The Charmer - Mandasue Heller

I'm not going to waste too much time on this one. It says on the front of the book "if you like Martina Cole you'll love Mandasue Heller". Not a great start since I wouldn't say I like Martina, lol.

.

Basic plot: Maria is 21 and has been brought up through the care system for the past ten years since her single-mother was killed in an accident on her way home from work. On her 21st birthday, whilst living in a rented bedsit in Devon with not even two pennies to rub together, she receives a letter from a solicitor informing her that she has inherited a substantial amount of money and a humongous house in Manchester. So off she trots to reluctantly (eh?!) claim her inheritance. Apparently she's none to happy to discover that she had a relative who knew all about her while she grew up being shifted from care home to care home - understandable. And therefore she is suspicious of the money and house she has been left and doesn't really want it - totally not understandable.

.

Whilst in Manchester she meets Joel in a bar, a fella so good looking he charms her into bed and her credit card out of her bag. Joel is heavily into the drug scene and has some rather unsavoury characters after him but doesn't let any of this slip to Maria obviously. Therefore, even though he's only just met her, he somehow manages to convince Maria to let him stay with her for just a couple of weeks (she's smitten apparently) so he can hide-out (without her knowing of course). And during this time Maria manages to completely alienate her friends, and hand over control of all her money to Joel - a man she's just met. Hmmm. Anyway, she's now completely loved up with Joel, without a clue that he's dealing drugs and shagging anything with a pulse behind her back, or that there are nasties after him.

.

Once Joel's hiding place is rumbled he convinces her that he loves her so much that they (by this I mean Maria) should buy a flat for them both. But then, as Joel begins to start snorting more crack than he sells, Maria discovers his secret and turns to the estate-rat friends she knew whilst growing up in Manchester to help her out (characters who actually have some well-needed depth to them I might ad). She also discovers that according to paperwork held by her solicitor, Joel has been moving her money into his own account when her investments have been maturing - how this is possible without her signature, or without her being present at the bank is beyond me. Anyway, we find out eventually that Joel isn't stealing the money, one of her solicitors associates is (same discrepancies over signature apply)... but all we know about him is that he seems to get away with it.

.

And that's pretty much it. I really didn't enjoy it at all. How the publisher can put this type of writing in a class with Martina Cole is beyond me. Ok, I might not be a Martina fan, but at least her characters are well rounded and their actions are consistent with their personalities. Maria totally isn't. You'd think that if she grew up in a care home and is pretty much penniless when we meet her she'd snatch up her inheritance... but the way she doesn't seem to want any of it is highly annoying. And then when she finally does accept it, she hands over all control of it to a man she barely knows... when she's got a lovely friendly solicitor to help her look after it! Because, well yeah, you'd do that wouldn't you! Crazy. As for Joel, we know hardly anything about him at all. We don't get given any clues as to why he's a drug dealer, why he treats people the way he does, or anything that gives us much insight into he personality. His character is not consistent with a hardened criminal, or with the kind who wants to be boss of the drugs world. He doesn't even have any rough minions to help him and his place within the drugs world is not very clear. It seems he thinks he's a big fish, but again this isn't consistent with what (little) we know about him. And as for the other characters, they are completely one dimensional.

.

And therefore it was very difficult to invest any kind of emotional attachment to the characters or manage to care either way what happens to them. The plot is fine, and probably would have been a pretty good book if the characters had had some substance to them. So, needless to say I didn't enjoy it at all, sorry. Maybe this gangs/drugs kind of genre just isn't my kind of book :)

The Hottest State - Ethan Hawke

Yep... you read correctly. Ethan Hawke, as in the actor. Not a lot of people know that Ethan Hawke also writes novels (two so far, the other being Ash Wednesday), and probably even fewer who have formed a justified opinion either way on his work. In some respects he probably has to work harder to convince us of his credibility as a writer than your average author since he has to overcome that "Hollywood actor who's now trying to convince us he's a writer" label. With this in mind The Hottest State can't just be good... it has to be extra good...
.
And I have to hand it to him, the boy delivers. This is the second time I've read Hawke's first offering and I loved it just as much this time as I did the last. I decided to re-read it after watching the film that he made adapted from the book and noticed there were some differences from the book, but as it turns out I'm not going mad and Hawke did make some changes. It's intriguing to me to wonder why an author who makes a film of a book that he wrote chooses to adapt it rather than stick to it faithfully. Largely the script between the characters remains the same (thankfully coz I loved those exchanges!) and I suppose other changes were made for the purposes of adapting to screenplay. In any case, it's still a good film... but enough about the movie anyway :)
.
The Hottest State is a better first novel that one might have expected. Hawke's approach is both sensitive and direct and as a result the characters and the text are refreshingly honest. Anyone who remembers being 'in love' when they were 20 knows the pain and obsession of that first relationship and it's a difficult subject to tackle but Hawke does not shy away from the challenge. It's a fairly skinny book so doesn't take long to read but is also good because the book keeps pace with the situation and doesn't drag.

.

The story follows William, a small-time actor living in New York who meets a quiet and slightly weird Sarah in a bar called 'The Bitter End'. Their relationship is romantic and intense with William trying his best to bring elements of the movie theatre into real life. Things for William are perfect, apart from one small issue with Sarah refusing to have sex with him. But other than that, things are great. They move in together and William falls head over heels for her. Then after a week together in France, Sarah turns cold and the relationship ends, much to William's dismay and confusion.

.

If you're looking for a story with a great plot, then this isn't it. This is a book that explores character. Sarah is troubled and insecure, and has moved to New York to be a singer... although she seems to hate singing in front of people. Her last relationship didn't end well and she has a mother intent on making her feel guilty for following her dreams William is also insecure and tries to hide this using humour. For him most of life is an act as he tries to pretend his life is not as empty as it actually is. Combine this with memories of his childhood and an absent promise-breaking father and you have a veritable melting pot of angst, trouble and fraught emotions.

.

With this is mind, you could be forgiven for choosing to give this book a miss... however, this is where Hawke has shown himself more than capable of tackling this difficult subject. Despite the situation the story runs smoothly and Hawke cleverly punctuates the downsides with William's humorous personality. During parts which you should be crying at, you find yourself laughing such is William's outlook at his situation. But don't read this to mean the book is funny by any means. William's humour is full of cynicism, almost like a black comedy. At times during tough situations Hawke manages to hit the nail right on the head. His characters have depth and excellent dialogue and with clever support characters that really highlight Sarah and William's relationship.
.
So, in my humble opinion, the accolade of 'Writer' given to Hawke is justifiably earned, and earned by his own efforts, not merely as a given because he's already a famous actor. This book doesn't try to be clever... it just tries to be honest. Definitely worth a read, and I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised... :)

Fortune's Rocks - Anita Shreve

I have found another favourite book. Not for a long time now have I found a book that I knew would stay with me until I am old and grey. But Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve is definitely one of those books. I picked it up in a charity shop last month without knowing anything about the author or even if she had previously written anything. As it turns out she has written 13 novels now, two of which have been made into movies. In fact I remember seeing The Weight of Water a few years back although I admit i didn't much get it at the time and can remember little of it now.

.
The story opens with 15 year-old Olympia Biddeford taking a walk down to the shoreline on the first day of arrival at her family's summer home at Fortunes' Rocks and this is the point where she begins to step over the threshold from girl to young woman. Indeed, during these first few moments we are not the only ones to realise this, as the moment is also captured by the male bathers at the sea and also by Olympia's doting, if not somewhat utilitarian father, Phillip Biddeford. During a weekend gathering at the cottage hosted by her father Olympia meets John Haskell, a 41 year-old essayist, physicist and campaigner for the poor along with his wife Catherine and their four children. And thus this meeting sets in motion a passionate affair between the two which dramatically changes the lives of everyone. When their affair is discovered by a disgruntled poet (introducing Cote, a deliciously sly and fetid character) whose work was rejected by Olympia's father, the two are found out and for a few years neither knows of the others whereabouts. Olympia is whisked back to the family home in Boston in shame, but a few months later gives birth to the couple's child but is taken away against Olympia's wishes and placed in an orphanage. Circumstances finally lead Olympia on a mission to retrieve her child where many issues of class and status are raised. The ending leads to the cementation of Olympia as one of the most memorable heroine's I've come across since Jane Eyre.
.
The way Shreve writes this novel is amazing to me. Her prose (the only word for her writing) has a relaxing, almost languid quality to it, like a dream. I must admit that when I first started to read, I found the text a little hard going so different is it. But once you settle into it reading Fortune's Rocks is like watching a story unfold through a glass tube or water. You are led along the story and in the way the author intends, but the area around the immediate is slightly blurred and hazy so that, even though you can make out the shapes and colours, it's how you interpret and imagine them that makes the story yours. With Shreve's writing it is just as much about what is implied rather than what is spelled out. In fact, there is relatively little dialogue throughout the book, with Shreve seemingly intending that actions and feelings be the predominate focus with much of the passion being narrated in the past tense. A clever way to proceed since one can not ever do justice to the topic of all-encompassing love simply with words. In fact the dream-like prose and it's mistiness lends an air of sad inevitability to Olympia and John's fate. And again, the only time we get any continuous dialogue is during the coutroom scenes when Olympia is trying to win back her child. The change in prose serves to highlight the autere nature of the courts and how they are only concerned with facts rather than emotions.
.
The setting of the story at the edge of the sea has no small influence on the way the story reads and also has some bearing on the characters themselves. The constant ebb and flow of the tide seems to highlight the plight of John and Olympia. Their wish is for things and time to stand-still, so that they might always be together. But like the sea, nothing remains constant and things will inevitably change. John and his wife will move into their new cottage further down the beach, and Olympia and he will no longer be able to snatch time with each other. If you can imagine what it's like to be near the sea; the noise of the ocean, the cleansing smell of the air, the breeze - it seems to have a sad melody in it's transient state, highlighted again by the holiday makers it sees each year, who then go back to their real lives fore the winter. John and Olympia meet by the sea that summer, but by the end of the season they are gone from each other, caught in the act of love by Zachariah Cote. Indeed, the only other time they are together again in the book is when the two go back to Fortune's Rocks under very different circumstances.

.

The summer house that the Biddeford's own also bears some significance in the story I think, although since finishing the book and searching a few websites I find that the house is apparently used in some of Shreve's other novels. Before being converted the house was a nunnery, complete with chapel which had to be deconsecrated before being bought by Olympia's father. At one point in the book Haskell says to Olympia that "most of a love affair is in the mind", which certainly is true of them both since time and circumstances can not allow them to have many physical moments together. This echoes somewhat the lives of the nuns who lived in the house and where married to God - their love for him also being largly in the mind.

.

Lastly, Olympia's mother and father are also very intriguing characters. Phillip Biddeford is intellectual, educated and travelled. Having been disenchanted with the current schooling system in America he has taken responsibly for Olympia's education and thus removed her from the influences and friendships of people her own age - an act which goes much of the way in contributing to Olympia's personality and her subsequent relationship with Haskell. Olympia's mother Rosamund, is one of those characters which flits about in the background and seems inconsequential to the story. However, is just this removal as a significant female role model that also aids Olympia along her path and into the arms of Haskell. In fact we know very little about Olympia's mother other than that she is a woman afflicted with vague and unspecific ailments, and she that she is most partial to hues of blue. The reasons for this are alluded to in the story although we get a hint later when Rosamund, thinking that Olympia has gotten herself a 'young beau', briefly tells of a time when she met a boy as a teenager, who had remarkably blonde eyelashes (take this to mean blue eyes), and that one day whilst walking to the beach he said something to her. What he said she never knew since at that moment her father found them out and she never saw him again. We can't help but think that the loss of love is the ailment that afflicts Olympia's mother although Shreve never directly indicates this.

.

Needless to say this book left a big impression on me. I don't really think that anything I can say can fully do justice to how good this book is and the beautiful way in which Shreve writes and creates characters. I will leave by saying that, if I ever manage to write that novel I am promising to do, then this is the kind of prose and quality I am aiming for. If I even achieve half of what Shreve has managed, I will be happy :)

Red Lily - Nora Roberts

Wow... the saga of Harper House finally ends! And it was worth every moment I reckon. The last book in the trilogy certainly doesn't disappoint and also manages to tie up all the loose ends surrounding the Harper Bride.
.
Let me first say that this might be a quick entry as I don't have much time... sorry :)
.
Red Lily focuses on the character of Hayley. As with the previous two books and the other two characters (Stella and Roz) she finds herself the object of the Harper Brides displeasure - especially as Hayley realises that she is in love with Harper (Roz's son) and the two begin their relationship. The intensity with which the Harper Bride invades Hayley's consciousness is more that we witnessed in the other books and Roberts has done a good job of graduating the process between the women, from Stella's initial dreams to the complete possession of Hayley. The book is so good I don't want to provide any spoilers on the off chance that someone stumbles across this but needless to say Harper and Hayley fall head over heels with each other... with circumstances nudging them a little quicker to the what we all know was an inevitable ending ;)
.
Roberts does a good job with Hayley's character. She is bubbly and scatty and full of beans and knowledge, which shows off her true personality - which contrasts a great deal to when the bride takes her over. Her relationship with Harper is the stuff of Hollywood movies... but no less cute and very appropriate. Roberts manages to mix traditional values (getting married, loyalty, respect, protection of the ones you love etc) with a contemporary edge, shown in the way Harper proposes to Hayley. So sweet! You'll love this third book... it's the perfect ending to a perfect trilogy :)

Black Rose - Nora Roberts

This is the second of Roberts' 'In the Garden' trilogy which follows on from Blue Dahlia I read last month. I lent it to a friend who loved it so much (and who is far more impatient than me!) that she went on Amazon that very day and bought the remaining two books in the series so she could follow on the story asap - and which now means I can follow it on too!

.

After finishing Blue Dahlia I wanted to read Black Rose as soon as possible coz I wanted to see how Stella and Logan's relationship continued and also find out more about the Harper Bride. Black Rose however, focuses predominantly on Roz's character and how the Harper Bride affects her. Stella and Logan's relationship hardly gets a mention throughout this book and I thought I would be really disappointed at that, but to be honest Roberts does such a great job of bringing Roz's character to life that you pretty much forget how involved you were in Stella because you get so invested in Roz. Oh how fickle us readers are! We do get to hear about Stella and Logan's wedding but even this is brief as during that part of the story something a whole lot more interesting happens to Roz... (you'll need one of those giant foam rubber fingers they have at sports events for this part I guarantee you!)

.

So, to the story. It opens in the same way as the previous book with a chapter relaying part of the Harper bride's life and how ill-treated she was and thus you begin to get a bit more of an idea as to why she acts the way she does around the characters, before moving to the present and beginning Roz's story. Roz has realised now that she loves having her house full again (what with Hayley and Stella et al moving in during the last book) but with Stella's impending wedding the numbers will begin to diminish. Fortunately she has met Dr Mitch Carnegie, the genealogist she has hired to research the family tree and, fingers crossed, identify the Harper Bride in the process, who she begins to develop a relationship with. There are times when Roz questions whether she should be embarking on this relationship, especially when it moves to more serious ground, but Roberts is an expert at not making this self-doubt an irritating, annoying girly interlude in Roz's character. As with everything, she has her reasons, but she's not silly about them. As Roz and Mitch get closer the Harper Bride makes her disapproval known. But Roz being Roz is sure as Hell not going to let a ghost run her life or influence her decisions, no sir!

.

I love Roz's character in this book. We got a hint of it in Blue Dahlia, but it's in this story that we really begin to get underneath her skin. She is one of the gutsiest and independent characters I've ever some across and she just kicks ass - but in a glamorous and sophisticated way! There are some awesome scenes in this book where she gets one up on those who deserve it - whilst always maintaining her poise and elegance since she hates public scenes. You'll be sitting there shouting in your head "C'mon Roz - kick their butts, kick it with style" - and boy, does she deliver! And at the end of the book you'll be really chuffed for her. I didn't find this one ended as abruptly as the other either. I'm not sure whether that was because I was more prepared for it - or because I had the third book on standby and therefore as soon as I finished Black Rose I picked up Red Lily and followed the story straight on, lol. I advise everyone to do that by the way... make sure you have the next installment ready to pick up! We also get to see a bit more of David's character too since he and Roz are close, and he just comes out with some of the greatest lines. And there is also the character of cousin 'Rissy' who can best be described as a shrivelled-up, cantankerous, evil-minded old witch (being polite) from whom Roz has to recover her ancestors journals in order to help piece together the Bride's identity. Its is safe to say that Black Rose definitely keeps you entertained the whole way through.

The Spirit of the Fen - Terry Reeve

I find myself in a strange position right now. I received this book through the post on Saturday morning that was sent to me direct from the author - who in this case happens to be my own dad. So it is a strange feeling indeed to have read a novel that someone you know personally has written and then, in the spirit of my keeping up faithfully with my book-log, have to write a review about it.

.

It was hard to read The Spirit of the Fen as being just a novel in which I had no prior emotional investment, rather than a novel specifically that your dad had written. I am not sure I managed to remain totally impartial – you are always looking for hidden subtexts and meanings to things! Whether that is a good thing or not I have no idea. I suppose I am in a very privileged position really as I guess not many people get to read a novel written by someone they know. There have been books I have read in the past when I have thought that it would have been great to know the author, to be able to have that inside information behind the text. But I didn’t find that in this case – not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. I think maybe it was the type of story and it’s content that made distancing myself from it so difficult since I grew up in the area and know how close the subject is to my dad. So, I shall try my very best to be impartial in my review, but I cannot promise I will manage it completely - in fact I will probably end up being too critical! Suddenly I am thinking how do I have the right to critique a novel when I probably have no idea how difficult a task it can be to write one?!
.
The Spirit of the Fen is set in the small market town of Bungay in Suffolk – the town I grew up in between the ages of 4 and 18 – and focuses on the current topical issue of new homes being built on green-field sites in rural communities in order to meet government targets. The rural area in this case being Outney Fen (or known locally as Outney Common). The story follows Danny and his fight to save the Fen from Pilgrim’s housing development, which will mean the desecration of common recreation and pastureland of environmental and historical significance – not to mention the spiritual attachment held of it by many of the local residents. It is a story of soul-searching and tragedy amidst much determination, and raises some important questions being faced by many rural residents and council planners up and down the country.

.

Overall, it was a good story and enjoyable to read but I think more so for me because I know the area and the landmarks being pointed out and its history. But it's a good first effort and the story flows along nicely. There are also some compelling arguments raised with regards to whether houses should be built on the Fen - at one point I found I was in two-minds about it all just as the central character was whereas before I have always been dead against. Knowing how much the author loves the place on which this book was based, he does manage to balance both sides of the struggle in a fair and objective manner which is quite an achievement. There are some slight repetitions throughout where he is trying to get his point across but the passion that the character of Danny has for the Fen, and it's significance to him and his spirituality is made very clear. I don't think it's going to win any book prizes, but the issues that it raises certainly provide some serious food for thought.

Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller

Hmmm... where do I start with this book. That's not necessarily a very good way is it, lol. It's difficult to know where to start when something you have read leaves you with so much to say. Okay, let me start by saying that it was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2003, which is a fair achievement in itself. I admit, I am a tad sceptical of book prizes. Not a lot, but a little. They are kind of like the new years honours list for books. But who's to say what a good book is? In my mind, that accolade can only be given by the reader and their relationship with the story. Because of this, you get the impression that you should read it out of principle, to see if it really is that good...
.
The blurb on the back is what made me pick it up initially (I actually bought it from a shop, a real shop - and paid full price for once!). Sheba Hart, a 41 year old pottery teacher at St George's, is having an illicit affair with one of the 15 year old pupils in the school. Barbara Covett is her only confidante, a spinster in her sixties and fellow teacher who writes Sheba's story during the fall-out generated by the affair in order to 'record' events and show the 'complexities' of Sheba's character. However Barbara, subconsciously, has her own agenda and soon leaves you wondering who you can trust. The blurb goes on to say that this is a story about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. It probably wasn't until the very last paragraph that I truly understood what was meant by this statement.
.
Let me begin by saying that I did enjoy reading this book a great deal. Due to the character of Barbara and her superior attitude there are a fair few words within the text I had never come across before. Usually when this happens I go look them up in the dictionary but I was too involved in the book to be able to put it down long enough to do this. When I first started reading the book I was reminded of those books and extracts that they give you in GCSE and A level English Lit classes in school. The ones where you are asked to read the subtext and dissect the characters in order to gain the true meaning being issued. At this I remember thinking (in a rather chavish way I admit) that here was a book that was going to make me work hard and think too much, lol. I have never known this to ever be a bad trait for a book to have, but I think my mind got stuck in 'classroom mode' for a moment and suddenly I was being forced to read books and note subtexts in order to pass exams rather than for the pleasure of choosing too. No matter, it passed quickly :) Maybe my thought on this was influenced by the plot since part of it is set in a school atmosphere.
.
When I first started reading the story I thought the message being given out was that of True Love and how True Love has no boundaries, that it can not be tied to a specific age or character or the restrictions of society, and that when it comes it is relentless and all consuming. I think that for Sheba this may have been the case. She was in love with Connolly and I think truly believed that they had something special. But this is where Sheba's life and character have influence over her actions. Married at 20 to a pretentious know-all named Richard, daughter of a famous economist father and a mother who doted on her husbands success, you can sympathise with her need for affection and can begin to rationalise how she thought the relationship with Connolly could work. However, love is clearly not what Connolly had in mind. He sees her in the way that most 15 year old boys would see a pretty older woman - he fancies her, he has the opportunity to sleep with her, so he takes it - it's as simple as that for him. The way Heller describes the meetings between the two is spot on. I think we have all been with someone at some point in our lives who treats us with nonchelance and so we can relate to why Sheba doesn't just call it a day when he turns distant and cold and chooses not to see the decline for what it is. She is clinging to the remnants of something for what it once was rather than for what is has become.
.
Then there is Barbara. Her lonely and meaningless life seems to deafen you with it's quiet monotony. There is one line which encompasses the idea of it completely. Something along the lines of: married people (or people with meaning in their lives) can not know what it is to construct their entire weekend around a trip to the laundrette. It's classic! Heller knows exactly how to describe the situation in a way that you would think only someone who had ever been in that situation would be able to do. I've not read much about Zoe Heller, but I imagine what with being a writer and a columnist living in New York, having a screenwriter husband and two children her life would be pretty full. How could she ever be able to encapsulate what it must be like to be so lonely? But this is the type of thing that differentiates writers from good writers - just like actors and good actors. And probably why Notes on a Scandal was nominated for a Booker Prize in the first place (the book that won it must have been bloody marvellous - or else one of those really pretentious books with a hidden context that no one except ardent literary expects will ever fully understand - you know full well the ones I mean!). We've all been in a situation where we have nothing planned for the weekend, or no party to go to on New Years, but imagine living that existence day in, day out as Barbara does. So again, you can partly understand why she ends up betraying Sheba in a moment of furious rage and jealousy. With these characters in mind it is fairly safe to assume that Heller's choosing of Barbara and Sheba's surnames is no accidental coincidence...
.
Heller's writing is clever throughout. There are certain paragraphs and sentences that I read a number of times such was their ability to make me laugh or the point that they were making was so meaningful. Once obnoxious male character in the staff room at the beginning was described as sitting with his legs "aggressively akimbo" - the subsequent image making me laugh out loud. Other things that she says hit home in a rather unsettling manner, but only because you know what she is saying is true. Once such paragraph struck me as particularly insightful
.
"That's the thing about people who believe in God, isn't it? The love they have for Him never ends does it. He never lets them down. I read some writer once , who said that love - he was talking about romantic love - love is a mystery and once the solution is found, it evaporates"
.
I have to say that the ending is very smart. The very last line in particular of Barbara's narrative leaves you with a very sinister feeling... and you suddenly understand. You can't help but feel sorry for Sheba and what the future holds for her and Barbara. Submissive Sheba who sees the world in it's innocence, and lonely, calculating Barbara who having been on her own for so long is used to having things as she likes them. You know the relationship will never end happily. But on this, Heller leaves us to make up our own minds. It does however leave you with a very unsettling feeling as you close the back cover of the book... like you are somehow glad that you can close the chapter of Barbara and Sheba's disturbing futures and not have to think it anymore...
.
Jeez I have gone on forever and ever! I do apologise :) I finished reading the book this morning so I guess all the ideas and impressions left on me are still fresh in my mind. I feel I must also apologise for the minimal effort I put in on my last book blog (Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone). It's not that it wasn't as good - just different. And I am the kind of person that if I have something constructive to say then I say it. But if I haven't... then I don't :)