The Leipzig Affair - Fiona Rintoul

Synopsis

The year is 1985. East Germany is in the grip of communism. Magda, a brilliant but disillusioned young linguist, is desperate to flee to the West. When a black market deal brings her into contact with Robert, a young Scot studying at Leipzig University, she sees a way to realise her escape plans. But as Robert falls in love with her, he stumbles into a complex world of shifting half-truths – one that will undo them both.
Many years later, long after the Berlin Wall has been torn down, Robert returns to Leipzig in search of answers. Can he track down the elusive Magda?
And will the past give up its secrets?


Review

'It's another world over there.'

I loved this novel, it had me gripped all the way through. The setting and time period is one that I find fascinating having studied German, and I do enjoy/find intriguing a lot of fiction that involves events surrounding the Berlin Wall and the former East Germany. Fiona Rintoul has created two captivating main characters in Magda and Robert. She creates tension and suspense, and really conveys the atmosphere and secrecy of the times. Magda is studying interpreting in Leipzig, East Germany, in 1985, but is disillusioned with life and politics there, and wants to leave and get to the West. Robert is a student at St Andrews, and events see him ending up in Leipzig and meeting Magda, getting to know some of her friends, and becoming involved in her complicated world.

The story is told in alternating chapters with Robert's story recounted in the first person, and Magda's told in the second person. I thought these points of view worked successfully here. I felt Robert's character was fleshed out particularly well; his personal weaknesses and the moments from his business career added depth and dimension to the story. The novel concentrates not only on those days back in 1985, but also takes us to the present, with the Berlin Wall having fallen and Robert finally revisiting Leipzig, and I was excited and nervous to travel with him there once more and discover what, and who, he would find there this time.

I felt absorbed in the tale as I read and I also felt that the author knew her stuff regarding the background and setting of her novel, and that she wrote in a balanced way about this period of Germany's history. Though Magda and many others like her felt determined, desperate to flee to the West from the GDR, and were very disillusioned by the country, the Stasi surveillance, the way some people were treated such as the tragedy that befalls Magda's brother, nevertheless many people also looked back at their former country with a certain amount of regret once it was gone. This is captured particularly well in a conversation between Magda and her father, after the regime has come to an end:

'"Personally, I think we've paid a very heavy price to have bananas in the shops and shiny new cars on every street corner. I look around me and I see young people with no jobs and no hope. I see homeless people. Did you ever see a homeless person in our Republic?..."

He's jutting his chin out again. It's odd. You agree with much of what he says. It's true that things are not so wonderful in the the new Germany. The West Germans are arrogant. They think they know it all. People like you have become strangers in their own country. Everything from the past has been swept away, whether it was good or bad, without anyone asking if that's what the people want.'

It's sad to read that 'all the dreams from 1989 of building a better kind of GDR, creating a new kind of socialism, are long forgotten.' Fiona Rintoul gives us a picture of the hope and then the reality that many felt hit them after reunification.

I thought The Leipzig Affair was a really enjoyable, gripping read, well-written throughout. I'm really glad I read it and I will definitely be watching out for more works by this author.

Review copy received via amazon vine

The Sacred River - Wendy Wallace - Guest Book Review

Published by Simon & Schuster

Guest book review by Josie Barton

Harriet Heron is the cosseted daughter of an upper class Victorian family. Her severe asthma, in smog ridden London, necessitates her staying indoors, where her fascination for Egypt and the Egyptian Book of the Dead carries her through the worst of her illness. Tentatively, on the advice of her doctor, Harriet embarks on a journey to Egypt with her mother, Louisa and her eccentric Aunt Yael. On the boat to Alexandria they are befriended by an enigmatic artist, Eyre Soane, whose interest in Harriet and her family can only be regarded as suspicious and whose association with them continues throughout the novel.

Their arrival in Alexandria is filled with the sights, sounds and scents of a city so foreign that Harriet’s senses seem to come alive and she is enchanted by what she sees around her. Her health improves, and she is able to immerse herself in the history and culture of a country which has long fascinated her. However, for Louisa and Yael, Egypt is not just a land of contrasts, but is also a place where they must try to find some sort of inner peace. 

From the start of the novel, the author cleverly intertwines the story of three very different women and shows just what it was like to live within the closeted world of Victorian sensibility. They each have their own secrets, aspirations and hidden yearnings, and as the languid torpor of Egypt starts to influence them, their hopes, dreams and fears of the past are laid open to scrutiny in a fascinating journey of self discovery. Egypt is so beautifully described that it becomes vibrantly alive, from the contrast of valleys tinged with the gold of its ancient tombs, through to the poverty and turmoil of a land at odds with itself.  The whole character and nature of the novel revolves around the effect that this beautiful country has on Harriet, Louisa and Yael.

Overall, I thought that there was much to enjoy within the novel. The slow and languorous nature of the narrative is entirely in keeping with the unhurried atmosphere of nineteenth century Egypt, and I am sure that this book will appeal to fans of well written historical fiction.

Many thanks to Josie for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library. Please do also visit Josie's fab book blog JaffaReadsToo!

Lacey's House - Joanne Graham

'I wanted to walk right out of my life and leave it behind.'

Sometimes one way I can see how much I loved a book is by how many sentences or paragraphs I tab with little sticky notes to come back to and think about again once I've finished. There were a lot of places I marked in this book. There were parts of the prose that resonated with me, that moved me, and parts where the use of language particularly appealed to me. In summary, I thought this was a very special book. 

Rachel Moore has suffered a sad loss and moves from Birmingham to the countryside, to get away and start afresh. She is a solitary soul, having grown up in care, though having a brief period with some loving foster parents. She meets Lacey Carmichael, the older lady living next door. Lacey is another isolated soul, teased by the local children, labeled as the mad woman down the road, she is misunderstood and lonely. Then she is accused of a terrible crime.

A connection forms between them, and they begin to trust each other, and to share painful things with each other that they have never told anyone else. They've both experienced such sadness and from sharing their secrets a friendship blossoms despite the difference in their ages. The development of this friendship between Rachel and Lacey over the course of the book is wonderful and fascinating to observe. As time passes, Rachel thinks about how she feels about Lacey: 'I found that I cared for her very deeply, that her vulnerability had somehow pulled me closer and I carried her words, her story, like a heavy cloak about my shoulders.' Rachel attempts to express the pain and sorrow in Lacey's past through her artwork. 

'Her memories came home with me. Walking straight into my studio, I mixed them with acrylics; different shades of blue and deep, swirling turquoise that I threw at the huge canvas as I painted her sorrow, a raging, tumultuous thing that, when I was finished, left me breathless and empty.'

The chapters alternate between the two of them, Rachel's in the first person and Lacey's in the third, and the story progressed and worked really well written in this way.

Rachel likes and trusts Lacey, but doesn't yet know the whole truth; she, and the reader, are kept in suspense. Rachel fears that in the future she too might experience the depths of isolation that Lacey has;

'In fifty years time would it be me standing where Lacey was, with the past eating into me from the inside? I recoiled from the idea of experiencing for myself the stark loneliness that had been so apparent in Lacey's eyes.'

Joanne Graham writes with immense insight, empathy, warmth and poignancy about these women's lives and pasts, and writes sensitively and honestly about themes of mental health, loneliness and loss of a child, about damaging things that happen in people's lives which they are scarred by and understandably spend much time and energy grappling with. I felt emotional as I read, I was angry at the cruelty in Lacey's past, at what people could get away with. So much of a person's past can be hidden away, unknown, unvoiced. I empathised with and liked both Rachel and Lacey, and they both felt very real to me as I was reading. As Lacey thinks to herself, 'How sad for them both that they had to grow up without loving families.' As well as creating engaging, rounded characters, the author tells a powerful story. 

For me, Lacey's House is a wonderful, incredibly moving and very special story of female friendship across generations. It has stayed in my mind since reading it and it made me think. Beautifully, sensitively written, perceptive and touching, I think it was a very worthy recipient of the Luke Bitmead Bursary, a superb debut novel and I'd say it's one of my reading highlights of the year so far.


Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this novel for an honest review. 

Author links - twitter @YarrowH | website

Published by Legend Press

The People in the Photo - Hélène Gestern

'Sometimes I wonder what 'truth' it is we're chasing after exactly, and what kind of state it will leave us in if we find it.'

Hélène Hivert is an archivist in Paris. She places a newspaper advertisement with a photograph, asking for information about the people in it. One of them is her mother, Nathalie, and then there are two men in the photography with her. It was taken in 1971 at a tennis tournament in Interlaken. Hélène's mother died when she was only three years old. She receives a response from Stéphane, informing her that his father Pierre was one of the two men in the photograph. Stéphane is Swiss, a biologist currently living in Kent, England. 

After his initial response, further correspondence is undertaken between the two, and they reveal memories and gaps in their pasts to each other, increasingly able to confide in each other. They uncover more about their pasts and those of their parents. But it remains to be seen whether the things they discover will help or hurt them, bring them relief and understanding or pain and sadness; either way, the revelations will affect and change their lives:

'...I'm aware that digging up the past is risky. Who knows what secrets they were trying to protect us from and at what cost?'

Hélène's father disclosed little about her mother, and she was raised by a loving stepmother too. After her father's death she found the photograph of her mother with the two men, and decided to now try and find out more about Nathalie. Some of the pair's relatives have passed away, so they must look harder sometimes if they are to continue the search for the truth that has been hidden in history.

I loved this book. Once I started reading, I was captivated by the story, I cared about the characters and I didn't want to stop reading until I'd finished it. The narrative is told predominantly through the exchanges between Hélène and Stéphane via the content of their letters, emails and text messages. It was incredibly moving to be an observer of their exchanges, reading how their connection to each other developed and evolved as they corresponded, and to notice the similarities in some of the feelings and emotions they had experienced in their lives:

'I too feel that inner emptiness, which you describe so poignantly. And, as I grow older, I find it increasingly hard to bear.'

There is a very understandable need to find answers, to discover their real background, so that they might feel a truer sense of themselves too:

'You told me you found it difficult to come to terms with your background. As for me, I've been plagued by anxiety my whole life. My mind is filled with images I can't explain, scenes of catastrophe and things falling apart. I have rarely been able to shake this sense of anguish, even at what should have been the happiest times of my life.'

This aspect in particular really appealed to me; who doesn't wonder about those parts of their past and their family's past that they know little of, and if this relates to a parent, even more so. 

Another part to the narrative, interspered amongst the correspondence, are descriptions of further old photographs; these are uncovered as the story progresses, and each sheds light on another aspect of the past. Each is beautifully described by the author, so that without having them in front of us, it is almost as if we do, and we can picture them in our minds eye. 

The People in the Photo is a wonderful, emotional and very moving read, definitely a keeper for me, and a book I'd love to read again. I do like epistolary novels and this form works very well here, brought up to date by the use of email and text. There are themes of love and friendship, identity and memory, confronting and dealing with the past, and finding forgiveness. There's always a sense of intrigue and wonder when we look at old photographs of people and this novel captures this and delivers a great story via this starting point. One of my favourite reads so far this year. Beautifully written and translated, I loved the structure and the way the story was told, so I'd certainly recommend this novel. I hope there will be more novels from this author.


I was kindly sent a review copy of this novel - this is my honest review.

Published by Gallic Books | twitter @gallicbooks
Translated from the French by Emily Boyce and Ros Schwartz

Suzie Tullett Blog Tour - Author Guest Post & Excerpt

I'm very pleased to welcome author Suzie Tullett to the blog today with a guest post and an extract from her new novel, Little White Lies and Butterflies.

Guest Post by author Suzie Tullett

During an interview, I was once asked if there are any key issues that come up again and again in my work. What my core themes are? Up until that point, however, this was something I hadn’t ever consciously thought about. Moving on from one project to the next meant putting all my efforts into what I was working on in the here and now. And so engrossed I became in each and every project, I’d never actually felt the need to compare them before.

Once the question had been asked though, I started to look at my work through different eyes and as such, I began to realize that, yes, there is a thematic link in much of what I write. Just as in Little White Lies and Butterflies, my storylines often revolve around a secret that’s being kept; secrets that impact on everyone around them albeit to varying degrees, whether my protagonists want to admit it or not.

Now for an author who likes to write about ‘real’ people, to write stories with characters that everyone can identify with, I found this to be something of a positive revelation. I mean let’s face it, we as bone fide individuals often portray one thing to the outside world, when what’s actually going on inside of us is quite something else. There are things we struggle to come to terms with both big and small and in and about ourselves that we don’t want anyone else to know. So as we go about our day to day business we simply pretend they don’t exist. A fact that often means lying to ourselves as much as it does to everyone else.

Of course, in both real life and in fiction we also have to come clean at some point. Eventually we and our characters have to face up to these things no matter how long we’ve been keeping them a secret – for our own sanity or, indeed, that of our protagonists, if not for anyone else!

And whilst, yes, the consequences can be just as scary to deal with as they can be dire, I suppose in the meantime we just have to hope we can manage any subsequent fall out. Moreover, we have to hope that come ‘The End’ we’re finally able to experience our very own happy ending.

~~~~~

Here's an excerpt from Little White Lies and Butterflies...

Following the incident at the beach, I had been hoping to avoid any future

contact with Sam the Climber, yet here he was, larger than life. Not that I

was sure which had bothered me the most-the football in the face, or the

slightly unnerving eye contact. Neither of which I wanted to experience ever

again and I wondered if I should just get up and leave while the going was

good. But my drink still hadn't arrived and the last thing I wanted to do

was look rude in of front Efthimeos. I had to think of something else and

quick.

Grabbing my book from my bag, I opened it up and used it to shield my face.

This should do it! However, just to make sure I began sinking lower and

lower into my seat, until I was horizontal to the point I was almost on the

floor. Now he'll never notice me.

I wondered if I should take a peek just to check on his whereabouts. But

before I got the chance, a drink landing on the table in front of me caught

my eye instead. It wasn't the simple glass of coke I'd originally ordered, I

further noticed, but some fancy, fandangle cocktail.

I stared at the umbrellas, the tinsel and the cherries on sticks, not even

daring to look up.

Please let it be Efthimeos . Please let it be Efthimeos . I thought, finally

plucking up the courage. Lifting my gaze I realised that unless my host had

undergone some sort of superfast extreme makeover in the last few minutes,

the game was up.

'There you go,' said Sam, indicating to the heavily adorned concoction. 'Not

just my apology, but as requested, the most expensive drink on the menu.'

I put my book down and began the difficult task of hauling myself up into a

more vertical alignment. 'I didn't request it,' I replied ungratefully. 'In

fact, if I remember rightly, I said such a purchase wasn't necessary.'

My unwanted guest just carried on standing there, for some reason refusing

to see this as his cue to leave-choosing instead to raise an eyebrow. He

nodded to the drink. 'Well,' he asked. 'Aren't you going to at least try

it?'

I considered his request for a moment, deciding it was a small price to pay

if it meant getting rid of the man. And, duly picking up the glass and

locating the straw from among all the flora and fauna, I took a long hard

draw. 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph!' I spluttered, all at once choking and

coughing. 'What the hell's in it? Meths?'

Sam laughed. 'A bit of everything,' he said. He plonked his beer down on the

table and took a seat, uninvited.

'Well excuse me if I don't share your amusement,' I replied, realising that

was the second time that day he'd tried to kill me. 'And I don't remember

asking you to join me either.'

There was something of a twinkle in his eye and thanks to his air of

confidence I could see that he was one of those men used to getting his own

way when it came to members of the opposite sex. However, I'd met his type

before and knew there was no way he'd ever come across the likes of me. Such

a sparkle might've been enough to make any other girl go weak at the knees,

but unlike theirs, my kneecaps were made of sterner stuff.

About the book

A child of the nineties, Lydia Livingston is different. The last thing she’s ever wanted is to be superwoman; she knows first-hand that ‘having it all’ isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. As far as she’s concerned, when it comes to job versus family, it’s a definite case of one or the other. And whilst most women her age have spent years climbing the corporate ladder, she’s made a career out of bagging her perfect man. At almost thirty and still single, Lydia wonders if she’d made the right choice all those years ago. And realising the time has come to take stock, she goes against her family’s wishes and banishes herself off to a distant land—all in the hope of finding a new direction.

At least that’s the plan.

But Lydia Livingston isn’t just different, she’s misunderstood. A fact she knows all too well. So when the totally unsuitable Sam comes along, she decides to tell a little white lie, re- inventing herself as a professional chef – not exactly the best new identity to come up with for a woman who can’t even cook. Of course, the last thing she expects is for him to find out the truth and start blackmailing her. Let alone find herself roped into catering for a local wedding. But with things going from bad to worse, her madder than mad family also turn up in something of a surprise visit, intent on celebrating a birthday she’s no intentions of celebrating! 

Little White Lies & Butterflies is published by Safkhet 

You can follow Suzie on twitter @SuzieTullett, find her on facebook, and visit her website here.