I was recently featured in UK’s magazine, Novelist Post where I talked about my writing journey, how I tackled research, my love of historical fiction and much more.
There are lots of other interesting and informative author stories in the magazine.
A book about time travel where the past meets the present? This is a book I wanted to read.
A civil servant gets a job as a ‘bridge’ to Commander Graham Gore otherwise known as ‘1847’ when he is extracted from an Arctic mission with Sir John Franklin to find the North West Passage. All were lost during that fateful mission and yes these were real people.
Bradley deftly brings Commander Gore to life and so we have the basis for a novel. But this one is an unusual telling. Firstly, it’s told in first person by an unnamed civil servant, a young woman with Cambodian/English parentage. As a bridge, she is employed to live with him for a year to be Graham’s teacher and to help him adapt to life in the 21st Century. Their relationship grows and she soon begins questioning the real motive in bringing several figures from the past to present day.
This is an interesting book covering a multitude of themes. The story of being a bridge also coincides with her own story as the daughter of a mother who has undergone trauma having escaped the Khmer Rouge. Was Bradley drawing a parallel with her mother’s background as a displaced refugee to Graham’s displaced life in present day London? It seems so. The exploration of her identity meandered with little purpose until the end when it seemed to make more sense. But did it truly belong? I found it difficult to buy into and although interesting, for me it became a distraction from the core story.
The unfolding of the arctic trip made by Graham was one I wanted to know but the narrative was completely separate and omnipresent. I’d have liked to hear it from Graham or to have been with him and surely this is what the bridge would have asked too. Sometimes it almost seemed like an information dump as did the ‘teaching’ moments by the bridge. Indeed, I’d have loved to read more about Graham’s observations too.
Their relationship was interesting as it grew and reminded me a lot of the movie Kate and Leopold only not quite as charming. Detail of the bridge’s life was scant and although there was mention of her family and some friends, there seemed to be not much else in this woman’s life.
The writing is good but the overuse of metaphors was distracting. The plot did meander a bit in the middle although the last quarter seemed entirely different almost like an action movie.
I sped through this one as it was easy to read. I think though that Bradley tried desperately not make this tale too predictable but tackled too many themes without adequate exploration to make it feel like it belonged.
Overall, a delightful premise of a tale but not an amazing read.
Gail Baines is preparing for her daughter’s wedding. Her ex-husband arrives at her door with a stray cat expecting to stay with her on the day when she’s been told that she no longer has a job. Roll in a distressed daughter, a groom with a secret who is severely allergic to cats and there can only be chaos.
This is a short read but packs in a lot. Gail a middle-aged woman is truly at cross-roads and begins to reflect on where her life derailed making her question her own relationships not just with her ex-husband but also the people around her.
I really enjoyed this. There were lighthearted moments interspersed with anxiety for Gail. She worries about her daughter and the wedding and the perceived idea that she is losing her child despite the fact that her daughter hasn’t lived with her for years. The wedding is being controlled by the in-laws which is unusual but Gail sees her involvement as little more than a guest, also unusual. In fact Gail is confronted with her own biases and during the three days must make decisions about her future and take control.
I liked the idea that the everyday can be entirely disrupted as it was for Gail. A straightforward event was anything but straightforward and of course there is nothing like a wedding to draw out the emotions.
The writing as usual is terrific, sharp and meaningful. Tyler is a master of family dynamics and relationships. There’s nothing wrong with this one. Give it a go.
Motherless child, Agnes lives with her father, a priest in ninth-century Mainz. She’s a brilliant and highly intelligent child with a deep knowledge and love for God. At eighteen she loses her father and with the help of a Benedictine monk, she disguises herself as man to study and devote her life to God.
She is known as John the Englishman and she forges a life for herself forsaking the traditional role of wife and mother. She becomes a scribe, a translator, a celebrated teacher and finally a Pope.
This is a fascinating story and said to be loosely based on Pope Joan which legend has it was a woman who disguised herself as a man finding her way through the Church hierarchy to become the Pope in 855.
“God has made me to excel at this work, she thinks. There is not another person on earth who sees things as I do. If she were say this out loud she would be whipped and worse. “
The research for this novel was exemplary, with every detail described beautifully to immerse us into the depth of ninth century society.
The religious context was the only thing that lost me at times but for those readers who know their bible, it may mean much more. Nevertheless, it wasn’t too much of a distraction.
Overall, this is one to check out. It’s fascinating.
James is the reimagined tale from Huckleberry Finn except it is from the slaves point of view.
Huck Finn escapes an abusive father and James escapes because he hears a rumour that he is to on sold to someone else. The two meet up and make a fraught and challenging trip away.
Like the original story, Everett brings the events of the journey to light from James’s point of view. For those familiar with the original story, beware as it deviates just over the half way point, which I think is a good thing.
There are moments of humour, tenderness and sheer brutality which makes for heavy going in parts. Everett has given us an honest portrayal of what it meant to be a slave together with the attitude and treatment by white folk at the time. Kindness is few and far between except amongst slaves themselves.
Huck is tender yet naïve as he grapples with the injustice of a system he has difficulty understanding as a child. The relationship between them both is a highlight. At other times, the story is sheer adventure, running to escape but always landing on their feet despite seemingly impossible odds. Sometimes you needed to take a leap of faith to believe they could survive.
It’s beautifully written and I can see why it was listed for the Booker. For all the brutality, there is enough light and shade which makes you want to turn the page to see if these two will make it.
Check this one out.
What a delightful read this one was.
Set just after the English Civil war in 1647, this is the story inspired by real-life Frances Wolfreston, a rector’s wife who is credited with collecting and preserving the earliest part of Shakespeare’s legacy. But while this may be the case it’s not a story about her collection. It’s much more than that as it a fictionalized examination of her life and the times she lived in.
When there is an introduction of a law where not attending Church or worshipping Catholicism is deemed a crime, Frances as the rector’s wife is charged with recording the names to give to the authorities. However, this triggers memories of her own mother’s secret practice of Catholicism. When her mother is jailed for not going to Church, her own standing in the community is challenged and her relationship with and with her husband and father becomes strained. Through all this is her unwavering passion for books which she turns to for consolation and guidance.
It’s a well-researched story highlighting how Frances sets about to help women whose voices were ignored. There are themes of witchcraft, motherhood, loss, childhood disability, and a class system where education was not seen as useful for the poor. Indeed, during those times, it was rare for women to be able to read and write let alone collect and appreciate books.
A fascinating and disturbing part of history, check this one out.
I’ve read two of Towles’ last three novels and was thoroughly engrossed in his latest. Unusually I had expected a full length novel but instead what I got was a set of stories set in New York and a novella set in Los Angeles.
The stories ranged in size with the novella dominating the second half.
The New York stories were set early last century. A Russian couple accidently get a visa to escape the early days after the Russian revolution. Another tale tells of a bookseller who forges authors signatures and profits from the sale of the books. Then there is a bootlegger illegally recording music in Carnegie Hall and a man who secretly figure skates in Central Park. Each story is beautifully told, almost fable-like with a moral dilemma. I enjoyed each of them although some were more touching than others.
The novella in Los Angelos follows a young lady called Eve who takes Olivia DeHavilland under her wing, protecting her from the movie business. Understandably this one is completely engrossing.
Towles captures the glamour and hardship of the era beautifully and of course it is very well written. Some of the stories stretch belief but either way they made for a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read.
S.C. Karakaltsas 