It was wonderful to pick up from where I left off at the end of Nella Last's War - VJ Day August 14th, 1945 - when I opened the pages of Nella Last's Peace. There was something very comforting about the continuation, so I didn't feel as if I'd missed any of Nella's little world and life in Barrow and the goings on with her family and friends. You can expect more of the same wonderful prose (expertly edited) and humourous, gossipy, emotive and reflective insights, observations, thoughts, feelings and interactions as Nella shares her life with us. The war might well be over, but the fight to establish a positioning in the new world and the battle for housewives to provide for their families despite rationing, rages on. Life is still hard and Nella often reflects on the camaraderie of the war years and how it kept them all going. What I love about Nella's writing is that she is brutally honest in her diary entries and she seems ultra sensitive to the happenings of everyday life. Two beautiful quotes to illustrate this: "We are all in the melting pot of history, and that's always hurting. The best part of history is to read it out of books when things get more in focus..." "It's so ghastly to think that people who fight, endure and suffer are not the ones to begin wars, and are so helpless to stop them. Only if people's minds and hearts could unite and change, only if we all could unite in a single purpose of personal responsibility to each other, to life in general, towards people we know exist but never see, to teach little children the beauty of peace and concord, how to agree with each other, share things - and laugh - can simple forthright peace come." When I got to the end, I felt like I'd lost an old friend, a very dear, wise old friend. So imagine my delight when I discovered there's a third and final installment of Nella's diary entries written through the 1950s. Guess what I've just ordered on Amazon...
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I love wartime literature so this book was definitely for me. Nella Last's account of everyday life back then is fascinating from the cost of things, to the rationing, to her opinions of the country's leaders... and to write the way she did with bucketfuls of empathy, humour, sadness, contemplation and beautiful nostalgia is truly captivating. This is the diary of Nella Last, Housewife, 49, which she kept religiously during the Second World War for the Mass Observation project. Charles Madge, a poet and journalist, and Tom Harrisson, an anthropologist set up the Mass-Observation project in 1937 to "record the voice of the people". Nella Last was one of 500 people from all over the UK to take part in this extraordinary national writing project. I connected with her entries across the decades because she's writing from her perspective, not only as a housewife, but as a woman during those years. She's a go getter who comes into her own during the war years and she likes to balance that positive attitude with a peaceful, stable home life. Unfortunately, she does live with regrets and unfulfilled dreams because of the world she lives in, but she's someone who makes the best of everything, always. Creative, resourceful, never wavering. Despite suffering with terrible nerves, regularly feeling depressed within and not forgetting what she's living through (Barrow-in-Furness suffered terribly during the Blitz and was often overlooked), she's outwardly a comedian who finds the strength from somewhere to entertain the people from day to day and keep their spirits up. I am very much looking forward to reading her Post-War Diaries now "Nella Last's Peace". This book has been sitting in my pile of "must reads" for a while now. It was on my list because I wanted to read a thriller where weather is used to create the tension and atmosphere in the novel, like Lee Child's Echo Burning which I absolutely loved. I expected great things from Snowdrops because of the hype. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and the CWA Gold Dagger in 2011. After finishing it, I definitely feel that the things that were left unsaid are actually what make the story so completely gripping and disturbing. It's a real eye opener into Russia and the corruption, and the geographical references and description enhance the plot as it unfolds. I found the worldly confidence of the main character carried an unnerving wave of hopelessness. I wouldn't want to live the life he was living, every day his conscience eroding away. The less you know, the better - to quote the book. But that's what gave the story its unhinged edge. It was a bit of a shock after reading chick lit and I still can't decide whether it's a keeper. I will have to ponder that for a little while. In terms of learning from the writer's style - the lesson I picked up here was don't try to include everything. Leave some mystery and reading between the lines for your audience. I bought this book at the same time as Somewhere Over England because I quite fancied some lighthearted Chick Lit (haven't read any for a while). McFarlane's debut got rave reviews and this is her second novel. I haven't read You Had Me At Hello so I didn't have any expectations when I started Here's Looking At You, but what a brilliant book. Lots of laugh out loud moments, gorgeous little quips I wished I'd created and a catchy, distinctive style. I loved the fact I could relate to the numerous being a 30-something references, the "looking back at secondary school" references and the fashion, culture, music etc refs. Just spot on.
I always think Chick Lit is a difficult genre to tackle because it can so easily come across as mega cheesy. McFarlane doesn't seem to have any trouble because she keeps it real. A classic case of writing what you know. There is a moment in the last third of the book which blew me away with its tenderness - and I'm not talking about a sex scene or even a "kiss and make up" scene, which is usually the backbone of your regular rom com. McFarlane writes on a tightrope of gentle comedy. She's taken a different tact to change it up and it works superbly. I picked up this novel on a whim whilst doing my food shop. It caught my eye because I'm a big fan of books set during the World Wars and also the author had previously published it under a different title, which is something I'm considering doing. I started to read and the opening chapters didn't immediately grab me (like it's drummed into us writers they should) but I kept going because I just had a hunch it was going to be a good storyline. When an English woman marries a German man on the brink of the Second World War, it's an intriguing hook.
I'm always trying to learn from published authors so, what I wanted to uncover here, was how Margaret Graham would write about the agony of conflict amidst a tight family unit and how the three members of the family would cope with the burden of war and discrimination. The book deals beautifully with the subject of being a German verses being a Nazi and how during war, the two lines become quickly blurred. Every book needs a strong main character who the reader can connect with and, more importantly believe in, and Graham does an excellent job with Helen. You feel everything she feels and how she keeps going, even after the war, driven by pure determination to find peace in her life for herself and for her family and still hold it all together, is anyone's guess. But there are characters in our lives like Helen, which is what made this book so special to me. I also enjoyed the way Graham moved the story along with historical references. I admire any writer who has the patience to weave history into their plot/s because of the amount of research it must have involved. This book surprised me with just how good it was, and for that, I really loved it and it will definitely be staying on my bookshelf. As the year draws to a close I've finished the incredible Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. You've heard of a mid life crisis? Well, this book is the tale of a mid thirties crisis. Loving Julia Roberts, but not yet seeing the film, I was intrigued to read the book to see what all the fuss was about. Now, after reading the story, I think Julia Roberts will play this part to perfection. For me, the abundance of candor running through the story is at the heart of what makes this book so special. I can't speak for every female that ever lived, but the assumed way of doing things is to live our twenties to the max and then, once we hit our thirties, it's time to start thinking about settling down, getting married and having children. "One woman's search for everything" ... that doesn't even begin to cover it! Who would have the guts to turn their life upside down willingly (and dive head first to get battered in a bitter divorce) in search of themselves? On the surface Gilbert had the perfect life - big house, married, great career, on the verge of starting a family - so why the hell did she throw it all away? You could read the story and think "Selfish cow" or you could read the story and think "Courageous". There's no way to explain it other than some people just need more in their life and, with the norms becoming chains around the neck, conforming and staying put will eventually cause more harm than good. Gilbert has an insatiable thirst for learning so she's not just telling a story, but teaching us too, mostly in spiritual things and also with her travels and the people and cultures she encounters. Don't be put off by this (who remembers those good old RE lessons back in secondary school) because she does it in such an endearing, thought provoking way that you can't help but be drawn in. Starting her journey of self discovery in Rome, she eats her way through the city and socialises the months away. Then it's on to an Ashram in India where she meets a plain speaking, laugh out loud Texan man whilst scrubbing temple floors - and does a lot of meditating. Finally she ends up in Indonesia, sitting at the feet of a medicine man and helping another laugh out loud character, this time in the form of a Balinese woman called Wayan, buy a house amidst all of the traditions, superstitions and ceremonies of Balinese culture. She even meets a Brazilian and falls in love, but they vow to one another never to marry again, happy to just be in each others company as survivors of horrible divorces... until the bottom falls out of that plan, but that my friends is the sequel... When it comes to travelogues, I find it hard to find one that hasn't overdone it on the description, and when you don't know the place very well, too much description loses me. To have just the right amount of description to keep the reader's attention and engage them in your adventure is a very tricky art. What Jonny does so brilliantly in this story is mix a perfect blend of emotion, beautiful honesty, energy, courage, adventure and dare I say, spirituality into the narrative. For me, he strikes a chord and there are moments in the book where I applaud the prose and only hope I can be as good some day. I mean, the whole thing is edited to perfection, but those particular sections are extra extra special. Page 209 is a great example of this when Jonny finally reaches Cape Town. This is the first travelogue I've read cover to cover and boy what an adventure. Makes me wish I had the guts to jump on a motorbike and ride down one side of Africa and back up the other. I love Africa, it's in my blood having contracted adventure tours there for a good eight years. This book was recommended to me by a friend who now works for Jonny over at Wild Frontiers. From the way he was describing it to me, I knew I was going to enjoy it. We all face crossroads in life and it's how we deal with the fallout of change that shapes our future. This is at the heart of Running with the moon. What also resonated with me from a travel perspective was the bits of Africa he travelled through which I didn't know very well, I came to know better, and the bits I did know, it brought back wonderful memories. The description of Lake Tana hotel in Tana, Ethiopia on pages 294 and 295 - I stayed there in December 2007 and it's still exactly the same! If you love Africa and you love an adventure coupled with beautiful prose, this is definitely a must read. I am sure I'll be reading it over and over. Two books I can't wait to get stuck into on the Kindle - just as soon as I've finished a motorbike journey through Africa and a road trip on Route 66:
Matt Kepnes's "How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter" and Will Ferguson's "Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Excursions in the Great Weird North" Finally I can say I have read an entire book on the Kindle. I have at last joined the eBook revolution! I don't think it compares to holding a real book, flipping through the pages, touching, feeling, smelling... ok, ok, I'm getting carried away, but there is still something magical about a real book. I only have to look at my shelves and shelves and stacks and stacks of books and I know I'm in love.
But that doesn't mean to say I'm not in love with my Kindle too... It's all about adapting. Check out my debut review on Amazon for my debut eBook read Nick Spalding's Life... With No Breaks. How do you choose what to read and what to ditch when there is so much choice? I randomly selected this book after browsing a few of the reviews. It's a complete shot in the dark though. I guess that's why many authors go for the 99p option (and also the free for a month option to generate interest). Try me. Buy me. You won't miss 99p in the great scheme of daily life. That's exactly what my research has proven. Anyhoo, this book caught my eye because the author sat and wrote it in 30 hours. Good job, and I totally salute him! I quickly followed this one up with Jon Rance's This Thirtysomething Life. The male version of Bridget Jones. Genius! Twitter seems to be down at the moment which is a little surprising. It never crossed my mind that social media sites would need to go "offline" from time to time for maintenance since they're like old friends - always there for you.
My latest read has been Araminta Hall's "Everything and Nothing". I took it with me to Cuba and devoured it in the two days we lay on the beach in Varadero. The new genre "nanny chiller" written about in the reviews had me intrigued, but I originally bought the book because it's essentially about a family in meltdown. I wanted to see how other authors portray broken relationships and damaged individuals, and how all that gets captured into a compelling storyline evoking empathy for the main characters. To make yourself a better writer, the simple truth is you must study the pros. Araminta's debut is the first of three books I've selected to explore the themes running through my own trilogy. The other two on my list are Elizabeth Haynes's debut "Into the Darkest Corner" and A.D. Miller's debut "Snowdrops". I picked Haynes because her story deals with obsession and abuse, and I picked Miller's because weather is used throughout the story to depict mood, setting and drama. Coming back to "Everything and Nothing", what makes the book great is the fact most people can relate to it, which makes the characters believable. I don't have a husband and two kids, but I can understand the frustration depicted excellently throughout of working so hard you feel like everything else in your life is out of control. And that's ok for a while because you ride on the wave of euphoria your job brings you (hopefully, as long as you're doing something you like!) but pretty soon the cracks start to show. You miss an event. You forget a birthday, or an anniversary. You have to cancel a holiday because you're just too busy... In essence, you start sacrificing the bits of your life that are real and tangible, yet you have no time to step back and take a long, hard look at yourself from the outside looking in. Reminds me of the Adam Sandler movie "Click". Also the dilemma every working woman faces when they've had a child - to go back to work or not. The guilt, the shame, the unknown. The visions not matching the reality - whichever decision you make. What else? How two people can be in love one minute and then drift so far apart the next. The book takes on both perspectives - male and female - and does a fine job of getting to the heart of both. You want to hate Christian for having an affair whilst Ruth is pregnant, but you can't. Because he's stumbling around for answers as much as she is. Without giving too much away, rarely do you imagine the male species having an epiphany, and from a female perspective - how the hell does it happen and what goes through their mind??? If you want to know, all I can say is read the book... So, besides all that meltdown stuff going on, you have indeed got a new genre - the nanny chiller - which in itself is a marvelous concept. For me this was a refreshing read, old and new themes mixed together to create something totally unique. And that's what makes a great story! |
AuthorBlogging is an amazing concept so here I am giving it a whirl. You'll get words. You'll get pics. Sometimes a vid or two. You'll get tongue in cheek, the odd humble opinion and an honest insight into my travels and writing life. Maybe even a few gems along the way. I'll be musing on home turf as I see more and more of the UK and sharing my experiences further afield on holidays and adventurous trips across the globe. Archives
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