N S Ford

Tag: reviews

  • Review of ‘Our House’ by Louise Candlish

    This thriller was heavily promoted by Waterstones a few months ago. A bookseller tried to persuade me to buy it. I decided not to. Just as well, because after an excellent beginning, I lost interest in the story and found it to be ultimately disappointing. I borrowed the e-book from the library and didn’t take long to read and return it, mainly because I skim-read the last third.

    The concept of this novel ensured that I was hooked at first. Fi, a well-heeled middle class woman in suburban London, arrives home to find another couple moving into her lovely house. She’s separated from her adulterous husband, Bram. It looks like he’s behind the house sale, but why and how? Where is he now and how did their relationship descend to this?

    There are definitely some good things about the book. The structure is interesting because it includes a crime podcast (complete with social media comments) and a suicide note as a Word document, in addition to present time narration. We hear both Fi’s and Bram’s version of events. The details seem to be realistic and well-researched.

    Several aspects bothered me. Maybe I’m younger than the target audience, but I found the subjects of home ownership, driving offences and fraud to be, frankly, boring. These subjects are essential themes of the story. I also didn’t warm to the characters. They didn’t seem like individuals to me, more like ‘types’. I know the author is to some extent parodying the rich suburban folk but again, this was dull. There were no decent male characters in this book, either. I find this is a flaw in most domestic / psychological thrillers. By decent, I mean characters who help the (female) protagonist and are not actually cheats, murderers, abusers etc. At times I didn’t like the writing and occasionally it didn’t make sense to me. In my opinion, there was also a distasteful flavour to the book generally. I’m sure I grimaced and said ‘ew’ at a few points, although luckily I can’t remember what they were, now.

    In summary, this is a thumbs down from me and I’m not eager to read any more from this author.

    This book was published in 2018 by Simon & Schuster.

     

  • TV review: ‘Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve’ (2014)

    Paper boats and pyramids. Flowers and fire. Skyscrapers and spirituality. Three major rivers are explored in this BBC TV series. With a lot of enthusiasm and also his trusty shemagh scarf, presenter Simon Reeve travels from source to sea. The focus on beliefs and cultures around rivers is fascinating and thought-provoking.

    Episode 1: The Nile

    • We start in Ethiopia to find the source of the world’s longest river. While it’s an unimpressive muddy stream, Simon jumps from one bank to the other. There is a holy site which marks the source, where Christian pilgrims gather to worship and also to be cured of health problems. Many smartphones are filming him as he wanders through the crowd.
    • At Lake Tana, where the fishermen still use traditional boats made of papyrus, Simon meets a young man called Girma who make these boats. Inevitably Simon ends up in one of Girma’s creations on the lake. ‘I’m on a paper boat!’ he shouts, as he wobbles in the shallow boat, low in the water. If he falls out, it’s not captured on camera.
    • During a helicopter ride over the Nile Gorge, we see the work taking place to build a massive dam. The river has been an underused resource in Ethiopia but now there’s the promise of increased electricity generated by the dam. However, this is controversial because it could affect the other countries downstream.
    • Now we’re in the arid land of Sudan. Except it’s looking very green, at least on the huge Al Waha (Oasis) farm, which uses a large quantity of water from the Nile. ‘We could be in Lincolnshire or Dorsetshire,’ says Simon, watching a herd of dairy cows being misted with cool water. It seems extravagant to be using so many gallons a day.
    • In Khartoum, we see the famous whirling dervishes (sufis) and a lively crowd. On a Friday, naturally. The air is heavily scented with frankincense. Journalist Ismail calls this atmosphere ‘the essence of Sudan’. Simon admits that he’d previously thought of the country as very conservative and unfriendly, but that his view has changed.
    • The major ancient civilisation – the kingdom of Kush in the region of Nubia – has left behind some amazing pyramids. In fact, there are more pyramids here than in Egypt. These ‘black Pharaohs’ seem to be lesser known and Simon discusses the racism which has downplayed the role of the Kush people.
    • Finally we’re into Egypt. After marvelling at the ancient Temple of Isis (the goddess) in Philae, which was saved from being flooded by the Upper Aswan Dam by being moved and rebuilt, Simon gets the night train to Cairo. He finds the city ‘absolutely rammed’, with a predicted population of 40 million by the year 2050. He goes off the tourist trail to see the ‘Nilometer’, which was used to measure the height of the water.
    • In the Nile Delta region, Simon helps to plant cotton. The farmer offers to sell him a dancing horse. ‘No, I do not want to buy a dancing horse,’ Simon replies, before asking who owns the Nile, a question he’s been repeating throughout the episode. Egyptians take it for granted that it belongs to them, but the source can be controlled by Ethiopia. We end the journey at the port of Alexandria, on the Mediterranean Sea.

    Episode 2: The Ganges

    • In the Indian town of Devprayag, we begin the journey. Simon is blessed by a holy man wearing a multi-coloured poncho, who has lived in a cave by the river for 12 years. The blessing consists of having river water splashed at Simon and the camera. It must have been effective, because the rest of the journey goes well.
    • Staying at an ashram in Rishikesh, there’s an audience with the spiritual leader, Swami Gee. When Simon asks why the Ganges is so important, the Swami replies that people need ‘charging’ like mobile phones. At a meditation class, Simon meets an American woman who sold her law practice, gave away her possessions and said goodbye to her family to live here. It’s certainly true that many people from all kinds of backgrounds are drawn to the ashram. Everyone looks happy and calm.
    • A giant statue of the god Shiva is where Simon meets up with his friend Abhra. So what’s the connection with the river? ‘The Ganges flows through his dreadlocks,’ says Abhra. And indeed the dreadlocks look very river-like.
    • Flowers and fire are central to the evening ceremony at Haridwar, where the people thank the river for its life-giving quality. Squashed into the crowd, Simon draws curious looks. He has bought a floral offering with candles, which he adds to the others floating downriver. With Abhra, he bathes in the fast-flowing water (holding on to a chain), which signifies the cleansing of sins, even from previous lives.
    • Kanpur is one of the most polluted cities in India, so it’s really a lowlight of the journey. The water is heavily contaminated with factory waste and sewage, but people are still bathing and even drinking it. A horrible contrast to the purer water upriver.
    • The sacred and ancient city of Varanasi is where Hindus believe they can be liberated from reincarnation if they die or have their ashes scattered here. At the Kashi Liberation Hotel, Simon meets an elderly couple who have been living there for 18 years, waiting calmly for the end. When Simon admits a fear of death, the old man reassures him that he shouldn’t be afraid because ‘from the moment you are born, death is part of life’.
    • We meet Dom Raja, who provides the flames for funerals on the banks of the Ganges. He’s from the lowest caste and that’s why his family have to do that job. Simon finds it incredible that the caste system is still going: ‘it’s 2014! India’s got a space programme!’
    • Nearing the end of the river, Simon squeezes on to a ferry to Sanga Island. Apparently everyone should come here at least once. Sunlight sparkles on the waves as the pilgrims bathe. He muses upon the sacred river Ganges. ‘Like everything else about India, it’s complicated’.

    Episode 3: The Yangtze

    • Starting in the west of China, we learn from musician Mr He about the beliefs of the Nakhi (an ethnic minority). Many people believe in dragon gods, who if displeased have the power to cause drought and flooding. Mr He’s friends and family in the city of Lijiang demonstrate music and dance expressing reverence for the river and its creatures… including frogs. ‘Are you saying I have to channel my inner frog?’ Simon has a go at being a dancing frog but his friends are laughing so much he suspects it’s a wind-up.
    • The Dazu Rock Carvings consist of hundreds of Buddha statues hewn from the rock face, having escaped the destruction of religious symbols in China’s hardcore communist past. Li Li, our guide for the rest of the journey, is a Buddhist and says that it’s a ‘path to the truth of the Universe’. Buddhism is making a comeback, along with Daoism and Confucianism.
    • Chongqing is a city of skyscrapers and industry. The shopping district is full of luxury international brands and seemingly happy consumers. Crouching among the tall glassy buildings is a Buddhist temple, a refuge where you can light a candle and pray.
    • Joining a luxury cruise ship along the Yangtze, Simon experiences a popular type of holiday for affluent Chinese people. An estimated one million of them are cruising on the river every year. The country’s isolation and famines of the recent past now seem far away. The nightlife on board is lively – everyone is given a glow stick to wave around and there’s a lot of alcohol involved.
    • The Three Gorges Dam is a massive hydroelectric power station, patrolled by soldiers because it’s a sensitive strategic location. Building the dam, the government have shown their might. ‘They have blocked, tamed, controlled the Yangtze’. It’s an awesome feat of engineering although thousands of people were displaced to make way for it.
    • A swimming club in Wuhan celebrates Chairman Mao’s 1956 publicity stunt of crossing the river. Mao swam across it seventeen times during his life, increasing the admiration of his supporters. In front of an expectant and phone-wielding crowd, Simon stands there in his trunks. He’s invited into the river first, followed by some club members. The water is apparently ‘refreshing’ with a strong current, but he reaches the other side after a near miss with a freight ship.
    • Getting stuck in a traffic jam on Easter Sunday in Nanjing. People are flocking to a new church, Christianity being ascendant and now supported by the government, who even part-financed this large modern building.
    • The superfast bullet train takes us to Shanghai, which has a population of 24 million. Li Li takes Simon to a vegetarian restaurant, and although she can’t convince him to become veggie, she does confirm that attitudes and culture in China are changing, which brings hope for the future. Finally we reach the end of the river and also the end of a ‘thrilling and surprising journey’.

    If you have access to BBC iPlayer, this programme is available for a year. Whether you’ve watched it or not, I hope you enjoyed reading my highlights of the series. Maybe you learned something new… I certainly did.

  • Review of ‘Into the Fire: My Life as a London Firefighter’ by Edric Kennedy-Macfoy

    Firefighters, along with the other emergency services, are heroes. But there’s a lot more to the profession than, well, putting fires out. In this gripping and informative book, former firefighter Edric Kennedy-Macfoy describes what it’s like to be part of London Fire Brigade and the personal factors which made him join… and leave.

    Edric really got me involved in his story. There is a compelling emotional focus; he lost so many people he was close to, including his inspirational mother. In his early twenties he was working three jobs to support his younger brother. Becoming a firefighter was a great turning point for Edric because he loved being able to save lives. It was also exciting, driving the fire engines, rushing to scenes, using specialist equipment and meeting the public. Incidents range from the humorous (the woman who kept ‘accidentally’ getting her toe stuck in the bath tap) to the horrific. To some extent he was able to view the more severe incidents with detachment and just focus on getting casualties out. However, two major incidents, the Croydon tram derailment in 2016 and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, affected his mental health so badly that he developed PTSD. That’s when he decided to write this book. I appreciate how this was a form of therapy for him. Although he returned to the Fire Brigade, he soon left.

    I found it interesting to learn more about what it’s like to be a firefighter, in particular how the crew operate as a team and how different kinds of incidents are dealt with (by the way, in nearly thirteen years Edric was never called to rescue a cat from a tree). There are also insights into working for the prison service (one of his early jobs) and what it’s like to train for – and to be targeted by – the police. Generally I liked the writing style, although there was some repetition which I think could have been edited out.

    After reading this book, I found that there has been some controversy over the content. Former colleagues have said the book is more fiction than fact and that he should not have written about the Grenfell victims. Despite this, I still think it’s a very good read. The book is raising awareness of what firefighters do. It seems to me that the detractors are focusing on details in the first chapter and not appraising the wider picture.

    This book was published in 2018 by Bantam Press.

  • Review of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ by Jane Austen

    I’ve struggled with Jane Austen’s books sometimes. The meanings can be difficult to understand, the situations can be hard to relate to and the stories always end in marriage. However, after reading Lucy Worsley’s book last year, I felt encouraged to give Jane another try, particularly Sense and Sensibility (1811), which I didn’t like much when I read it in 2010.

    My verdict this time around? I really enjoyed it. After a slightly dull beginning in which the various finances and inheritances of the Dashwood family are described, the story becomes interesting as soon as we meet sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood.

    Elinor, the eldest, has ‘sense’. Level-headed and practical, she tries not to let her emotions get in the way of her duties. Marianne, by contrast, has ‘sensibility’. She’s impulsive, passionate and romantic. The novel is about the sisters’ relationships with potential suitors. There are three candidates: the dashing Willoughby, mature Colonel Brandon and pleasant Edward Ferrars. After various misunderstandings, clashes with annoying relatives and financial worries, the story turns out happily, as you know it will. Jane Austen’s writing is witty and knowing. She cuts right to the heart of what her society is about: women’s quality of life is dependent on men. Therefore, the search for wealthy-enough husbands is of such importance that it preoccupies every female mind.

    I had two issues with this novel. Firstly, the character of Margaret. She’s the youngest Dashwood sister and has no significant role in the story. Except for the first few chapters, she’s not a presence at all. This bothers me because I have the notion that all characters should be useful. Secondly, I didn’t agree with the couples at the end. Both Elinor and Marianne, in my opinion, married the wrong men. I wonder whether this was also the author’s opinion. Maybe she was demonstrating that these matches were the most socially acceptable, if not the most romantic.

    This edition was published by Oxford World’s Classics in 2008, edited by James Kinsley, introduction by Margaret Anne Doody and notes by Claire Lamont.

  • Doctors, Daleks and Drums: 11 series of Doctor Who

    I only started watching Doctor Who last year. The BBC kindly put all of the ‘new’ episodes (that is, from 2005 onwards) on their catch-up service, iPlayer. This was obviously to drum up more interest and gain new fans for the 11th series. Well, it worked. I watched all of it and realised that I’d been missing out! I’d thought of Doctor Who as just a show for kids, but I was wrong. It’s funny, dark, complex, fascinating, tense and warm-hearted.

    I’m not going to even attempt to summarise the storylines of Doctor Who. However, if you haven’t watched it before, let’s say it’s basically about a character called The Doctor, who is a Time Lord (a type of alien who looks human). He or she regenerates every so often, extending his or her life. The Doctor travels in a spaceship called the TARDIS, usually with at least one assistant, saving the Universe from various catastrophes. So here are my perspectives on the programme.

    Every fan has their favourite Doctor. I like how each actor makes the character of the Doctor their own, while keeping the essential traits. My favourite is Peter Capaldi (pictured above), who seemed gruff and unpromising at first, but he developed a cool rockstar persona with a caring grandfatherly side. My second favourite is Christopher Eccleston, who was only there for the first series. David Tennant is one of the most popular, and although he was excellent, he did tend to over-act, which I’m sure was intentional as part of his energetic character.

    The assistants are either annoying or wonderful. I found Amy (Matt Smith’s companion) to be irritating but to be fair she didn’t have a great role, often playing the damsel in distress needing to be rescued. Amy’s boyfriend Rory is one of my favourite assistants and I didn’t like how she took his love for granted. The best assistants in my opinion are Bill (chip-server turned science student and companion to Peter Capaldi) and Donna (played by Catherine Tate – she and David Tennant make a hilarious duo). Oh, and Nardole (Matt Lucas). There’s also the brilliant Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who’s a category by himself. I noted a worrying trend in some series of a female assistant slapping the male Doctor – it’s not acceptable even for comedy purposes.

    The plots are better in the earlier series. Each episode seems fresh and exciting. Later on, there are too many similar plots which take place somewhere which is going to explode shortly and only the Doctor’s ingenious use of various technologies will save the day. Conversely, the early Christmas specials are not great, but they improve in later series. There are some really fantastic plots. However, I’m not keen on the very complicated plots which extend over two episodes and end with a confusing battle.

    The scariest monsters are those based upon, or disguised as, humans. The Master (the Doctor’s arch enemy and fellow Time Lord) is always hearing the Drums which signal his mad and evil plans. The violent Slitheen fit their reptilian bodies inside people’s skins, ideally those of politicians. The Weeping Angels look like dignified stone figures, until the lights go out. And then there are the Cybermen, metallic humans with their inefficient emotions removed and an urge to ‘upgrade’ everyone to be like them.

    Series 11 is my least favourite. I love Jodie Whittaker as the latest Doctor. I love her companions, Yaz, Ryan and Graham. I love that the series is set in Sheffield. The history-themed episodes have been interesting and thought-provoking. But – unpopular opinion alert! – generally the rest of it is disappointing. I think the writers are trying to get back to basics in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience. The simplified storylines and pointing-out-the-obvious dialogues are patronising and dull. There’s little continuity with previous series and I was actually missing the Daleks. Whenever something bad was happening, it turned out to be not bad after all (aliens doing good) or else humans were behind it. A commendable message but quite depressing and dissatisfying to watch.

    Here are my favourite episodes, representing every series (without major spoilers):

    1:12. The Long Game. The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find themselves back on Satellite Five, 100 years on from the events of episode 7. They have to fight their way out of deadly reality TV show parodies before finding out who brought the Doctor there. This episode is both hilarious and horrifying.

    2:4. The Girl in the Fireplace. Why is a spaceship in the 51st century linked to 18th century France? Who are the menacing clockwork figures? And has the Doctor found true love? This brilliant and bittersweet episode is centred on Madame de Pompadour, the influential mistress of King Louis XV. She’s played wonderfully by Sophia Myles.

    3:10. Blink. Starring Carey Mulligan, this clever and frightening episode introduces the Weeping Angels. Disguised as statues, they move when you blink and they feed on time energy. Urban explorer Sally Sparrow finds warnings left for her in a creepy old house with statues in the garden. Unfortunately the Doctor is stuck in the past, but he has left clues to defeating the Angels.

    4:8. Silence in the Library and 4:9. Forest of the Dead. The Doctor and Donna are on a library planet which appears to be deserted. Where have the people gone? And why are the shadows creeping? This is a suspenseful and emotionally involved double episode which includes a favourite theme – reality versus dreams. It’s also memorable for the first appearance of River Song, a time-travelling archaeologist who knows the Doctor, but he has never met her before…

    5:7. Amy’s Choice. Amy and Rory are married, settled in a quiet village and expecting a baby, when the Doctor pays them a visit. Or are they still on the TARDIS? In each world there are deadly situations to face, but which world is the dream and which is reality? And who is the Dream Lord? This episode keeps you guessing and also develops Amy and Rory’s relationship, helping her to realise her feelings for him.

    6:4. The Doctor’s Wife. Lured to a sentient asteroid which eats TARDISes and uses time travellers as spare parts for its assistants, the Doctor finds the soul of his own TARDIS placed into a woman while the asteroid takes over the machine. A great performance by Suranne Jones. This episode is also notably written by Neil Gaiman.

    7:1. Asylum of the Daleks. In this excellent start to the series, the Doctor, Amy and Rory are kidnapped and sent to the Asylum. Not only are there insane Daleks lurking; the very atmosphere of the planet turns humans into Daleks. There’s also Oswin, a flirtatious genius who was shipwrecked and is resisting the Daleks… but where does she get the milk for her soufflés?

    8.6. The Caretaker. There’s a killer robot on the loose in the school where Clara works as a teacher. Disguised as an unconvincing school janitor, the Doctor investigates. Clara’s two roles – teacher and time traveller – start to collide. This episode is about learning from your mistakes and I like how the tension between Clara and Danny (lover and a fellow teacher) is resolved.

    9:11. Heaven Sent. The grieving Doctor is trapped in a sinister castle far into the future. Endlessly pursued by a shuffling creature, he tries to find a way to escape alive. What is he running from? Why are there so many skulls? And who has left the cryptic clues? This is a powerful, thought-provoking and memorable episode.

    10:2. Smile. The Doctor and Bill visit a planet where the language is emoji, spoken by seemingly cute robots. But where are all the people? And what happens if you stop smiling? This self-contained episode has some interesting concepts and also showcases the friendship between Bill and the Doctor.

    11:7. Kerblam! The Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan visit a warehouse moon to find out why a cry for help was printed on a delivery slip. The scary robots who supervise the human workers must be up to something, right? This twisty episode explores the impact of automation, with robots taking over jobs. Kerblam! is obviously a parody of Amazon, which I daresay will one day be the size of a planet.

    All images taken from BBC iPlayer, © BBC 2019.

  • Film of the book: ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)

    H G Wells’ 1898 science fiction classic is updated for the 21st century in this Spielberg-directed box office hit. Like its 1953 predecessor, this film transplants the action from England to the US in the present day and makes some changes to characters and events.

    Ray (Tom Cruise), a docker in New York, tries to win the love and respect of his estranged children Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). The invasion happens while they’re staying with him and they try to escape to Boston, to be reunited with Ray’s ex, their mother (pregnant Miranda Otto). Much of the time is spent hiding or running or staring in horror. But while this is going on, teenaged Robbie is determined to join the fight against the invaders, leading to conflicts with Ray, who has to choose between stopping his son breaking away, or protecting his young daughter from the terrifying tripods.

    The film has an advantage that previous versions lacked: excellent and realistic special effects. Extra drama is also added to make watching it feel like an ordeal. There are mega storms preceding the aliens’ arrival, the aliens arrive through lightning bolts into the tripods already buried beneath the earth, planes falling from the sky, power failure, communications blackout. Of course the story is not really about the aliens. It’s about humanity, how far we will go to survive and also our arrogance in assuming we have the ultimate power (because it’s not people that win the war, it’s germs). I was struck by our first image of Ray, high in the air operating a machine at the dock, later mirrored by the aliens in their machines, also controlling their containers – humans being containers of blood, which the aliens use for energy. I thought it was interesting how the words ‘Martian’ and ‘alien’ are never used. The children think the invaders are terrorists… which I suppose is correct!

    It may not follow the book closely, but I think it’s a good film in its own right. The casting, John Williams soundtrack, special effects are all great. The film finds new angles on a popular and iconic story.

  • Review of ‘Mail Obsession: A Journey Round Britain by Postcode’ by Mark Mason

    What does the Queen keep in her handbag? Who invented windsurfing? What was Operation Pluto? And what treasures can be found in the British Postal Museum Archive?

    The answers to these questions (and a lot more) can be found this eccentric, thought-provoking and amusing book, in which trivia nerd Mark Mason decides he wants to collect facts about every postcode area in Britain. They can’t be just any facts, though. They have to be facts that appeal to his sense of the amazingly coincidental or weirdly ironic. Also, if they relate to the Royal Mail, even better. He travels to (or through) at least some of the areas but he manages to include all of them and to have a little excitement along the way.

    Mostly I really enjoyed this book. You could never tell what he was going to do next. He has a go on the fastest zipwire ride in Europe (Llandudno – LL postcode), eats Quality Street chocolates in Quality Street, Merstham (Redhill – RH), has an underwhelming hotel experience at the Watford Gap motorway services (Northamptonshire – NN) and accompanies a letter to the most northerly house (Shetland – ZE).

    For every official fact he finds, several more are discussed, making this book a feast for trivia fans. There could’ve been less football included but it’s easy to skip over those bits. The pun of the title – Mail Obsession – is apt, because not only is the postal system a focus of the book, the narrator is a (middle aged) male obsessing over stereotypically ‘male’ interests. Transport, pubs, WW2 logistics, grandad music, sport history. He has a ‘grumpy old man’ persona and so I didn’t always agree with his outlook on the world, but I definitely share his delight in obscure and wonderful trivia.

    The book was published in 2015 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

  • Review of ‘Convenience Store Woman’ by Sayaka Murata

    Keiko has always been an outsider. She doesn’t understand how to be an individual in Japanese society, which means she copies other people’s behaviour. Working at a convenience store helps her to feel included. She’s worked there for eighteen years and it’s her way of life. But then her friends decide that getting married will cure whatever is wrong with her.

    I found this an odd kind of book. It’s eccentric in its focus on the convenience store and is in turn amusing, sad, irritating and thought-provoking. Keiko guides the reader through her role at the store, her excellent customer service, her dedication to the job. She sees herself as a cog in a machine, but unlike some people, she takes pride in this. There is a dark undercurrent to the narrative, a dangerous side to Keiko’s nature which appears to be kept in check by the routine of her job. I wasn’t sure what to make of this, as it doesn’t factor in the ending. I was waiting for something dreadful to occur. I think this book is more about concepts than plot.

    At 163 pages this is a short novel (I completed it in a day). This is certainly a strength because the story manages to be memorable and yet leaves questions unanswered – which are guarantees that I’d still be thinking about it for days to come. One of the ideas that made me think was about individuality. We absorb and reflect each other’s mannerisms and preferences. We do this to ‘fit in’, to escape the unspoken fear that we are all identical and easily replaced… like workers in a convenience store.

    This book was first published in 2016 as Konbini ningen. The 2018 English translation is by Ginny Tapley Takemori.

  • Review of ‘The Rumour’ by Lesley Kara

    There’s a rumour spreading in the seaside town of Flinstead. Sally McGowan, a notorious killer, is living there. Back in the sixties, she murdered a child, when she was a child herself. Under a new name, she could be any one of a dozen women in the town. Joanna, a single mum and outsider who wants to be accepted by the other parents, finds herself drawn into the rumour. And that’s when the threats begin…

    I was very impressed with this book. It’s a well-written debut novel with an excellent pace and credible characters. I read the second half of it in a three-hour sitting, going to bed early so that I could read to the end without distractions! This is definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read. I enjoyed the writing style, sense of place and building of tension.

    I only had two issues with The Rumour. Firstly, the plot towards the end was quite similar to other books I’d read in this genre, which made this one in particular seem a little formulaic. Secondly, I guessed the identity of Sally McGowan very early on and was proved correct. That was disappointing because I like to be proved wrong when it comes to thrillers. This meant that there weren’t enough surprises to keep me entertained. Luckily I enjoyed other aspects of the book and I’m looking forward to Kara’s future works!

    This book was published last year by Transworld. The paperback will be out this July.

  • Review of ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’ by Kassia St Clair

    Heliotrope. Isabelline. Amaranth. Celadon. Minium. These are just some of the shades featured in this fun and interesting book about colours. Kassia St Clair takes us on a journey through the spectrum from white to black, examining in concise detail the history, creation and meanings behind the colours. The book was first published in 2016 by John Murray.

    I was already familiar with this topic, as it’s one of my interests. I still learned some new things from the book and I enjoyed how the information was presented. The chapters are very short, perfect for when you haven’t got much time to read – the author devotes 2 or 3 pages to each shade. Although there are no images, every shade is illustrated. The book feels like a starting point, allowing you to get a taste for the fascinating subject of colour without getting too complicated. There are plenty of sources and suggestions for further reading.

    Art history, colour theory, technology, fashion and psychology are blended with careful research and an engaging writing style. The result: a work of art. It’s also my ideal kind of non-fiction. Easy to read, thought-provoking, amusing and packed full of trivia. I can’t think of anything else to say about it, other than that I loved it! Oh, and I’m still shocked about the pigment ‘Mummy brown’ even though I’ve known about it for years. How did anyone think it was ever acceptable? (Google it if you’re curious).