Happy publication day to this quirky and lively retelling of the Greek myths!
I’m a big fan of the Greek myths so I couldn’t resist this retelling of the old stories with a new spin – highlighting just how problematic Zeus’ behaviour actually is! This is something I’d considered previously, but I really liked Susie Donkin’s take on the stories. Donkin is one of the writers behind ‘Horrible Histories’, the brilliantly funny and informative children’s TV series, so I knew I was in for a treat.
It’s worth saying that although Donkin may be known for writing for children, this is really an adults-only book! There’s a lot of swearing and some distinctly adult topics throughout.
The stories are told in a light-hearted, modern way and use our own society’s morals to provide commentaries on the original myths. Even the dicier moments – reflecting the fact that Zeus is a rapist – aren’t shied away from and the full list of his crimes are presented. In fact, all of the gods of Olympus are presented as petty, squabbling and quite unpleasant – which they absolutely are in the original stories too. These aren’t gods worth of respect and veneration, but ones that seem very human and very flawed.
The stories are told in a continuous narrative (although divided into chapters) so you get a good sense of the myths and the reasons for various things that happen (given the history between the gods and goddesses). It starts with Ouranos and Gaia, goes through the creation of the Olympian gods and then a range of the stories focused on them (not just Zeus). Some of the stories are well-known – for example, we hear of Medusa, Persephone and Zeus’ many infidelities – but there are others that I was much less familiar with. It holds together well as a book and not a fragmented set of stories.
This all sounds very serious, but Donkin tells the stories in a humorous way which is very entertaining and easy to read. While I didn’t always love the imagined conversations, I really loved the jokes which often riffed on something contemporary – the image of Zeus watching porn on his laptop, for example, or the references to Argos (newly without catalogue), plus the sly digs at certain incompetent blond/white haired leaders… There’s lots to enjoy and it is very amusing.
As already mentioned, some of the original stories do feature rape and other things that are absolutely unacceptable in our society. Donkin confronts this head-on with no excuses for the behaviour and uses it as more evidence that Zeus is – in her words – a dick. And he absolutely is!
I’d recommend this to anyone interested in the Greek myths. If you know the stories already, you’ll enjoy the comedic retelling and the jokes. If you don’t already know the stories, this is actually a pretty good – if extremely cynical and funny – overview of the Greek pantheon. Either way, it’s a fun read.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
If you’d like to buy a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link below – thank you for supporting my blog!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
I finished my audiobook of ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ which was written and read by Bill Bryson. I really enjoyed this autobiographical tale of Bryson’s childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s and would recommend it.
Then I read ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton which I LOVED! It’s a dark and twisty tale of murder and mayhem on a ship travelling between the Dutch East Indies and Amsterdam in 1634. My review is here.
Lastly, I read ‘The Whole Truth’, the new DI Fawley book from Cara Hunter which is due out in March 2021. What starts as a he said/she said investigation into a sexual assault becomes something much more deadly for Fawley and his team. Review will follow in the blog nearer to the publication date.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon for a forthcoming blog tour. This is about a female doctor in 1910, a pioneering pathologist and one making her way in a man’s world. It’s also a mystery story so it is keeping me guessing!
I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes – I really like it but it has been pushed aside for various blog tour books. I’m currently reading about Helen of Troy and it is very interesting to hear a different perspective to usual as she is normally portrayed quite negatively.
I’ve started listening to the audiobook of ‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees, the biography of Victoria Wood. It’s engaging so far and interesting to hear about the more private side of Wood, the shy perfectionist, rather than her on-screen persona. The cast reading this are absolutely brilliant so I’m glad I went for the audio version.
What do you think you will read next?
I am about to read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus for a blog tour with The Write Reads. I’m looking forward to this one as it is a standalone mystery about secrets within a family and sounds very tense!
I am also determined to get to the books that are top of my pile on Netgalley – ‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell and ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell. I’m so looking forward to these two above all others. I’m determined to make a dent in the NetGalley backlog so that will be the focus of the next month or so.
So that’s another WWW Wednesday done! This year is flying by and I’m on the countdown to Christmas now…
Header photo with thanks to Alisa Anton for sharing her work on Unsplash.
As soon as I saw this title on Twitter, I knew I had to read this book! The subtitle – ‘Fairy Tales for Feminists’ – sounded perfect and I pre-ordered it.
In the flesh (so to speak), it’s a lovely little book and it would make a fantastic gift for the feminist in your life! The hardback has lovely neon pink illustrations and the book is packed with black and white pictures by illustrator Seobhan Hope.
Despite the title, the book covers more than just fairy tales – there are also sections on nursery rhymes, childhood films, children’s classics, and myths and legends. This makes the source material as diverse as The Famous Five, Tintin, Disney films, Arthurian legends and The Hobbit. As well as the aforementioned fairy tales, of course!
Each title or story gets a double page spread – usually one for the short snippets of text (often rhyming) and the other for the accompanying illustration.
This is a book that absolutely takes no prisoners – each of the chosen texts are skewered in turn for their dodgy messages about consent (or lack of!), female representation, the sexualisation of women, traditional gender roles and outdated moral codes. This is all done in a clever, light-touch way and the illustrations are brilliant at hammering home the messages.
If I had just one quibble about this book, it was that I wanted more! More texts, more digging in the stories, more detail – all would have been welcome. However, that isn’t the nature of this book; it does witty, pithy comment extremely well and leaves the reader to ponder on the detail.
In that sense, it is very thought-provoking. While I’d had some of the notions myself (who hasn’t felt slightly uncomfortable about ‘good little housewife’ Anne in ‘The Famous Five’?), I guess there are some things I just hadn’t noticed – the representation of women in Asterix, for example, or the total lack of women in loads of children’s books and films.
Although the approach is humorous and the book entertaining, it does pack a punch in terms of feminist messages. I’d recommend this as a great way to talk about feminist themes with teenagers (not too young – there are some slightly risqué ideas) or just for anyone who wants some food for thought on the stories and films that have become the fabric of our culture. And a laugh along the way, obviously!
If you would like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link – I may earn commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
In what might work out to be the geekiest post ever, I thought I’d have a closer look at the 100 books I’ve read this year. I completed my Goodreads challenge this week so it seems a good time to pause and take stock.
Things that don’t surprise me a bit…
I know that I read a lot of female writers, so the gender ratio 60:40 in favour of female writers didn’t surprise me at all. A lot of my favourite detective series are written by women (Rachel Lynch, Carla Kovach, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths…I could go on!)
Also unsurprising was the number of books that I read for free this year – I’ve always read a lot through NetGalley, plus have done some blog tours, so it is to be expected that a huge proportion of my reads (74%) were free in exchange for an honest review. I am eternally grateful to NetGalley, blog tour hosts, publishers and authors for keeping me in reading material!
Finally, because of my NetGalley obsession, it makes perfect sense that my most read format this year was on Kindle (71%). I invested in a Kindle Oasis earlier this year because I thought the warm light feature might be kinder on my eyes, especially given how long I stare at it!
Things that did surprise me…
I know I read quite widely, but I thought I’d probably be very heavy on the crime and historical fiction. This did turn out to be true – 44% of my books had some kind of crime element, whether in a contemporary or historical setting. However, only 30% of my chosen reads had a historical setting – something I thought would be higher.
What I was pleasantly surprised by was the fact that 27% of the books were non-fiction. I do love non-fiction but thought it would be more overshadowed than that in the statistics. I was also happy to see that there was a range of genres in the mix too – poetry, humour, romance and ‘other’ (contemporary fiction, play scripts) made up a good chunk.
I seem to be heavily dependent on the 4* rating (71% of my books in 2020) but it was heartening to see that nearly 1/5 of the books I read this year were 5* ones. I wasn’t too surprised to see the small proportion of 3* rating (and nothing below) because I choose my books carefully and DNF any that won’t make 3 stars!
Some lists…
My 5 Star Reads of 2020 (so far) – links to reviews where possible!
Books I Bought With My Own Money and Read This Year:
‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton
‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ by Bill Bryson
‘Practically Perfect’ by Katy Brand
‘Essex Girls’ by Sarah Perry
‘The Princess and the Prick’ by Wallaburga Appleseed
‘Boy’ by Roald Dahl
‘More than a Woman’ by Caitlin Moran
‘A Tomb With a View’ by Peter Ross
‘Good Samaritans’ by Will Carver
‘The Book of Humans’ by Adam Rutherford
‘A Chip Shop in Poznan’ by Ben Aitken
‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’ by Florence Given
‘State of the Union’ by Nick Hornby
‘The Great Godden’ by Meg Rosoff
‘A Rising Man’ by Abir Mukherjee
‘Three Women’ by Lisa Taddeo
‘Dead Famous’ by Greg Jenner
‘This is Shakespeare’ by Emma Smith
‘A Murderous Relation’ by Deanna Raybourn
‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ by Brian Bilston
‘When the Dogs Don’t Bark’ by Angela Gallop
‘A Million Years in a Day’ by Greg Jenner
‘The Golden Tresses of the Dead’ by Alan Bradley
‘A Curious History of Sex’ by Kate Lister
’52 Times Britain was a Bellend’ by James Felton
‘Fleabag’by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
9 Writers I’ve Read More Than One Book By This Year:
Ben Aitken
Greg Jenner
Abir Mukherjee
Carla Kovach
Rachel Lynch
Andrew Taylor
Nick Hornby
William Sieghart (2 poetry anthologies)
Elly Griffiths
Brilliant Debut Novels
‘Cows Can’t Jump’ by Philip Bowne
‘A Girl Made of Air’ by Nydia Hetherington
‘People of Abandoned Character’ by Clare Whitfield
‘The Chalet’ by Catherine Cooper
‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman
‘The Miseducation of Evie Epworth’ by Matson Taylor
‘The Eighth Detective’ by Alex Pavesi
‘Grave Secrets’ by Alice James
‘The Servant’ by Maggie Richell-Davies
‘The Quickening’ by Rhiannon Ward (first novel published under this name)
5 Surprises This Year
Alice James’ ‘Grave Secrets’ – I don’t read a lot of fantasy novels, but this vampire and zombie one absolutely won me over. Well outside of my comfort zone, but it was just so funny and lively and immersive.
‘Longhand’ by Andy Hamilton – I had some reservations about reading a book written by hand (in beautiful handwriting though!) However, I was absolutely transfixed by this extremely quirky and humorous novel with a surprising Classical theme.
‘The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders’ by Ben Aitken – the charming Bill Bryson-esque travel writing had me totally engaged in this (true) tale of a young man’s coach trips with Shearings (and his Gran!)
‘The Miseducation of Evie Epworth’ by Matson Taylor – I was prepared for a rom-com, but what I got was a gorgeous 1960s coming of age tale packed with humour and one of the best characters of the year.
‘A Tomb With a View’ by Peter Ross – I’ve tried to get everyone I know to read this! I thought I’d like this non-fiction telling of stories of graveyards and their people; I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.
Affiliate links to my books of the year (so far) – I may earn a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
So that’s my Goodreads 100! It’s been an odd year – I don’t usually expect to read 100 books, let alone 100 books by October. I hope you’ve enjoyed my trawl through my reading so far this year and thank you for visiting and supporting my blog.
Header photo with thanks to Floris Andréa for sharing their work on Unsplash.
How is it that time again?! The end of another month and another step nearer Christmas (yay!) and the end of 2020 (*huge sigh of relief*).
This month I have read 11 books and hit my GoodReads Challenge target of 100 books for the year!
It’s been a funny month with some real reading slumps as well as some absolutely BRILLIANT books. So, without further ado, here’s what I read this month…
(Links to books already published are affiliate links – thank you for supporting my blog with any purchases).
October Wrap-Up
I started the month with the brilliant ‘More Than a Woman’ by Caitlin Moran – an often funny, fresh and brutally honest take on what it means to be a middle-aged woman. This was my first five-star read of the month – you can see my review here.
After this, I read ‘Jeeves and the Leap of Faith’ by Ben Schott, a new Jeeves and Wooster novel written with the blessing of the PG Wodehouse estate. Nothing quite hits the highs of Wodehouse’s original novels, but Schott has done a great job of the language and comic elements. You can read my review here.
Next up was a blog tour for ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir, a chilling and dark piece of Nordic Noir crime fiction. Set in Iceland, this follows Chief Investigating Officer Elma as she tries to solve a murder that is stirring up the unsavoury past of some people in the small town of Akranes. You can read my blog tour post here.
Then came ‘The Servant’ by Maggie Richell-Davies, a dark historical tale of a girl who has fallen on difficult times in Georgian London. This book won the Historical Writers’ Association award for a (then) unpublished novel and is definitely worth a read – my review is here.
One of my audiobooks (listened to in the car with my kids) this month was Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy’, read by Dan Stevens. We all enjoyed this one – a lively performance of a book that I’ve loved since childhood. It has been a joy to relive the experiences of Dahl at school at Repton, on holiday in Norway, with his eccentric family and upsetting teachers and sweet-shop owners alike.
Next up was ‘The Phoenix Project’ by Michelle Kidd for another blog tour in November. This was a fast-paced thriller with a wide scope – London, Paris, Africa, Russian spies and the British Government – and all very tense! Watch this space for my blog tour review.
Then I enjoyed Walburga Appleseed’s ‘The Princess and the Prick’, a short book with some very concise feminist retellings of fairy tales, myths and nursery rhymes. Beautifully illustrated, this managed to pack plenty of food for thought into a small space.
Another short but powerful book was ‘Essex Girls’ by Sarah Perry, a feminist celebration of the qualities of the Essex Girl stereotype. In Perry’s book, Essex becomes a state of mind rather than a geographical location and we are introduced to a host of fabulous women from history. My review is here.
Another of my five-star books this month was ‘Practically Perfect: Life Lessons from Mary Poppins’ by Katy Brand. Anyone with any love for the 1964 film should read this as it is fascinating but delightfully comforting. My review can be found here.
Then I listened to another audiobook, ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’, a charming and funny book about Bill Bryson’s experiences of growing up in the 1950s in Des Moines in Iowa. This one is read by Bryson himself and his dry wit really comes through in the recording.
Finally, I finished the month with ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton, a historical crime novel that I absolutely loved. You can read my review here.
November TBR
I am absolutely awful at predicting what I will read in the future – I read according to my mood and who knows where that may take me!?
However, I do have a lot of NetGalley ARCs that I should read. Here is just a selection:
‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell – I loved her previous books and this one promises to be equally fabulous.
‘The Whole Truth’ by Cara Hunter – this is the latest in a great series of police procedurals in which we follow DI Fawley as he tries to uncover truth. I’ve loved the other books so have high hopes for this.
‘The Dead of Winter’ by Nicola Upson – another series I’ve followed for a long time, this one puts crime writer Josephine Tey into the role of detective against the backdrop of Europe in the lead-up to World War II.
‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell – Russell’s first book, ‘The Devil Aspect’, was amazing and I hope this one will be every bit as good. Set in Victorian Edinburgh and featuring a series of mysterious ritualistic murders, this looks like it will be a dark and thrilling read.
‘Mr Wilder and Me’ by Jonathan Coe – I’ve loved previous books by Coe and this, set in the heat of the 1977 summer, looks glorious.
‘Nick’ by Michael Farris Smith – this new book about the early life of the fictional narrator of ‘The Great Gatsby’ looks really interesting.
‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge – the latest in another crime series that I’ve enjoyed vey much. This is the latest to feature DCI Jonah Sheens.
‘Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood’ by Jasper Rees – I’ve been granted this one on audiobook and am looking forward to learning more about Wood from her closest friends and colleagues (some of whom narrate the book).
This is ignoring the huge stacks of books in my house and my jam-packed Kindle so we shall wait and see what I actually manage to read!
Header photo with thanks to Alex Geerts for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I knew that this book would be so entirely my thing that I pre-ordered myself a gorgeous hardback copy because I couldn’t wait to see whether the NetGalley elves would be kind enough to grant me an ARC!
I loved Turton’s previous book, ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’, and was awaiting this one eagerly.
And I was right. It is so entirely my thing!
The story is set in 1634 on board a ship sailing from Batavia (in the Dutch East Indies) to Amsterdam. On board the Saardam, one of a fleet of seven ships sailing together, are an odd group of shipmates, including the governor general and his family, his mistress, a famed detective and his bodyguard, There’s also a whole host of unpredictable and bloodthirsty crew members, some musketeers and a mysterious cargo consigned to be watched over at all hours.
A horrific incident at the docks before boarding has rattled them all and introduced the idea of Old Tom, a demon under whose malign influence the Saardam is predicted to fall. When things on board the ship start to go wrong – often in disturbing and horrific ways – the ship seems doomed and all lives in danger.
With the celebrated detective locked in a holding cell for a crime he may have committed, it falls to two unlikely passengers on the ship to unravel the dark events that threaten the voyage.
I loved this book from the beginning when we are first introduced to Arent Hayes (bodyguard) and his master, Sammy Phipps – the celebrated detective who has more than a shadow of Sherlock Holmes about him. Powers of deduction? Tick. Widespread renown due to his sidekick’s reporting of his exploits? Tick. Slightly hedonistic tendencies when bored? Tick. It is fair to say, I was bought into this from the start!
When Sammy is confined to the cell, Arent becomes the main focus for the story and he is an interesting character in himself. Out of the shadow of his famous master, we see a man struggling to have the courage of his own convictions. He is someone who is more known for brawn than brain, although this seems unfair as the novel progresses and Arent is forced to use his intelligence as well as his strength. He is a realistic character with a shady past and I found myself really wanting him to prove himself.
Aside from Arent, what I loved about this book were the strong female characters. Sara Wessel, wife of the governor general of Batavia, is the main one who comes to the fore and she is a formidable woman, albeit one with contradictions. On the one hand, she is a clever, spirited woman with a talent for healing, but she is also subject to a domineering and violent husband and living in what essentially is a gilded cage. She makes a brilliant heroine because she is both so good and yet so plagued with her own problems too.
The setting of this book was also part of its considerable appeal for me. Although I can’t claim to know much about the East India Company and the technical details of the Indiaman ships, it felt authentic – the historical research was lightly worn and never felt laboured at all. Indeed, Turton claims (in a note at the end of the book) that ‘this is historical fiction where the history is the fiction’, but it all felt right to me and I was happy to be carried along in the wake of the compelling plot while admiring the history along the way! In fact, it has made me want to read more about the East India Company and this time period, so I’ve since bought ‘The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company’ by William Dalrymple which I hope will enlighten me further.
I think it needs to be said that ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ is a very dark book – the clue is in the title! It probably isn’t for the faint at heart as there are murders, fights, gruesome injuries, tales of abuse and lashings administered on the ship. When a story opens with a dying leper, you know there’s more horrific things to come! Still, none of the violence ever felt gratuitous and it added to the authenticity of the danger of the high seas.
It’s really hard to say more about the plot without giving spoilers, which I absolutely don’t want to do. Let’s just say that the twists and turns are there, everything is cleverly plotted and the final resolution is satisfying. Given that I didn’t know if I was reading a historical crime novel or a supernatural mystery, it’s safe to say I had no clue where everything would end up. However, there is lots to keep any reader occupied and I raced through the pages looking for clues.
I’d recommend this highly to anyone who enjoys locked room mysteries, historical fiction, strong female leads, supernatural creepiness, claustrophobic thrillers, a nautical slant to proceedings… there really is something for everyone and an awful lot of ground covered.
As a seasoned reader of mysteries, I thought there was little left that could genuinely surprise me, but Stuart Turton has proved me wrong. Bravo!
As well as my lovely hardback copy of this book from ‘Forbidden Planet’ (there’s even a map of the ship – I was sold on that alone, to be honest!), I received a free e-copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you’d like your own copy of this excellent, dark mystery, please use my affiliate link below – I earn a small commission on any purchases at no additional cost to you.
And in case you’re interested in the East India Company further (like I was), here’s a link to ‘The Anarchy’ as mentioned in my review. This one was shortlisted for the non-fiction award by the rather marvellous Historical Writers’ Association and they know their history!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
Hurrah! The reading slump appears to be at an end! I’d not read much in the past few weeks, despite having excellent books (and ones I’ve really enjoyed).
No more! It is no coincidence that this coincides with half term holidays, but I’ve managed to read a lot this week and I’ve LOVED what I’ve read.
What have you recently finished reading?
My kids and I finished our ‘reading’ (via audiobook) of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy’. They both absolutely loved the stories and the narration by Dan Stevens (who brings the anecdotes to life with some great accents and voices).
I have also just finished ‘The Phoenix Project’ by Michelle Kidd, the first in a series featuring DI Jack MacIntosh. It’s a page-turner of a thriller on a huge scale with twists that just keep coming! This is for a blog tour in November so keep an eye on the blog for my stop on the tour.
Next up was ‘The Princess and the Prick’ by Walburga Appleseed, a collection of feminist retellings of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and myths. It’s clever and funny, although I anticipated a few more words – each story is encapsulated in a few sharp and to-the-point sentences and accompanied by some brilliant illustrations. It’s thought provoking about sexism, dodgy moral codes and issues around consent among other things and definitely worth a read!
Then I read ‘Essex Girls’ by Sarah Perry, a book I was really looking forward to as I am an Essex girl by birth. It was exciting to read Perry’s comments on Chelmsford, my home town, which is where she grew up too. I loved the feminist take on the notion of the ‘Essex girl’ as someone who is outspoken and fearless and unconventional. At only about 80 pages, this is a short but fascinating read about some historical Essex girls and their impact on the world. You can read my full review here.
Finally, I read ‘Practically Perfect: Life Lessons from Mary Poppins’ by comedian Katy Brand. I read this in one sitting, absolutely loving the nostalgic tone of the writing combined with some really incisive ideas about the film and its messages. You can read my review here.
What are you reading now?
I’m still reading (or have started reading) an awful lot of books and I cannot decide what to finish first as they are all great!
I’m still reading ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton, a fabulous historical murder mystery – I’m rattling through this now and it is gripping.
My reading of ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes is also still ongoing – I love the depth of analysis of the women from mythology.
I’m also nearing the end of my audiobook, Bill Bryson’s ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ – this autobiography about growing up in 1950s small-town America is fascinating, funny and read by Bryson himself.
Finally, I’ve also started ‘Books for Living: A Reader’s Guide to Life’ by Will Schwalbe which someone on Twitter (sorry, I can’t remember who!) recommended when I wrote my post on The Best Books about Books. It’s very promising so far – I love reading about other people’s reading experiences.
What do you think you will read next?
As my book buying habits haven’t taken into account the reading slump, I have plenty of options!
I’m looking forward to moving onto the audiobook of ‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees, the biography of the late, great Victoria Wood.
I’m also hoping to clear some of the NetGalley shelf over half term – Laura Purcell’s ‘The Shape of Darkness’ and Cara Hunter’s ‘The Whole Truth’ still await, as does ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell which looks amazing – I loved his previous book, ‘The Devil Aspect’, so I am looking forward to this.
I don’t know why I even try and predict what I’ll read next…I’m such a mood reader that it is impossible to tell where I’ll end up. I am quietly craving a vampire book though… (*buys ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix*)
I wanted to read this as soon as I heard about it! I was born in Essex myself (in Southend-on-Sea) and have had rather negative experiences of the ‘Essex Girl’ stereotype, so any discussion of this was absolutely welcome – and probably well overdue.
Having grown up with the Essex Girl jokes – white stilettos, Sharon and Tracy, blonde hair, ha ha bloody ha – I was intrigued by this book. No-one I knew fitted the stereotype that I was constantly being faced with, yet it endured.
Sarah Perry, author of ‘The Essex Serpent’, has written this book for – as she puts it on the cover – ‘profane and opinionated women everywhere’. She attempts to reclaim the ‘Essex Girl’ as a type – someone who is strong-minded, unconventional and unafraid to be herself. In this book, Essex isn’t a geographical location, it’s a state of mind.
It’s only a short book, but it covers an awful lot of ground – the historical roots of this brand of womanhood (witchcraft – Essex did more than its fair share of witch-burning), some inspirational historical women (some from Essex, some with the mindset) and Perry’s own experiences of growing up in the county are all explored. It’s engagingly written and I really loved the feminist reclaiming of the stereotype – Perry sets up Essex womanhood (geographical or metaphorical) as something to take pride in, to celebrate.
‘It has become a habit to conceive of women – both historically and currently – not by their achievements, but by the restraints placed upon them; to study the locked door, and fail to see the windows broken from inside.’
– Sarah Perry, ‘Essex Girls’
I found Perry’s arguments interesting and convincing – it is definitely a thought-provoking read and introduced me to some characters from history who were fascinating and ground-breaking in their own ways.
The added bonus for me was the focus on the Essex landscape in which I grew up – St John’s Hospital, Widford, Moulsham and Wood Street all feature and reminded me of my life in Chelmsford as a child and teenager.
Even without the familiarity with Essex, there is plenty to enjoy here as Perry unpicks the Essex Girl stereotype and reassembles it into something much more positive – and much more inspiring! She – quite rightly – shows us that there are many models of ‘Essex Girl’ and the common ground between them – the strength, the authenticity, the outspokenness – is what should be celebrated.
If you’d like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link below – I earn commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!
I’ve written before on the subject of my love of books about books. However, I also love books about films, and this one – by comedian Katy Brand – is brilliant and just what I needed to cheer me up as I enter a locked-down half term holiday.
This is one of the books that got me out of my reading slump – I read it in one sitting (which is miraculous in itself!)
Katy Brand takes – as her starting point – a life-long love of the film ‘Mary Poppins’. She presents this to the reader along with her thoughts on the characters, politics and messages of the film. For those sharing her love of ‘Mary Poppins’ (yup, me!), this is an absolute must-read.
It needs to be said up front that the majority of the book is about the 1964 film of ‘Mary Poppins’ with the marvellous Julie Andrews as the ‘practically perfect’ nanny and Dick Van Dyke as the chimney sweep (Bert) with the heart of gold and the accent of…something less than gold! Lovers of the books by P.L. Travers will not be quite so well served, although there is plenty on Travers’ relationship with the film and Walt Disney (who took 20 years to get her to sell the film rights). There isn’t much at all about the latest incarnation of Mary Poppins, the Emily Blunt film, but this wasn’t a problem for me – I was raised on the original film!
The book opens with Brand taking us through the film, reminding us of the plot, characters and some of the odder moments. All this is related through Brand’s comic lens, so it feels like watching the film with your funniest friend.
From here, Brand moves on to analyse some different aspects of the film in more detail. I was particularly impressed by the way in which the messages of the film were unpacked with loving care; ‘Sister Suffragette’ explores the feminist messages in the film (of which there are many) while the character of George Banks is analysed for Travers’/Disney’s attitudes to masculinity and commerce. In Brand’s view, the bird-feeding lady gives us a chance to explore what’s important in life, while Poppins herself gives us a template to live our lives by with her firm but fair approach to setting boundaries. Indeed, the whole film is given new relevance by the pandemic and the way our priorities have shifted during lockdown.
All this sounds a bit heavy, but it never feels so. Brand’s approach is light-touch and humorous, yet I still came away from the book with plenty of food for thought. The ‘serious’ bits are there, but surrounded by anecdotes about Brand’s own experiences and snippets of information about the film. I liked reading about the actors and filming as it really enhanced my understanding of what Disney achieved in making ‘Mary Poppins’ – the technical aspects seemed really quite advanced for their time (and so old-fashioned compared to now!)
The thing I love most about this book is the way that it is just so relatable. The lessons Brand takes from Mary Poppins, the issues she experiences with her own life (parenthood in particular), the feelings about the film…it’s all just so real. It honestly feels like a friend talking to you about her love of the film and it really helped that her thoughts chimed perfectly with mine. Love Mrs Banks even while seeing her flaws? Tick! Soft spot for Bert, despite the accent? Tick! Impressively encyclopaedic knowledge of lines and lyrics gained from repeated viewing? Tick! It’s all there and is both immensely comforting and gloriously readable.
I’d really recommend this to anyone who loves the 1964 film of ‘Mary Poppins’. If you were raised on this (as I was), it is a fascinating, nostalgic and strangely soothing read for troubled times.
If you’d like a copy of this absolute hug of a book, please use my affiliate link below – thank you for supporting my blog. This doesn’t cost you more but earns me a small commission.
If you’re still hungry for more books about films, I can absolutely recommend the following:
‘I Carried a Watermelon: Dirty Dancing and Me’by Katy Brand – this is Brand’s first foray into writing about film and it is a lovely, nostalgic look at ‘Dirty Dancing’ and what it means to her.
‘Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons we Learned from Eighties Movies’ by Hadley Freeman – this is an absolutely brilliant look at life lessons from classic 1980s movies. If you loved such films as ‘Pretty in Pink’, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘When Harry Met Sally’, this is for you. It’s interesting and insightful and – sorry to overuse this word – nostalgic; the films are written about with genuine affection by Freeman and it is a delight to read.
‘As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the making of The Princess Bride’ by Cary Elwes – at the risk of seeming obsessed with 1980s films, this is a great insight into the making of a classic by the leading man.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour organised by Random Things Tours for ‘Betrayal’ by Lilja Sigurdardottir.
I’m pleased to be able to present to you an extract from this tense, Icelandic thriller which was published by Orenda Books on 15th October, 2020.
From the Publisher:
Burned out and traumatised by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Úrsula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again.
But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Úrsula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her – but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And the death of her father in police custody so many years rears its head once again.
As Úrsula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard and even a witch-like cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones, and the stakes are raised ever higher…
The award-winning internationally bestselling author Lilja Sigurðardóttir returns with Betrayal, a relevant, powerful, fast-paced thriller about the worlds of politics, police corruption and misogyny that feels just a little bit too real…
The Extract:
Úrsúla was surprised at her own surprise: she was taken aback by just how much of a shock the note was. She was already kicking herself for having forgotten to lock the car. It hadn’t occurred to her that by parking in the spot marked Minister, she was telling everyone which vehicle was hers. Clearly every fruitcake in the country had an opinion on everything imaginable, and that seemed to include her appointment as minister of the interior.
The devil’s friend loses his soul and brings down evil, the note read, the last few words an almost illegible scrawl. It looked like someone had decided she had made friends with the devil himself.
There was nothing unusual about politicians being lambasted for entering into coalitions with people someone was unhappy with, but as she was not linked to any party, she had somehow imagined that this kind of criticism wouldn’t come her way. All the same, people ought to be used to seeing political parties working together when the parliamentary term was so far advanced, and anyway she’d simply been called in to finish the work begun by Rúnar. She screwed the note into a ball and flicked it aside, and it was lost among the mess of paper, juice cartons and sweet wrappers that filled the footwell. She reminded herself that this weekend the car would need to be cleaned as the smell was becoming overpowering. She sighed and tried to relax, to let her racing heartbeat slow. She had been aware before taking the job that she wouldn’t be popular with everyone and that she’d get to hear about it. But the note in the car had still been upsetting. Somehow it was too close to home, too personal. In future she’d leave the car in the other car park with all the others.
As she parked outside her house, she wound the window shut – the smell in the car had forced her to drive home with it halfway open. There had to be half a sandwich turning green somewhere down there, or something in the junk in the back. She’d have to ask Nonni to clean the car. Judging by the emails waiting for her and the long jobs list, there wouldn’t be much opportunity to do it herself. This weekend would have to be spent getting herself up to speed on everything the ministry did.
‘Congratulations, my love!’ Nonni called out as she opened the front door. ‘You made it through day one!’
Kátur bounced towards her, his furry body twitching with delight at seeing her again, and as usual she dropped to her knees to greet him. She held his little head in both hands, kissed the top of his head and breathed in the smell of newly bathed dog. Nonni regularly gave him a bath and used shampoo on him, even though Úrsúla had warned that it wasn’t good for dogs.
‘Lovely to see you, Kátur,’ she whispered into his fur as his tail wagged furiously. There was no limit to how much she loved this little dog. He had kept her sane when she had moved back home, becoming the compass that showed her the way back to love. He had helped her put aside her weapons and lower the defences she had erected around herself somewhere between the Ebola epidemic in Liberia and the refugee camps in Syria.
The dog wriggled from her arms, ran halfway along the hall into the apartment, and then back to her. That was what he always did, scampering between her and the family, as if he were showing her the way home to them. This was guidance she certainly needed, as since moving back to Iceland she had felt at a distance from them, as if they were on the far side of some invisible barrier that she had been unable to break through.
She took a deep breath, taking in the warmth of the household, and for a moment she was gripped by a doubt that she had done the right thing by jumping into a ministerial role. There was no getting away from the fact that it would mean less time at home, less energy to devote to the children, less time for Nonni. There would be less time for her own emotional recovery. But it was only for a year, the twelve remaining months of the parliamentary term.
‘Pizza!’ the children chorused the moment she stepped into the kitchen. They were busy arranging toppings on pizza bases, and she could see Nonni was preparing a seafood pizza just for the two of them. There was an open bottle of white wine on the worktop, a glass had been poured for her, and the dining table was set with candles.
‘You’re a dream,’ she sighed, kissing the children’s heads and wrapping her arms around Nonni. He was warm to the touch, freshly shaved and sweet-smelling, and she felt her heart soften with gratitude, blended with doubt that she genuinely deserved such a perfect man. This was how it had been for more than a year. Every time she felt a surge of warmth and affection towards him, it was accompanied by an immediate surge of bad feeling. There was guilt, regret and self-loathing. Why couldn’t she simply love him as she had loved him before?
‘So how’s it looking?’ he whispered and handed her a glass of wine.
She sat on a barstool and sipped. She’d tell him tonight, when the children had taken themselves off to bed. She would tell him how the day had begun, how she had been prepared for the first interview of the day, expecting to be getting to grips with complex and demanding issues, only to be faced with such a painful and difficult personal case.
The face of the mother who had sat opposite her that morning, rigid with anger and sorrow, remained vividly in her mind. As she watched her own daughter arrange strips of pepper to form a pattern on a pizza, she felt a stab of pain in her heart: she was only two years younger than the girl who had been raped.
About the Author:
Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavik Noir trilogy, which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.
Praise for Lilja Sigurdardottir:
‘Tough, uncompromising and unsettling’ Val McDermid
‘Stylish, taut and compelling and a film adaptation is in the pipeline. With characters you can’t help sympathising with against your better judgement, Sigurdardottir takes the reader on a breathtaking ride’ Daily Express
‘ The seamy side of Iceland is uncovered in this lively and original debut as divorcee Sonja finds herself coerced into drug trafficking while her banker girlfriend Agla fends off a criminal investigation in the aftermath of the financial crash. Tense, edgy and delivering more than a few unexpected twists and turns’ The Sunday Times Crime Club Star Pick
‘A tense thriller with a highly unusual plot and interesting characters’ The Times
‘One of the darkest and most compelling series in modern crime fiction…Tackling topical issues, Cage will tell you a great deal about why the world’s in the state it is, while never neglecting its duty to entertain’ S Magazine
‘ The key to Sigurðardóttir ’s writing is her deep empathy for her characters. Like in Sallis’s work, these are ordinary people having to face the vagaries that life throws at them. In this instance, she writes lucidly about the power of corporations, and the ease with which our current societal systems can become brutally corrupted. In keeping with a lot of Icelandic fiction, Cage is written in a clean, understated style, the author letting the reader put together the emotional beats and plot developments. Smart writing with a strongly beating heart’ The Big Issue
