Angus Munro’s autobiography is a fascinating account of the author’s life. The balance of the book is towards his adult life, although he states that the events of his childhood affected him deeply, as I am sure they do everyone, and it was because of them that his life turned out how it did. Interestingly enough though, despite what at first seemed a very difficult childhood, Munro went on to an exceptionally successful career, first in the oil industry and then in hospital administration. Judging by the amount of admiration that followed him from almost everyone he came across, he seems to be one of those strong and fortunate people who manage to put their past behind them and live a happy, successful life regardless.

The title of the book came from the fact that the young Angus has grown up in a single parent family after his mother and father separated when he was three. He, his father and two sisters coped throughout the Depression era, but soon after his father’s generosity and need to be around people meant that most evenings, the house was filled with guests, visitors and friends all playing poker and enjoying themselves. Angus resented the fact that he had to clean up every morning as well as share his house with a constant stream of strangers. He also was deeply affected by a false accusation of theft when he was at school which ultimately led him to drop out. These two things were to affect him for the rest of his life.

I know how something apparently innocuous to an outsider can have such a profound effect on the way one things. The tragedy of this story is that despite achieving career success to levels that many people could only dream of, Munro labels himself the ‘grade school dropout’ throughout his book. I found that incredibly sad. I have known people with PhD’s who never achieved what Angus Munro achieved, and I have known people who never finished school who went on to be successful entrepreneurs and business people. Formal education is far from everything and it is tragic that this one thing was to cloud the thinking of the author throughout his life. Futhermore, it seemed sad that the author felt so profoundly affected by his homelife as an early teenager. The strange thing is, although this is what apparently the book was about, in reality it only rates a relatively insigificant mention in comparison with his experiences in his career and later life. I took that to mean that as the author began to write, he soon realised that what he had was a very positive, successful life and that he had managed to do all that without dwelling on his childhood. So many people cannot do that, and still find themselves in their old age cursing what happened to them as a child and remaining oblivious to the fact that they have wasted their whole life in resentment over the past.

The book is written well with good use of language although on occasion some of the terms felt a little stiff and artificial. Similarly, the dialogue did not ring true (I am not sure how comfortable I would be having a conversation with someone where I said their name every single time I spoke and they said mine every single time they spoke – personally I would find that a bit confrontational?). Nevertheless, this is written from memory and therefore the conversation which the author included in the book was clearly not verbatim from when the incident happened so I forgave the poetic licence. The only difficulty was that it made the story feel less warm and more formal than maybe it should have.

I did find many of the stories a little disjointed – the autobiography read as a series of only loosely related anecdotes rather than  a flowing story. I didn’t mind though – in many ways it reminded me of A.B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life which I read earlier this year. Facey saw his whole life as a fortunate and positive one, despite his very difficult childhood, and irrespective of the references to being a dropout and the apparent insecurity which comes across in this book, I firmly believe that the author also sees his life as a fortunate and positive one.

This was a fascinating journey through the life of an ordinary man who has experienced the kind of life millions of others have experienced, but has seized it and run with it in his own personal way. I have so much admiration for what he achieved, and as much admiration in his commitment to write it down. It was done very well and resulted in a really interesting and well written book.

ISBN: 978-0-595-43719-1
Publisher: iUniverse (self-published)
Year: 2007
Date Finished: 16 July 2009
Pages: 249

Of course, every scientific study can be interpreted in different ways, and I did find some of Church’s interpretations surprising. There were times I felt he dismissed studies which perhaps negated his thesis in ways that weren’t convincing, and emphasised studies which were perhaps a little more tenuous. The one thing I have gained out of reading this book is an enormous list of studies that I want to go and look up. If there is one thing I have learnt in my fascination with the scientific method is that you need to be skeptical and if something sounds like it needs to be questioned, then question it. 

I also found myself somewhat turned off by the religious and moralistic overtones which seemed to go through the book. The author used more hyperbole than most popular science writers and I know that when something is touted as a ‘miracle’, a flag should go up to be a little cautious. I have done a lot of reading about science and the scientific method and although my understanding of genetics is limited to what I learnt at school as well as reading Dawkins, I found myself wondering about what the author’s agenda was. 

There is no doubt that the hypothesis that he placed was fascinating – it would be truly incredible (and paradigm shifting in many ways) if it really were possible for each one of us to ‘change our genes’ simply through thought, belief and circumstance. I would have liked to see a testimonal from a geneticist or biologist at the beginning of this book which would have convinced me more. Most of the testimonials were from professionals within the same fields of ‘Soul Medicine’ and various researchers of spiritual energy. I, sadly, am not convinced by either of these fields and so I found the testimonials carried very little weight for me.

I think this book would most definitely appeal to someone of a similar religious or spiritual bent to the author. As an atheist, I was unconvinced by the arguments that my life could be better if I shared a strong and spiritual marriage, prayed and was prayed for and attended church regularly. By all means, if I were reading a book on morals and the spirit then I would expect this, but this was purported to be a scientfic study. In that respect I felt somewhat cheated – I don’t expect a science book to be instructing me morally. I have no issue whatsoever with anyone’s individual moral agenda. I live my own moral and very happy life free from the spiritual aspects which this book expounded. I am afraid that as a result, I just couldn’t come to grips with it.

I started reading this book the day before the recent swine flu scare hit Europe. It was pretty ironic timing, as Abe F. March’s novel, They Plotted Revenge Against Amercia tells the story of a group of young Palestinians who, having cruelly lost their entire families in the continuing battle between US-supported Israel and Palestine, decide to join an organisation to seek revenge. That revenge was to take the form of a virus, distributed in both the fish and poultry industries in the United States which would result in hundreds of thousands dying of flu. Of course, I was pretty much unmoved by the swine flu hysteria which the newspapers were trying to incite here, but I found the whole book quite timely.

March clearly knows about the Middle East. His biography indicates that he had worked there and it therefore made sense how he understood the reality of the battle. Sadly, we are all so influenced by the media, we are led to believe what the main media outlets want us to believe. You don’t have to read too far to start to recognise that Israel’s actions are often brutal and unjustified, and America itself hasn’t behaved in a particularly exemplary fashion over the past decades either. This is very obviously March’s viewpoint, and it came out very clearly throughout this book.

On the plus side, I was taken by the book to the extent that I had to keep turning the pages to see what happened. Spoiler alert: it is fascinating how the attitudes of the groups of young Palestinians change as they progress in the mission, particular as they themselves discover love, and start to realise that most people in the United States aren’t malicious – they are merely completely ignorant about what is really happening in the Middle East, and therefore regurgitate what their politicians feed to them. Although the teams start with a determined and unmovable sense of vengeance, even the leaders find that their resolve begins to slip as the reality of what they are doing sinks in. The slaughter of innocents is not atoned for by the slaughter of more innocents, and several of the teams begin to see that only through education and outreach can real change occur.

However, my biggest problem with this book was the style in which is was written. Right from the outset, it felt completely detached. Although I was interested in the characters, none of them felt completely human to me. The character development was shallow and I struggled to feel as they felt. This was highlighted by the awkwardness with which love and sex was described and I felt that perhaps the author ought to have left it out as it seemed clear he wasn’t comfortable with that aspect of the story. The author’s strength was in his knowledge of the political situation, and the ideas behind it. I could determine his own feelings for the tragedy of the Middle East, but there were times that the story seemed like a shadow puppet show masking the depth of feeling that the author felt towards the actual subject of the novel.

I spent quite a lot of time thinking about it, wondering whether perhaps it would have been better if the book had been written as a non-fiction, but I couldn’t see how. I understand that the growing understanding between cultures could only be portrayed through fiction because, sadly, this simply isn’t a reality yet. But for a writer who clearly has a lot to say and a lot of passion, the fictional format didn’t quite work for me.

Nevertheless it was a page turner, and it was left hanging which forced me to think about the story long after I had finished it. That alone helps it to be successful. That and the fact that I am now seeking out other, more erudite opinions on the Middle East crisis than the daily newspapers. The one point that came out of They Plotted Revenge which everyone should heed is the fact that only through education and understanding have we any hope of finding a solution. Until then, more innocent people are going to die.

Publisher: All Things That Matter Press
ISBN: 0-9822722-2-7
Date: 2009
Date Finished: 7 May 2009
Pages: 244

Obesity is so frequently hailed as a ‘problem’ and a ‘disaster for the country’ in the newspapers nowadays that it is no surprise that we assume that every overweight person is just one more statistic whose life will be cut short because their heart will give out by the time they are 20, and in the short years they are alive they will be so miserably unhappy that they will do nothing but console themselves with excessive amounts of food. As many of you who read my various blogs will know, I am not a particular fan of newspapers or the mainstream media in general, and I do look at these kind of claims with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it is quite rare to come across an opposing view.

But an opposing view is what Kandy Siahaya is seeking to put forward in this little book. Kandy is one of the people that the newspapers like to call ‘morbidly obese’ (a particularly unpleasant label, if you want my opinion) but not only is she fine with it, she also has a sense of humour and the ability to laugh about it. Her introductory warning is that this book might cause offence if you are sensitive about people joking about fat, weight or weight gain. She suggests that if this describes you, you probably ought to put the book down. I smiled at that, and anticipated more humour.

I applaud Kandy for settling down to write this book. I could tell that it was a labour of love for her, and I could tell that she was very happy to make people think about their own preconceptions. I am one of the ‘thin people’ that she knows will read the book, but even so I have had my share of weight related angst and diet experience so I could still relate to what she said. Being overweight is very much relative in my opinion. Medicine must place people into categories as it is the only way it can successfully manage an enormous population, but no one really fits perfectly into the category within which we are supposed to fall. Fat and healthy and happy to me seems a far better option than thin and ill and unhappy and Kandy worked hard to reinforce that fact.

My criticism of the book comes from the fact that I felt it didn’t have enough structure to it. Each chapter was interesting in and of itself, but I felt there could have been more of a natural path – a beginning, middle and end. I also wanted to know more – I wanted to hear more of the author’s experiences, and discover more that she had learnt throughout her life. I felt when I had finished that I had really only just scratched the surface, there wasn’t quite enough substance and not quite as much humour as I would have hoped. There were also a few editing issues that I picked up, but then (as many of you also know about me) I am a bit of a pedant when it comes to grammar and punctuation.

Overall this was an enjoyable and quick little read, touching on a subject in a light-hearted way which many people would shy away from as being politically incorrect or potentially offensive. Food is without doubt one of the greatest pleasures in life and everyone should be allowed to enjoy it without scorn of their fellow man. The fact that we come in different shapes and sizes cannot be taken as a blanket indicator of whether we are a good or bad person with self control or no self control. Making Light of Being Heavy is a step towards confirming that.

Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 978-1-4276-3954-7
Date: 2006
Date Finished: 2 May 2009
Pages: 90

Uncorrected proof copies of a novel can be of varying quality. Some I have received have had paper covers (although the shabby appearance belied the quality of the writing within). Others I have received looked no different to what I imagine the finished product would look like, although the illustrations may have been blurred or left out altogether. When I received my copy of The Selected Works of T.S.Spivet, I opened up what could only be described as a beautifully produced book, complete with exquisite margin drawings and copious notes. My curiosity was definitely piqued, and I couldn’t wait to sit down with the book and get started.

Strangely enough, when I had read the publicity material for this book, I had immediately formed a picture of T.S. Spivet. In my mind he was an explorer, an illustrator and a grown man. When I met T.S. Spivet for real, he was the first two of these things, but in the body of a 12 year old boy. But T.S. was no ordinary 12 year old. Despite having grown up on a ranch in Montana, his skill at map making and drawing, as well as his scientific mind meant that soon after we meet him, he discovers that he has won a prestigious award from the Smithsonian and, in order to accept it, must present himself in Washington D.C. the following Thursday.

And thus his adventure begins.

I was charmed by T.S. The author captured a moment in the life of the protagonist which was still so childish, and yet was laced by a budding maturity. This meant that T.S. spoke to me as an adult, but would still speak to a child just as effectively.  The book is an account of his journey to Washington on a freight train, his discovery of an adult world which he doesn’t fully understand, as well as his own self-discovery in coming to terms with the death of his younger brother, his perceived rejection by his father and his own gifts.  Parallel to his own story, T.S. learns the story of his grandmother, herself a gifted scientist in an age when women’s academic abilities were not taken seriously, and through that he learns about the struggle of not belonging, and how that can ultimately lead you away from your own talents.

If it were just the story without the accompanying illustrations, this book would have lost something. I think I might have struggled with some of the flights of fancy into which it went. There were times I couldn’t decide whether this books was supposed to be a fantasy (with wormholes in the middle of America into which trains disappear), or an observation of reality. I finally came to the conclusion that this was reality for a 12 year old – and that reality is a combination of wormholes, talking winnebagos and secret societies, big cities, Macdonalds and the desperate need to be loved. When I had settled with that I was able to fully suspend my disbelief and take the journey with T.S. The little maps, pictures and drawings which litter the pages emphasise how the world appears through T.S.’s eyes. He helped me to start noticing tiny things again – things which, when you enter the adult world, blur into normality and become insiginificant in the day to day push to survive.

My biggest issue did come from the apparent incongruity between T.S.’s parents – his mother, herself a scientist without any apparent domestic ability somehow meets and stays with his father, a cowboy and ranchman who’s life partially emulates the Westerns he watches so religiously. Would two people like that come together? I couldn’t work out how or why. Although T.S. was as mystified as I was as he states in one of the margin notes early on in the book. The story of T.S.’s grandmother, Emma, goes some way towards answering the question but I never felt fully satisfied, just as I didn’t feel fully satisfied with how one so young could have such an in depth knowledge of science. But that was all part of the fantasy of the novel, so I didn’t let it worry me too much.

The author touches elegantly upon the Evolution/Creationism debate which appears to be so prominent in the United States. I liked how he introduced the beauty and logic of science in a way which was neither confrontational nor obvious. I believe that novels like this will go much further in convincing people than hard scientific fact because they pose no threat. This novel provides that middle ground between science and people’s personal faith which seems to be ignored to a great extent (from my limited understanding) in the US. If for no other reason, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet should be regarded as an important contribution to literature, and one that is timely and necessary.

I will go back to this book again and again, even if it is just to examine the drawings in more detail, or once again smile at T.S.’s thoughts and asides. It is a wonderful addition to my library and I was honoured to be given the opportunity to review it. It is a fantastic first novel and a recommended read.

You can find out more about the book and the author at http://www.tsspivet.com/

Rating: 9/10
ISBN: 9781846552786 
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Year: 2009
Date Finished: 22 April 2009
Pages: 375

A single word came to my head when I finished this book.

Wow.

What a ride. This was a clever combination of graphic violence, black humour, thrills and empathy and it was a story which just kept you on the edge of your seat. For a first novel, it is an explosion from an author who has a fantastic way with words, the ability to craft strong characters and a knack for painting an image which is sometimes too much for the imagination to bear.

The story is about Peter Brown, a doctor working at a frenetically busy New York hospital. The book opens with him getting mugged. But his ability not just to stop the mugger but to literally put him in the hospital suggests that Peter isn’t just your average registrar. Despite verging on exhaustion from the demanding hours of his job, there is a sharpness about him which draws you in. It soon emerges that Peter’s past life is far darker than anyone he works with could have imagined. When he enters the room of a man with terminal cancer and realises that he is recognised, his cover starts to slip. As a hit man for the mob in his previous life, he is in the hospital on witness protection. This guy means certain death to Peter. If Peter allows him to die under his watch, the alarm will have rung and all of those shadows of his past who want to see him dead will be coming for him.

Thus begins a breathless story which jumps from Peter’s musings over the past and what got him to this point and the actual events he is trying to survive through. When put against the backdrop of a busy hospital, as a reader you feel swept along with the sheer pace of this novel. Page turner isn’t a fair description – I was almost ripping at them to see what happened next.

What Josh Bazell has achieved so well in my opinion is the creation of the character of Peter who had such a streak of evil through him and was nevertheless good and sympathetic. It didn’t seem to matter to me what he had done – I wanted him to survive. He was trapped in the moral dilemma of his life, but in it he had allowed himself to truly love someone, as well as question what was right and wrong with the purpose of protecting others from the evil under which he operated. He was the epitome of a hero, but one who was so completely human that his actions made all the more impact. This impression of Peter was made stronger by the fact the book was written in the first person, so you had an intimate relationship with Peter as he fought to keep what he had now gained. I asked Josh how he had managed to paint such a contrast of good an evil in Peter. Josh told me that Peter demonstrated how evil can come so easily to people – especially to Peter – and yet he still battled morally with what he was doing. Josh said that this was something which we could all relate to as humans – a point I completely agree with. Most of us may not exercise the level of evil that Peter was, but if we were pushed to it, how closely would we go? It is an interesting question.

The graphic descriptions in this book really made me cringe at times and stayed in my head even after I had put the book down. This level of violence could put off a reader who was faint at heart, but I felt it fitted with the whole theme and pace of the book. There is no painting over the violence of the mob. In fact, in another question I posed to Josh I asked him how much research he had done about the mob in writing this book and he replied

“I did a fair amount of research, but the thing that felt important to get right was the basis of the mob’s success, which is bone-simple willingness to do awful things to people who work for a living in order to take their money.  A lot of what I was seeing in fictional representations of the mob was victimless crimes and loyalty gained through beneficence.  I suspected the mafia wasn’t really into either of those things, and the facts are out there:  it isn’t.”

The criminal activity associated with the mob is neither romantic nor glamorous. The level of violence is very real, which once again gave this book the quality of a story which could have happened.

I was pleased to discover that Josh is in the midst of writing his next novel, and that Peter will figure in it again. I found myself wanting so much to know what happened to him after the events in Beat the Reaper were over that I couldn’t help but ask. You know an author has done something good when you keep returning to a character and wondering over them in your mind, days or weeks after you have put the book down. I will be glad to see him again.

The final question of Josh was to ask what his plans for the future were. His answer? “Get a life”.

Actually, Josh, I would rather you didn’t if it means you can keep producing novels as good as this one. You can get a life after that.

Rating: 9/10
ISBN: 9780434019236
Publisher: William Heinemann
Date: 2009
Date Finished: 6 March 2009
Pages: 307

In many cases, a good book isn’t compelling because of the plot. The quality of a book comes from far more than that. Of course, the plot is important, but Kissing Games of the World provides evidence that the plot can almost be incidental. When your characters are strong, and the journey from the beginning to the end of the book is undertaken with such care, you have the makings of a fantastic, difficult-to-put-down novel.

The reason I say this is that the plot of Kissing Games is relatively simple. Jamie, a single mother of 5 year old Arley, is house sharing with an elderly gentleman who is single handedly raising his grandson after his own son left. Harris, the grandfather, dies suddenly. Although is son, Nate, is now living the professional life of a salesman with a professional girlfriend, and a jet-setting and happy-go-lucky bachelor lifestyle, he is the only person who can legally now look after Christopher, his son. Nate and Jamie meet and their two somewhat dystfunctional paths come together.

I knew right from the beginning that the two of them would end up together – in a book such as this one, it is the only possible ending (I would have felt very betrayed if they hadn’t). What was so wonderful though was that although I knew the ending, I had no idea of how they were going to get there – and that is where this book came into its own.

The character development was impeccable. Neither character was completely perfect, yet neither was so flawed that you couldn’t forgive them. There were times when Nate seemed truly hateful, but he had to be in order for his development to happen. The interactions between him and Jamie were fraught with tension and misunderstanding, but never to the point where you wanted to say ‘for crying out loud, pull yourself together’. I really think this is why Kissing Games was such a pleasure to read – the events and people were so real that I honestly felt I was a fly on the wall, watching everything going on in real life. It was never once over the top, and never strayed into territory which made you suspend your disbelief.

Sandi Kahn Shelton has an ability to create a world in which real emotions cause very real issues. She has a mastery over the language so you could hear the characters both out loud and within. And she has a grasp of the damage that people experience throughout their lives and the effect it has on their future and others around them. I feel incredibly grateful that I was given the opportunity to review this book and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about people, and takes pleasure in being with them as they grow and change.

ISBN: 978-0-307-39365-4
Publisher: Shay Areheart Books (Random House)
Year: 2008
Date Finished: 15 January 2009
Pages: 383

When I began reading Tough Love Tender Heart, I immediately thought that this was going to be another version of the film Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. It starts out in a similar fashion, although Don, the protagonist of the book, lacks the successful career and suave personality that Matthew Perry’s character has in the film. However, although the start of the book was similar, if I thought the book was going to result in a ‘happily ever after’ story like the film, I was in for a surprise.

Unlike the Hollywood film, once Don is told that the woman he had a one night stand with in Venezuala is pregnant, and he agrees to marry her, things then start getting difficult. This story is set in 2003. It is post 9/11. It is a time in America where many people who try to enter the country are seen as suspicious and border controls are tighter than ever. When Ana tries to enter the USA as a tourist, with every intention of leaving after her permitted 3 months, she is subjected to a nightmarish day of questioning, accusations and claims. There is nothing Don can do to help. He is at the whim of his country’s laws and not matter how much he loves Ana and how much they may genuinely want to be together, the Department of Homeland Security see fit to send Ana back to Columbia in disgrace.

From this point, the novel grows darker. The simplicity of the story allows the underlying message to be clearly understood. That message is that the net of border security seems to consider people guilty without the chance of them proving themselves innocent, and in the effort to prevent the wrongdoers from entering the country, everyone has to suffer – even those trying to play by the rules.

The saddest thing is that despite the treatment that the author describes, thousands of illegal immigrants enter the USA every day. While a genuine person is being stopped, 20 wrongdoers are getting through. Of course, this is a difficult, if not impossible, situation to solve but the tragic ending of this book does indicate the despair which victims of the system can fall into. I can understand. Having been through the endless questions and forms and interviews and implications that I did when I got married and wanted to live with my husband in the UK, I know how intrusive it can be. Even when you know you have nothing to hide and you are doing absolutely nothing wrong, you can’t help but feel that every person questioning you is looking at you as a criminal.

The book is only short, and there were a few places where the action wasn’t really carrying the story forward, but I think that this is an important story to tell. Perhaps Don was a little too pathetic, however even I could feel the anger that this couple felt as their hopes for a future together as a family were destroyed one by one thanks to the inflexibility and pre-judgement of their respective countries. The final question is where do two people go if they want to be together, but they are from different countries and the countries won’t allow one or the other to pass their borders? Sadly, as Tough Love Tender Heart points out, the answer is nowhere, and the only result is disappointment, bitterness, anger and tragedy. This is not a happy tale.

ISBN: 978-1-897512-09-8
Publisher: Saga Books
Year: 2008
Date Finished: 18 December 2008
Pages: 156

I was due to review this book yesterday for Cyndia Depre’s online book tour and, for the first time I am a day late Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of the post, my copy of the book never arrived and although I ordered it off Amazon more than 10 days ago, it actually landed in my hand on Tuesday.  Yep, that’s two days ago. So I had spent the last two days madly reading Oblivious so I could get my review posted and not disrupt the book tour too much.

Fortunately, the book isn’t a tough one to get through. On the contrary, it is a rollicking murder-mystery come romance which moves along at a good pace and encourages you to keep turning pages. The book introduces you to Olivia, previously named January Eighth until her parents saw sense a couple of days after her birth and renamed. She is a whirlwind, ranging from completely oblivious to the outside world through to having a canny understanding about the people around her. She is a popular girl-from-a-small-town turned super sleuth, and it is from her that the title of the book arises.

At her parents Christmas party, she meets “Marlboro Man” Tucker who is at the party with another woman. The next morning, that woman is found dead in her house and thus begins Olivia’s mission to solve the crime along with the new man soon to be in her life, Tucker and her best friend and ex-model Josie.

The story is told predominantly in dialogue which is what keeps it moving. There is a cast of characters (some with very unusual names, although perhaps that is small town America?) all of whom know, love and ‘put up with’ Olivia. Olivia is a force unto herself. Her continual habit of mixing metaphors and completely missing what other people are saying apparently belies an intelligence which drives her to solve the case, irrespective of whether the police wanted her input or not! Tucker, new to the town, simply has to keep up with her – something which he doesn’t always find easy to do. The romantic side of the novel comes through these two – his manly protectiveness over her, and her realisation that it is her whom Tucker wants rather than her blonde, svelte best friend.

The only real difficulty I had with the book was a personal one. For some reason, I felt completely removed from the characters. I couldn’t empathise with them and I will be honest and say that Olivia exasperated me more often than not. Although I get the sense that this is exactly what the author was trying to do and in that respect she succeeded very well. The problem was, although she seemed flawed on the surface, the impression I got was that Olivia was perfect – almost too perfect. I have found difficulties in the past with books where the hero or heroine is so perfect that there is no way I could live up to them. They take me back to being bullied by the ‘popular’ and ‘beautiful’ and ‘rich’ girls in the school when I was a child. I couldn’t shake the feeling that because Olivia and Josie fell into this category, then they were people I don’t think I could ever really relate to. Amazing how childhood experiences affect our adult lives, isn’t it!?

Despite the disquieting feeling of not really relating to the characters, I still found this an enjoyable, light and fun read. It’s perfect for the morning and evening commuter train where you need something to make you forget that you are crammed into a busy train with the rain beating down on the windows, and place you in a world where everyone loves everyone else, the lines between good and bad are clearly defined and there really are happy endings.

I received this book as a Goodreads reviewer. Unlike many proof copies that I have received in the post, this book was beautiful with a magnificent dust jacket and black edged pages. I suspected it wasn’t going to be your average story, and I was right. I am not so sure what I felt about this book. Did I love it or did I hate it? I couldn’t put it down. I read it in about three days. I was particularly gripped by it, so I think I loved it. But it was very unusual, graphic in some parts and left you wondering. It also bordered on sickly sweet in parts, and descended in to evangelising in other parts. But as soon as I started thinking ‘oh, please’, it switched again. Perhaps that is why I was so compelled by it.

The story starts out with a horrific accident. The nameless and beautiful narrator, wealthy from a career in the porn industry, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and resigned to the fact that sex was a conquest and love did not exist, hallucinates a shower of flaming arrows after a long night of no sleep, too many drugs and too much bourbon. He drives his car off a steep embankment and finds himself burning. He doesn’t die. Rather, his life becomes the inside of the burns unit and his beautiful body becomes the body of a monster, inhabited by a snake in his spine determined to drive him to despair.

One day, a strange woman arrives – Marianne Engel – who is either mentally ill or supernatural. The narrator never fully understands which. However, her arrival marks his about face from dreaming of suicide to discovering life. She does this by insisting that the two of them had been together 700 years before, and she had been waiting for his return ever since.

This is a dark, twisted modern interpretation of Dante’s inferno mixed with fairy tale, horror and fantasy. The initial descriptions of the narrators burns and the treatments he goes through are sickening to read about. I was physically cringing. But I think they were important to the story – you had to fully understand the suffering of the narrator to truly appreciate where he arrives in the end. Marianne Engel is a mysterious and fascinating character. She carves gargoyles as part of her penance. Yet she brings to the narrator the one thing he had never had – unconditional love which ignores surface appearance.

Andrew Davidson has an unbelievable imagination and he has demonstrated it in a way that very much appeals to adults. This is not a childrens book, and yet many of the themes come straight out of fairy tales. Admittedly there are passages which betray this debt, and I do feel his ’stories of love’ were a little bit contrived. I also couldn’t tell whether he was trying to convince you in the existence of God as the defining line between good and evil – if he was, he didn’t do it very well. If he wasn’t, he certainly seemed to be trying. Nevertheless, he has bridged that gap between fairy tale and real tale in an original and unusual way that may not appeal to all, but to those which it does, will create some lifelong fans.

Rating: 7/10
Publisher: Canongate Books
Year: 2008
Date Finished: 26 October 2008
Pages: 502

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/28/fiction1

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-gargoyle-by-andrew-davidson-926531.html