Finding You (by Giselle Green)

(Amazon UK link)

I read Giselle Green’s debut novel ‘Pandora’s Box’ almost six years ago. I loved it so much that I was determined to read any other books she might write - and have not been disappointed. A year later I read the very moving ‘Little Miracles’. It was about a young couple whose only child Hadyn - a young toddler - vanished one day, while playing on the beach in Spain. 

Haydn's parents, Charlie and Julia, discover a great deal about themselves and their past as they work through their grief and anger, and Julia never gives up hope. At the end of the book there’s an implication that they have found him, but it was left open. I always hoped that there would be a sequel.

‘Finding You’ is exactly that, so I was delighted to be offered an advance review copy of the e-book which is to be released at the end of March. It picks up on the story a few months after Hadyn is back with Charlie and Julia, just before they return home to England. The novel stands alone, so I didn’t re-read ‘Little Miracles’ first. It’s not necessary, but I’m glad I did have at least a vague memory of the original as this gave a sense of closure to the story.

The narration, as with the first book, is split between Charlie and Julia, each writing in the first person and in the present tense. This is a good device as it enables the reader to see both points of view when, inevitably, they have disagreements or different experiences. And, as we quickly discover, life is decidedly stressful, despite their tremendous relief at having found their son again.

Julia’s perspective helped me to empathise strongly with her as a mother who slowly realises that all is not well with her son. I wanted to give her a hug: to remind her that he had been through a lot of experiences in his short life; that his difficulty communicating wasn’t surprising, given that he had been thrust into a year of hearing nothing but Spanish, and was now expected to understand English again.

Charlie, meanwhile, is torn between his professional life as a surgeon, with an unofficial offer of promotion, and trying to support Julia emotionally. As a medic he see his role as fixing problems; so when he realises that Hadyn isn’t adjusting as quickly as might be expected, he takes professional advice, which Julia disagrees with strongly. And I absolutely sided with Julia.

At the same time, Charlie’s father is becoming increasingly frail in his nursing home, and Charlie’s ex-fiancée Lourdes keeps impinging on Julia’s life...

It’s impossible to say much more without introducing spoilers; suffice it to say that this novel is very well put together, the various threads unfolding gradually, alongside some delving into Charlie’s past and his relationship with his father. The characterisation is excellent. There were times when I felt there was a tad too much introspection, as one or other of the protagonists pondered recent events, but that was partly because I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next.

I suspected the truth about Hadyn’s difficulties quite early on in the book, and wanted to take Julia on one side to make a gentle suggestion. But she has to follow her heart, to discover whether her fears about him are true, and there are some quite emotional scenes before the end. By the time I was about three-quarters of the way through this book, I couldn’t put it down and had to neglect everything else to finish it. In contrast to ‘Little Miracles’, it has an entirely satisfactory and conclusive ending, which might seem too neat and tidy to some readers, but which I approved of thoroughly.

All in all, I would recommend ‘Finding You’ highly to anyone who enjoys this kind of character-driven thoughtful novel, whether or not you have read the previous one.

Initially published in e-book format only, but it should be available in paperback later in the year.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Sparrow (by Veronica Heley)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of Veronica Heley. This is slightly surprising, since she seems to have been a prolific writer of children's and teenage fiction over about forty years; she is now in her 80s.

I happened to spot one her her early novels, 'Sparrow', at a friend's house. I picked it up out of mild curiosity, and skimmed the first couple of pages. I was completely hooked by the end of the first chapter. I assume that it was intended for older children or young teenagers: it features a 14-year-old girl called Vivien who is hit by a terrible tragedy on the first page. Her previously ordered and contented life falls apart and she finds herself having to adapt quickly to noisy siblings, a shared bedroom, a huge comprehensive school, and the potential for remedial classes... without any opportunity to continue with her beloved music.

The plot is perhaps over-simplistic and somewhat predictable. Vivien struggles enormously. These days she would have some kind of counselling, I imagine, but in this book she is thrown right into the fray, and expected to adjust rapidly. Her life at first becomes completely overwhelming, as she has to learn to deal with endless noise and demands at home, unpleasant teachers and jeering students at school. I thought this was dealt with realistically, and although it seemed to miss out on the depths of grief that would be expected, I found myself empathising quite strongly with Vivien.

Since this is - in a low-key way - a Christian book, Vivien finds that things start to get better when she thinks about God and starts praying. I thought that this was nicely done, without being twee or preachy. It also doesn't make the mistake of producing changed circumstances overnight, or any kind of miracle; instead, she starts to change inwardly and to see things from other people's perspectives. Perhaps there are slightly too many positive circumstances that come one after another, as she herself sees things differently, but then it's a very short book - less than 100 pages.

Vivien's siblings are somewhat caricatured, I suppose, although we get to know the twins, known as the Toads, towards the end. Some of her new teachers are depressingly awful, but they are over-worked and stressed, and there is one in particular who I liked very much. I couldn't really believe in the dreadful piano teacher, but she was so bad as to be quite amusing. And even in such a short book I built up quite a good picture in my mind of this frightened, stubborn and angry teenager who has to learn in a short space of time to overcome terrible sadness and adjust to new and difficult circumstances.

Discussion of O levels and CSEs dates this; but the issues are quite relevant to older children or young teens of any generation, the writing is good, the story fast-paced. Once I'd started, I could barely put it down.

Long out of print, but perhaps available second-hand.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Cinderella with Amnesia (by Michael Griffiths)

(Amazon UK link)

Michael Griffiths was the author of quite a few books, although most are little known. He was a minister, the General Director of a large mission agency, and then the Director of London Bible College.

'Cinderella with Amnesia' is one of those classic 1970s Christian books that we probably picked up from a church bookstall years ago. Our edition says '10p' in pencil on the inside. I'm sure I read it in the 1980s, and vaguely recall that I found it quite inspiring. Re-reading it in the last couple of weeks, it feels a bit ponderous, and inevitably somewhat dated; yet at the same time, much of it was surprisingly relevant to the 21st century.

The premise of the book is that the Church is like Cinderella, sitting sadly in the ashes, not remembering who she was and with little idea of who she might become. The author had noted that young people in their droves were getting fed up with organised church. As a teenager myself in the 1970s, I could see that happening, although equally there were very active youth groups, school and university Christian Unions, and various lively organisations for young Christians.

The book is an attempt to show that the Church is a lot more than Sunday morning services. Michael Griffiths explains the origin of the Greek word 'ekklesia', and the confusion that arises when, in English, we use the same word to refer to either a Sunday morning event, a building, a worldwide group of believers, a local body of believers, or an individual congregation. None of this was new to me, but it was clearly expressed.

Ignoring (at first) the building or Sunday service definitions, he then looks at the original purpose of the church, both universal and local. He sees it in terms of telling other people about Jesus, helping each other grow, building each other up, encouraging each others' gifts, and generally being an extended family. All of which I agree with whole-heartedly. Apparently these aspects of church life were somewhat neglected in the 1970s.

However, I am not sure that much has changed, other than the age of those for whom this is relevant. Many of us who were teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s are the ones who, decades later, still look for a broad understanding of church life, encompassing all these positive features, while being somewhat cynical about the importance of a structured Sunday gathering.

However, Michael Griffiths somehow makes the assumption that Sunday morning services are vital, and that everything else grows from them. He even criticises students who get involved in CUs and outreaches, but who neglect to attend a local congregation. He makes the point that many people in the '70s found the services irrelevant and boring, but seems to assume that without these gatherings, one cannot really live as a Christian. I didn't see any logic to this. Nowadays many popular Christian writers would disagree with him. I tried to be open-minded and was willing to be convinced, but it didn't happen.

Still, it was an interesting book, if a bit heavy in places. It's one which I think is worth reading by anyone wondering what the church is, what it might be, and what it theoretically could be. It makes an interesting contrast to more recent books such as 'Liquid Church' by Pete Ward, or 'When the Church leaves the Building' by David Fredrickson.

Long out of print, 'Cinderella with Amnesia' sometimes often be found inexpensively second-hand, or lurking in church bookshelves.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Cranford (by Elizabeth Gaskell)

(Amazon UK link)

Although I had, of course, heard of Elizabeth Gaskell ("Mrs Gaskell") as a classic 19th century writer, I had not read any of her books. Possibly I would never have done so, but for the BBC television series Cranford based on the book, of which we saw some episodes. I was intrigued, so when I spotted this available free for my Kindle, I downloaded it.

'Cranford' is a character-based novel set in the fictional town of the same name. First published in the middle of the 19th century, this is inevitably rather dated and rambling - yet surprisingly readable. Having said that, I felt rather as if I waded through the first couple of chapters on my Kindle, wondering when it was going to get to the point, or at least begin the story.

It opens with a lengthy description of the fictional town of Cranford, ruled by middle-class and upper-middle class ladies. While there was gentle irony in much of the description, I found myself drifting off at times. The disadvantage of reading on the Kindle is that it's difficult to flick through to see whether the style changes!

However, I persevered, and gradually the story gets going. The narrator - Mary Smith - does not live in Cranford but makes regular and lengthy visits there, usually staying with the delightfully vague Miss Matty and her sister. When there, she takes part in the everyday life of her friends: paying calls, discussing local events, playing card games. In that sense, it's a lovely piece of social history, giving glimpses - albeit caricatured - into life in this era, in this kind of small town. I could quite see why it was made into a TV series and also why it was so popular in that format.

There isn't a huge amount of plot in the book; people come and go, and rather a large number die (not untypical of the time). I didn't find myself empathising with anyone in particular, or moved - but I did smile a few times, and after the first few chapters, looked forward to finding out what might happen next. I was pleased that there was an encouraging, if rather coincidental ending.

I'm not strongly inclined to get hold of the sequels, but I enjoyed this as a bit of gentle historical fiction and am glad I read it.

Note that the above link is to  a paperback versions of 'Cranford', which is still regularly republished. Kindle versions are either free or inexpensive, and there are many other independently printed versions as this is long out of copyright. 

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

A Vicarage Family (by Noel Streatfeild)

(Amazon UK link)

I have enjoyed reading books by Noel Streatfeild since I was about eight or nine, and still find them excellent 'comfort reading' to dip into as an adult. So, although I'm not usually a huge fan of biographies, I decided to buy the first volume of Streatfeild's autobiography when I saw it inexpensively on the AwesomeBooks site a couple of months ago.

Although 'A Vicarage Family' is subtitled 'a biography of myself', it is written in the style of a children's novel. The author explains this in the introduction - that she felt uncomfortable putting thoughts and words into the heads of her siblings if she used their correct names. So, while the details of her life are (mostly) accurate, the characters have fictional names. Noel herself is thinly disguised as Vicky, the somewhat rebellious second child of a Vicar.

Vicky's older sister Isabel is quite frail, with regular asthma attacks, and her younger sister Louise is a somewhat precocious (and very attractive) little girl. There's a young brother, too, who at eight is packed off to boarding school; thankfully he thrives in this environment and seems a contented child. There's also a cousin, John, whom Vicky adores; he's perhaps the only one of her relatives to understand her fully. John lives with the Vicarage family when he's not away at school, because his parents are abroad.

I very much liked the way this book was written, showing Vicky's perspective on school (which, for the most part, she found tedious), on church and spirituality, on family life, and on the general unfairness of humanity. She manages to pick out interesting anecdotes and events in her life, and while inevitably other people's thoughts and feelings are invented, to some extent, they make her life seem well-rounded and a great deal more interesting than many factual biographies.

During the course of the book she matures in some ways, while remaining quite angry about the way other people treat her. I found myself drawn into the story quickly, enjoying it as a children's novel, while aware in the back of my mind that it was (essentially) a true story. It was quite moving in places, and I hope to get hold of the other two parts of her biography at some point.

Definitely recommended to anyone - adult or older child - who has enjoyed Streatfeild's books for children.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass: Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

I have very much enjoyed Adrian Plass's writing, for many years now. Much of his writing is thought-provoking, albeit light-hearted and very readable, but nothing, in my view, reaches the brilliant heights of 'The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, age 37 3/4'.

Still, I liked all the sequels, so I was very pleased when I learned that he had written another 'Sacred Diary' book, 'Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend', published last year. I put it on my wishlist and was thrilled to receive it for Christmas.

The story, as ever, is written - slightly confusingly - by the fictional Adrian, who, I gather, bears quite a strong resemblance to the real one. In this book, he agrees, against his better judgement, to organise a church weekend away. His minister is very laid back, and Adrian finds that the complexities increase as the event approaches.

He (the fictional Adrian) decides to keep a detailed journal of events, in the style of his former 'Sacred Diary' books, so the format of this volume is familiar. So are most of the characters, albeit being rather older. And there's my first (admittedly minor) gripe with this book. On the back, this book says that Adrian (the fictional one) is now aged 62 and three-quarters. But in the previous volume (Adrian Plass on tour), where the age was not given, he must have been at least 49, if not 50. Which would be fine, other than the fact that in the previous volume his son Gerald had only just met a potential significant other ... yet in this book, they have a 16-year-old son. 67 3/4 would be a more appropriate age for Adrian, I feel, if he must have a grandson of this age.

There are some quite poignant threads in this book as well as some typical Plass-style humour: it's not the laugh-aloud hilarity of the first in the series, but I did chuckle a few times. I particularly liked the digressions taken by Leonard and Angels, following the directions of a SatNav - although it would have been nice to have them take more of a central place in the narrative.

Anne, Adrian's fictional wife, is as insightful as ever, and their son Gerald, now an experienced Vicar, a little wiser and more mature than he used to be. His wife Josey is a total delight, although I do wish there had been a chance to get to know her better. There are plenty of new characters too - caricatures, of course, and not particularly memorable, but mostly recognisable. Ironically the one I found least interesting was Cameron, Gerald and Josey's son, who came across as a pale reflection of Gerald at the same age.

I would have liked the ending - the very ending - to be a little more conclusive. Some threads come nicely to an end, and it felt as if this was going to be the last in the series. But not everything was entirely wrapped up, and it's a testament to the writing that I want to know more...

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. But it would be quite confusing for anyone who had not read the previous volumes. There are more than enough new characters even for those of us who are already familiar with the series. Still, I would recommend this to anyone wanting to find out more about the fictional Plass family, and relax with some light, amusing and thought-provoking writing. There's the bonus of an interesting introduction about the real Adrian Plass.

Available in Kindle form, and hardback, and soon to be available in paperback.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews