This is a brilliant new instalment in Nicola Upson’s ‘Golden Age’ crime series featuring Josephine Tey as detective. It’s a genius idea to have an actual crime writer as a detective, something that Upson has sustained beautifully over 11 books – ‘Shot with Crimson’ being the latest.
I’ve followed this series from the start and was delighted to be granted a copy of ‘Shot with Crimson’ for review by NetGalley. As always, opinions are entirely my own.
This is absolutely the best type of travel writing – engaging, humorous, vibrant and packed with historical and cultural detail. Many thanks to Rachel Quin for bringing this book to my attention and for sending me a review copy – opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
Curiosity brought me to this book. In particular, I was curious about whether a story written in the early fifteenth century would stand up to modern day expectations of a ghost story. I also wondered about the ‘translation’ of the book – not only from the original Latin in the 1920s but what Dan Jones would bring to the retelling. Finally, I wanted to know whether it would be entertaining, or more a curio of literature from the past.
I loved this book so much. I wasn’t planning on writing a review for it right away, but I couldn’t wait to shout about it!
This book is about ‘Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ (as the subtitle says) – this covers a fairly short span of actual time in which a huge amount happened. It opens with Violet Jessop (more about her later) joining her first ship as a stewardess in 1908 and ends with transatlantic ocean crossings being overtaken by air travel in the late 1950s.
Only fifty years, but a period encompassing the end of the Edwardian era, World War I, the interwar years, World War II and its aftermath. And – wow – how the world changed in that time!
I’ll admit, I was drawn to this book as I was hoping for stories of glitz and glamour – having seen the excellent ‘Ocean Liners’ exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum a few years ago, I wanted to read more about the people who travelled in such style and opulence. It absolutely covers that. However, this book is also so much more.
What I loved is that it is the story of women of all ages, classes and backgrounds who chose – for various reasons – to travel by sea. Some, like Violet Jessop, worked aboard the ocean liners in order to support families back home. Others travelled on the ships to new lives in America, escaping the Old World and (in some cases) persecution before World War II or joining their GI husbands after the war. Luckier women, the wealthy and famous, relied on the ‘Atlantic Ferry’ for leisure or work purposes. A common theme though was the importance of the transatlantic crossing in the women’s lives.
It would be hard to pick favourite bits from the huge range of material that Evans has squeezed into this book – I found myself being carried along with the narrative as Evans moved seamlessly between people’s lives, great ships, historical context and some great stories.
I did love the story of the ‘Unsinkable’ Violet Jessop who managed to survive the sinking of Titanic and her sister ship, Britannic. She was also on board a third ship that was in a massive collision. Her fortitude and courage in the way she kept returning to sea was amazing, especially when she was made redundant by she shipping company at the start of World War I but retrained as a nurse to join a hospital ship in the Aegean Sea. An amazing woman – but one that I would have worried about sharing a ship with given the fates of her previous ones!
Including Violet, this book is packed with amazing women who survived all kinds of hardships and who led fascinating lives. Although the conditions were often tough on the transatlantic route – for reasons of inhospitable weather or the treacherous conditions of war – these women continued to travel, work and live on board the ships.
In short, I came to this book for the glamour of the ocean liner, but stayed for the immersive accounts of real women whose lives were connected by the need to cross the Atlantic. Indeed, the stories of bravery, determination and grit are staying with me now the book is finished.
I’d wholeheartedly recommend the hardback version of this book (before the paperback is due for publication in June) – it has two sections of photographs that allow you to put faces to some of the women in the book, plus see some shipboard scenes. This is a glorious book and worth every penny I paid!
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Welcome to my stop on the Random Things Tours for Philip Bowne’s debut novel! This book was released on 24th September, 2020 by Neem Tree Press and was longlisted for the Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker Prize’.
From the Publisher
From debut novelist, writer for The Wombles and winner of the Spotlight First Novel prize, this hilarious and poignant coming-of-age odyssey catapults 18-year-old Billy across pre-Brexit Europe.
Literary fiction resonating with themes of family, faith, race, love, loss, taking risks, borders and barriers, downward mobility, and growing up under the shadow of Brexit.
“Bowne’s touch is light, but his themes resonate: faith, family, race, and (whisper it) Brexit.The prose sparkles like sunshine hitting the English Channel.” — D. Johnston, author of Peace, Love & Petrol Bombs
“Laugh-out-loud hijinx with moments of true poignancy… a cast of eclectic, authentic characters. Billy is a brilliant narrator-pilgrim for the next generation.” — Tyler Keevil, author of No Good Brother
“Innovative, punchy and tender… stiletto-sharp wit. — Ray Robinson, author of Electricity
“…a fresh take on the classic rite-of-passage, in the mould of The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi and Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin.”— Marion Urch – Spotlight First Novel Prize
Synopsis
17-year-old Billy has just left school with no A levels and he’s desperate to escape middle England. As a grave-digger, he’s working the ultimate dead-end job. Billy’s home life isn’t any better. In the evenings, he observes his dysfunctional family: his Grandad’s engaged to a woman half his age, his xenophobic Dad’s become obsessed with boxing, and he suspects his deeply religious Mum is having an affair.
All the while, celebrities are dropping like flies and Britain is waiting for the EU referendum. Everything is changing, and Billy hates it.
Meeting Eva, though, changes everything. She’s Swiss, passionate about Russian literature, Gary Numan, windfarms and chai tea, and Billy gambles everything for a chance to be with her.
When things start to go wrong, Billy’s journey across Europe involves hitch-hiking with truckers, walking with refugees, and an encounter with suicidal cows. But the further he goes, the harder it is to be sure what he’s chasing – and what he’s running from.
My Review
Regular visitors to my blog know that I am always looking for funny books. Put the words ‘humour’ into a blurb, or ‘laugh-out-loud hijinx’ (as is mentioned on the back of this very book) and I am first in the queue. Take my money now!
So I jumped at the chance to take part in this blog tour and read a first novel by someone who I really hopes writes a whole lot more.
Right from the start, I was drawn to the character of Billy who – at the beginning of the story – totally lacks direction. He has quit school and his Mum has got him a job gravedigging at the local church. He has a dysfunctional family, including a dad with some anger issues and a grandad (GG) who is marrying what the family consider to be an unsuitable women. Brexit is looming on the horizon and celebrities seem to be dying in huge numbers.
So far, so many opportunities for black humour and Bowne does not hold back with the laughs, from the acquisition of Billy’s unfortunate nickname at work, GG’s unconventional way of making money and one of the most awkward fish and chip dinners I’ve ever had the (uncomfortable) pleasure to read!
However, even at these early stages, it is evident that Bowne is not going to shy away from serious issues as well and we do get a real sense of Billy’s confused and – at times – quite sad internal life through his first person narration.
The story then shifts to Eastbourne Summer School for International Students where Billy gets a job and meets Eva who is Swiss and unnerved by the anti-EU feeling emerging in the UK around the Brexit referendum. It absolutely isn’t love at first sight for Billy, but we see a developing relationship which feels very real and believable.
I really don’t want to give plot spoilers, but it is safe to say that the course of true love doesn’t run smoothly and Billy embarks on some fairly outlandish schemes in order to be reunited with Eva. This culminates in a trip across Europe which is full of interesting people (I loved Cooper in particular), strange events and a lot of growing up for Billy.
As I mentioned before, this book really does have some very funny moments and Billy is a fabulous – if slightly misguided – character who the reader does really root for. I found myself desperate for it to work out for him, while also not really knowing what that would look like for the best.
However, this book also has some very poignant moments that mean it isn’t a wholly comic novel. Little snippets of tragedy infiltrate Billy’s world – the Syrian refugees, the Museum of Broken Relationships, people whose problems are beyond anything in Billy’s experiences to that point. This all adds to the sense that Billy is being forced into maturing and his road trip – regardless of outcome – will be the making of him.
As a reader, the switches between the humour and tragedy are unnerving. One minute, you can be laughing out loud and the next shocked at the poignancy of what is being related. This makes the novel an absolutely compelling read, although it is not always a comfortable experience.
Overall, I would highly recommend the novel; I was totally invested in Billy’s story and raced through the book, always keen to find out the next scrape he found himself in and to meet the next set of quirky characters. I genuinely loved this book and look forward to seeing what Bowne produces next.
With thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto this blog tour and for providing my copy of the novel in return for an honest review.
About the Author
Philip Bowne lives in London and works as a writer for The Wombles, a children’s entertainment brand.
Like his protagonist, Billy, Phil attended a failing and severely under-resourced school in Bicester, Oxfordshire. However, unlike Billy, Phil ended up studying English Literature and Creative Writing at university.
While studying, Phil published short stories in literary magazines and anthologies in the UK, US, Canada and Germany. After graduating, Phil spent time in Europe and the US, working and volunteering in various roles and settings: repairing boats at Lake Como, housekeeping at a mountain lodge in California and working with charity Care4Calais in the former Calais ‘jungle’ refugee camp.
‘Cows Can’t Jump’ is Phil’s debut novel, which he worked on while managing a bar in London. As well as a writer for The Wombles, Phil also works on a number of independent writing projects, including a musical set in 1970’s Soho and a sitcom set in a failing leisure centre.
