50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Eight

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh thread of the 50 Books Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2023, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, the sixth one here and the seventh one here

Sankofa Chibundu Onuzo

This is the story of Anna, a fifty something, mixed race woman who sets out to
find her father, the ex-president/dictator of a small African country after she discovers his diary amongst her mother’s possessions. I liked a lot about this book: the themes and ideas about colonialism and post colonialism, the compromises one has to make create a nation state, what is right and what is wrong and why. I liked lots of the stuff about identity. But, I just don’t think the writer told a good story. The first half was very slow, the second half was significantly better and I think we’ll have lots to discuss at Book Club, but pretty standard 3star for me.

69 The Land Of Lost Things by John Connolly

We’re not creatures of flesh and blood alone, no more than a book is just ink, paper, and card. We’re beings of tale and fable. We exist as narratives. This is how we understand the world and this is how we must be understood

This won’t be a bold at the end of the year, it will be a bright and brilliant Gold. It epitomises what books and stories mean to me and have always meant to me.
I was 26 when I read The Book Of Lost Things and you worry, don’t you, that an author might just be cashing in on past glories? I should have had more faith in John Connolly, who consistently writes intricate, thoughtful, deep books with truths at their hearts that go far beyond ‘Private Detective With Tortured Past’ or, in this case ‘Woman With Daughter In Coma Slips Into A Fairytale’.

Ceres sits by her daughter’s bedside, first in hospital, then in a long term hospice facility. Phoebe is in a coma after a texting driver hit her with his car. Ceres fights aside thoughts of wishing the most awful end to it all and finds herself speaking aloud stories from their favourite (mild) fairy tale book. New stories emerge, not in the book and with cruel undercurrents. Proper fairy tales….. Then while exploring the old house where the founder of the hospice lived, a one-eyed rook stalks her, ivy forms a face and shit gets very (un)real.

I had the luxury of reading this more or less whenever I wanted to (thanks Covid, appreciate it you spiky little bastard), which was good, as it flows beautifully. There’s genuine horror, sadness and anger at the destruction of nature in whatever world you might find yourself. Flashes of Pratchettian humour (Rapunzel, a crossbow and extremely helpful rodents) but never twee or derivative.

I’ve a picture on the landing, inbetween my bookcases, of a little girl lying down absorbed in a book, while illustrations from childhood classics swirl around her. This book was the equivalent of that for 52 yr old me.

@BoldFearlessGirl I've not read any John Connolly but you've convinced me. Thank you for the review, it sounds wonderful. Hope you are on the mend.

@BoldFearlessGirl I love the first book. Will add this to my 'books to buy with birthday book token' list

@PepeLePew I do hope you enjoy it! You don’t have to have read the first one, as a running theme is that everyone has their own Story. I’m ok, thank you, just insanely tired, but with a brain that just wants to be busy and entertained, so thank goodness for books.
@splothersdog it’s a beautiful book, well worth a birthday token. John Connolly is one of the few writers whose books I buy in print straight away. He never lets me down or gets put on the Reduced Wishlist pile.

@BoldFearlessGirl that sounds amazing! I’ve never heard of John Connolly before - adding him to my to-read list now 😊

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage at one time I was heavily into Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman and even James Patterson, but the supernatural element of Connolly’s Charlie Parker detective novels soon put them way ahead of all the others. He writes exquisite short stories too and does incredible book promotion tours both in the UK and the USA. I missed him at a local bookshop recently, so I’ll keep a close eye on that for next time. If only to gush embarrassingly at him for all the thrills and tears over the years

Hey @BoldFearlessGirl get well soon ☕🍪 I'm glad you're still enjoying reading.

I'm half way through the 'Charlie Parker' series. I usually read one a year. I must read this year's one still, so I've just bumped it up on my reading list ('The Whisperers'). John Connolly is a quality writer, in my opinion. 'Nocturnes' was very good. I don't know the books you mentioned, so I'll keep them in mind.

@GrannieMainland thanks for the Amy & Lan, I think it will be one of my books of the year too.

Sad that the Zadie Smith isn't quite up to it. For me she's never quite reached the heights of White Teeth which I loved when it came out. I did see her Wife of Willesden which was a play inspired by Chaucer's the Wyf of Bath's tale last v year which I thought was excellent.

@BoldFearlessGirl another one adding John Connolly to the list.

15. Whips by Cleo Watson Westminster bonkbuster written by a former SPAD to Boris Johnson, in which a bunch of irritating Tories screw each other over, in between screwing each other. Nine tenths of the way through the author remembers that even airport fiction is supposed to have the semblance of a plot, and so all sorts of improbable and implausible stuff happens in a big ole rush to actually say something. I thought this might be a bit of silly Jilly Cooper-style fun, but while the silly was there, the fun wasn’t.

@Terpsichore you might enjoy it then if you are a Tichborne enthusiast! There's a lot of detail about the trial in the book and some of the exchanges lifted from court transcripts.

@Stokey I know what you mean. I liked NW and On Beauty a lot, but neither quite had the power and energy of White Teeth for me. Though that might be to do with how things affect you at 15. Anyway the critics disagree with me on The Fraud so don't let me put you off...

I've been in a massive reading slump for weeks now, started and abandoned about 10 different books. But I finally gave up on my random number generator and picked a book off my shelf that I wanted to read and it's sorted me right out

53. The Appeal by Janice Hallett Very late to the party with this one but so glad I finally read it. For anyone who doesn't know the story (unlikely) two trainee solicitors are given an evidence pack by their boss and asked to work out whodunnit. To start with they don't know what crime has even been committed. Their boss then drip feeds more and more evidence as they progress to help them in their journey. The whole book is emails, text messages and newspaper clippings

I absolutely LOVED this. I found the format really refreshing. It made it a lot easier to flick back through when I wanted to check things and I found the way the story unfolded really gripping. A definite bold from me

The only downside to this is I would normally share books like this with my mum and mother in law who both love a good crime fiction but I know my mum especially wouldn't cope with the format of this and I'm not sure my mother in law would be keen either. Also one small criticism, I don't find it 100% believable that people in their 30s were conducting so much of their communication via email in 2018. I think they would mostly have been using whatsapp but I know the format wouldn't have worked so well without the emails

I know her second novel, The Twyford Code had mixed reviews on here but I think I'll give it a go and see what I make of it. I definitely want to read her third one as that looks really good. Not sure what others here have thought of that one? Also does anyone know if the layout of these works ok on Kindle? I had this in paperback and not sure whether to buy the next two on kindle or splash out on paperbacks if it works better

satellite, I've read all three of JH's books. I think the first works the best, as the format feels the freshest and she keeps the pace up - I felt the next two dragged a bit and the plotting started to strain credulity. That's not to warn you off them, as I like the fact that she's doing something a bit different within the genre, but don't get your expectations up too high.

Can't advise on formatting as I believe I read library copies of all three.

I liked The Appeal but DNF The Twyford Code

I read both on Kindle and can’t recall any issues with the format of either.

What a glowing review, I'm also adding Land of Lost Things to my wishlist. And if everyone is going to read it now, maybe I will just purchase it instead of waiting for it to drop to 99p!

Do I need to have read Book of Lost Things first?

Also added Fingersmith. Once again I am adding books quicker than I am reading them!!

@RazorstormUnicorn , no, there are references to the first book and the main character does appear, but it’s constructed in a way that means Ceres’s story is separate from his, just set in a recognisable folklore/fairytale world. A bit like Stephen King’s crossovers between The Talisman and The Dark Tower (Twinners?).

Just catching up, finally. The Appeal was a bold for me but haven't got to The Twyford Code yet. Lovely review of the Land of Lost Things which really touched me, so that is now added to my growing wish list.

54. This Much is True - Miriam Margolyes

I chose this as an alternative to a serious bedside read which is taking a while due to the subject matter. The author's voice (presumably she wrote the book herself, it feels that way) really comes through and I can imagine this as an audiobook. A biography in chronological-ish order telling the story of Miriam Margolyes' life and incredible career. I certainly learned a lot - more than I needed to in places TBH. Funny, frank, and gossipy, though with some serious issues too. As you'd expect, the language was pretty ripe and there was more oral sex than I expected, but generally a light read nonetheless.

21 The Colour - Rose Tremain
Joseph Blackstone emigrates to New Zealand to escape his guilty past and reinvent himself along with his new wife Harriet, taking his mother (Lilian) with them, the couple buy some land and a couple of animals, build a house and start farming. Following a hard winter, Joseph is tempted by the potential for making his fortune as a gold miner on the West Coast and leaves Harriet and Lilian to take care of the farm while he goes off prospecting. When tragedy hits, Harriet leaves her land to bring the news to Joseph while on a personal mission to explore the mountains and search for a missing Maori woman while she's at it.

I enjoyed this. The growing dislike and mistrust between Joseph and Harriet is well portrayed (he is weak and petulant while she is strong and spirited). Lilian's progress from resigned suffering widow to proud independent farmer is lovely. The scenery is beautifully evoked, from the wild countryside and menacing mountains to the hideous blight on the landscape caused by the gold rush.

I was unsure about starting this. I love some of Tremain's work (Restoration is in my Top 10) but some of it is awful (some tedious thing about British ex-pats in Provence that I can't remember the name of now). It seems I like her historical books only!

89. Maame - Jessica George. This is about a young Ghanaian woman in London, Maddie but also know as Maame, which means woman, to her family. She lives with her father who has Parkinson's disease and is his main carer. Her mother is working in Ghana and her brother is living away from home and won't help. Her mother decides to come back to the UK which enables Maddie to move out and try to get on with her life. I thought this was really strong. Maddie's character comes across very clearly and the issues of guilt and familial responsibility as well as trying to make your own way. It's not quite as dark as Queenie, as it focuses more on family although there's also some love.

Maybe slightly too neatly tied up at the end but on the whole a great read.

@Stokey that's the second time I've seen Maame recommended today so I'll take it as a sign that I need to read it!

After the positive reviews on here I've finally started Fingersmith. Better late than never after owning it for 15+ years.

81. A Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell
Vicar's daughter Dorothy lives a fairly dull and lonely life with her intimidating father until one day she wakes up in London with no idea who she is. She goes onto have various experiences, including being an itinerant agricultural worker and being homeless in London.
This was disappointing from Orwell. Dorothy never really seems like a real person, just a cipher to show different ways in which life can be miserable. It's not badly written it just feels flat.

82. We Need to Talk About Kelvin: What Everyday Things Tell Us About the Universe by Marcus Chown
    Some of this made my head hurt. I think I need to accept that anything to do with quantum physics and the microscopic world is beyond me. Some of it was very interesting, possible reasons why we've never had contact from aliens, why the sky is dark and not filled with the light from stars.
    Over all if you substitute "listened to your lecture" with "read this book" in this quote from Fermi that Chown uses then it pretty much sums up how I feel: "Before I came here I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level."

83. The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara trans Alexandra Keeble
    Before becoming a famous revolutionary Guevara set off on a journey to North America from his home country Argentina with a friend.
    I think the title is a bit inaccurate, as most of their travel is done by hitching lifts. In some ways it's a book about the fun, freedom and foolishness of youth, but you can also see how it must have affected Guevara, meeting many people living and working in terrible conditions.

I've got The Colour on my shelf, I'm a sucker for a NZ book. I'll bump it up the list!

I have finally finished Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. This was an audiobook and I found it quite disappointing. The story is of two best friends from a non-specific Caribbean background, and the course of their lives over various migrations and life events. There is lots of jumping around between narrators and time frames, and in my opinion could have done with some heavy editing - there just isn't enough story to go round. The story was also pretty implausible, quite predictable and just not that interesting. BUT it was beautifully narrated, so that's a plus. I think it struggled a bit in comparison to Black Teacher which I read at the same time...which is just a much more compelling story even though it's nonfiction.

I appreciate that all reviews are brilliant though so this will be another book like Crawdads which everyone except me absolutely loves!!

135. The Familiars by Stacy Halls

In 1600's Lancashire the well to do Mistress Shuttleworth needs to make sure her latest pregnancy results in a successful birth so she hires Alice, a midwife, but is she all she seems?

This was easy reading but lacked much in the way of believability especially for the time. But, still at the moment I'm struggling with anything demanding so it was just the ticket even with the flaws.

Need to catch up on thread but just wanted to quickly post my holiday reads, as always these days it wasn’t as many as I’d hoped and apart from the first nothing very meaty - holidays with kids are a different kettle of fish but one day I’ll get my endless days reading on the beach back:

The Dark Queens - Shelley Puhak
This was recommended on here a while back, in fact I think there’s quite a few 50 bookers who have enjoyed it. I bloody loved it. Nothing like a murderous tale of rival medieval queens whilst you’re lounging by the pool. I knew next to nothing about this particular slice of history and it really was gripping. Any further recommendations in this vein much appreciated (I’ve read She-Wolves)

The rest are more romance-y

Between Us - Mhairi Macfarlane I read everything of hers, and this was enjoyable although not her best. Set pretty much exactly where I live - with various real places I know well referenced and my old place of work namechecked so that was quite fun. I can’t say I was ever massively invested in the actual storyline/ romance though - all a bit too easy and neatly tied up somehow.

You and Me on Vacation - Emily Henry
Beach Read - Emily Henry
I read Book Lovers by the same author again thanks to a recommendation on here earlier this year, and thought it was tremendous fun. I didn’t like either of these quite as much but they were still great holiday reads and I’d happily read another by Henry the next time I’m after something light and romantic.

I read The Familiars a while back, Eine, but can't remember much about it. Did it lack depth or is it my poor memory? I think Mrs England was better in comparison.

55. Kala: Colin Walsh.

The story focuses on a group of friends who were once very close but drifted apart after one of them, Kala of the title, disappeared one summer when they were teenagers. Fifteen years later, three of the group have returned home for a family wedding and just as they pick up the threads of their friendship, Kala's remains are discovered on a local building site. Each of the friends has been marked by the events of the summer and now, as adults, they have to deal with their grief while they try to find the person responsible for Kala's death. They find themselves up against the local tough lads but there is something more sinister going on that they hadn't reckoned on.

I thought this was a good, absorbing read. It did remind me of the writing of Tana French (the blurb didn't lie) in its depiction of a small closely-knit Irish town where everyone knows what's going on whether it's legal or underhand, but won't acknowledge it because everyone is too close to everyone else. There was a good sense of small-town life and the different types of people who make up the community. The characterisation of the six friends was very well done and Kala was a very vivid presence always in the forefront of the story.

The narrative is divided between the three friends who are present and it takes a while to figure out whose voice it is and also what the relationship is between them, as there are interconnected families. The narrative also weaves in and out between the present day and the days of that glorious summer, so it is a richly-layered text, but it is written well and I didn't find it confusing. There are a couple of violent episodes which were quite graphic and I didn't linger on them.

There was a slow build-up in the first two thirds of the story which calls for some patience from the reader. It's a slow burn before everything is set up and the action happens. I think it's fair to say that most readers will guess what is going on because I did and I am always the last to figure it out. It's not very original as a story, but it's a story that is told well and the ending wasn't too neatly tied up either which I appreciated. Recommended as a tragic coming-of-age tale rather more than a thriller, but I'll be keeping an eye out for Colin Walsh in the future.