Random Jottings

The Close - Jane Casey

I have been writing this blog for seventeen years now which is a bit of a facer, though these days I do not blog as much as I used to.  I used to get shedloads of books sent to me and found it impossible to keep up sometimes. I don't get so many now, probably there are newer kids on the block who are more up to date with modern literature than I (not that that would be difficult) but I still love reading and reviewing.

Over the years my lovely readers have left comments thanking me for recommendations and how they trust my judgement and I have never let them down. Very gratifying though I have always remembered I am not a seasoned reviewer but somebody who just loves books. This was brought home to me way back in 2009 or thereabouts when I read the first book by Jane Casey, The Missing.   It was good and I enjoyed it but I guessed who dun it almost immediately and I felt the ending was rather rushed and a bit of a let down. To my horror after I had published this post Jane Casey got in touch with me and said that my review had mader her 'wince a bit'.   It brought home to me that the Author is also a person and that your thoughts and opinions can affect people.   She told me that she had had a mixed response to the ending and that I should carry on being honest in my opinions.  

I made the decision then to only review books I have enjoyed and loved because, honestly, what pleasure can there be in being overly critical?  I have broken this rule a few times when I have thought a book was dreadful or badly written or boring, but on those occasions the books involved have been from huge best selling authors who probably will not give a damn about my thoughts.

Well, after this long preamble for which I crave your indulgence, I am going to write about The Close by Jane Casey.

After The Missing Jane began to write a series of books featuring Maeve Kerrigan and this is what I wrote about it then:

"Maeve Kerrigan is an ambitious detective constable and is keen to make her mark.  As a woman in a male environment she has to work twice as hard to prove her worth and also learn to deal with the sexism that is part of her daily routine.  She is involved in the investigation to track down The Burning Man, a brutal  serial killer who has beaten four young women to death before burning their bodies.  A fifth body has been found but there are differences in the manner of her death which make Maeve think that this is a separate murder.  She investigates and the more she learns about the victim, Rebecca Haworth from her friends and family, the more she is sure that there are two murderers abroad.  She meets Rebecca's ex-boyfriend Gil Maddick, darkly handsome, brooding and dangerous, her best friend Louise North, cold and self possessed and very jealous of others involved with Rebecca.  It appears that the golden lifestyle enjoyed by Rebecca has been falling apart, a drug habit, broke and now out of a job and all is not as it seems on the surface.

Once started I read right through until the end.   Narrative pacy and strong and I found myself liking Maeve Kerrigan very much and hope that we meet her again in another detective novel".  

I thoroughly enjoyed this title and was pleased when more came my way. Good strong writing, great characterisation and terrific plots, they went on my list of Series to Read.  But, in my opinion, excellent though the books were they took on an extra dimension with the introduction of DI Josh Derwent into the series.   On the surface of it an unrepentant Male Chauvinist Pig, full of himself and scathing to Maeve when she was partnered with him.  Josh brings an extra dynamic to the series and from the moment he arrived I, personally, felt the books got better and better.   I was now breathless with anticipation waiting for the next one and the steady growth of the relationship between Maeve and Josh.  This is not to say that this becomes the focus, the crime and the solving are still central and rightly so, but, and I have to be honest here, the growing underlying sexual tension between them is tantalising and adds spice to the alread excellent writing.

The previous book before The Close was the Cutting Place and I was bowled over by it and, like all the others, read through in one sitting.   Far and away the best of the lot thought I until I read The Close which is even better.

Maeve has undergone a traumatic and life changing experience in The Cutting Place about which I will not discuss if you have not read it, and it has effected her deeply.   Reluctantly she is teamed with Josh and sent undercover to The Close where things are not what they seem. Vulnerable and disturbed people are vanishig and there is a link to one of the residents so Josh and Maeve go to dog sit for someone who is away and adopt the persona of a couple in order to fathom out what is going on.

We meet all the residents in the Close, some likeable, some not, some with odd foibles and others who are not all they appears on the surface. A perfect setting for a crime novel.  But it is the relationship, once again, between Maeve and Josh that keeps us on the edge of our seats, or in my case the sofa.   The air positively bristles with things unsaid and emotions unexpressed and Jane Casey keeps us all hanging on every word.

This is her best yet. I cannot wait for the next one and it is my fervent wish that if she has not started it, then can she please do NOW.

So Dear Readers and all of those who trust me and my recommendations please do the following:

1    if you have not read the Kerrigan books yet, then please do so

2    Please read them in order

3    If you have already read them, then get your mitts on this one straight away.

You know it makes sense....

Death of an Author - E C R Lorac

E C R Lorac who also writes under the name Carol Carnac is one of my favourite crime authors unearthed and brought back into the public eye by the British Library Crime Classic series. Pretty sure when they started this series off they did not expect it to be so popular or do so well, but it has and they keep on coming.   Not all are to my taste, some of the writing can be old fashioned and a couple of authors I find pretty turgid, but other reviewers have disagreed with me so it all comes down to personal taste as always.

There was only one edition of this title and if you could track one down you would be looking at a three figure price as I have ascertained when looking through websites. It has been out of print since 1935 so Death of an Author is a gem for mystery lovers.

It is Introduced as always by the incredibly knowledgeable Martin Edwards, whose love of mystery and crime permeates everything he writes. 

The author of the title is one Vivian Lestrange a recluse who avoids publicity and refuses to have his photograph taken and about whom nothing is known.  He is published by Marriott and after a debate with another author, Ashe, an invitation to meet for dinner is issued and, surprisingly, accepted.

Ashe is totally shocked when a young woman turns up who Marriott regards as "the coolest creature I ever met in my life".  She is scathing regarding his reaction "what but male conceit formulated that judgement of yours that no woman could have written a book which you admired? Is your estimate of all women the same?"

I think the reader can safely assume that this is how E R Lorac/Carol Carnac felt....

Three months after this party a woman walks into Hampstead Police station to announce that she is worried that something has happened to Vivian Lestrange, her employer.   This woman. Eleonor Clarke, is the same woman who claimed to be Lestrange at the aforementioned dinner party. It transpires that he asked her to pretend to be him.

Now before I go any further I think it might be wise for all of you who wish to read this book to have a pencil and paper to hand or yellow post its so you can jot down points or flag pages.  I had to do this as the plot is intricate and convoluted and leads you in several directions at once with several theories all of which can be probable.

Shortly after the author's disappearance a dead body is found in a small country village. A note book is to hand which gives identification of the body clear. It is Lestrange. But is it?

OK I am going to stop here. If I continue I am going to give information away and I have no desire to do that all.   Just to say it was intriguing, full of twists and turns, and totally satisfying.

But be warned, as I have already said, you need to concentrate!

From my Shelves - The Ladies Paradise by Zola

After all the trauma of last week I have now recovered my equilibrium and am glad to be back on Random.   From my Shelves today features Ladies Paradise by Zola.  I had read no Zola at all before reading this title, but somebody recommened this it and I decided to give it a go.  I was delighted that I had made the effort as I thoroughly enjoyed this story all about the rise of a department store in Paris at the turn of the century.

The sole passion of Mouret, the owner of the Ladies Paradise, was the conquest of Woman. He wanted her to be queen in his shop, 'he had built this temple for her in order to hold her at his mercy'.  To this end he develops a spectacular modern department store.

 

This is a totally gorgeous sensuous book with a deliberate overwhelming parade of the finest silks and satins,  lace, carpets from every country, "long carpets from Isaphan, Teeran and Kermanshah a strange blossoming of peonies and palms, imagination running riot in a dream garden"  trimmings "Spanish blonde lace as light as air, Brussels applique with large flowers on fine mesh", negligees, "white petticoats of every length;chemises made of plain calico, Irish linen and cambric" perfume,  pots of pomades and rouge, jewellery. 

 

The narrative is a total assault on the senses and this is the whole point.    The rhythm of the scenes in the store during the febrile atmosphere of the sales, the women rushing round in a fever to buy what they want, the gasping with excitement, the heat, the sweat - well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what is intended here.  Orgasmic is the only word. 

 

Mouret exploits these desires and in his private life he too is the great seducer.  But then he falls in love with an innocent shop girl, fresh from the country, Denise Baudu, and despite his wealth, luxury and the splendour of his store, it means nothing to him because she refuses him.

 

When the book is finished you feel completely wiped out, senses indulged and sated. It is all rather overwhelming and draining and I remember sitting back and thinking Blimey, phew...

 

Shortly after finishing the Ladies Paradise, by coincidence, the BBC decided to produce a dramatisation 'based' on the characters and events created by Zola.   The press release at the time had this to say:

 

Set in England’s first department store, the series tells the rags-to-riches story of Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham, Above Suspicion), a young girl who works in the store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world. Denise is a 19th-century Working Girl – big-hearted, smarter than she’s taken to be and more ambitious than those pretty eyes suggest.

 

It was dire.  Died the death after one series and righly so.

 

And by the way after reading this you will realise that if you thought Loss Leaders in supermarkets and Pile 'em High and sell 'em cheap were new ideas, well you were wrong....

 

Turning the pages the other day I think I might have a re-read.

The sole passion of Mouret, the owner of the Ladies Paradise, was the conquest of Woman. He wanted her to be queen in his shop, 'he had built this temple for her in order to hold her at his mercy'.  To this end he develops a spectacular modern department store.

 

This is a totally gorgeous sensuous book with a deliberate overwhelming parade of the finest silks and satins,  lace, carpets from every country, "long carpets from Isaphan, Teeran and Kermanshah a strange blossoming of peonies and palms, imagination running riot in a dream garden"  trimmings "Spanish blonde lace as light as air, Brussels applique with large flowers on fine mesh", negligees, "white petticoats of every length;chemises made of plain calico, Irish linen and cambric" perfume,  pots of pomades and rouge, jewellery. 

 

The narrative is a total assault on the senses and this is the whole point.    The rhythm of the scenes in the store during the febrile atmosphere of the sales, the women rushing round in a fever to buy what they want, the gasping with excitement, the heat, the sweat - well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what is intended here.  Orgasmic is the only word. 

 

Mouret exploits these desires and in his private life he too is the great seducer.  But then he falls in love with an innocent shop girl, fresh from the country, Denise Baudu, and despite his wealth, luxury and the splendour of his store, it means nothing to him because she refuses him.

 

When the book is finished you feel completely wiped out, senses indulged and sated. It is all rather overwhelming and draining and I remember sitting back and thinking Blimey, phew...

 

Shortly after finishing the Ladies Paradise, by coincidence, the BBC decided to produce a dramatisation 'based' on the characters and events created by Zola.   The press release at the time had this to say:

 

Set in England’s first department store, the series tells the rags-to-riches story of Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham, Above Suspicion), a young girl who works in the store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world. Denise is a 19th-century Working Girl – big-hearted, smarter than she’s taken to be and more ambitious than those pretty eyes suggest.

 

It was dire.  Died the death after one series and righly so.

 

And by the way after reading this you will realise that if you thought Loss Leaders in supermarkets and Pile 'em High and sell 'em cheap were new ideas, well you were wrong....

 

Turning the pages the other day I think I might have a re-read.

Random Thoughts

Hello my faithful and loyal readers. I have not been with you for the past week as life has been a bit fraught.  Mainly domestic issues. This is going to be a pretty boring post with a bit of a rant thrown in so I will not be offended if you decide you really don't want to know. I would not blame you.

The good part of the week was that the London Mozart Players came to Colchester. Now we do not get musicians of that calibre visiting very often, if ever, so no way was I going to miss out. So I attended their concert and oh so lovely to hear live music. Overture to Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream for starters and then a complete contrast as we had the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Orchestra by Britten.  I am not a huge Britten fan but my ex, who is a trained singer, knows this piece and sang it so I knew it well and it was such a treat to hear it again. Evening ended with Mozart Jupiter symphony which was sheer joy and then as a final treat an encore, the nocturne from A Midsummer's Night's Dream.

Well after that it was downhill all the way. I have been having issues with an electrical water heater which keeps cutting out and, as it was under warranty, called the company, Ariston. After being cut off EIGHT times, deliberately I might add, from their so called customer services help line, and getting no response to my emails, I went on Trustpilot and left a vicious review. And got a response. Wot a Surprise.

In the meantime I had an electrician come round to check it out and he blithely informed me that it had been installed incorrectly. Not by the company but by somebody I used for decorating and plumbing work etc.  It seems the wrong cable was used and it needed to be on a separate circuit. So I had that done. Electrician then nearly passed out when he saw my fuse box (about twenty years old) which had corroded and was dangerous so that is now being replaced tomorrow. The expense made my eyes water.

And then on Friday morning I had a shower. When I turned round to walk out of the shower I found the floor totally flooded as none of the water had gone down the drainer. So every towel I possessed was put on the floor to soak it up. I pulled out the filter tried to clear it no luck.  My neighbour knows a good plumber so he arranged for him to come round the next day.

Worse was to follow. Without going into too much detail, I used the loo and all the waste erupted into my shower.  Plumber said I needed to get a specialist firm out so on the phone to Dynorod who were brilliant and sent somebody round later on that day.  We have problems with our drains in these flats but this was the first time this had happened to me. When we saw what was blocking the drains, well I am not going to explain but it was REVOLTING.   An hour later after drilling, rod pulling and jet spraying it was all gone. He then noticed my kitchen sink was emptying out slowly, it always has, and he investigated and pulled out sheets, literally sheets, of black lime scale that had built up over the years.

Because this has happened before in the flats I am able to claim back the bill from our management company, but I felt totally drained (forgive the pun) by the whole experience.  I find as I get older that events like this knock me for six and I felt quite shaky throughout it all. The young guy who dealt with it was simply wonderful (so I am now going to go on Trustpilot and say so, fair is fair) an my neighbours also looked after me.

So a really mixed week and I have spent most of the last two days lolling around, drinking tea and binging on light romantic novels as my mind is unable to cope with anything else at the moment.

I will be back with another From my Shelves soon.

Promise.

Brit tec - home grown crime - redux

I am back with Brit tec as I am currently wallowing in murder and mayhem.   I am reading a lot of crime as well as other lighter reading as I simply cannot deal with deep thoughtful literature at the moment. It is too cold. What the weather has to do with it I really don'r know but that is how I feel right now as I write this wearing two jumpers.

OK I am reverting to my earlier post as I have just spent the last week reading another Brit tec series, this time by a writer called Rachel McLean featuring a DCI Zoe Finch.   And once again we have somebody who has had a bad relationship, single mum with her own alcoholic mother and my first thought was to say Oh Not Again and I nearly put the book (or rather the Kindle down) as I thought the first one was not particularly good and I was not sure of the writing. However, I persevered and glad I did because by book 2 the author was well in her stride and the characters and situations became interesting.

There are two sets of the books 1-3 and 4-6 on Kindle and worth trying.

I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I am just about to start on No 7 and hope there will be more to come.   If you do decide to read them please peruse them in order as there is a running story line regarding police corruption running from one book to another and it will be confusing if you start mid series.  

This author was recommended to me by Amazon based on my previous reads and I am always happy to check their recommendations out. That way I have discovered authors I would otherwise have never heard of.

Another such is a story flagged up for me, Murder In Tuscany, by T A Williams. I had never heard of him but he seems pretty prolific and seems to have a lot going on the Kindle store, many of them romances. He makes no secret of the fact that he loves to write entertaining light hearted stories which I find endearing. Anyway, Murder in Tuscany was the start of a new series and I really really loved it.

Retired DCI Dan Armstrong (another inspector with a broken marriage...) attends a creative writing course in Tuscany as he is a budding author. This was a farewell present from his colleagues and when it turns out it is an erotic writing course, he wonders if they did this on purpose.   Still he decided to make the most of it as it is in a glorious part of Italy and, naturally, in due course, there is a murder and we have the classic mystery situation where a body is found in a location where there are a limited number of suspects.

I throughly enjoyed reading this.  It is written with a great sense of style and is witty and humorous and I read it through in one sitting. I then checked the Kindle store (as Amazon knew I would do) and found a second one just published so nobbled that one as well, Murder in Chianti where we find that Dan is now settled in Italy and great friends with the local Chief Inspector who, of course, needs his help.

Oh I nearly forgot, there is a lovely dog, Oscar, featured.

Already looking forward to the next one.

So another couple of authors I hope you might try and enjoy...

Brit tec - home grown crime

I am getting really tired of January and the cold weather. Winter seems to have gone on for a long time this year.  I have been in Cambridge this week for a couple of days and the driving there was hampered by road works and the return journey not much fun as ice on the roads. So I have been hunkering down and reading a lot of crime, as per.

The Brutal Tide - Kate Rhodes.   This is the latest in the Ben Kitto series set on the Scilly Isles.  I really enjoy Kate's writing and loved her Alice Quintin books (if you have not read them may I recommend you do) and I keep pestering her for more despite the fact she is now writing a new series. Hope springs eternal.

A gangland mobster Craig Travis is dying in hospital and he is determined that he will get even with those who helped put him away. His daughter, who he adores and who sees no wrong in him, sets out to seek revenge on his behalf and a killing spree begins. Ben Kitto is on her list but she has to seek out a way to get to him.

At the same time Ben has discovered a skeleton which is unearthed during construction works and it links back to events some twenty years earlier.

The two stores run parrallel to each other and while one was predictible, (I won't say anything) the danger Ben is in keeps us on our toes and is very exciting. Really enjoyed it.

Showstopper - Peter Lovesey. The latest Peter Diamond detective story and I really love this series. I felt this was a slow burner and not as immediate as some of his other titles, and at the start when retirement was mentioned, I panicked. No this series cannot end but by the last page I felt reassured....

There appears to be be a jinx on a popular television series and while these are dismissed as just bad luck with the tabloids building it up, the mysterious disappearance of a member of fthe crew some years earlier has never been solved.

If you have not read any of the Diamond series then, once again, I can recomment that you do. Immensely readable and fun, with a dash of tragedy thrown in, I loved them all. 

Tana Collins - the Inspector Jim Carruthers series.   I received an offer from Amazon to read these, five of them in total, for the astounding sum of 99p on Kindle. Mad. But I bought them thinking if I did not like them then I was hardly out of pocket.

Well, I DID like them and spent a happy week reading all of them, Robbing the Dead, Care to Die, Mark of the Devil, Dark is the Day and Deep Water.   Inspector Carruthers is divorced from his wife (is there any other kind of DI in crime fiction) who is living in Scotland as he moved up there in an attempt to save his marriage. It did not work but Jim finds he loves living in a coastal town in Scotland.  He crosses swords with his boss (again this seems the norm in most crime stories. Peter Diamond has the same problem).   I am sure somewhere in the UK there is a DC Super who does not worry about budgets all the time. At least I hope so.

If I say to you that the writing is nice and tidy and clean you might get the impression that I am damning with faint praise, but I am not.  Flowery and over decorated prose is not for me. I like my stories and narrative lean and mean and Tana Collins fulfills this in spades as far as I am concerned.   Another recommendation and I do hope there are more.

I have also discovered another series, again courtesy of a 99p offer from Amazon. This is a cunning ploy because they lure you in and hope you will then go and buy the rest. I fall for it every time. This series features a female DI, Zoe Finch and the author is Rachel McLean. Just embarking on the second one and, yes, have bought more and will keep me going for a bit. Will let you know how I get on.

Two other things to mention.  A year or so ago, Dean Street Press, reprinted a series of detective stories by Moray Dalton of whom I had never heard. But as this publishing house seems to produce an endless list of books all of which I want, I got hold of them, read them and loved them.  Please do check them out and I am delighted to hear that in March this year more are arriving.

British Library Crime Classics continue to come up with the goods as well. Not all of them are to my taste but most of them are. After reading one of their reprints by Freeman Wills Croft I then went on to hunt down all his titles. It turned out to be quite expensive....

So two arrived this week, Death of Mr Dodsley by John Ferguson which is classified as a London Bibliomystery, A murder in a bookshop. Perfect.

Death of an Author - E C R Lorac. This title has been out of print since 1935 so kudos to the BritLib for giving us the chance of reading and enjoying. E C R Lorac is about my favourite of all the newly rediscovered authors they have published and I am going to save this up for a bit and just enjoy the anticipation.

And I have to mention yet again, Jane Casey and her wonderful detective stories featuring Maeve and Josh.  I have just reread them all and now that I know the characters well found that going right back to the beginning was a real treat.   They are simply brilliant.

Jane has also written stand alone title, The Killing Kind which is equally gripping and, I gather it is going to be made into a tv series.  Cannot wait.

OK well loads of recommends for you. Do let me know if you read or have read any of them, and let me know what you think.

 

From my Shelves 1 - Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker

My project for 2023 is getting under way. I am selecting a book from my shelves that has been there for some time and dusting it off and writing about it.   I thought I might do one a month, but I already have a selection of ten so I may up the ante a bit.

First up is Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker.  This title was recommended to me by Simon Thomas whose blog is http://www.stuckinabook.com.  I have known Simon for years ever since we were members at one time of an online book discussion group, and though I am old enough to be his mother (actually grandmother as well which is a tad dispiriting), we are of like minds when it comes to literature and whenever Simon loves a book, then I know I will too. He currently edits the British Library Series of Women Writers which is well worth checking out. 

Miss Hargreaves is created by Norman and his friend Henry, when they are looking at an exceedingly ghastly church in Ireland in the pouring rain and decide to cheer themselves up a bit and have a laugh at the expense of the Ancient of Days showing them around,  and they invent her on the spur of the moment.

".... and what is your friend's name?'

'Miss Hargreaves'

It seemed to me there was a sort of stirring of air in the church, like - like what?  Rather like someone opening a very old umbrella.  I looked round sharply, but couldn't see anything unusual. A ray of feeble sun had broken through the dark clouds and was shining down on the dust in the galleries.

I realised I was trembling"

When he and Henry then send an letter to Miss Hargreaves at an imaginary address and invite her to visit any time she is free, that is an end of what they both regard as a good joke.  But then Miss Hargreaves writes accepting their invitation and to their utter horror, turns up complete with cockatoo and hip bath, little extras they had added to their description in order to add a little verisimilitude.

Then the fun starts.  Norman is horrified, scared and angry in turn as Miss Hargreaves proceeds to take over his life, his friends and his family.  His father,  a man of deep understanding of his son's flights of imagination as he is very similar himself, is the only person who believes in how Miss Hargreaves came to be, but he too begins to fall under her spell, and it is at this stage of the book that Miss Hargreaves who, up to now has been endearingly eccentric, begins to assume a slightly menacing aspect. 

Norman knows he has to rid himself of her by destroying his creation and to prevent her total power over him, but he has come to love her and he is in turmoil at what he knows he has to do.  In the end, he and Henry travel back to the church in Lusk, whence she was created, in order to bring the situation to an end.

"Immediately, where there had been that old lady there was now only a greenish darkness, broken faintly by a dusty light from some great windows.  Her voice died away, far away, echoing deep and long into space, vibrant at first then then thinner.....I opened my eyes.  The wind that had been roaring round the roof, suddenly stopped.  Henry and I lowered our heads as if by mutual understanding. We both knew that she had gone from us"

Frank Baker is a writer I know nothing about, except what I have read in the introduction to Miss Hargreave but here is a link to the Wikipedia page with more information. Miss Hargreaves was his most successful novel and was adapted for the stage in 1952 with Dame Margaret Rutherford in the leading role.  Talk about perfect casting!  Just wish there was a film somewhere of that particular performance. 

I have an out of print copy published by Tarturus Press which I bought some years ago. The front cover uses what appears to be a photogaph of the aforementioned Margaret Rutherford. Bloomsbury reprinted it and it is available on Kindle and in paperback. I have also checked Abe Books and they have several affordable copies.

Miss Hargreaves is a fascinating story.  It is hilarious and witty, sharply written and with great style, but Frank Baker is also wonderful at creating atmosphere and suddenly a paragraph of sheer beauty will catch your eye and make you realise that he is more than just a writer of fun and froth (not that I would describe Miss H in this way, rest assured).  Just look at this:

"The times when I really loved the Cathedral were weekdays when you could look right down the great nave, seeing perhaps only one tripper creeping from pillar to pillar with a guidebook, a vigilant verger stalking him and ready to net him if he so much as sneezed.

In winter you'd see nothing at all except the light from one gas-globe plunged smokily into the remote and vast darkness of the nave roof.  Then you really felt that Evensong and the Cathedral meant something.  Heralded by old Dyack and his pitch-pipe, Tallis in the Dorian Mode would float down the aisles; a motet by William Byrd weaves its intricate pattern upon the dark silence. At such times I believe we all felt a relationship to the great roof that soared away above us and to the wonderful old monks and people who'd built it all, and wrote that glorious music, centuries ago"

See what I mean?

If this has caught your attention then do try and get hold of a copy and if any of you have already read it I would love to hear your thoughts.

2023 The Year Ahead

I have decided it was time to get a grip once more when it comes to blogging. I think it is easy to blame Covid and lockdown for a lot but I honestly feel that over the last two to three years many of us have felt tired and dispirited. I know I have and it has been a bit of a struggle to stay positive and to post here on Random Jottings. I did think of giving it up as it was all an effort and I was not enjoying it any more, but it has become a part of my life and I would miss it so on I go.

I have been doing this for seventeen years now which I find hard to believe and Random has gone through many stages.  Started quietly and blogs were new and rather looked down upon by writers and publishers. I remember reading a hugely scornful article about bloggers in the Guardian the writer of whom seemed to take umbrage at the idea that the plebs might have something to say about books. Of course, this changed and now book bloggers are valued.

I used to get masses of books dropping through my letter box for reading and review, some of which were, quite frankly, pretty dire but there were plenty of gems and discoveries to be had.  These days more up to date reviewers and readers have taken over and I do not get as many as I used to which I am happy about. It was sometimes a worry. Now I just write about books I enjoy whether they be recent or or not and that is the way to go.   

In 2022 I was absent for a while as my daughter was over from Australia for the summer. We had not seen her for three years and so I abandoned serious blogging to spend time with her. It was a wonderful time and the whole family reconnected in a beautiful way and we are all the better for it. I found myself doing more and getting out more and feeling stimulated and full of an enjoyment I had not felt for a long time and I liked it.

So my plan for 2023 is to do more.  I have joined a gym, some four months ago now, and swim at least twice a week and this has helped enormously with my arthritis and well being. I have decided to book concerts and events, if I go on my own so be it. I have a train pass for us Oldies to enable me to go to London when i feel like it. I have booked into a concert in March to hear my favourite opera singer, Bryn Terfel, doing a Wagner concert.  Also a concert with a conductor John Wilson, who over the past seven or eight years, has had a special orchestra playing music from Hollywood and the shows. So I have tickets for one of his next autumn.   And last week, after dithering and delaying I booked a holiday to go to Salzburg and Vienna.  So it is all systems go.

I have already mentioned that I intend to take down a book from my library shelves, be it old or new, and write about it and I have already compiled a list of several so that will be my theme for the year, as well as recent reads.

As always, I am delighted and pleased to have such loyal followers who have stuck with me through thick and think. Thank you everyone. It means a lot and I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Elaine

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Merry Christmas

I am off to see my family tomorrow and then a pantomime on Boxing Day and a good time will be had by all.  I would like to wish everyone who takes the time and trouble to visit, read and comment on my witterings, a very Merry Christmas with my love and thanks.

 

Winter Solstice - Rosamunde Pilcher

Last week I posted about A Christmas Carol which I read every year before Christmas and have done so for at least the last twenty years, if not longer.

I am now posting about a more recent addition to this tradition, though it is now a tradition that is at least ten years old, and that is the re-reading of Winter Solstice.   Some years back there was a poll on the BBC about the nation's favourite books. This was in the days when books were actually discussed on the Beeb, you won't find that now, and Pilcher's The Shell Seekers was near the top of the list.  I love the Shell Seekers and it was my first book by this author, but my favourite is Winter Solstice.

Each year I read it and each year I am engrossed and cannot put it down because I want to see how it finishes even though I know the ending. Many fellow readers will understand that daft though it sounds. We all like a happy ending.

Rosamunde Pilcher's books are all centered around family and relationships and in Winter Solstice we have disparate elements of a family coming together to make a whole.

Elfrida Phipps is a retired actress. As she says herself she was never famous but carved out an enjoyable living in the chorus and small parts.  Her marriages were ill advised but she found happiness with an actor, who she never named as he was well known.   He then became ill and she nursed him until he died.   Seeking solace she buys a cottage in a small village which she calls her 'geriatric bolthole'. She goes to a dogs home and brings back Horace for company and settles down.

She makes the acquaintance of the Blundells, Oscar and his wife Gloria and a late addition to the family, their daughter Frances.   Life settles down and then tragedy strikes.

Sam Howard is back from New York where he has been working and living for several years. His marriage has broken down and he has come home to take up a new position. He is a wool broker with a background in the production of tweed and wool and he has been asked to take over a mill which has been wrecked by flood damage and put it back on his feet.

Carrie has returned home from Austria where she is fleeing the end of a heart breaking love affair.  She is homeless and jobless at the moment and unsure of what lies ahead and is deeply unhappy.   She visits her mother and sister, a charmless pair, and discovers that her sister is remarrying and wishes to unload her daughter on her mother at Christmas so she can go to the States to be with her lover.   It is ever the lot of the single daughter to be assumed as having nothing better to do and when Carrie sees Lucy she decides to take care of her over the Christmas period.

I hope I am not giving too much detail away if you have not read the book so I will now cease and instead say that all these people, by way of coincidence and luck, all end up meeting each other in a house in Scotland.  All of them have more or less written Christmas off as they are all suffering from a loss but, as with all Pilcher books, a warmth and happiness permeate the writing and over the festive season, they come to terms with their situations and find comfort in each other and, yes, joy.

Rosamunde Pilcher's writing is such a pleasure to read.  I love what I call 'clean' writing, with no fuss or frills, just elegant well written prose and Pilcher delivers in spades.  Never a word wasted but she sets a scene and creates characters that resonate.

There is a room in the house which I love to conjure up in my imagination.

"the room was furnished with the bare minimum of furniture. A thick Turkey carpet. A sofa and two chairs. A table against a wall, a glass fronted book case in which a few old books leaned against each other......without pictures of knick knacks to divert the eye it was possible to appreciate the lovely proportions of the room, the ornate cornice and the plaster rose in the centre of the ceiling from which depended a charming Victorian chandelier"

This room has a bay window overlooking the town square where one can sit and watch what is going on and oh, how I would love to be there curled up with a book with the fire flickering and all peaceful and quiet.   It is a glorious room.

Winter Solstice is a book filled with warmth and happiness. Sorrow yes and bereavement but it is beautifully dealt with and written about. I find it hard to put into words just how much I love reading it and how happy it always makes me feel.  Despite all the odds this odd mixture of a family find comfort and solace over Christmas and are able to start looking forward.

And the final page is pure delight.

If you have yet to have the pleasure of reading this wonderful book then please get hold of a copy if you can and read before Christmas.

It is a book that will make you happy. I promise.