page turning observations

hello reader


and so more reading, then. once more i have read not just one, not as many as three, nowhere near five (well a bit) books, look you see, but just another two. which means it is time for me to chip in with some comments on the off chance such is of interest.

which books did i read? sticking with the standard way of doing things, here they are, followed by some "overview" observations of a non-spoiler (hence no pretty colours or creative use of bold) variety for those in a rush.

in classic round eye, left to right conventional reading style, and of course how i read them, here we are. whereas i can't remember, i am quite certain that i read another novel by Lisa Jewell previously (as opposed to an imaginary projected future where i read one) and it was good, so tried Watching You. good thing i did, as it is a most excellent novel. motivation for buying Grist Mill Road by someone called Christopher J Yates was mostly on the £1 price sticker you see and the fact that the font of the text appeared easy on the eye. also, the plot on the back sounded a bit different from my usual fare, but not too different. a good read, but also a partially dark and possibly disturbing one, so approach with caution.

despite all efforts (well, some) being made not to do so, certain aspects of the following may contain bits and pieces that you may wish to consider finding in either (or both) novels for yourself. fair warning, then, and so for colour and bold fans note a *** POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD *** notice is very much in place, to be safe, to be sure.

you know what, it might well be that Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell that i had previously read. that's the book advertised on the circle sticker thing on the cover, and it certainly sounds familiar. or it may have been another of her novels, i remain unsure. if it is important to you to know, then please feel free to search my other book comment stuff, or just assume that it was that one, and let us move on.

provenance of my copy? i cannot imagine why this is important, but the lack of further stickers says Tesco, and it will have been either a £3 or £3.50 "book of the week" thing. normally Tesco do a "£4 each or 2 for £8" thing with paperbacks, but i note with interest that they are sneaking one or two novels up to a straight fiver. if this continues, well, off to Morrisons i shall go for them at £4.50 a go, or otherwise i shall just - reluctantly - source from the internet.

i should expect the plot of Watching You (which is definitely the one i have just read) will be of more interest, or pressing concern for those of you who have bravely read on a bit. and so, to honour this expectation, i shall do what i can to relay it.

from what i recall, a young lady who has been working in some rave destination island in Europe returns home to England. she is accompanied by a relatively newly acquired husband, married on a whim of sheer physical ecstasy, and is now living with her brother and his wife. a wife who is expecting their first child. not long after she develops a physical infatuation (and by that i mean sexual craving) for a gent living nearby. a gent who happens to be the celebrated headmaster (principal, if American) of a nearby school, who has a son that is a little voyeuristic, and a wife who seems "a little off". further, he has something of a stalker, for another nearby neighbour seems to perpetually monitor him, believing him to be part of a widespread conspiracy that can be traced back to a peculiar incident on a holiday several years before......

that sounds somewhat convoluted and terribly confusing. sorry, and trust me, the novel is not. what it is, then, is a very easy to get into, wonderfully engrossing, twisting and turning tale. the size of the novel at first looks a trifle daunting (north of 400 pages), but it is so wildly woven together you kind of would not mind if it went on for even longer. man, many fine twists and turns, some obvious things that turn out to be obvious, some not so, and that rare thing of a (mostly) satisfactory, plausible and rewarding conclusion.

well, as usual it seems that when a novel is really good i get the sense that i should be writing more than i have. but, nothing else occurs to me to write, except fully recommended without hesitation or fear, buy it and enjoy.

as good as i found Grist Mill Road by the scrabble winning named Christopher J Yates to be, there can be no sweeping suggestion that all should read it. referring back (rather than forward) to my earlier comments, it is dark in places. also very violent, with a number of moments which are, frankly, disturbing. but, quite a few of us don't mind such, indeed actively seek it. it would be just unfair to not give any sort of warning or "careful now" message.

plot? well, as the back of the book mentions, it starts with a rather horrific scene. it commences, then, with a boy using an air rifle thingie (i suspect they call it something different in America) to take pot shots at a girl he has tied to a tree. another boy watches on, in a sort of stunned frozen horror....

to discuss much (or any) more of the specific plot from that feels as though it would give too much away, if i am honest. yes, i have paused to give consideration to how i may be able to give you more, but no i cannot. ultimately, i suppose, of importance is whether or not handling the graphic barbarity of the opening is worth it, if it is in any way rewarded by reading on. to this, the answer is yes. for the most part the unsettling opening falls away in favour of a, how to describe it now, "mystery drama", i suppose.

i found the themes particularly interesting. some of them resonated with me, just as they would anyone (i would imagine), whilst others were not ones i had contemplated. the book looks at complexities around unresolved guilt, secret hiding, how apparently minor misunderstandings can lead to major (often grim) consequences, and perhaps the significant differences between redemption and any form of forgiveness. at one stage it seemed uncomfortably like it was going to lurch towards what clever people call "victim blaming", but mostly averts rather than subverts it.

would i then go right ahead and recommend (or if you like endorse) Grist Mill Road? the answer is yes, conditional on the warnings that it shall cause some upset. in truth the one major flaw i found was a bit of a media history faux pas. someone apparently had an Ewok toy in 1982. my understanding is that such would not have existed until 1983, and i suspect the family of the child who has such a toy would not have coined up for it. but that's maybe nitpicking. 

right, then, that would be that. two very fine novels indeed bought for south of £5 in a combined sense, and overwhelmingly happy, good and great to have read them both.

anyway, that's all for this post, and indeed for stuffs this month. hopefully this has been of some interest to anyone or someone out there somewhere!




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