Bookish thoughts on Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

Three Things About Elsie is filled with some lovely touches of humour, poignancy, and perceptive observations on life.

As well as this, it invites the reader into a mystery regarding a man from our main character Florence's past.

Florence is in her eighties and living in managed accommodation for the elderly. Elsie is her best friend - this is the first of the three things about her. As the book commences, Florence has fallen in her flat, and she is thinking about recent events in her life, telling us about Elsie, and about another friend in the flats, Jack, and also about a new arrival, a man who brings back past memories for Florence and causes her to embark on solving a mystery buried in her past, if she can just reach within her mind and find the answers. 

Joanna Cannon writes with warmth and in a compassionate, honest way in dealing with dementia and ageing, as well as portraying the bonds of friendship and companionship. 

There are many beautiful observations and expressions once again in Joanna Cannon's writing, as I found there were in the author’s debut novel, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, but this time, for me, there is a stronger and more compelling story to go with it.

I enjoyed the stories woven in about the side characters of Miss Ambrose and Handy Simon, both with their issues of self-doubt and self-discovery, though I felt I would have liked to know a little more about Jack, for him to have felt just a little more fleshed out as a character. 

The book cover is a lovely appealing design of Battenberg cake which was very tempting every time I looked at the pattern, and the jigsaw pieces emblematic of Florence trying to piece together the past and find that missing piece in her present.

As I said, there were some lovely expressions and thoughts on life, many sentences and passages I marked as I read and which caused me to pause and think, some of which I've shared below.

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Some of my favourite pieces of writing from the book:

'She always wore cheerful clothes, it was just a shame her face never went along with it.'

'A small existence, disappeared. There was nothing left to say she'd even been there. Everything was exactly as it had been before. As if someone had put a bookmark in her life and slammed it shut.'

'We'd only been there ten minutes and my mind started to wander. It can't help itself. It very often goes for a walk without me, and before I've realised what's going on, it's miles away.'

'Elsie's father left for the war and returned as a telegram on the mantelpiece.'

'But sometimes life takes you along a path you only intended to glance down on your way to somewhere else, and when you look back, you realise the past wasn't the straight line you thought it might be. If you're lucky, you eventually move forward, but most of us cross from side to side, tripping up over our second thoughts as we walk through life.'

'It's strange, because you can put up with all manner of nonsense in your life, all sorts of sadness, and you manage to keep everything on board and march through it, then someone is kind to you and it's the kindness that makes you cry. It's the tiny act of goodness that opens a door somewhere and lets all the misery escape.'

'It didn't take them long to undo my life. I had spent eighty years building it, but within weeks, they made it small enough to fit into a manila envelope and take along to meetings.'

'...perhaps it's only in the silence that you're able to hear just how loud your own worrying is.'

'Nothing he had a go at seemed to fit. Life sometimes felt like trying on the entire contents of a shoe shop, but all of them pinched your toes.'

Quick reviews - The Husband's Secret, The Cry, Trust Your Eyes, Cambridge Blue, Until You're Mine

My thoughts on several novels I've read recently, this time in the form of some quick reviews. 

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The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Set in a small town in Australia, the story is told over a few days, and it begins with the accidental discovery by Cecilia of an old envelope in the attic, which states on the front 'to be opened only in the event of my death'. She recognises the handwriting as her husband's. Ultimately unable to resist her curiosity, she reads the letter, and is then left with an awful dilemma, because his words reveal something very serious. She is confronted with a decision; to stay silent and protect her husband and their three children, or to reveal John-Paul's secret and carrying a heavy burden alone. But don't think that this is all there is to the story; there is so much more. 

The interweaving of the three tales of the three fascinating, well-drawn main female characters Tess, Rachel and Cecilia, was very cleverly done. I loved this book, I found it an absolutely cracking read, an absorbing story that I couldn't wait to get back to - I became thoroughly immersed in the development of the plot and I didn't want to be parted from this book! I thought the characters were superbly portrayed, I engaged with them and loved how the author depicted the evolving relationships between them. One of the things I thought the author did really well was portray humour in the most serious of situations, just as can happen in life. Some of the incidents and encounters were so well-observed. I think the only small negative note really for me was that there seemed to be a number of errors (I read a finished brand new paperback copy that I bought) which was a shame. 

The Husband's Secret was a captivating, compelling read and Liane Moriarty is definitely an author whose books I will eagerly watch out for in future.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Penguin
Other reviews: Bookmagnet | 

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The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald

Set predominantly in Australia, this is a compelling story which I read very fast; it was one of those books that I was loathe to put down. It begins with a scene at the airport, and a flight to Melbourne. Joanna and her partner Alistair are travelling with their baby, and straight from the off, the situations, the prose and the dialogue all draw the reader in, from the difficulties that Joanna faces on the flight, with the baby being so unsettled, to the contrast in others' reactions to her and to her partner. I felt for her so much. 

This is a story about which little can be revealed in a review if a prospective reader is going to enjoy the discoveries and twists and turns to the fullest. This tense, dark read offers up an awful situation, the plot kept me guessing, it surprised me and it made me question who was genuine, who was lying, what could I believe, what had been fabricated; an excellent and highly addictive thriller. I'll definitely be looking out for Helen Fitzgerald's previous novels, which I have missed up until now.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Faber and Faber
Other reviews: So Many Books, So Little Time | Reading Matters |

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Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

I consistently really enjoy this author's novels and I've read nearly all of his books now, including The Accident (click the title to read my review of that one). I certainly trust this author with my reading time, and I feel assured he will deliver a page-turning, suspenseful and satisfying storyline. 

This one was amongst his best so far. Trust Your Eyes is an utter page turner, boasting an exciting, gripping plot. I thought the way the first hints of the crime were uncovered was very clever; Thomas Kilbride has an obsession with maps, spending most of his days travelling the world, virtually, on the website Whirl360, committing to memory the details of each place he explores via his computer. It's whilst he is looking at the streets of New York City one day that he notices something unusual at a window, causing him to bring it to the attention of his brother Ray. Despite his initial uncertainty about what Thomas thinks he has seen, and his temptation just to humour him, as Thomas suffers from schizophrenia, Ray soon comes to understand that the situation could actually be very dangerous indeed. The relationship between the two brothers is handled well; their father, who cared for Thomas, having recently died, Ray has to work out how they will cope going forwards, as well as keep them both safe as things grow increasingly threatening. 

Linwood Barclay skillfully handles the addictive narrative, switching viewpoints from chapter to chapter, and builds up the tension for the reader en route to the thrilling climax. One to read when you have time to get all the way to the end, because you will want to.

Source - passed a copy by a friend (and I also bought a copy!)
Published by Orion
Other reviews: Jaffa Reads Too | Random Things |

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Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

This is the first crime novel in what is now a series featuring young, promising detective Gary Goodhew, and set in Cambridge and the surrounding area. It's always interesting to read fiction set in or near to the place where you live, and to be able to recognise some of the sites and streets that are mentioned. I've wanted to make a start on this series for ages now, so I'm glad to have finally got the opening book under my belt. I liked it, overall, in particular the main character Gary, and his closest confidant, his Grandmother, and I've bought the next in the series, curious to discover how the character of this eager, intelligent and at times unconventional detective will develop and interested in how the author's writing and future storylines will evolve.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Constable and Robinson
Other reviews: Euro Crime |

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Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes

I liked the narrative structure in this psychological thriller, moving between the three main female characters, Claudia, Zoe and Lorraine, and keeping me interested and intrigued. Claudia is expecting her own longed-for first child, and is step-mother to her partner's twin sons. She works a demanding job as a social worker and her husband works away much of the time in the Navy. She hires Zoe as a nanny, but becomes increasingly suspicious of her actions. Lorraine is a police detective with her own problems, namely a difficult teenage daughter and an adulterous husband, and to add to her stress, she has to work with him on a daily basis; they are looking into some awful crimes against pregnant women. 

The tale develops very well, indeed I found a large part of the storyline very gripping, the author had me wondering who I could trust, which narrator I should doubt, who is being manipulated, if there was an element of paranoia, where the twists would take me, although I was slightly disappointed by the resolution to the story if I'm being honest. I wouldn't recommend reading this one if you are having a baby or perhaps sensitive around that topic. I'd certainly try this author again.

Source - goodreads first reads
Published by Century
Other reviews: Being Anne | Beadyjan's Bookshelf |

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Have you read any of these novels? Which did you enjoy the most? Do any of them take your interest?

Huge thanks, as always, for visiting and reading my posts :-)

The One Plus One - Jojo Moyes

Jess Thomas is a single mum, working hard both as a cleaner and barmaid to make ends meet, caring for her young daughter Tanzie, a prodigious maths talent, and for shy bullied teenager Nicky, her absent husband’s son from a previous relationship, to whom Jess is the nearest thing to a stable parent. Affluent Ed Nicholls has a high flying career running a very successful software company with University friend Ronan, but an unfortunate encounter with a woman from his past is about to bring Ed’s world crashing down around him. Jess and Ed’s paths are destined to collide; what is surprising, funny, poignant and uplifting is how wonderfully this plays out.

I devoured this new tale from Jojo Moyes, it was a real delight to read. By turns a funny, sweet, honest and tender portrait of modern life in Britain; concerned with families, work, money and the lack of it, insider trading, and ultimately, heartfelt romantic love. It feels that this author lives and breathes her characters; the result is they feel so vivid, rounded and real to the reader; a sense greatened by including some chapters from each of four different perspectives. All five of the main protagonists are beautifully drawn, youngsters Tanzie and Nicky in particular. And Norman the dog is adorable! Aspects of the scenario reminded me a little of the lovely film Little Miss Sunshine.

Jojo Moyes has written another absolute winner here – marvellous, eloquent modern fiction.

Source - Lovereading Review Panel
Published by Penguin - 27th February 2014
View other reviews on Lovereading 
Visit the author's website here and find her on twitter here

Walk Me Home - Catherine Ryan Hyde

This moving story had me intrigued and asking questions straight away; who are Carly and Jen, why are they walking such a long way, just the two of them, so young? What has happened? Who is Teddy and why is Carly so determined that he is the one to help them?

Sisters Carly, 16, and Jen, 12, have set off from New Mexico and are trying to get to Teddy in California. They soon become hungry and tired, and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to continue and to stay safe and not risk it being discovered that they are on the run alone together; the threat of being taken in by the authorities and potentially separated keeps them walking and reluctant to reveal the reality of their situation to anyone. 

Then the novel takes a step back further in time, a few months earlier, and we meet Teddy, their mother's ex-boyfriend, and we meet the girls' mother, and their recent past slowly reveals itself. The sisters have had a difficult, unsettled childhood and experienced much disappointment; and now their world has been turned upside down. They travel so many miles, struggling along together, desperate and starving at times, and as I read, I feared for them, but I was also heartened by the kindnesses that they encountered from people too. 

It is primarily Carly whose thoughts we follow, and it's a very emotional as well as physical endurance test that she goes through on her journey. It is very clear that she has lost her trust in others and lost her belief in her self, and her self worth; she has convinced herself that she doesn't matter and that 'everyone likes Jen better'.  As I read, I willed things to change for the better for Carly because she had been so strong, I didn't blame her for having lost trust in people because of her past treatment, but she needed to take the risk of trusting again; the story illustrates how sometimes we have a new, unexpected chance for happiness in life and it is the ability to let go of fear and accept this chance, to take the risk of trusting again, that we need. This was such an important theme running through this story; who can the girls trust and believe in, who has their real interests and welfare at heart, who isn't all that they seem to be, and who cares more than they realise. 

I've really enjoyed novels by Catherine Ryan Hyde in the past and I found in this new book the same warm-hearted and honest portrayal of people who find themselves facing the challenge of coping with huge difficulties and setbacks in their lives that I have admired before. She creates rounded characters, and the relationships they share feel very real; I cared about the sisters. The author has sensitively and thoughtfully incorporated a little of Native American culture into this story, and created two special characters in particular that I would love to meet. The sense of place was well conveyed, and this setting was important too, the intense heat of the desert landscape adding to the struggle as the girls were walking. 

I liked the author’s note at the end of the book that clarified an aspect of the story that I had wondered about whilst reading. I think this novel would be really enjoyed by young adult and adult readers. 

I felt this was an engrossing, well-paced story about being honest with yourself and having to admit to the truth, and learning to accept kindness from unexpected places. It is about loss, loyalty, truth, courage, and the hard decisions people have to make, the strength we have to find sometimes even when we are only a young age.  

Published by Black Swan, July 18th 2013

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance ebook copy of this novel via netgalley. 

You can visit the author's website here find her on facebook here or follow her on twitter @cryanhyde

My Policeman - Bethan Roberts

‘The words that come to mind when I think of my policeman are light and delight.’

This is a wonderful literary novel from Bethan Roberts. Beautifully written, heart rending in it’s pain, not a word out of place I felt, and it tells of the love, secrets, shame and torment endured in the lives of three people, Marion, Tom and Patrick.

The opening grabs the reader’s attention. We are immediately plunged into Marion’s very personal written confession addressed directly to a man named Patrick, and the year is now 1999. She revisits her earlier life, as a teenage girl in Brighton. Marion falls for her friend Sylvie’s older brother Tom. He is ‘the beautiful young man with the big arms and the dark blond curls’ and once she has seen him she is rapt. With Tom heading off to national service, Marion trains as a teacher and awaits his return with hopes of a future for them together. Despite small inklings and some words from Sylvie, Marion marries Tom, now a policeman, and believes their relationship will work.

As we progress further into the story, we then are privy to some of Patrick’s diary accounts from back in 1957, when he fell in love with his policeman. Patrick works as a curator in Brighton Museum, and having met Tom by chance one day, Patrick introduces him to the appeal of art and opens up a new world to him. There is a beautiful, tender mutual attraction between them but at the time they meet there is nothing but condemnation for any romantic relationship that the two might have.

The dual narratives of Marion and Patrick take us through the whole of the story, as we learn from them about their perspectives on their relationship with the man who dominates both their lives; the man they must share until it becomes too much and their worlds collapse.

I really loved this novel and read it in only a few sittings – it’s a compelling story. I couldn’t wait to discover the revelations and details about Marion and Patrick’s lives with Tom, to find out how the past had unfolded for each of them and what more could happen in the present. The author depicts the emotions of Marion and Patrick so vividly; as we hear from them both first-hand and know of their hopes, their past pain, their longings and disappointments.

Bethan Roberts convincingly brings to life an era when women were still limited in their career choices, still intended primarily for life at home and expected to marry and raise a family, and an era when the love that is shared between Patrick and Tom is something to be ashamed of, hidden away; men who loved each other were referred to as ‘sexual inverts’ and were punished.

It was heartbreaking to think of the pain and sadness of wasted love and lives ruined by the constraints and judgements of society. This novel captures that heartbreak, and it absolutely pulsates with the sadness inherent in it all.

A perceptive, emotional and absorbing read by a talented writer. Marvellous.


Reviewed by Lindsay Healy

Published by Chatto & Windus

Reviewed for amazon vine

Ninepins - Rosy Thornton

‘Didn’t every kid deserve a chance?’

Ninepins is the old tollhouse where Laura lives with her 12-year-old daughter Beth. Laura often rents out the pumphouse next to her house to students, but the newest resident is to be someone different, a 17-year-old girl named Willow, who has been in care, and has been recommended for the accommodation by her social worker, Vince.

Laura has reservations and Willow coming to live at the pumphouse, and is nervous as to how the new arrangement will work, and what sort of influence Willow may be on Beth. Beth herself is bringing more than her share of worries into Laura’s life too, having started secondary school and making new friends who Laura knows little about, but what she does know doesn’t please her and makes her anxious about Beth. For Beth, there is the struggle to find her place amongst the teenage girls at school, to fit in and develop friendships with all the accompanying pressures amongst girls at that age.

I loved this novel. I liked the immediacy with which we were drawn straight into the story and the setting. I felt I was immersed in the wildlife and landscape of the Cambridgeshire fens, very nearby to where I live; they are vividly brought to life as the backdrop of this story; the author illustrates both the beauty and the dangers of the place. I found the characters intriguing and believable, and the dialogue equally convincing and apt.

I felt that Rosy Thornton portrayed the love, the difficulties and confrontations between Laura and Beth very realistically, and depicted the strong, yet at times fraught, relationships between mothers and daughters very successfully. The author contrasts the loving, caring and concerned nature of Laura’s parenting of Beth, with her always having provided the necessities for a safe, warm welcoming home, even as a single-parent, with the at times ‘wonderful, magical, intoxicating’ behaviour of Willow’s mother, who nonetheless left Willow feeling that ‘She’d never just felt safe.’

There were poignant moments, in particular between Willow and Laura, as Laura discovers more about Willow’s younger years, and how unsettled life was for her with her mother, Marianne. There are so many times when we, as a reader, identify with elements of a novel, and this struck a chord with me, and I was moved by some of the passages, as Laura realised what life must have been like for Willow:

‘If Willow at times seemed older than her years, this might be the reason. If the mother could not be a mother, how should the child be a child?’

As both Laura and the reader learn more about Willow’s mother and her past, the tension and sense of foreboding builds.

It’s an absorbing story that I enjoyed returning to every time I picked the book up again, more than anything I think because of how much I was immersed in the setting of the novel and intrigued and convinced by the characters and the development of the relationships between them, whether it was those between parent and child, adult and young adult, or the elements of gentle romance and attraction between adults. This is the first novel I have read by this author, and it has certainly encouraged me to want to go back and dip into her earlier works. This is assured storytelling and a satisfying read. 

Reviewed by Lindsay Healy

Published by Sandstone Press

Thank you very much to the author for kindly sending me a copy of her novel to read and review.

You can visit the author's website here.

The Vintage Teacup Club - Vanessa Greene

‘Step by step we’d let each other in, and now it was hard to imagine that we hadn’t always been there for each other.’

This lovely debut novel combines the lives of three different women as they meet by chance and form firm friendships. Jenny is our first person narrator; she is browsing at a car boot sale in Charlesworth, an old market town in Sussex, and we share her delight when she happens upon precisely the items she has been searching for, a vintage teaset. Just at that moment, two other women swoop in who are equally as interested in the very same items. The three women decide to share the teaset, each making use of it in turn for their own special purposes, and from this unique beginning, their stories unfold.

Jenny is looking forward to her forthcoming marriage to Dan. As her plans move forwards, she is thrown by the sudden unexpected contact from a woman who has played no part in her life for many years, and she worries that her happiness could be damaged. Maggie is a strong, independent career woman, forging ahead after the disappointment of her failed marriage and Alison appears at first sight to be a happily married woman with two daughters, but things are never as straightforward as they might seem, for any of them.

One of the aspects I liked about the main characters in this novel is that the women are not all the same age, and they have different experiences of life. This brings an interesting dimension to their relationships with each other, across the generations. It was lovely to read how such a strong, supportive bond develops between the friends, and this friendship that forms isn’t affected by this difference in their ages, for example when they share exciting news with each other; ‘A twenty-year age gap made no difference to our levels of girlish excitement.’

A favourite part of the narrative for me involves the history of the teaset and culminates with a perceptive comment which is made about life and love, how  ‘As you get older you see that what you thought were little things, why they were really the big things all along.’

This is a sparkling debut novel. I really enjoyed reading it. It is an easy, engaging read with likeable characters, between whom a lovely, believable and supportive friendship grows. The characters develop and the women support and encourage each other to follow their dreams and be successful and happy. When times are tough and romance, family or careers are getting them down, they are there for each other to share the pain, and they celebrate this: ‘To new friends, a port in the storm.’ Vanessa Greene paints a lovely portrait of female friendship across the generations. I would definitely look out for and look forward to the next novel by this author. I love the beautiful, attractive and very fitting cover design.

All that really remains to be said is for the prospective reader to settle back with a good cuppa (preferably in a pretty tea cup) and read all about these ladies and their ups and downs revolving around vintage teacups!

Reviewed by Lindsay Healy


Published by Sphere 

Thanks to the publisher for the proof copy of this novel which I received as a competition prize.

This was alongside a lovely invitation to attend a vintage tea party with the author - you can read about this here.

You can follow the author on twitter @VanessaGBooks

Waterline - Ross Raisin

Mick Little used to work as a shipbuilder, but had to turn to driving a mini cab when Glasgow's shipping yards closed. Now he has lost his wife, Cathy, to mesothelioma and is gradually overwhelmed by grief and guilt over her death.  Afraid of the pity of his friends and family, he descends into paranoia and depression and eventually runs away to London in an attempt to find a new life for himself. However, he finds he cannot escape his feelings of shame and finds his life instead continues to spiral downwards.

Waterline is a very convincing portrait of one man's decline amid despair.  Mick Little is metaphorically holed below the waterline by his wife's death and sinks rapidly, shunning the efforts of those around him to shore him up. In a few telling and beautifully observed scenes Raisin captures perfectly the lethargy and shame of depression, Mick's inability to take decisions or focus on even the simplest task ("Best not to think about the big picture right now, because it's just too bloody big."), his loss of appetite for both food and life, his increasing reluctance to have even the briefest of contact with other people.

Where all this leads Mick to is a place below the waterline of modern society, a place on the very margins of life that is peopled by exploited immigrant workers, by the unemployed and by vagrants, all people who are by and large overlooked by all but those who deliberately seek them out to offer help.  Although most of the book's events are seen through Mick's eyes, Raisin gives us occasional glimpses of him from the point of view of passers by, a device that not only highlights Mick's physical decline, but also reveals the often dismissive and callous attitude of the casual observer, indeed of most of us who would walk hurriedly by rather than stop to investigate the huddled shape lying in a doorway or on a park bench.

This is in many ways a depressing and grim portrait of modern life and of how easily individuals can fall out of society and out of sight.  However, Raisin leavens this with moments of wry humour throughout the book, and even in the darkest moments the redemptive power of human contact and friendship saves both Mick Little and the reader from absolute despair.  Nevertheless, even though the ending appears to promise hope and redemption, the tone of the final scene is one of quiet sadness.

This is a very different book from Raisin's first novel, God's Own Country.  Even though both could be said to be about people who are marginalised in society, in Waterline this theme is explored in much greater depth and with much more compassion.  Mick Little is a living, breathing character, the depiction of his grief and his decline is completely convincing, and it is impossible for the reader not to empathise and sympathise with him. In terms of subject matter this isn't a light book by any means, and the fact that Mick's thoughts and words are conveyed in Glaswegian dialect slows the reader down, but this has the benefit of forcing the reader to dwell on what's happening to Mick rather than passing hurriedly on, of shaking us out of our comfort zones to contemplate this twilight world on the underbelly of society that most of us would rather turn a blind eye to.  Waterline isn't always an easy read, but overall I found it an extremely thought-provoking and rewarding one.

Reviewed by Penny Tattersall

Guest reviewer Penny Tattersall has kindly reviewed this novel for The Little Reader Library - many thanks to Penny for this lovely, perceptive review. Penny is another very keen reader whose thoughts I trust when choosing a book.

Published by Penguin

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy of this novel to read and review.