The Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle

This is a novel about a friendship between two people whose lives have been derailed by misfortune. James de Witt and Danny Allen were in the same year at their prestigious boys’ school – Danny a scholarship boy, unlike James whose well-do-do family have been students there for generations. Both boys were highly talented and expected to make their mark on the world. Now in their thirties, the two meet up at Four Oaks care home.

Danny is a carer at the home, a new recruit on his final warning from the Job Centre. A terrible tragedy for which he felt he was to blame sent Danny into despair and alcoholism, and he has never been able to hold down a job for any time after that. His relationship with live-in girlfriend, Maya, is on the rocks, but he seems unable to pick himself up and fix his life.

James made a fortune in property development, but sold up to run for Parliament. On the night he won a bi-election, he was punched in the head by an angry young lout and his life has never the same. Looked after at home by his parents, James spends his time watching DVDs and disengages from the world, until his sister persuades his parents to take a holiday.

The novel describes the slow development of James’s and Danny’s friendship and how the two manage to be the answer to each other’s problems – James providing Danny with a home and a job, while Danny gives James a shot at independence. But they each have to address aspects of their past if they really want to turn their lives around and the story builds up plenty of tension as events occur to hamper their best efforts.

I found this novel such a breath of fresh air, dealing with that rarity in fiction: male friendship. Gayle is a wonderful writer, with real empathy for his characters – his understanding of how a person with a brain injury might think is inspired. The Man I Think I Know is a novel full of wisdom but peppered with humour, manages to be very entertaining as well.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Man I Think I Know

On the Blue Train by Kristel Thornell

When Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days in 1926 it sparked a police investigation and a riot of newspaper stories. At the time Christie was emerging as a popular crime novelist and foul play was a definite possibility. Kristel Thornell takes these missing days as a basis for her novel On the Blue Train, concocting a story around what Christie was doing in the interval before being discovered at a hotel in the spa town of Harrogate.

Agatha concots a plan to disappear at a time when her life was unravelling: still grieving for her recently dead mother and with a husband begging for a divorce. What she wanted was a break away and to be looked after, so a spa with its healing baths, massages and relaxed atmosphere was ideal.

Also staying at the Hydro is Harry, a man living off his late wife’s inheritance, at a loss for anything in particular to do and with his own buried grief. Harry listens to classical music in his room and drinks sherry to numb the pain enough so that he can sleep. Harry and Agatha become friends and later confidantes, sharing their personal histories for the benefit of the reader.

While On the Blue Train is something of a slow burner - the plot takes a while to get going and a lot of it is looking backwards rather than forwards - Thornell makes up for the restrictions of her story with impeccable writing. She uses imagery beautifully and I found myself rereading sentences which were always elegant and often haunting.

The atmosphere of the Hyrdro, of steamy baths in winter, dining in evening dress and dancing to the band afterwards, the gentle chatter with other guests, is all brought to life and creates a picture of another era. With its relaxed pace and thoughtful prose, this is a book to take your time with, and a must for anyone interested in the Agatha Christie legend.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: On the Blue Train

The Heat of Betrayal by Douglas Kennedy

Kennedy has made a name for himself writing thrillers about women in desperate circumstances, so I knew I would be in for a roller-coaster of a read when I picked up his latest novel, The Heat of Betrayal. It is the story of Robin, who with one desultory marriage behind her, is smitten when she meets Paul, an artist some years her senior. She helps him with his accounts because he’s profligate with money, despite holding an academic post and selling his art to connoisseurs.

The couple marry and eventually travel to Morocco where Paul lived in his twenties, a place that inspired some of his best work. He hopes to rekindle his talent, while Robin hopes for a baby, but an email from New York destroys Robin’s trust in Paul. He’s a volatile personality and suddenly disappears, threatening suicide and causing the police to suspect Robin of foul play.

The rest of the book is a kind of cross-Morocco game of cat and mouse, Robin trying to find her fragile husband before it’s too late. She is thrown into some horrendous situations, while stories of Paul’s past come to the surface. Meanwhile the authorities close in on Robin, and she has to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive.

The book is everything the back-cover reviews promise: heart-stopping twists, a page turner that makes you think and so on. While it isn’t great literature, it is sure-handed, and the character of Robin is sympathetic enough to engage the reader’s interest. On top of which, Kennedy has created some marvellous Moroccan atmosphere, and with all that sand about, this has to be the ultimate beach read.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Heat of Betrayal

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell

Master storyteller, Maggie O’Farrell, is back with a fairly ambitious novel following the life and loves of Daniel Sullivan, a linguist from New York. At the start of the book, Daniel is married to recluse ex-actress, Claudette, who he admits is crazy. It’s a happy marriage, until Daniel is undone by discovering that a woman he dated as a student died soon after he returned home for his mother’s funeral. He’d never heard from her again.

The story switches back and forth, between Daniel and Claudette, filling in the details of their former lives. How Claudette was discovered by a Swedish filmmaker, with whom she went on to make Oscar winning movies, as well as having a son, Ari. Then there’s Claudette’s daring escape to the wilds of Ireland. Both Daniel and Claudette are difficult characters - impulsive, passionate, determined. Daniel seems frequently bent on self-destruction, drinking too much and walking out on family, on friends. Claudette has no forgiveness for infidelity, having learnt the hard way.

The narration is picked up by numerous other characters: Daniel’s flatmate, Todd; his children, Niall, Marithe and Phoebe, as more gaps are filled in, taking us from the mid-1980s to the present day. This makes for quite a disjointed narrative flow and as a reader I found I was just getting to know a character, when all at once the story flips back or forward, to another continent and to yet another viewpoint. It’s a lot to get your head around.

Nevertheless, I persevered. Like Daniel, the reader is dragged to some fairly low places, before a flicker of hope begins to rekindle. What keeps you going is O’Farrell’s lively writing, full of warmth, wit and intuition. She is a writer of immense compassion, not only for her characters, but for the human condition in general. Over all, This Must Be the Place is well worth the effort.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: This Must Be the Place

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

This book was recommended to me by a couple of customers, and  says on the cover "2016's most talked-about new thriller".
The premise was reminiscent of the Madeleine McCann case: a couple leave their baby home alone while they go for dinner to their next-door neighbours; only to have the horror of coming home to an empty cot.  A media frenzy follows,as well as a lot of dysfunctional family fallout. Many secrets come to light: voyeuristic neighbours, post-natal depression, money problems and controlling in-laws.

This thriller has lots of twists and turns which did keep me reading to the end.
Overall my problem was that I did not have sympathy with any of the characters in this book (except for the baby).
This is a first thriller for Shari Lapena and I would admit I seem to be in the minority with my opinions of this book, so I would be interested to know what others think of The Couple Next Door.
Perhaps I have just read too many of this type of book in recent times; The Couple Next Doors strengths are its pacy plot and it is a good quick read.

Reviewed by Katrina

Catalogue link:  The Couple Next Door

The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

This novel was recommended to me, which is just as well as I had always thought Lisa Jewell was a bit too ‘chick lit’ for me. I was wrong. The Third Wife is a thoughtful look at a family, Adrian’s family, who are a strangely cobbled together mix across three marriages, who still manage to all be friends and enjoy holidaying together. Or so they say.

Adrian is a successful architect, with that slightly scruffy longish hair that is so appealing, and makes women just want to look after him. His first marriage was to Susie, and produced his son, Luke, and daughter, Cat, now grown up. Adrian left Susie when he fell in love with Caroline who is coolly beautiful, and produced three more children, Otis, Pearl and Beau, before falling for much younger, Maya, a temp at work.

The book begins with Maya’s tragic death, supposedly an accident, leaving Adrian grief stricken and alone with Maya’s cat. Secrets and strange occurrences are deftly woven into the story of Maya’s last days and the family’s regrouping. When Luke comes to stay with his father and finds some worrying emails on the couple’s laptop there are sinister implications. A woman who leaves her cell-phone in Adrian’s flat when she offers to rehome the cat creates more mystery.

As secrets are slowly revealed, it seems not everyone is as they appear to be, which makes Jewell’s characters dynamic and interesting. The English settings of London during the summer of hosting the Olympic Games, country holidays, the lovingly decorated homes of Susie and Caroline make the book vivid and appealing. Meanwhile the tension of reined in emotions bubbling under the surface, and the slow unravelling of what really happened keep you hooked to the end. A top read which should appeal to fans of Joanna Trollope and David Nicholls.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Third Wife

Recommended reads about the Holocaust

Auschwitz: the complete guide by Perry Buck

“That’s a weird title,” said my work colleague as she brought my reserved book to me. Her tone suggested that she didn’t quite approve of my reading choice. Auschwitz: the complete guide is, as the title suggests, a guidebook to visiting Auschwitz, but it is also much more. In 1992 Perry Buck was on his OE with a friend (he’s British). 

They had been tramping in Poland when the friend suggested they visit Auschwitz. Perry was hesitant because he didn’t want to feel it was just another tourist stop. He felt that the place was too important for that. Albeit reluctant to go, he did.

Perry Buck became a journalist and travel writer. He has been to Auschwitz many times since that initial visit. His book is much more than a travel guide. The first part covers the history of Oświęcim, the town where Auschwitz came to be sited, and of Poland itself. 

The next section describes the rise of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich, leading into the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II. It describes their desire to rid Europe of Jews, and the steps they took. This section finishes with the end of the war and the aftermath. 

The third section is about Auschwitz and its continuing impact and significance. It is the fourth part that forms the travel guide, and contains valuable information and advice for planning a visit.

The final section covers other places to visit in Poland, including other death camps and Kraków.

Even though I am not planning to visit Auschwitz in the near future, if at all, the book was very interesting and informative. A must-read for anyone who does want to visit, but also for those interested in learning about the Holocaust.

My grandfather would haveshot me: a black woman discovers her family’s Nazi past by Jennifer Teege

This was the very next book on my reserves list, and what a perfect follow-on to Auschwitz: the complete guide. Perry Buck actually mentions Jennifer Teege’s book in the section about other camps in Poland.

Jennifer is a half Nigerian German woman, born in 1970. She was fostered out when a baby, but spent many weekends with her mother and her grandmother until she was officially adopted by her foster parents when she was 7. 

When in her 30s, Jennifer was looking for something on depression to read in the local library. She took a book from the shelf and was surprised to recognize the woman in the photo on the cover – it was her birth mother. She borrowed the book and read it through in one sitting, for she learnt through that book that her mother’s father was Amon Goeth, the commandant of Płaszów concentration camp. He was the commandant, played by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List who liked to shoot random concentration camp prisoners from the balcony off his bedroom, while his lover, Ruth Irene Kalder, Jennifer’s beloved grandmother, lay on the bed in the room.

Jennifer tells the story of how she came to terms with her family history, and finally overcame the depression that had dogged her much of her adult life.

Two very different books on a related subject – the Holocaust. I recommend them both.

Reviewed by Jessie Moir, Hastings District Libraries