Monthly Archives: September 2020

Still Water: The Deep Life of the Pond

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John Lewis-Stempel. Transworld. (304p) ISBN: 9781784162429
Still Water The Deep Life of the Pond

Still Water The Deep Life of the Pond

I was given Still Water: The Deep Life of the Pond as it is well known that I love a well written book on nature and the idea of rewilding.

I had previously read Meadowland by the same author and really enjoyed the style of John Lewis-Stempel’s writing, so relaxed and almost poetic in his love of the countryside.

This book jumps between a personal biography of John’s relationships with ponds and a pond throughout the year, how ponds have influenced landscape, and how ponds have been used in their relationship with human development.

The descriptive prose really envelops you in John’s world and the world of the flora and fauna of the various ponds and seasons that are described. This really has come home to me this year as one of the touchstones that has helped keep me going this year is a large pond that I stop to say hello to the fish and fowl on my daily walk.

A book that really makes you think about our relationship and the importance of a piece of geography that we often pass by written with such love it makes you want to hug the book.

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Mudlarking

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Lara Maiklem. Bloomsbury. (336p) ISBN: 9781408889237
Mudlarking

Mudlarking

I’ve always been fascinated by finding things on the shoreline whether they be old things discarded by humans, natural objects shaped by the sea, or evidence of past life in the form of fossils.

When the opportunity came along to get a copy of Mudlarking I jumped at it.

I’ve heard the name a lot over the last ten or so years and knew in essence what it was but it was lovely to read someones development as a mudlarker, from the early discoveries to where she is now, juggling this passion with family.

The mix of current biography with historical research is absolutely compelling, linking these found objects to their past and personalising the stories of their production and loss made me want to learn more about them (and take a large pair of wellies with me whenever I go to London).

The book is set out in chapters of exploration corresponding to sections of the tidal Thames, with a few stories of discoveries and biography in each section. This is well-paced and the writing is warm and personal making you involved in Lara’s discoveries and growth.

The illustrations from Johnny Mudlark one the cover are absolutely fascinating and I would love to see more.

An excellent book, teasing and open at the same time, all about hidden treasure that fascinates us all.

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My Sister, the Serial Killer

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Oyinkan Braithwaite. Atlantic Books. (240p) ISBN: 9781786495983
My Sister, the Serial Killer

My Sister, the Serial Killer

I’m not usually a thriller/crime reader but I was persuaded to read this as I was told the audiobook was excellent and since I was walking a lot right now during furlough why not give it a try?

I used the library service to download it, RB Digital, and the system was really easy to use and the app has a reasonable interface, the best thing though? It was free!

I was immediately drawn into the story, the pace is fast and tense. This was really intensified by the brilliant narration by Adepero Oduye. It was so good that I extended a couple of walks to hear more…

The story is at heart a story of the relationship between Korede and her sister the serial killer, Ayoola. This is a complicated relationship which developed from their childhood and cultural expectations of older sisters. The two couldn’t be more different but I’ll leave that to you to find out how.

There is also the relationship with their deceased father whilst he was alive that is also central to the story, especially with the tool of dispatch.

A surprising end left me really pleased as a cliche ending would have let down such a well-written book.

My Sister, the Serial Killer has really got me enjoying audiobooks now as well, well worth a try if you’re finding it difficult to begin in this format.

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Dead Girls

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Selva Almada. Charco Press. (170p) ISBN: 9781916277847
Dead Girls

Dead Girls

How do you review a book so hauntingly horrific dealing with such a violent subject, do we talk about content, writing style, translation, presentation?

I think we should just start at the beginning, what is the book about? In essence it is about the killings of three young women in Argentina during the 80s. Andrea Danne, Maria Luisa Quevedo, and Sarita Mundin, all brutally murdered and their cases never resolved.

This is not a ‘true crime’ book though, it is an examination of a point in time and place, an examination of the young women, their possible murderers, the society, and the fear that a culture of femicide has on people who live with it every day. None of this is done heavy-handedly, none of it is sensationalised, there is no feeling of being an outsider vicariously enjoying the spectacle of ‘true crime’.

This is all scaffolded by Selva Almada’s hauntingly beautiful writing so sympathetically translated by Annie McDermott.

Selva brings the place and time to mind in such beautiful prose that you almost, not quite, but almost forget about the horror of what you’re reading about, the touches of wind and dust are reminiscent of The Wind That Lays Waste.

I’m so glad that Charco Press sent me a copy of Dead Girls to review because as always they have produced a wonderful book which really strikes home.

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Famished

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Anna Vaught. Influx Press. (112p) ISBN: 9781910312490
Famished

Famished

Famished is the second book centred around food that I’ve read this month, though this one couldn’t be more different from the other, a tantalising collection of short stories with a central theme of food/eating/feasting/consuming.

I was given an advanced reading copy by Influx Press to review, and I was really pleased as I had seen Anna around Twitter and have her book with Bluemoose Books, Saving Lucia, on my birthday list.

As I’ve probably stated elsewhere many times, I love the short story format when it is done well and Anna concocts a brilliant collection of short chilling tales each as good as. the other.

There is a definite flavour of Victorian and early 20th century supernatural stories, both in content and form.

Each story is a wonderful bite of words, tantalising and just enough to digest the concept and theme. Well-balanced and complete, none left me wanting for more.

It wouldn’t be a collection where I didn’t have favourites, though in the case of this collection there were no sour tastes left in the mouth.

a tale of tripe was my personal stand out, a similar horror of tripe haunts me, both the physical and mental, trimalchio jones has a strong Poe feel to the horror that unfolds through the banquet, and shame really resonates also.

Well worth a read, and for me it’s a keeper and one I want to return to.

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Hungry

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Grace Dent. HarperCollings. (304p) ISBN: 9780008333188
Hungry

Hungry

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy of Hungry from Hachette and was so pleased when it arrived almost the next day.

It was going to be my whole reading for a whole weekend and I was going to savour it to the full, taking bite-sized reads throughout the weekend, but that wasn’t to be as it was so delicious I had to gulp it down in a couple of ravenous sittings.

I will be updating this review when the completed copy comes out as there are several quotes I want to add to the review that made me bark with laughter, especially the one about working class and bohemians in North London.

I’ve always looked forward to Grace’s writings about food (well anything really) as her sense of humour and turn of phrase are so readable, wry, and very perceptive. This book is no different, looking at her and her family’s relationship with food and with each other from her start in metropolitan Carlisle with her normal wit and flowing prose.

The move from Carlisle to London and working in magazines was as hilarious as it was revealing, both of Grace and the industry, how important class, uncles, and other helping hands are to working in media/publishing in London were (and as we all know still are).

Yes it is humorous, yes it takes a fun look at food, but as the book goes on we share her more of her families developing relationships and what goes on with ageing.

The last scene had me in all out tears, this wasn’t really a surprise as they were welling at various points throughout the whole book but that very last scene was a full-on emotional wringer. A really brave book well worth a read.

Out on 29th of September 2020.

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