some book reviews, then

hello reader


well, why not keep doing the same kind of regular post what i did last year, and the year before. and, look you see, for a number of years before that too. as i have finished reading a couple of novels, to be sure, time to give a sort of review thing here for the benefit of any who might wish to have a gander.

in truth i finished reading these off a little while ago, as in the end of the last month of the year just gone. for a number of reasons, none of them at all sinister, it's only now i have gotten around to writing this sort of thing.

as usual, then, a look at the two books what i read, and a quick(ish) overview which seeks to carefully avoid spoilers. from then onwards, of course, a spoiler warning will apply, to be sure.

both, as it happens, were really rather good. that said, not for all tastes. Arrowood by Laura McHugh is a sort of eerie,  partially creepy thriller. it is engaging, but it is not, despite the quotes on the front, all that complex to work out the "twists". nor is it an "old fashioned gothic mystery", as catchy as that might sound. on the other side Alex was a brilliant crime mystery thing, but do take caution as it's unsettling and has some truly disturbing imagery.

right, then, for many of you that will be enough and all you need to know of my thoughts. if that is you, off you go and thank you for reading as much as you did. for all others who go on, please note that, as careful as i shall strive to be, a *** SPOILER WARNING *** is in place for the rest of this article. also, as usual, links are for convenience, and are not an endorsement, affiliation or recommendation from me as to where one should, or for that matter should not, purchase either novel.

to start with, then, where i started with these two. which would be Arrowood  by Laura McHugh. 

provenance of my copy? i am almost certain that it was £2 at Tesco in their "try me" deal of the week on books. it is possible, however, that it was £2.50 or thereabouts under the terms of their controversial "cheaper when you buy The Sun" deal.

the plot? Arden has inherited Arrowood, the place which was once her family home. it has been left empty for a while, and mostly is home to some terrible memories. several years earlier Arden's two siblings were abducted from the garden as they played, never to been seen or heard of again.

much of the narrative follows the story of the disappearance / abduction, with an eager unsolved crime enthusiast keen to try and work out exactly what happened to the children. Arden wants to find out the truth of the matter too, in particular when several things she considered to be "fact" around the disappearance turn out not to be the case at all. This all happens as Arden too struggles with the present, trying to fit back into a world she wants knew.......

the novel works on two levels, really. firstly, and primarily, the "mystery". it is absolutely not so difficult as the quote from Lee Child on the cover suggests, as i don't think there's even four possible scenarios given for you to consider, let alone be misled by. but still, it's engaging, not too obvious, and makes you want to keep reading.

second, the idea of "going home". the narrative is perfect. whenever you return home after an extended period away there's an assumption, maybe idea, that all shall be exactly as you left it; that everyone and everything simply paused, coming to stand still, until you came back. it does not work like that. the writing captures this exceptionally well indeed.

no, not a clue on the "old fashioned" gothic review. there is a "modern" understanding or interpretation of "gothic" which says "any contemporary novel which features a female protagonist and a mansion". it might be the case that this sort of covers the plot in broad strokes, but then that would make this, at best, "modern" gothic rather than "old fashioned". all the same, the novel is superb. i mention this purely as i would not want someone enthusiastic about "gothic" novels as they are more better understood to be defined and being left disappointed to find that Arrowood is not really one which meets the criteria.

right, a brief break as i consider my thoughts on the second novel.

yes, well, quite, there you have it. do make what you will of the above picture, or collage, or if you like public service announcement. i am sure it is of resonance to someone, somewhere.

the second novel what i have recently read, then. Alex, it is called, and was originally written by someone off of France called Pierre Lemaitre. for ease of reading, however, i elected to read the English translation of the novel, as translated by Frank Wynne. nice one Frank, cheers.

provenance? i am 100% certain that this one was, with no doubt as 100% suggests, a £2 deal off of Tesco. so both books together came in, no matter what, at a cost south of £5.

of the plot? a woman, Alex, is kidnapped and held captive in a quite barbaric, stomach churning (you have been warned) way. we have no idea, as readers, why. also having no idea is the police, who are some time later alerted to the fact that there "might" have been an abduction, although no one has any idea at all who may have abducted and who may have been the abductee. when it transpires that yes, such a crime really did happen, investigations and chance take place which leads them to find the potential identity of the abductor, if not who exactly was taken. as the constabulary (or whatever they are called in France) draw close, things take a quite unexpected (but for the reader plausible) turn......

this was brilliant, to be honest. again, i cannot state often enough, though, that it was gruesome, graphic and highly disturbing in parts. if you like crime novels but not ones with explicit descriptions then you should really rather skip this one.

yes, of course it does that which which most French art from the second half of the twentieth century onwards does. that is, it's "symbolic". once again in a work from France we have a woman, violated, abused, tortured and invaded being symbolic of France itself. the aggressor, usually male, is ferocious, brutal and unforgiving, and is meant to represent if not Germany then the Third Reich. as ever, the authorities are indifferent or complicit with the aggressor, save one or two voices speaking against, with that being symbolic of the general sense of shame and frustration the French carry in regards of how their supposed leaders so easily capitulated and crumbled in the face of invasion. understandable, i suppose, but the fact that we still have such heavy handed symbolism - there's even a trip to the German border in this novel - then i guess it shall dominate French art for some time to come yet still.....

my understanding is that Alex is the middle, business end of a trilogy of crime novels featuring the chief, decent copper, Camille. there would appear to be no need to know of the first novel to read this one and understand it. that said, i may seek out the other two. although i have a mountain of novels here to get through. and, now that i think, i still have not found or read the third novel what Child 44 was the first part, and i read the second although the name of it escapes me.

so there you go. two most splendid reads, in truth, and ones that i would not hesitate in recommending to others. except for the caution expressed regarding the graphic content of Alex, that is.

well, that's that, then. undoubtedly, so long as time is with me, further reading adventures shall be looked at here. in the mean time, or interim if that's right, hopefully some of this has been of use to someone somewhere!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!