Roll on 2013...

Next year I can't wait to read...

1) The new Curtis Sittenfeld, Sisterland.
She is just my favourite current writer. Prep and American Wife are fantastic, shrewd, sharp-eyed women's fiction. The new one looks like it's cut from a different cloth - about twins with a form of ESP, which seems to mark a step into a form of fantasy writing. For me she can do no wrong and so I can't wait for this book. Out June.

2) Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
I devoured Bauer's previous three thrillers. Blacklands is particularly gripping but all are excellent (perhaps excepting the twist at the end of Darkside, which I wasn't entirely convinced by). Rubbernecker is about an anatomy student uncovering dark secrets from the past. Sounds good to me. Out January.

3) The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
This has got summer hit written all over it. A smart thriller about a serial killer ranging over decades in America - looks delicious. Out May

4) The Quickening by Julie Myerson
I find Julie Myerson a quirky and challenging author. This is a novella which sees her writing a horror story set in Antigua under the Hammer imprint. I think horror is the next genre fiction to make the crossover into the literary mainstream (cf fantasy and historical fiction), and I'd love it if this were a part of it. I'm looking forward to seeing how Myerson tackles the genre...Out March

Sophie Hannah is also bringing out one of these Hammer novellas called The Orphan Choir in May. Needless to say I can't wait for this one either! I like Hannah's psychological thrillers about the horrible intruding into everyday life, which makes me think I will love this story of a woman who moves to the country and is tormented by the sound of a neighbour's music...

5) The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
I've had this on my wish list for a long time. The Emperor's Children, Messud' s fabulous novel about young Manhattanites and 9/11, is one of my favourite reads of the decade. Her new novel follows a young teacher in Massachusetts who gets drawn into the life of the family of one of her pupils. Out May

6) The Chessmen by Peter May
What crime fan isn't practically frothing at the mouth to read the final of the Lewis trilogy? I love the wild atmosphere of these books and the sense of the isolated community that May develops. Along with the fantastic mystery, of course. Out January!

7) Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
I can't imagine there are many readers who don't love Kate Atkinson. Her funny, gripping novels are touching and unique. Her latest isn't one of the Jackson Brodie novels she's been writing over the past few years, instead it's a novel about a woman born into the blitz. Possibly with a fantasy element, this looks customarily unique from Atkinson.

If by the end of 2013 these novels turn out to have been half as good as I'm anticipating I will be a very happy reader indeed!

As an addendum, books published this year that I'm looking forward to reading in paperback include...

Gold by Chris Cleave
Reservation Road by John Burnham Shwartz
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
The Small Hours by Susie Boyt
The Innocents by Francesca Segal
Cold Hands by John Niven
A Question of Identity by Susan Hill

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

On the pleasures of ghost stories

As a lifelong fan of the ghost story I was particularly pleased to see Andrew Taylor's new story Broken Voices on the first list of Kindle Singles. I really enjoyed The American Boy years ago on a holiday to Rome - it still evokes memories of a blissful day on a park bench in spring - so the combination of Taylor and ghost story was exciting to say the least.

Broken Voices was just the latest in a long line of ghost stories I've read and enjoyed over the latest 31 years. I vividly remember a short story I read over and over again as a child which featured a haunted newell post. While this sounds a ridiculous premise for a story, like all the best ghost stories, it was unforgettably terrifying. The young protagonist innocently dressed the newell post each day by hanging his coat on it and placing shoes beneath it. One dark night he walks up the stairs to the sound of dragging footsteps close behind him...Unfortunately I can't remember the author of this chilling delight, which was published as part of an anthology of children's ghost stories. If anyone can remember I'd love to hear from you!

Broken Voices contains many of the classic tropes of the genre: a Christmas setting, a story within a story, a child protagonist in an isolated setting. It's set in a cathedral and it's environs - a wonderful choice for a creepy tale. There's a deliciously gothic flavour to a scene where the protagonist and his companion enter the huge cathedral late at night and feel overwhelmed by the cavernous stone structure. The boys are investigating a mysterious loss in the cathedral itself. That's about as much as I'll reveal about the plot itself; it would be invidious to spoil either the unraveling of the tale or its denouement.

Taylor is a master of the drip feed of unease necessary for a good ghost story. Lovely details are used to add a macabre touch: a malevolent cat, a grotesque episode in a barn, a lost cap all add to the atmosphere. And the haunting itself is appealing unusual. A lovely cocktail of fear very suitable for Christmas.

The modern mistress of the form is, of course, Susan Hill. With many ghost stories to her name, the most famous is The Woman In Black. Here Hill's mastery of setting is clear; the creation of Eel Marsh house is a masterpiece. Her recent The Small Hand is a more intimate ghost story, less about horror and more about terror - the terror of what is simultaneously known and unknown. Her protagonist is haunted by a child ghost - much like the narrator of AS Byatt's superb short story "The Summer Ghost", published in the excellent Virago Book of Ghost Stories. Both The Small Hand and Byatt's story are sad as well as scary.

And of course there are the classic ghost stories of the nineteenth century: The Signalman by Dickens,  O Whistle and I'll Come to You by MR James (and of course all the other Jamesian treats - Lost Hearts is gloriously macabre)...I could go on. I read an interesting piece by Mark Gatiss (whose set of modern ghost stories for BBC4, Crooked House, was an excellent modern addition to the ghost story for Christmas genre) in the Christmas New Statesman which revealed the apparent fear of the female form latent in James's stories. Although I'm not entirely convinced by such a psychological reading of James's oeuvre, I did find it added a new layer to my thinking on the stories themselves. My own preferred (psychological!) reading of the Victorian era's predilection for and mastery of the ghost story is that it reflects the anxiety felt about a changing world. The ghosts are the spectres of a simpler time pressing back into industrialised England.

I can't conclude this without mentioning my absolute favourite ghost story by one of my all time favourite authors: Afterwards by Edith Wharton. Although we now know Wharton mainly as an incisive commentator on turn of the century New York, she was also a superb writer on the supernatural. Afterwards is a truly wonderful story, set in a crumbling country house in the English countryside. There's a ghost bringing retribution for a past sin - but, as the title tells us, both the reader and the characters won't know it till long afterwards.

I could go on - and possibly will in another post! No room for The Little Stranger, for example, and what about The Shining? I'd like to think a bit more about the line between a ghost story and a horror story. And that means a trip into Stephen King territory - which definitely means another post is needed. Meanwhile, read and enjoy Taylor's Broken Voices - and if there are other classic ghost stories you love or I've missed please let me know in the comments!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd: unusual historical fiction

Over Christmas I read Lloyd Shepherd's recent historical novel which Simon and Schuster PR kindly sent me a review copy of. Initially I wasn't sure it would be for me - I thought at first it was a true crime book. Which it sort of is, but it's a lot more interesting and gripping than true crime usually is. Plus, it's not all true!

Shepherd's starting point is the apparently notorious Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811, a particularly brutal and unsavoury crime which, despite the arrest and subsequent suicide of the supposed perpetrator, many feel was never satisfactorily solved. The English Monster weaves together a mostly fictional explanation for these murders which takes in slavery, skulduggery and even a little bit of sorcery.

I felt the best aspect of the novel was the ease with which Shepherd mixes his historical fact with a fantastical element. The novel blends crime, history and fantasy with ease - a bit like my absolute favourite novel of the last ten years, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.  The evocation of eighteenth and nineteenth century Wapping,  where the.murders take place, is grimly realistic, whilst the pictures of tropical Jamaica scarred by its association with slavery are lushly evocative. The dual storyline follows events in both these locations before coming together in the final.chapters as the murders are "solved" by the proto-detective Horton. The reader, of course, has got there before him.

I can recommend this to any crime fans as well as historical fiction and fantasy readers. Even better, it's currently in the Kindle 12 days of Xmas promotion - and it's definitely worth a read.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Richard and Judy books

So today the Spring 2013 Richard and Judy Thorntons Book Club books were announced (and here they are on the WH Smith website)

I do like the R and J list; usually the selections are very readable, occasionally they're adventurous and there's always at least one I want to read.

This time out I've read, loved (and reviewed on this blog) Gone Girl. I have been desperate to read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry for about 8 months! And I was just showing the husband Chris Cleave's Gold in Waterstones last week. I hadn't heard of this author before we read The Other Hand in my book club. I thought it was very readable and original so I do want to read his latest one. I've also been wanting to read John Green's YA novel The Fault in our Stars for a while. It looks like a nice change from the dystopian landscape of current YA trends!

I hadn't heard of David Mark's The Dark Winter but after a look at the description it seems right up my street. The R and J choices usually include a good crime novel - I think they "broke" The Blackhouse - so I trust I'm in good hands. And I love a bit of Americana, particularly if it's anything to do with politics, so I quite fancy Noah Hawley' s The Good Father.

Of course, the best thing is that all these books should be out in paperback soon! (of course, I'm always open to review copies here at Rich Tapestry Reads, should any kind publishers be reading). And hopefully lots of new readers will find and enjoy something a bit different.

I hadn't heard of

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

If you got a Kindle for Xmas and are browsing the sale...

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: beautiful descriptions of Alaska and a haunting story. Evocative and magical, this is a really compelling novel.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: if like me you've read and loved Gone Girl, go back to the start with Sharp Objects. A creepy and quirky slice of Southern Gothic with a shocking twist. Unsettling and shivery.

My Sister Lives on the Masterpiece by Annabel Pitcher. This could so easily be very corny. A family relocate to Yorkshire after one of their twin daughters is killed in a terrorist attack on London. In this very modern story Pitcher tackles racism, alcoholism, depression and growing up with a very light touch. It was my pick to win the Carnegie.

The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd: ok, so I'm only two thirds of the way through this, but an early heads up for my good review. A touch of Mr Whicher plus a smidgen of Jonathan Strange makes an original and gripping historical/fantasy fiction read. Recommended.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

have we had enough of...

- dystopian YA novels?
- cashin 50 shades erotica?
- scandi crime?

*disclaimer*

I'm certainly partial to bit of scandi crime - I do like Jo Nesbo and have a soft spot for Jussi Adler-Olson - and the same for YAY dystopian fiction (take a bow, Lauren Oliver and Patrick Ness). But I think I'm ready for something different...roll on 2013!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Because I am off home to Belfast for the holidays the husband and I did our Christmas present opening today. And here are my lovely books (all requested of course!) 2 problems: don't know which to read first and can't take any on the plane as they are too heavy. Kindle Christmas it is - for me and many others i suspect.

Happy Christmas blog readers if you are readong - onwards and upwards next year!

so much pretty by Cara Hoffman: intriguingly different

I have to admit, I found this an unusual read. A crime novel - yes. A study of adolescence - also yes. An examination of small town politics, environmentalism and radicalism - also yes.

So Much Pretty, to me, was the story of Alice Piper. In Haeden,  New York State, local girl Wendy goes missing and isn't found for months. When she is found, it's clear she's been dead for a matter of hours and, horrifyingly, has been kept alive for unspecified purposes.

Cara Hoffman, in her debut novel, skilfully manages the unraveling of Wendy's story with that of local precocious teen Alice Piper. Whilst Wendy is a small town everygirl, Alice is a proto-genius in training, with an intensely close relationship with fellow local outsider Theo. Alice's parents moved from Manhattan to Haeden many years prior to Wendy's disappearance: it is testament to Hoffman's skill that she cleverly manages the many threads and  perspectives on the story of Wendy's disappearance.

As the novel progresses the character of Alice becomes clearer and clearer to the reader,  as do those of her idealistic parents. We see through the layers of Haeden society to penetrate to the dark core of this seemingly idyllic small town.

It may be that this unusual novel of a disrupted New England community seems even more pertinent in the light of Sandy Hook - and if you've read it you'll notice a sad connection between the two stories, one fictional, one all too real. It's certainly the case that this unusual crime novel will stay with you long after you've read it.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Dare Me by Megan Abbott: lean mean teen queens

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this fab novel as a member of the Pan Macmillan reading group. Unfortunately due to ill health I couldn't make the meet up and discussion, which I was very disappointed about particularly as I loved the last meet up. So I thought I'd write a blog piece and share my views on it.

I have to admit I had actually already downloaded the novel onto my kindle prior to the lovely Jodie sending me my copy. I loved Megan Abbott's last novel "The End of Everything" for its evocative picture of teenage girls' friendships in a small town in a sleepy summer (with shades of "The Virgin Suicides" - another favourite). So I was really looking forward to this novel.

I felt like "Dare Me" took Megan Abbott into a different league. The story of hyper competitive cheerleaders and their warped relationship with their coach also has elements of a crime novel. It's a pageturner with a cracking plot, based both on a horrible crime and on the relationship between Addy, our narrator, Beth, her frenemy and Coach, who plays all the girls against each other both in cheerleading and for her affections.

Megan Abbott is so sharp on what makes girls tick. The cheer squad hate Beth and want to be her, all long limbs and insouciant control; Addy is jealous of Coach and longs for her approval. Coach pulls the girls close to compensate for the shallowness in her own life and keeps them at arm's length to preserve her mystique. No one really likes anyone else but they can't stop thinking about them.

The girls are forever on their phones tapping out messages of love and hate. They're always connected and can never escape attention. So although the girls can be loathsome, you pity them and (for adult readers) breathe a sigh of relief that you're too old for all that. I'm not actually sure teenage girls would like this novel: it may be too sharp and probing. Could they share the adult reader's pity for Beth?

A classy and chilling crime novel; a dark and compelling psychological thriller; an empathetic and ultimately sympathetic portrait of teenage girls. Definitely comes highly recommended.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

The Reading Pile...what next?!

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
Mudwoman by Joyce Carol Oates
The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell

Any suggestions as to which to tackle next welcome!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Gone Girl: worthy of the plaudits

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is pre-approved. Lauded and recommended highly by virtually everyone whose bookish opinion I respect (including Alexandra Heminsley/@Hemmo who I think must be my book twin as her taste is identical to mine), it would be tough for any book to live up to the expectations I had for this novel.

I'm pleased to say I loved it. Otherwise my book-faith might have been seriously dented. But there's another problem. How to review a book that's had acres of coverage, and a thriller at that - one with a fiendishly well worked-out plot that I would hate to spoil for any reader?

As I'm sure you know, Gone Girl follows the characters of Nick and Amy Dunne. One day, Nick awakes to find his perfect wife...gone. As the novel progresses, we learnt that both Nick and Amy are not what we first took them for.

Gone Girl is truly original. I can't even begin to imagine how Gillian Flynn was able to create this perfect riddle of a book. It's so well worked out that thinking about it too much might make your head swim. It's also marvelously quirky, both in style (Flynn creates absolutely authentic and very different voices for her two characters) and in subject matter. There are so many layers of detail that build up to create a compelling portrait of a very strange marriage.

Suffice to say you should read it, if you've not already succumbed to the hype. In this case, it's truly justified.

You'll like this if you enjoy: anything by Laura Lippman
What to read next: Sharp Objects also by Gillian Flynn, Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6