Jellybird - Lezanne Clannachan

'It's facing your own secrets that takes the greatest courage.'


We meet Jessica Byrne as she has returned to the coastal caravan park owned by her mother, Birdie. Why has she left her life in London, her lovely husband Jacques, and her growing career and returned here? What has happened? Then we are taken back to earlier in the same year, to a first meeting Jessica has with a woman named Libby, who is interested in buying some of the unique jewellery that Jessica designs and makes. Their acquaintance becomes a friendship which Jessica is glad of, it feels like something she didn't have when she was younger. But Jacques seems uncertain about Libby, and Jessica doesn't understand his reaction, he normally likes everyone. Yet she does see that Libby has a domineering personality, and it seems like she becomes controlling of Jessica at times. Libby admits 'I can be tricky and difficult.'....'She bends and shapes words like balloon animals, Jessica thinks.' Then Jessica notices Jacques and Libby in close conversation together and becomes suspicious.

The narrative then takes us further back in time to when Jessica was a lonely teenager, her parents marriage falling apart, her father leaving the family, her mother distracted. Jessica meets Thomas one day, another lonely, ghostly soul, with a cruel father, and they find companionship with each other. Through the novel we move back and forth as more of the past is revealed, and events move on in the present. It's seventeen years since Jessica has seen Thomas, he disappeared, in a desperate state, and she doesn't know where he is, if indeed he is alive - he was feared drowned at the time. Jessica evidently has deep-rooted issues unresolved from these times, as demonstrated by her self-harming. Revisiting these events, and the vivid memories from her childhood, also brings back thoughts of the unsolved brutal murder that lies hidden there. 

There is plenty of uncertainty and suspense within this tense psychological debut novel,  there were moments and revelations which caused me to think twice, to rethink what I thought I knew, and an ending that I had not predicted. I was absorbed in the story and I enjoyed the twists and turns, though sometimes I think I might have liked an ever so slightly quicker pace to parts of the story. The portrayal of growing up and of teenage insecurity and searching for identity, and of struggling to get through those difficult years whilst also dealing with family break-ups and disfunction is strong and really convincing; I was impressed by this aspect of the narrative in particular. The author writes well about so many different relationships; close female friends, partners, parents and children, teenagers. I liked how the story moved from the present to the past and back, building the tension. There's a dark tone and an air of menace to some aspects of the story which makes it an unsettling and intriguing read that depicts both lighter and darker sides of life. Jellybird is an intriguing, engaging and suspenseful debut from a talented new writer. It'll be interesting to see what Lezanne Clannachan does next.

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

Author links - twitter @LezanneClan | website |

Published by Orion

Other blog reviews - Girl Vs Bookshelf | Reading Matters | Liz Loves Books | Random Things |

Perfect Need - Barbara L. B. Storey

Filled with desire and lust, love and longing, 'Perfect Need' is an addictive collection of seven well-written and sensual erotic short stories depicting emotional and explicit physical passion. 

The author writes in her introduction to the collection: My stories are explorations of what love and passion can become, how they can affect two people for a moment, or for a lifetime. When they close their eyes, literally or not; when they tumble into a love they never expected; when they decide it's worth the risk to stay...or not.'

This is a story collection that you could read all at once in a couple of hours, or alternatively enjoy one at a time and keep returning to the book for more. I read a few at a time and I quickly found myself drawn into the tales when I picked the book up. I especially liked You Don't Belong to Me, An Unbearable Brightness, and Dolce which features the delicious, irresistible combination of food and passion.

I don't want to write too much about the individual stories because I think they are best discovered knowing little about them before you start reading, so that you enjoy the way the passion and romance unfolds in the different intimate scenarios described. Different to a lot of what I read, I was glad to try this collection and found the writing had an honest quality to it and the author's sense of adventure shines through. If you'd like to read some short erotic, emotional fiction relating passionate encounters with intensity and realism, do try this collection.

Thank you to the author for kindly sending me a copy of this book for an honest. 

Author links - twitter @barbaralbstorey | website 

The Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan

I'm very pleased to be part of the blog tour for The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan, published by Virago. Below are my thoughts on the novel, as well as a Q & A with the author. 

My thoughts

The Engagements is a captivating, delightful novel that invites us into the lives of various characters and spans the years from the 1940s to the present day. In it, the author looks at the significance and history of the diamond engagement ring as a recognised token of love, devotion and commitment, at different attitudes to marriage, at different women and men and the choices they make, and the emotions which connect us all. The underlying or main thread if you like, is the story of Mary Frances Gerety, an independent unmarried female copywriter at a time (1947) when this was exceptional, and a wonder in the advertising world - working for the dominant advertising agency, she was tasked with convincing everyone that every woman who was to be married needed a diamond ring, and she brought us the famous words A Diamond is Forever. 

'The diamond would last even if the love did not. Even though youth would not.'

I found it fascinating to discover more about her through the author's portrait of her, to learn about her personal life and work. Though much of her life's work was devoted to something idealised as the height of romance and commitment, her own personal life was somewhat of a contrast to this; 'she found her job far more exciting than any man she had met...' Frances has to contend with the expectations of her day, when women married and ran the home; other women observed that 'It's not natural for a woman of a certain age to want to work in a stuffy office with men all day...'  so her career and her being single went against this, and others viewed her with suspicion, yet she seemed content. I loved her confidence, her drive, talent and self-belief. Many moments stood out as I read, especially a comment she makes with regard to trying to join the all-male golf club. She watches as other women, even those who had worked, were more or less forced to stop once married. And later in her life, she sees how women are changing and taking chances that were never there for her.

The novel then introduces us to the other strands; there is Evelyn in 1972, James in 1987, Delphine in 2003 and Kate in 2012. Evelyn has been happily married for many years but is concerned about her son's behaviour in his marriage, James is a man devoted to his wife and trying to do the right thing but beset by financial problems, Delphine had a steady marriage but has left France for America with her lover, and Kate who 'was distrustful of marriage' and is happy to live with Dan. Each relationship is different, whether a marriage, an affair, one partner richer or poorer, yet there are emotions, and difficulties, joys and sadness in common for them all.

The narrative is skillfully structured, building together a little from each of the different stories, stories that take us back and forth in time, that illustrate the choices people make in life and love, about passion, loyalty, independence, commitment. There are five stories, and five parts to the novel, and each part takes us back to each story once. The years covered by novel allow the author to illustrate the changes in marriage, in attitudes, from traditional to modern values, from divorce being almost impossible to becoming an everyday occurrence.

My copy, with so many bits I loved tagged.

I adored this novel and I absolutely didn't want it to end. I was swept up in each of the different story strands and I couldn't wait to return to each of them. I took a photo of the paperback copy I read because it just shows how many sentences or events or elements of the prose really struck me or resonated, and which I tagged to refer back to; there were so many in this book. I felt that each of the stories was strong and absorbing; they were each strong tales in their own right and brought together they made for a brilliant read. I wondered if I would be able to keep each of the stories and all the characters in my head as I read, because of the way the narrative shifted, but I found this worked well and each tale, and the primary characters within it, were distinctive and memorable.

I think readers will react differently to the stories depending on their experience and opinions; this would be a great book for discussion. It would also be a wonderful book to take on holiday and get lost in. I escaped into this story and was absorbed; I didn't want to be interrupted or distracted from this book, it was the type of read for me that it both an escape and reminded me of the great enjoyment that comes from a book that you really 'click' with, and it was also an intelligent, thought-provoking read.

I really looked forward to picking it up again every time, and I found that the characters and their lives were in my thoughts even when I wasn't reading it. I found them all interesting and fully formed, and there were things I was drawn to in each of them - Frances' drive in her work, Evelyn's love of her grandchildren and her love of books, plus her feelings about her ring, very similar to how I feel about jewelery and my ring; 'She had never been much of a jewelry person, but her ring was the exception. She loved it.'

Then, James' devotion to his family, Delphine's experience of living in another country, though I think I identified with Kate most of all, and some of the thoughts and beliefs she holds are things that I often think about so it was great to see them represented here through this character. 

The author picks up on several significant moments in the background as she narrates her characters' lives; we hear about precious belongings stolen in WWII, about Vietnam, September 11th, a recession, Iraq; this novel is sweeping in scope but always ultimately focused on the intricacies and beautiful observations about the characters themselves, their thoughts and behaviour. I liked the different locations, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Paris, they added depth to the lives being played out. There are other themes and ideas too; the beauty and joy of music, the influence of modern technology on a marriage, the struggle for equality for all who want to be with, and make a commitment to, their beloved partner whatever their sexuality.

I'm always a bit nervous about longer novels, will it be worth the investment of time as a reader? Plus, sometimes, the synopsis of a novel doesn't always totally hook you, and with this one I wasn't totally sure if it would be for me, so I was ever so pleasantly surprised when I found I genuinely loved the story; this was certainly worth my time. I realise I sound very enthusiastic but that's because I enjoyed it so much, a standout read for me and a book I'll be keeping on my shelves for years to come. In the novel, J. Courtney Sullivan writes that, when Frances was studying, 'like everybody else, she was planning to write the Great American Novel.' Well, this is certainly a very good one.

~~~~~

Q & A with the author, J. Courtney Sullivan

1.       Can you tell us a little bit about the character of Mary Frances Gerety?

When I started writing The Engagements, it was a story about four marriages. I felt there was a character missing, but I couldn’t put my finger on who he or she might be. I first saw Gerety’s name in a nonfiction book about the diamond industry called The Heartless Stone. The author, Tom Zoellner, included just a paragraph or two about her. He said she wrote the line “A Diamond Is Forever” in 1947 and that she herself never married. I knew right away that I had to write about her. I actually wrote “Put her in the book!!!!” in the margins.

Gerety was a pioneer, working in the male-dominated advertising world starting in the late nineteen-thirties. She wrote every De Beers ad until she retired in 1970. I was drawn to the contradictory nature of her story—utterly unromantic in her personal life, she was responsible for creating our modern attachment to the diamond engagement ring.

I wanted to be as true to who she was as I possibly could. She passed away in 1999, and other than Zoellner’s brief reference, there was nothing written about her. But I was able to interview several of her former co-workers, neighbors and friends. I visited her house, read her correspondence (and confidential company memos that she left in the garage!) I made a photo album of her pictures, which includes a four-page spread of her Great Dane, Blazer. I grew tremendously fond of Frances. She was a sharp, bold, tough woman with a great sense of humor, who often defied convention. I wrote the book with her photograph hanging over my desk. Now that I’m on to other projects, I still haven’t taken it down.

2.       Do you write every day?      

I don’t. When I’m working on fiction (as opposed to an essay or a book review) I need long stretches of time to write—usually somewhere between five and seven hours. It takes me so long to get into the world of my characters, that once I’m there I like to stay a while. Not every day allows for writing fiction. I assuage my guilt over this by reminding myself that so much of a novelist’s job happens off the page—when I’m in the thick of working on a book, even if I don’t write, I’m constantly thinking about the characters and what they are going to do next.

        

3.       Who are your favourite authors?

I love Dickens, Austen, and Thackeray. My favourite contemporary novel is A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. My all-time favourite is Bleak House.

I adore the work of novelists like Maile Meloy, Ethan Canin, Kate Atkinson, Sigrid Nunez, Meg Wolitzer, and Jhumpa Lahiri. (I could go on and on.) Writers who closely examine the complexities of family, marriage and friendship.

4.       How long did it take you to write and research The Engagements?

It took just under two years.

The Engagements is my third novel, but it’s the first that isn’t rooted in a world that I know well. I wanted to get it right, so I did extensive research for every character and I had a tremendous amount of fun doing it. If there were no such thing as deadlines, I’d still be researching this book.

Frances Gerety’s co-workers provided insight into the business of advertising in general and N.W. Ayer (the agency where they worked) in particular. The Cambridge, Massachusetts paramedics took me on ambulance ride-alongs and answered hundreds of questions. I was lucky enough to convince the violin virtuoso Anne Akiko Meyers to let me interview her multiple times, and I wrote P.J. (the virtuoso in the book) with her music playing in the background. To get the character of Delphine right, I interviewed women who had moved from Paris to New York, and I traveled to Paris, where I spent time walking the steps that Delphine would walk every day. I picked a location for her shop on a quiet street in Montmartre, and for her home on a little private road just around the corner.

Because the characters don’t intersect until late in the book, I wrote each story almost like a standalone novella, and only cut them together at the end. This allowed me to really get into the heads of all the characters, though each is very different from the next.

5.       Are you writing another novel and when can we expect it?

I’ve just started writing a new one. Not sure yet when it will be out!

~~~~~

A thank you from me as I found these answers fascinating, and even more so when I re-read them after finishing the novel. 

~~~~~

About the author

J. Courtney Sullivan is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Commencement, Maine andThe Engagements. Maine was named a Best Book of the Year by Time magazine, and a Washington Post Notable Book for 2011. The Engagements was one of People Magazine’s Top Ten Books of 2013 and an Irish Times Best Book of the Year. It is soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon and distributed by Fox 2000, and it will be translated into 17 languages. Courtney’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Tribune, New York magazine, Elle, Glamour, Allure, Real Simple, and the New York Observer, among many others. She is a co-editor, with Courtney Martin, of the essay anthology Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Find the author on twitter @jcourtsull and visit her website here

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Other blog reviews: The Writes of Women | A Bookish Affair |

Like to visit the other stops on the blog tour? They are listed below.

His Father's Son - Tony Black

Joey Driscol went to Australia to make a new life for himself and his wife Shauna, trying to leave behind their problems in their homeland of Ireland. They've got a lovely young son now, Marti. However, we soon discover that their life is far from joyful and they are both still weighed down in their own ways by the memories and events in the past, with little communication between them, the happiness all but gone from their relationship. This uneasy situation culminates in Shauna taking Marti away one day, leaving Joey without the best thing in his life, his son. When he discovers where they have gone - back to Ireland - it's an enormous challenge for him to return there and meet again the family he hasn't seen for years, but one he has to face if he is going to see Marti and Shauna again.

This was a compelling, at times very sad story that is full of raw emotion, difficult relationships, fierce love and the highs and lows of life. The author writes movingly about what matters in life, and about how people can carry hurt from the past with them for many years without really facing it, trying to protect themselves and paper over the cracks but becoming susceptible to pain and depression as the worries and ghosts persist inside. The depth of love Joey feels for his dear son Marti, and the strain of having to revisit the past, is strongly evoked, and I felt for them all as I read. The characters were very well drawn and came powerfully to life, most of all Joey and Marti, and also Shauna who is battling the Black Dog. I think I would have liked to have known even more about her; having said that I felt that the focus of the story was right, with Joey and Marti's experiences foremost, and Shauna's thoughts seen through extracts from her diary, read by Joey. We learn of how each of them feels about, and views, the situation, the contrast in their perceptions, and the experiences of all three of them are important to the story. I could feel the awful pain when Joey realised Marti had gone and what he must do, and I could feel the anxiety and confusion as Marti tried to get to grips with his new surroundings in Ireland. I felt I knew Joey most of all though, the things that brought him immense happiness and the things that were a source of great sadness. 

I became involved in the book and willed things to go well for them, for this little family of three. The sense of place in both settings of Australia and Ireland felt real to me, and the use of vernacular language at times added to the authenticity of the characters. There is an element of mystery to the tale too; what happened in the past and what will happen in the future?

His Father's Son is beautifully written; a thoughtful and poignant read with an immense honesty about the writing. I felt the author wrote with a deep understanding of individuals and of family relationships and the story held many truths about how dark times in the past can haunt us and threaten our present, and the strength it requires in order to face that past.  Despite the intense, emotional nature of the story overall, there are light touches too and there is humour and innocence. A powerful, moving book.

Source: proof copy, many thanks
Publisher: Black and White
Author links: twitter @tonyblackuk | website
Other reviews: Liz Loves Books | Random Things |

The World is a Wedding - Wendy Jones

This is the second novel to feature undertaker Wilfred Price, set in Narberth, Wales – the first was The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals (click the title to read my review.)

I very much enjoyed the first encounter with Wilfred, yet I must admit that I liked this second book even more. It is 1925, we are back in the affectionately portrayed Welsh countryside, and Wilfred is now happily married to Flora, and together they live with Wilfred’s father, whilst Grace is headed away to London alone, escaping a painful past, though there is no real escape for her from her situation. It was a delight to be reminded of these characters and to follow their lives once again. Wilfred is looking to expand his operations by starting up a wallpaper and paint business, whilst Grace takes a position as a maid at The Ritz hotel, and discovers the Suffragettes. 

I love how Wendy Jones uses words; there are some sentences to savour in this book. She writes about her characters with compassion and honesty, there is humour and a lightness of touch, but she doesn’t shy away from the sometimes very painful truths of life either, and there are some thoughtful moments as Wilfred contemplates his life.

There are some lovely moments as Wilfred and Flora adjust to married life and living together; Wilfred and his da have been used to a certain way of living and they are aware that some adjustments ought to be made now that it is Flora’s home too. Flora realises she has a good man for a husband in Wilfred, yet she mourns for the man she loved before him, who died in the war.

I cared about Wilfred, Grace and Flora when I started reading; as I read on, I grew to care about them even more. Wilfred is an endearing character and a fundamentally decent man; I felt he really grew and developed as a character this time and there is some wonderful humour in his actions and thoughts - his philosophical musing whilst judging the dog with the waggiest tail for example, and his use of his newly acquired vocabulary from the dictionary - as well as poignancy at the sadness that befalls the couple, and regret as to what happened with Grace. I loved the reflections on his reading of Socrates.

I also really liked the chapters involving Grace finding her feet in London and tentatively finding out more about the Suffragette movement. I would never have guessed they did the activity that they do in the book back then (I won't spoil it by mentioning it here). Through the narrative and her characters the author also highlights some often very difficult situations and limited choices for women at that time, and this felt right in the tale to me, done skillfully and never in a heavy-handed manner.

It's an attractive cover on this hardback edition too. My enjoyment of this one was enriched by having already read the first novel featuring these characters; it's not a necessity but I would recommend it. I hope there will be more to come should Wendy Jones decide to revisit Narberth once more, as this novel made for very good reading indeed.

Source - publisher review copy
Publisher - Corsair 
Find the author on twitter @abilliontimes

Rory's Boys - Alan Clark

‘My story was more complex than I had known it to be...'

Rory Blaine is a very successful advertising executive in London who discovers the grandmother he has been estranged from for many years is now close to death. He reluctantly visits her and whilst there meets Vic d'Orsay, a popular singer now in his seventies but still going strong. When his grandmother passes away, Rory is surprised to inherit his grand familial home, Mount Royal in Hampstead, a place that holds many memories for him, but which he has also not seen for many years. When he takes possession, Vic appears again and suggests an idea for the future role of the place, and a brilliant plan is born; 'Mount Royal was about to become Britain’s first residential home for gay men.’

Rory has turned 45 and when he experiences unexpected rejection in his personal life he begins to think about his life, what happened in the past, where he is now and what might lay ahead. Openly gay, he wonders if there will ever be a man who he can spend his life with, whether he can move beyond promiscuity and brief affairs and short-lived (albeit very pleasurable) gratification, on to finding something lasting.

This novel has a first person narrative from Rory throughout, in the form of a record of thoughts and events as suggested by his therapist. This allows the reader a very intimate look at his life, his innermost thoughts and fears, and his relationships, throughout the story, and has the feel of a very personal tale. 

I enjoyed this novel a lot; I thought the writing was very honest and moving at times, and also funny, entertaining and witty; some bits really made me laugh and reading other parts I felt very sad. It is frank and open about sex, casual encounters and gay relationships.

This story felt so real, at times Rory's pain was strong, the loneliness after being disowned at a young age by his grandmother, the only family he really had left, and his difficulties in coming to terms with himself, as well as with getting older, finding his place in the world, and accepting his past if he is to move onwards. Vic offers him valuable advice about forgiveness that was based on his own very difficult experiences, which are revealed in the novel through a very well written encounter that exposes the awful bigotry and ignorance of some in society.

                                  

Vic is a charismatic, affable and layered character. Rory observes of him that ‘he certainly wasn’t like elderly men were supposed to be. It had obviously never occurred to him to disengage with the world, to step back and leave life to the younger generation. He never stood on his dignity either so somehow, however he behaved, he kept it.’

There are some very touching friendships that grow and evolve over the course of the novel, with some characters, especially Elspeth, coming into their own as the story progressed. In fact, when I had finished reading the book, I realised I really would miss some of these characters, so vividly had they been drawn by the author.

Some of the elderly gay characters have evidently had to hide their sexuality from most of those around them for much of their lives, indeed, as mentioned in the novel, for some of them, they could remember when their love was considered a crime. I had never thought about the lack of places for older gay people to be able to live where they would be accepted and cherished rather than judged and questioned, and I thought it was brilliant to see this idea being discussed in fiction. 

The wealthy older men who come to reside at Mount Royal in its new life as a residential home are the 'Rory's Boys' of the novel's title. There are some fascinating, entertaining and endearing characters amongst them. One of the larger-than-life residents remarks that ‘we are each of us surprising and fascinating till our last breath', a line that I loved.

There are plenty of twists and turns within the plot too, some that I guessed at and some that certainly took me by surprise.

This is a really good first novel; the author imbues his prose with honesty, compassion, poignancy and humour, and has crafted an entertaining plot and some great characters.

Source - I was kindly sent a copy of this novel to read and review.

Publisher - Bliss, an imprint of Arcadia Books
Visit the author's website here