strange sally diamond by liz nugent

This was pretty good, til I got to the end. It felt like it was one of those books that has a Massive Twist in the last few pages – something that makes you reassess everything you read already. I was eager for it. I was trying to figure out what it was the whole way through. When I couldn’t figure it out, I surmised that this Massive Twist was going to be EPIC.

There is no Massive Twist, guys.

Soz for the spoiler. Maybe you’re like, who needs a Massive Twist anyway? Well, you read it and tell me it doesn’t feel like there should be a Massive Twist. The main character, Sally, is very strange, as we’re told constantly. Her dad has just died and she tries to incinerate him in the barn because he’d told her to (he hadn’t, by the way. This felt v tenuous to me). She actually gets away with this (no idea how) and we find out more about who she is and why she’s so strange. Turns out she’s the child of a paedophile kidnapper and one of his victims. Nice!

Then, as the book goes on, we’re given more info about what happened in the past. It’s supposed to be shocking but I found it quite mild tbh. I was waiting for my Massive Twist, see. As it is, it’s an easy read and paced well. I don’t think some of the dialogue and characterisation rings true – I’m not sure that many people would actually be that tolerant of Sally’s attitude and behaviour – but it rolled along and I was entertained.

In short…

Had there been a Massive Twist I would’ve scored this higher. As it is, I was disappointed by the anticlimactic ending, so it’s a 6/10 from me

on beauty by zadie smith

Ah dysfunctional families. Providing fodder for novels since whenever. Hours of entertainment! Like EastEnders but well-written and it’s a book. I always like a clutch of unlikeable characters too, and this book has plenty of them. In fact I would say all the main characters are completely awful, but in very human and normal ways.

The story revolves around two warring academic families, the Belseys and the Kippses, though the main focus is on the Belseys, in particular the father Howard, a British art history professor at a semi-prestigious American university, and his wife Kiki, a nurse from a typically underprivileged background. Howard is a total prick, has to be said – though I’m not sure any other character can claim to be otherwise.

Zadie Smith always writes so intelligently, and it feels as if she’s an author that always does a huge amount of research for their books (I mean, this is just standard anyway, right?). It comes across more so here as the setting is a university. There’s a lot of thoughtful debate between characters on race, equal opportunities, gender, class, art, politics, etc. etc. It’s never too cerebral though; and always secondary to the family drama. Within the context of the family drama it becomes very readable.

I enjoyed this book a lot though I don’t feel it will stay with me in any way; I wasn’t moved as such (though I did cringe somewhat – due to plot developments, not the writing itself).

In short…

Plenty to enjoy here, especially if you like your family dramas on the clever side; a solid 8/10

trustee from the toolroom by nevil shute

Is Nevil Shute underrated? I kind of feel like that’s the case. When I enthuse about him to other people they usually look blank. Nevil who? His most famous book – A Town Called Alice – is slowly sliding into relative obscurity. Which is a shame, as it’s really good. My fave is On the Beach, a perfect study of bleakness. And this one was rather satisfying too.

He tends to write about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. So in this story, Keith Stewart, a normal man from London, who enjoys a hobby making miniature engines and writing about them for a specialist magazine, is suddenly launched into an international adventure when his sister dies unexpectedly and leaves their daughter in his care. As her trustee, he feels it’s up to him to provide the best possible future for her, which results in a journey most people would balk at.

It’s amazing really, that this is the basis for a thrilling adventure. But it’s totally compelling. Set in the 1950s – without the modern conveniences of technology – it’s sort of fascinating to discover how you’d actually travel to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean on little to no money in your pocket. Of course, things go quite smoothly for Keith, which is convenient for the narrative – and he does have some very handy specialist knowledge which stands him in good stead.

I love Nevil Shute’s writing because there are no frills, no fancy devices – it’s all very straightforward and elegant. It reminds me of Daphne du Maurier in that regard. Substance is everything. Honestly, there is a whole chapter in this book about a yacht sailing into a storm that was the most tense thing I’ve read in a long time. Masterclass.

In short…

If you’ve never read Nevil then you’re missing out. Top writer with top stories. Give him a go – this book is a gentle winner, a solid 8/10

cousins by salley vickers

Remember how much I enjoyed The Librarian by Salley Vickers last year? Well, I bought a few more books by her almost immediately afterwards, in that excitement over finding a new good author type of thing. Chose this book to read thinking it sounded like my sort of thing; and it started well enough.

Told from the point of view of three women from the same family, it recounts an incident from recent memory and then moves back and forth in time. The incident – a young man, Will, related to all the women in some way – falls from a roof and is grievously injured. How this impacts the family is revealed as the story goes on.

The various narratives range in success. I’m not sure different viewpoints were necessarily needed. The notion of digging in the past and putting ghosts to rest is set up fairly successfully in the first part; why change that for the next part? It also feels like there’s a lot of muddying the waters… the story goes off on a tangent frequently and you’re playing catch up with different names and timelines. Maybe I’m getting old but I found it tricky to follow at times.

I definitely found myself bored by the last third, too. Maybe the author is aware of that as there’s a sudden, last minute injection of plot. But it wasn’t enough to save it in my opinion.

In short…

Started quite well but tailed off significantly. A shame as I thought this could be a new best author. Never mind, an OK 5/10

unsheltered by barbara kingsolver

This is a chunky book, though maybe not quite as hefty as The Poisonwood Bible and it feels a bit more accessible than that too. Still, there were times I was ploughing through. She can write a dense book, can’t she? Full of plot and info and character.

Two narratives: Willa is dealing with her house falling down around her and her family falling apart at the same time; and Thatcher Greenwood is living in that same house, only a hundred years ago. His neighbour is a female scientist who may hold the key to Willa saving her house. Lives intertwined and all that.

The modern plot worked better for me, though on paper the historical plot was more intriguing. Willa’s family are deftly realised in all their human complexities – they make questionable choices and definitely fuck up and are even a bit unlikeable, which is fine by me. No one wants perfect. The daughter, Tig, gets way too preachy and earnest towards the end but raises some valid points about existing and resisting in a capitalist society. Young people will change the world, for sure.

The historical plot feels contrived to me; characters not quite so well-drawn. Some scientific jargon slows the action. A sensationalist murder that is shoehorned in. All rushed towards the end but neatly wrapped up, I guess.

In short…

I enjoyed it but it didn’t rock my world. Nothing mind-blowing. A fair 7/10

the amateur marriage by anne tyler

Back on solid ground, phew. I can confidently say that I have not read a bad book by the great AT yet, and this is no exception. How does she do it? How does she craft such exquisite stories? They’re not even about anything! Just people, doing people things! But they’re brilliant!

This is pretty much a story about a married couple. Each chapter is at a different stage of their marriage: how they meet, a few years later with kids, a devastating situation, etc. It works supremely well, as each time you’re aware of the history and keen to know what’s occurred in the intervening years, which AT reveals with innate skill – no exposition here, no ma’am. And these people! Michael and Pauline: flawed human beings, with feelings and motives, they do terrible things to each other but there’s still love! You get why they’re together; you get why they fight. It’s real and complicated and totally believable.

There may not be the total emotional rush that some of her other books have; more a poignant acceptance of how things turn out – but it’s still an engaging read, precisely paced and so well written. I love AT.

In short…

Another top read from one of my faves. Yes queen 🙌🏽 9/10

memphis by tara m. stringfellow

Yeah, said I was going to read a light-hearted book and went and picked up this one instead. What was I thinking? Dunno – maybe the pretty colours on the cover fooled me. But here we go – rape, domestic violence, murder, gang warfare, racism, 9/11 – yes. A jolly yarn. Ha.

Told from the point of view of three women, the story starts as Miriam returns to her childhood home in Memphis with her daughters Joan and Mya in tow, after leaving their abusive dad. But old trauma resurfaces when they encounter Miriam’s nephew Derek. Fun times! Actually, as a story, it’s fairly engaging (though I wouldn’t say enjoyable), and I do like reading about families through the ages kind of thing. It’s an insight into the daily struggles Black people – and especially Black women – faced in the mid-twentieth century, and obviously still today. It’s also a love letter to Memphis (which I visited once, many many years ago).

Personally, the jumps back and forth in time did not quite work this time. Sometimes it’s a highly effective narrative tool – this just felt jarring – I couldn’t keep the sequence of events straight in my head (this could be entirely my issue, obvs), which means I lost any sense of the tragedy as a whole.

Also had a sense that this book is just not for me. You know? And that’s absolutely fine. Not every book has to reach everyone. Just pointing out why it probably didn’t hit home.

In short…

Structure a bit crunchy for me, but there was an OK story in there – even if it wasn’t the joy-fest I was after, 6/10

the romantic by william boyd

What a fascinating premise. William Boyd was handed a bundle of notes and papers which turned out to be an autobiography of sorts. He did a bit more digging and found out about the life of Cashell Ross, an orphan brought up by his aunt in County Cork in the early eighteenth century, on the grounds of a stately home. Boyd thought it would be better told as a novel, so he wrote it.

I adored Any Human Heart – a similar sort of story – the life of a man. The Romantic spans almost all of Cashell’s life – and what a life. A man that follows his heart; a romantic. It leads him all over the world, from deepest Africa to rural America. He encounters famous poets, explorers, tricksters, and European aristocracy. He falls in love, loses her, and finds her again many years later. It’s incredibly romantic. It sometimes reads as completely improbable; but then you remember that it’s not; this guy actually existed, and did these things.

I enjoyed this book. I don’t think it’s as compelling as Any Human Heart, but it moves at a good pace and changes direction often enough to keep the narrative interesting.

In short…

Classic Boyd; though not his best. I did enjoy it though, 8/10

the whalebone theatre by joanna quinn

Eek! Read and finished and loved this a while ago, just haven’t posted because life, innit. I’ll keep it brief anyhow – I really really really liked this book – loved it almost – very easy to read, set in a crumbling stately home in the early 1900s, follows eccentric family over the years till after World War 2, plus lots of theatre love and the obligatory sad bit that I seem to require more and more these days – it’s a good’un. Try it!

In short…

Even shorter than the above? OK – it’s great! Read it now! 9.5/10

the accidental tourist by anne tyler

After my recent spate of shit books I struggled to finish, I went for a surefire winner – Anne Tyler. We all know my love for the Ann Patchett, and it is almost matched by my love for the Anne Tyler now (Tyler is more prolific; I’ve almost read all of Patchett, but nowhere near that with Tyler). So I knew I’d enjoy this book.

And I did! Ofc! It’s classic Tyler. Oddball characters, seemingly innocuous happenings, all absolutely deep and meaningful in ways that hit you long after you put the book down. Macon Leary has just split with his wife Sarah; their son died a year before and unsurprisingly they’re not coping. Macon is a man that likes order and simplicity, so the ramifications of the separation send him into a downward spiral. When he needs a dog trainer to control his dog, however, he meets Muriel – a chaotic and unpredictable woman – and becomes embroiled in her life.

It’s a great book where nothing really goes on, but it all goes on. Anne Tyler is just a genius at creating real people – by which I mean, properly flawed people who irritate and frustrate, but who you end up rooting for anyhow. This book has a genuinely surprising ending. I did not anticipate it at all – which is a good thing! It’s not the outcome I wanted, but I can understand why it was written like that. Which is another good thing.

I feel like Anne Tyler is a perfect palate cleanser – if you ever get stuck in the bad book rut, just pick up a Tyler (or Patchett). Can’t go wrong.

In short…

Easy, engaging, interesting, moving – all the usual ingredients I like. Would highly recommend, 9/10