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!

The Visitors - Rebecca Mascull - Review & Author Q&A

Today I am reviewing The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull, and I'm delighted to also welcome  the author herself to the blog in an interview below! 

My review

'I know there is a land that surrounds me, but always lies just beyond my grasp. I feel its constant presence through everything everyone else can do and I cannot.'

The Visitors is an intelligent, imaginative and beautifully written debut novel which I found absorbing and really enjoyed reading. The author has created a wonderful, convincing narrator in Liza, a young deaf-blind girl, and by telling the story in her voice almost throughout, we are drawn deeply, vividly into her unique world and able to share in all that she can, and cannot, be part of: 

'...I cannot imagine comprehending an object through anything but the feel of it, the shape, the weight, the texture and the space it inhabits. Does all this also come through sight, or is it something so different it cannot be conceptualised, as different from touch as smell is? Another country, another language, another arena of sensation? I ache for it.'

I found this a captivating read that I was eager to continue with. It was a pleasure and a joy to read because of the way the reader could share so closely in Liza’s joy as she discovers more of the world around her through the use of finger spelling with Lottie, and then in other ways as things change further for her than she could have hoped. 

Lottie is a hop picker working for Liza's father, and in her Liza finds a very dear and devoted friend, the way they are together is heartwarming, with Lottie patient and kind. Liza finds love and friendship amongst Lottie's family too, with her brother Caleb's letters from the Boer war in the second half of the book adding further shape and historical context to the narrative. Liza has a loving father, their closeness was wonderful and I was glad she had this relationship, as, at least at first, her mother was too weak to be there for her. 

With the Visitors, the ghostly apparitions seen by Liza when she closes her eyes, and with whom she can communicate in her mind, the author adds another dimension to Liza's experiences and to the tale. I liked the significance of the role they played towards the end of the novel, though of course I won't write more about that here so that I don't spoil the story. The descriptions of the Kent hop fields, the oyster beds, and the Boer war are vivid and evocative. The book has a very attractive cover design, too. 

What I think I liked most of all was that Rebecca Mascull makes us see anew through Liza’s eyes much of the wonder in the world around us every day, and made this reader think about appreciating it all, and not taking things for granted. 

For me this was a very engaging, moving and atmospheric story of devoted, wonderful friendship, first love and attraction, of travel, adventure and war, and of ghostly visitors. I looked forward to getting back to it every time I had to put it down, and I read it in only a few sittings. An impressive debut.

Thanks to amazon vine for a review copy of this novel. 

Author links twitter @RebeccaMascull  | tumblr
Published by Hodder & Stoughton 

Q & A with Rebecca Mascull

Q. The Visitors is set in the late 19th/early 20th Century. What prompted you to set the tale at this point in history? Was this a period you already knew about, was there a lot of research involved?

When I decided to portray a deaf-blind child and her education, I wanted to set this at a point in history where she was facing a huge struggle against the odds. I didn't want her to necessarily be the first to do this - as there are well-documented real-life cases such as Helen Keller that have already covered that ground - but certainly at an early stage, so that essentially my character would be seen as an idiot before she had learned to communicate effectively - that is, until she learned language.

I didn't know much about the late Victorian/early Edwardian period at all - yet that was part of the challenge for me, and indeed, part of the fun! I love to learn and having an excuse to read lots of history books, visit old houses and inhabit another era is part of what I love about being a novelist. In his novel 'The Go-Between', L. P. Hartley writes: 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.' So true. And anyone who knows me well will tell you that I do inhabit another country in my head much of the time, and that I do live in the past! I like many things about the modern world - mostly its convenience and some of its technology - but my heart resides in history.

Q. Have you wanted to write about a deafblind character for a long time or did the idea come to you quite recently?

I was lucky enough to work with deaf students about twenty years ago and was hooked on the idea of writing about deafness, as it is such a fascinating area of study. There are theories about the differences between the deaf brain and the hearing brain, as well as so much to consider when it comes to the structure and nature of sign language and how it compares to spoken and written language. I also saw a TV movie about Helen Keller as a child and tried very hard to imagine what it must feel like to have no sight and no hearing. These influences stayed with me and when I came to decide on this project, they came together and insisted they be written!

Q. I felt like Liza was very convincing, that you got inside her head and really showed how things were for her. How easy was it to write Liza's character and write about the way she experiences the world?

I'm so glad you felt that about Liza. It was difficult at first to imagine her world, particularly before she could see. I had to shut off the two senses I tend to use most when writing. I made lots of errors in early drafts where I forgot that she couldn't hear, and had her turning towards sounds and all sorts! So it was a big learning curve. I also had to embrace my sense of smell, which for me is not particularly good, and imagine how it would be to live through touch and smell primarily. It wasn't easy, but for me writing about myself or people similar to me would be dull. One of my motivations in writing is to escape, I suppose! The same as my motivation in reading or watching movies or engaging in any sort of narrative. So I do like to explore people in different times and lives and experiences, different to myself, that is. That's one of the joys of writing novels, for me.

Q. I loved the way Liza made me appreciate things that I can see and do, is there anything in particular that you appreciated anew as you were writing her character?

That's a super question. In the early chapters, before she can see, I tried hard not to pity her. She didn't pity herself as she didn't understand the pathos of her own condition. And even once she did understand, I think it just made her more determined to push forwards. This made me think the next time I was whining about some minor problem or inconvenience I'd had to put up with and made me tell myself, just shut up, Mascull: you've got NOTHING to complain about! 

Q. When is your favourite time of day to write, or do you just write as and when you can, whatever time it is?

I do have a routine, which these days is largely dictated by the school day and holidays. Thus, I write from 9.30 to 2.30, 5 days a week during term times and don't do much writing at weekends or in school holidays. However, I get a lot of research reading and note-taking done out of school hours, whenever I can fit it in: in the bath, in the evenings, while I'm waiting for my daughter after school or during clubs. In a perfect writer's world, I'd write all day from 9 - 5 in an empty house while it's snowing outside; there's something about the silence snow creates which is very conducive to writing. But who wants to live in a perfect world? That'd be dreary.

Q. Are you writing a second novel, and if so can you share anything about it yet?

Actually I've just finished writing my next novel. I don't have a title yet to share with you (I'll let you know as soon as I do!), but I can tell you a bit of what it's about. It's set in the C18th, where an orphan girl is educated through a benefactor. She becomes a scientist - or as they were called back then, a Natural Philosopher - she travels abroad and makes a remarkable discovery... It has various themes, of the sea, of love and war, of poverty and the position of women; and it was a joy to write. I enjoyed the C18th hugely. I'm about to get cracking on the line edit and I'm looking forward to diving back into its world, and particularly the C18th, which was chaotic and a little bit scary, but hugely entertaining! The novel is due for publication around this time next year. 

Q. Can you recommend a book or two you've enjoyed reading this year/or a couple of favourite books?

Ooh, good question. One of my favourites in the last year was 'Where D'You Go Bernadette?' by Maria Semple. From the rather gaudy cover, I didn't expect to like it at all, and I only read it because my lovely editor at Hodder gave it to me. But it was brilliant - very, very funny and thought-provoking and full of interesting stuff - such as Antarctica, where I've always wanted to go - and also things I could totally relate to, like the pressures of the school run, for example. I couldn't put it down, and that doesn't happen for me much any more. Sadly, reading novels can become a bit of a busman's holiday for me at times. I have to really be grabbed by a book to carry on reading after the first 30 pages, let alone finish it. I find myself over-analysing novels too much, and if any of the cracks show I end up tearing it to shreds in my head and get thrown way out of that necessary suspension of disbelief. So when I find one I can't stop reading and get lost in and don't remember I'm actually reading a constructed novel written by someone...well, I get terribly excited! Old favourites include anything by Salinger; The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, Atwood's The Blind Assassin; Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain; most of Amy Tan's early novels - the ones about China and sisters and mothers; and then odd, quirky ones like The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. One of the best writers around right now I believe is Marilynne Robinson; the quality of her prose is so far above the rest of us, it's terrifying - and inspiring. 

Q. As a published debut novelist, are there any particular tips you'd give to aspiring writers?

You do have to possess a kind of stubborn determination to carry on, I think. There will be many obstacles in your way, including your own insecurity. There will be many gatekeepers saying No Entry. You have to find ways around and past these, including using charm, side-stepping and sheer bloody-mindedness to keep going and going, improving your writing, picking yourself up from rejections and criticisms and downright hatchet jobs of your work. Somewhere inside there needs to be a kernel of self-belief, that your work is good, that you can make it better every time you sit down to write, and that one day you will find the readers who 'get' you, the ones that say, Yes, I know what you're trying to say and I like it! It may take years and years of trying, but if you get enough signs and signals from the world that what you're doing is good, then you must keep going, you simply must. I wish every writer on this journey the best, as it's not an easy road to travel. But I wouldn't choose any other path.

~~~~~

Thank you so much, Rebecca, for being on my blog today! 

Here's a glimpse of the paperback cover design for The Visitors, to be published on July 18th 2014.

The Aftermath - Rhidian Brook

The year is 1946, and the setting is a country that has been destroyed, where we are taken to a city that lies in ruins, and introduced to a people, many of whom have been displaced and are hungry. This is Hamburg, Germany and this is the scene of this remarkable novel. Colonel Lewis Morgan is entrusted with the role of overseeing the rebuilding of Hamburg in the British Occupied Zone of the newly carved up post World War II Germany, and with the de-Nazification of the people. His wife Rachael and son Edmund come over from England to join him. They lost their other son in the war and Rachael is still grieving very deeply. Lewis requisitions an elegant house on the banks of the river Elbe, but unlike others who force out the owners, he allows the resident German family, consisting of widower Lubert and his unhappy daughter Freda to remain in their home, living in the top floor apartment, whilst his family lives below. This unconventional arrangement forms the intriguing backdrop of the story.

We learn of brief moments in the lives of each of them, Lewis and Rachael, and the children Edmund and Freda. For all of them, for all of Germany too, it is the aftermath of something enormous. Also we meet some children reduced to living off whatever they can find, steal and barter with, the main character amongst these being the charismatic but vulnerable Ozi. The chapters move between all of them throughout the story, allowing the author to depict many sides to the situation, and give an adult's and a child's perspective. But the narrator didn't feel intrusive; rather the characters were allowed to speak for themselves. I think there were times when I wanted to be back with the scene or characters we had just left, which tells me that I was involved with the story.

Lewis is a kind man, showing understanding towards the Germans and comprehension of the realities of the situation the people are now facing; whatever they have done, whatever has gone before, he is trying to be practical in dealing with the present. His differing stance and approach is one of the main aspects of the story that stood out for me. Others are much more severe, perhaps understandably so. The contrasts in behaviour certainly challenge our preconceptions. Lewis is a fascinating man, professional in his work and a compassionate character, who has very much separated his home and working lives, his mind mirroring Germany itself, with its new occupiers. Rachael observes that her husband's thoughts are divided into different areas:

'She could see he was preoccupied. Preoccupied with the occupied. His mind was divided into two zones, the larger, and by far more interesting, being the zone of work, with its needy subdivisions. He was fine as long as the other zone - the domestic zone inhabited by her and Edmund, the Luberts, the staff - was able to take care of itself with minimal input from him...but just for now she wanted him to engage with her realm, however small.'

Indeed it is his working life that is the sphere he feels more at ease in; comprehending how to renew his relationship with his wife and surviving son after the war seems much more of a battle than the other one he faces; after one all too brief intimate moment 'his mind had already returned to the zone where he felt safest and more effective: to the less complicated needs of a thousand faceless Germans and the rehabilitation of a country.' The fact that this mammoth task facing him seems less difficult than rebuilding his familial relationships shows just how hard this latter task feels for him. He is out of practice with regard to this side of life, and now, being back on intimate terms together 'suddenly required an ability to interpret and understand the nuances of a dialect Lewis had not spoken for over a year.'

Rhidian Brook tackles the subject of guilt and innocence, as the British assess Germans to try and determine the extent of their wartime activities and involvement with the Nazis. People were assessed using a Fragebogen - a questionnaire - 'to determine the degree of a German citizen's collaboration with the regime.' He demonstrates how easy it is to view the situation as black and white, but suggests that we need to look deeper. When he himself is questioned, Lubert realises that, despite his explanations, the man questioning him sees elements of his past as all being part of, or linked to, the Nazi regime. 'How simple this mathematics was: an equation that always ended 'equals guilty'. The numbers and fractions that got you there were unimportant.'

Music is important to Rachael, and it is a connection between her and Herr Lubert. She is determined at first to keep herself distant from him and Freda, or as much as possible given that they are, after all, still under the same roof, but it doesn't take long before 'the careful lines she had planned to lay down - had started to lay down - were already being crossed.' We wonder if this is a sign of things to come. Meanwhile Edmund forms his own bonds amongst the displaced children scavenging and hiding in nearby properties, and demonstrates his own kindness, as well as a touching innocence at times. He has missed his father and has 'a whole war's worth' of questions for him.

There are some well-observed moments even of the minutiae of life in those strange times; witness the 'three officer's wives, comparing household inventories', about which Brook wittily writes that 'it was testament to the miracle of British bureaucracy that even in these bankrupt times it could find within its broken and bust self the wherewithal to decide that a captain's wife did not need a four-place tea set, that a major's needed a full dinner service, and that only the commanding officers' wives should have a port decanter.'

There is some stunning imagery and poetry to the prose that I loved and which made this novel a joy to read for me; Rhidian Brook has a lovely way with words. This description of the weather struck me: 'pregnant grey-black snowclouds loomed, ready to dress the village in fairy-tale clothes.' 

And I loved this striking and very poignant image of a ruined church: 'The facade of a church stood on one side of the road, with only sky for stained glass and the wind for a congregation.'

Later, there is a suggestion that the house itself is judging Rachael; 'It looked to Rachael as if the house were narrowing its eyes at her. The dusk made a grimacing smile of the slats on the balcony.'

I thought this description of a fire was wonderful, too; 'A fire was a theatre in its own right and this one was loud and lively, full of intriguing plots and sub-plots.'

I really, really liked this book. It was surprising, shocking and thrilling at times, and engaging throughout. It deals with some big themes; love, passion and separation, loss, lies and a nation's guilt, and asks difficult questions that can make you feel uneasy or make you reconsider how you had viewed people; it certainly makes you think. I am always interested in fiction that deals with Germany in this period and I think this is a very readable, compelling new novel to add to that field. After hearing about this story I was excited about reading it and I wasn't disappointed. I feel like I could write and write about it, both in terms of language and storylines, so I think it would be a fabulous novel for bookgroups as there are so many fascinating issues arising that could be discussed and debated. It is also going to be made into a film I believe. One of my favourite reads so far in 2013. 

Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books

review copy from the amazon vine program