Only Ever Yours - Louise O'Neill

I rated this book 6/10

frieda and isabel have been best friends their whole lives.

Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions - wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate.

But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril.

A re-worked YA Handmaid's Tale.

Surprisingly relevant. The comparisons that I could make between O'Neill's creation and our own world are shockingly close.

'Only Ever Yours' turns a magnifying glass onto a world in which celebrity magazines draw rings around a woman who has a touch of cellulite. It satirises the waxing regimes, the plastic surgery, hair dye, laser treatments, weight loss pills, marriage traditions, fashion trends and reality shows that women find themselves sucked into. It turns a mirror on a world in which women are constantly asked "So when are you having children?" as soon as they reach their twenties.

The book also touches briefly on the idea that young men are not supposed to discuss emotions, thoughts or feelings with other people.

Dramatic, bleak and quick to read - "Only Ever Yours" is YA dystopia; a re-worked 'Handmaid's Tale' that throws up feminist issues with no holds barred.

Available at Waterstones.com

The Story of the Lost Child - Elena Ferrante

I rated this book 8/10

Against the backdrop of a Naples that is as seductive as it is perilous and a world undergoing epochal change, the story of a lifelong friendship is told with unmatched honesty and brilliance. The four volumes in this series constitute a long remarkable story that readers will return to again and again, and every return will bring with it new revelations.

A beautifully bleak conclusion to the Neapolitan Novels.

The Neapolitan novels absorbed me from the very first book, and rarely have I been so enchanted by a cast of characters. Ferrante's writing is brutal, honest and full of depth, allowing the reader to really fall in to the difficulties of growing up and starting a family in Naples from the 50s to the present day.

Lila and Elena are friends and rivals - constantly clashing with each other or sharing emotional moments together. In this, the fourth book, they are arguing more often than they are civil to each other. 

'The Story of the Lost Child' took me a good long time to read in comparison to the first three, it was much more difficult to digest, and towards the end the real heartbreak is apparent. I rarely find myself with a "book hangover", but I did feel a sense of loss when I realised that I had finished the last sentence.

This touching and deeply crafted story makes for bleak and beautiful reading. Start at book one 'My Brilliant Friend'.

Thank you to Turnaround Books for the Advanced Proof Copy.

Available at Waterstones

The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan

I rated this book 10/10...

Taking its title from 17th-century haiku poet Basho's travel journal, The Narrow Road To The Deep North is about the impossibility of love. At its heart is one day in a Japanese slave labour camp in August 1943. As the day builds to its horrific climax, Dorrigo Evans battles and fails in his quest to save the lives of his fellow POWs, a man is killed for no reason, and a love story unfolds. 

Richard Flanagan, weaving together the personal and professional life of Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans, brings us a dark and touching insight into the horrors of the Burma Death Railway.

Written in the style of a war hero reminiscing about his past, Dorrigo finds himself in the midst of the second world war, caught up in a forbidden affair with his uncle’s headstrong wife. He visits her rather than his own fiancee whenever he has leave, and begins to become absorbed in his love for Amy above most other things. The novel takes a dramatic turn when two years later Dorrigo is captured by the Japanese as a Prisoner of War working on the Burma Death Railway. He is expected to lead a large group of fellow prisoners as they work on building the railway to impossible deadlines and in impossible conditions. Dorrigo is forced to get ever more work out of his fellow captives, even as they are dying around him of exhaustion, starvation and cholera; and he finds himself setting up and running a makeshift hospital for the camp alongside his other duties to his men.

Flanagan writes with a beauty that brings the horrors of the POW camp and the characters that suffer there to life. There are many symbolic gestures laced throughout the narrative - handwritten letters, red camellias and pencil sketches that resonate long after the book has finished, and the link to poetry from the start brings endless depth to the prose. The grit and gore of the Prisoner of War camp is followed by severe emptiness as Flanagan explores the emotions of both the prisoners and the Japanese soldiers after the war is over. Here he expertly sets out the contrast between the two lives - when the men begin to realise that nothing they ever experience will be as intense or meaningful again.

Flanagan’s novel becomes all the more poignant when we find out that it was written in tribute to his father, an Australian prisoner of war who survived his experiences on the Burma Death Railway. His father sadly passed away on the day that Flanagan finished writing his book.

'The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ was well deserving of the Man Booker Prize last year and is now out in paperback, although there is something quite pleasing about the hardback edition.

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

I rated this 6/10

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter...

A solid account of McCandless, an enigmatic young man, sometimes unbearably so, with a desire to separate himself from society by hiking to Alaska and disappearing into the wild. A lot of this story and the information we are given about the man and his travels seem to consist of educated guesses rather than solid fact, but it is intriguing nonetheless.

I read this very quickly and found it interesting, however, I actually preferred the film. The movie adaptation of this event filled in the gaps (which I understand are speculation, but it lends itself to greater entertainment) and is a lot more visual than the book - less about historic facts and subplots that go off on a bit of a tangent. Plus it stars Emile Hirsch!!!

Into The Wild is an inspiring account, but not quite as epic as I was expecting it to be.

That Near Death Thing - Rick Broadbent

The broken man pushes a leftover
calzone around a plate in Paparazzi
and falls off the Verandah.

Rated 10/10

The Isle of Man TT is a throwback to a maverick era that existed before PR platitudes and PC attitudes. William Hill shortlisted author Rick Broadbent gets inside the helmets of four leading motorcycle racers as they battle fear, fire and family tragedy for a gritty sort of glory.

My Thoughts: I was already a fan of Rick Broadbent when I picked up his in depth account of the TT, as I had read his work on the Moto GP a while ago and adored it.

I was not disappointed this time round either. That Near Death Thing scoops you up from your seat, carries you over to The Isle of Man, and gives you a glimpse behind the visors of some of the most fearless men (and Jenny) in the world. But these guys would never see it that way - they just love racing, finding the pencil line that marks out their limit and stepping over it. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they pay big time for these mistakes. Sometimes they get lucky and bring it home in one piece.

I could never say that I have a favourite rider as I respect every single one of them for their sheer gut and determination, and I believe Broadbent shares the same view. I love the way that he sheds light on the individual characters that he writes about - really opening my eyes to the differences between the riders, their passions, emotions, family feuds, what makes them tick. McGuinness and M.Dunlop are a mile apart when it comes to emotion and race ethic, and yet they scrape leathers on track and have the utmost respect for one another. Same goes for all of them.

I loved the way that Broadbent described the difference between road racers and circuit racers too. They are very much in different classes, but the passion for both is very much at the forefront of every single word.

I could read his observational descriptions all day - and I really hope that he is planning to write more on racing, though I get the feeling I would be happy enough to pick up any of his works, no matter the topic.

The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

"On the morning the last Lisbon
daughter took her turn at suicide-
it was Mary this time, and sleeping
pills, like Therese- the two paramedics
arrived at the house knowing exactly
where the knife drawer was, and the
gas oven, and the beam in the
basement from which it was possible
to tie a rope."

Rated 10/10

The shocking thing about the five Lisbon sisters was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear.

My Thoughts: A stunning, dark novel that captured me from the first word. Although you are given the conclusion of the story from the outset, the book never fails to impress. 

Eugenides drew me in with his description of the girls, who were not perfect - but were perfectly elusive, mysterious and very real. Their lives seemed so vivid and so easy to picture as his language was exquisite. I actually found it touching that the boys were so obsessed with these girls, and it all seemed so innocent as they kept their distance, observing and wondering, wanting to connect with these girls and never managing it, reminiscing even into their later lives. Writing about teenage girls in such a convincing manner takes a lot of skill, but the pains of adolescence are clear both from the girls perspective and the boy's too.

I think that people taking the title 'Virgin' Suicides too literally need to think a little more into the deeper connotations connected to the word. The girls were young, had no life experience, and yet cut their own lives short for reasons that nobody could fathom.

A chilling and yet beautiful tale of tragedy that it is easy to lose yourself in, Eugenides style is perfect - and I want to read more from him.

The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

Rated 10/10

Room meets Lord of the Flies, The Bunker Diary is award-winning, young adult writer Kevin Brooks's pulse-pounding exploration of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true - and how will you survive?

My Thoughts: This book hit me right in the face. It's a dark and disturbed piece of Big Brother fiction that I actually couldn't prise from my own hands. The writing style is addictive - short, sharp and hard hitting. 

The setting is bleak and well described; the characters are bold and vivid and flawed at once. I couldn't stop reading and I know that others that haven't been able to put it down either. It's tragic and captivating and the ending is ... well... 

Very simple. Very effective.

Don't read this if you're after something light and cheery, you have been warned!

Wither - Lauren DeStefano

Date Finished: 25th March 2012

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have sky-rocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape.

My Thoughts: I was actually pretty surprised by this book. Admittedly, it's a very fluffy teen read for adolescent girls - but underneath all the tragedy was a bit of charm. The characters were pretty well rounded in the sense that they were all very different to one another, and although it had quite a predictable ending, it was all vaguely charming. Beautiful girls, pretty dresses and fantasy mansions... Everything a 14 year old young lady will find captivating!

Having said that, I found the POV quite distracting sometimes, and a little awkward. The book itself was not challenging to read in the slightest, and lacked a bit of depth that I think it really needed to make it great.

A shallow, easy read that's pretty and fluffy and tragic and charming...

I RATED IT 6/10

Trafficked - Sophie Hayes

Date Finished: 9th March 2012

When Sophie Hayes met Bledi she knew he'd change her life – but she had no idea how much. At first, it was a typical whirlwind romance. But one day Bledi told her that love always comes at a price ...

My Thoughts: I very rarely pick up a 'Painful Lives' book, but there wasn't much choice in the train station and so I ended up running this one through the self-serve check out before jumping on the train.

I couldn't put it down.

The events that she speaks of are horrific, but Sophie glosses over the really gritty detail and as a result, it's a book that more readers can pick up and learn from. A really addictive read that is easy to blitz your way through. Sophie Hayes' story is a tragic one, but it hammers home an immensely important message, and it's one that we can all learn from.

I RATED IT 6/10

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - Jon McGregor

Date Finished: 30th December 2011

Risky in conception, hip and yet soulful, this is a prose poem of a novel -- intense, lyrical, and highly evocative -- with a mystery at its center, which keeps the reader in suspense until the final page. In a tour de force that could be described as Altmanesque, we are invited into the private lives of the residents of a quiet urban street in England over the course of a single day.

My Thoughts: A really deep and involving read that perhaps goes too far with the wistful description and longing atmosphere. I can't really describe it but I shall give it a go: This book laid heavily on me until I had finished the last page. I needed to finish it, which can only be a good thing.

Some of the small characteristics that McGregor paints into the novel are raw and remarkable. 

I RATED IT 7/10

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Date Read: August 2011

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

My Thoughts: Read as uncorrected proof. This book is very addictive, once I picked it up I found it pretty tricky to put down. An easy-read twist on a classic Greek legend that is astonishing, touching and will leave you with a bit of a lump in your throat. I love the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus that Miller builds, it has such strength and honesty - it was easy to fall in love with their characters and watch them grow together. This is less a tale of war and Gods, and more a tale of love and honour.

The only reason that I refrained from giving this book 10 stars is because it brushes very briefly over some events that really should have had more of an impact on the characters. However, a good strong read that I believe will be enjoyed by many.

I RATED THIS 9/10

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

Date Read: May 2010

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

My Thoughts: I originally wasn't overly impressed with this book by Margaret Atwood and at first believed it was over-rated. Having grown up a little over the past few years, I now know that this book is shocking and well written, tackling issues that present themselves often in contemporary society - particularly in other countries where young children are made into brides, where women are trafficked as sex slaves.

'The Handmaid's Tale' is clever because each and every reader will take something entirely different from it. This is the reason it is a true modern classic that should actually be read by all. It sounds like a complete contradiction, but in spite of my earlier points I'm glad that I picked it up and have decided to re-review it!

Recommendation: Anybody who likes to read dystopian fiction or feels strongly about feminist issues will probably enjoy this. 

I RATED THIS 7/10

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Date Read: February 2010

Death, a sardonic and articulate character who is afraid of humans, narrates this WWII coming-of-age story about faith, love, hope amidst tragedy.

My Thoughts: The only book that has ever made me cry. The Book Thief is the most beautifully crafted read, as told by Death himself (who has much more to him than you would imagine). Zusak has such a stark and colourful way with words that quite often I found myself nodding with approval at the pages. His characters come to full life and the settings are vivid and very real.

This is a book to immerse yourself in completely; it will run you right through every emotion and back again, dealing with friendship, love, loss and death in the most delicate and touching way possible.

Heart breaking and heart warming all at once.

I RATED THIS 10/10

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Date Read: January 2012

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

My Thoughts: An anonymous man and his anonymous son follow a long road towards hope in a post-apocalyptic America. We never get to know how the end of the world came about, the characters themselves probably don't have a clue either and it really doesn't matter; all that they have left is each other and the supplies that they can carry with them.

Full of grit and imagery that will appear as vivid as it is haunting, the style in which McCarthy writes suits the situation so perfectly that it is stunning. Exploring the relationship between a father and his son, the nameless pair battle on together even when everything around them crumbles and falls. I know that there has been a lot of controversy surrounding this title: some love it and some hate it. I loved it for it's brutal darkness, tenacious hope and bleak settings. I could see it - it was right there as I was reading.
I RATED IT 10/10

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

Date Read: Unknown

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye.

My Thoughts: Only the speed at which the pages were turning was satisfying enough to keep me reading this book. It was pretty slow right up until the last few pages - I did not like Bruno as a character, he seemed unbelievably naive, not knowing anything at all about the world that surrounded him. Very difficult to believe that he was 8 or 9.
Overall - a tragic read, touching on a subject that should have been more effectively written, but did not nearly meet the expectations that I had of it.

I RATED IT 2/10