The Judgement Of Richard Richter by Igor Stiks

The Judgement Of Richard Richter by Igor Stiks
First published by Fraktura in Croatian as Elijahova stolica in 2006. English language translation by Ellen Elias-Bursac published by AmazonCrossing in 2017.

How I got this book:
Bought the ebook via Amazon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this gripping, war-torn epic novel, author Igor Štiks, a nominee for the IMPAC Dublin Award, tells the story of a celebrated writer who travels to Sarajevo to unearth devastating family secrets and the lies that have defined his life.

Author Richard Richter’s mother and father were always phantoms, both parents having died by the time he was four. His life, now at a crossroads, has been a jumble of invention, elusive memories, and handed-down stories. But when Richard finds his mother’s hidden notebook, written by her during World War II, he discovers a confession that was never meant to be read by anyone—least of all, her son.

Richard’s quest for the truth about his life leads him to an embattled Sarajevo. In the chaos of the besieged city, he discovers something more: a transformative romance and unexpected new friendships that will change the course of his search. But fate has been playing with all of them. And just as fate determines the lives of the characters in his novel, a betrayal reaching back half a century has yet to loosen its grip—on Richard, on everyone he has come to love, and on those he has no choice but to try to forgive.

At the beginning, The Judgment Of Richard Richter felt like quite an old-fashioned literary novel in style. It is narrated by a recently divorced man, the eponymous Richard Richter, in his fifties who is uncomfortably aware of both his age and his situation, and I thought that generally the slower style fitted this character. He repeatedly just happens to mention his literary success and fame, but this man has returned to live in his childhood home - and unchanged childhood room - so a lot of his speech must be to bolster his own ego as well as an attempt to impress his fictional and actual readers. Richter's self-absorption reminded me of reading Wasp Days and initially I wasn't sure I would enjoy the book at all. The repeated foreshadowing of impending doom felt far too heavy-handed a device. We know from practically the first page that this novel isn't leading to a Happily Ever After so I could have done without so many 'by then I would know that ...' musings.

That said, I did love that this feels like a very European novel. The destruction of Sarajevo provides a dramatic backdrop running in parallel with the destruction of Richter's sense of his own identity. Descriptions of broken streets echoed those in the amazing novel The Cellist Of Sarajevo and the extents to which people go to try and maintain hope in wartime are astounding. I loved the idea of the theatre troupe and I imagine this novel has a lot in common with their Max Frisch Homo Faber play - I must now read that novel in order to find out. Stiks also cleverly draws in Laertes reunion with Odysseus, reminding me I am yet to read my copy of The Odyssey!

The main theme here is identity, both individually and culturally. In the cultural melting pot of Sarajevo, Richter begins to understand the truth about himself, and must then try to deal with the repercussions of that truth. I don't want to discuss too much more as going in to this novel unawares worked brilliantly for me. The Judgment isn't so much about the revelation as about Richter's journey to and past that point. The novel speeds up its pace considerably in the second half to become an exciting read, albeit one that takes a decidedly uncomfortable route.


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The Night Knight by C H Clepitt + #Giveaway

The Night Knight (Guild of Dream Warriors #2) by C H Clepitt
Self published in July 2018.

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the author

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"It's hard to sleep when you're afraid to close your eyes..."

Bella is playing catch up. Ten years in a coma has left her feeling out of every loop. When a mysterious knight begins to invade her dreams, she finds herself pulled into a war which is threatening to spill out of her dreams and into reality.

The second in the Guild of Dream Warriors series hits the ground running, and doesn't pause for breath until the end.

I loved that Clepitt switches the narrator for this second volume of her Guild of Dream Warriors series. It's a brave move to give the lead voice to a new character, and I feel it works well here. The first book, My Dream Woman, was narrated by Andi with Bella comatose for the most part. Now Bella is very much awake and we follow her experiences through the next stage of the Dream Warriors' battle. Bella is a softer character than Andi. Comatose for a decade, she also has a touching naivete due to her lack of social integration. When a faceless Knight appears, I could completely understand why Bella would swiftly fall for them. The romance aspect of this novella fits well in between the faster, aggressive scenes and I liked these emotional contrasts. The differences between dream world and real world are effective too. Clepitt has a deft touch in concisely describing her locations.

Although The Night Knight does have a self-contained storyline, I don't think it could easily be read as a standalone novella. The Dream Warriors world is well explained in My Dream Woman and, while I appreciated Clepitt not bogging this second volume down with recaps of what we've already learned, that does also mean this is (so far at least) a series that benefits from being read in order.

And now it's time for the Giveaway!

The prize is an ebook edition of either The Night Knight OR the first book in C H Clepitt's Guild of Dream Warriors series, My Dream Woman, gifted to the winner via Smashwords. I will ask the winner which book they would prefer.
Open internationally until midnight (UK time) on the 11th February 2019.

Entry is by way of the Gleam widget below. This giveaway is entirely my own and is not affiliated with either the author or Smashwords. I just really want more readers to be aware of this book!
(GDPR: Gleam will ask for your email address so that I am able to contact the winner. I will then need to tell Smashwords that winning email address so they can send out the book.)

The Night Knight by C H Clepitt ebook giveaway

Etsy Find!
	Feminist Knight  quote wall hanging by The Peachy Polka Dot in New Hampshire, USA Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Pocket Poets: Rupert Brooke

Pocket Poets: Rupert Brooke
Poems originally written between 1908 and 1914. This collection published by Vista Books in 1960.

My 1900s read for my 2018-19 Decade Challenge, my 15th Classics Club read, one more step up Mount TBR and P for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge.

How I got this book:
Swapped for at a book exchange (I think)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A collection of twenty-nine poems and sonnets composed by the acclaimed First World War poet Rupert Brooke. Includes his most famous poem, The Soldier, which was first published in The Times in 1914: ("If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is forever England.")

I really don't like Brooke's most famous poem, The Soldier. It's one that seemingly gets recited whenever English people want to glorify our war history so I've come to associate it with jingoistic nationalism and pointless death. I don't know whether Brooke actually wrote it to encourage young men to sign up and fight in the First World War, but my attitude towards this one poem has always put me off reading anything else he wrote. Recently however I discovered that Brooke was associated with the Bloomsbury Group and a friend to Virginia Woolf - whose writing I do like very much. When I saw this slim vintage volume of his 'best' poems, I thought maybe it was time to give Brooke a second chance.

Based on this collection, I can say that Brooke was obsessed with Death and Love, in that order, and was rather a melodramatic soul! The timing of his poetry together with historical hindsight makes several of his poems especially poignant. The sonnet which begins "Oh! Death will find me, Long before I tire" and the poem Dust are both absolutely beautiful in their own right, and are given an extra edge by knowing that their author will indeed have died - of a tiny mosquito bite - just six years later. Brooke's work is very English and English in a way that bears no relation to the country I know. Instead this is a land of "honey for tea" and Tennyson at Cambridge. I couldn't relate to much of Brooke's hankering for that kind of life, but longing for home and his desolation after heart-break are universal. And I liked seeing the world through the eyes of fish!

Etsy Find!
	Rupert Brooke  china thimble by The Vintage Coop UK in Sevenoaks, England Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Vizilsan: Blue Rabbit's Crystal by Marko Marković

Vizilsan: Blue Rabbit's Crystal by Marko Marković
First published in Serbian as Vizilsan: Kristal plavog zeca by Darkwood in 2013. English language translation by Dejan Savic published by Europe Comics in June 2017.

V for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Vizilsan is a world hemmed by dreams. Full of contrast, reminiscent of a world from a time long forgotten, yet blessed with certain technological accomplishments from a distant future. The lines between magic and science are blurred. The vast diversity of races poses the question of their origin – either from another planet or a different time. It is a wonderful world of dense forests, endless rivers, vast oceans, insurmountable mountain tops, arid deserts. A world full of life. Alas, the energy that once maintained this natural balance has begun wandering aimlessly due to crazed exploitation of natural resources, threatening to destroy that world. Few are aware. Few are trying to do something about it. A human duchess and a battle-hardened kaitian warrior, with the help of a few loyal friends, will try to restore the balance to the world and secure its survival. An epic adventure across the five continents of the world of Vizilsan now begins...

Vizilsan: Blue Rabbit's Crystal caught my attention because of the Donnie Darko style rabbit on the front cover. When I then learnt that the author, Marko Markovic, is Serbian I decided to give this graphic novel a read. It is a multi-species fantasy story with a Quest to find a mythical gem that can somehow control energy throughout the world. I think, anyway. To be honest, I did struggle to keep the storyline straight in my mind. There are flashbacks to Historical Times and, for a non-fantasy reader like me, the present day looked fairly historical too. I think readers who are more used to weirdly-named fantasy characters and species would stand a better chance of keeping up with Markovic's convoluted plot, however I am glad I gave this a try because I absolutely loved the artwork. Scenes of towns and cities are particularly stunning because of their detail. Also, I felt the images really flowed from one to another. A lot of the story is set at sea or on boats, or in journeying of one kind or another so for this movement to the reflected in the artwork was very effective.

On the downside, I was irritated that the lead (and almost the only) female character was never allowed sufficient time to get dressed properly. Even when all the males were swathed in cosy hoods and cloaks, she was still standing around in her underwear. I suspect hypothermia was the real reason she was so easily overpowered at a potentially critical moment! Also a negative for me was that, as the first in a series, Vizilsan abruptly stops on a bit of a cliff hanger. You might already know that I hate non-endings! If I'd known this graphic novel would leave me stranded mid-story, I probably wouldn't have started it. As it is I am not sure I liked the first installment enough to risk embarking further into what could become a lengthy epic.


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The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater

The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater
Published by Crime Wave Press on the 31st October 2018.

How I got this book:
Received a review copy via Rachel's Random Resources

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Add The Monsoon Ghost Image to your Goodreads

Dirty Pictures, Secret Wars And Human Beasts – Detective Maier Is Back To Investigate The Politics Of Murder

The third Detective Maier mystery is a taut and crazy spy thriller for our disturbing times.

When award-winning German conflict photographer Martin Ritter disappears in a boating accident in Thailand, the nation mourns the loss of a cultural icon. But a few weeks later, Detective Maier’s agency in Hamburg gets a call from Ritter’s wife. Her husband has been seen alive on the streets of Bangkok. Maier decides to travel to Thailand to find Ritter. But all he finds is trouble and a photograph. 

As soon as Maier puts his hands on the Monsoon Ghost Image, the detective turns from hunter to hunted – the CIA, international business interests, a doctor with a penchant for mutilation and a woman who calls herself the Wicked Witch of the East all want to get their fingers on Martin Ritter’s most important piece of work – visual proof of a post 9/11 CIA rendition and the torture of a suspected Muslim terrorist on Thai soil. From the concrete canyons of the Thai capital to the savage jungles and hedonist party islands of southern Thailand, Maier and his sidekick Mikhail race against formidable foes to discover some of our darkest truths and to save their lives into the bargain.

I still haven't gotten around to reading the first volume of Tom Vater's Detective Maier Mystery series, The Cambodian Book Of The Dead, although I did enjoy the second mystery, The Man With The Golden Mind so I was happy to be offered the opportunity to reads its sequel, The Monsoon Ghost Image. (Regular visitors will know I struggle to read any series in the right order!) In this third book, a jaded and suffering Detective Maier is again drawn to Asia, this time to Thailand, along with his Russian colleague, Mikhail, to investigate nefarious goings on.

Vater's location descriptions are, again, wonderfully evocative and detailed. I could easily envisage Bangkok slums or isolated jungle islands, stunning coral coves and drug-addled backpacker parties. However I wasn't so gripped by the mystery this time around. The narrative seemed quite disjointed with members of the cast frequently popping up unexpectedly and then everything moving to a new scene before I could work out exactly what was happening.

If you like fast-paced thrillers with lots of dark violence you probably will enjoy Maier's adventures. I found myself wanting a lot more information about the hows and whys though - especially the whys. We don't get to know any of the characters particularly well so I wasn't always convinced of the authenticity of their actions. I need to at least believe in a character, then I find it easier to suspend belief in the plot when necessary and still enjoy the ride. Sadly that was often too difficult here.

Meet the author

Tom Vater has published four crime novels and is the co-owner of Crime Wave Press, a Hong Kong based crime fiction imprint. He writes for many publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, CNN and The Nikkei Asian Review. He is a best-selling non-fiction writer and co-author of the highly acclaimed Sacred Skin.

Author links: 
Linked In ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Clippings

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Mamachari Matchmaker by S J Pajonas #FreeBook

Mamachari Matchmaker (Kami No Sekai, #3) by S J Pajonas
Self published in America in March 2015.

M for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge

How I got this book:
Downloaded a free copy to celebrate the author's birthday. Happy Birthday Stephanie! (Get your free copy Through This Link until Feb 1st)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Buy Directly from the Author

This bike longs to be owned by a family with kids but is bought by a quiet, cosplaying, young woman instead. 

How will Mamachari help Eriko to find true love? 

~~~ 

Shhh… Listen To The Gods. 

The Japanese believe the gods live in all things. Trees, appliances, animals, buildings — they all have a spirit living within them. Maybe, if you listen carefully, you can hear them too.

Mamachari Matchmaker is a sweet short story set in Tokyo and partially narrated by a bicycle - well, the god living inside this particular bicycle anyway. Mamacharis are an everyday family bicycle in Japan (Mama Chariot?) frequently to be seen on errands loaded up with small children and groceries. So  it makes perfect sense that Eriko's new Mamachari bicycle would be pushing her towards finding romance. However, unlike some of Eriko's friends, the Mamachari doesn't want her to pretend to be someone she isn't just in order to snag a man.

I really liked shy Eriko. In her own world of manga and cosplay she is perfectly at home, but when confronted by other social situations she panics, blushing and believing everything she says is ridiculous. I can certainly empathise with that! The Mamachari is a fun character with a refreshingly dry sense of humour. Having spent ages in the bicycle shop before Eriko arrived, this god knows feeling unwanted is like. It can understand why Eriko doesn't put herself forward and can whisper advice from the sidelines - unheard by anyone else. I didn't have any problem believing in the reality of Eriko and her talking Mamachari bicycle and was swiftly drawn in to their quest, rooting for Eriko to find her happily ever after.

Etsy Find!
	Cherry Blossom  bicycle bell by Psykel Chic in Florida, USA Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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All Things by Amber Belldene

All Things by Amber Belldene
Self published in America in September 2018.

Featured in 5Books1Theme: Pride Month and a book with a Vegetarian/Vegan Character. Included in my Vegan Bookshop

How I got this book:
Bought the ebook from Amazon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A priest and a rabbi walk into a lesbian bar…

If something is unjust in San Francisco’s Mission District, the Reverend Alma Lee will face it down. She leads her vibrant church of St. Giles’ with compassion and sass. Her busy days involve match-making, meddling, and saving the city’s beloved lesbian landmark, The Carlos Club. Alma meets the intriguing Rabbi Naomi Cohen there, and she’s smitten. 

Death comes to the church’s door…

When the proprietor of The Carlos Club turns up dead on the steps of St. Giles’, Naomi’s brother is the number one suspect. She needs help exonerating him, and Alma’s knowledge of the neighborhood makes her the perfect priest to solve the case. If only Alma’s ex-boyfriend, homicide detective Cesar Garza will accept her help. She still feels the pull of their old connection, but she’s convinced the sexy-smart rabbi is her perfect mate. . . Too bad Naomi is playing by different rules.

Can Alma solve the case before the murderer silences her forever? 

About the Reverend Alma Lee Mystery Series
Meet the Rev. Alma Lee, the next priest-detective in a long line of clergy sleuths from Father Brown to Clare Fergusson, Brother Cadfael to Sydney Chambers. Only, instead of a rural village, Alma’s turf is San Francisco—gritty, gay, and glorious. Her methods border on the absurd, and she has more attractive admirers than anyone who’s taken holy orders has a right to. If she's on the case, the murderer doesn't stand a chance.

All Things was recommended to me as a Veganuary read by Andreea at Cheeky Lines because its central character, the wonderful Reverend Alma Lee, is vegan. I loved Rev. Alma! Part Latina and part Chinese, she grew up in the San Francisco Mission district where she now ministers so understands its people and their foibles. Alma was only fairly recently appointed to St Giles, a struggling Church, but her scatterbrained blend of prayer meetings and pastoral care is making St Giles popular again with worshippers of all genders and sexualities. She is surrounded by a good supporting cast of distinctive characters that I look forward to getting to know better in future books. I don't tend to read Christian fiction so was a little wary of this aspect of All Things. However, although Alma is a preacher herself, she doesn't actually preach to her readers. This novel is crime fiction that happens to be set around a church, rather than religious fiction that happens to include a crime. I'm giving extra points for the Vicar Of Dibley mention too!

I liked the way Belldene takes Alma, and us, through the investigation of Cindy's murder. I won't go into details so as not to inadvertently give anything away! The sparring between Alma and her Detective ex-boyfriend is great fun to read and, don't worry, they Don't head into love triangle territory! I was disappointed by proofreading errors abruptly dragging me out of the story. I can excuse a couple, especially in indie books, but there are several nonsensical sentences and an odd timeline moment too. A shame although I wouldn't let that put me off reading further Rev. Alma Lee mysteries when they are published.

Etsy Find!
	Vegan cork fabric  Christian notebook by Quercki Design in York, England Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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UK2 by Terry Tyler

UK2 (Project Renova #3) by Terry Tyler
Self published in the UK in March 2018.

U for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge and my 4th 2019 Mount TBR Challenge read. Featured on my vegan book blog, HirlGrend.

How I got this book:
Bought the ebook from Amazon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Buy @ Amazon UK / Amazon.com

'Two decades of social media had prepared them well for UK2.'

The pace steps up in this penultimate book in the Project Renova series, as the survivors' way of life comes under threat.

Two years after the viral outbreak, representatives from UK Central arrive at Lindisfarne to tell the islanders about the shiny new city being created down south.  UK2 governor Verlander's plan is simple: all independent communities are to be dissolved, their inhabitants to reside in approved colonies.  Alas, those who relocate soon suspect that the promises of a bright tomorrow are nothing but smoke and mirrors, as great opportunities turn into broken dreams, and dangerous journeys provide the only hope of freedom.

Meanwhile, far away in the southern hemisphere, a new terror is gathering momentum...

'I walked through that grey afternoon, past fields that nobody had tended for nearly three years, past broken down, rusty old vehicles, buildings with smashed windows.  I was walking alone at the end of the world, but I was a happy man.  I was free, at last.'

I think UK2, the third volume in Terry Tyler's Project Renova series, is the best yet! I loved seeing the contrasts between what our group of survivors had managed to create from pretty much nothing on Lindisfarne and the vast shadily-financed UK2 settlement under construction on the South Downs. Although it has only been three years since Bat Fever ran riot, some people have managed to embrace their completely different lifestyle whereas as others hanker after former securities and comforts. When scouts are sent out from UK2 to entice survivors to join the new colony, it is interesting to see who would give up freedom for the promise of hot showers and the sort of regular employment they used to have!

I appreciated the ideas discussed around the concept of freedom. UK2 offers its inhabitants the protection of high fences and armed guards. People can rebuild their lives free from threats of starvation and violent attacks from other survivors' groups. Jobs will bring financial security again with opportunities for shopping and leisure activities such as TV, cinema and the pub. Lindisfarne has a pub too, of course, and a barricade to keep outsiders out. People there must also work hard to provide food and the basics to maintain their lives, but at a precarious subsistence level that could easily be destroyed. So which life is actually freedom?

Tyler builds on the ideas from Tipping Point and Lindisfarne and I liked the mix of new characters with originals, plus the reappearances of some thought lost. UK2 keeps up a great pace throughout so this is an exciting read. I occasionally had moments where I lost track of the large cast, but their diverse situations and beliefs allows for clever and unexpected plot twists. UK2 was intended to be the final book of a trilogy and, as such, it is a blockbuster! However I now know that Tyler has written a fourth installment, Legacy. I am delighted not to have to leave the Renova world behind just yet!

Etsy Find!
	Brutalism Architecture  framed print by Conwill Photography in Loughborough, England Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Spiral Of Silence by Elvira Sanchez-Blake

Spiral Of Silence by Elvira Sanchez-Blake
First published in Spanish as Espiral de silencios in 2009. English language translation by Lorena Terando published by Curbstone Books today, the 15th January 2019.

S for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge, featured in WorldReads: Columbia and my first 2019 New Release Challenge read

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Elvira Sánchez-Blake's shattering testimonial novel, Spiral of Silence, breaks thirty-year silences about the traumatizing impact of Colombia's civil war, and centers on the experiences of women who move through hoplessness, loss, and grief during this volatile era in Latin American history.

A multigenerational epic, Spiral of Silence (Espiral de Silencios) opens in the early 1980s, as peace and amnesty agreements spark optimism and hope. We meet Norma, a privileged, upper-class woman who is married to an army general; Maria Teresa (Mariate), a young rebel who loves a guerrilla fighter and navigates commitments to motherhood and revolutionary activism; and Amparo, a woman who comes of age later, and carries the confusion and dislocation of a younger generation. Each contends with the consequences of war and violence on her life; each is empowered through community-building and working for change.

Few authors have considered the role of women in Colombia during this wartime period, and Sánchez-Blake's nuanced exploration of gender and sexism—framed by conflict and social upheaval—distinguishes the novel. Drawing on stories from women who have worked within organizations in Colombia to end state violence, Spiral of Silence celebrates resistance, reinvention, and how women create and protect their families and communities.

In the introduction to Spiral Of Silence we learn that Sanchez-Blake was initially inspired by a tapestry she saw in a handicrafts shop in Colombia. It depicted a female figure and had been created by the shop's owner, a woman who was a leading light in the Colombian women's peace movement. Sanchez-Blake would have loved to have bought the tapestry, but it was priced far above an amount her student budget could stretch to so, instead, she returned several times to view it and to listen to stories of Colombia's recent past and the roles of women during the decades of civil war. Those stories became this novel. Authenticity shines through each of the main and secondary characters and, whether I actually liked each woman or not, I found myself easily believing in them.

Spiral Of Silence encompasses all sides of the spectrum through turbulent decades and shows that women's experiences were surprisingly familiar regardless of their family's wealth or political leanings. Colombia's wars were engineered and fought by men - at one point a husband actually tells his wife 'this is a man's war' - and it seems women were expected to passively accept the all too frequent deaths of their husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, ... not expecting that their individual protests would even be heard, let alone acted upon. Sanchez-Blake focuses on three women, each of whom is illustrative of a different part of Colombian society. Through them I learned a lot more about the political situation and was strongly reminded of the myriad warring parties in 1930s Spain. A similar confusion of factions looks to be case here.

This novel takes place over at least two decades and I felt as though there was some fluidity of time which could occasionally be confusing. Sanchez-Blake also frequently changes narrative focus between the women and also between first and third person. This could have caused confusion too, but I really liked the way it was done. The first person sections are generally brief and add a sense of excitement and immediacy to their scenes. I thought the translation here was excellent. Words whose meanings are pretty obvious aren't translated at all - for example comandante for commander - so we are frequently reminded that these are Latina people. As the storylines begin to converge, the atmosphere darkens considerably. We know the novel cannot end well and the ending is, for me, perfectly judged - uplifting, but also poignantly sad.


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Seeing Red by Lina Meruane

Seeing Red by Lina Meruane
First published in Spanish as Sangre en el ojo by Pangea Libros in Chile in 2012. English language translation by Megan McDowell published in America by Deep Vellum Publishing in 2016.

Featured in 5Books1Theme: Blindness, my 3rd 2019 Mount TBR Challenge read and my Book Of The Month for January 2019

How I got this book:
Bought the ebook from Amazon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Winner of the prestigious Mexican Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize

Lucina, a young Chilean writer, has moved to New York to pursue an academic career. While at a party one night, something that her doctors had long warned might happen finally occurs: her eyes haemorrhage. Within minutes, blood floods her vision, reducing her sight to sketched outlines and tones of grey, rendering her all but blind. As she begins to adjust to a very different life, those who love her begin to adjust to a very different woman - one who is angry, raw, funny, sinister, sexual and dizzyingly alive.

Seeing Red is an intriguing blend of fact and fiction where it is impossible to know how much of the narrative actually happened to Lina Meruane, the author, and how much has been imagined for Lina Meruane, the fictional character. Reading the novel in the first person adds to this sense of the two being indistinguishable and, for me, this worked brilliantly well although, having since read other reviews, I understand that not all readers were as enthusiastic!

I was grateful that Seeing Red does not go into graphically clinical detail about Lina eyes because that would probably have been too much for squeamish little me. Instead Meruane focuses on how it feels to suddenly be robbed of clear vision. I admit that going blind is one of my personal fears so I could identify with Lina's emotional responses. Her having expected eventual blindness (as a result of diabetes) was a particularly chilling concept. I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to spend months or years knowing that an essentially minor physical action (picking up something off the floor) could have such dire repercussions. Of course, as Lina is in America, there is also the added stress of having to deal with her heartless healthcare insurance company.

Lina herself, the fictional one, doesn't come across as a typically sympathetic character. She isn't a passive female victim of circumstance and I loved that her initial need to lean - figuratively and literally - on her partner, Ignacio, is soon replaced by a determination to regain her independence. While Ignacio and Lina's family pin their hopes on successful surgery to restore Lina's sight, the woman herself cannot maintain such blind faith (pun intended). Learning of her doctor's fallibility is a turning point and, again, I loved that Letz isn't a typical fictional surgeon. He is tired, not dashing, and struggles to remember one patient from another. Retinas are strikingly individual for him, but the patients carrying them into his office, day after day, blur together. The irony of an eye doctor being unable to identify patients by sight is a great touch.

Seeing Red explores senses other than sight of course. Lina begins to speak in terms of sound, scent or touch as she becomes more fluent in translating these senses into her new sight. Meruane also explores to what extent sighted people don't actually use their vision. We see what used to be rather than what is there now, or we allow our emotions or our cultural heritage to colour true appearances. I bought Seeing Red on a WorldReads whim knowing pretty much nothing about the novel or Meruane's writing. I am delighted to have found a thoughtful and thought-provoking gem.

Etsy Find!
	Braille Birthday Card by Beth Lau Braille in London, England Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Books by Lina Meruane / Contemporary fiction / Books from Chile

A Sky So Close To Us by Shahla Ujayli

A Sky So Close To Us by Shahla Ujayli
First published in Arabic as Samaa qaraibah min baytinaa in Syria in 2015. English language translation by Michelle Hartman published by Interlink in October 2018.

A for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge and one of my WorldReads from Syria

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A multigenerational tale of love, loss, exile, and rebirth, shortlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. 

As children sleeping on the rooftop of their ancestral family home in Raqqa on warm summer nights, Joumane and her sisters imagine the sky is so close they can almost touch it. Years later, Joumane lives as an expatriate in Jordan, working for a humanitarian agency, while her sisters remain trapped in war-torn Syria. Living alone as she fights her own battle with cancer, she contemplates the closeness of the same sky, despite the sharply delineated borders that now separate her from her family. Her only close confidant is another exile, a charming, divorced Palestinian man with whom she develops a warm relationship later discovering that their relatives were neighbors in Syria. As Joumane undergoes painful chemotherapy treatments, Nasser slides into the role of her caretaker and partner. She comes to depend on him utterly, at the same time fearing that her vulnerability and need will ultimately drive him away.

Interspersed with Joumanes story is a sweeping historical narrative that moves from nineteenth-century Aleppo, Raqqa, and Damascus, to Palestine before and after the 1948 Nakba, to Iraq before and after the American occupation, and beyond to the United States, Serbia, and Vietnam. Each character in the book is revealed, and linked, through the stories of their ancestors, showing the intergenerational inheritance of trauma and identity. Ujaylis attention to detail and evocative prose brings to life worlds forgotten and ignored, reminding us of the devastation of war and the beauty that people create wherever they go.

I wish I had known, prior to starting to read A Sky So Close To Us, that its structure is not the kind of linear narrative that I am used to reading. Instead we readers are led by a meandering route to discover a seemingly disparate crowd of people whose lives take place decades apart. They are all linked of course, but it took me nearly half the novel to understand these often tenuous connections and, by then, I wasn't always even sure that I would keep reading! Ujayli introduces each new character by giving a lot of their backstory and, once their section has passed, we might not see a specific person again, but a hundred pages later we do see their cousin or their former neighbour! I found this baffling to say the least so, while I appreciated the central storyline of Joumane life, I struggled to also contend with the myriad of side stories. Perhaps if I had a better knowledge of modern Syrian history and geography I would have found it easier to place each individual in place and time.

I could see distinct parallels between Joumane's endurance of her cancer treatment and Syria's endurance of its seemingly endless wars and invasions. From reading A Sky So Close To Us I could see that pretty much every generation since the 1940s has found itself under attack. What really shone through Ujayli's prose too is a poignant melancholy for the now destroyed Aleppo and Raqqa. Early on she mentions the Turkish idea of 'huzum' that I learned about through Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul and I felt the same emotion here. I would have loved to have experienced the same depth of feeling for the minor characters as I did whilst spending time with Joumane. She speaks to us in the first person so I felt very much with her, but her recounting of historical anecdotes and family memories seemed so much drier and I often then found myself drifting. I understand that the drifting together and apart of so many people is a direct result of so much unrest within the region and depicting this movement as Shahla does is an accurate reflection of Joumane's circumstances and experience. However I think personally I needed a more focused narrative to fully appreciate what A Sky So Close To Us has to say.

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	Syrian Lady  crocheted doll by Bereket Project in the United Kingdom Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Music Love Drugs War by Geraldine Quigley

Music Love Drugs War by Geraldine Quigley
Published in the UK by Penguin today, the 10th January 2019.

Featured in WorldReads: Northern Ireland

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A tender, devastating coming-of-age debut novel about friendship, innocence and war.

The end of the school year is approaching, and siblings Paddy and Liz McLaughlin, Christy Meehan, Kevin Thompson and their friends will soon have to decide what they're going to do with the rest of their lives. But it's hard to focus when there's the allure of their favourite hangout place, the dingy 'Cave', where they go to drink and flirt and smoke. Most days, Christy, Paddy and Kevin lie around listening to Dexys and Joy Division. Through a fog of marijuana, beer and budding romance, the future is distant and unreal.

But this is Derry in 1981, and they can't ignore the turmoil of the outside world. A friend is killed, and Christy and Paddy, stunned out of their stupor, take matters into their own hands. Some choices are irreversible, and choosing to fight will take hold of their lives in ways they never imagined.

With humour and compassion, Geraldine Quigley reveals the sometimes slippery reasons behind the decisions we make, and the unexpected and intractable ways they shape our lives.

For anyone unconvinced of the need to Not build a new hard border between Northern Ireland and Eire, I think Music Love Drugs War should be required reading over the next few weeks. Set in early 1980s Derry, Quigley's novel is essentially the story of how a group of teenagers deal with the usual angst of leaving school and entering into adulthood. The story mostly follows the boys of the group as the girls' options - other than potential university student Liz - are already restricted by social customs and expectations. For the boys however there are the competing appeals of signing on, taking a drudge job, or maybe leaving the country in search of a real opportunity. There is also the shadier course of joining the IRA and discovering a cause worth dying for.

I loved Quigley's portrayal of daily life in 1980s Northern Ireland. Much of the mundane detail wasn't far removed from my own experiences as a child in 1980s England, but the constant violence and lack of trust between communities and even between households in Music Love Drugs War was shocking to read about. I was reminded of Asian novels I have read (Entangled Lives by Imran Omer sprang to mind) where directionless young men are turned towards violence and an almost-religious fervour for a cause on lieu of genuine personal prospects and a sense of a future for themselves. These fictional characters are shown believing that their contributions are making a difference yet, as the novels show a wider view, we as readers see them as disposable pawns in a much larger scheme. I felt that Quigley had a real understanding for her characters and their motivations. I appreciated her evocation of the historical period too, especially the weaving of real events into the fictional tale which never felt forced.

I can't imagine how stressful emotionally it must be to live in a country under occupation. Reading the scenes of British army personnel randomly stopping people in the streets or marching in and searching homes almost apparently on a whim helped me to clearly see how it wouldn't take much more provocation, after years of such treatment, to push these boys into 'fighting back', especially when alternative choices are limited. What I found particularly effective was Quigley's presentation of attitudes and reactions from all parties. The boys might envisage themselves as potential heroes and martyrs, but how difficult must it be for a parent to actually see exile as a better option for their child?

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	1980s Northern Ireland  graffiti photograph by eeBee Vintage in California, USA Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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The History Of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave #FreeBook

The History Of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave
First published in Scotland by F Westley and A H Davies in 1831.

T for my 2019 Alphabet Soup Challenge, my 2nd Mount TBR read and the 14th book for my Classics Club Challenge

How I got this book:
Downloaded the ebook from Amazon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The History of Mary Prince (1831) was the first narrative of a black woman to be published in Britain. It describes Prince's sufferings as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island and Antigua, and her eventual arrival in London with her brutal owner Mr Wood in 1828. Prince escaped from him and sought assistance from the Anti-Slavery Society, where she dictated her remarkable story to Susanna Strickland (later Moodie). A moving and graphic document, The History drew attention to the continuation of slavery in the Caribbean, despite an 1807 Act of Parliament officially ending the slave trade. It inspired two libel actions and ran into three editions in the year of its publication. This powerful rallying cry for emancipation remains an extraordinary testament to Prince's ill-treatment, suffering and survival.

The History of Mary Prince is a horrific and shocking book to read. I've read historical fiction about slavery before and found it emotionally difficult, but to actually encounter the (almost) authentic words of this slave woman is a completely different experience. I think what I found worst to stomach was the calm, rational way in which she speaks about what happened to her during her life - as though her atrocious treatment was normal. For her it Was normal. This should never be or have been normal.

The History of Mary Prince shows the inspirational strength of people who are thrust into the most awful of situations and not only survive, but also thrive and never lose hope. This same memoir also shows the most heartless and cruel aspects of human behaviour. It is absolutely not an easy read emotionally, but I think should be required reading in schools everywhere. How had I never learned about Mary Prince before? Her name and her story should be common knowledge.

Mary Prince's words were edited 'for clarity' for the original pamphlet publication and I don't think a true record of her actual narration still exists which is a shame although her personality does shine through the memoir we have. I was also interested in the pompous letters and legal meanderings included in the edition of the book I read. Dating from Mary Prince's English battle to be allowed home as a free woman, it is exasperating to see the attitudes of the white men of the day arguing against her and, to a degree, for her. The History made a huge impact in England on publication and I am grateful to still be able to read such a valuable historic document today.

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	Our History t-shirt by National Black Guide in the USA Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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We That Are Left by Clare Clark

We That Are Left by Clare Clark
First published in the UK by Houghton Mifflin in October 2015.

Featured in 5Books1Theme: The Great War

How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Two sisters, born into privilege, are forced to make their way in a world turned upside down by war. One man transforms them both.

1910. Jessica and Phyllis Melville have grown up at Ellinghurst, a family estate fraught with secrets. A headstrong beauty, Jessica longs for London -- the glitter and glamour of debutante life -- while bookish Phyllis dreams in vain of attending university. Into their midst walks Oskar Grunewald, a frequent visitor fascinated by the house but alternately tormented and ignored by the Melville children. Oskar seeks refuge in Ellinghurst's enormous library. Meanwhile Theo, the adored Melville brother, eclipses everyone around him.

The Great War arrives to devastate and reshape their world. In a country unrecognizable from the idylls of their youth, the Melville sisters struggle to forge new paths without the guidance of the old rules. But Oskar's life has become entwined with theirs once again, in ways--both immediate and unimaginable-- that will change all of their futures.

With elegance and insight, in prose characteristically "stirring and seductive" (The Economist) Clare Clark brings us a new story of a kind of old family whose reckoning with change will haunt and resonate for many generations.

I had We That Are Left on my Kindle for several weeks before I actually got around to reading it, other books that looked as though they would be 'better' floating to the top of my TBR list first. What a mistake! From almost the first page I was gripped by the Edwardian world and lives of the Melville family.

Clark's novel is set during the First World War and the years immediately preceding and following it. This was a time of immense social upheaval in Britain, not just because of the horrific loss of male lives, but also because women began to assert themselves as they had not done before and strict class divides started to crumble. All this is captured here, interestingly, through a cast of mostly spoilt upper class characters who aren't particularly likeable but whom I found compelling. I did sympathise with Oskar for much of the book and, obviously, identified with bookworm Phyllis. The other Melvilles and friends I thoroughly enjoyed reading about and appreciated seeing their world view, but they were terrible people!

We That Are Left is permeated with a powerful sense of loss and change as characters die, choose travel and work, or are consumed by grief and obsession. There is a moving poignancy to the fragmenting family, but Clark also depicts the excitement and hope of potential new opportunities. I liked how 1920s crazes like Spiritualism and jazz nightclubs were interwoven together with historic events, both war-related and otherwise. Will Carter find anything in the Egyptian desert?! Great book!

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	Remember And Reflect  greetings card by Port Out Starboard Home in Bournemouth, England Click pic to visit Etsy Shop

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Books by Clare Clark / Historical fiction / Books from England