The Lemon Grove - Helen Walsh

Jenn and husband Greg have already spent a week on holiday at Villa Ana near Deia in Mallorca, a place they've visited often, a blissful location nestled amongst lemon groves. They are staying a further week, with Greg's fifteen-year-old daughter Emma, Jenn's stepdaughter, flying out and joining them. Having pleaded with Jenn to intervene with Greg and persuade him, Emma now has her boyfriend Nathan, 17, accompanying her. Jenn expects the atmosphere and dynamic to change when they both arrive, and it does; Nathan's presence affects all three of the family members.

'...they would be opening their door, and their holiday, to a stranger - and no matter how much she tries to tell herself she's done a good thing, Jenn simply cannot shake off her misgivings.'

This story picks you up and takes you away, transporting you to sunnier climes and allowing you to be an observer as a woman grapples with the temptations of youth and desire, the quandaries of being a stepmother, with ageing and the joys and irritations of a long-term relationship, these latter suddenly being brought sharply into focus for Jenn. 

I found the relationship between Jenn and Emma intriguing. We know that Emma and Jenn have shared closeness in the past, but things can sometimes be strained between them, never enjoying the same bond as Emma and her father. It's quite telling when we read that Emma only refers to Jenn as Mum now 'when she wanted something.' And it's hard to see this little girl become a woman, aspects of her so adult, so full-formed, yet sometimes there are reminders that she is not yet an adult. Jenn is torn between her role as a mother, as a wife, and her desire and thrill at being thought so desirable by Nathan, so that 'she is neither here, not there.' Nathan is young, confident, physically attractive, and Jenn experiences longings for him that she cannot fight, not when they are reciprocated, and illicit sexual encounters between the pair ensue. As well as passion and gratification, she experiences conflicting emotions; guilt, envy, and bewilderment at how she can have acted as she has. 

I didn't find any of the main four characters overly endearing, indeed they are all flawed, but if anything this made it more interesting observing them and their weaknesses and mistakes. I was excited and anxious as to whether Jenn and Nathan would be caught in the act. I found this a fairly quick read, I was drawn in, wondering what would happen, and what the consequences would be. I could never quite picture Jenn, or decide exactly what she looked like, in my mind, the same for Greg. I don't know if this was deliberate or my failing. I've never been to Mallorca but Helen Walsh conveys the setting, sights and atmosphere of the place where the family stay so that you can imagine this backdrop to these events, the sea, the coves, the restaurants, all really nicely evoked. This sun drenched setting almost seems to add to the temptation for Jenn to abandon her restraint and duty, and follow her desires; the climate and the tension both sizzle at times.

I very much liked the note on which the story ended; often I like stories that are all sewn up but here, the way it was left, with both the characters and the reader on a precipice, was exquisite. It is perfect for reading on a hot summer holiday, but it's just as interesting to read wherever you are; the descriptions transport you away and the exploration of human fallibility, desire, temptation and regret is well done and makes for compulsive reading.

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

Published by Tinder Press, an imprint of Headline

The Silent Wife - A.S.A Harrison

'..it becomes chillingly clear that nothing is remotely as it was.'

Todd Gilbert and Jodi Brett live together in Chicago, and they have been a couple for over twenty years. Jodi is a therapist working part-time from home and Todd is an entrepreneur who has established a successful property business. They enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, but beneath the surface of their relationship, serious cracks are starting to appear, and when Jodi discovers what Todd has been up to most recently, the equilibrium is about to be unsettled forever. I won't go into the plotline further as it is best discovered as you read.

I found The Silent Wife a dark, fascinating and well-observed character study, intelligent, insightful and absorbing, and a book that held my interest and which I wanted to return to. The psychology of it all was very clever and interesting to observe, coupled with the insights from Jodi being a psychologist herself. From early on in the novel, there is a creeping sense of dread, a feeling that things are slowly going to unravel and come apart and ultimately be destructive, and I was compelled to read on, observing the complex lives and behaviour of this pair, the deception and then the desperation. I felt sadness at times thinking about this couple. Though they are not necessarily very likeable creations, in fact they are deeply flawed, neither wholly good nor bad, for me that made them all the more fascinating both individually and when viewed together; it was compelling reading getting inside their heads.

The author had a keen grasp of what makes her characters tick, of motivations, desire, greed, need, stability and routine. She dissects relationships really well, for example that of Todd and his father, or Jodi and her siblings. She also describes the minutiae of life beautifully, such as the everyday routine that keeps Jodi's life running. For me, this is not so much a fast paced, page-turning thriller (though it is certainly thrilling at times), it is more of a measured psychological journey through the breakdown of a relationship, slowly exposing the strengths and weaknesses of two people who know each other inside out and yet in some ways who don't know each other at all. 

I'd seen many reviews of this novel prior to reading it, in fact I wish I'd perhaps not read so many beforehand, as some were very favourable about it and others weren't very keen at all. Nevertheless I tried to go into it with an open mind and for me it was a cleverly crafted and perceptive tale of human desires, insecurities and jealousies from a talented writer. I'm sad to read that she has since passed away. 

Published by Headline

Indiscretion - Charles Dubow

'Carelessness is the handmaiden to tragedy. Cataclysmic events often have their origins in the mundane. We turn left when we had meant to go right, and the world changes forever.'

Harry and Madeleine (Maddy) Winslow are a beautiful, charming couple in their forties living an enviable and very comfortable life. Harry is a successful, award-winning writer and Madeleine is his charismatic, warm and admired wife, and attentive mother to their fragile son, Johnny. We meet them in their home in the Hamptons, but they also spend time abroad in Rome and at their home in Manhattan. Everything speaks of ease, wealth, and a good life. They attract others who enjoy being in their company and basking in the glow that seems to emanate around them. One weekend, a woman in her twenties named Claire travels over from New York City to the Hamptons, invited by a boyfriend, and meets Harry and Maddy whilst there. Having met them, she is entranced by the couple and their lives and world. 'It's hard not be caught up in the beauty of life from a summer lawn in the Hamptons', we are told. It is when this attraction and excitement becomes a stronger sort of desire that danger starts to loom on the horizon, and then one night, there is a conversation, nothing more, but Walter warns us that the 'wax seal of a secret letter has been broken. Nothing can make it whole again.'

There are four main characters here though, and the fourth of them is the one who is telling this story. Walter Gervais grew up next door to Maddy and has always loved her; to Maddy they are the best of friends but nothing more. 

'Every story has a narrator. Someone who writes it down after it's all over. Why am I the narrator of this story? I am because it is the story of my life - and of the people I love most. I have tried to be as scrupulous as possible in my telling of it. I wasn't a participant in everything that happened, but after I knew the ending, I had to fill in the missing pieces...'

In Walter, a very memorable narrator has been created. He guides us through the story that he himself is so intricately involved in. For me, he made it a compelling read. Despite his words above though, I was reminded of the words of the novel's prologue, how we can be guilty of 'casting a roseate glow over our memories. Some memories burn brighter, whether because they meant more or because they have assumed greater importance in our minds...' and he goes on to advise that 'I have forgotten so much ...and to fill in the gaps, I conflate the past or make it up entirely...After a while it becomes real.'

This distinctive, involved and biased omniscient narrator had my attention throughout, and had my belief despite my reasons to doubt his reliability sometimes. It's been mentioned that 'the narrator is akin to Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby', and I feel this is a fair comparison in some ways. 

The author sets the scene, illustrating the established friendships and allowing the newcomer Claire to gradually become part of their lives. As the narrative progresses, the suspense increases and I began to feel an impending sense of the sadness that was surely to come as a result of what happens, but like a voyeur I couldn't look away; I was too engrossed by this tangle of lives which was becoming increasingly, inextricably messy. 

I formed pictures of the main four characters in my mind's eye from the rich way they were described; they became fully formed, human and deeply flawed. At times I found these creations attractive and enviable, but I also despaired of them and judged them harshly.  Through them the writer cleverly spins an entrancing yet cautionary tale of the different ways in which humans love. 

It's an emotional read, with lives that are ostensibly full, with much wealth and successful careers, a feeling of looking in, via Walter, on how the other half lives (including him), yet in Walter's case there is such emotional emptiness. For Claire there is the eagerness of youth seeking out new experiences; the author really captures the urge to be part of something, and the sense that feelings and desire are everything, dominating the life and thoughts of someone at that stage of their life, with no responsibilities and only a short-term outlook. There is a marriage between two golden people, and a friendship and trust that seems so strong. Their marriage is at the heart of this tale throughout. There are passionate, sexy episodes that were convincing; human desire that rises above all sensible, rational reason. 

The novel speaks of the contentment that we think we have in life, or even actually have, and yet that element of human nature, the flaw that means we experience a nagging greed for something else that seems to be missing, that is different and appealing, and yet it often leaves us unhappy even if we reach for it, and we realise the true value and worth of what we already had; 'We want what we want. The bitter truth is that it rarely makes us happy once we get it.' I can't write about what happens here without including a spoiler, but you'll see, when you read. 

I read this story very quickly, gulping down the story and swiftly turning the pages. I had to know how it would all end. I was sad at how it all ended, in fact I felt quite drained after all the emotion. Part of me wonders at a different ending but perhaps what happened was what had to happen.

I thought this was a brilliant, captivating and addictive debut novel, about beautiful people with seemingly perfect lives, and what results when an outsider breaks in on all this and exposes the weakness, changing it irrevocably. It made me think a lot about people and how they behave. It's about love and families, contentment versus temptation, friendship and unrequited love, wealth and envy, greed and lust, fate, guilt and tragedy. I enjoyed it very much indeed. 

Published by William Morrow Paperbacks*

Thanks to the tour host and publisher for sending a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

Visit the other tour stops here

About the author:

Charles Dubow was born in New York City and spent his summers at his family’s house on Georgica Pond in East Hampton. He was educated at Wesleyan University and New York University. He has worked as a roustabout, a lumberjack, a sheepherder in New Zealand, and a congressional aide, and was a founding editor of Forbes.com and later an editor at Businessweek.com. He lives in New York City with his wife, Melinda; children, William and Lally; and Labrador retriever, Luke. This is his first novel.

You can find the author on twitter @CharlesDubow

*UK readers, please note - this novel is published in the UK too, by Blue Door, but I have featured the US cover and publisher as this is the edition I have read in this instance and the edition featured in the book tour I am taking part in. 

Fear - Stefan Zweig

Translated from the German by Anthea Bell

'...her fear was waiting, impatient to take her in its grasp...'

This novella of less than a hundred pages was written almost a century ago by Stefan Zweig yet the themes of love and affairs, the search for excitement and passion, the guilt and the fear of discovery of infidelities are eternal ones that are just as relevant today. As the narrative commences, we meet Irene Wagner as she leaves the home of her lover, a young pianist, to return to her easy, comfortable bourgeois life, home and family. However, as she endeavours to overcome the fear that hits her upon leaving his arms, she is horrified to encounter his former mistress, who proceeds to blackmail her.

Zweig makes such accurate observations about human behaviour and relationships, and in particular here, such striking insights into a woman’s thoughts and emotions. It’s a beautifully written, intelligent and deeply insightful study of a woman seeking something beyond her bourgeois married life, and this English translation is excellent and a pleasure to read. I'm so glad that Zweig's works are available to a wider audience now. 

Published by Pushkin Press

originally reviewed for newbooks magazine

The Tail of the Tiger, the Birds, and the Book - Lin Treadgold - Author guest post

I am pleased to welcome author Lin Treadgold to my blog today as part of her blog tour for Goodbye, Henrietta Street!

The Tail of the Tiger, the Birds, and the Book.  

A guest blog from author Lin Treadgold

I first visited the Isles of Scilly in 1969 and have visited a dozen or more times since then. I became involved with nature conservation in the early 1980’s. Like Pippa in my book Goodbye, Henrietta Street, I wanted to learn about the birds and became enthusiastic about conservation, global warming, and wanted to do more to make a difference.

1986 seemed to be a popular time for birdwatching and nature conservation and as Scilly is such a small place, I didn’t want it to be cliché. I decided the era was ideal for going back in time and reminding everyone how it used to be. Children were encouraged to go pond dipping and nature groups were set up with the Wildlife Trusts and RSPB Young Ornithologists’ Club.

As a driving instructor in those days, I had just finished a mock test for a student and we were having an ice cream to celebrate her success. We sat in the car on the side of the road close to the beach. I happened to glance down the shoreline when I noticed a bird in trouble. It was a guillemot struggling to survive the bites of dog, let loose by its owner. 

‘Excuse me a moment, Carol,’ I said as I looked out of the window. (She knew of my interest in birds) ‘See that bird down there?’

I took off my shoes and dashed down the beach. Much to Carol’s amusement she watched as her driving instructor skipped down the beach in her tights and skirt after the guillemot, which was covered in oil.

I managed to catch the bird and brought it back to the car. I had a box in the boot and we took the bird home to try to clean it. It was from this incident that my life changed. Glad to say Carol passed her driving test the next day. 

I cleaned the guillemot and looked after it for about three months until the feathers had become waterproof again. I took it back to sea and launched it from a cliff back into the water. The feelings I had about this rescue were so wonderful, I eventually began to rescue more birds and became the leader of the Teesside branch of the YOC with thirty children as members. The evenings were spent looking for tawny owls with the children on their backs on the forest floor listening to the sounds of the night. Even now, that story sends a shiver down my spine. We were guests on The Really Wild Show with Chris Packham and had our own spot in another programme where the sound man fell in a ditch during filming! Oh boy! Those were the days. 

Later in the eighties, I spent yet another holiday on Scilly. David Hunt, the resident ornithologist had been attacked by a tiger on one of his tour guiding trips in India. We could hardly believe it when we heard the announcer on Radio 4 that morning. We knew David; his knowledge of birds had inspired us. Sad to say, David was no more. Apparently the last picture he took was of the tiger’s mouth around the camera lense!

The people of Scilly are very special to me. When Will Wagstaff took over from David as resident tour guide for birders, we became friends and my experiences on Scilly and with the birdlife made me want to give something back to the residents for their kindness and hospitality. In recent years the tourist industry has been hit by the global recession and now the helicopter is no longer in service from Penzance to St Mary’s, it is even more important that Scilly remains on the map not only for the reasons of tourism, but because the islands are so fragile and need all the support they can get. I thought my book might help keep the islands in mind and make visitors want to keep visiting.  

I started writing Goodbye, Henrietta Street, to see if I could do it. My characters reflect a time of uncertainty, lack of awareness on sexuality issues and two lonely people who cannot be sure if they will see each other again. The story worked for Safkhet Publishing in their Soul genre as a holiday read and will be launched on 1^st July 2013. The book is available soon in download version and in paperback with a preorder on Amazon, in time for the launch in summer.

I look forward to summer and should you happen to be in Cornwall from 1^st July I will be signing my novel at The Edge of the World bookshop in Penzance on 2^nd July and for three weeks all over the five islands on Scilly until 27 July.  Hope to see you there.  Please call at the Scilly tourist office for further information. 

About the novel

Pippa Lambton's life has fallen apart and husband Rob is ready to give up their marriage. Three years before, their son Daniel passed away; he was the glue that held them together. Now, Pippa's left home for the beautiful Isles of Scilly, for a chance to rediscover herself. She meets handsome Norwegian nature warden, Sven Jorgensen, who teaches her about the island wildlife.

Pippa finds herself laughing again. She is aware of Rob's dilemma over his childhood adoption and their turbulent relationship, but after an awkward kiss with Sven, she is torn about how to proceed. There is much to resolve, and leaving Rob could prove a disaster. Is her affair with Sven a holiday fling? How can she walk away from Rob after losing Daniel? Should she leave her home in Yorkshire for Sven and his island paradise? Find out more in Goodbye, Henrietta Street.

About the author

Lin Treadgold is a new author and enthusiastic writer.  She changed her vocation as a driving instructor and tutors of instructors in 2001 and moved with her husband’s job to The Netherlands. To learn more about Lin go to www.itslinhere.wordpress.com
or  http://www.safkhetpublishing.com/authors/Lin_Treadgold.htm

Lin is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. 

The Child Inside - Suzanne Bugler

The previous novel by this author, 'This Perfect World', was a gripping emotional read, and deservedly went on to become a Richard and Judy Book Club selection, thereby also garnering a much wider readership. With this novel, the author has again chosen a very emotional storyline. Rachel is devastated to have lost her baby daughter seven months into her pregnancy. Unsurprisingly she is haunted and tormented by the loss of her baby girl, ‘hers is the ghost that will not let me go’ she says. Her relationship with her teenage son, Jono, is strained at best, and she feels distanced from her husband Andrew. They have put their son in a private school, and Rachel feels she has no real friends amongst the mothers there, further alienating her. Her isolation is mirrored by Jono, himself isolated amongst his richer school friends, and this becomes another thing that eats away at Rachel; ‘We shoved him among them, and now I can only watch as I see him measuring himself against them, and falling short.’

Rachel begins to think back to a friend, Vanessa, ‘a friend by association’ really, who she had and lost during her teenage years. A chance encounter one day brings the events from that time back to the forefront of her thoughts, and she knowingly becomes obsessed. She actively seeks out the Vanessa’s brother, and a clandestine affair begins. What results will cause her further torment.

This is a dark, compulsive, well-written tale, with a chilling portrait of this desperate, lonely, obsessed mother who feels trapped in domestic life. She feels invisible, like she doesn’t matter. ‘I am just a middle-aged woman out of nowhere. I am what you become when you disappear.’ I felt sympathy for Rachel, but also a bit of irritation. She can only change her life herself, but she chooses something negative in having an affair. She knows it can’t lead anywhere. She doesn’t, or can’t, appreciate what she’s got. But, it’s easy to judge her when standing on the outside looking in. She is incredibly hard on herself, ‘sunk in the grip of self-loathing.’ She is full of sadness, it tragic to read how disconnected from the world she feels. ‘I feel myself to be outside life, looking in’ and has always felt ‘the outsider, the one on the edge of other people’s lives.’

If you enjoyed 'This Perfect World' I think you'll get a lot out of this novel, too.

4/5

Published in the UK on January 5th 2012 by Pan.

Thank you to the publisher for the early copy of this novel.