Hannah Morgan-Lewis
This is a good analysis of what prompted Islam to declare a fatwa against Rushdie. The author makes the point that rather than this being a worldwide thing, the protests and book burnings mainly happened in the UK where some parts of the Islamic communities were finding it difficult to integrate into Western culture and saw Rushdie as a traitor. This was by no means completly widespread, I loved that he drew attention to the Islamic feminist women's group in London who protested in support of Rushdie who was making a point against some of the misogynist elements of Islam in The Satanic Verses. I was also fascinated by the MP Keith Vaz's stance of publicly condemning the book (although reading in Rushdie's memoir Joseph Anton, behind the scenes Vaz initially offered him support). Despite the age distance, this is still a very relevant book in the author's coverage of the history of Islam in the UK and the analysis of the differing opinions towards Western culture and how immigrants integrate.
Another treat from Pigeonhole. This was a really entertaining page-turner, the start of a trilogy of books. It promised mummies, magic and mayhem and it didn't disapoint. Jyx is recruited to help resurrect some mummies for a royal profession but it all goes a bit wrong when he overstretches his magical abilities. The necromancer is a great, mysterious character. Loved the names she used too. I will be looking out for the next books and for the author again.
It's a bit dated as far as the 1980s sexual attitudes are concerned, but this book is like eating a big box of chocolates. Funny and absurd in places with a cast of nutty characters. I like that unlike some modern women's fiction, this isn't an improve the woman/marriage type of novel, the main character doesn't have some sort of revelation and there's very little angst about the affair.
A creepy page turner of a novel that keeps you guessing right up to the twisty end. Like the way that the author incorporated the urban legend and the cult of children around it and the fact that it wasn't revealed who Amber murdered right up until the end.
A sweet little historic romance, not quite as sexy as some others. Not one to read if you are a stickler for historical accuracy or language - particularly the frequent descriptions of ass for bottoms (quite sure that would have only been used to describe donkeys!). Apparently, the prostate has always been the easiest to find body part on a man! Would probably look out for the follow up on unlimited again.
Great use of the unreliable narrator(s). The novel is narrated by Alex, a ‘functioning' alcoholic who continually deludes herself that everything is OK despite her memory losses and the diary enteries of another alcoholic Alex was connected with. It's the kind of novel where you don't know who to trust. Alex's interior monologue about drinking is extremely convincing. There is not a great deal of investigation going on, it's mainly a psychological thriller.
Good page turning thriller using multiple perspectives and unreliable narrators. The author seemed to have done her research into life in prison and living with epilepsy. The characters were suitably unpleasant.
This is a pretty well written set up for a series about a group of men who like to do bdsm their own way. A long story with a decent plot and some good characters. However, if you are likely to be triggered or seriously put off by water sports in the bedroom, this is not the book for you.
A really difficult book to review as you feel like you are being unfair. By rights I should have probably loved this book with its mixture of Scottish poetry, meta faction and descriptions of the island, However, I found Mhairi the woman researching McWatt's life pretty annoying as she wanders around the island ignoring her daughter and trying to avoid thinking about her ex husband and stupid affair. The lack of a plot hampers the book, I can't survive on poetry alone and I found the book bit dull and a slog to read at times, The ending made me want to throw the book across the room, it was one of those books when you feel like the writer just ran out of ideas and gave up. I just got so frustrated with the potential, I wanted to pan it but it's just like a beautiful vase with holes in the bottom, brilliantly crafted but ultimately failing in its function. Maybe I would have loved it if it had been about Wales, as it is I am just so pleased to have finished it and be able to return it to the library.
Facts about Joe:
1. Joe has never met a working class person. Forced to endure a trip to Lidl in search of inspiration for his junk food menu for the proles he wore ear plugs lest their voices sully his precious ears.
2. No less than 10 editors were sacked for suggesting the book needed a plot and to be cut down somewhat.
3. Joe lives in an ivory tower made from recycled piano keys from country estates.
4. In his spare time he likes to secretly edit Heat and visit champagne shops because you can never have enough champagne.
It had potential, but I found it quite a frustrating read at times. This is not a mystery by any means, there is pretty much no detective work involved. It's more of a light hearted book about an orchestra.
I think the most frustrating thing is the sheer amount of exposition about pieces of music and orchestras and choirs. It's obvious that the author knows a great deal about it, but at times this really slows the story down. The characters are okay but other than Erin, don't really develop or have personalities, I think perhaps this was due to the number of people to service and all that exposition. The author never seems to show when telling is available.
I didn't hate it, I'd probably pick it up as a Kindle Unlimited and I did think the author had promise.
This book blends history and literature to explore Western representations of Vice, Crime and Poverty, showing how criminals and the poor were affected by industrialisation. A vast number of the references are to either the United Kingdom or to France, focusing on the work of Dickens and Hugo in particular. I thought that it was well researched and for a scholarly work, very readable to the point that I would have enjoyed reading more. Of particular interest was the origin of the fascinating argot of the underworld, and this book is full of some great characters. Good analysis of the characters in literature, but mainly focused on 19th century
An intriguing mix of civil war history, women's history and the history of folk remedies. I liked the way that the author analysed the remedies to determine why they might have worked or not worked. Well researched, with a large cast of historical figures (which she does provide a list of at the end). Ann Fanshawe lived a fascinating (if tragic life).
A new trilogy set in the mysterious Marquess House in Pembrokeshire, this is part narrated from the point of view of Perdita Rivers, a jewelry expert who inherits the house from her estranged grandmother, and partly from the point of view of Catherine Howard. Whilst I didn't always agree with the portrayal of the historical figures, for example Henry portrayed as a brutal wife beater, I appreciated that whenever the author could she used historical fact, which she explains in the footnote, and she has obviously done her research.
Walsh believes that Catherine was misrepresented by history and was not the airheaded flirt that she has been portrayed as, and I could see her reasoning and wanted to learn more. Of particular note was the idea that she had a cordial relationship with Anne of Cleaves whom she taught to dance. Some of the conspiracy elements seemed a little far-fetched at times, but it did add to the excitement of the novel and I both enjoyed reading it and wanted to read the next in the series. Perdita is an interesting character and I'm looking forward to finding out what is happening with Kit. The Catherine Howard parts were well written from a historical perspective and from the character perspective. You really feel for her as she is forced to marry the repugnant Henry to assist her power grabbing family and it's evident that whether or not he was a wife beater, he did suffer from memory issues. This is available on Kindle Unlimited and I would recommend it for readers who enjoy conspiracy theories, alternative history and historical fiction/contemporary fiction blends.
This is a gentle romance with a well written although ultimately rather passive female lead. Although Lily has unknowingly been placed on a pedestal by Ryder, she defies expectations by being a motor mechanic who is treated as ‘one of the boys' by the men she works mkwith. She seems to feel rather awkward in expressing her femininity, she doesn't wear makeup, finds it difficult to flirt and is obsessed with cars. Her date with Evan is an example of how awkward she feels, he takes her to an expensive restaurant where she is unsure of what she's wearing and how to behave. The author has a very delicate way of showing how Lily feels and who she is, she's a very nuanced character.
Lily was surprised at how simple it had become to ease deeper into conversation with Evan. Although some aspects of their date struck her as superficial, she discovered she could play the part rather well.
She's very passive during dates with Evan and she constantly worries about ‘keeping her slim figure'. Her relationships are unequal conversations are one sided. When she meets Ryder he doesn't ask her anything about herself except what she does which she lies about. When he asks her about her childhood dreams she describes wanting to be a beautiful doll.
Ryder had told her he knew everything he needed to know because he knew her deep down. He'd promised. Lily had tried to tell him more, but he didn't seem interested in knowing more.
I think that the portrayal of the relationship could possibly be the weakest part of the book, probably due to Lily's self esteem issues. She just seems to spend her time asking her boyfriends about themselves and mentally not believing herself worthy. This is problematic as potentially she is looking for self worth by finding a boyfriend. There is part of me that wishes we could have had more of Lily discovering her fabulousness with Aaron and Brooke, but the novel was too short and focussed on the relationship with Ryder. It's a sweet, romantic novel but by no means that steamy. It gets a wouldn't make Grandma blush rating.
Highly recommended for people who enjoy literary thrillers. This is a powerful novel about the nature of good and evil. Wilding's writing style is a mixture of the beautiful and profound interspersed with some violence (although as a reader who tends to avoid gory murder mysteries I wouldn't say that this goes too far). The story draws the reader in from the first page and the mysterious Red Henley. I did find some parts of the time skip a little confusing, but at the same time this is such a rewarding book it gripped me enough to read until the end. This is another fantastic pick from the Pigeonhole.
Read this on Pigeonhole, and I was gripped, the plot takes some very unexpected, clever turns and this book makes you think about the nature of how we project ourselves online and about online privacy. I think it would make a fantastic book club read. I like the way Chad was portrayed, at first the reader feels a mixture of disgust and pity for him, but he grows as a character in a realistic way. This is also a pretty funny book and it ends in a completely unexpected way.
In the present day, Paul visits Venice where he meets a mysterious woman he becomes fascinated by. Eva owns a trunk full of historical objects and diaries owned by the subject of Paul's research, the opera singer Esme, and gradually he pieces together the lives of various women. But is it just one woman or many, and how is Eva linked? A mixture of mystery, historical fiction and magic realism, this is an evocative novel with some very good descriptions of Venice. The central female character is fascinating as she moves through different periods, meeting famous figures along the way as a famous opera singer. The weaving together of the stories is well done and the magic realism is subtle - it is not explained how Esme lives on over 300 years, but it's not needed - it's inspired by an opera, and after all, Woolf didn't feel the need to explain what caused Orlando to live on. Overall, a thoughtfully written novel that would particularly please opera fans.
Yes, this is not a casual read. The author has experimented with the postmodern idea of avoiding ‘the tyranny of plot', comparing this to the work of Virginia Woolf. There are overarching themes and things that happened, but they are not linked together, this is to give a more naturalistic feel to the story. A series of impressions to give a feeling of what is happening. It particularly suits the settings of post war England and Vienna with the themes of desolation and rebuilding. It's an incredibly lyrical, poetic story which does use some words considered archaic or obscure, but I think it's justified. This is a story about two brothers, one living in England, the other in Vienna.
I thought the parts of the story set in Vienna worked better, particularly due to the character of Millie, who works as some light relief in what could have become rather a heavy story. In contrast, I found Richard's parts a bit more difficult due to his relationship with Helene who is enigmatic to the point that I didn't feel like I could get to grips with either her character or their relationship. I feel like I may have read it a bit too quickly and that maybe Pigeonhole didn't really work as a platform for it. This is the kind of book to savour the language, to re-read and to go back to previous parts to link it all together in your mind. It's not really a page turner, but can anybody really say that postmodern novels are? However, the fear of people giving poor reviews should never put an author off experimenting, else we would all still be reading the proto novels of people like Richardson and Defoe or confining ourselves to the same type of books time and time again.I hope that the poor reviews don't put people off reading it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
An enjoyable tale of three women, two in the present day and one in the past, all struggling with issues. Sophia is a therapist coping with the aftermath of an abusive relationship. She travels to Cornwall as a way of escaping where she meets Ginny, a bookstore owner who is coping with her husband leaving her. In the course of working in the bookstore, Sophia finds a mysterious diary. Is it from a real woman or has someone invented a fictional character?
The stories are interweaved well, and I particularly liked the writing style I'm the diary. There is some gentle romance, but I felt like the focus was primarily on the women making lives for themselves first and foremost. As it is Christian fiction, there is both a focus on this and it's the kind of book that can be read by people who are not necessarily interested in sexual content. Nevertheless, this was a good read with a warm and fluffy ending.
First off, this surprised me that this was a debut novel as the writing is highly accomplished. The scene is set when Stan and his wife Karen drink-driving home from a party knock over a woman whom they take in and Stan's identical twin brother Pickle becomes enamored of. This could have be considered satire, as Stan and Karen belong to a certain class of American with very privileged lives with their architecture business, alcohol problems, dog named THE Doodles and general selfishness, however, I wouldn't really have said this is intended to be funny or to send some sort of message as satire usually does. The characters are very well drawn, but not particularly likeable, although as a reader you do come to understand why at least Karen and Pickle are the way that they are, and I didn't find Karen a stereotype, although I found Stan a bit more difficult to judge as we don't really get inside his head in the same way.
The plot is more of a conundrum, as it starts with a bang with the scene on the bridge and slows down, with Karen and Pickle reminiscing about their lives and their pasts. It becomes a more difficult read as there are not always clear distinctions between the thinking about the present and the future, and not much actually happens in the story. This is all ended in a highly unexpected way, and I'm not sure I agreed with the ending. I would like to do a seperate post just discussing it as I don't want to spoil it for people. All in all, a rather bizarre book but overall it was well written and it did make me think.
Region 6 by Ian James Krender
Reading alternative history books, a genre I enjoy, the most important thing is to create a believable set up. I think Krender's set up is believable and he creates a vivid dystopian alternative timeline where the Nazis have won the war and have turned 1980s Britain into Region 6, an entirely Nazi controlled outpost where the populace are controlled with water additives to affect behaviour and the people who are not affiliated with the occupiers live and work in dreadful conditions. The story follows Thomas, who is one of the people who lives in a slum and works in a TV factory, and Stephen who has wealthy parents who gift him Nazi party membership for his birthday. Stephen has a good education, living parents and a good life but both men are struggling with forbidden homosexuality. When Thomas becomes involved in a resistance organisation, Stephen is sent to investigate him and the two men form a relationship.
This is not a particularly detailed depiction of their relationship and there are no sex scenes as such. I thought the characters well drawn and their motives well thought out. Thomas in particular is a character who is a bit rough around the edges and seems believable. I liked the way that the resistance fighters were depicted, and it made me think about how we consider terrorists. The plot is good too, although I think the end seemed a little rushed. Overall though I thought this was a very promising novel and I would read morby the author.
Just a Bit Obsessed is the tale of Alexander who is pretty much forced into a threesome with his girlfriend and Christian (friends with Shawn from book 1 of Straight Guys). His girlfriend is bizarre and completely self-obsessed, Alexander REALLY DOESN'T WANT to do a threesome, he has some major issues with his father staying with his mother whilst still dicking around with men. He's a bit of a control freak too. Yet she still forces him into it as she has a crush on Christian. She's majorly turned on when he finally loosens up enough to kiss Christian then is surprised when it all goes sour and he only has eyes for the other man! Good characters, some hot sex and it left me wanting more.
Just a Bit Twisted is the tale of Shawn, a college boy who has been left to look after his two four year old twin sister's since his parents died. He somehow ends up pimping himself to his professor, the chilly Derek Rutledge. Okay, so the beginnings of their relationship does require some suspension of disbelief as Derek puts himself in an incredibly dangerous position but hell I liked both the characters and what she did with them, and I thought the sex was hot! Shawn struggles with his attraction but continually tries to act in a dignified way, especially about the money. The story is from his point of view but we do get to explore why Derek is so cold and against relationships. It left me wanting more. The only criticism I really had was the absence of proper lube in the sex!
Subtitled ‘The Secret History of Trump's Women' this book invited anger from the right who fixated on such important issues as whether or not Melania actually finished her architectural degree. I think that was besides the point as what Burleigh manages to do here is portray women who have often lived difficult lives in the spotlight married or related to one of the biggest characters of the modern age, with dignity and humanity.
Starting with the formidable Elizabeth, Donald's grandmother who may have been the actual founder of the Trump organisation, Burleigh shows how the Trump family have often revised history to portray themselves in a different light; decreasing the contribution of Elizabeth and claiming to be Swedish rather than German. For someone so fixated on immigrants, Trump ignores that his grandparents were immigrants, his mother emigrated from Scotland (to work in Andrew Carnegie's house no less) and he has married women who have immigrated.
I was particularly taken with Ivana's story, she seems to have had one of the most difficult lives losing men who meant a great deal to her and suffering from alleged domestic violence from Donald yet still proving to be a great business woman and an icon of the eighties. Trump obviously has problems with staying faithful and has a phobia of menstruation and of pregnancy. He expects women to stay young and beautiful and to provide his dynasty yet never appear in the pregnant state. Women who call him out on sexual harassment are ‘liars' and he has enjoyed sleeping with multiple women As an independent business woman, Burleigh certainly implies that he felt threatened by her acumen.
The tales of Ivana and of his other wives are of women who have been silenced by Trump's lawyers who have threatened them if they talk. The beginning passage of Burleigh meeting at a restaurant with an informant who seems terrified of getting caught was particularly vivid. Burleigh also explores the fears that people have that Melania is unhappy in her marriage, it sounds as if she is particularly unsuited to being married to a public figure and does not always know how to behave. There are also the stories of his sisters and of his daughter Tiffany
Although these women have mostly been silenced, Ivanka is a woman who can't be silenced. She often lives on her own terms and seems to be able to stand up to her father at times, and has recovered from setbacks when they have arisen.
I found this audiobook absolutely fascinating and very well narrated. Burleigh has obviously put a lot of research into it.