Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce. A Re-Read. Hardcover. What a marvelous story. How the unloved and unlovable Miss Benson goes in search of the fabled gold flower beetle of New Caledonia, hampered by her assistant, the exuberant Enid Pretty. Their lives are transformed during their search, which becomes a struggle for survival. The story was as fresh and satisfying as the first time around. Highly recommended.
All the following titles are e-books.
How to be the Best Damn Faery Godmother in the World (or Die Trying ) – Helen Harper. Which has got to be one of the longest sub-titles in publishing history. I read the entire series: Wishful Thinking, Wish List, As you Wish, and Best Wishes. Contemporary grown-up Fantasy: office politics, faery godmothers being abducted, who is behind the crimes? Plus human interest stories en route. Well written too; a refreshing change. Enjoyable.
A Collision of Calamities . Book #7 in the Gobbelino London series by Kim M Watt. An Action packed finale to the series; Good triumphs over Evil but only after a cataclysmic battle, that really is Armageddon. Kim Watt manages to include all the major characters from the preceding 6 books in the grand finale. My favourite characters are the fearsome sorcerer, Ms Jones, wearing Doc Martens and riding a motorcycle, not to be trifled with. And, of course, Gobbelino, the talking cat . For fans of grown-up*, paranormal, urban Fantasy, I can confidently recommend this 5* series. I loved it.
The Thin Woman – Dorothy Cannell. A Rom-Com mystery. Ellie, overweight and unhappy, hires Ben to pretend to be her boyfriend for a family reunion. After a slow start we finally get a feel-good ending. Engaging characters. A light read.
*grown-up – I hesitate to use the word adult-fantasy-fiction, because these days, the word ‘adult’ generally indicates a sex-fest on every page, which is not the case here. Hence my use of the term grown-up.
I have an antipathy to African novels that are merely a soapbox from which to thump the anti-colonialist drum. I prefer novels that tell an engrossing story, and do not club the reader to death with polemic. But Namwali Serpell avoided the pitfalls and certainly gave me my money’s worth in terms of a big, epic read.
The novel took many years to write, and given its sprawling time line over a century, charting the lives of three different families, I’m not surprised. Luckily there’s a Family Tree diagram at the beginning of the book, otherwise I would have been lost. The family lives cross, collide, combine and co-habit across the generations often with surprising – if not disastrous – results.
Namwali Serpell has painted a vivid picture of the development of the country Zambia, and its people, moving through straightforward history, followed by magical realism, a touch of speculative fiction, ending with elements of a thriller, and interjections by that ubiquitous African pest : the Anopheles mosquito, who philosophizes about man, nature, Africa, disease and a whole lot more besides. It’s a genre busting novel, but don’t let that put you off.
Reviewing it in The Guardian, Nadifa Mohamed wrote: “Namwali Serpell’s first novel is a rambunctious epic that traces the intertwined histories of three families over three generations. …Serpell is an ambitious and talented writer, with the chutzpah to work on a huge canvas.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zambia
The popular Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce has been showered with well deserved praise. What a good storyteller she is! She’s such a skilful writer that she manages to take three seriously flawed characters and combine them into a rich and unusual story, carrying the enchanted reader along into what really is a wildly improbable plot, but do we care? No, we do not, we breathlessly turn the pages: will Miss Benson find her Beetle? What will happen to Enid? And what of the damaged, tragic figure Mr Mundic, completely shattered after surviving a Japanese POW camp? Even Mundic has our sympathy. And there’s a rag-tag mongrel dog, named Mr Rawlings – irresistible! At this point (mid September) a strong contender for my Book of the Year.
FICTION
The Old Drift – Namwali Serpell . A meaty read, a long and vivid saga of three families whose lives and loves form part of the growth of the Zambian nation. If you’re interested in modern day Africa, minus heavy politics and pious correctness, read the novel. I didn’t want it to end, so that signals a good read. Recommended.
Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce. A ten-star read. Beg, borrow or steal a copy. Not to be missed. A wild adventure story, featuring two mismatched English women, beetle hunting on the French island of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific. The book offers surprising emotional depth, alongside an unusual plot. I loved it. Highly recommended.
The Dutch House – Ann Patchett. I enjoyed the novel, which features a beautiful house and the family that owns it, but by the end I felt unsatisfied by the motivation behind the actions of some of the characters. That said, it’s a good read and currently very popular.
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World – Haruki Murukami. Wildly fantastical, surreal. I really liked the chubby female super-hero, with a fetish for the colour pink. Think Hello Kitty on steroids. Probably a novel best enjoyed by die hard Murukami fans.
RE-READ:
The Cat’s Table – Michael Ondaatjie. Some years ago I roared through the novel in a big hurry, because it was a Book Club loan. I remember enjoying the account of the 21 day voyage from Sri Lanka to Southampton, because of my own childhood similar voyages. But second time around I appreciated the dark, shadowy understory that’s happening around the boys’ escapades, of which they’re (mostly) unaware. Later adult reflections reveal the entire story. Ondaatjie is such a good writer. Definitely worth the re-read.
NON FICTION
The Choice – Edith Eger. A powerful, harrowing memoir of a 17 year old girl who survives a year in Auschwitz, then post-war Europe, then emigration to the USA in 1949. Astonishingly she succeeds in qualifying as a clinical psychologist, surviving a challenging marriage, and eventually coming to terms with her own past. What a book, what a woman! Recommended.
My first read in June was a small collection of Indian stories – I was seduced by the writer’s wonderful name: Twinkle Khanna. It was okay, but not among my best Indian reads. I am a fan of Indian themed fiction, chiefly for the colour and the vivid characters. If you’ve never tried Indian themed novels, give yourself a treat and try one. But not this book. Try one of Vaseem Khan’s Inspector Chopra’s series for a lively introduction.
I tried a Tony Hillerman Western crime novel but I’m a committed Craig Johnson fan, so I’m afraid the book ran a poor second best. The Hillerman crime novel had a heavy focus on the anthropology & cultural aspects of the case, which didn’t interest me hugely. By contrast Jassy Mackenzie’s South African crime novel was a gripping, one-session I-can’t-put-it-down read.
All in all, a pretty good month’s reading. It’s winter: chilly, damp, grey days are perfect for reading. A warm blanket, a hot cuppa and a book – what better combo could there be? Don’t answer that – I can think of several, but this is a sedate bookish blog!
Ratings: 5* – Outstanding! 4*+ – Good to very good; 3* – average; 2* – run-of-the-mill; 1* – dismal; zero * – no comment. DNF – did not finish; NF – non-fiction
5*The Sudden Appearance of Hope – Claire North. The poignant life of a living ghost; and an expose of a sinister marketing scheme . Reviewed on this blog.
3.5* The Lost Empire of Atlantis – Gavin Menzies. NF. Fascinating account of research into the lost Minoan civilisation in the Mediterranean. Reviewed on this blog.
3.5* The Music Shop – Rachel Joyce . A delightful story of middle-aged love against a background of music. Reviewed on this blog.
3.5* Bad Seeds – Jassy Mackenzie. South African crime novel, featuring feisty female PI Jade de Jongh, solving theft of nuclear material. A real page turner. Reviewed on this blog.
3* The Solitude of Prime Numbers – Paolo Giordano. A study of loneliness. Original concept for a novel, but bleak and frustrating characters. Not a happy read! Reviewed on this blog.
2.5 Touch – Claire North. Original, intriguing, but overlong. Reviewed on this blog.
2* Talking God – Tony Hillerman. Crime novel featuring two Navajo Indian detectives.
2* The Legend of Lakshmi Prakash – Twinkle Kahnna. 3 short stories & a mini-novella. Strong feminist themes in an Indian setting. Reviewed on Goodreads.
A heart-warming feel good read: exactly the right book for winter!
I enjoyed the fact that the two main characters – Frank who owned the vinyl shop and Ilse the mystery lady of green coat fame – were middle-aged. I also enjoyed the fact that there was a fair amount of misunderstandings, disappointments, heartache and heartbreak along the way to true love. This wasn’t a story about hearts, flowers, fluffy pink marshmallow people. The characters were splendid , especially Maud the tattoo shop owner (often described, very accurately, as resembling the bad fairy) and Frank’s determinedly bohemian, music mad mother, Peggy.
I don’t know much about music, so while music plays a central role in the story and is crucial to the final scenes, even I , with scanty musical, knowledge, could enjoy and love the book. Even the most curmudgeonly reader or the music snob, should enjoy this one.
Recommended.
THE BOOKSMITH 