When I get ill I like Hot Ribena, Heinz tomato soup and to curl up in my favourite blanket with a “comfort read”. (Oh – and drugs.) And the ultimate “comfort read”, for me, is a book by Noel Streatfeild. Best known for Ballet Shoes she wrote many novels for children, generally following families or groups of children, and often involving theatre and/or dance. If I manage to keep this blog up you will inevitably see more reviews of her works. I particularly love Apple Bough, Curtain Up, The Circus is Coming, White Boots and Tennis Shoes. (Right now I’m getting a hankering to re-read a couple of them – but I’ll hold out for my next lurgee!) If you’re interested to read any of her books be aware that because Ballet Shoes is by far her most well know novel many of the books have been re-issued as “Shoes” too – so for example The Circus is Coming is currently in print as Circus Shoes. Irritating but true…
Thursday’s Child is sadly currently out of print, but it has been re-issued several times, so I dare say it will come back again at some point (possibly as Thursday’s Shoes?!). Fortunately it is still easy to find second hand – and well worth a read. Set at the end of the Victorian era it tells the story of foundling Margaret Thursday, and her orphaned friends Lavinia, Peter and Horatio. Living in pitiful conditions in an orphanage the children eventually run away, “legging” on a canal boat to remain hidden. It’s a great adventure story, with spunky Margaret the star of the show. I loved this book as a child and it still doesn’t disappoint now. A sequel Far to Go was also written; while not as good as the first it is still pleasing to find out the further adventures of Margaret and the gang.
When a favourite author brings out a new book there is a certain magic, a tingling anticipation when you open the crisp new pages and prepare to devour the contents. Fo me Jaclyn Moriarty is one such author. When I read Feeling Sorry for Celia I was so excited by this sparkling new writer. And I also loved Finding Cassie Crazy, her second. And I enjoyed Being Bindy Mackenzie, her third. So it was with some joy that I ordered The Spellbook of Listen Taylor, and it went straight to the top of the “to read” piles (yes there’s more than one “to read” pile in my house!)
Gah. Maybe I did Moriarty a disservice by building her up so much. But each book, in my opinion, has not been quite so good as the last. And while I enjoyed The Spellbook of Listen Taylor it just wasn’t that great. Feeling Sorry for Celia was clever, touching and full of humour, but also plausible. But Bindy and Listen were too implausible for me – I just couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief. That said I still found those moments of laughter and tears that made me fall for Moriarty’s work in the first place. And I will definitely read her next book. But I won’t be expecting as much…
A synopsis? Kooky family and lost girl collide, and through a series of spells and coincidences reveal a dark and crazy family secret…
In December 2007 Rowling produced seven hand written and illustrated copies of this book, bound in morocco leather and set with precious stones. Six were presented as gifts to people involved in the making of the Harry Potter series (such as Barry Cunningham - her first editor). The seventh copy was auctioned by Sotheby’s, and bought by Amazon at a cost of £1.95m – which was donated by Rowling to The Children’s High Level Group - a charity she helped found. In December 2008 a hardback edition was brought out on general release, with all profits also going to the charity – to date it has raised another £4m. But is it worth the hype?
The Tales of Beedle the Bard are referred to in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and one of the five stories – The Three Brothers is published there. Essentially they are the fairy tales that wizarding children grow up hearing – just as “muggle” children grow up with the likes of Perrault and Grimm (or perhaps Ladybird and Disney if we’re realistic!) It’s difficult to review them as it’s an unusual genre to review – I found them reasonably convincing as fairy tales. Did I like them? I enjoyed Babbitty Rabbitty and the Cackling Stump. The Warlock’s Hairy Heart was horrible – it really made me shudder, and reminded me of darkest Grimm (I thought it was good though – just nasty as fairy tales can be). I loved The Fountain of Fair Fortune. The other two stories I was more indifferent to but I still really enjoyed the collection as a whole. The tales were complemented by essays and notes from Albus Dumbledore – which really added a Potter Flavour to the book. My biggest complaint would be that there was not enough to the book – even with the notes doubling the length it was a very quick read. But then it is simply a charity spin-off fairy tale collection – originally written as a private gift – so is it reasonable to expect more?
In the end it is what it is – and does that well. Hopefully in another few years Hermione Granger will “discover” some more of the Bard’s manuscripts (are runes written on manuscript? I don’t know…) hidden in a dusty library or room of requirement and more will be published. Or perhaps an edition of Hogwarts – A History will appear on the Muggle-market to raise more for charity. Until then Potter-fans will just have to keep re-reading, and maybe indulge in some fan-fiction. If you know any good fan-fiction sites – not just Potter – any series/genre please post in the forum. And also take up the debate if you liked – or loathed The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
I just had a look at the Man Booker Prize winner archives (http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/archive) and was depressed and embarrassed to discover that this was only the second of the forty book list that I’ve read. The first, Pat Barker’s Ghost Road I don’t really remember except as part of the Regeneration Trilogy. And me an English graduate too (you see what I did there with the bad grammar?!)
The White Tiger was Tina’s choice for our January Show. It shattered all my romantic notions about India (though I guess I always knew they were pretty unlikely). The narrator goes by several names, and at times reminded me of Humbert Humbert – I didn’t quite trust what he said. And also like Humbert I was quite ambivalent about him; at times I liked him, or pitied him, other times I disliked and despised him.
I don’t want to give away the plot of the novel, but it wasn’t the most cheery read – the over-riding emotion portrayed was anger, at class and caste and corruption. That said there were some sparks of humour which in my opinion turned what could’ve been essentially a bitter diatribe into a very readable novel.
For more listen to the January show (currently being edited, it will be broadcast at the end of the month, and will also appear online very soon!)
Aravind Adiga, India, Lolita, Man Booker Prize, The White Tiger
This is one of those books which has been hovering near the bottom of my “to read” pile for a few years. I’d heard it was good but never quite got round to it. But then I saw the film trailer. Now people who know me will know that I never see films – but my god I am a sucker for trailers. They condense films down to 30 seconds of the best bits and even the worst ever films look amazing. The cast of Secret Life of Bees looks good – Queen Latifa, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning (that cutesy blond kid with the big eyes - now attempting to cross from precocious child actress into more adult roles. Only time will tell…) Anyway I haven’t seen the film, there’s a good chance I never will – or only when it’s on TV in five years time. But it did inspire me to read the book – and for that I’m grateful because it’s a wonderful book.
The story follows Lily, a teenager growing up on a peach farm in 1960s South Carolina. She has a difficult relationship with her father and her mother is dead, so her only ally is black servant Rosaleen. On Lily’s 14th birthday the two of them walk into town together so Rosaleen can register to vote for the first time. En route they run into trouble, and ultimately run away, fugitives from the law. Lucky chance leads them to refuge living with three sisters, from whom Lily learns more than she expected about life, love and herself.
I loved this book! It left me with the warm fuzzies – but without a sickly sweet aftertaste . Now, of course, would be the time to bring out the honey analogies – but that seems a little too obvious (though it didn’t stop many of the reviewers whose words pepper the cover). It’s a very atmospheric narrative - full of tension (personal and racial) and the hot sticky Carolina summer, and the hum of bees… It’s a great book – read it! And head over to the forum to let us know what you thought – or discuss more about film adaptations.
1960s, Carolina, Civil Rights, Dakota Fanning, Film, Jennifer Hudson, Movie, Queen Latifa, Race, Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
I’m finally catching up with my reading – and am now reviewing books I read during December. And what better to get you through the festive season than some post-apocalyptic dystopian teenage science fiction?! The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first novel in the Chaos Walking series, and has already won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.
For me the thing which makes great science fiction or fantasy is not the believability of the premise but writing which allows me to totally suspend my disbelief – however bizarre the plot is when described. (You might have guessed where I’m going here…) The story goes that Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown – a town populated only by men. All the women of the colony were killed during wars with the Spackle – the native “aliens” of this planet; and in the same wars a germ was released which caused men’s thoughts to be transparent and heard out loud, and indeed the thoughts of all creatures. Crazy ideas – but which took me in completely as I read of Todd’s journey (because what good SF novel does not have a journey at its heart?) The darkness of men’s thoughts, their disturbing ability to keep secrets despite the “Noise” is incredibly sinister, but the book is lightened by Todd’s relationships with his surrogate fathers Ben and Cillian, and especially his dog Manchee. (The book says that “The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got much to say…” but nonetheless Manchee is a character you come to love.) It’s not the cheeriest book I’ve ever read – but very compelling and convincing – I was completely caught up in it and can’t wait to read Part 2 – especially as it ended on a cliff hanger.
This really was a great novel, and unlike Last Kiss of the Butterfly (see my previous post) was a true crossover – a book written for teenagers which adults can also enjoy. Watch out for this one – I’m sure there will be more prizes for it in the next year – and many people anxiously awaiting the second book The Ask and the Answer, due out in hardback in May.
Chaos Walking, Crossover, Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness, Science Fiction, SFF, Teenage Fiction
This is the second teenage novel from Jill Hucklesby, after her success with Deeper than Blue – the story of a champion swimmer who is involved in a devastating car accident. This new novel is similarly cheerful, following the story of Jaz, whose beloved Mother is seriously ill with stomach cancer. Hucklesby seems to favour “issue led” teenage literature, but she takes a positive and life-affirming approach. She’s an author I would recommend for teenage girls (many of whom seem to revel voyeuristically in tales of the misfortunes of others, no offence to any reading) but although a good teen read this is not, in my opinion, that great for a wider audience. Apart from anything else it was very forgettable; I read it back in November and am now struggling to review it – Jaz was a nice spunky character, her Mum had cancer, there were some marshes and a boy – but that’s not a lot to remember from a 300 page novel. Of Hucklesby’s two Deeper than Blue was the stronger book – but I think there is a relatively short window during which her novels will really inspire readers – for me it would have been around the ages of 12 to 14.
Add new tag, Jill Hucklesby, Last Kiss of the Butterfly, Teenage Fiction
After a predictably irritating introduction from Will Self (I was fine about his discussion of satire in Gulliver’s Travels but when he wrote about the “evanescent existence of the diminutive in the great and troubling city” I began to grit my teeth) I felt that these photos and their titles spoke for themselves.
I’m a fan of street art when it has the impact and humour of Banksy, or is executed with beauty and skill; though like most people I hate the petty tagging that is most frequently seen scruffing up the edges of our towns. The work of Slinkachu is a bit different, though like Banksy’s stencils it has that edgy humour which wins many street-art sceptics over. And, of course, Slinkachu’s work is so small that I guess it would be easy for the dissenters to ignore him. His works depict tiny little people going about their daily lives in the city. I found the photos elegant and clever, but as I said above – they need to speak for themselves – so look out for this book, and enjoy!
Little People in the City, photography, Slinkachu, street art, Will Self
Maybe because only the very best are exported to Britain I have been consistently impressed by the Australia teenage literature I’ve read. (Garth Nix, Morris Gleitzman, Jaclyn Moriarty, Rosanne Hakes, Randa Abdul Fattah, John Marsden…the list goes on!) Barry Jonsberg is originally from Liverpool but only began writing after he emigrated to Oz. It’s not all about you, Calma is the follow-up to the highly acclaimed and fantastic The Whole Thing with Kiffo and the Pit-Bull. Both books are narrated by Calma – an angry, passionate and cynical teenager, gifted with a talent for English, an acerbic wit and a deep mistrust of her teacher “The Pit-bull” (who would give Miss Trunchbull a run for her money). The story of her unlikely friendship with Kiffo and paranoid dislike of her teacher is a joy to read – funny and tragic – so I was very excited to read this sequel.
It’s not all about you, Calma did not disappoint. Calma was on top form; determined and self opinionated as ever. Unusually I also enjoyed the poetry in this book too. (I’m not that big on poetry, especially in novels where I find it can be very clunky and annoying – Lord of the Rings anyone? This poetry was not overdone and really added something – which I know fans of Tom Bombadil will argue he does – but seriously, take it up on the forum cause he drove me up the wall. Anyway, back to Calma…) One of the risks with the teen genre is that novels can be very “issue” driven. In my opinion the best books are ones like this – while it covers several issues the focus remains on the characters as real (fictional) people – not walking, talking PSHE topics. While not quite up to the (gold with knobs on) standards set by The Whole Thing with Kiffo and the Pit-Bull I really enjoyed this book, and hope we will hear more from Calma in the future. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to reading Jonsberg’s new novel Dreamland soon. Watch this space…
What do you think about poetry in novels? Love or hate Bombadil? Any other comments, questions, arguments or observations? Take it up on the forum!
Australian teenage fiction, Barry Jonsberg, It's not all about you Calma, Poetry, Teenage Fiction, The Whole Thing with Kiffo and the Pitbull
I remember thinking “I hate worthy books” when I was reading this back in November. And it’s true that though it’s an undeniably brilliant book I did not really like it. Tina reckons it’s because life with my new lovely baby is all sweet and fluffy. I don’t know – it might equally be that after caring for my new baby (lovely though he is) I’m tired and stressed out. Either way the adventures of Billy Pilgrim, soldier, time traveller, alien abductee left me – not cold exactly, but lukewarm. And it is a “worthy” book – one of the most famous anti-war novels of all time. Before I read it Dresden was just a word – now it fills me a sad dread. So many books glamorise the Second World War, deliberately or not, but this book is not one of them – it is relentless in portraying the pointless, miserable, angry, destructive and pitiful. (and by that I don’t mean to imply that the fight against Hitler was pointless – just that there are aspects of warfare that are).
I really struggled reviewing it on the show (listen again to Episode 3) – I didn’t want to put people off reading this book, but I really didn’t enjoy it. You could say I missed the point – you’re not meant to enjoy it – but the thing I keep thinking is how much I “enjoyed” If This Is a Man – the seminal autobiography by Primo Levi. About his experiences in Auschwitz it should be the most depressing, horrendous book ever. And it is – but his writing is so amazing – the humour and touches of humanity and sheer anger of it meant that actually I do enjoy it. I doubt I’ll reread Slaughterhouse 5 but I’ll go back to Levi again and again.
Dresden, Episode 3, Kurt Vonnegut, Primo Levi, Slaughterhouse 5, War
