Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman

Pigeon English is one of the shortlisted book for this years Man Booker Prize and it would have to be the first book from the list that I have been disappointed in.
Pigeon English has been compared to Room (which I was also disappointed in) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (which I loved completely) so I went into the read thinking I had a 50/50 chance of coming out with a winner. I think the only real reason for the comparison between the three books is that they all use a child as the key narrator.
The narrator of Pigeon English is Harrison Opuku, a year 7 student living in the housing projects of London. Harrison, his mother and older sister Lydia have immigrated to England from Ghana and the rest of their family, including their father and 1 year old sister remain in Ghana. The book opens with the murder of a boy who Harrison knew in a distant way:

Me and the dead boy were only half friends, I didn't see him very much because he was older and he didn't go to my school. He could ride his bike with no hands and you never even wanted him to fall off. I said a prayer for him inside my head. It just said sorry.

Harrison and one of his friends become fixated on trying to work out who killed the boy through the use of their amateur detectives skills and knowledge. Harrison introduces us to his neighbourhood, his friends and his enemies at school and his family. It is through his often naive, trusting and young eyes that we begin to see what may have happened to the boy who died and what might be going on in Harrison's own family that he is not aware of. The pigeon of the title is in fact a pigeon that lives around Harrison's tower complex, Harrison sees the pigeon as a friend and ally and the pigeon (who can speak english as the title suggests) sees itself as a type of guardian for Harrison.

I loved Harrison and his voice in this book - I loved hearing from him and about him and I loved seeing his perspective of the world. For some reason though this was not enough for me to fall in love with this book and be carried away by the story. I found myself feeling bored in places, and then extremely engaged and interested in others - maybe it was this lack of consistency that made this book a little disappointing for me.

The Tortoise and the Hare - Elizabeth Jenkins

My head cold continues and therefore so does the comfort reading - although my latest choice was a little heartbreaking to be put entirely into the comfort read category!

I have had The Tortoise and the Hare on my shelf for quite a while now after reading positive and interesting reviews from dovegreyreader, Book Snob, A Few Of My Favourite Books and others.

I echo what some others have commented on in relation to the modern cover of this book shown in my post - it is probably not entirely appropriate for or reflective of the rather serious content written inside. Having said that, I do quite like it and it gave me a little bit of light relief to be able to gaze at it from time to time when the reading got a little heavy going.

The Tortoise and The Hare was first published in 1954 and tells the story of an upper middle class English marriage in the period following World War 2. Evelyn Gresham and his wife, Imogen, have been married for about 12 years when the novel begins and they have an 11 year old son (mini Evelyn in training) who is about to go off to boarding school. The family have a comfortable home in the countryside which Evelyn commutes to London from in order to fulfill his role as a successful barrister. As the novel begins Imogen introduces her husband;

He was everything Imogen admired;not only had he all the qualities she instinctively looked for in a man who was to take the direction of her life, but he had them in an unusual degree. When at twenty-seven, she had met him at forty-one, even handsomer if less interesting than he was now, she had been fascinated by his appearance, then riveted by the attraction of his personality and then filled with delight at his passion for herself, but she had never entirely lost her head about him: held back, perhaps, by the fact that he never wished it. Sympathy he wanted, usefulness, complete devotion, but not infatuation.

We see quite clearly through the book what it is that Evelyn expects, and demands, from his wife - and we see her trying to give that to him, no matter what it does to her sense of self which is virtually unexplored in the tight cage she is living in in the marriage.

Living next door to the Gresham's is the "elderly" Blanche Silcox, a 50 year old single woman with significant money and property to her name. Evelyn develops a friendship with her - a friendship that seems to offer him everything that Imogen can't - and everything she had no idea he wanted in the first place.

The novel follows the progress of the relationship between Evelyn and Blanche and the devastating, and yet hopefully not all destroying, impact it has on Imogen.

This was a brilliantly paced and told story - I am in complete awe of the skill Jenkins has shown in telling this tale which she has described as autobiographical "not in fact, but in feeling".

The Past and Other Lies - Maggie Joel

Never fear, I am still reading my way through A Suitable Boy. I was just suffering through a head cold over the weekend and was in need of some quick comfort reading.

I had read Joel's latest book, The Second Last Woman in England last year and while there had been some flaws in the storytelling for me I had still found it compelling and quite addictive reading.

I found Joel's earlier book, The Past and Other Lies just as compelling and addictive and it definitely helped me get my mind off my cold!

The book is about 3 pairs of sisters from 3 generations of one English family. The youngest pair of sisters, Jennifer and Charlotte are in their teens in the 1980's and are experiencing things that can typically occur at that stage of life - relationships, family conflict, school dramas and their connection as sisters and sometimes friends/enemies. The book starts with quite a confronting incident that in some way sets the tone for the rest of the book. The book crosses through time periods to focus on Jennifer and Charlotte's mother and her sister and on their grandmother and her sister.

As the title of the book suggests it portrays some of the stories that become part of a families history and how these stories can come from different viewpoints and experiences.

This book was quick and easy to read and the narrative was strong and kept the story flowing. Some of the scenes and events in the book didn't always ring true and it was as though they were being placed there to suit the author's purpose rather than because they flowed from the action of the story - but this didn't stop this from being a fun read for me.

This Is How - M.J. Hyland

For those of you who have read my previous post, don't despair - I am still attached to, and enjoying my read of A Suitable Boy. I had just collected some books I had on hold at the library over the weekend, one of them being This Is How and after I had briefly skimmed the description of it and then read the first lines I couldn't stop until I had read the whole thing! A common reading problem for me! For the life of me I can't remember who's blog I recently read a review and made a comment on about this one - if it was you could you please jog my memory?? I do remember saying that I thought the subject matter of this one might be a little dark for me right now so I'm not sure why I even put it on hold at the library - but I am so glad I did.

I have tried to think about a way to talk about the book without giving away the plot (a plot that is fairly commonly known anyway I think?) but I am completely failing so I will just send out a warning instead - if you don't want to know too much (apart from the fact that I think this is a brilliant read, don't read any further!).

This Is How starts in the simplest of ways;

I put my bags down on the doorstep and knock three times. I don't bang hard like a copper, but it's not as though I'm ashamed to be knocking either.

The porch light comes on and the landlady opens the door. She's younger and prettier than I expected.

'Hello,' I say. 'I'm Patrick.'

The simpler the beginning the more I am hooked - I just want to know so much more, who is Patrick? Why is he knocking on the door of this house? Why is he so nervous about the style of his knock? etc...

The book is set mainly in an English seaside town in an era that is never definitely defined but I placed it sometime in the 1970's. Patrick is a man in his early 20's who has moved from his hometown after the breakup of a relationship to live in a boarding house by the sea. We get the sense from him that he is wanting to start afresh but it is clear that Patrick has trouble forming and keeping relationships and that his interpersonal skills in some instances are put to the test.

The simple yet in depth narrative - told from Patrick's perspective - lets us see inside his mind to the thoughts that are troubling him on a fairly constant basis - he lacks trust in himself and those around him. The middle of the book culminates in Patrick killing another one of the tenants in the boarding house - a young man who he has struggled to form a friendship with.

The actual murder is stark and simple and the rest of the book follows Patrick as he goes through the legal system in an attempt to be cleared of all charges laid against him.

I'm not sure how the author did it - I look back over the prose and it seems so simple (that word again!) but maybe that is the magic of it - no bells and whistles - just a clear, concise narrative from the mind of a young man.

I was afraid that this book would be too dark for me but I did not find it that way at all. It was certainly sad and tragic in many ways but there were also elements of hope - particularly in the ending.

La's Orchestra Saves The World - Alexander McCall Smith

As a huge Alexander McCall Smith fan it was really only a matter of time before I picked up his stand alone novel La's Orchestra Saves The World. It jumped out at me at a recent trip to my library and after reading the first few lines I was drawn in - as I find happens with most McCall Smith novels - he sets up a world and characters you want to learn more about.

The main character, La (unfortunately short for Lavender she explains during the book) is a woman in her late 20's who moves from London to the Suffolk countryside shortly before the start of World War 2 after her husband runs off to France with another woman. La is an intelligent, educated woman who has concerns about moving to a small village but after her husband leaves she feels she needs to move away from London for a time. As La is learning to fit into village life Hitler is gathering power in Germany and World War 2 begins and after a chance encounter with a fellow music lover the decision to start a small village orchestra to boost moral is made. This event does not come until quite late in the book and to be honest I had completely forgotten about the fact that it was coming up - even with the title of the book making it very clear! The creation of the orchestra seemed to come out of the blue - by that stage I was enjoying reading about La and her daily life - the challenges she was facing in becoming a "local" and dealing with the impact of the war and the personal relationships she was building - I didn't actually need the orchestra to focus the book in any way.

I found this book to be a very different reading experience to the other McCall Smith novels I have read - this book seemed a lot heavier and dealt with issues in a much more serious way than some of his other books I have read such as The Scotland Street series. Obviously the setting of the book in the midst of World War 2 has contributed to this tone.

Overall it was the character of La that made this book for me - I was so glad that McCall Smith carried on to let us see what had happened to her after the war had ended - it was just right.

The Debutante - Kathleen Tessaro

I was drawn to the cover of The Debutante as soon as I saw it, pink, glitzy and pretty (with shoes!!) - I couldn't walk away without buying it. In my defence I am a big fan of all of Kathleen Tessaro's past books so I would inevitably have bought this latest one anyway - but the cover did help!

Tessaro's books would probably be classified as "chick lit" but I would hate for them to be seen as light or insubstantial because of that classification. All of her books have style and substance and a little bit of grit and The Debutante was no exception for me.

The story starts in London in the office of Deveraux and Diplock, Valuers and Auctioneers of Quality where the firms owner, Rachel Deveraux is sending her long standing employee, Jack Coates off to an English estate in the country on a valuing job with her niece Cate who has recently (and mysteriously) returned from New York. It all sounds a little bit set up and forced when described in that way but it certainly doesn't come across that way when reading it. Each of the characters has a well described back story that comes out in time which adds to their authenticity and the novel as a whole - it makes you connect with where the book is going.

The highlight of the trip to the estate, Endsleigh, for Cate is the discovery of a shoe box filled with random treasures from a past time which leads her on a mission to discover more about the estate's past residents, the infamous Blythe sisters Irene and Diana.

The book moves from the present back to the 1930's through the device of letters from Diana Blythe to her sister and others. At the same time Cate is discovering about the lost life of Diana Blythe her own life seems to share many parallels with Diana's and in the process of unravelling Diana's mystery she has to come to terms with some of her own past decisions and acts.

I really enjoyed this book - as I said earlier, it had substance but there was also a lightness in the way the adventure and mystery was structured. I thought the ending came together a little too neatly but it didn't change my love for the book. There was also a very interesting post script from the author at the end of the book in which she spoke about how she came to write the book the way she did. Another winner from Tessaro and one that has me wanting to go right back and read some of her earlier books.

The Hand That First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell

To say that I am totally in love with this book would be an understatement! I have only just finished it a couple of hours ago and I would usually wait to write about my responses to a book on my blog but I really want to just capture my initial, instinctive responses to this one rather than try to write a reasoned review.

Ever since reading my first Maggie O'Farrell book, After You'd Gone, I have been devoted to this author and her writing - each book I read becomes my new favourite of hers and The Hand That First Held Mine is no exception - I have only just finished it but all I want to do is go back and read it all over again.

The book tells the alternate stories of Lexie Sinclair, a country girl who moves to London in the 1950's with her lover and the modern day story of Elina and Ted who have just had their first child and are adjusting to all that comes with that significant and dramatic life change.

In some ways this book covers everyday topics, love, birth, relationships, work but it is the way that it approaches them that makes the book so magical. Each of the characters and story lines are infused with emotion - not a kind of soppy, soap opera emotion but the emotion of everyday lives and actions. I found the scenes where Elina first comes home with her newborn boy raw and honest;

If she could just sleep, everything would be all right. Just a stretch of three hours, four maybe. She is so tired that if she turns her head there is a crackling sound, like someone crumpling paper. But she keeps moving. She moves around the kitchen, past the cooker, past the kettle, past the answerphone, which is telling her she has no fewer than thirteen messages, round by the fridge and back, an ache pulsing in her temples.

The two stories eventually come together in a way I honestly did not see coming - but even if I had it would not have ruined the story for me in any way - because I saw the coming together of the two stories as really the whole point. I was crying at the end - something that I rarely do in novels.

I am now in a cover dilemma as I do want to buy a copy of this for myself. The cover on sale in Australia is the one at the top of this post (and this is growing on me...) but the cover of the copy I read from my library, and the one I do love the most I think, is below;

Dilemma!! Which one do you like best?

Oh - and make sure you read this book - whatever cover you choose!

The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley

The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag is the second book (and another great title!) in the Flavia de Luce mystery series that started with The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie.

The Sweetness was one of my favourite reads from 2009 so I was expecting big things from the sequel - and I have to say that it didn't quite deliver for me. Don't get me wrong - I am still totally in love with Flavia and her "Flavia-isms" which are still dotted through the novel in regular spaces;

I have never much cared for flippant remarks, especially when others make them, and in particular, I don't give a frog's fundament for them when they come from an adult.

Flavia is still very much Flavia - bright, intelligent, curious and certainly obnoxious when the occasion calls for it. I felt that Bradley has continued to set up Flavia's family history and back story well (particularly in relation to her mother Harriet and her untimely death - an event I am sure we will learn more of in coming books) but I felt that other aspects of the book were lacking a little spark that the first book had. I don't read a lot of mystery novels so it would be interesting to hear from more experienced mystery readers than myself about what they thought of that aspect of the novel - there were certainly mystery elements but I felt the author was concentrating on other issues much of the time which confused the reading for me a little.

Maybe I was just expecting a little too much - other reviews of this one seem to be mainly favourable - some even claiming it was better than the first book in the series - so maybe I have just missed the magic with this one. I will still be following Flavia's adventures - she's too engaging not to!

The Second-Last Woman In England - Maggie Joel

The Second-Last Woman In England was a book that caught my eye when I was browsing last weekend. I certainly didn't need to purchase another book - but when has 'need' ever really been a factor in my purchasing of books??!

I loved the cover, dark and intriguing - tempting me to delve inside. I then followed my pre-book purchasing ritual and read the description of the book on the back cover:

London, 1953. Mrs Harriet Wallis is found guilty of the murder of her husband, Cecil. It is the year of the Coronation and, as a new Queen ascends the throne, Mrs Wallis will become the second-last woman in England to be hanged.

I was definitely on the way to the counter to make a purchase after noticing the book included a few of my favourite things - London, the period after World War 2 and a strong leading female character. I read the first paragraph of the book just to be sure:

Towards the end of May 1953, Mr Cecil Condor Wallis made the decision to watch the Coronation on a newly purchased television set rather than give in to his children's wishes to join the hundreds of thousands lining the streets less than a mile from his South Kensington home. It was an odd decision for a man who had, on a number of occasions, expressed his loathing for the new medium - and one that probably cost him his life. There were, of course, other factors, aside from the decision to purchase the television set, that contributed to Mr Wallis's death.

I was hooked well and truly by this stage - I had to buy the book and discover for myself what those "other factors" were.

The novel focuses on the upper class Wallis family and their private and business lives in the years following World War 2. There are numerous other associated and related characters introduced throughout the story - one of the most important being their newly employed nanny, Jean Corbett. I have always found books that start with the punchline interesting. We know right from the beginning that Harriet Wallace kills her husband, we know when she does it, where she does it and we know how - the vital part missing in the story is the why. I felt that the author did a great job of teasing out the why and showing us the 'behind the scenes' lives of the Wallis family. At times I felt there were probably a few too many side stories and characters - they were all important or significant in a way but they occasionally made you feel as though you were losing touch with the real , or main, story. Overall though I found this book compelling and addictive - I kept reading until I had it finished and time away from it was torture. Joel has created an authentic world in many respects - so much so that I kept wondering throughout my reading if the book was based on a true story (it isn't but it is interesting to hear Joel speak about her inspiration for the novel).

Inside The Whale - Jennie Rooney

I have had Inside The Whale on my shelves for a while now - it even travelled over to the UK and France with us on our trip last year - but I had not yet got around to reading it. I ended up lending it to my best friend who read it quickly and said that I had to read it - soon! I took her advice and actually finished the book today in virtually one sitting - it is a beautiful, and a beautifully told, novel.

The novel is told from the alternate perspectives of the two main characters, Stevie (Stephanie) and Michael as they meet just prior to the start of WW2 and then as their lives progress through the war years and into adulthood and old age. The author plays with the narrative - moving backwards and forwards in time so that we actually "meet" Michael for the first time as an elderly man in a hospital bed whereas Stevie starts telling her story as an adolescent on the day that war is declared in 1939. This technique works perfectly for this story - a linear progression would not have been as effective - the story is not that simple. Each character has a clear and distinctive voice and story - they both fill the reader in on their childhood's and their histories - the decisions and actions taken both by themselves and others that have led them to each separate stage in their stories. The reader can see both Stevie and Michael as individuals and then there is a third character - their relationship which develops genuinely.

I loved this book - it has left me feeling and wanting more and yet at the same time it was just right - perfectly satisfying, sad and honest.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson

I am going to set the tone of my review from the start by declaring Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as my favourite read of 2010 so far, totally delightful is the term that jumped into my mind as soon as I had finished reading the book this afternoon and I have to admit that I then went into a period of mourning wondering what book I was going to pick up next that would come close to my experience of reading this one.

Major Ernest Pettigrew is a 68 year old widower living in the English village of Edgecombe St. Mary and as the novel starts he has just received news of the sudden and unexpected death of his younger brother, Bertie. It is at this time that the local shopkeeper, Mrs Jasmina Ali, also widowed, knocks on the Major's front door to collect his weekly paper money. This chance meeting at such a time of emotional vulnerability and need sets these two wonderful characters on the road to developing a relationship - although all does not go smoothly of course. The Major and Mrs Ali find snippets of time to be with each other to share their mutual love of good tea and good literature and they also find themselves brought together, quite unintentionally, by the organising of the annual golf club dance. The prejudices of the local community as well as their own family and friends erects barriers to their feelings for one another and the progression of their relationship and the conflicts these scenes bring to the novel only strengthen it as a whole.

I almost didn't pick this book up thinking it would be too light and fluffy with little substance - I couldn't have been more wrong. The writing, in particular the characterisation is strong and honest - and extremely funny in many places. The Major himself is a wonderful character with much to love - there are some resemblances to Alexander McCall Smith in both the content and characters of this book but I have to say that I think Simonson has out McCall Smithed McCall Smith! Simonson keeps her eye on the main storyline but there are plenty of other sub-plots to keep the reader interested and I felt that the author brought it altogether at the end (even if the last few scenes were a little needlessly dramatic - I was prepared to forgive almost anything by that stage!). This is a book I could go back and read again tomorrow and not be bored - beautiful!

A Life Like Other People's - Alan Bennett

A Life Like Other People's was lent to me by a work colleague with the phrase "he couldn't put it down once he started it" - definite praise. I had read Bennett's fiction, The Uncommon Reader last year and loved it and this biography of his parent's marriage and the life of their family was no exception - a beautiful, haunting read.

A Life Like Other People's is the core of Bennett's memoir, Untold Stories and it's focus is really on his parent's marriage and relationship but also the increasing episodes of depression his mother experiences when Bennett himself is middle aged. Bennett's writing is honest and stark - his descriptions of events clear and vivid and his reflections of his own behaviour and thoughts around particular events are introspective and telling. The title of the book comes from the feeling that the Bennett family was always a little bit apart from other families in their area - both in action and thought. Bennett himself felt this difference as a child and reflects on it now as an adult. What I found interesting is that the Bennett family was probably very similar to many other families of the era in lots of different ways - they had their family secrets (one in particular that Bennett discovers in the process of his mother being hospitalised for the first time for her depression) just as I am sure many other families did.

Bennett's reflections on the treatment of people with a mental illness and the elderly is a particular strong point of the book:

A life varies in social importance. We set most value on the life of a child.

Aunty Kathleen's life was at its lowest point of social valuation. She was seventy-three. She was senile. She was demented, and she was of no class or economic importance.

It is Bennett's writing that turns a fairly simple family story into an addictive and compelling read. I can't wait to read more.

A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

After recently watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie I was motivated to start reading some of the books. The movie whetted my appetite for the characters of Holmes and Watson but I had a feeling that the literature versions would suit me even more. So many of you gave me good advice about where to start with the Holmes books and I followed along and chose the first book, A Study in Scarlet to begin my Holmes reading. My partner and I were lucky enough to receive a Borders gift voucher for Christmas from a very clever relative so we splurged and bought The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - a gorgeous hard cover book although a little heavy to carry around on a daily basis so I did my reading of A Study in Scarlet at night in bed.

The book introduces not only the characters of Holmes and Watson but also their relationship with each other - I admit it was hard to get Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law's faces out of my head while reading but I think I did manage to create my own versions of these very famous characters.

As someone who is extremely dense when it comes to mystery novels I am always amazed by authors in this genre and the imagination and intelligence they display in creating their plots. I am thankful for the work of the author in this case as he has Watson and Holmes clearly explain their thoughts and actions at the end of the mystery for the benefit of the reader. I realise that some people might find this extremely annoying but I found it helpful and it increased my enjoyment of the book. Is this a style that occurs all through the Holmes books and stories??

I really enjoyed this short book - I thought it was a great introduction to the characters and the world of Sherlock Holmes. I am so glad I have purchased the whole collection because I know I will be reading more of these.

Sherlock Holmes - Movie

Tonight my partner and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It certainly was an action packed adventure!

I thought Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law played wonderful parts but my favourite actor had to be Rachel McAdams - she was just great as Holmes' "muse". It would have been great to see more of her - but I guess this would not have supported the Holmes/Watson storyline.

Having never read any of the Sherlock Holmes book I had no literary reference to compare the movie too - so while I enjoyed the movie as a stand alone action adventure through the streets of London I'm not sure that I have been shown the "true" Sherlock Holmes?? The action itself was fast paced but I felt the plot was a little lacking in substance - I did find myself feeling a little bored when the upteenth action scene came on screen. Is this how it is in the books?

I would really love to move onto the literary Holmes from here - can anyone offer any suggestions on good places to start?

The Making of a Marchioness - Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Making of a Marchioness was given to me by the very insightful Sarah as part of the Persephone Secret Santa gift swap this year.

Just reading the description of the book on the Persephone site was enough to let me know I would most likely be enjoying this one greatly;

Part I, the original Marchioness, is in the Cinderella (and Miss Pettigrew) tradition, while Part II, called The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, is an absorbing melodrama; most novels end 'and they lived happily ever after' but this one develops into a realistic commentary on late-Victorian marriage. 'Delightful... A sparky sense of humour combined with lively social commentary make this a joy to read' wrote the Bookseller. Kate Saunders told Open Book listeners that she was up until two in the morning finishing this 'wildly romantic tale whose hero and heroine are totally unromantic' (Daily Telegraph); the Guardian referred to 'a touch of Edith Wharton's stern unsentimentality'; the Spectator wrote about the novel's 'singular charm'; and the Daily Mail stressed the 'sharp observations in this charming tale.'

I have not as yet read The Secret Garden (sad I know!) so this was my first experience of Hodgson Burnett's writing - and I loved it. The storyline, the writing style, the detailed descriptions of fashions and scenes and the characters themselves (in particularly Emily) all enchanted me - there is no other way to describe my reaction to this book - I was completely enchanted and charmed by the whole thing!

My only problem now is that I don't know what to read next to follow such an amazing book! Can anyone offer any suggestions? Also, what Persephone do you think I should order next?

Thank you so much Sarah - an excellent choice!

Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

I had read/heard lots about Cold Comfort Farm (not really sure where now) so when I saw one of the new Popular Penguin editions of the book a while ago I snapped it up. I wasn't really sure what to expect from the book - although I knew it was an English novel written in the 193o's and that was enough for me to give it a go. My edition of the book also has an introduction written by Lynne Truss - which I saved to read until after I had read the actual book (and which I did find helpful at that point).

Cold Comfort Farm starts with an introduction to our leading lady;

The education bestowed on Flora Poste by her parents had been expensive, athletic and prolonged; and when they died within a few weeks of one another during the annual epidemic of the influenza or Spanish Plague which occurred in her twentieth year, she was discovered to possess every art and grace save that of earning her own living.

And so begins Flora's predicament - either stay in her beloved, social London, find a flat of her own and a job to support herself - or move to some far flung part of the countryside to live with distant relatives previously unknown to her. Much to my surprise (but thankfully for the plot of the novel) Flora moves to Cold Comfort farm in Sussex to live with relatives of her mothers - the Starkadders.

It is here that the novel takes its comic turn because the Starkadders are both ridiculous and hilarious at the same time and the interaction they have with city girl Flora has some very funny results and altercations. It did take me a while to pick up the intended tone of the novel, Flora swoops in determined to alter for the better her country cousins and while I did find her actions funny I also felt a little resentful of her nature - what right did she have to decide she was in the right and the Starkadders were the lost and hopeless ones?? I got to grips with the book in the end though and did end up enjoying it for the most part - Gibbons does tend to describe a lot of the landscape in her book and while I know this is necessary to set the scene, a little too much of it and I become a bit bored! Some very funny scenes though - this might be one I have to come back to in the future to fully appreciate.

Corduroy Mansions - Alexander McCall Smith

2009 has been a bit of an Alexander McCall Smith year for me - I discovered his Scotland Street series earlier in the year and devoured the books in that collection quite quickly. When I saw Corduroy Mansions had been published I was very excited - I could continue my obsession!

Corduroy Mansions is pretty much just an English version of the Scotland Street novels. A lot of the characters seem similar in stereotypes and ways - and yet they retain their own individual quirks and traits as well. I fluctuated when reading this novel between finding the sameness and similarities in character design annoying and boring and then finding it comforting and safe - which is sometimes just what I am looking for in my reading. I picked up the new Alexander McCall Smith novel because I knew what I would be getting - and he didn't disappoint me in this regard.

The Corduroy Mansions of the title is a block of flats in the London area of Pimlico and the chapters focus around the various residents of the building as we as their numerous acquaintances and relatives. Unlike the Scotland Street series there wasn't a character like young Bertie who really stood out for me as a favourite and it was probably this fact that was most disappointing about the novel for me - there was no one character that I genuinely cared about. Apart from this though there were a great selection of characters to follow - the style of McCall Smith's writing and the way he structures his chapters means that if you are bored with one particular story line another one comes along very quickly to entertain you.

The sequel to Corduroy Mansions, The Dog Who Came in From The Cold, is currently being published online and I have tried to give it a go - but unfortunately it just isn't holding the same appeal for me. Maybe I will need to wait until it is published in book form...

Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier is one of my favourite authors and yet I was so disappointed by her latest book before this one, Burning Bright, that I didn't automatically rush out to buy Remarkable Creatures when it was first released.

I did finally give in though as I was hearing much better reports about Remarkable Creatures and all the reviews seemed to indicate that Chevalier had returned with a great novel.

Remarkable Creatures focuses on the lives of two very different women living in Lyme Regis on the English coast in the early 1800's, Mary Anning, a young working class girl with the knack for finding fossils or "curies" along the beach and Elizabeth Philpot, a middle aged, upper middle class single women who has been forced to move to Lyme Regis with her sisters from London after the death of her parents and the marriage of their only brother. The two women are connected by their shared loved and interest of the fossils - although their reasons for this love are very different. The finding of curies brings much needed money to Mary's struggling family while Elizabeth seems more interested in the historical and geographical significance of the finds - as well as the way they cause her to re-think many of the basic teachings and beliefs of her life.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Mary and Elizabeth in alternating chapters and I think this is one of the main problems I had with the book. Mary and Elizabeth are meant to have an enduring friendship and connection but for me I was never able to fully believe in this relationship and the strength it was meant to contain. I'm not sure if this was because I had to keep changing focus from reading the story from each point of view - the women never seemed connected in the narrative and so I could not connect their relationship. Unfortunately I think this relationship is obviously one of the standing points of the novel and because I wasn't able to connect with and believe in it the novel didn't quite work for me - even though I did enjoy (as always) Chevalier's beautiful writing style.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is actually Lewycka's first published book but it is the third one of hers I have read after loving her latest release We are all Made of Glue and enjoying (but not loving) her second book Two Caravans. Based on my latest read I am glad that I have read the books in reverse order of their publication because although I did enjoy Tractors it was possibly my least favourite of the three.

Tractors is told from the perspective of Nadezhda (Nadia) the youngest adult daughter of a family who emigrated to England after WW2. Nadia has a virtually non-existent relationship with her older sister, Vera, following an argument that arose from their mother's death a couple of years before. The two sisters are reunited in some way though after their elderly father announces he is going to marry a woman much younger than himself so that she can obtain a residency visa for the UK. Nadia and Vera join forces to try and stop the marriage from happening in the first place and when that is not successful they work on ending it as soon as possible. They have good reasons for wanting the marriage to be over - their father's new wife is quite abusive towards him and I found these scenes particularly difficult to read.

Along with this story we learn the history of the families move to England and how different people in the family have different memories, interpretations and experiences of that history.

The book definitely has Lewycka's characteristic trait of combining serious issues with humour - I just found it harder to go over to the humour side in this book.

The Bradshaw Variations - Rachel Cusk

The Bradshaw Variations was a novel I saw while over in the UK and while it tempted me there and then I didn't buy it due to my bag already being overflowing (not to mention bloody heavy!) with books. It did stick with me however and when I got home and couldn't find it anywhere in bookshops here I ordered it from The Book Depository.

I have not read any of Rachel Cusk's books before so in terms of her writing style I had nothing to compare this book to and no real expectations. What tempted me into reading this book was it's description and also an interview I had read with Cusk where she came across as an honest, straightforward woman with clear thoughts and opinions around life, motherhood and the broader role of women within society.

The Bradshaw Variations focuses on the three adult Bradshaw children, their elderly parents and their respective families although the main characters of the novel are Thomas Bradshaw, his wife Tonie and their young daughter, Alexa. Tonie has recently been offered, and accepted, a promotion in her academic position at the University where she works. She is now the Head of the English Department and as such her hours and workload have increased dramatically. As a result of this promotion there has been a change in the family structure with Thomas resigning from his working life to take on the care of Alexa and to focus on developing his artistic life in the form of piano lessons. Thomas's brothers and their families as well as the Bradshaw parents are also included in the narrative of the book which often reads like a series of interconnected short stories rather than a comprehensive novel.

Having not read any of Cusk's work before I am not sure if this novel is indicative of her style but if it is I have to say, I don't think I will be picking up another one of her novels. The narrative was incredibly wordy, repetitive and complex. The characters would often engage in lengthy inner monologues with themselves which did not really add anything to character development or plot from what I could tell - it just made me dislike the characters and become inpatient with the story. I mean, I know we all have inner thought processes but these characters were so introspective I'm not sure how they got anything else done! For example;

But it is true that Thomas has never been quite that sure again, that he became more doubtful as Tonie's promotion became more of a certainty, that even now he appears to be going through a process, an adjustment, as though life has simply hardened around him again in its new forms and the revelation that set it in motion is nowhere to be found. It has no concrete existence, this revelation. It has no reality. It merely changed, for an instant, reality's properties, as the flame changed the candle and sent it running over the edge of itself, running and running into new paths as though it sought to be free of what it was, of what it became once more as soon as it reached the air and stiffened in its tracks (Page. 18)

Maybe I am being too harsh but I just found this book painful to read - I did not connect with the characters at all and the story lacked focus and direction for me.

I am also unsure of what message Cusk is trying to send about the role of mothers who work outside the home. The ending of the book really left me wondering about this so I would love to hear from any of you who have read this one and what your thoughts are.

Not the book for me unfortunately.