The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

This was a stunning Victorian read, the cover of course is what drew me to it, as it really is so beautiful. I also got my copy from a library! Yes, a library, those places that smell of books, the gorgeous real paper feel of the pages between my fingers! Oh after reading a Kindle for so long this was such a relief. I urge you all to check out your local library, there is something about leaving with a pile of books you can't wait to read and knowing it has cost you absolutely nothing!!!

Anyway, this novel is a Victorian story, it is a wonderful homage to the genre. The protagonist, Phoebe is a  beautiful but sheltered young woman, at the age of 17 her life is about to change. With her Aunt Cissy, a beautiful opera singer living with her and her mother, the Hallelujah Army supporter and all-around zealous do-gooder (with pretty terrible results, as you will soon see) Maud. All of her life Phoebe has wished that Cissy was her mother, as she is stifled by her own mother's zealous religious outlook.

When Phoebe first visited Wilton's Music Hall, she thought it was the most wonderful place she had ever been. On her second trip, at the age of 17, she is beginning to see that there might be another side to it all, but little does she know that this trip will change her life forever.

I am desperately trying not to give too much away! It is a twisting and dark story of family, life, judgement and secrets. I have to say after reading this novel, that some secrets are best left buried!

My final comments are these: It was not the most mysterious novel, I did pretty much guess how it was going to end by the middle, but it was interesting and involving. There was one scene that I felt was a little unnecessary, that without it the novel would not have lost any of it's mystery and magnificence. But, do read it, if only to have this gorgeous cover hanging around for a while!

Seizure by Kathy Reichs

So, I am a very big fan of Kathy Reichs. I have devoured each Tempe Brennan novel with a kind of desperation that is almost unknown to me. I was never much for the thriller, never fond of a good crime novel and it was Kathy who introduced me to the genre.
Now she is writing a teen series and if you haven't read Virals or Seizure yet you have to! They are just as addictive and incredibly exciting with plot-twists a plenty to keep even the most distracted reader glued to the pages. I love all of the characters, so well formed you feel for Tory Brennan every step of the way, through her exile to the Loggerhead Island and the cruel bullying at school to the constant remembrance of her mother, dead, no longer there for her. She is now stuck with her father (estranged until her mother's death) a character we have met before, Tempe Brennan's nephew, Kit a brilliant scientist in his own right.

Of course Tory is also interested in science, this is a Kathy Reichs novel we are talking about, but she is more drawn towards animals. Anyway, I won't give to much away all at once, but the second novel in the series opens on the Virals (oh and did I mention that Tory and her three friends have been infected with a wolf virus and now have super human powers!?) about to be separated as Loggerhead Island looks set to be sold to the highest bidder. But our Tory is not one of those who would just let herself be separated from her friends, not now, not ever and she is set for an adventure - an adventure that involves buried treasure. Now we get to the pirate bit of the story, read it again I did just say PIRATE! Anne Bonny, one of the most deadly female pirates has hidden her treasure somewhere and Tory is sure that they (the Virals) can find it and save their homes and keep their parents from moving them thousands of miles apart.

So there you have it, there is adventure on the high-seas, gun-fights at dawn and a gorgeous wolf dog called Cooper, what's not to love! This is high-octane stuff, but is still perfect for it's teen and adult audience, with hardly the whiff of romance!

I personally read it in two days, jostling against people on the tube to work, hefting my hardback copy around and if I can do it so can you! So get out there, buy it, buy it from a real bookstore and don't forget your copy of Virals too as you will be hooked from the first page!

Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant

If you ever wanted to read an extremely well-written short-story then this is the one to read!
Synopsis: A young man, from a very lowly background, comes to Paris in search of a fortune, a rather modest one by most standards but he would like to make a decent living. By chance he stumbles into an old friend of his who happens to be a journalist, a journalist who is willing to help out an old friend and get him a job. Soon the young man is now gainfully employed, but he wants more...
Review: So, as you can see dear Bel-Ami is very easily seduced by riches, by what other people have and he is willing to take it from them at any cost. I really did enjoy this novel, it is engrossing and enchanting. Even if we are merely gazing at a man who is more in love with himself than those around him, it is an incredible read.
If you have been unfortunate enough to see the film promo for this, starring that man from Twilight, and a host of the most attractive and talented actresses spanning 3 decades you might think - this is a book about a man sleeping his way through Paris. Well, to one tiny extent it is - really film promos do strip a novel down to its most obvious layers - but it is really a story of success and how sometimes, no matter what, you can never ever have enough.
If you want to know, I will be going to see the movie - but we will see if it is to judge it or to enjoy!

Aside: Does anyone else think it curious that Robert Pattinson seems to love a good film made from a book? Water for Elephants, Cosmopolis, of course the unspeakable Twilight series...and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

Valentines Novels

So I wanted to write something for Valentines Day because well it's a day when we can talk about our favourite romantic books.

While I am reading a wonderful Nora Roberts called 'Taming Natasha' (which if I'm honest is because it was cheap on kindle when I bought it and the title reminded me of Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew'). It is very good and romantic of course! But I also want to mention some amazing romantic novels I had forgotten until today!!

For teens (or those who love a good teen novel):
'Ella Enchanted' by Gail Carson Levine
An absolute gem of a book about the cursed girl Ella and her fight for freedom. Ella is feisty and everything a young girl should be! But she also falls in love with a prince. Oh the romance at such a young age swept me entirely off my feet and onto the floor!

'Stargirl' by Jerry Spinelli
This book captures young love so perfectly it is difficult to describe it. When a gorgeous free-spirit arrives at his school, Leo knows she's different, not only does she carry a rat around but she sings happy birthday to people in the lunch room and will burst into laughter at any moment. But when he tries to change her...well I defy you not to read on! So go buy the book silly! (the cover is gorgeous, just so you know!)



For adults (and all those other people who don't believe they like teen books!):
'One Day' by David Nicholls
Yes, yes everyone in the whole world has read this book! The film has also come out and ruined it (slightly - well quite a lot in my opinion but it's ok I suppose). But! It is a brilliant love story. One about real love that challenges the reader as we are introduced to these characters warts and all. I was so involved with this book I would shout at it and reprimand the characters every once in a while. For a book to get that kind of reaction it must be worth another look!

'Doctor Zhivago' by Boris Pasternak
This is book is so terrific I wish everyone read it. It is also one of the greatest love stories ever told (it even says that on the book cover - so it must be true). Lara is his one true love, but can Yuri ever really be with her? Of course not, because this is the Soviet Union people! Communism, true love, hospitals, war, winter, horse drawn sleighs, and incredible yearning... what more could you want?
 Read it please! I beg you!!!!




'The Princess Bride' by S. Morgenstern abridged by William Goldman
Anyone who has seen the film will be scornfully laughing saying: This is not a book! But it is! I promise. It is also fantastic. Read it read it please. If only for the romance and the adventure.

'Persuasion' by Jane Austen
If you thought I was avoiding dearest Jane do not fear, I was merely waiting to mention her last and by far her most romantic novel! It is far more romantic than Pride and Prej or Sense and Sensibility. It is about a woman who waits, who pines for the man she was forced to give up many years ago and yet she refuses to marry another and waits for him in her heart without any hope of every seeing him again. But of course he returns and that is all I will say on the matter. But read it please!

Finally, I have said all of the books I can think of though there are thousands more that I would love to mention: 'Gone with the Wind', 'The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets' (of course) and 'Anne of Green Gables' but I have no more time and could really just go on forever....

So I will stop there and wish you all a very happy Valentine's Day where ever you may be. Just remember a book will always be there so pick one up and fall in love with reading!

Christmas

I know, I know, you're all thinking - but it's February aren't you a bit late in posting about Christmas? - well I am sorry, I started a new job, had a lot to do and basically just didn't have the time to formulate full sentences. So I am going to write about it now. So there!

For Christmas I received a Kindle (*gasp) I wasn't sure how I felt about it, being pretty much a book person to the core and by book I do mean paper pages and beautiful covers and the new book smell! But it was a gift from my parents and I felt I had to try it out. And as my commute to work has only gotten longer I thought it might be helpful to carry around a tiny Kindle and not a massive novel like Bleak House.

Here are my results:
I downloaded 'Locked In' by Kerry Wilkinson (because it was cheap and at the top of the download list), 'Look at Me' by Jennifer Egan (special price on 12 Days of Kindle) and the Short Stories of Guy Maupassant (currently I am reading Bel-ami).

'Locked In' was fine, it is a totally fine self-published novel. If an editor got hold of it they would improve it tenfold but for 98p I can't really complain. But when I started 'Look At Me' by Jennifer Egan I was breathless, it was such a terrific book I hardly noticed I was reading it on a piece plastic!

So, my opinion of the Kindle:
The Kindle store on the Kindle is rubbish, it doesn't show prices until you click through so you have no idea what you are looking at. To be completely honest my purchases on the Kindle are entirely based on price. I refuse to pay more than £3 - which is awful I know, but if I could get it cheaper in real book format why wouldn't I?
While it is lighter to carry than those massive novels, I have to admit I don't use it all the time. Holding it can be a bit tricky on a crowed train and you have to keep clicking this button at the side of the screen to turn the pages.

But...I don't mind it. I can't curl up in bed with it, I wouldn't dare take it in the bath with me and I am more paranoid with it in my bag. But it really is fine. Not for reading on all the time, but for books I'm not sure about it's pretty good and testing things out is great (you can download a free sample of any title).

But all in all this is not a rave review. Get one if you want one, don't bother if you don't. It won't change your life.

The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies

Having been handed this title by my uncle I was suspicious. Not only was it a massive volume, it was dog-eared from many readings. What if I didn't like it? was a question that kept rolling around my head. I needn't have worried. Not only does my uncle have wonderful taste in books this was a terrific discovery that I'm sure will lead to me reading many of Davies' trilogies.

The trilogy as a whole deals with the mysterious death of Boy Staunton, Ramsay's friend from Deptford and the father of David Staunton.

'Fifth Business', the first novel in this collection, is where you meet Dunstan Ramsay our misguided and 'innocent' narrator whose autobiography immerses us into the world of Deptford. Taking us through childhood, his relationship with the people in his town, including the obnoxious Boy Staunton and a small boy he teaches card tricks to, and provide the basis for this entrancing trilogy. Is Ramsay really as innocent as he believes or does his involvement in the lives of others actually influence their lives? This question plagued me while reading this tale of a man who is wrapped up in the mystical world beyond his own upbringing.

'The Manticore' draws us further into the mysterious death of Boy, as we follow David Staunton on his quest for actualisation through Jungian therapy in Zurich. The therapy sessions continue to draw out more and more realisations from David, as he evaluates his relationships with other especially his mother, father, sister Caroline and school master Dunstan Ramsay. As his past is revealed David can once again be reborn to a new world. This was a really enthralling read, where you constantly question: Who killed Boy?

'World of Wonders' is the final novel (I was so wrapped up in the mystery I must admit I barely paused while turning the pages) in the Deptford Trilogy and is quite wonderful. It explores the history of Magnus Eisengrim, the magician we meet in the first novel. He recounts his induction into the circus and how his life was changed forever. This novel enticingly draws you along to the conclusion - which I will not ruin for you, do not worry - which is so perfect it has to be left a mystery.

While I have given only a brief synopsis of each novel I do hope you will try this book. It is perfect for a long holiday as you only have one book but three gorgeous novels to sink into. I have to say that Davies is a little pompous and his language erudite, but I did love it, it fit perfectly with the story, characters and his pacing is right on. I would recommend this book for those who love a good mystery and rich and expansive characters.