Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane

 

Description

'A powerful and moving novel of family, trauma, and the defining moments in people's lives from a writer of extraordinary depth, feeling and wit. Readers will love this book, as I did' Meg Wolitzer, bestselling author of The Female Persuasion and The Wife
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A gripping and compassionate family drama set between neighbours in suburban New York

Gillam, upstate New York: a town of ordinary, big-lawned suburban houses. The Gleesons have recently moved there and soon welcome the Stanhopes as their new neighbours. Lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend but Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.

It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another. To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and by the terrible tragedy that will engulf them all. A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .

A story of love and redemption, faith and forgiveness, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood - villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so. It's a story of how, if we're lucky, the violence lurking beneath everyday life can be vanquished by the power of love.

Review

I really wanted to like this book so much more, but it really dragged in places.

Kate and Peter live next door to one another and become friends in the 1970s.  Something happens between the families, which means Peter and his family move away. But Peter and Kate never forget one another, they find each other again years later.

They say time heals everything, and in a way this book sets out to discover if that idiom is in fact true. This book covers some tricky issues very well, such as mental illness, and how it was viewed both back in the 70s and in more recent times.  

The Americanisms referred to and some of the way of life, especially from the 1970s, were lost on me and I felt that I missed out at times on really understanding and feeling connected to the characters. I never really warmed to any of them either. My biggest gripe with the book is that although the writing is good and at times some beautifully written scenes, it just went on for far too long in certain time frames.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

The Dictionary of Lost Words - Pip Williams

 

Description

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.

Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor, unclaimed. Esme seizes the word and hides it in an old wooden trunk that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings related to women's experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women's suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It's a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape our experience of the world.

Review

This book was ok, but I didn't love it.

I love words and their history so the title of this book really appealed to me. Based on the true story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary with a fictional character called Esme (and a few others) woven through the story. The research that must have gone into the book is very evident in the writing.

Reading about the Scriptorium and the sourcing of words and their contributors was great. However, it went on for far too long and in such detail that I began to get bored. A third of the way through and I felt like this was a story that was becoming very long winded. The story picked up a little after this and included references to the Suffrage movement which I found really interesting.

Unfortunately it wasn't long before the book once again became very drawn out in the telling of the tale. By the end of the book I had no compassion for Esme, she seemed to be a very one dimensional character. I think I enjoyed the premise of the Dictionary of Lost Words and the last pages of the book the most, together with the author's notes. This was a great story, just for me too long in the telling.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Effortless - Greg McKeown

Description

FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ESSENTIALISM COMES A GUIDE TO MAKING THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS EFFORTLESS

The intricacy of modern life has created a false dichotomy between things that are 'hard and important,' and those that are 'easy and trivial.' Everything has become so much harder than it ought to be. But, Greg McKeown, bestselling author of Essentialism, says, there is a third alternative. In Effortless, he offers practical strategies for making the most vital tasks the easiest ones. Honed over the better part of a decade, these strategies include:

· Asking 'What Step Can I Remove?' (accomplish more, in fewer steps)
· Having the Courage to Be Rubbish (prioritize progress over perfection)
· Deciding What 'Done' Looks Like (don't keep running after you pass the finish line)

McKeown's philosophy of essentialism has helped thousands to eliminate nonessential activities and focus on the few that really matter. Working out what is essential is the first step - making these tasks effortless is the next. Effortless will show you how.

Review

I've not read the author's first book "Essentialism", but I felt that this book was a standalone work that can be read independently, although it is a follow on book.

I thought the first part of the book was overly wordy and was trying too hard to sell the idea of "effortless".  A little like an infomercial, it promised many times that I would be able to make things more "effortless" and gave examples of people who had. However, I wanted the "how to" now and not be made to wait for it. Once I got through the first part of the book it was fine, and the "how to's" rolled off the page and I was gratified at last.

You may be familiar with the term “work smarter… not harder”, it originated in the 1930s from a man called Allen F. Morgenstern. In essence I felt that this is what this book was trying to say, but giving real world up to date examples. The book is certainly current as one such example was making masks for Covid -19. It was these parts of the book that I enjoyed the most, reading about how people had transformed processes or simplified their work. In fact this is a technique of "telling stories" that the book itself recommends.

The key concepts of effortless are recapped at points throughout the book so you can easily get a quick reminder without reading the whole book again. Another chestnut of advice from my childhood of "less haste, more speed" is also expanded on in the book to provide evidence of why "Mother knew best" afterall!

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 27 April 2021.

Backstories - Simon Van der Velde

DESCRIPTION

These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see.

CAN YOU FIND THE FAMOUS PERSON HIDDEN IN EVERY STORY?

Dreamers, singers, heroes and killers, they can dazzle with their beauty or their talent or their unmitigated evil, yet inside themselves, they are as frail and desperate as the rest of us. But can you see them? Can you unravel the truth?

‘Oh, how I enjoyed these stories. A highly original and beautifully crafted collection that explodes into the reader’s consciousness like fireworks’ - Kate Horsley, award-winning author of The American Girl.

‘Tightly written, technically accomplished, light-footed, wryly ironic and genuinely affecting. Excellent stuff’ - Professor Graham Mort, Director of The Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research and winner of both the Bridport Prize and The Edge Hill Prize.

This book is dedicated to the victims of violent crime, the struggle against discrimination in all its forms and making the world a better place for our children. That is why 30% of all profits will be shared between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.


MY BACKSTORIES QUEST

“Whatever happened to, all of the heroes?” The Stranglers 1977

I was twelve years old when I first heard this song and although there was something in the feral tone that grabbed me, I didn’t really understand it. I do now. I get the angst and the loss and the emptiness, which is why, in Backstories, I aim to answer the question.

I’m not interested in simplistic tabloid truths. They clung on too long, drank too much, lost their looks and their charm and generally reminded us that we’re all getting older. That’s not what I want from my heroes.

What I want is to find the spark, to dig down into their pain, their passions and their imperfections, and show you our heroes as they truly are.

So join me on my quest. Let’s bypass the obvious, the tedious, and the dull. Brave the deeper, darker paths where the treasures can be found, and together we’ll uncover the fears and doubts that made our heroes what they were and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves along the way.

Whatever happened to all of the heroes?

They turned out to be human beings, in all their diverse glory.

Simon Van der Velde January, 2021

This book is dedicated to the victims of violent crime, the struggle against discrimination in all its forms and making the world a better place for our children. That is why 30% of all profits will be shared between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.

REVIEW

I was really intrigued by the premise of these short stories, but also concerned that I was going to be smart enough to figure out who they all were...

Immediately I was drawn into the first story by the wonderful voice it was told in. Half way through it and I guessed who it was! Not even my era either. This certainly appealed to the "detective" in me as I eagerly went to the next story.

Eventually I got to a story and could not fathom out who it was. I read and reread it and then hit upon the idea of googling a few clues, and there it was plain as day! I found the stories to be not only very cleverly and beautifully written, but educational too, as I needed to google one other story to solve who the person was.

Most of the stories have a one liner at the end that seals who it is about, but I was starting to want to guess before I got there - it was really addictive. I loved the narrator voice in every story. It easily switched from American to Mancunian and many others whilst maintaining a realism and authenticity to the dialogue.

Some of the stories are hard to read, there is no softening of history here, so be prepared. I don't always like short stories because I feel they can leave you hanging. Not so with this collection. They are just the right length to read in between other books, or when you have a moment to spare. I wasn't left thinking "is that it" as can sometimes happen to me with short stories.

I'm giving this collection of short stories 5 out of 5 stars. Please do get a copy, as 30% of all profits will be shared between Stop Hate UK, The North East Autism Society and Friends of the Earth.

Get your copy here http://bit.ly/Amazon-Backstories

My thanks to Simon for a ecopy of the book to review.

You can find out more about the author here www.simonvandervelde.com

London's No. 1 Dog Walking Agency

 

Description

Kate MacDougall always knew her heart wasn't really in her job at Sotheby's. All around her, friends were finding their dream jobs and whooshing up career ladders. After yet another breakage, this time of two precious porcelain pigeons, she had enough, and walked out of her snoozy, back office existence into the unknown world of the then-nascent gig economy.

London's No. 1 Dog-Walking Agency is the story of her next 9 years and the dogs (and people) she meets along the way. There's Winston, the Labrador, who isn't allowed to get muddy, even after his owners split up and then enlist Kate in their custody battle. There's the chic trio of Islington couples whose immaculately arranged dog walking schedule is thrown off when one of them gets off with the dog walker Kate has employed. There's Kate's long-suffering, dog-agnostic boyfriend Finlay, and her mother, who is always on the alert for wedding bells.

Amongst all this, there's Kate herself: trying to work out what she wants from life, and when and how to get there.

Review

If you love dogs - this is the book for you.

Kate's story begins back in 2006 when she left her job at Sotheby's and began to walk dogs for a living.  One of the things I liked was the fact that it ends in 2014 (with an Afterword to bring it right up to date) so you get to read about not just one year in the life of the Dog Walking Agency.

Each chapter is headed with the name of the dog and breed and some are revisited which was lovely to see where they had progressed to. One dog stood out for me and that was Stanley. He forms a very special relationship with one of the dog walkers that Kate had to employ as she became more successful. I had a little tear in my eye at one point reading about Stanley and his walker Tom.

It's true that the book is about the dogs and the walking of them, but it is so much more than that. It almost has the feel of reading a  novel about it as you find out not just about the dogs, but their owners and their little foibles too. A few life lessons are also thrown in throughout the chapters along with some laughs, especially at the antics of the dogs and some rookie dog walking mistakes.

I'm giving this book 4 out of  5 stars. My thanks to Readers First from whom I won a copy of this book -  thanks very much. This book is published on 8 April 2021.

The Imposter - Anna Wharton

I'm so pleased to be on the blog tour for this book today.

Description

They say you can't choose your family . . . But what if they're wrong?

Chloe lives a quiet life. Working as a newspaper archivist in the day and taking care of her nan in the evening, she's happy simply to read about the lives of others as she files the news clippings from the safety of her desk.

But there's one story that she can't stop thinking about. The case of Angie Kyle – a girl, Chloe's age, who went missing as a child. A girl whose parents never gave up hope.

When Chloe's nan is moved into care, leaving Chloe on the brink of homelessness, she takes a desperate step: answering an ad to be a lodger in the missing girl's family home. It could be the perfect opportunity to get closer to the story she's read so much about. But it's not long until she realizes this couple isn't all they seem. In a house where everyone has something to hide, is it possible to get too close?

Anna Wharton’s debut, The Imposter, is a thought-provoking story of obsession, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves in order to live with ourselves.

'Evocative and compelling' – Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend and The Last Wife

Review

Chloe is not like any character I've met in a book before. At first I was struggling with her as she seemed to lack the wherewithal to take charge of her life. Then I became scared of her, and then I became very scared for her!

There is a trigger warning for dementia with this book. The scenes are so realistic that it could be painful for some to read. Very sensitively written and it's so spot on with the dialogue and scenes concerning dementia. 

On the surface it seems like this will be a gentle read. A young woman whose Nan is going to have to go into care as she can't cope with her, no matter when she thinks herself. An interest in an old case Chloe finds through her archivist job at the newspaper of a missing four year old. But oh how the tension builds, I had my heart in my mouth several times for Chloe, silently screaming at her, as she carried out what I deemed reckless actions. At times it felt like you were watching scenes from a psychological horror film.

I can hardly believe this is the authors first book as she led us through so many twists and turns. At one point in the book I felt the scales fall from my eyes and was enthusiastically shouting that I knew what was happening. I couldn't then wait to get to the end of the book, however, what was to follow only confirmed how good a writer Anna is, because I was so, so wrong. 

Once I had finished the book, I went back and re read some of the beginning - that's when I personally know it's been a very good read. So of course I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I will be the first in line to read whatever Anna Wharton writes next. My thanks to Random Things Tours and netgalley for the book and ARC to review.

About the Author 

ANNA WHARTON has been a print and broadcast journalist for more than twenty years,  writing for newspapers including The Times, Guardian, Sunday Times Magazine, Grazia  and Red. She was formally an executive editor at The Daily Mail. Anna has ghostwritten four memoirs including the Sunday Times bestseller Somebody I Used To Know and  Orwell Prize longlisted CUT: One Woman’s Fight Against FGM in Britain Today. The  Imposter is her first novel.

The Dinner Guest - B P Walter

 

Description

Four people walked into the dining room that night. One would never leave.

Matthew: the perfect husband.

Titus: the perfect son.

Charlie: the perfect illusion.

Rachel: the perfect stranger.

Charlie didn’t want her at the book club. Matthew wouldn’t listen.

And that’s how Charlie finds himself slumped beside his husband’s body, their son sitting silently at the dinner table, while Rachel calls 999, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand.

Review

Who knew belonging to a book club could end in a murder?

This book begins with the end - in that we know from the outset that Matthew is dead at the dinner table. What we don't know, although we might think we do, is who did it? and what led to this murder?

Be prepared for some unsavoury spoilt privileged characters, who quite frankly I couldn't care less about more and more as the book progressed. What I did like was the impressive almost secret service Father - he's someone you need to know and have on your side!

The book goes backward and forward between several months before the murder and then to the days after the murder. Despite there being clear headings for this, I admit I did get confused a few times, wondering why Matthew was there when he was dead - oh! that would be because this was before he was murdered - doh. I could put this down to the speed with which I was reading as I flew through this mystery, needing to know how Rachel was connected to the family and the murder.

A fair few red herrings and an ending I had to read twice, and I am still not sure about. I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley and One More Chapter for the ARC to review. This book is published 1 April 2021.