Death In August & Death In Florence by Marco Vichi

So not am only am I treating you all to your third review in as many days, but today's review features TWO BOOKS. Yes two whole books for you to potentially enjoy should you by any slim chance, agree or disagree with my ramblings. So here goes...

I have always been quite a fan of the crime genre, not the crap out there by writers such as Martina Cole, Lisa Gardner and Karen Rose, but quality stuff from the likes of Stieg Larsson and Gillian Flynn. But I have gone off it recently, so after reading quite a different variety of books, I thought I would slip back into some crime novels. Searching through the charity books, I discovered two books by Marco Vichi. Both of the titles had 'Death' in the title so that heavily denoted crime. Not only this, but flicking through the blurbs, they are both set in Florence, Italy. One of my favourite cities. The Italian in me (only half a person mind) added them to the bottom of the pile.

Both of these books are from a series of novels featuring the veteran war hero turned policeman Inspector Bordelli. The first novel in the series, Death In August, is our first look at the character of Inspector Bordelli. An extremely complex character, he is the stereotypical Italian man. Can't keep a woman, eats far too much and smokes even more. He is rather unlikable which made the first book extremely difficult to read. The plot centres around the mysterious death of a local rich lady. It is classic Agatha Christie, with plenty of red herrings and a seemingly obvious explanation for everything in the end. There is even the classic big reveal at the end. But Vichi doesn't quite pull it off. It all feels rather rushed and awkward. Perhaps it was just a bad translation. It was the first book in awhile that I nearly didn't bother finishing, the last being one of Martina Cole's latest tripe.

Putting a book distance between the first novel and one of the later books in the series Death In Florence, I was quite reluctant to read it after my previous read. I decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Being a much longer book, it felt like Vichi had given it more time to play out and not feel as speedy. Centreing on the death of a young boy who is found buried in the woods, there is a much greater sense of plot throughout. There is a passage later in the book that is quite uncomfortable to read, where we learn about the death of a boy, involving a sex game with a group of old Fascists that has been going on for years. But then if no-one wrote about stuff like this, we wouldn't know it happens.

One thing that Vichi does extremely well is surrounding the unlikable Inspector Bordelli with intriguing characters. Many of them are ex- convicts that he has let off, or even an old prostitute he has a close friendship with. It helps to add much more depth to the plot, as well as Bordelli himself, learning about his character through how he interacts with them.

Death In Florence is a much easier read, with many of the Christie cliches stripped away. It almost loses it in the middle of the book when Florence floods and the investigation takes a back seat. Whilst this may be realistic, it only hinders in the storytelling and becomes slightly mundane after awhile. I did read this in the midst of the flooding in Surrey near my house so maybe I was just sick of high tides.

The height of the Florence 1966 floods depicted in Death In Florence

So if you a fan of crime, I would certainly give them a go. The first book is so short that it is almost worth reading just to be introduced the characters, so as to go on and be able to enjoy later books in the series. But did they make me fall in love with crime fiction again? That would have to be a no.

Both of these novels are published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK. 

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Look at me. Sticking to my promises! Here is my second review in as many days (and get ready for number three tomorrow).

It only occurs to me as I type this in the semi- darkness of my room hunched over my laptop what depressing subjects the books deal with that I have been reading lately. If you care enough to scroll down, you will see my review of The Invention Of Wings, which dealt with the issue of slavery. Tonight's review involves the Holocaust and the Second World War. Such happy, uplifting topics. But as I said yesterday with slavery, it is vitally important people write about these topics so we never forget the suffering that people had to suffer.

I already knew about the story of The Reader having watched the film adaptation of the novels a few years back. But I always find that the original text of any adaptation has an extra spark and atmosphere about it. So as soon as I put this at the bottom of my to read pile, I was looking forward to it. As it is a translated text, I do worry sometimes if something is lost in the English version, but I can't say I even noticed that it was originally written in English.

Kate Winslet in the film adaptation

The Reader is written from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy called Michael Berg. We as the reader (please ignore the intended pun) are thrown straight into the dramatic tension throughout when he runs into Hanna Schmidt when he is taken ill. He later goes back to thank her once he is better. As with many things, one thing leads to another. And so begins their affair. I should just add here how there is a huge age difference between them. So not your typical summer affair story.

Schlink writes with such craft about how they fall into a daily routine of sleeping together, bathing each other and then Michael reading to the illiterate Hanna. This illiteracy later comes to play a vital role in the novel when Hanna is taken to court for her SS past. Obviously back then illiteracy was much more common, but it is scary how in the Western wold, there were still and still are today people who could not even read or write. That means people who can't read and learn about history the way that we can; reading novels such as this.

The novel follows Michael as he grows up, and how their affair effects him at every stage of his life. There is a constant sense of heartbreak throughout, something Schlink seamlessly writes into Michael's narrative. He can't seem to let go of Hanna, she herself being an extremely complex, distant and cold character. But with her background, you could hardly blame her for being as she is. This runs right up to the end, where she eventually kills herself when she is due to be released from prison. In a way, despite being quite an unlikable character, you do feel sympathy for her by the end.

Bernhard Schlink

And of course there is the serious issue of the Holocaust. Schlink brings a new angle to looking at the terrible slaughtering that occurred by looking at the convictions, and personally for me, experiencing looking into the violence of female soldiers running worker camps. I found it extremely uncomfortable to read, especially when she seems to be just as callous throughout, in the way she treats Michael included. The Holocaust is never an easy subject to read about, but Schlink manages such a matter of fact style about it, it makes it that little more horrific. And not just because of the act that Hanna has committed during the war.

Whilst it could be easy to sympathise with Hanna's character due to her illiteracy, her coolness and shrewd attitude give The Reader an air of depression. But I couldn't put it down. Michael's narrative and attachment to Hanna at his young age, along with the constant reminders of the tragedies that have occurred, all bring to the forefront the history of Germany, and how it has effected generations after.

The Reader is published by various publishers. The version I read (above) is published by Orion Books. 

The Invention Of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Now life has been rather busy for the past few weeks. Not that that has stopped me from reading plenty of books mind... I have just become incredibly lazy with writing reviews. But I'm catching up now. So I've already shattered any illusions you may have that I have read a book a day as I will be uploading quite a few reviews this week. I am ashamed for getting so behind! Ahh life...


Last year I read Sue Monk Kidd's first novel The Secret Life Of Bees and thoroughly enjoyed it. The huge best seller was a thrilling look into black oppression in the 1960s and Kidd continues to look at black oppression in her latest novel The Invention Of Wings. We are transported back to the beginning of the 1800s, when slavery was rife in the USA in many areas. Told through a dual narrative from the two main characters, Sarah Gimké, daughter of rich family who own many slaves, and Handful or Hetty, a slave of equal age. Kidd uses this to give us both sides of the story, the guilt that Sarah begins to feel about how er family are slave owners, and Handful's traumatic accounts of slavery from a first hand point of view. Handful is presented to Sarah as a gift on her 10th birthday, immediately bringing to the forefront the sheer ownership that the white population of the time took.

Now this year has seen more spotlight heaped onto the issue of slavery as the success of the film 12 Years A Slave has highlighted the importance of telling these tales of slavery still is. Steve McQueen has said many a time how there are millions still in slavery conditions, a shocking fact that needs to be dealt with radically and quickly. And novels such as Kidd's are equally just as important at reminding everyone of the horrors of slavery, ensuring we never forger how badly we have treated others in the past.

The novel itself is split into different time periods, as we track the two girls growing up, growing closer and growing into women. It was extremely readable but it may have been interesting to hear from some of the other characters in the novel. There are some voices that need a little more detailing, not avoiding the danger of telling a story through just two opinions. There are so many characters that intrigue through Sarah and Handful's narratives that would have been just as fascinating to hear from. Whether it be Handful's runaway mother, constantly stealing things from the white household, or Denmark Vesey, a free slave leading the revolution, or even Sarah's stern mother. So many horrid events occur throughout the novel, whippings, hangings and even something I had never come across before, tying a slave's leg to their neck behind them, choking them if they dare to move. These need the voices of the people who suffered them. Although it is traumatic enough from Handful and Sarah, a little more perspective would have added to it. However, there are some extremely saddening moments from Handful, especially her delight at how much she is commercially valued at by her owner. It should never be how much someone is worth to be sold to make them happy.

Aside from this, I cannot fault this novel. It is certainly a page turner and doesn't get caught up in unnecessary details. The skips in time help to keep it fresh throughout as well, as we get to learn what we have missed in the time that has passed. The thing that I loved about the novel was how it eradicated any stereotype that women did nothing at the time to put a stop to the the evil that was happening around them, much like Patsy from 12 Years A Slave. And imagine my delight when I discovered at the end of the novel, Kidd telling in her author notes that Sarah Gimké was a real- life abolitionist. I don't know where my own stereotype  of this comes from, seeing men argue over whether slavery was right or wrong, as if there ever should have been a question.

Sarah Gimké- remember that name folks

So whilst Sue Monk Kidd may have done good in again not letting us forget about the horrors of slavery, for me she has made me learn about the life of Sarah Gimké, and helped to make me that little less ignorant. It is important that historical figures such as Sarah are more commonly known because I have never heard of her before reading this novel. Kidd so well merges the historical fact with her own flowing fiction, something that is rare to find in today's world. I can only hope a film is made to bring Sarah's story to an even greater audience.

Another review tomorrow folks!


The Invention Of Wings is published by Headline books in the UK. 

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

Another one of those names that gets tossed around in the 'classics' group for you this week in the form of Hunter S. Thompson. Having never read any work by him before, I was quite excited to come across this in the charity box at the end of the last year (yes I know it's taken me awhile to get there!). I have to say mind it was one of the best charity boxes that we have got so far. It was literally full to the brim of classics, be it Penguin classics or other titles I have been hearing about for years and years. In there even was my favourite novel, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. 

The Rum Diary... he was quite dishy when he was younger....

Being as naive as I can be sometimes about novels and their authors, I presumed that The Rum Diary would be another one of Thompson's novels based upon his investigative journalism ways. I was mistaken however on researching the book a little before I began reading it. Whilst Thompson did live in Puerto Rico and work there as a journalist for a paper, most of the characters and plotlines were fictional. I am a huge fan of journalism books, as I said about 5 lines ago, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is my absolute favourite. Disappointed as I was, I thought it was time I should get around to reading one of Thompson's novels, so I pursued to turn to the first page.

After the first 10 pages, I was still quite not getting how it wasn't based completely on fact. It all seemed so real, the context, the sheer honesty of the main character Paul Kemp and the realness of the other lost male souls all felt so lifelike. I could picture them all in the stuffy, hot offices, drinking rum until they passed out and avoiding the locals on the way home. I truly respect any writer that drops me into a scene as a fly on the wall, happily watching as the action passes by. Thompson had done this within the first 10 pages for me,

Being quite a small novel, I was soon rattling my way through it. The pace of the novel never relents. I was never bored reading it, there was never a long description or tedious conversation throughout. Every single world set the scene and threw me straight in at the deep end with the action. Following the man character Paul Kemp as he moves to 1960s Puerto Rico to be a journalist. As with many books that I seem to be reading at the moment, there is a feeling of dread and impending doom throughout. And boy does it hit at the end. But I won't spoil it for you. 

....he didn't age well mind! 

Another feature of all the novels I seem to reading at the moment is how many of the male characters have a steady addiction to alcohol. But they all seem to find it so normal. Thompson casually references many periods of the characters drinking, whether it be at bars, hotels, in the office or even at a huge festival on a nearby island. He subtly links into this the loneliness and isolation of the male souls portrayed in the novel. It is quite sad to read about to many men who have literally been washed up on the shores of Puerto Rico men with dreams and hopes, only to have them crushed. And so comes the excessive consumption of rum. 

Whilst the life of the journalists seems all fun and games, and makes my life among many others seem rather boring, it is something that I find quite scary. Being washed up on a foreign shore full of dreams of the future in a sunny paradise only to find it is nothing like it is publicised is truly terrible. And to them only have rum to pass to help pass the time as the impending doom hits can never be a comfort. Thank goodness we have writers like Thompson to educate and document times like these so we can hopefully we avoid times of people being isolated and disconnected from the world. Unless you are Russian of course. 

A highly engaging read that you will finish from cover to cover in two days at the most, Thompson held my attention from start to finish. I could feel the scenes dripping of the page and I could picture it at every point. I can only hope my review of a masterpiece holds your attention for half as long. 

The Rum Diary is published by Bloomsbury in the UK, available on Amazon. 

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So a golden oldie for you this time! I should have said when I was making my new years' declaration that I need to get around to reading some more of what many refer to as 'literally classics'. Of course I have read some, but many escape me. I want to correct that. Fitzgerald is one of those names that gets thrown around in this category. I read Gatsby when that terrible, terrible Baz Luhrmann production was released. I really enjoyed it. I finished it in a day, not just because of its surprisingly short length but the sheer readability that Fitzgerald possessed. Unfortunately, this was around the time when I was finishing up multiple university assignments, so I never got around to reading anymore of his works.

Mr Fitzgerald himself

So last year, I found one of his novels in the latest charity box. I read Tender Is The Night at a strange time. Having only recently left university, I was finding it impossible to not read a book and try to critically analyse it at every stage. I guess you could call it a curse. Or else it just makes you look deeper into the themes that make a novel. The English graduates now for ever burden. Oh well. It'll wear off. Just think of it like when you first drive without an instructor. There you go. 

But anyway, we are here to talk about the book that I have just finished and returned on its journey to the next charity shop, entitled The Beautiful and Damned. I was shocked to discover that Fitzgerald in his life only wrote 4 complete novels, dying before he could finish his fifth one. I don't know why I assume that someone such as Fitzgerald who falls into that critically acclaimed classic category would have a huge catalogue of novels. I guess that just shows the impact that he had in such a short collect of full novels. Of course, the short story collection that he produced in his lifetime was a huge, broad selection. But I have never been a fan of short stories. They always leave me wanting more.

What striked me straight away about the book was the character names. I have never come across an author who thinks of the most brilliant names I have ever read. In previous books that I have read of his, who can forget the most brilliant name Dick Diver. What a name. Not anywhere would you find a name like that nowadays, he would never name it out of school. And that continues in The Beautiful and Damned characters such as Anthony Patch and Richard Caramel. Memorable, strong, distinctive, brilliant. And it's not just the names that are memorable. Each character, whether it is the tragic, hopelessly in love Dot, or the determined older character Adam Patch, each will leave an impression on you. 

Fitzgerald's second novel

He continues his flowing writing style and I found it hard to put the novel down. He has a way of describing a scene that I just would never think of, and I think is something rare to find in the literary world. The book follows the path of Anthony Patch, as he leads a lazy life of not working, and drinking and partying to an extreme excess with his wife Gloria. Fitzgerald writes in a period that both intrigues me and terrifies me. This society led culture that craves excess, extremity and lots and lots of liquor. But boy does he write about it well. You can feel the devastating effect that the lifestyle the two are leading are having not just on themselves, nut on their relationships with others as well as their deteriorating living conditions. 

 This feeling of devastation just does not relent throughout. Everything has an air of depression around it, with this constant reliance on the importance of liquor adding to this at every stage.  The plot eventually centres around Anthony and Gloria's fall from grace as they wait for a court case to be settled over inheritance that was taken away from them by Anthony's rich grandfather. There is always a sense of the inevitable throughout, that they will win the case, as the couple are always on the edge of no return but never quite. But I must say, it was hard not to want then to fall. The unlikable Anthony and Gloria always seem to get there way, and in the end do, despite all the suffering, which for most people would barely be scratching the surface of being poor. 

Fitzgerald fully deserves his title of being a classic literary author. For me, there is no one out there who can match the fluidity of his writing, his unique description or his tragic, unlikable characters. Whilst I usually struggle to get on with a book where none of the characters I particularly care for, I make the exception here. Fitzgerald was truly a master, and for me, this was his greatest work. Of course this may change when I get around to reading those short stories. Or that last novel of his I have left.

The Beautiful and Damned is published by many different publishing houses in the UK due its being out of copyright. The copy I read (pictured above) is publishing by Orion Books. 

Maid Of The Mist: The Myth, The Mob and The Mozzarella by Colin Bateman

Apologies for the delay. I have been rather lazy this week and only jut got around to actually finishing a book, very rare for me to take more than a week to read one! Unless it is huge. With many, many pages. Or tiny, tiny print. I'm like an old woman. Anyway, back to the review.

So this week I read a book by a man who has recently become one of my favourite authors. Colin Bateman, or Bateman as he mostly goes by, is famous for writing the book that spawned Murphy's Law. He has written a load of books which I am slowly working my way through ever since reading one of his novels called The Prisoner Of Nurse Brenda. I nearly wet myself several times on the train it was so funny. Believe me, that wouldn't be a good look. Although I guess most commuters wouldn't even notice. Many have that vacant 'get me off this train' look. Dammit, got distracted. ANYWAY.

Maid Of The Mist. Beautiful cover designs.

As I was saying, I have read many of his novels and have found them all mostly hilarious. There are a couple of them that have been a bit hit and miss, but mostly they have been fantastic. Colin Bateman has a fantastic way with words. I have never read an author so brilliant at comic timing, as well as using his sarcastic tone to fine effect, even when the situation really doesn't call for it. There have been a couple of times I have had to suppress a laugh, which again, is not something I want to be seen doing on the train...

The first thing that always strikes me about his books is the wonderful cover artwork that can be found on the latest editions from the publishers. Credit to James Edgar. I've put a few more of his beautiful covers below for you all to marvel at (and then go and read them okay they are all engrossing reads).

Some more great artwork by James Edgar

So once you've stopped staring at the covers, you get through to the book, the one being in question Maid Of The Mist. The book centres on Frank Corrigan, an ex- Irish policeman who has moved to Niagra, the town not the waterfall before you ask, to lead a quieter life. Cue the opposite of this taking effect. Most of Bateman's books that I have read so far feature tragic male leads, mostly Irish, with plenty of mention of the Troubles throughout. This continues, and although if you read a few of his books in succession, these themes could get old, you would be surprised how each time a new angle is drawn upon it.

Typical Bateman, the novel is full of hilarious one liners in times that do not call for it. One of my absolute favourites is (prepare for crudeness) "Katharine had her top off and Pongo's cock in her mouth'. Utterly brilliant. The plot centres around Frank's investigation of a woman falling over the falls and surviving, going onto believe that she is a Native American princess of old local fables. On the way, we meet many fascinating characters, something that Bateman is always consistent at. From the faded rock star Pongo to the nosy journalist Madeline, Bateman always writes characters that intrigue, not just through their stories but through the fantastically written dialogue that flows better than the currently flooded Thames.

Corrigan must tackle an international drug ring that he believes is masquerading as a conference that has rolled into town. As is typical for Bateman, the main character is constantly hindered by both the good and bad throughout. This does not relent in Maid Of The Mist. Along on the way, Frank meets characters from Bateman's past novels although you wouldn't know it if you hadn't read them. Bateman so subtly interweaves them into the plot that I almost missed them. But it was a great touch. And it made me think just how many good books he has produced, as well as the fact that his characters left such an impression on me that I remembered them during cameos.

So Maid Of The Mist is just another brilliant book that I can cross off my Bateman list. I am waiting for one book of his that I do not enjoy at all. I don't want him to think that I am some sort of stalker. I have literally read at least 10 of his books in the past 4 months. Maid Of The Mist is full of everything that Bateman, for me, is an artist at. Memorable characters, undeniable wit, violent undertones and presenting contemporary  issues (Ireland and journalism especially) all mixed in with bringing down crime, not often in the best way. A brilliant mix if you ask me. READ, READ READ.

I highly recommend some of his other novels: I Predict A Riot, The Prisoner Of Nurse Brenda, Empire State. Some of my favourites of his.

Maid Of The Mist is published by Headline in the UK. Available online and in stores today. 

The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison

I usually try to stay clear of books by authors who have initials in their names. There is just something about them that I find so pretentious. Of course, like everything in life, there are exceptions to this rule, J.K Rowling being one of them (just so you know The Casual Vacancy is in the pile to be read). So one day, I can't remember how far back now, I picked by The Silent Wife. The cover just reeked that this was one of those thrillers for the female audience The almost silhouette of the woman on the cover indicated this heavily, but as I said in my first post, I'm not one to judge a book by a cover. This myth was further undone by reading the blurb on the back of the book, stating how the book was told through both the male and female voice in a relationship. There was something about it that made me add it to the bottom of the never ending pile.

Judge a book by its cover?

Once it surfaced at the top of the stack of books, I couldn't wait to pick it up. I did a little research on it before I began, like I do with most of the books. Not to ruin it just to say, I'm not one of those idiots who reads the last page first. It was merely to gain some background knowledge on the general feel for the book by the critics, as well as the back catalogue of the author. I was saddened to learn how the author had sadly passed away and that the book that was rattling about in my bag was the only fiction book that she had ever had published. With the knowledge of this, it helped me to be able to enjoy it more, knowing that this would be all I would get.

Harrison leaps straight into the drama on the first page, immediately setting out how the not so silent wife of the book title will turn out to be a killer. This already gives us an impending sense of dread from chapter one that just keeps building and building. The constant switch of voice from chapter to chapter, that slowly details each brick that falls from Todd and Jodi's marriage, whilst nothing original, truly allows us to see how each character thinks and acts as the disaster continues.

Harrison's background of psychology shines through Jodi, as we see her pick apart her own decisions and her family background that has led to her current coldness and sterile nature. I was not surprised to see that Nicole Kidman is in the running to play Jodi in a feature film. She has the perfect icy qualities that Harrison instills in Jodi. And boy does she do it with vigour.

Nicole Kidman is in line to play Jodi

Something that is quite rare within fiction is where an author doesn't allow us to sympathise with a character but Harrison achieves it with such style you barely notice it. The deep psychological prowess in her writing draws you in and it is hard to stop turning the pages. It is hard to appreciate Todd's weakness for alcohol, sex and stubbornness, or Jodi's obliviousness to Todd's actions or how her life has fallen into an almost Groundhog Day- like routine are both hard to appreciate. There is an attempt by Harrison to push Jodi into the psychopathic female, especially where Jodi spikes Todd's drink with sleeping pills, but this is quickly retracted when Jodi immediately regrets it. And something else rare that Harrison achieves is to only use Jodi and Todd's viewpoints throughout. Never do we hear from Natasha, Todd's clingy (and stereotypical bunny boiler) mistress. We only hear Jodi or Todd's opinion of what is said by others. This just adds more to the deeply psychological feeling throughout, and that what the split has done to both of them is the only thing that matters.

The sense of dread continues until the very last page of the novel, but Harrison is sure not to go overboard. I think the most terrifying and deeply psychological feeling of the whole book is the lack of action. It is simply the thoughts and actions of the two in the relationship, in the end the only two opinions matter that come to the make or break moments in a relationship. There is a very real feeling throughout the writing, you can almost feel yourself in the situation. This sense of a lack of action is not something to fault the novel though, it keeps it real.

One downside to the novel is Todd's eventual demise. It all goes off a little too smoothly for my liking. But then anything more dramatic would only take away from Harrison's understated and devastating psychological writing.

A.S.A Harrison

Overall, this was a fantastic read. From the constant switch of viewpoint taking us deeper and deeper into the minds of our two main characters, to the immediate and never-let-you-go style of sense of impending doom for both of them, it just never relents. The only thing I could think by the end of the book was how sad I was that Harrison never got to see the critical praise that The Silent Wife met on release, on top of the fact she will never have another book. To know that I won't be writing another review of one of her novels on here is a great shame. But she left us with a novel that is so dark and so darn understated that it makes it so darn real, she can rest in peace knowing she wrote good in this sometimes dark and depressing world.

Until the last page turns... xoxo

The Silent Wife is published by Headline in the UK, available now online and in stores.