Ewart Hutton's "Good People"

This fortnight, I've spent my time with Ewart Hutton's debut novel, Good People (out on the 2nd February, next month). It aims to be the first in a series of mystery/crime novels based on the adventures of the disgraced half-Welsh, half-Italian copper, Glyn Capaldi. Its premise put me in mind of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's comedy film, Hot Fuzz: City cop makes big mistake and ends up in the back-end-of-no-where, in a community of people who are too close for comfort. However, the big differences are that Good People isn't comedy, and is a heck of a lot darker. Also, the cavalry turn up a lot sooner as well.

As you'd expect from a good crime-novel, there are plenty of twists, plenty to keep your mind ticking over, trying to get ahead of Capaldi himself. It is an enjoyable and easy read, though at first for me Capaldi's character really grated. He sounds like something out of an American crime drama - he wouldn't have been out of place in New York. However, he is out of place in Cardiff and South Wales... fortunately that voice wears down into something a lot more readable and believable. Hutton, a little way in, finds Capaldi's real voice and that's when the fun really begins.

Saying this, the story doesn't leave you waiting around, ready for something to happen for the sake of long-haul character development - it doesn't immediately indulge in describing Capaldi's past. We pick up hints of what happened to him in Cardiff, but only enough to keep whetting our appetites - the story in the background of the current mystery. It's very well put together, and it knows it's part of a series - there's plenty of time to get to know the characters over the next stretch of books so it gives us information on a need-to-know basis.

In the strain of recent crime dramas, such as CSI, Hutton bravely takes on a disturbing crime for his first novel. Sexual deviancy with a side order of murder, in plenty of detail. For some more delicately-minded readers, it might not be the best read. Personally, it doesn't faze me - but I've read another review where one person was affected by it (A great detective story, just a bit graphic - a fellow Waterstones reviewer). However, as I pointed out before, if you've watched enough CSI Vegas in the last couple of years, sexual deviancy is probably not a problem.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, I pretty much just sat and read the whole thing over a couple of nights, quite happily. I even allowed a number of cups of tea to go cold in the process! I'm looking forward to seeing what the next novel might bring.

Season of Light by Katherine McMahon (Finally...)

Well, Christmas and the start of term have been very busy for me! Essays, organising conferences, researching for curating an exhibition, job applications - and an interview! - and obviously course-related reading and essays... but now things have settled down, I'm finally able to give you my review of Katherine McMahon's Season of Light! (Please forgive me for being so late with it...)

I love historical fiction, it's something about the settings and the fashion... this one particularly caught my eye as it is set around the time of the French Revolution and deals heavily in the idea of cosmopolitanism which was rife with women of eighteenth-century Britain. As you can tell, it intrigued me because the eighteenth-century is my specialism. Usually, when I pick up historical fiction, it's based in the era of the Tudors, in the strain of Philippa Gregory or Hilary Mantel. I know enough of the period to enjoy the books, and not enough to make me skeptical of what is written. All I can say is, I was very pleasantly surprised that my specialism did not blind me to the brilliance of Season of Light (and, indeed, it gave me no particular pause for thought in that way). I even smiled as a familiar name popped up here and there, such as Madame Genlis or the better known Robespierre.

It begins with a quote from Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities (a World Book Night book for 2012!) which is where the novel gets it's title, Season of Light. The quote really sets the scene, Dickens' view of the division of opinions during the the French Revolution really hits the spot for me. It was a time of fear, intrigue, and terror, and also hope, whether you were French or British. The story encapsulates this in the whirlwind romance and desperation of Asa's situation, which is so easy to get drawn into. If you enjoy Jane Austen, you will enjoy this more - the feisty heroines and their bold independence are even more engaging.

The Joy of Books

A delightful stop motion animation from a Canadian couple - I loved it so much, I just had to share! ^_^

New review coming up this Thursday!

The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari By Robin Sharma

Just as I promised, this fortnight I'm reviewing Robin Sharma's The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.

Beginning with the title - I really wasn't sure what to expect, and frankly I was a little apprehensive. But a change is always good, no matter how small. So I dove into it with an open mind and found myself enjoying this unusual book. It's not unusual in a sense of originality compared with anything else on the market - it's that it has an unusual premise. The Secret Letters of a Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is essentially a spiritual self-help book in a fictional format. You follow the journey of Jonathan Landry as he collects talismans for his cousin, the monk, who needs them for someone whose life is in danger. It follows a typical hero/quest story line - at first reluctant, he decides to go for it and the journey inevitably changes him. But the content makes the journey a lot deeper than that.

Making the book even more unusual is it's place in the series. The other books follow in the spiritual self-help strain: Discover Your Destiny with the Monk ho Sold His Ferrari: The Seven Stages of Awakening and Leadership Wisdom with the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 8 Ritual of the Best Leaders. Following on from the fictional book, these are non-fiction guides, much like Sharma's other self-help books. It seems the fiction is like a stepping stone into the world of spiritual self-help.

However, this doesn't mean that the book can't be enjoyed for its own sake. For myself, I think I would prefer to leave it at the fictional stage - I didn't feel drawn in by the guide, more by the fable that was presented, the anti-hero turned hero, coming to terms with his past and present and looking forward to a bright new future. Definitely a feel good book!

Overall, I can't say I'm absolutely raving about it, but it was enjoyable enough. If it sounds like your kind of thing, find a copy and see what you think.

Double Dexter

A new experience today – writing this on the train home to see my family. Currently passing lovely, bright green, rolling hills covered in tress and the occasional little farm house. 

Right – to the blog post:

Another book from the wonderful people at Doubleday. This is one of the more popular books I’ve reviewed as it is the latest in the Dexter series, Double Dexter. Let’s start with the cover, shall we? It promises to be “an all-new Dexter case you won’t see on TV” – surely a thrill for fans of the series and a sure-fire motive for them to grab a copy. It was released on 18th October, with little hype, but a strong fan-base nonetheless. I had high hopes, having heard so much about the series (some of you will be horrified to find that the first Dexter book I have read is the latest one, and I haven’t even caught an episode on TV) so as soon as I could I delved in to find out what the fuss was all about. 

It was an easy read, I probably read the 322 pages that my proof-copy offered in about six hours. I generally enjoyed the plot, too. However, as I read, the niggles piled up and I wished I hadn’t set my expectations quite so high. I was expected something complex, that would leave me wondering after each chapter, what was going to happen next? Who was the Shadow? It was, unfortunately, rather predictable, and I prefer more of a puzzle in my crime fiction, a few unexpected twists and turns. On top of its predictability was a hefty dose of repetition, which certainly wasn’t a helpful factor when it was quite obvious what was going to happen. It occasionally made the reading experience quite dull and I found myself skipping over whole paragraphs in search of something new. Even the simplest narrative techniques were exaggerated to make it obvious what was going to happen. Lindsay’s use of foreshadowing, for example, leaves a lot to be desired – rather than hinting at future events, it more shoves it in your face so that you cannot pretend you don’t know what’s coming. 

This said, I still sat for several hours straight and finished the book, and I had enjoyed what I’d read. If you want an easy crime fiction read, this would certainly be the kind of thing you were looking for. It is entertaining, the lovable rogue that is Dexter is a brilliant narrator, and Lindsay’s descriptions are fantastic. I have a feeling I might be tracking down the first book – maybe now that my expectations have been set straight, I might not find it so niggly.

National Novel Writing Month

I thought I take this fortnight's blog and write about a crazy little thing I'm doing called national Novel Writing Month. Of course, many of you have heard of it, but there are a surprising amount of people who don't know anything about it. I believe it is my duty as a NaNoWriMo participant to inform you all about this wonderful event.

Remember my first blog post on Erin Morgernstern's The Night Circus? The bestselling debut hit started life as a NaNoWriMo novel in 2005 (Read Erin's pep-talk on the writing of The Night Circus) and so did around ninety other novels! Amazing, right?

So I can see you wondering: what is NaNoWriMo exactly? Well, NaNoWriMo is an exciting opportunity to kick start your novel with the support of millions of other NaNo participants the world over! Writing is a solitary business, made a lot easier with the support of others in the same boat - in November there are a heck of a lot of people in that boat with you, so much so that the boat has probably become the size of the world's biggest cruiser-liner. But on the cruise-liner, there's not much time for lounging by the pool or playing games or watching the crew's entertainment evenings (dodgy cabarets and wanna-be musicians), but there are paper and pens everywhere and plug sockets so that your laptops and netbooks don't run out of juice, and a stash of USB sticks and a wireless internet connection so that once every seven days you can back up your precious words. There are also challenges and games to get your wordcount higher, enabling social interaction while still novelling! Did I mention the target is 50,000 words? Come back! Don't run away! It's fun!

At the moment, Day 10, we are a third of the way through - but it's no too late to join in! Numerous NaNo participants are joining as the days go on. In fact, there are many and various ways to catch up with those of us who have been writing since day one. My favourite so far is in memory of our heroes of WWII: The 11-11-11 11th Hour Challenge. Within the same forum, you will also find invitations to word wars and other fun word-count-boosting social activities. And speaking of social activities! You will also find that the majority of areas around the world have their own NaNo Regions. These are run by wonderful people who take on the role of Municipal Liaison. Both in real life and in the virtual world, these people offer advice, encouragement and social activities such as the Kick-Offs, Write-Ins (both IRL and virtual) and the Thank-God-It's-Over parties. They also run regional chatrooms for word wars and sprints; often regions war against each other for the highest collective word count! So if you're feeling competitive, it's a great place to be. And finally, there's the wonderful world of Twitter. Throughout November, there are numerous challenges run on @NaNoWordSprints by MLs all over the world which give you timed challenges to write as much as you can, alongside little prompts and challenges such as words or situations to get into your writing. If all else fails, trawl through the forums for interesting threads and be inspired! As you can see, you are not left on your own to complete this month-long challenge, help is around every corner!

What I'm saying is... I'd like to invite you all on a whirl-wind adventure into the land of novel-writing for the next twenty days. What do you say?

Bruce Duffy's Disaster Was My God

I have never read a semi-fictional biography before, nor have I read any poetry by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Bruce Duffy's Disaster Was My God has introduced them both to me. He states in his 'Note to the Reader' that while the book may be true to the character of Monsieur Rimbaud, the account is a fictional one; Duffy describes it as "more allegorical than historical, as befits a legend". Nevertheless, it is a compelling story and will certainly stir your interest in the man and his poetry.

The title of the book is derived from Rimbaud's poem, A Season In Hell, and his poetry is often quoted throughout the novel - the descriptive and dark language used by Duffy often seems a mimicry of the poet. His account of "the outlaw life of Arthur Rimbaud" draws you in from the beginning. Anachronistically, the prologue serves as an insight into the life of Rimbaud's mother after his death, revealing the contrasting views of Rimbaud's mother and the town of Charleville. Arthur is the bane of her life; Arthur is their hero and claim to fame.

The anachronistic treatment of the story does not mean you lose your way through the maze of Arthur Rimbaud's life; Duffy's skillfully crafted story merely keeps you on your toes. The past seems to serve as an explanation for the current actions of the characters, which suits the novel's prologue: In some ways the later chapters exist as a teleological explanation of Madame Rimbaud's attitude towards her son. Really, an excellent narrative hook. Why does this woman despise her son so much? Read on, dear Monsieur et Madame, read on...

The novel is to be released on the 17th November 2011 - and I'm very grateful to DoubleDay to be able to have this early viewing.