Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
The Sunday Times bestseller from Booker winner Julian Barnes, this is a thrillingly original novel about truth, history and thinking for ourselves.
The Sunday Times Bestseller from the Winner of the Booker Prize.
She will change the way you see the world . . .
‘I’ll remember Elizabeth Finch when most other characters I’ve met this year have faded’
The Times
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration. Neil is just one of many who fell under her spell during his time in her class.
Tasked with unpacking her notebooks after her death, Neil encounters once again Elizabeth’s astonishing ideas on the past and on how to make sense of the present. But Elizabeth was much more than a scholar. Her secrets are waiting to be revealed . . . and will change Neil’s view of the world forever.
‘Enthralling . . . A connoisseur and master of irony himself, [Barnes] fills this book with instances of its exhilarating power’
Sunday Times
‘A lyrical, thoughtful and intriguing exploration of love, grief and the collective myths of history’
Booklist
‘A new novel from Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes is always a literary event, and Elizabeth Finch…is not different. Wistful, thought-provoking stuff.’
Sunday Telegraph
My Review:
Reading Julian Barnes is always a bittersweet experience for me; I was introduced to him the sublime A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters as a teenager by my step-father who is sadly no longer with us. Every new Barnes book is a joy, but one that I won’t get to share with him.
This book is narrated by Neil, a mature student who befriended his university lecturer, Elizabeth Finch. Their relationship became one of letters and occasional lunches before Elizabeth died and Neil is left her papers. As he considers the idea of writing a biography of her, he trawls the notebooks and the memories of those she left behind.
As with all Barnes’ books, it is packed with ideas and philosophical considerations. Elizabeth Finch was a scholar in many ways, but also an original thinker and someone with secrets; one of the things that Neil grapples with in the novel is how much someone can ever be truly known. This is explored further in the middle section of the book, Neil’s extended essay on Julian the Apostate, in which he considers who writes history and how it is revised over the ages.
I absolutely adored the sections that were so very Barnes – Neil’s confessions and ruminations (in a novel where not much actually happens – not that this is a problem!) put Barnes’ fans on familiar ground. Neil is thoughtful, aware of his own shortcomings, slightly awkward in his relationships with others, perhaps obsessive – an echo of other Barnes characters who have gone before. If you enjoy this style of thought-over-action novel (and I do), there’s much to like.
The character of Elizabeth Finch is also fascinating. She is only seen through the lens of Neil’s memories (and those of his fellow students who he speaks to about her or who feature in the memories). It’s clear she is a divisive figure – loved by some (including Neil) and not by others who cannot see her appeal. How true this is of a lot of us! Personally, I liked this independent, feisty and opinionated woman – the snippets of the contents of her notebooks (as included in the narrative by Neil) were intriguing and interesting. I felt like I should be highlighting and making notes, just as if I was in one of her classes!
The middle section of the book is a long essay, purportedly written by Neil in response to an interpretation of Elizabeth Finch’s notebooks. While interesting in a lot of ways – and absolutely fitting for Neil’s character – it didn’t engage me in the same way that the Neil/Elizabeth sections did. Stripped of the quirks of Neil’s narrative and the often-surprising tales of Elizabeth Finch’s life, this section reads like an academic biography. It fits with the novel, yes, and I understand the reasons for its inclusion, but I would have preferred more Elizabeth!
Overall, if you were a Barnes fan before, you still will be after reading Elizabeth Finch. Elizabeth herself is a character who will stay with you – and you’ll know way more about Julian the Apostate than you probably ever thought you’d need! If you’re new to Barnes’ writing, dive in – much like the views of Elizabeth in her students’ eyes, you’ll probably be captivated…and if not, I think philosophical and clear-sighted Elizabeth would recognise that you can’t win them all! Either way, this book will present interesting ideas that you’ll come back to even once you’ve put the book down.
About the Author:
Julian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d’honneur.
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Another book that I’m shamefully late in reading – but very glad that I did.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review – I also bought a copy of the audiobook from Audible and so my review reflects my experiences of both.
This book centres on Mecklenburgh Square, an address in Bloomsbury, London that was home to five groundbreaking and fascinating women during the interwar years. It’s an interesting idea, that this little corner of London famous for its thinkers and writers, was the shared address of these brilliant women – even though they didn’t live there at the same time and were often resident at very different points in their lives. For all of them, Mecklenburgh Square proved to be the ‘room of one’s own’ (in Virgina Woolf’s words) that gave the women the freedom to develop their careers independently.
I’ll admit I perhaps didn’t come to this book for the most obvious reason. I didn’t actually know anything about Barbara Pym or her books, but have read and enjoyed several biographies by Paula Byrne and so was keen to read this. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Fourth Estate Books for my copy of her latest book in exchange for an honest review.
I’d like to welcome you to my stop on this blog tour for Random Things Tours. This book was published on 28th August by Book Guild Publishing.
From the Publisher
London, 1858. Passionate, contradictory, and fiercely loyal to his friends, John Ruskin is an eccentric genius, famed across Britain for his writings on art and philosophy. Haunted by a scandalous past and determined never to love again, the 39-year-old Ruskin becomes infatuated with his enigmatic young student, Rose La Touche, an obsession with profound consequences that will change the course of his life and work.
Written in a style recalling Victorian literature and spanning a period of twenty years, the story poses questions about the nature of love, the boundaries of parenthood, and compatibility in marriage.
‘Unto This Last’ is a portrait of Ruskin’s tormented psyche and reveals a complex and misunderstood soul, longing for a life just out of reach.
“This is an atmospheric and utterly convincing novel… tackling the subject with great empathy in prose that is both detailed and vivid. A considerable achievement.” Michael Crowley, writer and dramatist
“Deeply researched and charmingly written, it resurrects not only John Ruskin, one of the most influential characters of the Victorian age, but his fascinating pupil Rose La Touche, who is portrayed so sensitively that you feel as though you know her.” Daisy Dunn, author of In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny
“Rebecca Lipkin’s thoughtful novel about this complicated man – and his often-confusing world – is a pleasure to read and a very welcome addition for all lovers of Pre-Raphaelitism.” Lucinda Hawksley, biographer
My Review
I am a huge fan of any books set in the Victorian era as I love this period in history. As soon as I knew that this was a book about John Ruskin, artist and art critic linked to the Pre-Raphaelites (who I also love!) then I knew this would be a book for me.
It is a huge book that has been meticulously researched and beautifully written. In keeping with the great Victorian novels themselves, it feels substantial and weighty, retaining the writing style while also being compelling and readable.
Given the fact that Lipkin’s book is a (fictionalised) biography of a character that I thought I knew, I was surprised to read about this aspect of his life – books on Ruskin tend to focus more on his failed marriage to Effie Grey which happens before the opening of this book (although is explored later in the narrative).
This book is instead about his relationship with young Irish girl Rose La Touche, a child who (along with her sister) started as his student but later became the focus of his obsession. The fact that Ruskin is in his late thirties when he meets ten year-old Rose seems slightly uncomfortable to a modern reader (and perhaps was also odd to the Victorians) but Lipkin doesn’t shy away from the less comprehensible elements of Ruskin’s personality. The relationship – not inappropriately physical but oddly obsessive – is presented with all its ups and downs through the narrative and through letters between the key parties (including Rose’s mother, who is the one who brings Ruskin in as art tutor for her children and seems to have a soft spot for him herself).
Indeed, the presentation of John Ruskin is very well done. He is a complicated character and Lipkin presents this through all his contradictions and traits – both noble and less pleasant. There were times in the novel when I really didn’t like Ruskin, but appreciated the factors that had shaped him to be like this – for example, his problematic relationship with his father and his living situation in Denmark Hill. His own struggles with his relationship with Rose are evident in the novel and he – ultimately – seems like a complex man with conflicting emotions.
I did love the way that Rose was portrayed. From the immature petulance of a slightly over-indulged ten year-old, I felt that she grew into someone with so much depth and richness to her personality. I could have happily read more about her in this book.
The real strength in this book is that Lipkin has taken a figure from the Victorian era and breathed life into him. Ruskin isn’t someone that widely known now outside of history and art buffs, so this is a lovely book to reintroduce him to a modern readership. You may not find his situation relatable, but I think most readers would recognise the portrait of a man struggling with his own emotions and desires.
I would recommend this to any fans of the Victorian era and anyone who enjoys reading about interesting characters from the past. In ‘Unto This Last’, Lipkin has produced a gloriously lavish, engaging and immersive book.
About the Author
Rebecca Lipkin has had a passion for Victorian art and literature from a young age. She first discovered John Ruskin through E.M. Forster’s novel, A Room with a View, and later joined the Ruskin Society at the age of seventeen to learn more about Ruskin’s work. Rebecca pursued a career in journalism, specialising in arts writing and theatre reviews, and has worked for a number of national publications. Rebecca says, “Most accounts of John Ruskin’s complex personal life focus on his brief marriage to Effie Gray, but his twenty-year relationship with Rose La Touche was of huge importance to the evolution of his thinking; it is a captivating and tragic story of two people whose loving friendship transcended boundaries and conventions to the very end.”
With thanks to Random Things Tours for my copy of this book for review.
Another 3rd September publication. Don’t forget to follow my blog to see all the reviews of new books this week.
I’m an English teacher and Shakespeare obsessive so I was very pleased to receive a free copy of this book pre-publication from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I was particularly intrigued about this book as I had read about Robert McCrum’s stroke and the part that he had credited Shakespeare with in his recovery (being the fragments of language that made sense to him in the aftermath of his medical crisis).
McCrum is a very knowledgeable and interesting guide to Shakespeare and – possibly more engagingly – what ‘Shakespearean’ has come to mean in the centuries following the death of the bard. This book is part memoir of McCrum’s own experiences with Shakespeare as part of his own Shakespeare Club who attend various performances. However, it also contains so much more than this – snippets of Shakespeare’s biography, historical context, information about the reception of the plays in different places and times, bits of critical analysis and commentary – the book is packed with information and supported with extensive endnotes and a bibliography.
Personally, I particularly enjoyed the bits about the plays I know best – which tended to be the tragedies and comedies. I appreciated the fact that the book was comprehensive, but found the history play sections a bit more of a challenge. I also found the structure of the book a little difficult in places – when it worked, it was like a fascinating chat with someone really interesting as it went off on interesting tangents and picked up related thoughts well. However, when it was less successful it came across as a little unstructured and random.
Having just read Emma Smith’s excellent ‘This is Shakespeare’, I found it really thought-provoking to compare and contrast the different takes on the same material. In particular, the ideas around the end of Shakespeare’s career were striking and the extent to which he reflected this in Prospero in ‘The Tempest’. I also really enjoyed the way that McCrum wrote about the way that Shakespeare’s plays transferred to – and became highly significant in – America, mainly because this was an area I hadn’t really read about before.
Despite the little niggles, I did enjoy this and did learn some interesting new things. I would recommend this to people who are already fairly familiar with Shakespeare’s plays as McCrum does anticipate that you share his passion and have a working knowledge of the texts. This is an engaging stroll through Shakespeare’s works with an entertaining and lively guide.
You can buy your own copy of ‘Shakespearean’ using the link below – I may earn commission on purchases at no extra cost to you.
Header photo with thanks to Matt Riches for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I’ve written a lot recently about newly released novels – of which there are many. However, there are a vast number of excellent books that I’ve not written about in order to keep on top of waves of new ones.
With this in mind (and with a brief pause between the waves!), I thought I would introduce you to my favourite historical novels of recent years.
These are in no particular order – just books that strike me as deserving to find new audiences. They are all – as far as I know – stand alone novels. If historical crime series are your thing instead, you can find my recommendations here.
‘Shadowplay’ by Joseph O’Connor
Thanks to Sonder Quest for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I really love anything about the Victorian period, although I did not know much about Bram Stoker, the focus for this book, apart from the fact he wrote ‘Dracula’. The whole book was a bit of a revelation, in fact, putting Stoker in the context of his life’s works and the wider view of Victorian and Edwardian society.
The novel focuses on Bram Stoker’s life from his days as a clerk in Dublin to his time managing the Lyceum Theatre in London through to his death in 1912. The main part of the book really concentrates on his tricky relationships with the famous Shakespearian actor Henry Irving (owner of the Lyceum Theatre) and Ellen Terry, great actress of her day. Although heavily based in fact, this is a fictional account and it really brought the historical figures to life through the (fictionalised) diaries of Stoker, the letters between the characters and even some (again fictional) transcripts of conversations and interviews.
I really enjoyed the way that so much of Stoker’s day to day life at the theatre seemed to provide the inspiration for ‘Dracula’ – as a long time admirer of that classic novel, it was lovely to see ideas coming together, from character names to places and events and motifs. I wasn’t aware until reading this that Stoker never realised that ‘Dracula’ was destined for fame and fortune – it is a tragic element of his story that he never saw its success in his lifetime.
There was a lot to enjoy in this book for people who like well-researched historical fiction. So many people and places and events were incorporated into this story that Google was my constant companion so I could see and read even more!
There are a couple of reservations – Florence (poor Florence!) could have been developed more and I’d have liked a tiny bit more pace in places, but these are slight niggles only.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read for those interested in Victorian society and theatre or Bram Stoker and his writing process. It is an engaging and ultimately moving account of one man’s life and relationships in a fascinating era.
‘The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock’ by Imogen Hermes Gowar
It’s so hard to explain why this book is so bizarre and yet so fantastic (in both senses of the word). It defies genre and delivers a wholly satisfying story that I couldn’t wait to unravel.
It is 1785 and Jonah Hancock, a merchant in London, is living a narrow existence and waiting for news of his ships that are sailing across the world with the cargo that is his livelihood. One of the ship’s captains returns with a strange offering, a mermaid, an event which marks the start of Jonah’s change in fortune. As he rises in the world by feeding the public’s desire to see the mermaid, he crosses paths with Angelica Neal, a beautiful courtesan, and his life changes forever.
Thanks to Nsey Benajah for sharing their work on Unsplash.
The story moves between Jonah’s view of events and Angelica’s; both are utterly engrossing and introduce the reader to different levels of Georgian society and a whole host of fascinating characters. Although the novel is ostensibly historical fiction, there is also a slightly supernatural element which is interesting. It reminded me of some of Angela Carter’s novels (‘Nights at the Circus’ being a firm favourite of mine) in that there is a grotesque element to some of the writing and the reader is sometimes unsure what is reality and what is illusion.
Overall, I loved this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves historical novels (Georgian London is presented in absorbing detail), mystery and intrigue (is the mermaid real?), wonderful characters (Mrs Chappell is delightfully awful) or who just simply want to read a great story. Beautifully written and absolutely engaging.
‘Tipping the Velvet’ by Sarah Waters
This is a fabulous historical novel set in the Victorian theatre world – I have re-read this one a lot. It’s so beautifully written and absolutely absorbing.
The narrative follows Nancy Astley as she leaves her Whitstable home and embarks on a music hall career in London. Led by her love for Kitty Butler, a music hall artiste, she learns about her own sexuality and character as she moves through different levels of Victorian London society.
The characters she meets are varied and interesting, and always presented with subtlety and humanity, be they aristocracy or prostitute, Socialist activist or servant, theatre star or charity worker. Nancy herself is a complex and slightly frustrating narrator; she is human and real and sometimes makes bad decisions, but the reader can’t help but be charmed by her.
As well as the characters, the settings are also beautifully evoked. Nancy moves from the vibrancy of the Victorian music halls to the seediest boarding houses to the mansions of London’s wealthy and all are written in vivid detail by Waters.
The novel is often categorised as a romance, which it undoubtedly is, but I’d say this is also bildungsroman – Nancy leaves Whitstable as a young, innocent girl and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she finds her place in life. I really love this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes their historical fiction with intelligence and a whole lot of heart.
‘Bone China’ by Laura Purcell
I loved Laura Purcell’s ‘The Corset’ and so was very excited to read her new book, ‘Bone China’.
As I trust the author, I deliberately did not read about it before I started reading so that I could be pulled along by what I knew would be an engaging and suspenseful narrative. I really wasn’t disappointed!
The story centres on Morvoren House in Cornwall, a family home set on the top of cliffs. A maid, fleeing the secrets of her own past, arrives to take care of the elderly Miss Pinecroft (and her extensive collection of bone china, of course!) The household are rather unconventional and Cornish myths and superstition run rife, especially with Creeda, companion to Miss Rosewyn Pinecroft. Just as the maid, Hester Why, starts to find her feet in this strange family, the narrative shifts back 40 years and we start to learn the secrets of the tragic Pinecroft family.
This book is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. As with Laura Purcell’s previous work, there is a strong sense of the creepy and sinister, this time in the exploration of the old Cornish beliefs about fairies (who are far from the benevolent and cute figures that Disney might have us believe!) There is also plenty of vivid description which really brings to life the unusual settings such as the caves beneath Morvoren House and the characters that inhabit the story.
I would recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction. Even if you are sceptical about the supernatural elements (I’m queen of the cynics – I don’t usually read this genre for that reason), you cannot help but be drawn into this beautifully plotted, carefully researched and fascinating story.
‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins
With Collins’ second novel arriving soon (and it’s absolutely amazing), I couldn’t not include this one here.
I have no real clue how to categorise this or describe it, but this book is absolutely wonderful!
Emmett lives with his family on a farm. He’s trying to pull his weight with the physically demanding work, but he has been ill and can’t really remember a dark, feverish period of his life. A mysterious letter arrives asking for him to be an apprentice to a binder, a woman living in a remote area who is widely considered to be a witch. With no real choice in the matter, Emmett takes his place in the binding workshop, learning the secrets and skills of transferring memories to paper. But things aren’t as they seem and the world of bookbinding has those who abuse their power over people’s minds.
Picture thanks to Cristina Gottardi for sharing their work on Unsplash.
I really don’t want to give any more of the story away because I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it was because I did not quite know what to expect. I’m not even really sure what category I would place this in – the setting feels historical, but also like a parallel world in which books have mysterious power. It certainly isn’t my usual genre, but I absolutely loved it.
The novel is beautifully written and hugely imaginative – I read it in a day, which is fairly unusual for me. The only criticism I have is that I found it quite difficult to imagine the physical appearance of the characters. Scenes and emotions in the novel are written in great and absorbing detail, but I just wanted to be able to see the characters in my mind. A small niggle for me!
However, this is a lovely and engaging novel. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read something a bit different. It is not at all what I expected, but was a pleasant surprise.
‘The Devil Aspect’ by Craig Russell
Wow. Just wow!
The story is set in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. Nazism is on the rise, showing itself in small ways to the staff and residents of the asylum at the centre of the plot. This asylum is like no other, housing ‘The Devil’s Six’, killers of such depravity that they are isolated in a remote castle location. The castle itself also hides secrets, with locals thinking it stops up the mouth of Hell itself.
Into this grim and dark place comes a new psychiatrist, Victor, keen to prove that people have split personalities, a ‘devil aspect’ in each of us that has capacity for great harm. He arrives fresh from Prague, a city terrorised by a serial killer called ‘Leather Apron’, and starts to uncover some unexpected things about the castle residents.
It’s hard to write a summary of the book that really does it justice. It cleverly weaves the mythology and folk tales of Central and Eastern Europe with trends and discoveries in psychiatry, while also maintaining a constant sense of darkness through the historical setting. As Nazism makes itself felt in Czechoslovakia, not least to the Jewish character in the novel, Russell also winds in the grimness of Victorian London’s Jack the Ripper crimes being mirrored on the cold and gloomy streets of Prague.
It is meticulously researched and fascinating. It’s also all described vividly – sometimes a little too much so, given the brutality of the crimes involved and the disturbing madness at the heart of the novel.
I just can’t praise this enough. It genuinely kept me turning pages right to the end and left me thinking about it long after the end. Yes, it’s extremely dark and gruesome. Yes, it’s about some very grim subjects. Yes, it’s quite disturbing. But it’s also wonderfully clever and inventive and compulsive. Please read it now.
‘Blackberry and Wild Rose’ by Sonia Velton
This is the story of two women living in Spitalfields during the reign of George III. One (Esther Thorel) is the wife of a respected Huguenot weaver, the other (Sara) is a prostitute at the seedy Wig and Feathers tavern. When Esther pays for Sara’s freedom from her life of prostitution and gives her a job in the Thorel household, both women’s lives are changed forever and not in ways they could foresee.
Thanks to VIBHUTI GUPTA for sharing their work on Unsplash.
There is so much that is fabulous about this novel. The chapters alternating between the perspectives of the two women make the story compelling; although this isn’t a radically new device, in this novel it takes the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions and results in constantly shifting sympathies. I honestly couldn’t decide whose side I was on as it kept changing! Also, the descriptions of Georgian London are vivid and engaging – this is a grimy and dangerous London where mobs can rule and justice is far from guaranteed. The plot is tight and there is a serious feeling of menace at times – I could not put this book down!
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction. This is a beautifully written and captivating novel that deserves wide readership and critical acclaim.
‘The Doll Factory’ by Elizabeth Macneal
This book is about twin young women working in a doll factory in quite early Victorian London. Iris longs for escape, while Rose is more resigned to her situation, keen to appear respectable and do as her parents wish. Nearby, the Crystal Palace is being built for Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition and items are being sought for both this and for the Royal Academy’s annual exhibition. It is these things that will change the twins’ lives forever as they get caught up with the burgeoning Pre Raphaelite movement and a shady taxidermist called Silas.
I really loved this book for so many reasons. Firstly, the setting felt vibrant and interesting – this is London as the centre of innovation and full of opportunity. However, it’s also a London that is dangerous and seedy, and Macneal does not hold back from portraying the poverty and prostitution in the city that exists alongside the promise of the future.
I also loved the character of Iris, a woman prepared to take risks to be free to paint. The Pre Raphaelite artists themselves are also engaging subjects for a novel, although quite sanitised if what I’ve read about them elsewhere is to be believed! Finally, the sense of tension sustained throughout the book is cleverly done as Silas changes from odd loner to something much creepier.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes historical fiction. My only quibble is the title – it’s a bland and unexciting title for something that offers so much more than the story of a doll factory.
‘A Single Thread’ by Tracy Chevalier
I’d read a few of Tracy Chevalier’s books before and so I was expecting a well-researched, evocative and beautifully crafted historical novel. I was not disappointed.
This book is about Violet Speedwell, a single woman in her late thirties who is living in Winchester in 1932. Still mourning her losses in the Great War, Violet is trying to escape the future that society has planned for her as a ‘spinster’ and ‘surplus woman’. Instead of settling with her mother in Southampton as everyone expects, she moves to Winchester, gets a job as a typist and becomes involved in the Broderers, a group of women embroidering items for the cathedral. Through this, she meets an interesting set of people who show her that there are other ways of living outside of society’s rules.
Violet is an appealing and engaging heroine whose situation evokes sympathy in the reader; she struggles to assert her independence in a society that seems to want to thwart her every move. The setting is beautifully described, the characters are vivid and there is lots of interesting information about the embroidery techniques that Violet is learning – sewing is not my thing at all, but I did find it added to the novel.
This is a charming book that follows a lively and unconventional heroine. Although Chevalier touches on the big issues of women’s rights and the rise of Nazism before the Second World War, the focus never leaves Violet, her friends and family, her struggles and successes, her hobbies and her beliefs. A lovely book and one I would wholeheartedly recommend.
Thanks to Olesia Buyar for sharing their work on Unsplash.
‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
I didn’t know much about Truman Capote before I picked up this novel, but I was intrigued by the idea of telling his story through the women he was closest to – his ‘Swans’, a group of wealthy socialites who gave him access to their privileged lives and darkest secrets before he betrayed them by writing thinly-disguised versions of their stories.
I was interested in how biography can become fiction, although I soon realised that Capote himself was a master of blurring the lines between truth and fiction as several sections in this novel show – key events are told and retold from different perspectives and with dramatic features added, so the reader is always aware that truth is an illusion.
The novel covers the period between the 1930s (when Capote is a child) and the 1980s when Capote is living in relative exile following his controversial decision to fictionalise his Swans’ lives in print. The narrative switches between Capote himself and his friends, a collection of wealthy and influential women whose names are often familiar to us – we see Jackie Kennedy and her sister Lee Radziwill, Babe Paley, CZ Guest, a Churchill and the Guinesses among others. The story then drops in so many familiar faces and names that Google is a necessary companion to this novel – Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Gore Vidal, John and Bobby Kennedy, Harper Lee… the list goes on as Greenberg-Jephcott draws a vivid picture of the social whirls surrounding Capote.
I know that other reviewers have mentioned that they found the book confusing and I can see this – the timeline does skip around a bit and the cast list is extensive, although I found the more I read, the clearer the distinctions between the women and their individual lives became. Some reviewers have also said that the characters are unpleasant and unsympathetic, but I didn’t find this at all. They are undoubtedly self-absorbed, but I think that the novel shows that lives that seem gilded still have problems. Yes, the ladies lunch and are extravagant and spoilt, but they also seem human and their lives aren’t perfect.
Capote himself is a challenging figure – bitchy and clever and untrustworthy, but his background and final days still evoke pathos.
I found myself caught up in these glamorous yet often tragic lives and feel that the book will stay with me for some time.
Overall, I think this is a superb piece of writing that vividly evokes a particular historical era and social set. I thought it was beautifully written and fascinating – I definitely want to learn more about the real lives of the characters and even read some Capote, something I now feel is a shameful gap in my reading history! It’s a long book and challenging in places, but it’s also compelling and engaging. It’s been thoroughly researched and lovingly written and is definitely worth a read.
With thanks to NetGalley for giving me these books in exchange for honest reviews. As always, opinions are entirely my own!
Header photo with thanks to Jason Wong for sharing their work on Unsplash.
The shortlist for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020 was recently announced. As humorous books are definitely my thing, I was quite heartened to see many of my own reading choices on there.
With this in mind, I thought it would be timely to revisit some of these funny and joyous novels, starting with ‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson.
My Review
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this and was actually in two minds about requesting it for review – although I like Jeanette Winterson’s writing and am intrigued by Mary Shelley as a writer, I was less sure about the modernisation of ‘Frankenstein’ as a story about artificial intelligence and the future of extending human consciousness after death. I thought it might be a lot about medical morality and a bit unbelievable.
I was wrong to doubt Winterson. She has created a fascinating novel which is actually hard to describe in a way that does it justice. Partly it’s a kind of revisiting of ‘Frankenstein’ in the modern day with a trans doctor grappling with the implications of extending life (in some form, maybe brain activity separate from bodily function) while also encountering advances made in robotics and artificial intelligence. Entertwined with this is the story of Mary Shelley and her life, especially the period in which she was writing the original ‘Frankenstein’ novel.
However, this dual narrative description doesn’t really cover the intricacies of the book where fictional characters start to collide with historical ones, big ideas are explored and the reader is left with plenty of food for thought. What makes this book quite astounding though is the extent of what Winterson has crammed in: Brexit digs, literary references, humour (Ron Lord is grotesquely, hilariously awful), scientific theory, ideas about gender and identity, vivid description and comments on modern society and attitudes to change. I still don’t think I’ve managed to cover everything from this extraordinary book, and I’m also very aware that I’ll continue to make connections and think about this novel long after I have put it down.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read that also manages to be wildly entertaining and full of wry humour. The ideas presented might be big and scary and complex, but the way they are written is just brilliant.
I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Header photo with thanks to Laura Chouette for sharing their work on Unsplash.
Another book read with my English teacher hat on and one that helped me brush up my poetry knowledge. This book was published in April 2020.
As an English Literature graduate turned English teacher, I have ploughed through a fair amount of poetry in my time. It's not my favourite form (I prefer a good novel) but I do have my favourite poems and writers that I return to frequently. I hoped this book would contextualise them and perhaps give me some new avenues to explore.
I think it needs pointing out that this is a slightly odd idea for a book - a potted history of poetry that is accessible for the novice reader yet detailed enough to draw in more seasoned poetry readers (who you would expect would be the main readership for the book as people already receptive to poetry). However, I think Carey has managed this well; the book covers a vast amount of ground, managing to fit in synopses, biography and context for a range of poems and poetry movements. For me, it brought back memories of my undergraduate study - some good (it's always nice to revisit Larkin, Keats and Plath) and some less so (I hoped I'd heard the last of Piers Plowman, to be honest!)
The other strange thing about the book is that it can never be a totally objective history of poetry as it seems to promise - it's always going to include Carey's personal choices and preferences and I didn't agree with all his interpretations fully. I absolutely bow down to him as being the expert, but I do think poetry is very subjective and open to personal readings, although it was interesting to hear about his take on poems that I know very well. Carey's own preferences seemed most obvious in the amount of space allocated to individual poets - some were skimmed over in very little detail while others were explored in perhaps excessive depth (Yeats, I'm looking at you...)
Overall, I'd say this was a lovely book to use to contextualise your understanding of poets and their works - I certainly didn't realise that some of the poets were contemporaries or quite so closely linked. The biographies are interesting and Carey is a knowledgeable and lively guide through the history of poetry. It won't give you depth of understanding if you are already studying poems or poetic movements at a high level, but it's an accessible and entertaining read for those of us whose knowledge is perhaps a bit rusty!
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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