Source: ARC

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Posted October 2, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: Longbourn (Goodreads)
Author: Jo Baker
Published: Knopf Doubleday, 2013
Pages: 368
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Longbourn follows the daily lives of the servants of the Bennet house. Sarah is an orphaned housemaid who spends her day doing laundry, polishing the floor and emptying chamber pots. The house is blooming with romance and heartbreak, not just for the Bennet sisters. One day a mysterious new footman arrives and the servants’ hall is under threat of been completely upended.

A unique reimagining, this novel tells the story of Pride and Prejudice told from the people serving the Bennet’s. I get the sense that this book was inspired more by Downton Abbey more than Jane Austen but never really seems to live up to either. All the drama of Bingley, Wickham, Mr Collins and Mr Darcy play out as a background characters for the drama that is happening with the servants.

I only read Pride and Prejudice earlier this year and absolutely loved it so I was a little wary of trying a spin off novel. The idea of a novel in the style of Downton Abbey did interest me but I felt let down. I got nether Austen’s wit and humour nor the drama for Downton. Some of Austen’s memorable characters didn’t seem to line up too well in this novel either; Mr Bennet comes to mind, his sarcastic humour appears completely absent in this novel. This could be written off as the servant’s perception of the Bennets and other characters.

There are some redeeming qualities in Longbourn; the novel seemed historically accurate, and while I don’t know for sure if this is correct, it did felt like this novel aligns with what I’ve read in Pride and Prejudice. Also I have to admire the way Jo Baker wrote; she is no Jane Austen but the prose was still elegant and I found myself continuously being impressed with her style while always looking for ways she may have ruined Austen’s masterpiece.

I always felt like the Bennets were wealthy enough to allow Mr Bennet to be a man of leisure but not enough to stop Mrs Bennet from worrying. So when servant hall in Longbourn seem smaller than what you would normally expect, it didn’t come as a surprise to me. The arrival of a new footman means that Mr Bennet has finally given into the demands of his wife and in comes the mysterious James. While the servant’s seem pleased with the new addition, Sarah doesn’t and soon she becomes aware of his interests towards her. You can probably guess where this is going and I won’t spoil it for you.

I spent most of the book worried that Baker will do damage to a true classic and I think this did detract from my enjoyment but for the most of it I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I did how ever feel as if this novel dragged on in parts and the fact that this was marked as a book for Downton Abbey fans seemed completely wrong. If you are a Downton fan I would recommend The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro well before I recommend Longbourn.

My Notorious Life by Madame X by Kate Manning

Posted September 27, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: My Notorious Life by Madame X (Goodreads)
Author: Kate Manning
Published: Bloomsbury, 2013
Pages: 438
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Based on the life of Ann Trow, better known as Madame Restell, an abortionist in Victorian New York City. My Notorious Life by Madame X is the journal of Axie Muldoon found in an attic that tells the story of a daughter of an Irish Immigrant who was orphaned (with her brother and sister) as a child. The kids were broken up and Axie went on to work as a maid and then assistant to a midwife and abortionist. Here she learnt the tricks of the trade, from the lunar tonics (for relief of female complaints), midwifery and abortions.

This is a fictionalised story of what Madame Restell might have gone through. For Axie she witnessed first hand the trials women go through, from period pains all the way to a pregnancy that will bring shame to their family. In an age before any real understanding of women’s fertility cycles and contraception, pregnancy can mean the final days for a woman. Even for Axie, she was too afraid to have sex for the fear of dying.

Axie Muldoon is a stubborn and fiery woman, who stands firm in her beliefs and won’t stop helping women even when the papers and police are after her. I like the way that this novel didn’t suggest abortion as the answer; Axie often would try to help woman in other ways before resorting to such a drastic measure. There are a lot of interesting ideas on Victorian feminism and this novel tries to explore this, and is often successful at this.

An epistolary novel that explores Axie Muldoon’s life in the form of journal entries meant that you get an insight into what made her tick and motivated her. I really enjoyed the insights and what happened in this novel will both shock, disturb and get you thinking. Without going into my opinions on abortion, I have to say that this book is more a look at how women were treated in Victorian times and the understanding of women. This is what I got out of this book and what makes this one worth reading.

I’m not saying this was a great book; it was seriously flawed but there was some interesting topics explored. I can’t say I enjoyed this one; I often felt it dragged on and Axie’s husband really bothered me. There were fragments in the book that felt came together too cleanly and personally I prefer some untidiness or unresolved tension. I would say I’m happy it was an interesting book but not going to actively recommend this one to people.

Dexter’s Final Cut by Jeff Lindsay

Posted September 18, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime / 0 Comments

Title: Dexter's Final Cut (Goodreads)
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Series: Dexter #7
Published: Orion, 2013
Pages: 384
Genres: Crime
My Copy: ARC from Edelweiss

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Hollywood has made a deal with the Miami Police Department to help them research a new TV show. Star Robert Chase has been shadowing Dexter Morgan to learn how to be a forensic analyst. This will put a dampener on Dexter’s nighttime activities. Camera shy and hunting down one of the worst killers who escape the justice system, and now a movie star watching his every move, how will he manage?

I’ve been a big fan of the Dexter series; both the TV shows and the books. I want to say they are like a guilty read but I don’t feel guilty at all. Darkly Dreamy Dexter was one of the first books I read when I first became a reader and one of the few series that I’ve read in its entirety. I do enjoy crime novels and love the way Jeff Lindsay gets into the mind of this sociopath.

Dexter is back in the seventh book in the series and while I love the series, the books have been rocky, some are really enjoyable and some just fell a little short. Dexter’s Final Cut was luckily one of the stronger books in the series. I really liked the way this book focused less on the hunting and killing but more on Dexter as a character.

If you’ve read any of the Dexter series or watched the show you will know that Dexter struggles to pretend to be human and at times he gets really good at it. In Dexter’s Final Cut they spotlight is on Dexter in a big way and the struggle becomes the most important part of the novel. His social interactions, his marriage and his work have all been watched carefully by star Robert Chase and possibly the paparazzi.

I like this new direction, it works really well for this type of novel but if I judge by the title of this book, it might be the last one in the series (I hope not). I love the internal monologue of this series and how light and entertaining they are, if this is the last in the series I will need something to replace it so I am open to suggestions. Dexter Morgan is a well-developed character and the series has always been witty and entertaining but this would have to be one of my favourites in the series so far.

The Suite Life by Suzanne Corso

Posted September 4, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Chick Lit / 0 Comments

Title: The Suite Life (Goodreads)
Author: Suzanne Corso
Series: Brooklyn Story #2
Published: Gallery Books, 10 September 2013
Pages: 336
Genres: Chick Lit
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Growing up in Brooklyn, Samantha Bonti dreams of one day being a writer. She found the courage to break free from her an abusive mobster and eventually finds the man of her dreams. Alec is a successful Wall Street broker, but things are not as they seem and when he makes a risky business move, Sam is left scrambling to pick up the pieces of her crumbling fairy tale.

This isn’t really the type of book I would read but I liked the idea a novel about a writer, a mobster and a crumbling life. That was enough to peek my interests and I thought it was enough of a risk for me to try. Unfortunately it wasn’t a book for me and I should have abandoned it but I persevered. This novel didn’t have enough to deal with the mobster ex-boyfriend, which was one of my first disappointments. I got a sense that Sam wasn’t really as damaged by the relationship as the author wanted us to believe and I really struggled with that. I actually thought Alec was more damaging than the ex, with his emotional blackmail and need for control.

Let’s look at the relationship between Sam and Alec for a moment. The relationship felt a little too much like Edward and Belle from Twilight; I know some people think that is romantic but I really have a problem with it. Ordering for your date can be romantic but when it is a first date and they hardly know each other, it just feel weird and out of place. Also Alec felt too controlling and I got the impression he would sulk if he didn’t get his own way. There were also times I thought Alec would turn into Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey; that might have made things a little different but still not my type of book.

I must admit that Suzanne Corso has a decent writing style and with a bit of work she could become an interesting writer. The Suite Life could use with a good hard editing, removing all the repetitiveness and cutting anything that was just filler but then the book would be too short. Some parts felt rushed and some parts dragged on too much, Corso needed to work more on backstory and show the reader just what Sam has been through. The Chick Lit approach feels like any pain and suffering has been down played and this really didn’t do the novel any justice.

There was also not enough to do with Sam’s desire to make it as a writer and it felt like she quickly abandoned her passions when she got a taste of the high life. The synopsis for this book made me think that this book was set in the 1980’s but I turned out to be the 1990’s. There wasn’t much nostalgia about the 90’s; the only real reference was repetitive mentions of Alanis Morissette. Also if Alec is so rich and living the highlife, I wonder why he was driving such an old car?

Having read this book I have since found out that The Suite Life is a sequel to Brooklyn Story and all the backstory and information about her mobster ex-boyfriend would be covered in that book. I suppose this book could work as a stand-alone but I think it was missing too much information that must have been covered in the first book. Will I read book one? Maybe, but I’m not in a hurry to find out about Sam’s life before Alec and there are just too many other novels to read.

This was an interesting reading experiment. I probably should have done more research on a book before reading it but sometimes it is fun to go in blind. While this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure that some people will enjoy it. I am more interested in diving into the emotions and looking at what drives and motivates people but The Suite Life just glossed over that. I’m not a romance or Chick Lit reader so I don’t know if this is the norm; I really hope not.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

Posted August 2, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction / 5 Comments

Title: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Goodreads)
Author: Anthony Marra
Published: Hogarth, 2013
Pages: 416
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

In a small village in Chechnya, an eight year old Havaa watches as her father is abducted by Russian soldiers. Their neighbour, Akhmed was also watch and takes Havaa as he knows he will be the only person that might be able to help her. They seek shelter at a bombed-out hospital, where they meet Sonja, a tough and strong minded doctor who has no desire to risk it. All three people’s worlds are turned upside down in such a short period of time. Slowly intricate patterns are revealed that bind these three companions together and ultimately seals their fate.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena takes place mainly in 1994; not too long after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR split (1992). Now The Chechen Republic was fighting for their independence. In the First Chechen War the Russian Federation tried to seize control only to be fought off by the locals. It wasn’t till 1996 did Boris Yeltsin’s government declare a ceasefire and eventually a peace treaty was signed. During this war it was estimated that 5,500 Russian soldiers died, between 3,500 and 7,500 Chechen militants, but the real loss was on the civilians, with between 30,000 and 100,000 deaths, around 200,000 injured and 500,000 displaced by the conflict. I wish I could tell you that we are the end of conflict with Chechnya but in 1999 the Second Chechen War was launched and the Russian Federation eventually seized control in 2009.

Now that we have an idea of what was happening in the country at the time, we get an idea of the danger that faces the three main characters. This isn’t necessarily a book about war, or the politics behind it (which basically comes down to oil) but rather the connections that link Havaa, Akhmed and Sonja together. The hardships each of them face only serves to build this beautiful story and flush out the character development. A glimpse of three different people struggling to survive this war torn land and debut author Anthony Marra managed to make this novel both compelling and emotional.

All three characters are so different you get so many perspectives within A Constellation of Vital Phenomena that will leave you pondering the novel well after you put it down. For me, I thought of Akhmed as a traditional Chechen Muslim, caught up with the past and tradition. While Sonja is the strong minded woman trying to smash through the glass ceiling, then you have Havaa an intelligent young girl that knows nothing else apart from war. You also have other characters that look at other ways the war effects the people, from abduction, smuggling, sex trafficking, amputation, punishment, torture and the list goes one. For a novel so focused on the character development and relationship of three characters, it’s impressive how it manages to deal with so many other issues.

I’ve always had a keen interest on Russian literature, plus my fascination with the motherland; so I knew I had to read this book. The collapse of The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic is an interesting topic and the instability that ensued afterwards makes for a great backdrop. I will admit I didn’t know much about Chechen history so I had to bone up a little, unable to break a bad habit I was on the Wikipedia page for Chechnya just to get more information. I feel stupid for this but I didn’t realise the majority of Chechnya were Muslims; for some reason I thought they would have been Russian Orthodox. With the help of understanding the geographical location (which helped make more sense of their Islamic influences) as well as history, I really connected with this novel.

It wasn’t just understanding Chechnya or the character development I loved about A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, it was also exquisitely written. I was sucked in by the imagery and the beauty of the prose; I was surprised this was Anthony Marra’s first novel. I would have thought he had been doing this so well , the writing was wonderful and the whole novel was masterfully executed. I hope he writes a new novel soon because I know I’m eagerly waiting to see what he does next.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is sure to be one of those books that make my ‘Best of 2013’ list, I was very impressed with everything about it. For an American writer, his grasp on Chechnya seems authentic. I don’t know much about his life so I can’t judge, he might have spent some time in the country or has friends or family from there; I do know he wrote a prize winning short story called Chechnya, but that looks like the basis of this novel (based around Sonja, the hospital and her sister). Go out and pick up a copy of this novel, it is well worth reading.

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Posted July 15, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Contemporary / 0 Comments

Title: Tampa (Goodreads)
Author: Alissa Nutting
Published: Allen & Unwin, 2013
Pages: 272
Genres: Contemporary
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley, ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Suburban middle grade teacher Celeste Prices is undeniably beautiful, everyone can see that. Her husband is rich, hardworking, determined and most people think they are the perfect couple. That’s because no one knows Celesta’s secret, her singular sexual obsession for fourteen year old boys. After all this is the real reason she became a teacher and is working at Jefferson Jr. High.

There are three main reasons people will try to avoid this book. Firstly the protagonist is not likeable, how could she be? Secondly, the sad truth is I found a lot of people tend to avoid Juvenalian satire; I’m not entirely sure why but maybe they don’t appreciate it or they forget to remember it is not an indication of the satirist persona. Lastly and probably most importantly, this book is disturbing; probably the most disconcerting book I’ve ever read (American Psycho held this place for a long time) and I found myself having to put it down just to recover.

So why read it? Tampa is a well written debut novel and arguably one of the most talked about novels at the moment. The reason it’s talked about is the subject it satirises; let’s face it, this is a topic that is often never talked about because of its disturbing nature. A female sexual predator is something I’ve never read in a book but this seems to works in Alissa Nutting’s favour. I have to take a moment to talk about the subject matter because this is important. Young teenage boys all seem to have similar fantasies; an older woman, normally a teacher or a babysitter. It’s a common sexual desire for a boy with their budding sexuality; the experienced, already developed older woman, but they don’t realise just how destructive that can be on them. They have no idea how to separate their emotions from the sexual act and this is a slippery slope that can only lead to being hurt. Not to mention the emotional and psychological damage it can do to them.

Then you have the discussion of sexual addiction being covered in this novel as well. Celeste Prices acts with sociopathic meticulousness; lying and manipulating everyone in order to get what she desires. Not just the people around her; she deludes herself as well, always trying to justify her actions. I think it was interesting how Alissa Nutting was able to look at the problems with this fantasy young boys have and how damaging it can be and at the same time have the reader think about sex addiction and how it effects the person.

Tampa is written in the first person perspective of Celeste Prices so as a reader we get to see her trying to justify her actions to herself and the reader. Though as the reader we can see how off her justification is and maybe even remember times in our own life were we have tried justifying making stupid mistakes with similar lies. The thoughts and the desire that Celeste has to the fourteen year old boys is disgusting and are sure to make you feel sick, which is the reason I couldn’t read this book in one sitting.

In fact every time I put down the book, I worried that if I showed my wife any sort of affection that she might get the wrong idea. I found out later that she was worried that if she showed any affection, I might associate it with the book. So I’m glad it was short and I didn’t have to spend too much time reading it. I’m sure my poor wife got sick of me wanting to discuss this subject matter with her, it’s not an easy topic but this novel makes you want to talk about it with someone. She tells me a similar thing happened in Glee where one of the teenage boys was molested by his babysitter when he was young and his classmates thought it wasn’t that bad as it’s every boy’s fantasy.

The fact that you can’t help wanting to talk about this novel and the themes would make this book the perfect choice for a book club which scares me a lot. I hope and pray that this never becomes the next book club book at my local book club. I love the Mary Who? Book club and this is the best indie bookstore in Townsville but I am normally the only male and most of the other people are slightly older than me. This would be the most awkward book to discuss and because I have so much I can say about this novel it would feel really weird, so I hope that it never becomes the next pick for book club.

This has been compared to Lolita and I can see why, the sexual predator and the satirical nature, but personally I think this comparison might do more harm than good. Being compared to a masterpiece like Lolita would put so much pressure on this book and I don’t think it lives up to the beauty of Vladimir Nabokov’s writing. I get why it is compared but I think it tackles different topics and they both should be analysed separately. Having said that it might be a good book to partner with Lolita if your book club has that kind of structure set up.

Lastly I want to quickly talk about the covers because I think they are worth mentioning. In the UK and Australasia the cover is a pink shirt with a button hole. I love this cover, it is very suggestive and makes people look twice and it really suits the book. Apparently, in America, the black cover that I thought looked boring in comparison, is made from black velvet, which might give the same suggestive tones when you pick up the book rather than looking at it. Interesting choices and I think both seem to work really well but I prefer the buttonhole cover.

I should warn people that this book contains graphical sex scenes which are ghastly and off putting, so this book is never going to be an easy read but this is a topic that needs to be discussed more and the book does this really well. I really enjoyed having read this book, but not really while reading it. I’m surprised how much I wanted to talk about the subject, so I think Alissa Nutting achieved what she set out to achieve. I hope people read it soon; I look forward to discussing the book with others.

The Last Whisper in the Dark by Tom Piccirilli

Posted July 7, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 3 Comments

Title: The Last Whisper in the Dark (Goodreads)
Author: Tom Piccirilli
Series: Terrier Rand #2
Published: Bantam Press, 2013
Pages: 336
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Prodigal thief Terrier Rand has been sucked back into the life he so desperately wanted to escape. He finds himself this time helping his old friend’s wife, Kimmy discover just what has changed with Chud since the night a car heist went horribly wrong. These people don’t take kindly to the questions Terry is asking but before he can find that truth, a curvy femme fatale takes him on a walk on the wild side, estranged relatives pull him into their horror film empire, and his sister is heading for disaster.

I first discovered Tom Piccirilli from an Amazon email recommending me The Last Kind Words (book one of the Terrier Rand series) based on my enjoyment of Drive by James Sallis. Based on that email I did some research of the book and ending up buying it (not from Amazon). Although the two books are vastly different I really enjoyed The Last Kind Words and was so pleased to see Terrier Rand return for another novel.

Terrier Rand grew up in a household of thieves and grifters; from a very young age Terry had been engaging in theft. He left his family and life of crime to go straight but in The Last Kind Words, which happened five years later, he had been dragged back in when his brother was claiming to be innocent of one of the victims of his killing spree. His brother was only days away from execution and asked Terry to look into that one murder. Collie has pleaded guilty for all the other murders but the police won’t listen when he claims he is innocent of this one murder. Collie doesn’t want the real killer to remain on the loose and even though Terry hates his brother and what he did, he finds himself investigating.

Now Terrier finds himself sucked into the family drama all over again, this time it’s his old friend Chud (as well as his wife Kimmy) and his sister Dale that he has to look after. No matter what he does, Terry just can’t seem to escape his family; though he may love them, they will always suck him back into a life he urgently wants to escape. So Terry is constantly in a battle between escaping and helping the people he loves; Dale his younger sister who he wants to keep away from the world of crime and Kimmy, his former fiancée and his daughter, who he wants to keep safe as well and if his old friend Chud is mixed up in something he might have to try and save him as well.

This is not a crime thriller; this is a book of family drama and different dilemmas that come with them. While the thriller genre plays out really well and you can even see Tom Piccirilli’s noir back ground come through within this book. I love this series simply because of the unique characters and the drama that comes with looking after those who are close to you. Piccirilli does a wonderful job of writing crime fiction and blending it with character development and drama, something that is often lacking in this genre and he just shows the world how it can be done well and he does it with ease and style.

The Last Whisper in the Dark continues the story of Terrier Rand really well, those characters have a way of sticking with you and it was so great to return to them and see what happens next. You have to read The Last Kind Words before trying this book out but I highly recommend them both if you are looking for something with more character and emotions in a crime thriller. I will admit I haven’t read anything else Tom Piccirilli has written which I feel bad about but maybe I will get a chance to do so sometime soon. I hear great things about his noir fiction and in particular The Cold Spot, so that is already on my radar.

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

Posted June 7, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: TransAtlantic (Goodreads)
Author: Colum McCann
Published: Bloomsbury, 2013
Pages: 320
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

The National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann comes an astonishing new novel, TransAtlantic. Through a series of narratives that span 150 years and two continents comes this magnificent and somewhat ambitious novel. From the first TransAtlantic flight from Newfoundland to the west of Ireland to the American senator crossing the ocean in search for lasting peace in Ireland, this is part fiction part historical literary achievement.

I’ve often struggled with the novels that are made up from a collection of short stories as well as the ones that blend fact and fiction. A Visit from the Goon Squad was a widely talked about book for having a chapter dedicated to a different person but I didn’t think much of it, while The Imperfectionists did the same thing a whole lot better. Now we have TransAtlantic, which I’m not sure if it was the fact that I read this while flying but this really stands out about the rest. Then you have these novels that draw a lot from history. A Treacherous Likeness was a disaster; Z: The Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald I thought missed too much of her later years; Burial Rites was the exception but only because it was such an obscure historical event I didn’t know about it. Yet TransAtlantic seems to be standing out above these novels as well.

The first chapter looks at the incredible story of the first flight across the Atlantic in 1919, an epic feat in human history by all accounts. I felt like Colum McCann handled this so masterfully that I wasn’t concerned about the historical facts, I was absorbed in the tension facing these two men as they battle against the odds to make it.

Yet this isn’t just about the history of flight across the Atlantic Ocean, this focuses a lot on Ireland. McCann is an Irish born author so you expect to see Irish history within this book but he is also coming from a journalist background and it really shows. This novel takes a look at slavery and conflict within Ireland making this an interesting look at the significance of TransAtlantic flight.

Colum McCann weaves a tapestry of rich and powerful short stories that lavish us with this literary piece. From the get go I felt drawn into the novel, the short sentences seem to keep me reading at such a fast pace. While I had to get off one plane and board another half way through this book, I was so sucked in I felt like asking the pilot to take the long way just so it wouldn’t interrupt my reading.

Key historical figures within TransAtlantic include Frederick Douglass, John Alcock and Teddy Brown and George Mitchell. The novel both encouraged me to learn more about these people and while giving me a new insight of both TransAtlantic flight and historical events within Ireland. On reflection I can pinpoint exactly what worked well and what didn’t, the different elements of this novel all seemed to work together to hide whatever flaws I was looking for.

TransAtlantic was both an addictive read and a stunning piece of literary fiction. While it wasn’t perfect, I’m not sure how to fault this book, I picked the right book for the right time and it was an enjoyable experience. I’ve not read Colum McCann before, in fact I hadn’t heard of him, but you can be sure I’ll be tracking more of his novels down.

The Yearning by Kate Belle

Posted May 23, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Contemporary / 0 Comments

Title: The Yearning (Goodreads)
Author: Kate Belle
Published: Simon & Schuster, 2013
Pages: 323
Genres: Contemporary
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

In 1978, in a small country town, a fifteen year old girl’s world is changed with the newly arrived substitute teacher. Solomon Andrews is inspiring, charismatic, charming and beautiful and she wanted him more than anything else in the world. While he was aware of this shy girl interests he thought it was a harmless high school girl crush; that was until the erotic love letters started coming. He knew he should resist but her sensual words stirred him. First love feels like a great love, a forbidden love.

Kate Belle’s The Yearning is not erotic fiction and it’s not really a romance; this is a book that is hard to put into a genre. Well, in a sense you could categorise this book as romance but it’s a dark romance, a one sided romance; I don’t think there is a genre called ‘disturbing obsessions’ or ‘infatuations’ so how can you put this into a genre? I know, I know, genres are annoying and we should get rid of them all, and just have fiction and non-fiction but as a quick way to identify books, I do like to label a book.

I went into this book thinking it sounded a little like Me and Mr. Booker by Cory Taylor but thought maybe there might be similarities to Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (also books I’ve not read yet; An Education by Lynn Barber, What Was She Thinking? by Zoë Heller and Tampa by Alissa Nutting) but this book managed to surprise me in the direction Kate Belle took with The Yearning.

A rather daring novel, which I felt there was a sense of predictability within the plot; it was exquisite in parts but also awkwardly erotic and sexy in the approach. Fifteen year old Eve’s desires for her new next door neighbour Solomon Andrews starts off as a simple crush but as her obsession with the sexy teacher grows, so does the yearning till it reaches a dangerous level. To me I like to think this is a look at the intensity of a high school crush and the ignorance towards understanding what true love is; in high school you think every crush really is your soul mate.

Then you get the point of view from Solomon Andrews, who is not as despicable as Humbert Humbert; while he comes across as a hebephile, I get the feeling maybe he is just a pansexual and will take whatever he can get. Without going into much thought into the psyche of Solomon I will say he is weak and should know better, he lets his desire to get laid and the feeling of being desired get the better of him. Highlighting the dangers of giving into your desires and also the problems with falling for someone that is bound to break your heart and have a negative impact on your life.

This novel then takes a surprising turn, something similar to The Reader; it shoots forward twenty years. Now Eve’s is about to marry Max even though that yearning for Solomon has remained and her heart still belongs to him. This marriage is very problematic and she never tries; the relationship as husband and wife is a disaster, the sex is not satisfying, she pressures him into children and the list goes on and on. The downfall of the marriage and the link with her yearning for Solomon is clear to Eve from the start and soon became evident to Max as well.

Now I like uncomfortable novels and I really liked how Kate Belle approached The Yearning with the dark romance and desires. I also liked how she created Solomon as a character you end up having a love/hate relationship with, leaving the reader unsure how they should feel about him; obviously you are meant to hate him but you can’t help feeling other emotions towards him. This only get the book so far for me anyway; I got to about the middle of this book, when Max showed up before it went downhill. The first half was new, somewhat exciting and sexy in all its awkwardness but the second half was a real let down. Sure I like how her yearning for Solomon affected her future relationships but I got a sense that this has all be done before. It just felt so predictable and I was no longer surprised. Many people might be alright with this but for me it felt like the book started off strong and then hit a wall.

I really liked elements of The Yearning and ended up hating others, so this leaves me a little confused with my overall opinion of the book as a whole. Much like the genre, I’m not sure just how to rate it, so I’m going to be neutral and give it two and half stars. This book has gotten a lot of positive reviews, so I think this just shows how bitter and cynical I am to give this book a middle of the road rating. If this book sounds like it will interest you, check it out; don’t let me put you off.

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu

Posted May 4, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 0 Comments

Title: The People of Forever Are Not Afraid (Goodreads)
Author: Shani Boianjiu
Published: Hogarth, 2012
Pages: 320
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Lea, Avishag and Yael grow up in a small town on the Israel/Lebanon border leaving normal teenage lives. The People of Forever Are Not Afraid tells the story of these three normal Israeli girls from passing notes in school, talking about boys to turning eighteen and being conscripted into the army. Winner of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” authors to watch list in 2011, Shani Boianjiu’s debut novel is a coming of age novel unlike any before. Growing up in this intense war torn world changes everything, even for three normal teenage girls.

First thing I would like to say is I was hugely impressed with The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, I never expected to find a New Adult novel that offers so many different elements. While this seems to be marketed as a Young/New Adult novel, I think this is because the old “coming of age” formula seems to go hand and hand with these two genres. Though this is so much different; these three girls are plucked from their normal teenage lives, put into the army and forced to grow up rather quickly.

There are some really interesting themes throughout this novel. Firstly there are the major themes of growing up as an Israeli girl and conscription, and Shani Boianjiu is the voice of experience here; at the age of 18, she entered the Israeli Defence Forces and served for two years. So you get the sense that maybe this novel is semi-autobiographical but not knowing much about the author I wonder which of the three girl’s best resembles her. Though I have a feeling that Lea, Avishag and Yael all have an element of Boianjiu in them; I like how she has the three different personalities within the book to help show the how war really effects a person.

This brings us to the theme of War; while for the most of the book they are living in a perpetual state of war, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon still puts them into real danger. Though the reader has to ask themselves if eighteen too young to deal with war; they are still in a state of self-discovery when they are thrown into such an extreme situation. I know it is part of their heritage but when you talk about war and even RPG children (“children who tried to shoot RPGs at soldiers and ended up burning each other because they were uninformed, and children”) you really have to wonder how old is old enough to deal with war.

Finally, the book looks at the influence western society has on the Middle Eastern culture; I’m sure girls thought about boys and sex but there is a definite changing that comes through in the novel. References to Dawson’s Creek and Mean Girls and the whole attitude towards relationships (breaking up every week) and sex really feels more like something from an American teen drama than an Israeli town. I don’t know much about their culture but I know enough about pop-culture and the difficulties that western society has on Muslim and Jewish heritage to notice this real culture clash.

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid really is an interesting New Adult novel; it is smart and thought provoking and yet it’s really funny as well. I remember the cheesy lines made me chuckle like the idea of a mother not wanting her daughter to have a party because she was worried that her friends will break her hymen. All these elements seem to work together to produce a novel that is both easy to read and unlike anything I’ve read before.

I was never sure what to make of The People of Forever Are Not Afraid but I’m glad I had a chance to read this novel. It’s a debut novel that shows us that Shani Boianjiu is an author to watch in the future. It’s not without its flaws, the repetitiveness got to me a little but in the end all the good aspects of this book outshined any problems. It’s the type of novel that made me want to turn back to page one and start reading it again. I’m not a fan of Young Adult and New Adult novels in general but I can’t help but recommend this one to all readers.