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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase (@EvePollyChase) (@MichaelJBooks)

Hi, all:

I bring you the review of a book by an author whose novels (well, a couple of them) I’ve reviewed before and loved them. And this time, it is no different.

The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase

The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase

Read the new novel from Eve Chase, author of The Glass House and The Birdcage

—
Notting Hill, London. One May evening, seventeen-year-old Maggie Parker’s mother walks out of their front door and doesn’t return . . .

With her little brother in tow, desperate to find her mother, Maggie is drawn into a labyrinthine world of antiques and shadowy figures. There she befriends someone else living on their wits. But can he help solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance?

Twenty-one years later, in a Parisian apartment, Maggie’s phone rings and her hard-won grown-up life shatters. While in London, the new owner of the Parker’s old house is excavating the basement, unaware of what might lie beneath.

Sweeping from bustling London streets, the boulevards of Paris to an old English country house, The Midnight Hour is a thrilling, richly woven story about a golden family with a hidden past – and a woman trying to turn back the hands of time before it’s too late.

About the author:

Eve Chase is an internationally bestselling British novelist who writes rich, layered and suspenseful novels, thick with secrets, unforgettable characters and settings. Her latest novel, The Midnight Hour – ‘Her best yet…I loved every word’ – Claire Douglas – publishes June ’24, in the UK. Other novels include, The Birdcage, The Glass House (The Daughters of Foxcote Manor, US) a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club pick, The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde (The Wildling Sisters, US) which was longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award, and Black Rabbit Hall, winner of Paris’ Saint-Maur en Poche prize for Best Foreign Fiction. She works in the Writer’s Shed at the bottom of her garden, usually with Harry, her golden retriever.

Say hello @evepollychase on Instagram, X, and Facebook

My review:

I thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.

This is the third novel by Eve Chase I have read, and they have all been wonderful experiences.

As was the case with the previous two novels, the story is set in two different time-frames (although not so far from each other this time): the first takes place mostly in London (Notting Hill, and the filming of the movie of the same name keeps popping up) 1998, and the second, in 2019, in a variety of locations (London, Paris, a wonderful farmhouse in The Chilterns…). Two of the protagonists tell the story, a brother and a sister: Maggie, who has become a writer of historical romance and lives in Paris, and her younger brother, Kit, who is an antique dealer and lives in London. Despite the distance, they are very close to each other, and we discover why through the novel, we also uncover many more secrets and mysteries, although in some cases the protagonists are as surprised (if not more) as we are.

Apart from the two different dates, the narration is told from different perspectives (person and time-wise). We hear from Maggie in the first person when she narrates (in the past tense) what happened to her family in 1998. Her mother was a famous model, and when we meet her and the rest of the family, the father had recently died; they had had to leave their house and move to London, where their mother was more likely to find modelling jobs. The chapters from the past are interspersed with chapters told in the third-person and present tense from both, Maggie and Kit’s points of view, and it becomes evident that although they both remember the same events, Maggie knows much more than Kit does, and her attempts at protecting her brother and others from learning the (disturbing) truth of what happened get more and more difficult as the action advances and secrets are slowly revealed.

Chase has a penchant for depicting complex family relationships, full of lies, secrets, mysteries, and even false identities. And she is also wonderful at capturing places and eras and making readers feel as if they were there. Notting Hill becomes a protagonist in the story, and we get to meet some colourful characters and pretty menacing ones. Other locations are also important to the novel, but not to the same extent.

I don’t want to spoil the story for future readers, but as is the case in her previous novels, there is a mystery (more than one) at the heart of the book, an unsolved crime, although this is no standard mystery novel and the intrigue builds up slowly (yes, there are red herrings and twists and turns galore); there is a wonderful love story that ends up in a separation in difficult circumstances; there are adopted children; there are mothers that decide to give up their children; fathers looking for their sons; authors suffering writers’ block; a mysterious man everybody is trying to find; there are lies and lies to cover other lies…

In some ways, this is a coming-of-age story, as we witness Maggie having to step up and take her mother’s place, but she isn’t the only one who has to grow up and accept her responsibilities. It is also a story about families, identities, and who and what makes us who we are. It is a story about forgiveness and about learning to accept the limitations of others and our own. And it is a novel about a bunch of people who slowly realise they have more in common than they knew.

Eve Chase writes beautifully about people, places, and emotions, and there are so many quotable lines that it is impossible not to highlight large parts of the book as one reads. Although this is not my favourite of her novels, I love the ending, and regarding the mystery… Most readers will get an inkling of what is being hidden, but what I particularly liked was how each new revelation was followed by an “a-ha” moment as one realised that every little detail fitted together and everything that seemed puzzling as one was reading ended up making perfect sense. This is a novel beautifully written and beautifully constructed, and I recommend it to all fans of Eve Chase, readers who enjoy lyrical and superb writing and aren’t looking for fast and frantic action, but enjoy a slow build-up and having time to get to know the characters and what makes them tick.

And here, just a couple of quotes from the novel, to give you a sense of the writing and the powers of observation of the author:

‘…that their little family is different from others. Like a three-legged stool, it requires a deft distribution of weight not to tip over – and it is currently lying on its side.’

‘Maggie also knows, first-hand, that grief doesn’t disappear. Like a spill of glitter, you keep finding little bits everywhere, for ever, and in the oddest places.’

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for another wonderful novel, thanks to all of you for visiting, liking, sharing, and remember to keep smiling and enjoying your summer (or winter, depending on where you are)!

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin (@Annecdotist)

Hi all:

I bring you another book by an author I discovered thanks to Rosie’s Book Review Team, and I was lucky enough to get an early copy and a request to provide an editorial review as well. It was my pleasure, as I’ve become very fond of the protagonist of this book and her story. (The book will be published on the 15th of May, but you can reserve it in advance).

Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin

Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin. You’re never too old to become whole again.

How do we live with our secrets? How do we right past wrongs?

After half a century confined in a psychiatric hospital, Matty has moved to a care home on the Cumbrian coast. Next year, she’ll be a hundred, and she intends to celebrate in style. Irene, a care assistant, aims to surprise her with a visit from the child she gave up for adoption eight decades before.

When lockdown shuts the care-home doors, their plans go awry. Yet, while Irene battles grief and loneliness, Matty thrives. Until the Black Lives Matter protests burst her bubble. Convinced she’s to blame for past atrocities, the guilt is more than she can bear.

Will Matty survive to see her hundredth birthday? Will she meet her long-lost child?

Rooted in injustice, balanced with humour, the stand-alone sequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is an ultimately uplifting story about hidden histories and fragile minds.

About the author:

SHORT STORY E-BOOK FREE FOR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS

https://bit.ly/daughtershorts

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.

Anne writes about the darkness that haunts her and is wary of artificial light. She makes stuff up to tell the truth about adversity, creating characters to care about and stories to make you think. She explores identity, mental health and social justice with compassion, humour and hope.

A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.

Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

Website: www.annegoodwin.weebly.com

My review:

I was provided with an ARC copy of this novel, and having read the two novels (well, a novel and a novella) about the same character, Matilda Windsor, I was happy to write a review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

Having read Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, and Stolen Summers, and having enjoyed reading Anne Goodwin’s first novel (Sugar and Snails) as well, reading this one was a no-brainer. I had to.

This novel, written in the third-person alternates between locations (West Cumbria, Bristol) and points of view. We catch up with Matty, who has been moved to a care home, and meet some of her peers and the staff. She is about to become 100 years old and she wants to celebrate in style. Unfortunately, the pandemic gets in the way, but technology and a blue-haired girl come to the rescue. We also get to know Irene, one of the care assistants and the care home, a true Cumbrian character, and a woman with a darker story than it seems at first sight. Gloria, a very active elderly widow; her son, Tim, who works in mental health, and his partner and soon-to-be husband, Brendan, a teacher, are other characters in the novel. At first, it is not clear if and how they might all be related, and although readers who have followed the story will soon start making connections and picking up on clues, there are some red herrings and plenty of surprises along the way.

I want to avoid spoilers, but I loved catching up with Matty, whose mental state cycles between her alternate reality of wealth and fame and moments of lucidity and getting in touch with reality around her. There are some heart-wrenching moments, some truly scary ones, but she comes through in style and gets a more than-deserved happy ending. She is not the only one, thankfully. In a novel where we see people coping with the pandemic and lockdowns, prejudice, old-age and age-related changes, illness, social changes, and also coming to terms with the past, all of the stories close on a happy note, and that is a lovely touch in these times. And although there are sad moments aplenty, there is also plenty of humour and the wonderful turn of phrase and observations of those characters make the reading experience a delight.

I recommend this novel to all those who have read the previous two stories about Matilda Windsor and anybody looking for a novel populated by original and diverse characters, many older than the norm, who share their everyday stories that are anything but every day. I recommend reading the other two novels first, as otherwise, you would miss details of the overall story. Readers who love novels set in Britain and authentic use of regional expressions will have a field day as well, and the author has added a glossary of Cumbrian terms, especially useful when reading Irene’s fabulous inner monologues.

In brief: A microcosm of recent British society and international current affairs as portrayed by an assortment of unique individuals and a collection of families that are anything but traditional. Matty, one of the most memorable and heart-wrenching protagonists I’ve met, comes into her own for her centenary, surviving secrets, pandemics, newfound fame, technology, losses, and surprises of all kinds. The novel runs the whole gamut of emotions, from sadness to joy, from indignation to sympathy, from incredulity to understanding, but be prepared to shed a tear or two (of happiness) when you close the book. The perfect send-off for a most wonderful character.

Thanks to Rosie and all the members of her team for their support, thanks to the author for the opportunity, thanks to all of you for reading, and remember to share, comment, like, and keep smiling!

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog SNOW ANGELS by Jenny Loudon (@jenloudonauthor) Grief, family, the healing power of nature, and gorgeous writing #RBRT #grief

Hi, all:

I bring you another fabulous find from Rosie’s Book Review Team. Thanks to her for her hard work and to the rest of the team for their ongoing support and inspiration.

Snow Angels by Jenny Loudon

Amelie Tierney is working hard, furthering her nursing career in Oxford. She has a loving husband and a small son, who is not yet two. She jogs through the streets of her beloved city most days, does not see enough of her lonely mother, and misses her grandmother who lives in a remote wooden house, beside a lake in Sweden. And then, one sunny October morning, it happens—the accident that changes everything and leaves Amelie fighting to survive. Set amid the gleaming spires of Oxford and the wild beauty of a Swedish forest, this is a story about one woman’s hope and her courage in the face of the unthinkable. Praise for Jenny Loudon: ‘The writing is superb—literary in many ways—with vivid settings, filled with quite exceptional descriptions of the natural world… There are moments of lightness and humour—those slices of life that make the whole feel so real—and others when you feel at your core the frustration, the despair, the sheer impossibility… quite stunning.’ Anne Williams, Romantic Novelists Association Media Star of the Year, 2019

Author Jenny Loudon

About the author:

Jenny Loudon is a British novelist whose work includes SNOW ANGELS, a moving and uplifting tale of recovery after loss, and the bestselling love story FINDING VERITY. She read English and American Literature at the University of Kent in Canterbury and holds a Masters in The Modern Movement. She lives with her family in the English countryside.

Learn more about Jenny Loudon at

https://www.jennyloudon.com/

 My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

I had never come across Jenny Loudon before, but I don’t think this will be the last of her books I read. This is a beautiful, poignant, and moving novel, and I do not hesitate to recommend it, despite it being also terribly sad at times, and people who have experienced a recent loss might find it a bit hard to read (although, it is also inspiring and full of light).

Amelie, who lives in Oxford and was born there but whose mother is Swedish, has visited Sweden often and speaks perfect Swedish, suffers a terrible loss. She loses her family, almost in full, and although she tries, going back to work seems impossible to her, and she decides to give up her profession as well. She finds refuge with her Swedish grandmother, Cleome, who lives in a lovely cottage by a lake, close to a forest, and this is the story of her (and their) grief, their healing process, her acceptance of the situation, and the eventual rebuilding of her life, a new beginning, and a recovery of sorts.

This is not only the tale of these people. The story is told in the third-person, mostly from the point of view of Amelie and Cleome, but also of some of the other characters, and the author does a great job at describing their emotions, their thoughts, their psychological makeup, and making us feel as if we were inhabiting their skins. There are quite a few secondary characters, all interesting in their own right, and some we get to know better than others, but nature and the seasons play a fundamental part in the story. Cleome is very attuned to the rhythms of nature, the land, the lake, the trees, the creatures, and she picks up herbs, goes foraging, and engages in little ceremonies to give thanks for the many gifts the land bestows on her. The descriptions of the landscape are as good, if not better than those of the characters, and the healing powers of time and nature play an important part in the novel. I’ve never visited Sweden, but after reading this book, I am eager to do so.

I have mentioned grief before, and it is accompanied by survivor’s guilt, a desperate search for a guilty party, for meaning, and for an explanation, creating a totally realistic picture of two women confronting a tragedy beyond their imaginations. Apart from this, the novel also explores other themes, like motherhood, conventional and chosen families, secrets, political changes in Europe, immigration policies, in Sweden in particular, how to adapt to a new culture, prejudice (both, from a different culture and within one’s own culture), intolerance, romance, and love… Helen, a close friend and neighbour of Cleome, is a doctor and volunteers working with immigrants, and although this is only a small part of the story, there is one of the main characters, Tarek, who gets to explain his experience as an asylum seeker (from war-torn Syria) in a compelling way, and he shows an understanding of loss and love which inspires Amelie in many ways. I did learn about something called ‘resignation syndrome’, which seems to be a unique phenomenon suffered by some young immigrants in Sweden, and a very challenging one. (Helen compares it to Snow White, and it makes sense if you remember when Snow White is given the poisoned apple and falls into a kind of deep sleep, still alive but with no external signs of it).

I have already mentioned the effectiveness of the descriptions, and the style of writing is gorgeous, lyrical, poetic, and packs a big emotional punch. It conveys images of breathtaking beauty together with truly heartbreaking moments, although, thankfully, there are also bright and hopeful moments, and those increase as the novel progresses. Readers experience the landscapes, the sensations, and the emotions vividly, and there were moments when I was transfixed by my immersion into that magical world. The author’s deep knowledge of Sweden and her connection to it are explained in the author’s acknowledgements, which, as usual, I recommend reading.

The ending is perfect for the novel, and it will please particularly those who like to have everything tied-up, as we get to catch up on all the characters more than a year after the end of the story, and that answers many questions most readers might have.

So, as I have said at the beginning, I recommend this novel to anybody who enjoys beautiful writing, contemplative stories, and those where emotions and psychological insights take precedence over adventures and action. I have mentioned recent grief, and I know that each individual going through it has a very different way of coping with their emotions, but those for whom reading about the subject is useful, will find much to inspire them and bring them hope in this novel.

 For those of you who enjoy a little sample of the writing, here are a few paragraphs:

Tiny, fairy-like, nameless insects danced in a pale sunbeam that pierced the tree canopy. The air was full of music—cheerful tunes from a multitude of hidden birds. The sounds were beautiful and heartfel, and her grandmother was right to question it: why did they sing like this? Why bother?

 ‘You know, all these people in power? They think one more bomb will bring peace. All we ever hear is that they are killing people to get peace, using chemical weapons to secure peace. One more war will bring peace. Are they crazy? Do they not listen to themselves? How did a bomb ever bring peace, I ask you?’

 ‘Grief is like a rucksack. You might have to carry it for a long time. Sometimes, when you have had enough though, you can take it off and put it down. And sometimes, you can take things out of the rucksack and leave them by the roadside. You won’t have to carry everything forever but you will probably always be carrying something.’

 If you want to know a bit more about Resignation Syndrome, I found these two articles, and some of the things described in the first article appear in the novel.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/the-trauma-of-facing-deportation

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-41748485

Thanks to the author for this wonderful book, thanks to Rosie and her team for keeping us going, and thanks to all of you, most of all, for reading, sharing, commenting, liking, blogging, and being there. Keep smiling!

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Book reviews

#Bookreviews ‘Eros. The Aegean Chronicles 2’ by @YelleHughes and ‘The Damnable Legacy’ by G. Elizabeth Kretchmer (@gekretchmer). Women facing very diverse challenges.

Hi all:

I was going through my recent reviews and realised that  I had accumulated even more than I remembered, so I decided that perhaps I could share more than one at a time. Why these two novels together? Well, they are very different, so I thought they might appeal to very different readers, but I found both very compelling. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.

Eros. The Aegean Chronicles by Yelle Hughes
Eros. The Aegean Chronicles by Yelle Hughes

First, Eros. The Aegean Chronicles 2 by Yelle Hughes.

I know the writer from a writer’s group (ASMSG) and she’s always generously sharing everybody else’s content. She also designs her own covers and is always supportive of other’s efforts. She’s fascinated by Greek mythology and I read the first book in her series, Triton (you can check that review, here) at a particularly challenging time in my life and it made it more bearable. One of my favourite characters from that book was Erok (Eros but he’d changed his name. You’ll have to read the book to know more), and I’d been intrigued as to what had happened to the character since. So… I could not resist.

First, the description of the book:

Sindi Carrington is on a mission: Find a prop to pose with her young clients. She discovers a black and white tiger in the thrift shop that is absolutely perfect. So perfect, Sindi practically steals him out of the bin. Obsessed with her new find, she takes him home for herself instead of using him as a model in her studio.

Centuries ago, Erok Karlakos, the former God of Love, runs away from his baby cherub image to become a warrior of Greece. A tragic relationship and his mother’s incessant whining was the catalyst for his revolt. Caught and captured in an undignified way, disqualifies the immortal from taking on the title, “damsel in distress”. After he meets the quirky photographer, he has no complaints. Yet, there’s something familiar about this mortal, though he can’t quite put his finger on it. Erok needs to escape and finally meet Sindi face to face.

After one failed marriage, will he be able to trust Sindi won’t try to stab him if he reveals his true identity? Will she freak when she finds out he is a god? Alternatively, will he to pay the price of losing another true love? Does Sindi have what it takes to keep her man…warts and all? On the other hand, will she fall into the same pattern of mistrust? The Fates will test her. She hopes she passes this time.

P.S.

A head’s up; this is an adult book with some erotic content for grown folks.

Just because we’re older, doesn’t mean we don’t like to have fun.

Now, my review:

Eros. The Aegean Chronicles 2 by Yelle Hughes. Greek Gods Close and Personal and Romance in a Grand Scale

I read Triton, the first book in Yelle Hughes’s Aegean Chronicles some time ago and I enjoyed it enormously. I read it at a point in my life when I was going through hard times (illness in the family) and I found it very therapeutic as it took my mind off things. And the second book is worthy of the series. The mixture of fantasy, Greek mythology, fun characters, conspiracy, adventures, and fabulous locations ticks all the necessary boxes to ensure all around entertainment. There is erotica too. Erotica is not a genre I read often or I favour, so I wouldn’t dare to comment on how well this book compares to others in that aspect, although I must admit there is a scene in Eros’s house (although he prefers to be called Erok) that I found intensely beautiful. I’ll only tell you that wings are involved.

In the first novel in the series we met three Greek gods who come into contact with three women in Columbus, Ari, Sindy and Gail. What follows when the Gods set eyes on the women (and in some cases spend time with them, unwillingly or not) is only the beginning of the stories told in the series, as Greek gods are notably similar to human, and we have stories of resentment, revenge, envy, and conspiracies ahoy. In this novel we discover what had happened to Erok when he went missing, and how he reencounters his true love. Ms. Hughes gives us not only a hot romance (one of the most romantic stories I’ve read in recent times) but also chuckles, excitement, fights and tales of friendship and eternal bonds. There are many unexplained things and stories left to tell at the end of this novel that will keep us coming back for more, but on its own it is a memorable and satisfying read.

http://www.amazon.com/Eros-Aegean-Chronicles-Yelle-Hughes/dp/1514176084/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eros-Aegean-Chronicles-Yelle-Hughes/dp/1514176084/

The Damnable Legacy by G. Elizabeth Kretchmer
The Damnable Legacy by G. Elizabeth Kretchmer

Second, The Damnable Legacy by G. Elizabeth Kretchmer

I had not heard of the author before, but was contacted by somebody working for Booktrope (it’s an interesting concept and I admit to being intrigued by it to the point of submitting a book I’d written long ago. So far I haven’t heard anything, and to be honest I’d be surprised if I did, but…) who’d read some of my reviews and thought I might like this book (it’s not surprising I have a long list of books to read). When I read what it was about I couldn’t resist. And having heard from the author since, I have another one of her books (quite different), in my list to read. I’ll keep you posted. But first, a description, so you’ll see why I was intrigued.

Lynn Van Swol still regrets the decision she made thirty years ago to place her daughter for adoption so she could climb the highest mountains of the world. Frankie Rizzoni is the troubled biological granddaughter Lynn has never known. And Beth Mahoney is a minister’s wife with terminal cancer and the only one who knows the relationship between the two. She designs a plan upon her deathbed to bring Lynn and Frankie together, but now, narrating from the afterlife, she must helplessly watch as her legacy threatens to unravel. The Damnable Legacy is a story about both love and survival, exploring the importance of attachment, place, and faith, and asking how far we should go to achieve our goals -and at what cost.

Here, my review.

The Damnable Legacy by G. Elizabeth Kretchmer. Climbing to the top and discovering a few home truths.

I was offered a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Although I don’t have a bucket list as such, on my list of things to do and places to visit, Alaska is pretty high up. As much as I love a good adventure and great plots, I’m always game for books that dig deep into characters’ psyches and are full of people being tested and revealing their strengths and weaknesses. A novel that promised complex characters and an expedition climbing Mount Delani ticked all the boxes for me. And I’m happy to say it delivered. And how!

The narrator of The Damnable Legacy is Beth. In some ways the novel is a standard (if there is such a thing) first-person narration. Only Beth happens to be dead, and what she narrates is, rather than her life, that of the people she has left behind and she cares about, or those who have somehow become embroiled in her plans for her husband, Ryan, and Frankie, the granddaughter of a friend also deceased. Beth made her husband promise he’d climb Delani and organised his trip as part of her ploy to ensure his wellbeing and that of Frankie.

Beth is not a ghost as we usually understand them. She does not appear to the living, to her upmost frustration at times, as she’d like to intervene, to be able to question or warn, but she can’t. This is not a novel in the vein of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, either. Beth doesn’t even know where she is now, but she thinks she might be in hell, condemned to be the spectator of things she set in motion, but that don’t always go according to her plans and that she has no control over. She is an enhanced spectator, and through her we see what happens to different characters, and she can tell us what they feel, but not, what they really think or what they plan to do next. Her reactions might guide or mirror ours, although sometimes they don’t, because she has a personal investment in the matter, and what she sees makes her reflect on her actions and her beliefs about herself.

Although thanks to Beth we have access to some privileged information, we have to interpret people’s actions based on the clues we are given, and on observations that are not neutral or always enlightened. We might disagree with her at times, but we are drawn into the action and the lives of these characters, and we get reminded that things aren’t always as they seem to be, that appearances might be deceptive, and that we must learn to question not only other people’s motives but also our own.

All the characters are complex, many of them are dealing with loss of one kind or another, and some are more likeable than others (Ryan, Marisa, some of the people Frankie meets on her way), some grow and change over time (Brad, Jack and Frankie), and some are difficult to fully understand or empathise with, but engaging and fascinating in spite (or because) of that, like Lyn.

I’m not a professional climber, but the organising of the climb to Delani, the dynamics between the members of the expedition, the omens, the difficulties they face, and the descriptions of the process and the landscape, rang true and are vividly and beautifully written. Frankie’s search for Ryan, that parallels that expedition, is interspersed in the narration and she also encounters many difficulties although of a different nature. There is closure to the adventure part of both stories, but what the future holds for some of the main characters is left open to the reader’s imagination. For me, at least, the novel ends in a hopeful note.

A novel that made me think, feel and marvel. I recommend it to readers who enjoy stories with a heart, in beautiful settings, with an interesting adventure background, and complex and challenging characters.

I look forward to reading more novels by the author.

http://www.amazon.com/Damnable-Legacy-G-Elizabeth-Kretchmer-ebook/dp/B012LJ8QEO/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Damnable-Legacy-G-Elizabeth-Kretchmer-ebook/dp/B012LJ8QEO/

As you see, two very different offerings today. Thanks to Yelle and G. Elizabeth for their books, thanks to all of you for reading, and you know, like, share, comment, and CLICK!

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Reviews

Film Review. Philomena (Dame Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Dir: Stephen Frears)

Philomena

Philomena is a film adaptation of a book by Martin Sixsmith (played by Steve Coogan in the movie) narrating the story of Philomena Lee (played by Judi Dench), an Irish woman who got pregnant, was disowned by her family and ended up in a convent, where she had to work (seven days a week in the hardest taks) for 4 years (for the privilege of seeing her child an hour per day), and had her son adopted. Now (2002) that he would have been fifty she tells the story to her daughter, who tells Martin (who has been ‘resigned’ from his post as a spin doctor, after years as a political journalist and correspondent for the BBC). He is initially dismissive of the ‘personal interest’ story that he sees as well below his talents (he insists on writing a book of Russian history that nobody shows any interest on), but eventually takes it on.

The Magdalene Sisters
The Magdalene Sisters (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Although I have not read the book, Steve Coogan who’s also written the screenplay, has made an excellent job of both, narrating the journey of the two characters, and also making their interaction and relationship the winning element of the story.
The background of the story (a true story) has been told before, and it is terrible (The Magdalene Sisters). How any religious creed could be used to imprison, and separate mothers from their children, is difficult to believe. And when you get to know that they even charged for the adoptions, it’s the last straw. Sister Hildegard’s character in the film is a true embodiment of the worst of religion, and the fact that Philomena can be gracious with her only makes her more of an exemplary and sympathetic character.
What Philomena does differently is show the ambivalence and the doubts of this woman, who is still religious, who remains devoted to her Roman Catholic faith, and who continually subverts the expectations of Martin, who sees her as an old woman of little understanding or subtlety, whilst by the end we get to appreciate her resilience, non-judgemental attitude and generosity. And like in all best relationships, they are both changed for the better by getting to know each other.
Is it a sad movie? Well, the story is sad, the background story is appalling and outrageous (and indeed something should be done to help these mothers find their children), but the balance between sad and funny moments, the beautiful interaction between the characters, and the personality and attitude of Philomena makes it inspiring and upbeat.
I love Judi Dench and she is perfect and as generous a performer as she always is. As much as I love my mother I would happily adopt her character as mother too. Steve Coogan demonstrates that he can carry a serious part more than competently, and his writing is superb. One also gets the sense that making the film must have been a joy.

Stephen Frears at the 2006 Cardiff Film Festival.
Stephen Frears at the 2006 Cardiff Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course Stephen Frears is a great director and he serves the story without embellishments or unnecessary stylistic flourishes.
I thoroughly recommend Philomena. It will make you reflect, look at your family in a different way, and will warm the cockles of your heart.
And if you want more stories of unfair adoptions and uprooting, I would recommend Oranges and Sunshine and Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Thank you for reading, and if you have enjoyed it, please remember to like, comment and share. And go and watch the movie!

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