The Hunger Trace - Edward Hogan - Guest book review

When David Bryant, owner of a Derbyshire wildlife park, dies unexpectedly he leaves his young widow Maggie struggling to keep the business going, whilst also caring for his troubled teenage son of his earlier marriage, Christopher. David’s old friend Louisa is a falconer who also lives on the estate. The Hunger Trace explores the gradually evolving relationships as first a stranger and then torrential rain and floods changes the emotional and physical landscape.

This is a confident and assured novel. The Derbyshire setting is dramatic, the characters are interesting, the plot is intriguing, the outcome uncertain. Does that make it a good read? Well, I’m not sure.

For the first hundred pages I was uncertain where the story was going. Initially Hogan evokes an underlying sexual tension between the women, despite their previous heterosexual histories. But then, a third of the way through the novel, Adam is introduced and it becomes clear that the women’s relationship is emotional rather than physical. Rather than adding interest, the early ambiguity feels misleading.

Both Maggie and Louisa have difficult relationships with Christopher. Some readers have suggested that his eccentricities are unbelievable in a teenager, but anyone who has had experience of dealing with an autism-spectrum adolescent will disagree. Hogan’s observation of detail is sufficiently accurate to make this extremely uncomfortable reading in places.

Adam too has been described as difficult to believe. Why, readers ask, would a young, physically attractive man be drawn to an older woman who can be crabby and hostile? That may be a valid question, but since it’s one that many of us may have asked in ‘real-life’ I don’t see that as a problem in a novel, so long as the attraction is apparent.

Of all the characters, I had most problem with David. His is always a defining presence, either by his impact on major life-decisions or by the legacy of his death, but the ‘idea’ of him was difficult to engage with. Described as self-centred, controlling and a womaniser, yet weak and spineless in a crisis, he is hardly likeable. I found his conversations with Christopher, told in flashback, particularly disturbing given the context of an autistic teenager’s emerging sexual awareness.

Hogan includes a lot of technical references to training and hunting with hawks, and it is one of these that provides the novel’s title. Hunger Traces are the permanent fault lines in the plumage of a falcon due to neglect and undernourishment. The image is a powerful metaphor for the scars left on Maggie, Louisa, Christopher and Adam by previous emotional encounters and failed relationships; perhaps more could have been made of the parallels.

As a study of loneliness and isolation its sometimes melancholic tone may deter some readers, and its plot isn’t as tight or gripping as it could be. However, despite some doubts I would recommend this unconventional novel, which establishes Hogan’s credentials as a serious new talent.

Reviewed by Angi Holden - guest reviewer

Published by Simon and Schuster

Thanks very much to Angi for kindly reading and reviewing this book for The Little Reader Library. Angi is a full-time student, a part-time teacher, a part-time writer, a full-time Mum and an avid reader. 

Non-fiction Spotlight!

Welcome to a brand new, occasional series on the blog, entitled 'Non-fiction Spotlight', featuring non-fiction books that I have been reading. Although much of my reading time is spent in the company of novels, I do very much enjoy reading a variety of non-fiction books too and I have reviewed one or two in the past here on my blog. I thought that when I do review or want to highlight a non-fiction book in the future it could be part of a sporadic feature, hence this post. 

From time to time I read biography, history, travel, health, wildlife, and other non-fiction books. I'm not sure what this feature will incorporate yet, or how often it will appear, but I have a couple of books in mind to get it started: I've recently read Welcome to Biscuit Land by Jessica Thom, so that one will be featuring next, and I hope to read Death in the Baltic by Cathryn J. Prince and The Spy who Loved by Clare Mulley soon. I have lots of other non-fiction books I've bought sitting on my to read pile that I hope to look at going forwards and mention here too.  

I'd be interested to know how much non-fiction others who primarily read fiction get through, and whether you think about it differently in terms of whether you would ever feature it on your book blog. I hope you enjoy these occasional reviews.

Non-fiction reviews

Welcome to Biscuit Land by Jessica Thom

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. 

After the Fall - Charity Norman

‘I hoped I was dreaming, because this was a terrifying nightmare.’

Five-year-old Finn is taken by rescue helicopter to hospital one night after a fall from the upstairs balcony of his family home deep in rural New Zealand. He has been known to sleepwalk, so the fall was surely just a terrible accident. However, Finn’s mum Martha knows more about what happened that night than she is prepared to reveal to those questioning it.

The McNamara family has moved to New Zealand to make a new start. There newfound paradise is idyllic but it won’t be without problems or challenges for them all. The move was prompted by a need to escape and try to find a new life for them, especially for Martha and husband Kit, an artist whose business in the UK has failed as so many others have, and whose thoughts were descending into despair at where his life was heading. Martha thinks the move will offer a chance to save him and revitalise his painting with the beautiful landscapes they discover all around them. Martha and Kit’s twin sons, Finn and Charlie see it all as an adventure; they’ll miss their Grandfather and friends but will soon adapt to the new place and see all the possibilities for play and exploration. Martha’s daughter from a previous relationship, Sacha, is sixteen-years-old and for her it is a difficult time to be separated from everything she has even known.

The narrative shifts in time, and the author builds up the background to the move, introducing us to Martha’s sister and father, to Sacha’s life at school, and to Kit’s troubles. We are aware of the history that has prompted the family to move.

This is a lovely novel, so well written, with a central character in Martha that has so much to deal with, and tries to do the best she can for her family. She carries secrets from the past, and she has her love tested to the absolute limits. Martha is a compelling narrator and one whose voice I was gripped by throughout. We learn of her relationship with her mother, we see her grow and change in New Zealand, taking on a new job, having to be so strong to deal with things affecting her family, and yet finding moments to become Martha, not mother or wife but just herself, and to experience growth in her own life:

‘I felt a sense of something deep within myself, something I didn’t quite recognize. After thinking for some minutes I realized that I was actually proud of myself. I’d done something I’d been afraid to do. For once I hadn’t sat on the fence and watched my children; I hadn’t been the photographer, the waver-off, the cheerer on the sidelines. It had been a long time since I’d had an achievement that wasn’t vicarious.’

Martha spends a lot of the novel in difficult situations, with scenarios to deal with and decisions to make that no-one would envy. She is human, she is flawed, and I warmed to her and willed things to go right. Her character prompted me to think about her motivations and about how I would react to the events that befall her; would I react in the same way? Sacha is also a well-drawn and complex character.

More than one character needs the opportunity for a second chance and for forgiveness, both of which are dominant themes in the novel. Despite there being a lot to express about the issues that are dealt with in the story, I feel that to say anymore about them here would spoil it for those yet to read the book – you must discover the twists and turns as you read.

This well-written novel made me think about family and love, the bonds that are so tight between a mother and her children, between a husband and wife, and how that love and trust that we develop and depend on can be severely stretched and tested, how deeply those we love the most can hurt us, and the power of forgiveness.

I was very impressed by this novel throughout; the storytelling, the characters and the development of both were strong and well handled. I felt like every encounter and conversation drove the narrative on and had a purpose towards the story as a whole, there was nothing surplus as can sometimes be the case.

Charity Norman deals sensitively and yet thoroughly with modern day issues that can be frightening for all involved, and will test this family to the limits of love.

It’s a book that I wanted both to read quickly and discover how the plot unfolded and yet wanted to savour and not to come to an end because I was really enjoying reading it.

New Zealand is a country I’ve spent time traveling in myself and which I love, and it was wonderful to read a novel set there, indeed to read about a family’s dream to start again there. The author incorporates aspects of Maori mythology into the conversations with some of the friends the family makes, which I enjoyed reading.

The storyline totally captivated me and I found it very moving; at the end I shed a few tears at the outcome. I wish my review could do it even a bit of justice. This is a talented author at work. More please.

Published by Allen and Unwin

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

After the Fall is one of the Richard and Judy Book Club picks for Spring 2013

You can find the author on twitter @CharityNorman1 and on facebook here.