‘The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp’ by Eva Rice

This book – set in the 1950s and 1960s, is a charming coming-of-age story.  It tells the story of (and is narrated by) Tara Jupp, a young girl who grows up in the shadow of her older sister Lucy’s beauty.  However, Tara has one thing that Lucy doesn’t have, and that is a fabulous singing voice.  When she is discovered by the record making husband of an old friend, Tara is spirited from her home in Cornwall, to the bright lights of London, where she is transformed into Cherry Merrywell, the city’s latest singing sensation.  Tara attends glamorous parties, meets exciting men (falling in love with two of them), and experiences the effect of fame…but will she be able to keep hold of who she really is, or will Tara Jupp be lost forever to Cherry Merrywell?

I was looking forward to reading this book, as I had thoroughly enjoyed Eva Rice’s previous novel, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets.  In fact, some of the characters from that book are also in this one (but this novel is not a sequel, and you do not have to have read the previous book prior to reading this one).  I was glad that I read it – I enjoyed the story a lot.

Tara was an endearing and loveable narrator, and I felt that the author really captured all the pain, pleasure and confusion of being a teenager.  I also liked the frustrating but impossible-not-to-like Lucy; and Clover, Tara’s mentor in London.

The feel of the 1960s came through well, and there was a lovely nod to the Rolling Stones, who of course broke onto the scene in spectacular fashion in 1962.

The story flowed beautifully, and although the book came in at over 500 pages, it did not feel like a particularly long novel (and there was no sense of ploughing through it, which I sometimes get with books of that length, if they don’t hold my attention). There were a couple of places where I felt it could have done with a bit of editing – Tara’s age in relation to Lucy seemed to jump about a bit (unless it was me getting confused), and at one point a character was telling a story from his childhood which he said happened when he was three, but in the very next paragraph, it was happening when he was five!  However, I should perhaps mention that my copy of the book was a proof copy, and it may well be that these slight errors are not in the finished copy.

Overall, this was a delightful and sweet story of a young girl’s adolescence, lived in extraordinary circumstances.  I would recommend it, and I look forward to reading more of Eva Rice’s novels in the future.

(I would like to thank the author for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

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‘The Miracle Inspector’ by Helen Smith

This story is set in London in the near future; it’s a London that in some ways feels very familiar, but in some ways is scarily different from the London of today.  Counties have been partitioned off, and Londoners are effectively trapped in their city.  To escape, they have to literally go underground, and risk their lives.  Women are not allowed to work – indeed, are not even allowed outside their house unless they are covered with a veil.  The fear of paedophilia is so immense that men are frightened of spending time with any child who is not their own, and even then, only with their wife present.  Theatre and books are banned, and any kind of culture is considered anarchic.

Living in the middle of all this are young couple Lucas and Angela.  Lucas works for the sinister Ministry, as a Miracle Inspector – his days are spent visiting people who claim to have discovered a genuine miracle, but so far every ‘miracle’ has been a fraud, or the wishful thinking of the claimant.  Lucas and Angela make plans to leave London, but it turns out to be much harder than anyone could imagine.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Dystopia is one of my favourite genres, and fans of such books as Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Handmaid’s Tale, would almost certainly enjoy this novel.  I found it scarily believable; a world that was all too easy to imagine, where fear of paedophilia and terrorism has curtailed people’s freedom to an extreme level.

It is not spoilerish to say that at one part, Angela finds herself outside London, as a refugee, and the story drew parallels with how asylum seekers are treated in the real world, with mistrust and fear.

The writing is very ‘clean’ – no words are wasted here – and it flows beautifully.  The different subplots tie together nicely and despite the subject, there is genuine humour here as well.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book, and will be seeking out Helen Smith’s other books.  Definitely recommended, especially to fans of dystopian fiction.

(I would like to thank the author, who sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. )

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‘A Beautiful Blue Death’ by Charles Finch

This novel – the first in a series – is set in Victorian London and features as it’s main character, Charles Lenox, an armchair investigator, who sometimes helps the police with their enquiries, although they are never prepared to give him the credit he deserves!  When his neighbour and good friend Lady Jane asks him to investigate the suspicious death of her former maid, Prue Smith, Charles finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue.  There are numerous suspects and motives, and Charles’ efforts seem to be blocked whichever way he turns.  But Charles is resourceful and intelligent – and with the help of his brother Edmund, his friend Doctor McConnell and his trusty valet Graham.

I really enjoyed this book.  It reminded me slightly of Sherlock Holmes, but with the social skills that Holmes lacks!  However, this book did not feel like a poor copy of a Holmes story at all.  Lenox was a terrific character, and carried the story beautifully.  I also liked his friendship with Lady Jane (and hope to see more of her in subsequent books), and especially the friendship and mutual respect that he shared with Graham, who was a great character in his own right.

The mystery element of the book had me guessing all the way.  When it came to the final denoument, I realised that the clues had been revealed throughout the story, but I had missed some of them, and I had no idea ‘whodunnit’, although while reading the book I suspect almost everyone at some point!  Crime fiction used to be a favourite genre of mine – not so much these days, however, but when I read a book like this, it makes me want to pick up more of the same.  If I absolutely had to find something to gripe about, it would possibly be the occasional American speech patterns in the book (“gotten off of” for example, instead of “got off”), but these are honestly so few and far between that they should not impact upon anybody’s enjoyment of the book.

Victorian London is portrayed beautifully, and it is clear that the author must have done a lot of research.  The period detail is second to none, and I loved reading the wonderfully descriptive passages.

Overall, a great debut and a very promising start indeed to a series.  I’ll be looking out for more, and would highly recommend this book.

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The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

Laurence Olivier directed this 1957 movie, and starred in it alongside Marilyn Monroe. These two screen icons may seem mis-matched, and indeed in the film they play a mis-matched couple.  However, while it may not be one of the more popular films of either of the main stars, it does have a charm all of its own.

Olivier plays the Prince Regent of Carpathia, a fictional Balkan nation, who has come to London in 1911 with his young son the King, for the coronation of King George V. The night prior to the coronation he meets showgirl Elsie Mariner (Monroe), and invites her to dinner.  However, their romancing hits a few obstacles – the Regent Prince’s preoccupation with political business, Elsie’s lack of knowledge of regal etiquette, and of course, the coronation itself.

The filming of this movie also hit a few obstacles – Olivier did not get on at all with Marilyn, and grew impatient with her moods and her tardiness.  For Marilyn’s part, she suffered a miscarriage during filming.  She also had a number of health problems, and the medication she took for them caused her weight to fluctuate (for much of the film, she wears a stunning white dress – at least three copies of the dress in differing sizes were used, in order to accommodate her weight fluctuation).  However, despite all this, the film is actually rather lovely.  Olivier is fine in his role – he hams it up somewhat, but that seems entirely appropriate for a romantic comedy such as this; but the acting honours really have to go to Marilyn Monroe.  It’s a shame that this is one of her less well-regarded films, because she really is on top form here.  Whether Elsie is telling the Prince Regent off for being unromantic, or whether she’s practising a dance while believing that she is alone in the room, or whether she is trying unsuccessfully to manoeuvre her way around various waiters after realising that she is the Prince Regent’s only dinner guest, she simply sparkles.  She looks beautiful (like always), her acting is superb and while Marilyn’s comedic skills are often justly celebrated, she displays more depth in certain scenes, and I found it impossible not to love her character.

If you are a fan of either of the stars of this film and have not yet seen this film, I recommend that you seek it out – you might be pleasantly surprised!

(This was the only film that Marilyn made outside of America, and her time in England is the subject of the upcoming film ‘My Week With Marilyn’ starring Michelle Williams as Monroe, and Kenneth Branagh as Olivier.)

Year of release: 1957

Director: Laurence Olivier

Writers: Terrence Rattigan (play and screenplay)

Main cast: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Jeremy Spenser, Sybil Thorndike

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‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy

Small Island tells the tale of four people before, during and after World War II, and deals with issues of racism, family and love.  Queenie Bligh’s husband Bernard went off to fight in the war and by 1948 still hasn’t returned.  Queenie has no idea where he is, or even if he is dead or alive.  To help make ends meet she has taken in lodgers, one of whom is Gilbert Joseph, a Jamaican man who fought for Britain in the war.  Queenie’s neighbours are outraged that she is allowing black lodgers into her home, but Queenie herself is more tolerant.  Gilbert’s wife Hortense, an educated and snobbish woman comes to Britain to join her husband and fulfil her dreams of a big house in the beautiful countryside, but the reality is very different.  She is living in one cramped and dirty room, in a neighbourhood where she is unwelcome because of her colour – and she is discovering that she does not really like – or even know – her husband.

The tales of these characters, and a fourth character of Queenie’s husband Bernard, are interwoven beautifully.  The story is gripping and entirely believable.  The scenes of both blatant and casual racism are disturbing and shocking to read (the casual racism sometimes more so than the blatant).  The hypocrisy of human nature, as well as the strengths of individuals, is also well depicted.

All four characters take it in turns to narrate the story, and the narrative switches from ‘Before’ (the war) and 1948, which is the present day in the story.  However, it never becomes confusing, and each character is distinct and fully fleshed out.  Queenie and Gilbert are the most sympathetic characters (to me anyway), while I found it difficult to warm to Bernard.  Hortense was possibly the most interesting however, and the viewer is taken from her early dreams to her shock that gradually comes over her as she discovers – as Gilbert did months earlier – that black faces are not welcome in Britain, although many black people fought for Britain in the war.

The ending was excellent, and really brought all the threads together.  There were a few surprises at the conclusion, but all of them fitted in well with the story.

The book won the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction, the Whitbread Book of the Year in 2004 and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2005.  I am not surprised in the least at the acclaim it received.  Without hesitation I would recommend this book.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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‘The Various Flavours of Coffee’ by Anthony Capella

It is London 1896, and young bohemian poet Robert Wallis accepts a job from coffee merchant Samuel Pinker, to compile a guide to the various flavours of coffee.  Robert finds himself working with Pinker’s daughter Emily and despite their very different lifestyles and attitudes, they find themselves attracted to each other.  However, Pinker then sends Robert to Africa for five years, to manage a coffee plantation.  While there, Robert meets Fikre, a slave girl owned by a wealthy Arabian coffee merchant; she awakens desire in him such as he has never known before, and makes him question everything he thought he knew about life, love and himself.

This book, which takes place at the end of the 19th century, tells the story of Robert’s journey from London to Africa and back again, but it is also a story of his metaphorical journey – from that of a selfish, foppish, irresponsible (but still rather endearing) young man, to a man with morals and concerns about social issues.  It also touches on subjects such as fair trade, slavery and suffrage (the last issue becoming a bigger theme in the latter part of the book).  There are numerous and lavish descriptions of various types of coffee; and if you think this sounds like it might be boring, think again!  It was actually fascinating, and made it almost a necessary requirement to drink coffee while reading. 

Robert narrates the book himself, so perhaps is portrayed in a more sympathetic light than if another character had narrated the book.  At the beginning of the story, he is superficial and blase about life, he lives well beyond his means, and spends most of his nights frequenting the whorehouses of London.  Despite all of this, it’s hard not to like him, and I could see how the serious minded and intelligent Emily could be attracted to him.  Emily herself was one of my favourite characters – her passion for politics and in particular, campaigning for women to be able to vote, made for an interesting sub-plot, and provided interesting details about the abuse of process which went on, and how certain people tried to stop women having any independence at all.  It made me eager to find out more about the subkect and was one of the most interesting parts of the story for me.  The book was less than 500 pages long, but certainly packed a lot of story into those pages! 

The ending was unpredictable (to me at least), but satisfying nonetheless, with the very final chapter finishing the story off perfectly.  This was the first book I’ve ever read by Anthony Capella, but I definitely intend to read more.  I’d definitely recommend this book.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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‘Bitter Sweets’ by Roopa Farooki

This novel starts off in Bangladesh, when Rashid (aka Ricky) Karim, a 17 year old youth with a promising future, is tricked into marrying Henna Rub, a manipulative and deceitful 13 year old, who sees marriage and subsequent motherhood as a way to escape school.

Years later, their daughter Shona elopes with a Pakistani who her family do not approve of.  Shona and her husband Parvez run away to London, where money is short, but they are convinced that their love will keep them together.  They have twin sons, Omar and Sharif.

As all three generations of the family negotiate their way through life, love and lies, they find themselves seemingly headed on a course to disaster.  Will they ever find a way out of their tangled lives?

This book was a very pleasant surprise.  When I started it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I found myself hooked on the story and eager to find out what would happen next.  The tale takes place in London and Bangladesh, and I enjoyed the descriptions of both places.

If there is a main character, it is probably Shona; she is a beautifully drawn character, and so believable.  She is intelligent and compassionate, but also has very human flaws, lying to herself as often as she tries to hide the truth from others.  I liked her very much.  The other characters are also well developed and easy to believe in.

The storyline had some twists and turns, and kept me hooked.  The family soon became ensnared in the tangled web of lies of which they had become part.  I had no idea how things would turn out, and thought that the ending when it came was very satisfying.  There were themes of humour, sadness, anger and love running throughout the story; the title of this book is very apt, as it was certainly bittersweet.

This is the first book I’ve read by Roopa Farooki, but I am certainly going to seek out her other novels.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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‘Remix’ by Lexi Revellian

Caz Tallis has a great life living in her dream flat in London and loving her job making and restoring rocking horses.  So when a handsome stranger turns up on her balcony she is surprised to say the least.  Particularly when the stranger turns out to be rock star Ric Kealey – who died three years ago when he was accused of the murder of his bandmate.  After Ric’s ‘death’ the murder investigation was closed.  But now Ric wants to prove his innocence, and Caz gets drawn into helping him.

Caz finds herself drawn to Ric, but as their enquiries progress, she starts to wonder how much she really knows him – and suddenly she doesn’t know what the truth is, or who she can trust…

This was a great story, combining an intriguing mystery with a budding romance.  The story unfolded at exactly the right pace, and I genuinely had no idea how it would end up.  I was able to empathise with Caz’s feelings towards Ric – he was charismatic and attractive, but could also be selfish and irritating.

The story is narrated by Caz, and she’s a great character – easy to identify with, and with a great sense of humour.  The story twists and turns as she tries to sort out the lies from the truth.

There are a few other characters who flesh out the story – Ric’s solictor and manager Phil, who may or may not be trustworthy; his outrageous and unpredictable former bandmate Jeff Pike; Caz’s best friend James; and Phil’s girlfriend Emma.

Overall, this is a very entertaining and fun read, with a genuinely unpredictable ending – I would certainly recommend it, and hope to read more by this author.

(I would like to thank the author for sending me this book to review.  Lexi Revellian’s website can be found here.  Her blog can be found here.)

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‘The Detective Branch’ by Andrew Pepper

It is 1844, and Pyke is now heading up the Detective Branch of the new Metropolitan Police Force.  When a robbery at a pawnbrokers leaves three men dead, Pyke soon recognises one of the victims as having links with Pyke’s own criminal past, and has to try and solve the crime before secrets from his own past are revealed.

However, this is only the first problem that Pyke will encounter during the investigation.  When the rector of a wealthy parish is murdered some months later, and a valuable antique cross is stolen, Pyke sees a connection and sets out to solve the mystery.  He soon discovers that somebody – possibly one of the men he works for – wants to keep the matter hushed up and is prepared to sacrifice Pyke’s career, or worse, to do so.  It isn’t long before he realises that he doesn’t know who he can trust – or indeed if he can trust anybody.

Meanwhile, Pyke has to deal with loss in his personal life, and a growing detachment from his 14 year old son Felix…

This is the fourth novel in the Pyke series.  All of the books have been enjoyable and this one, like those preceding it, is very readable.  The author captures the atmosphere of Victorian London, and clearly knows his subject well.  One aspect of the series that has been fascinating is how it describes the development of a police force in London from the beginning.

Pyke is somewhat more restrained in this book – necessarily so due to his job as a police inspector.  Whereas in the previous novels he was a Bow Street Runner and then an independent (of sorts) investigator, he now has a duty to uphold the law and therefore is not always able to turn to his former methods of obtaining information.  He is also becoming more considered as he gets older and is starting to realise that how he lives his life directly affects how his son Felix sees the world.

The mystery itself is satisfying, if sometimes a little over-complicated and it was occasionally necessary to remind myself who was who, and occasionally what a particular character’s role in the story was.  The ending however was excellent – probably the best ending of any of the novels so far in the series, with a twist that I certainly couldn’t have predicted.

For the most part, the characters are well drawn, and the development of Felix’s character suggests that he might play an even bigger role in future novels.  I liked the dynamic between Pyke and Felix – they love each other dearly, but don’t really understand each other.  Some of the other characters in the book were interesting to read about – I hope that the priest Martin Jakes might feature in any future Pyke novels – especially the other officers in the detective branch.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that this is the best Pyke book, but it’s certainly a worthwhile and enjoyable addition to the series.  Recommended to fans of crime and/or historical fiction.

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‘A Girl Like You’ by Gemma Burgess

Abigail Wood has just come out of a long relationship, and at 27 is facing the uncertain world of singledom.  She has no idea how to navigate the dating scene, but fortunately her flatmate is London lothario Robert, who teaches her the unofficial rules (be brutal, be bulletproof, be cool and detached).  Soon Abigail is having loads of dates and great fun – but at some point she’s going to meet her match, and what will she do then?

I really enjoyed this book, and having read it, now want to get hold of Gemma Burgess’s debut novel, The Dating Detox.

A Girl Like You starts with a short prologue, with a distraught Abigail in a hotel room in Hong Kong, sporting a black eye and clearly upset about something (although it isn’t until later that we find out what).  This taster of what was to come whetted my appetite and I was eager to see how the story got to that point.  The book then jumped back six months to when Abigail was going on her first date after the end of her relationship.

The book is told from Abigail’s point of view, which means that we get to know her character very well.  She is instantly recognisable – I felt that she could easily be someone I knew (and I’m sure many readers would be nodding with recognition at some of the things that Abigail did or said).  Certainly Abigail is the kind of person who we would like to be friends with – loyal, funny and clever, but also sometimes lacking in confidence, unsure of her career, sometimes acting without thinking.  She was a very believable and fleshed out character.

I also loved her circle of close friends – her dating mentor Robert, potty-mouthed Plum, sweet Sophie and funny Henry – again these were all characters who the reader could recognise in real life.

The book made me laugh out loud on a number of occasions, but it also had moments of introspection, sadness and realisation.  The whole speed dating episode had me giggling all the way through!  The author obviously has a quick wit, which comes through in the character of her narrator.

I would definitely recommend this book, and will certainly be looking for more to read by Gemma Burgess.

(I would like to thank Gemma for arranging for this book to be sent to me for review.  Gemma Burgess’s website can be found here.)

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