The asylum (by Karen Coles)

(Amazon UK link)

As with so many of the books chosen for our local book group, I had not heard of the author, Karen Coles. Nor would I probably have picked this book up if I had seen it on a bookstall. The cover is attractive but it’s billed as a psychological thriller, set in the UK in 1906, and features an asylum. Not my kind of book at all. 

So it was with some reluctance that I picked it up a couple of days ago. I calculated that I would need to read 90 pages on each of the subsequent four days to finish in time for the group. On that first day I read over 100 pages. Today I read another 120 pages in the morning, then dipped into it again in the afternoon… and suddenly two hours had gone by and I was engrossed. I finished it in just two days. 

The main protagonist is called Maud, and the novel is told from her point of view. She’s locked in a cell in a ‘lunatic asylum’, as psychiatric hospitals were called at the start of the 20th century. She hears people wandering around, and is disturbed by various noises. There’s evidently something very traumatic in her past as she can remember almost nothing. She knows she has been in the asylum for five years, but has forgotten what led up to it, and has no idea whether she might have been perfectly sane beforehand.

Maud is kept in an almost comatose state by drugs, and is told that she has behaved violently. So she’s never let out. Her meals are brought by warders, whom she dislikes. Her life must be incredibly boring, but then she sleeps a lot. She’s haunted by nightmares and sometimes wakes screaming… only to be drugged back into oblivion. 

A new doctor, Dr Dimmond, comes to work at the asylum. He is a caring person who has some modern ideas about psychiatry, including the use of hypnosis to bring suppressed memories to the fore. The main doctor, Dr Womack, whom Maud dislikes, is against this. But Dimmond - or Diamond, as Maud calls him - has been commissioned to try hypnosis for a research project. And Maud, he believes, is an excellent candidate. 

Maud doesn’t trust Diamond at first, and refuses to tell him anything. But she gradually lowers her defences when he repeatedly shows her kindness. He convinces her that if only she can recall the traumas of her past, she might find healing, and possibly even freedom. 

So, after some initial resistance, the hypnosis starts to bring back some of Maud’s memories. They’re written in Italic form, either spoken by her when hypnotised, or in dreams, or in her mind as she starts to draw images that she can recall. There’s a man chasing her, she knows, as she feels herself slipping into the marshes, and she’s terrified of him. But there are other people too - a woman playing the piano, a man with a knife… so many mixed impressions going through her mind. She doesn’t know what’s real and what is her imagination, and, at first, neither do we. 

Gradually the past is opened up to Maud, and her story emerges. She clearly feels extensive guilt at incidents that were - probably - not her fault. Each time something new comes to light, Diamond hopes she will find peace. But each time she knows there’s something more…

It’s clear that the unpleasant Dr Womack doesn’t want her to remember anything. His methods are brutal, even for the era, and since he is the boss, he can order emetics, heavy doses of drugs, a straitjacket, confinement in the dark, and more.  He exerts his authority over Dr Diamond, wanting to have Maud restrained, back in her room, unable to do anything. 

There are a lot of traumatic descriptions, both in Maud’s memories and in the ‘treatment’ she is given by the Dr Womack. I had to skim over some of them, but that didn’t detract from the story at all. The treatment given to her is horrifying from the perspective of the 21st century. Yet, although Dr Womack is clearly a vengeful, evil character, some of his methods were in use in the eras before mental illness was understood. The author did her research well. And evidently some of the patients in the asylum did have severe mental health issues.  

The rampant sexism is horrendous, too. Dr Womack states that women could not be scientists as their brains were not made for studying. It was apparently a commonly held opinion. The book demonstrates how men are doctors, the women just assistants. The doctors have absolute authority over everyone else. And the asylum patients are all female, as far as I remember.

It’s gripping stuff.  The writing is excellent, the plotting meticulous. There aren’t any real surprises for the reader through most of the book. We know early on, from hints, many of the things that are going to be revealed, and which people are implicated in Maud’s past. Some might object to the revelations and twists being hinted at in advance, but for me that added to the ‘gothic’ nature of this book. I was on tenterhooks, not wondering what was coming, but how it would happen, and how it would all be resolved - if, indeed, anything would be resolved. 

Then the ending, when Maud is unexpectedly released from the asylum, was a surprise to me. I had not expected that she would behave as she does... and it brought several issues into question. Was she really cured...? Perhaps we'll never know. 

It’s not a book I’m likely to read again, but I thought it was very thought-provoking and quite eye-opening too. Definitely recommended if you like this genre. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

The Twins at St Clare's (by Enid Blyton)

(Amazon UK link)

Like so many of my generation, I grew up reading Enid Blyton books. She appealed at so many levels, and wrote for both younger and older children as well as young teens. I started when I was about four or five with the ‘Faraway Tree’ series. I moved through Brer Rabbit, and books of short stories about fairies, and brownies and dolls that came to life. And then I discovered the school series books. I read and re-read them many times as a child, and in my teens. 

As an adult I didn’t dip into them so often; indeed, I sometimes forgot about them entirely for a while. But now I have a seven-year-old granddaughter who listens to the ‘St Clare’s’ series on audio books as she goes to sleep. I was staying with the family, and kept hearing tantalising snippets of the stories. So I decided to re-read the series again once I was back home. 

It’s ten years since I last read ‘The Twins at St Clare’s’, which is the first in the series. I remembered the overview of the story, of course. Pat and Isabel O’Sullivan are fourteen, and have had to leave the boarding school they had been attending for several years. Their friends are going to an expensive and rather snooty boarding school; but their parents have been concerned that the twins are getting a bit snobby. So they’re going to send them to St Clare’s, a down-to-earth school with a good reputation for academics.

Pat and Isabel are determined to hate St Clare’s, and do as badly as they can. But, inevitably, they start to make friends and realise that it’s not so bad after all. By the end of their first term, they love their new school and are already looking forward to returning after the Christmas holidays. Not exactly a new or unique theme, but each author does it differently, and it works quite well.

As an adult, I can see that Enid Blyton’s writing style is not the greatest. There’s quite a bit of repetition, and some author input that really isn’t necessary. Writers are told to ‘show not tell’, and Blyton does well at the ‘showing’: the individual incidents and subplots are well done. But she ‘tells’ as well. Perhaps she thought her young readers wouldn’t understand if she didn’t explain. 

However, it’s a relatively minor gripe. The people are believable, the characterisation good. Pat and Isabel are identical, but their personalities are not exactly the same. Pat is more hot-tempered, and Isabel sometimes calms her down. In their class, the girls also have distinct characters. Janet is brusque and outspoken, but doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Doris is a bit of a clown, who loves making people laugh. But she’s not at all academic. Hilary, head of the form, is responsible and mature, but also has a sense of humour. 

Then there’s Kathleen who is shy and a bit reserved. Nobody really gets to know her until an incident blows up which Pat handles with some maturity. And there’s Sheila, who is rather boastful about the mansion where she lives with its many bathrooms. There are others, but they don’t have major roles to play in this book. Lessons are learned (not just academic ones), and there is encouragement towards honesty, courage and generosity. 

There are a couple of senior girls who are involved in the story: the wise head girl, Winifred, and the sports captain, Belinda. We also get to know Miss Theobald, the Head, somewhat. She’s kind, and understanding, and usually available to everyone. Miss Roberts, the first form mistress, is quite strict but very fair, and Mamzelle, the French teacher, is unpredictable but kind-hearted. 

There are tricks played on a rather timid mistress, a midnight feast, and an end-of-term concert. There’s also a visit to a circus, with a nod to another series by Enid Blyton, ‘Mr Galliano’s Circus’.  It’s a full and busy term, and I liked the blend of storylines involving different girls, and sometimes the staff too. Naturally there are some caricatures (Mamzelle is one of them, as is the strict but kind Matron), but it doesn’t matter. 

‘The Twins at St Clare’s’ was first published in 1941, so inevitably it’s rather dated. There’s no technology more complicated than a radio or record player, and all the girls write letters weekly. Currency is in the form of shillings, and a few pennies go a lot further than they did even twenty years later. And yet, the characters of the girls seem fresh and quite modern, albeit more focused on everyday life, rather than caught up with life online. 

I’m very pleased that these books are regularly reprinted (albeit with some modifications, apparently) and that they still appeal to young people. Ten years ago a nine-year-old friend liked them; more recently her younger sister read them. My granddaughter is thoroughly enjoying them now, and I am already looking forward to reading the second in the series some time next month. 

I suspect that adults will only appreciate these books if, like me, they read them as children. Despite the twins being fourteen, these were written for ages 9-11. They’re more likely to appeal to girls than boys, since this is an all-girls’ school. But some boys like them too. They’re good as read-alouds, and also good for fluently reading children to try for themselves from about age six or seven upwards. There’s plenty of action, and most chapters are complete in themselves, although there’s an overall story arc too.

Recommended.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (by Deborah Moggach)

(Amazon UK link)

We first watched the film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ in 2013, and loved it. So when I saw the book on which the film was based, at a church book sale, I decided to buy it. I hadn’t heard of Deborah Moggach, but my edition of the book showed some of the cast of the film, and I thought it would be interesting to read the original novel. Apparently it was originally published with the title, ‘These Foolish Things’. 

I bought the book nearly four years ago and it sat on my to-read shelf all this time. I have only just read it in the past few days. We watched the film again in the meantime, in 2021, so I was quite familiar with the overall storyline. And in a broad sense, the film does follow the book. A group of British pensioners decide, for various reasons, to move to India and live in a retirement home that’s advertised as luxurious but which turns out to be very run-down, with some parts still under construction. 

The film opens with cameo scenes introducing the elderly characters who are going to move to the ‘Marigold Hotel’ in India. The book starts in the same way. Two of the characters are easily recognisable as those in the film: Muriel (Maggie Smith’s character) who is grumpy and bigoted, and Evelyn (Judi Dench’s character) who has recently been widowed, and finds herself in difficult financial straits.

There is a lot more back story in the book. I don’t remember either Muriel or Evelyn having adult children who were significant in their decision-making, but they play quite a big part in the book. And while Evelyn’s story is quite interesting, I found Muriel’s circumstances quite unpleasant, with one very shocking event in the book, which (thankfully) doesn’t happen in the film. 

Other characters in the book feel rather less like those in the film. Some are combined for the film, but the character of the sex-obsessed Norman, mildly amusing in the film, is very unpleasant in the book.  And while each of the characters is well-developed, with diverse and interesting storylines, there are more in the book than I could keep in my mind. 

In the film, the elderly folk fly out to India fairly early, and a lot is made of the ramshackle nature of the building, the lack of facilities, and many other difficulties that are resolved. Of course that’s easier to do in a visual medium. The book doesn’t  have them flying out until much later in the story, and then there’s really only a hint that the building is not quite what they expected. The film has the owner, Sonny, rather naive but charming and probably no more than thirty. In the book, he’s fifty, and an astute businessman who may be doing some dodgy things.

I know it’s not really fair to compare the book with its film. The book came first, and the overall story is unusual, and a great idea for a novel. Perhaps I should have read the book first. But if I had, I suspect I might not have bothered with the film at all, and that would have been a pity. However, I’m glad that others liked it sufficiently that they decided to make the film. So don’t necessarily take note of my opinion. 

I’m pleased that I’ve now read the book, but I don't expect I'll read it again. I found too much of it rather sordid. Other sections are stereotyped, and several of the people are caricatured. I didn’t find anything funny or even particularly moving, in the book. The strange coincidence towards the end (of two younger people bumping into each other) makes for a nice storyline, but isn’t at all believable.

I kept reading, which I might not have done if I hadn’t loved the film so much. But I really didn’t like the book all that much, and thought the ending quite contrived. 

It’s not often that I like a movie so much better than the book which inspired it. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

The Copper Beech (by Maeve Binchy)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m slowly re-reading most of my collection of Maeve Binchy novels. I collected them over many years, and some of the older paperbacks (acquired second-hand) are starting to fall to bits. That didn’t stop me from reading ‘The Copper Beech’ over the past couple of days, however. I last read it in 2008 and hadn’t recalled what it was about, or any of the characters in it. It’s over 400 pages long, but I finished it much more quickly than I had expected to.

It’s written in a style that Maeve Binchy did extremely well: that of each long chapter being written from a different viewpoint. It’s essentially the story of a group of students who have attended a Catholic primary school in Ireland, and what happens to them as they grow up. The school has a huge copper-coloured beech tree outside, where generations of students have carved their names or initials.

The first chapter involves a special visit by the Bishop. It introduces the good-hearted Father Gunn, who cares deeply about everyone in his parish. His housekeeper Mrs Kennedy would love to organise the event, but the Bishop is coming to bless the school. So the priest feels that the school staff and children should do the preparations.  And all goes well, until some of the children decide to sample some of the cakes on offer to the visitors…

It’s a great overview of the people whose lives will unfold over the course of the book, shown mainly through the eyes of Father Gunn. There’s Mr and Mrs Kelly, the schoolmaster and his wife; Mr Hayes the solicitor; Dr Jims. There are also some children who are behaving, and some who are not. Maeve Binchy had a gift for describing people in just a few sentences, and by the end of the first chapter, I knew several names and an idea of many of their quirks.

The next chapter focuses on a girl called Madeleine Ross. She was born in 1932, and we see her background, her family, and her general lack of ambition. Maddy is eighteen by the time the Bishop visits, and is startled to be invited to teach at the school. She agrees, as she has nothing else planned, and discovers that she loves teaching. She handles the younger children well, and decides this is where she wants to stay. 

Then she meets a new assistant priest, Father Barry. He doesn’t want to be in small-town Ireland; he longs to work as a missionary in South America. He fund-raises and preaches about the poverty his friends there are experiencing, but never quite feels that he fits in. He and Maddy become friendly; they understand each other, and have a lot to talk about. But then Maddy starts to feel something stronger than friendship…

Most of the rest of the book features children who leave the school together, or their parents. Some go on to other Catholic schools, some have to find work. Some of the children come from comfortable homes, some from large, impoverished families. There’s an awareness of class and disparity of wealth, but the children don’t all understand why some are welcomed in their homes and some are not. 

We meet Maura, from a large, struggling family, who manages to find plenty of work. She is unexpectedly courted by a young man who works at the hotel where she cleans, and things seem to be going well until their baby is born. I liked Maura - well, I did, until later in the book when she becomes a bit manipulative. 

Then there’s Eddie, a likeable boy who is interested in art and nature, and who starts a correspondence with a pen friend called Chris. Eddie assumes that Chris is a boy, and Chris - who is Christine - assumes that Eddie is a girl called Edith. We learn a lot about them both from their correspondence, and I liked them both very much. 

Each lengthy chapter is almost a novella in itself, with a main protagonist and a satisfactory (if not always happy) ending. And yet this isn’t a book of short stories. Each chapter picks up on someone from a previous chapter, and delves into their background, their hopes and dreams, and their lives as they go through the teenage years. 

I found it all compulsive reading. There aren’t too many great shocks, and at times I didn’t recall who some of the minor characters were. But I felt involved in the town, intrigued to know how it would all end. The writing is descriptive without being dull, the people different without being caricatured. There are some illicit liaisons and some criminal activities… but it all feels relaxed, and entirely believable.

The final chapter, set in 1969, sees the closure of the school, after much consultation. Several people are interested in buying it for a variety of purposes. It brings the novel full circle, and the ending is entirely satisfactory. 

Recommended if you like this kind of relaxing women’s fiction without too much action, yet with a lot going on in a small town.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

The Growing Summer (by Noel Streatfeild)

(Amazon UK link)

I discovered Noel Streatfeild’s writing when I was about nine or ten, and have collected most of her books over the years. I’m re-reading them currently, interspersed with other books, and have just finished ‘The Growing Summer’. I last read it in 2015. 

I remembered that the plot involved four children going to stay with their Great-Aunt Dymphna in a ramshackle old house in Ireland. I also remembered that they were expected to look after themselves, including cooking and cleaning, and that it took them some time to accept this. But that’s all I remembered.

I had entirely forgotten the start of the story, when we meet the children in their family home in London. Alex is thirteen, his sister Penny is twelve. Their brother Robin is ten, and the youngest is Naomi, who is nine. They’re ordinary children - unusual in Noel Streatfeild’s books! - who work hard on their homework, with a mother who keeps house, aided by women who come in to clean. Sheets are sent to the laundry. 

The children’s father is a research chemist, on the track of an elusive virus or bacteria, and often late home. He’s a bit vague, too. So it’s a bit of a shock when he arrives home early from work one day. And even more of a shock when the children learn - eventually - that he’s going away for a year on a funded research grant, travelling the world. Apparently he’s always longed to do this, but has never had the opportunity.

They gradually get used to him being away… then there’s a sudden emergency, and their mother has to leave them the next day. And the children are sent away to Ireland, to the great-aunt they have heard about, but have never met.

And it’s a rude awakening. Aunt Dymphna is a terrible driver, she cares nothing for dust and broken down furniture, she takes no notice of time at all (except on Sundays, if the Vicar preaches for more than fifteen minutes), and she expects them to be a lot more competent than they are in practical things. 

I had entirely forgotten an extra subplot involving a strange boy who turns up and has to be hidden. And I hadn’t remembered any of the details of what the children had to do, or how they gradually overcame their ignorance and reluctance to do housework. Penny learns some basic cooking - thanks, in part, to a friendly lady who lives in a cottage nearby - and Alex learns to fish. 

Noel Streatfeild had a great gift of characterisation, and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this book, even though it’s not one of my favourites. The storyline is rather bizarre; it’s hard to imagine anyone as free-range and uninhibited as Aunt Dymphna, but perhaps people like her do exist. She certainly felt real while I was reading the book. The four children are all three-dimensional, each with their own quirks and ways of thinking. 

This book was first published in 1966 so it doesn’t feel as dated in style as some of Streatfeild’s earlier books. Of course there’s a lack of technology; Aunt Dymphna doesn’t even have a phone or radio, and televisions were less common in the mid-sixties in the UK anyway. The children don’t seem to miss the radio, although they’re worried about how they’re going to send cables to their mother. 

As with many of Streatfeild’s books, the ending is quite abrupt. The visit comes to an end in the last chapter, and the children are left at the airport. But perhaps there’s no more to be said. The book is about the summer when the children all grew, emotionally or practically, and it’s hoped that their new insights and determination will carry over to their everyday lives back in London.

Recommended if you like this era of children’s fiction. It was probably aimed at the 9-12 age group originally, as that’s the ages of the children, and I expect avid and fluent readers from about eight or nine upwards might like this, as something a bit different. It also makes a good read-aloud.  I'm delighted that books like this have been reprinted recently; this is not only available in paperback form, it can also be found for the Kindle. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Duplicate Death (by Georgette Heyer)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m glad I decided to re-read Georgette Heyer’s crime fiction novels. I’ve just finished ‘Duplicate Death’, which I first read in 2008. All I could remember was that a nasty murder took place during a Bridge party. I had forgotten all the characters - and, checking back, it appears that I didn’t particularly like it last time, though I didn’t dislike it either.

This time I was prepared for a large cast of characters, and kept a note of them as they started to appear. The first chapter involves a nice family scene; Jim Kane and his wife have just received letters from their children who are away at boarding school, and Mrs Kane also receives a letter from her mother-in-law. She tells her husband that his half-brother Timothy Harte is embroiled with an adventuress, and she would really like Jim to see if he can investigate..

The names sounded vaguely familiar, but it wasn’t until rather later in the book when I realised that these three people were main characters in Heyer’s novel ‘They found him dead’, which I re-read just five months ago. Timothy was fourteen in that book, a fan of gangsters, and determined to help - or hinder - the police in an investigation. In this book, he’s ten years older, and works as a barrister. He recognises Chief Inspector Hemingway who was Sergeant Hemingway in the earlier book. 

The main action takes place in the home of Mrs Haddington, a society widow with a stunningly beautiful daughter, Cynthia. Nobody is entirely sure how she entered high society. Although this was written as a contemporary novel, first published in 1951, it’s apparent that the rules were almost as rigid as they were in the Regency era where Heyer set most of her novels. It’s suspected that her friend Lady Nest Poulton launched her, but they don’t actually seem to like each other much…

Mrs Haddington is hosting a duplicate Bridge party. She has three guests to dinner in advance, including Timothy Harte, who is in love with Mrs Haddington’s secretary Beulah. Then large numbers of visitors arrive; there are almost fifty people in the house, with eleven Bridge tables set up in two locations. I was writing down all the names as they were introduced, but it turns out that most of them are not really relevant to the story. Those that are become more memorable.

Mrs Haddington is rather cold, and not very likeable, but she’s a good hostess and while she’s quite ruthless, she adores her daughter. So much so that she’s indulged and spoiled her. Cynthia is not very bright, cares little for social rules, and wants to marry someone whom her mother doesn’t particularly like. 

Then the tragedy happens, and Chief Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard is called in, along with Inspector Grant. The two have quite a good rapport; Inspector Grant is Scottish and comes out with occasional words or phrases in gaelic. However some of his speech patterns are (in my opinion) more Welsh than Scottish. It’s not a huge deal; he doesn’t have much imagination but he is good at his job. 

With some of Heyer’s crime novels it’s obvious early in the book who the perpetrator is. It wasn’t obvious to me at all what had happened in this one. Despite the house being full, there are only really seven possible suspects, and the interviews and checking up are done well. Hemingway is very intuitive, and has a deceptively friendly manner that tends to put people at their ease, as he asks quite pointed questions. 

And just as he thinks he may have worked out both motivation and means for the crime, someone else is killed, using the same unpleasant technique. It throws Scotland Yard into some confusion, and further investigations take place.

I don’t think I could have worked out ‘whodunnit’ as there were some unsavoury parts of the story that didn’t get revealed until later in the book. But it was very well done, and I appreciated all the parts involving Hemingway, as well as those where Timothy takes part. The romantic thread is very low-key but runs satisfactorily alongside the main plot adding a bit of human interest.

Overall, I liked this book this time, very much, despite the gruesome subject matter - and Heyer manages to avoid writing unnecessarily gory scenes, concentrating instead on the potential suspects.

Recommended if you like this genre of mid-century crime fiction. Available in Kindle form as well as paperback, and sometimes available second-hand. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

In my Sister's Shoes (by Sinéad Moriarty)

(Amazon UK link)

From time to time I pick up interesting-looking books at a local church book sale, inexpensively. When I saw ‘In my Sister’s Shoes’ by Sinead Moriarty, nearly three years ago, I decided to buy it. I had read one of this author’s books before, and while I didn’t love it, I thought it was quite a good story. 

It’s taken me all this time to get around to reading this novel: I have a lot of books on my ‘to read’ shelf, and I do a lot of re-reading too. But it looked like a light, easy read and I was having a relaxing day today. I started it last night, and finished it today.

Kate is the main protagonist of the story, which is told in the first person. She works in media in London, and is thrilled that she’s just been given a role presenting a show. It’s not on a major channel, but it’s something she has been working towards for years.  However, we meet her as she’s ‘strutting’ up the path to her sister’s house, for her twin nephews’ fifth birthday party. 

Kate’s family all live in Dublin where she grew up. She’s thirty, her sister Fiona is four years older, and her brother Derek is four years younger. Fiona is a maths geek, married to the even more geeky Mark, who is a maths professor. Derek, by contrast, hopes to be a rapper; he still lives with his father, who has been funding his dream, but he’s not very successful. 

We quickly learn that Kate and her siblings lost their mother when Kate was only eight, and that Fiona took on a maternal role, despite being only twelve, as their father rather fell to bits. When Fiona discovers some devastating news about her health, Kate is persuaded - against her better judgement - to give up her job for a few months, and look after the twins, while her sister has some extensive treatment.

It’s a good plot idea, if similar to others I have read in recent years (and at least Fiona is still around). I liked the way that Kate does begin to get to know her nephews and understand what makes them tick. Until this happens, she has been clueless - bizarrely so - about what might be suitable for them. She drives them to their nursery school, takes them to the park, plays with them, reads to them, and becomes grudgingly fond of them, although she’s increasingly certain she never wants children of her own.

All of which would have been fine, along with some general information about Fiona’s treatment which is quite poignant. Derek and his friend Gonzo are a bit of a comedy duo who provide some light relief, although Gonzo’s tireless and rather crude pursuit of Kate is irritating. But the novel is rather spoiled, in my view, by endless pointless conversations that add nothing to the story, and Kate’s internal monologue which seems to repeat itself constantly. There appears to be an attempt to balance the darkness of Fiona's illness with more light-hearted scenes, but a lot of that really doesn't work. 

Kate’s father is eager for her to settle down with some nice boy, ideally the good-looking Sam who she dated eight years earlier. But Sam wanted Kate to stay in Dublin and she was ambitious, keen to have a career - and to escape her family - so she moved to London. I didn’t understand why her father supported Derek in his dreams that weren’t going anywhere, but disapproved of his daughter finding work and supporting herself. 

I was even less happy that Fiona, and Kate’s closest friend also seem to think that she would be happier ‘settling down’ and having a family. I’m a mother myself, and never had much ambition workwise. But I totally support people who feel differently. And I really don’t agree with the idea that it’s always a woman who should stay at home, and that a man’s career is more important. This book was first published in 2007 but the attitudes in it feel more like those described in books set in the 1950s. 

I also didn’t like the constant references to ‘shagging’ and similar, or the idea that single people need one-night-stands in order to be fulfilled. It all felt rather immature, along with the bad language which isn’t excessive, but still more than I’m comfortable with. And then the ending of the book seems contrived and abrupt. 

Worst of all is the treatment of the twins' unfortunate dog. I cringed several times. Their parents are very strict in the boys' routines, their food, what they watch and listen to, and more... but seem not even to notice that the family dog is tormented regularly. And nothing gets done about it. 

I suppose it’s not a bad book, despite all my criticisms above. But it’s not one I’m likely to read again. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Joey Goes to the Oberland (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link)

I have been re-reading the lengthy ‘Chalet School’ series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer over the past few years, as I have done regularly since my teenage years. In May I re-read the 28th in the original series, ‘Changes for the Chalet School’, where it was announced that the middle and senior part of the school would be leaving the UK and relocating in the Swiss Oberland. 

I’ve been travelling, without my books available so I have only just read the next in the series, ‘Joey goes to the Oberland’.  I have it in a hardback edition that once belonged to my mother. I last read it in 2013 and had forgotten almost all of it. 

I did remember the opening sequence when Joey Maynard - mother of eight - manages to fall into a packing case. It’s a dramatic opening to the book, cleverly showing the chaos of packing up a house prior to moving to another country. The image on the front cover of the original hardback (or the Girls Gone By paperback) illustrates this well. 

Jo has the help of some of her close friends, and her faithful Anna, who does about five people’s work. But she’s doing a lot of the packing herself, involving her older children where possible. (The only problem with the image on the book cover is that the triplets look about three years old, whereas they are now ten.)

I quite like the books that don’t involve the school itself. This whole story takes place during the summer holidays, and focuses almost entirely on Jo and her family. Before they leave, her adopted niece Daisy gets married to a young doctor (as happens to a surprising number of people in the series). Daisy’s younger sister Primula - who must be about twenty, I suppose - is inclined to be tearful, as the two have been very close. So Jo decides to enlist her help in the family move. Jo's husband Jack, who will be working at the Sanatorium nearby, has had to go ahead. So, not unreasonably, she would like another adult to travel with them in addition to herself and Anna. 

There are some things that go wrong as they travel, some incidents that are mildly amusing, and some poignant reunions with old friends (even if one of them is a tad too coincidental for reality). But there's also much that seems very dated. I was quite shocked, for instance, at the casual way children sit on laps in the front seats of cars, or lie down on back seats. The twin babies, Felix and Felicity, do at least have some kind of harness in the car. But that appears to be so that they don’t wander around and distract the driver, not for their own safety. 

The casual attitude to smoking also jars, but I know from having spoken to grandparents in the past that most people would smoke a cigarette or two after a meal, with a cup of coffee. It was seen as a relaxing, comforting thing to do. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the evidence against smoking became so strong, and this book was first published in 1954. 

Some of the language used is unfortunate, too. Jack and Jo regularly refer to their children as ‘brats’. In today’s society, that word implies a child who is spoilt and selfish. But apparently in the middle of the 20th century there were ‘military brats’ and even ‘Hollywood brats’, just referring to children in general. It seems to be equivalent to the current word ‘kids’. 

There are also two or three uses of a word now considered very derogatory and racist. Again, it wasn’t intended that way: I imagine it was used out of ignorance, or thoughtlessness. I wish it hadn’t been used, but it’s part of the social history of the era - and as these books were written as contemporary novels for teenagers, the language and culture is likely to be authentic. 

However, overall I very much liked this book. It helps to develop Jo’s character as an adult: healthy and strong, but still prone to extreme exhaustion when she does too much. She’s a good mother, probably radically modern for the era as she listens to her children and takes their concerns seriously. She and Jack expect ‘instant obedience’ for their children, but are always willing to discuss issues. And sometimes when they want to be annoyed, or to explain the severity of what a child has done, they are stifling giggles…

The Chalet School books are sometimes read by young teens, the original audience, but I suspect that most of the readers are those, like me, who first read them forty or fifty years ago and remember them with nostalgia. A book like this one is particularly likely to appeal more to older folk, as it doesn’t much involve children, and there are no school scenes. 

While it stands alone, ‘Joey goes to the Oberland’ is much better read as part of the ongoing series, as so many people from previous books are mentioned. I seem to like it more each time I read it. Unfortunately it's not in print, and second-hand editions, even of the abridged Armada paperback version, tend to be very expensive. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Songs of Willow Frost (by Jamie Ford)

(Amazon UK link)

As with so many of the books allocated for our local reading group, I had not heard of the author, Jamie Ford. I bought the book ‘Songs of Willow Frost’ earlier in the year from one of the online second-hand stores. It was going to be September’s choice for the group, but was moved to August. I was travelling, so unable to attend the meeting; but as soon as I got home, I decided to read it anyway. 

The book is mainly set in 1934, featuring a Chinese American boy called William Eng. He has lived in the Sacred Heart orphanage in Seattle for five years; it’s run by nuns, and as orphanages of the era go, it probably wasn’t so bad. There’s sufficient food, even if some of it is maggot-ridden, and the nuns who run it are mostly benign. There is a lot of corporal punishment, some of it for things like bed-wetting, but unfortunately that wasn’t unusual. 

William is mostly resigned to his existence. He has two good friends: a boy called Sunny, and a blind girl called Charlotte. William is the only Chinese boy, and knows he’s unlikely ever to be adopted. He has some memories of his past - of his mother being taken away, unconscious, after he found her in the bath. He has no idea who his father is. 

But the day we meet the children is the day allocated to celebrate all the boys’ birthdays. William is twelve. For a special treat they are taken into the town, given a few coins to spend, and treated to a film. This is after he’s had a chat with the school headmistress who answers some of his questions about the past - though not all of them. 

When William sees a poster, he is convinced that the woman on it - Willow Frost - is his mother. We don’t know at first whether he’s correct, or whether he’s deluding himself. But he is determined to see her. And he manages more than once to escape, convinced that if only she sees him, she will take him back. He cannot imagine why a mother might abandon her only child, and feels that perhaps it was a mistake.

The 1934 events continue, in and out of the orphanage. William escapes and returns, learning some new things but also increasingly puzzled about what he remembers of the past. The writing is evocative, mostly told from the point of view of this confused, kind-hearted and generous boy. We see glimpses into his past, partly in conversation, and partly because the book has chapters that take us back into the past - to 1921, before he was born, when we learn about his mother’s circumstances. 

We don’t learn until towards the end of the book exactly what happened, and why the two were parted. And there are some sordid things in William’s mother’s life, things she can’t admit to or explain. But I very much appreciated that the author did not go into gratuitous detail. He makes it clear what is happening, sometimes horrendous things, without spelling it out. 

There’s a lot of fascinating social history in this book, set in an era and culture I knew almost nothing about. But it’s primarily character-based, and the two main characters - William and his mother - are beautifully drawn, realistic and three-dimensional. There are some deeply sad scenes, one of which I was not expecting at all, although it was perhaps inevitable. And there’s a positive ending, too, even if it’s a tad abrupt.

I don’t suppose I’ll read this book again, but I’m very glad I did read it. I found it engrossing, at times moving, and at times shocking. It’s quite thought-provoking too, and the story is cleverly constructed, the story gradually unfolding as William discovers more about his past. 

Recommended.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Mistress Pat (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

(Amazon UK link)

In the Middle of July I reread ‘Pat of Silver Bush’ by LM Montgomery, on my Kindle. It was pleasant reading, if not particularly exciting. But I was pleased to note that the book I had downloaded, probably from Project Gutenberg, wasn’t just the first book. It also included ‘Mistress Pat’, a sequel which I had not been able to find in paperback form. It’s hard to find second-hand, and very expensive new. 

So now I have it on my Kindle, I was eager to read it while I could still remember some of the events of the first book. Pat is a likeable girl, if rather too idealistic. She’s passionate about her home, and fairly sure she never wants to get married. She hopes to stay in Silver Bush all her life, with her brother Sid (whom she hopes will remain single). She loves everything domestic, and adores the Irish family housekeeper/cook/nurse known as Judy.

At the start of the book, Pat is about twenty. Her younger sister Rachel wants to drop her childhood nickname of ‘Cuddles’, and be known as Rae. Rae is thirteen and still at school, but keen to have excitement and romance in her life. Their brother Sid still works hard on the farm, and their brother Joe is still travelling, with only the occasional communication.

Pat’s closest friend Hilary (which was a male name in that era, apparently) is abroad, studying and working. He has been in love with Pat for years, but she insists that she only feels friendship for him. They write to each other, and Rae also writes to him, letting him know about the young men who are attracted to Pat. Rae hopes this will make him jealous, but it has the opposite effect, making him lose hope.

There are a lot of light romantic episodes in the book. Pat thinks she falls in love a couple of times over the years, and eventually agrees to marry a rather older widower whom she is very fond of. But her reasons are somewhat confused, and include the fact that Sid has married someone whom she really doesn’t like.

The book takes place over twelve years, introducing new characters including the wonderful Josiah Tillytuck. He plays the violin, works hard as an extra farmhand, and tells stories that are even more unlikely than those told by Judy.

Pat’s passion for her home seems rather out of proportion to me. She still hates any tree being cut down, or any changes at all to decor or furniture. But she loves her family too, and is happy that her mother, who has been delicate for some years, seems to be doing better now, growing in health and strength from day to day.

There’s no real plot as such in this book, but it makes an excellent sequel to the first book. It’s nice to see Rae growing up and developing a character that’s similar to Pat’s in some ways, and yet quite different in others. The writing is a bit long-winded in places, and Judy’s anecdotes in dialect are as hard to read as the ones in the first book, but there aren’t so many. Judy is growing old, and worried about becoming useless.

There are moments of poignancy, scenes that made me smile, and overall a feeling of warmth even when Pat seems to be setting out on a path that isn’t the best for her. There’s a shocking climax to the book which I really wasn’t expecting, but perhaps it’s the only way that the author could allow Pat to move on - and in the end, she does discover where her heart lies.

Definitely recommended as a sequel to ‘Pat of Silver Bush’. As a standalone it would be a bit confusing, as there’s so much back story that’s implied. 

This was an excellent ebook to read at the airport and on a flight. It was absorbing and engaging when I was reading, but easy to put down. Intended for teenagers, I assume, since so much of the story involves low-key romance. But probably too tame for most of today’s teens. I expect it’s more likely to be read by nostalgic adults who read ‘Anne of Green Gables’ and other works by this author as children. 

Although the image above is for a paperback version of this book, the Amazon link is to the ebook I downloaded, which has both the 'Pat' books. It's no longer free, but very inexpensive. Unfortunately print editions of this book tend to be over-priced. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

A Long, Cool Rain (by Linda Seed)

(Amazon UK link)

As with many of the free ebooks I have downloaded for my Kindle, I had never previously heard of the author, Linda Seed. But, back in 2018 I was willing to try almost anything if it looked interesting. So I acquired ‘A Long Cool Rain’. It said that it was the first of a series about the Delaneys of Cambria. It’s a fairly common idea for Kindle authors to offer a first book free, in the hopes that readers will then want to buy subsequent books in the series.  

Occasionally I have discovered a new (to me) author this way, and liked their books very much - but not often. I read this one on recent travels, and at times found it quite compelling reading. I finished it last night. But I won’t be looking for others in this series, or by this author, even though I thought it started out well. 

It’s set in the United States, mainly in the town of Cambria which is apparently a real place in California. The novel opens with a funeral on a rainy day. It’s not an unusual trope in fiction, and can be a good way of introducing some of the main characters. Desmond is the person who has died. He was only in his sixties and was found after falling from a horse. Nobody knows why he went out, as he had more-or-less retired from looking after the family ranch and riding around it. 

It’s quickly clear that this isn’t just an ordinary ranch, but the property of a very wealthy family. Desmond’s brother Orin has four adult children: Ryan, Liam, Colin and Breanna. Ryan is a gentle, peace-loving man while Liam is hot-tempered and passionate, although he would willingly die for any of his family. Ryan was probably closest to Desmond of all the children. Breanna is widowed with two young children and I never really discovered what her purpose was in the book. 

Colin, however, is an important viewpoint character who never really fit in with his family. He was asthmatic as a child so could not join in most of the farm activities. He was also very academic, loving school and going on to an Ivy League university to study as a lawyer. He deals with the family finances at a distance. He loves his family but finds them difficult to live with.

Desmond, as far as everyone knew, was a confirmed bachelor. But now he’s gone, the family learn some very surprising news. They have been speculating that he might have left his money to a charity, or he might have divided it between his nephews. Not that any of them needs money. But they are still shocked to learn that he has left his entire fortune to a young man called Drew whom they have never heard of… and still more shocked to be told why, and who Drew is.

The story then moves to a different state in the US, where a young woman called Julia is feeling frustrated at the lack of communication between her mother and her brother Drew. For the last few years they have refused to speak to each other but won’t tell her why. Eighteen months earlier, Drew’s wife left him, after cleaning out his bank account and spending his credit cards up to the limit. So he’s deep in debt, but trying to work to clear it. However we don’t actually meet Drew until a few chapters later…

It’s quite an interesting storyline, albeit rather far-fetched. A lot of back story is given about why the Delaney family have so much wealth (they are more than millionaires, although the author wisely doesn’t give any exact sums). I quite liked Colin’s family. His mother is rather brusque and outspoken, but very hospitable. His brother Ryan is a bit of a shadowy character but Ryan’s wife Genevieve is delightful. Liam comes across as a hormonal teenager although he’s also an adult; he’s regularly in trouble with his mother in a way that would normally lead to increased rifts. 

Colin himself prefers a more luxurious lifestyle although he’s a bit lonely deep down despite going out with a string of beautiful women whom he ‘dates’. It’s obvious that he and Julia are going to find each other attractive, and at first this storyline is nicely done. Julia is initially suspicious, and gradually realises that he’s essentially a good person as well as startlingly attractive. She is nothing like any of his previous women but he finds a strange pull towards her as they are forced in each other’s company. I just wish I could have found him more likeable. He doesn’t feel three-dimensional and his lifestyle is very self-centred. 

Worse, when they eventually get together, there are pages and pages of description about their bedroom activities, which I  skipped once I realised. I have much more respect for writers who close the bedroom door, if they must mention that this happens. If I like a character - and I did like Julia very much - I really don’t want to know what she gets up to in bed. And it’s not just the first time - there is a second, similarly unappealing section, later in the book. 

In addition, I felt there was a bit too much heart-searching and navel-gazing as the characters internalise their emotions as thoughts. There are switches of viewpoint, so we get this from both Julia and Colin. And there’s rather a lot of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, meaning that the text often feels drawn out and long-winded.

I don’t mind a bit of that, even if it’s not my preferred style of writing. And while I didn’t particularly like Colin, Julia started to get under my skin. There were times when I was quite engrossed in the storyline despite the long-windedness. So if it hadn’t been for the pages I had to skip, I might have rated this a bit higher. As it is, I don’t have any interest in reading any more about the Delaneys of Cambria and wouldn’t personally recommend this book. 

But it's quite popular and has received high ratings on Amazon, so don't necessarily take my word for it. It's still free in Kindle form, six years after I downloaded it. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

Northanger Abbey (by Jane Austen)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s twenty-five years since I last read Jane Austen’s ‘Northanger Abbey’. As a teenager it was probably my favourite of her books. It pokes gentle fun at the gothic terror of some popular novels of the era, and has a rather naive (though likeable) heroine. I have twice watched an excellent TV adaptation of this novel, the last time just four years ago, but had forgotten much of the detail of the novel.

So, as I had it on my Kindle, I thought I would read it on a couple of recent coach and train journeys. I knew it was fairly light-hearted, and that it would be easy to put down, even in the middle of a chapter if necessary. 

Catherine is the main protagonist of this book, a 17-year-old girl from a large family, who loves reading. She’s the oldest girl, and sometimes imagines herself as the heroine of a gothic romance. But, as the author tells us in the first chapter, her circumstances don’t really help her. Her parents are content together, and the children are well treated. There are no secrets or mysteries in her life. Nor is there much excitement until their nearest neighbours, Mr and Mrs Allen, offer to take Catherine on a visit to Bath. 

It’s the first time she has travelled, and the first time away from her parents - who are very happy for her to go, and have no worries that she might fall in love inadvisably. And for the first few days, Catherine is rather bored. Mrs Allen talks incessantly, and has no acquaintances at all.  Then two things happen: Mrs Allen meets an old friend, Mrs Thorpe, who has several daughters. Isabella is about Catherine’s age and the two become friendly. The other thing is that a young man, Mr Tilney, invites her to dance. She likes him very much; in their conversation he appears to be a kindred spirit. But then he goes away…

Isabella already knows Catherine’s older brother James, who is in love with her. And Isabella’s rather dull brother John decides that he will pursue Catherine. He is self-centred and not insightful, while she is entirely innocent about romantic relationships outside novels. So their conversations have plenty of misunderstandings. 

I had remembered the outline of the story, but part of the beauty of Jane Asten’s writing is the irony and satire which she shows in conversation and action. Her ‘bad’ people are not all evil.  John Thorpe is a caricatured egocentric bore, and yet there’s nothing obviously ‘bad’ about him. Isabella is frivolous and materialistic, but seems shallow rather than being deliberately manipulative. And some of her nice people - like Mrs Allen - are annoyingly verbose and repetitive. 

I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this novel. Of course it’s all set amongst the upper middle classes of society, those with money (even if not great riches), and used to having servants. It ignores the terrible poverty and scourge of disease of the era, and won’t appeal to those who prefer a rather grittier reality. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I like this kind of gentle satire. I found myself smiling several times at descriptions and conversations, rooting for Catherine when she seems to be ignored or rejected. 

'Northanger Abbey' was written as contemporary fiction around 1800, presumably based on Austen’s own life and observations. As such it is a fascinating account of social history amongst her class. It’s also a delightful satire of the gothic novels that were popular, and a sometimes moving account of a girl’s learning about society, and beginning to mature. 

Recommended. Widely available inexpensively in paperback form, or free from Project Gutenberg online or as an ebook. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews