Review: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Publisher: Virago

Release date:

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband and even servants,  life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. For with the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the 'clerk class', the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. And as passions mount and frustration gathers, no one can foresee just how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

This is vintage Sarah Waters: beautifully described with excruciating tension, real tenderness, believable characters, and surprises. It is above all a wonderful, compelling story.

I was a latecomer to the joys of Sarah Waters' novels. Something which grieves me greatly for she had already written two masterpieces before I discovered her work.

The Paying Guests is Waters at her best. Brilliant, believable (and sometimes wretched) characters amongst sumptuous backdrops.

Frances Wray and her mother have fallen upon hard times. After losing two brothers in the Great War and her Father leaving behind a large amount of debt, Frances is forced to taking in 'lodgers' to help her and her mother pay their bills.

These lodgers or 'paying guests' as the Wray's would prefer they be known are no ordinary couple. One of the first of the upcoming 'clerk' class, they symbolise a new world which both Frances and her mother are decidely unsure about.

Leonard and Lillian Barber make themselves at home with surprising ease, surprising that is to the Wrays. Frances' mother is still getting used to the idea that Frances herself does the housework as they can no longer afford to pay someone to come in and do it for them, so you can imagine her stance on the paying guests...

Frances is a little more wordly wise, but even she is shocked by Leonard's forthcoming nature when she converses with him in the hallway or the kitchen (he is a cheeky man, full of fun and innuendo), and what she at first sees as Lillian's vanity (why else would she be bathing at 10am on a Monday morning).

But Frances is soon taken in and her head turned by her lodgers, for they offer her a world away from that which has been accustomed to. They offer fun, frivololity and an escape from her mother (and the housework). As Len goes off to work each day, Frances and Lily become fast friends, and Frances begins to confide in Lily as she never has with anyone before.

But can she trust her new friend, or is she setting herself up for a fall? Of course, you will have to read to find out. Fans of Sarah Waters' previous work could probably have a good guess at what might happen, but even they may be shocked by a dramatic and violent event that changes everything...

The Paying Guests is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

    Thank you to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Some Luck by Jane Smiley

Some Luck by Jane Smiley
Publisher: Mantle (Pan Macmillan)
Release date: 06 November 2014
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: America. 1920. After his return from the battlefields in France, Walter Langdon and his wife Rosanna begin their life together on a remote farm in Iowa. As time passes, their little family will grow: from Frank, the handsome, willful first-born, to Joe, whose love of animals and the land sustains him; from Lillian, beloved by her mother, to Henry who craves only the world of his books; and Claire, the surprise baby, who earns a special place in her father's heart. As Walter and Rosanna struggle to keep their family through good years and hard years - to years more desperate than they ever could have imagined, the world around their little farm will turn, and life for their children will be unrecognizable from what came before. Some will fall in love, some will have families of their own, some will go to war and some will not survive. All will mark history in their own way. Tender, compelling and moving from the 1920s to the 1950s, told in multiple voices as rich as the Iowan soil, Some Luck is an astonishing feat of storytelling by a prize-winning author writing at the height of her powers.

Some Luck is the first novel in Jane Smiley’s trilogy covering the lives of the Langdon family. (The second novel is already on my hot picks for 2015 having read ‘Some Luck’).

I’ve never read anything by Jane Smiley before, but having read this, she is now on my ‘list’ of favoured authors. 

 

Some Luck is beautifully written, keeping the reader engaged through some thirty years before leaving us in suspense with the ending.

Each chapter covers a different year in the Langdon family’s life allowing us to really get to know each member of the family as they grow with the family.

My favourite character thus far is Frank. I’m not sure if it’s because we are introduced to him so early on, or whether I could just identify with him personally. But I think he’s a little bit of everything all rolled in to one.

Those first chapters where we see the family and their surroundings through his eyes as a baby are unique and something that I’ve not encountered before. 

 

Starting in 1920, Some Luck covers some 33 years but it doesn't feel like a long novel, at least it didn't to me. It takes the reader on a wonderful journey where we see the Langdon children grow up and into their own families, through the struggles of war and the great depression, we are taken on a journey through American history without being preached to.

 

There is something in Some Luck for everyone, beautiful scenery and landscapes, brilliantly flawed characters and plenty of drama without being over the top.

 

Some Luck is a stunning novel and one I don't hesitate to recommend.

Some Luck is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

 

 

Thank you to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas

The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas

Publisher: Headline Review

Release date: 6 November 2014

Rating: ****

Back cover blurb: Fiona Clutterbuck thinks she’s got it all when she finally becomes Mrs Brian Goodchild, marrying weeks before her 30th birthday. But when he abandons her at the altar, she does the only thing she knows how to do, run away. Crashing the honeymoon camper van, she finds herself in the middle of nowhere on the west coast of Ireland with only the clothes she’s stood up in. So, if she’s not Mrs Brian Goodchild anymore, who is she? One thing she does know, she can’t go home. What Fi wants is to hide away, and where better? She takes a job on an oyster farm despite being terrified of water and her new boss, the wild and unpredictable Sean Thornton and his oyster broker partner Nancy Dubois. There, she battles oyster pirates, pearl queens and circling sharks before finally coming out of her shell and finding love amongst the oyster beds of Galway Bay.





The Oyster Catcher is a funny heartwarming story about finding love and friendship in the most unlikely of places.

Fiona Clutterbuck is a desperate woman, jilted at the altar in the most shocking of circumstances she flees the scene, only to cause her own chaos with her dramatic arrival in Dooleybridge.

Upon the advice of the first local she encounters (I won't spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't read the novel) Fiona seeks out Sean Thornton in the local pub. Sean is the owner of the local oyster farm, and has been looking for someone to help him out.

Against her better judgement Fiona accepts the role that Sean offers her, knowing little about Oysters, nothing about farming and harbouring a secret fear of water!

Dooleybridge itself is notoriously unwelcoming to strangers, particularly those who arrive in such a dramatic fashion and Fiona has to work hard to gain the trust and respect of those around her.

In part though I think that is what makes this such a great read. It is honest. Anyone who has ever moved anywhere new and found it difficult at first to fit in will be able to relate to Fiona and how she is feeling.

The relationship between the two main characters is also honest, and I admire the author for the way in which the story builds to a convincing climax. I read this novel in a couple of days, staying up late to finish as I couldn't wait to read what happened. With how ill I've been feeling lately, that's praise indeed!

 The Oyster Catcher is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good shops.

  Thank you to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A heart felt thankyou

So before I post my first blog post on my recently revamped blog, I want to say a massive thankyou to all the authors, agents,publicists, publishers, and anyone I've missed that have supported me this year. 

 

Without you this blog wouldn't exsist (well it probably would, but it would be smaller and much more boring!)

 

When I started this blog (over a year ago now) I had no idea what to expect from book blogging, but it has exceeded all my expectations. Being able to share my love of books with others is a real joy.

Those of you who know me, will know that the latter part of this year has been particularly tough for me health wise, and having lovely books to read and review has really helped me through.

Unfortunately it does mean that my blogging has gotten a little behind, but I shall be aiming to rectify that over the next few weeks.

Lots of love,

 

My top picks for 2015

  If You Go Away - Adele Parks / A place called Winter - Patrick Gale / Curtain Call - Anthony Quinn / The Dolls House - M.J. Arlidge / In the unlikely event - Judy Blume
The Lie - C.L. Taylor / Early Warning - Jane Smiley / Second Life - S.J. Watson / Song of the sea maid - Rebecca Mascull / The Darkest Hour - Tony Schumacher
After the war is over - Jennifer Robson / Death in the rainy season - Anna Jaquiery / The life I left behind - Colette McBeth / Crooked Heart - Lissa Evans / Lost & Found - Brooke Davis
No other darkness - Sarah Hilary / The girl in the red coat - Kate Hamer / The girl on the train - Paula Hawkins / The two of us - Andy Jones / The far end of happy - Kathryn Craft     This is by no means a definitive list, and I'm sure there are lots of books to be released in 2015 that I have no idea about yet!