people either loving or hating it. Well, I love marmite (on hot buttered toast…mmm!) and I love (or at least really liked) this book. It feels like a Victorian Gothic novel, with a deep sense of foreboding and dread throughout. It’s a retelling of a previous novel called Melmoth the Wanderer with Melmoth changed from a man who made a pact with the devil, to a woman who witnessed Christ’s resurrection but refused to testify that she had and was punished with eternal wandering and witnessing Man’s wickedness towards his fellow man.

The main character, Helen is an English woman living in Prague in a sort of self-imposed exile because of the guilt she feels over a secret from her past. She befriends an odd couple and the husband gives her a dossier before fleeing the country. It contains collected stories of people who have come into contact with Melmoth and Helen feels haunted by their stories and by the feeling of Melmoth coming for her because of her own guilty past.

I found the book really gripping and engaging, and I enjoyed reading the individual stories, as well as the arc of learning Helen’s history. I found the ending a little confusing, though, and the overall theme of the book a little too depressing and lacking in redemption, although it’s possible that there were deeper redemptive themes that when over my head? Still, a good read and I’m keen to read another book by Sarah Perry now.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (AUDIOBOOK) – Garth Nix – 15.01.21

I listened to this as an audiobook, rather then reading it, so have to base my review on that experience. I was very drawn to the title of this book – anything about book sellers catches my attention, and the left-handed part tweaked my interest too – are they sinister, or creative, or quirky…? and the reviews that I read sealed the deal describing it as urban supernatural fantasy. In the days when I used to read to my children at bedtime (my hubby was always impressed by my devotion to bedtime reading, but really I think I enjoyed it at least as much as the children and quite possibly more!) which is more then ten years ago now, we read Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series which I remember enjoying.

Well, first off I was instantly put off by the very posh English accent of the female narrator ( Marisa Calin ). It’s a problem I have, and I know it’s wrong of me, but coming from a long line of working class (although I’m kind of middle class now really, at least in my aspirations) northerners I can’t help associating that ‘proper BBC English’ upper class accent with privileged, entitled, arrogant colonial types. Imagine my surprise, when I looked up the narrator, and found out that she is American, born in California! Also, to be fair, her intonation and emotional interpretation of the text was really good, plus she did regional accents for a few of the characters (Scottish and Yorkshire among them) which were believable and pleasant to the ears, so I guess the problems with her were all mine, but still, I wish she’d picked a less posh voice for the main narration.

That aside, I did really enjoy the story. Set in the 1980s, the main character, Susan, travels to London a few months early to start her Art college course because she is on a quest to find out who her father is from a scant few clues gleaned from her mother. Very quickly strange and dangerous things begin to happen to her, and she falls in with the magical booksellers and other very mythical creatures before finding out her true lineage.

I loved the references to lots of books, as well as the mythology and lore in the plot and the inevitable romance wasn’t too cringeworthy.

The Music Shop – Rachel Joyce – 14.01.21

This is a really lovely book. The main character, Frank is a middle aged man who had an unconventional upbringing by his bohemian but mentally ill single mother who instilled in him a passionate love for music – telling him tales that brought to life pieces of music from classical to jazz, pop, rock etc… He runs a record shop in a small London street with a tight knit community of small business owners who are each others family and support group. Frank has an uncanny knack for knowing what music each person needs to listen to to help them get through whatever troubles they are experiencing and he uses this skill with compassion and largesse.

One day a German woman faints outside Frank’s shop, and he brings her in and helps her. This meeting starts what should be a beautiful relationship, but due to secrets and miscommunications it is beset with problems.

I don’t usually like soppy feel good books, but I loved this. The characters are flawed and funny and relatable and their relationships are inspiring and frustrating and heartwarming. I also loved the passion Frank has for music and some of his descriptions of pieces of music and the stories behind them made me want to instantly listen to them on Spotify!

I recommended this book to my book group friends, although I accidentally told them it was called The Record Shop instead of The Music shop, which I can’t help thinking should have been it’s title, since Frank was so religious about Vinyl being the only acceptable format for music!

The Once and Future Witches – Alix E. Harrow – 12.01.21

I was excited to read this, because I loved the Ten Thousand Doors of January so much. I have to say, that even though I really liked this book, for me it wasn’t as great as The Ten Thousand Doors. This is a more traditional tale of witches being just women trying to survive in a male dominated world. In this book the newly blossoming suffragette movement is classed as just another symptom of witchcraft along with practising herbal medicine and aspects of midwifery. The witches don’t just use wisdom and herbal lore though. The three main characters, sisters Juniper, Bella and Agnes, find the words to call up the old magic which gives them power to fight the oppressors, who have sinister supernatural powers of their own. The book is certainly exciting, and the three sisters have very different and well rounded personalities. There were sweet romances and heart wrenching sacrifices, and I missed the characters when I’d finished reading. I liked the idea that wisdom and power is passed down through old stories and rhymes and the obvious love the characters had for books and the written word.

Dear Edward – Ann Napolitano (BOOKGROUP) – 02.01.21

This was my book group read for December/January, and probably not a book I would have picked up otherwise, which just goes to show that book group enriches my life!

My review contains semi-spoilers, so read on at your peril…

It is the story of a twelve year old boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash which kills his parents and only sibling. Edward (formally know as Eddie) is stunned and initially badly injured and his rehabilitation, both physical and mental is slow. He is adopted by his aunt and uncle, a couple whose inability to have children of their own has stretched their marriage to its limits, and befriended by his new next door neighbour, Shay, a girl who is a loner and a unique personality (which I know from personal experience is the best type of person, cough, cough….) . Eddie’s adopted parents try to shield him from the huge storm of media and social media interest that surrounds him and his case, trying to make his life as normal as possible, but when he and Shay break through their defences and discover the thousands of letters written to Edward since the crash, it is this very discovery that helps Edward progress towards healing. The real time chapters about Edward are interspersed with flashback chapters about the flight where we get to know many of the passengers and learn something of what happened to cause the tragedy. By the time Edward finds the letters, written mostly by friends and relatives of the other passengers, we know their stories and can with him feel their pain.

I thought the book was very wise, without being preachy. I loved the friendship between Edward and Shay, and the chapters about the flight were quite exiting. It may be a cliché that we learn to help ourselves when we stop thinking about our own pain and concentrate on how we can help others, and yet I loved this about the story and how Edward’s character progressed as he dealt with his world being turned upside down and his grief. It is ultimately a very uplifting and feel good book and I really enjoyed it.

Horrorstorr – Grady Hendrix (AUDIOBOOK) – 31.12.20

I wanted an audiobook for my husband, Paul, and I to listen to on our road trip to my mother’s funeral. We were travelling between Christmas and New Year with the added fun of a surge in Covid cases making new travel restrictions be enforced daily! Our trip took us from our home in Northern Ireland, through the republic of Ireland, via ferry from Dublin to Wales, driving through Wales into the north of England for the funeral. Staying two nights in a Premier Inn, then doing the whole journey in reverse. We had to get special permission from the Irish Embassy to be allowed back since Ireland have a travel ban from mainland UK, plus extra customs checks now that Brexit is taking hold, and throw in some snow and ice on the roads – it was quite the trip!!

I have loved both reading and listening to Grady Hendrix books, and I chose this for our trip because it was just the right length at 6 and a half hours, and I hoped Paul would like it. It was the perfect choice. Set in an Ikea-like vast furniture store in America, the book builds tension and engagement as we get to know the main characters, all employees of the furniture store, and with them try to solve the mystery of why strange things seem to happen in the store overnight. A handful of characters end up spending the night in the store to investigate, and what a night it turns out to be!

It’s a really well written horror story, with great characterisation, quite a lot of humour as well as genuine tension and excitement. There were some quite gory moments as you would expect from the genre, and some really fun and increasingly strange adverts for products available at the store at the beginning of each chapter. Paul is a great movie watcher, but not really into reading fiction, but he, like me really enjoyed the book and was keen to start it up again after we’d paused to concentrate on a difficult bit of navigating. It had just the right level of surreal to perfectly fit with our trip and it kept us occupied and distracted on what might otherwise have been a more stressful journey.

The Copper Heart (Crow Investigations Book 5) – Sarah Painter – 29.12.20

I really love Sarah Painter’s Crow Investigations books. Like Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, Crow Investigations is a modern urban supernatural series set in London. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the characters of Lydia, the reluctant new head of the Crow magical family, her ghostly flatmate and her love interest policeman who is not magical (or is he….?). My only sadness is that the book was over too quick and now I can’t wait for the next installment!

Away With the Penguins – Hazel Prior – 27.12.20

My daughter recommended this book to me as a sweet and lovely read, and she was right! A grumpy old lady, Veronica, contemplates her legacy and decides she wants to visit a penguin research centre at the South Pole with a view to leaving her vast fortune to them after her death. We learn about Veronica’s life through flashbacks, and begin to understand why she is the way she is while at the same time getting to know lots of fun and fascinating penguin facts! As Veronica starts to love both the penguins and her fellow research centre occupants, she melts the frozen barriers she spent a lifetime building up and allows herself to feel and heal from the pain of her past.

The Ordeal of the Haunted Room (Chronicles of St Marys Short Story) – Jodi Taylor – 26.12.20

Every year Jodi Taylor releases a St Mary’s short story on Christmas Day and this is 2020s. I loved it! It’s an atmospheric Victorian haunted house murder mystery and I very much enjoyed reading it over snatched moments on Christmas Day and Boxing day. Thanks Jodi Taylor and happy Christmas to you and yours!

Deeplight – Frances Hardinge – 23.12.20

As I mentioned in my previous review (for Ready Player Two) my mum just died (on 14th December) and for that reason I decided to read this young adult fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge because I was looking for a gentle ‘easy’ read. Well, I should have know better than imagining that a Frances Hardinge novel wouldn’t pack both an emotional and intellectual punch! This is a deep, rich and incisive story mostly about growing up and becoming your own person. The main character, Hark, is a young orphan who lives in the shadow of his overbearing and manipulative friend and must find his own way when he is convicted of petty crimes and sent as an indentured servant to a island retreat for old ex-priests. All priest in this universe are now defunct because the gods were killed but a vast often criminal empire revolves around finding old ‘god’ artifacts because they contain magical properties. Hark is caught between priests, scientists and various criminal gangs all trying to exploit the magic and he has to struggle to know who to trust and what is the right thing to do. Like the previous book I read, this took me a while to get into, but once I did I found it gripping, compelling and ultimately satisfying.