BRING UP THE BODIES

TITLE: BRING UP THE BODIES

AUTHOR: HILARY MANTEL

Pages: 407

Date: 16/10/2012

Grade: 5

Details: no. 2 Thomas Cromwell

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This is the second instalment in Hilary Mantel’s thoroughly fascinating trilogy about Thomas Cromwell; his humble beginnings, his rise to power and ultimately – but not in this book – his downfall.

The story in this book starts in the summer of 1535. Henry VIII is on tour in the country with most of his court including his Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell. It is while the King is visiting Wolf Hall that he first pays real attention to Jane Seymour, a young woman who is the complete opposite of Henry’s wife, Anne Boleyn. Where Anne is strikingly beautiful, outspoken and brazen Jane is unremarkable, quiet and shy. Henry, who has lost interest in Anne now that she is his wife but is not producing the male heir he yearns for, is taken with Jane and soon convinces himself that all would be well with him, his legacy and the country if only he could marry her. But with Katherine still alive in exile and Anne officially married to him, Henry’s path to happiness is littered with roadblocks.

It will be up to Thomas Cromwell to make sure that the King gets what he wants. And so Cromwell finds himself having to take on the family whose rise to power made his own career possible. When Katherine dies one obstacle is removed but in order to also remove Anne, Cromwell will have to turn to rumour, scandal and innuendo. Making use of old jealousies, internal competition between families and the selfish desires of all in the King’s court to look after themselves no matter what the cost for others, Cromwell will find a way to give the King what he most desires. But it is a process that will, maybe for the first time, reveal to him how fragile anybody’s position at court is. Depending on the whim of an unpredictable and spoiled King is not a safe way to conduct your career or safeguard your life.

This is a fascinating and multi-layered story. Of course, it is also a story that everybody, up to some extent at least, is familiar with. Which makes it all the more remarkable that Hilary Mantel manages to completely captivate her reader and make them feel as if they are reading about these characters for the first time.

This story is very much told from Cromwell’s point of view, even if he is referred to as “he” or “him”. This means that we don’t get an impartial narration of events. In fact, a lot of the time it is hard to see the main character as anything but a victim of his circumstances, an obedient servant of his King, doing only that which is required of him. It is only at certain times that the mask slips and the reader gets glimpses of Cromwell’s plotting, of the way in which he hoards and cherishes past slights and relishes in the opportunity to get his own back. This is the result of the way in which this story is told and language is used - both are beautiful and deceptive. It is so easy to like Thomas Cromwell. Even while he is plotting someone’s downfall and threatening others into doing and saying what he wants them to, he is made to sound friendly, trustworthy and honourable. To get to the depths of what he is doing the reader has to interrupt their reading and think about what has just transpired on the page. But there is also the other Cromwell; the man who lost his family and treasures those who share his life. The man who comes to the realisation that:

“His whole career has been an education in hypocrisy.”

And finally he’s the man who has to face the fact that those he helps make their way upwards through the ranks at Court may very well be the very people who will one day cause his own downfall.

With one more book to come in this trilogy, and Cromwell’s fate well know I still find myself waiting for the rest of this story with bated breath. Not because I don’t know what is going to happen, but because I can’t wait to see what those events will look and feel like when experienced from Cromwell’s perspective.

As far as I’m concerned there is no reason not to give Hilary Mantel a Man Booker Prize for this book as well.

VALENTINA

TITLE: VALENTINA

AUTHOR: EVIE BLAKE

Pages: 480

Date: 12/10/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 1 Valentina

            Received from Headline

            Through Book Geeks

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The year is 2012 and Valentina, a photographer, is living in Milan with her lover Theo. Although she and Theo have been together for a year now, Valentina can’t commit to the relationship. While Theo clearly wants to take things with Valentina further and would like to introduce her to his parents, she retreats into herself, behind carefully constructed walls as soon as he suggests it. Valentina doesn’t believe in relationships. Having never known her father, who left her mother when she was still small and having witnessed her mother work her way through one affair after another, she has no faith in love and can’t imagine spending her life with anyone. When Theo, shortly after making his shocking suggestion, has to leave on one of his mystery trips he is clearly frustrated with the woman he would like to be able to call his girlfriend. He does leave her with a present though; an album and a collection of old negatives. He doesn’t give her an explanation about this gift, just tells her to have fun and leaves.

In Venice in 1924 Louise Brzezinska is deeply unhappy in her marriage to a cruel and violent husband. When she accidentally discovers that she has the power to charm men she creates a new and secret life for herself. As Bella she sets out on a path that will make her a celebrated courtesan. A path that will also lead her to the love of her life and the delights of passion.

Soon after Theo has left, Valentina is offered an intriguing photographic opportunity. She will be taking erotic pictures in a club catering for people who enjoy the less conventional side of sex. And as she starts her assignment Valentina slowly discovers new needs and feelings in herself. Slowly the photographer is opening herself up to the possibility that maybe a relationship with Theo is possible. If only she knew where he is, what the meaning behind the album and the old negatives is and why a policeman is looking for him. And will these newly emerging emotions come in time to save her relationship with this wonderful man, or will she find a way to alienate him forever? And what exactly is the connection between Valentina and Bella, apart from photography and their hairstyle?

I’ve been reading a lot of erotic fiction lately and I have to say this book came as a very pleasant surprise. Yes, it is definitely another erotic work, but it is so much more. The writing in this book is excellent, the characters are well developed and their story-lines are fascinating. This story is unrushed. Often in erotic fiction I have the feeling that the author feels obliged to put in a sex scene at regular intervals and ends up manipulating the story in order to fit them in. Not in this book. The more explicit scenes all make sense in the context of the story and Valentina’s development. There are no sudden and drastic revelations for Valentina; lead by opportunity and curiosity she is discovering a world and feelings she wasn’t aware off. But this takes time and, thankfully, the author takes all the necessary time.

That is not to say that there weren’t one or two things I was less crazy about. For starters, I can’t help feeling that the story didn’t need the added story-line about the stolen art. I won’t go so far as to say that it interfered with the rest of the story, but at the same time, I don’t think the story would have lacked anything if it had been left out either.

I also found Valentina a hard character to warm to. She is very self-contained and reluctant to admit to emotions, never mind give in to them. At times she seemed so determined to undermine herself and her chance at happiness that I felt like slapping her. I found Bella much easier to like. She has as many reasons to distrust relationships as Valentina has and yet she is more than happy to give her heart to a man who loves her. I can’t help wondering if that may be because Valentina was an established character when the author agreed to write this trilogy, whereas Bella is (as far as I know) a completely original creation?

The character Valentina Rosselli was originally created by Italian Guido Crepax in an iconic graphic novel in the 1960's and has cult status in Italy to this day. Evie Blake is the pen name of author Noelle Harrison (Beatrice, A Small Part of Me, I Remember and The Adulteress) who was invited to write this trilogy about Valentina. From her earlier books it is clear that Noelle enjoys writing erotic scenes and I can’t help feeling that she was more than happy to embrace this opportunity to indulge in that aspect of her writing.

Overall I have to say that I was very impressed with this book and happily surprised when I discovered it was actually written by one of my favourite authors. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book, if only to discover if Valentina will ever come to her senses.

CARNIVAL FOR THE DEAD

TITLE: CARNIVAL FOR THE DEAD

AUTHOR: DAVID HEWSON

Pages: 367

Date: 09/10/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: A Venetian Mystery

            Received from Pan Macmillan

            Through Book Geeks

Own

“Sometimes a mask is there to fool others. Sometimes to fool oneself.”

Forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo has travelled from Rome to Venice to look into the disappearance of her beloved and rather bohemian aunt Sofia. It is February, and in cold and wintery Venice the Carnival is in full swing. When Teresa and her mother, shortly after arriving in town, are met by a mysterious man dressed in the costume of the Plague Doctor, complete with the horrible, long nosed mask, Teresa starts suspecting that her missing aunt may be in trouble. A visit to Sofia’s apartment only deepens Teresa’s suspicions and when her mother returns to Rome, the pathologist stays behind and takes up lodgings in her aunts rooms, determined to discover where her aunt is and why she disappeared. A letter, hand delivered to the apartment and addressed to Teresa, turns out to contain a story featuring both her and her aunt as well as an English professor Teresa has never heard of before. When she wants to have another look at the strange story the next day, Teresa discovers that the words have disappeared from the pages and the mystery deepens further. With the police unable and unwilling to look into the disappearance of a grown and independent woman with the Carnival in full swing, it is up to Teresa to try and figure out what is going on. Further stories are delivered to Teresa and while on the surface they appear to have little or nothing to do with her missing aunt, the pathologist is convinced that they must hold clues to her aunt’s fate. But who is writing these stories? Is it Sofia herself, is it one of her friends or is it someone else altogether, someone Teresa doesn’t know but who seems to know her and her actions very well? And how do a little white dog and Carpaccio’s paintings tie into the mystery? The scientific minded Teresa will have to learn to use and trust her imagination and intuition if she is going to discover what happened to her aunt. And while she’s at it she has to stay safe and alive.

This is a wonderful mystery and a powerful thriller. It is also, possibly, something more than that. The story starts of slowly and without any real urgency. Yes, Sofia has disappeared, but she has done so before and has always turned up later, unharmed and unaware of any worry she may have caused. Surely this could be more of the same? Except that it slowly becomes clear to Teresa and the reader that this disappearance is different. There is indeed something or someone out in Venice who is determined to find and harm Sofia as well as others who might get in their way. The danger creeps up both on the characters in the book and on the reader until, near the end of the book, it all explodes in violence.

Venice during Carnival is the perfect setting for this book. The place is described as both fascinating and scary. The bright parties on the streets are contrasted by the dark and deserted alleys that more often than not turn out to be dead-ended. The cold of winter creeps not just into the character’s bones, it also affects the reader as the story becomes ever chillier.

David Hewson writes wonderful books. His characters are well formed and are true individuals. Nobody in this book is described in terms of black and white. Everybody is nuanced which makes them interesting as characters and the story more fascinating. His descriptions of Venice are wonderful. I could see the city during Carnival almost as clearly as if I had been there, just as I could feel the danger lurking in dark corners and appreciate the beauty of the brighter places.

The ending of this book doesn’t provide clear cut answers to every question the story poses. It is up to the reader to decide whether or not there are some supernatural powers at play here. Is the impossible actually happening, or is Teresa right to dismiss it all as one man’s madness? And while a somewhat open ending could be frustrating when reading a mystery, in this book it worked perfectly. I really like the “what-if” David Hewson left me with and I know I will enjoy pondering it for the next few days.

“The wisdom of dogs is to remind us of our own arrogance and stupidity in believing tomorrow may somehow prove more precious than today.”

ME AND MR. BOOKER

TITLE: ME AND MR BOOKER

AUTHOR: CORY TAYLOR

Pages: 214

Date: 07/10/2012

Grade: 4

Details: Received from Sandstone Press

            Through Book Geeks

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Martha is sixteen years old, living in a small town where nothing ever happens with parents who are separated, a brother who has moved away and a father who is mad. Martha is waiting for the rest of her life to begin when her mother invites Mr. and Mrs. Booker to a party. The Bookers are a married couple in their thirties who have recently moved from England to Australia. Well aware of the effect she has on men, Martha is not surprised when she notices that he can’t keep his eyes off her. And it isn’t long before Mr. Booker kisses Martha, launching an affair that soon means the world to the teenager but never really has a chance of going anywhere. While her father, Victor, refuses to go away permanently and keeps on upsetting both her mother and Martha, the girl finds herself in a situation where stolen moments with Mr. Booker take turns with continued contact with Mrs. Booker. Lost in an adult world ruled by (too much) alcohol and secrets, Martha is hoping that her lover will leave his wife for her although she is never able to completely convince herself that he might actually do that. And when hope and tragedy visit the Bookers’ in quick succession it spells the end of Martha’s affair and heralds the start of the rest of her life.

Now that I’ve finished reading this book I’m still not sure exactly how I feel about it. It is a short book and a fascinating story. However it is written in a very detached way. Although the story is narrated by Martha herself, she tells it as if it has little to do with her. How emotionally attached she actually was to what was going on in her life has to be found between the lines, in the words the narrator doesn’t use. But that is just the tone of the story. It is impossible for the reader not to realise how emotionally invested Martha was in the affair, and that she at least thought that she loved this man.Since the Martha telling the story is clearly older than the Martha who is at the centre of it, it is quite possible that this tone is used to hide how much the whole episode affected her. And the same is true for the way in which she describes her family life. Her sixteen year old exasperation with her parents at war with the connection she feels with them.

In many ways this is a coming of age story. A young girl falls in love for the first time and has her first sexual experiences at an age where such things make a deep and lasting impression. The heartbreaking part of the story is that in many ways the sixteen-year-old is the grown-up in this story. Between her mad (bi-polar?) father, her needy mother and moody brother Martha doesn’t have a lot of support at home. When an interesting English man twice her age pays her attention she is more than open to his charms. For once she feels like the centre of somebody’s life, even if that somebody is all wrong for her.

A lot of this story can be found in all the things that are not actually told. For example, it is never clear how much or how little the other people in Martha and Mr. Booker’s life know about what is going on between the two of them. Although it seems impossible that they managed to keep their affair a secret from everybody around them, nobody tries to keep them apart, not even Mrs. Booker. Equally, it is never completely clear when exactly this story takes place, although I’d like to say that it is set in the 1960’s or 70’s.

This was a very easy book to read. The language flows and pulls the reader into what appears to be a nice little story. Except that of course it isn’t. As soon as you stop reading for a minute and start thinking about what is actually happening on the pages you have been turning so quickly you realise that this is a shocking and rather sad story about a sixteen year old, desperate for love and finding it in completely the wrong place. And although Martha, as the narrator doesn’t make any statements about the rights or wrongs of this affair – apart from saying that it would have been better if it hadn’t happened – it is hard for the reader not to feel sorry for the girl who had to experience her first big love with a man this unworthy of her.

Overall I would call this a fascinating story which was (almost too) easy to read. The sort of book that won’t make it’s real impact be felt until you’ve read the last page and think about the story for a while. It is only after Martha has finished telling her story that it becomes clear how heartbreaking that story actually is.

THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN

TITLE: THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN

AUTHOR: CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN

Pages: 278

Date: 06/10/2012

Grade: 5-

Details: no. 3 Barcelona Cycle

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Barcelona, December 1957 and Daniel Sempere (The Shadow of the Wind) is now married to the love of his life, Bea and they have a young son. Daniel works with his father in Sempere & Sons’ bookshop where they are being assisted by Fermin Romero de Torres who is engaged and getting ready for his wedding in the New Year. But Fermin appears to be troubled about something, and his worries only increase after a mysterious man visits the bookshop. Daniel is on his own when the man with the limp enters the bookshop and insists on buying “The Count of Monte Cristo” the most expensive book they have in stock. The buyer doesn’t take the book with him though. He insists that it is a present for Fermin and after inscribing a message in the book the man leaves again. The dedication saying: “For Fermin Romero de Torres, who came back from among the dead and holds the key to the future. 13” doesn’t mean anything to Daniel but when Fermin reads it he gets even more worried.

The man and his message are linked to events which took place twenty years earlier, shortly after Franco won the civil war. These are events Fermin has never spoken about but now feels he has to share with Daniel. It is a story about imprisonment, a prison governor with literary delusions of grandeur and Fermin, caught between the governor, an imprisoned author named David Martin and a cell-mate who is refusing to die. These are events that are somehow linked to Daniel’s mother Isabella who died under suspicious circumstances around the same time; events that continue to cast a shadow into the present.

As Daniel slowly discovers how everything connects and manages to solve most, if not all, of Fermin’s problems, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books once again uncovers a written work, “The Angel’s Game” that might shed light on some of the mysteries but could just as easily lead to the start of a new adventure.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón has done it again. He has written an intriguing story in which nothing and nobody is quite what they seem. His plots are layered and linked in ways that the reader couldn’t even begin to imagine. Events from the two earlier books tie in with and help to explain what is happening in this story while the final sentences of this book indicate that the story hasn’t reached its finale yet.

The characters in this story are as vivid as they are unique. And more unique than most is Fermin. He is not a character that allows for an easy and short description. Fermin is complex, extravagant, out-going yet secretive and most of all, a loyal friend. Daniel is a far more straightforward character. He is a good-hearted young man and easy going unless he allows his emotions to rule his actions. Jealousy and a need to know the truth bring him into situations he should probably avoid. Situations that, while providing answers also pose more questions. And not all of those questions are answered in this book.

While this is a fluently written and easy to read book it also provides the reader with a lot to think about. At times it feels almost as if the reader has a philosophical book in their hands. Thoughts and actions are hidden behind and underneath the words that are on the page. Not everything is diverged but the things left unsaid are as important to the story as everything that has been spelled out for the reader. As a result I find that while it didn’t take me long at all to read this book, it will take me a long time before the story will leave my thoughts.

“The Prisoner of Heaven” is the third book in the Barcelona cycle by Zafón. All three books are connected to each other but there is no need to read them in any particular order. I would however say that there is probably a huge benefit to be had from reading all three of them in quick succession. Now that I have finished reading this book I feel I should probably go back and read “The Angels Game” again. The way that book is referenced in this one suggests that a lot of the present story has its origins in that one, and I really can’t remember that much of it. Having said that, the ending of this book seems to suggest that there is more to come and I think I will wait with a complete re-read until Zafón has written everything he is going to write about Barcelona, these characters and the mysteries in their lives.

EIGHTY DAYS BLUE

TITLE: EIGHTY DAYS BLUE

AUTHOR: VINA JACKSON

Pages: 326

Date: 04/10/2012

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 Eighty Days

            Received from Orion

            Through Book Geeks

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“Doms, subs it happens gradually, almost without your being aware of it. Until the day comes when you assume it fully, accept it, banish the personal doubts. It’s nature, not nurture, you see.”

Except that in reality it is never that simple. Rarely do we grow into something new without some obstacles getting in the way as Dominik and Summer are about to find out in this, the second instalment in the Eighty Days trilogy.

Violinist Summer Zahova is happy in New York. She is enjoying her time with the orchestra, especially now that it has a new and attractive conductor, Simón. Having left Victor behind her after his games in “Eighty Days Yellow” went too far for her, she is enjoying a few days with Dominik, the man who gave her the beautiful violin she cherishes and introduced her to the kinkier side of relationships. She never tells him about her times with Victor, even though Dominik knows Victor and they had an agreement to share any encounters with third parties with each other. When Dominik has to return to his life in London, Summer finds herself alone and unable to really connect with people. Dominik taking a sabbatical from his job in London to pursue a residency in New York appears to be the answer to the yearning they both feel for each other. But it isn’t long after he arrives before a solo performance by Summer is such a success that it results in a world tour, taking her away from Dominik once again. When Summer at last returns to America it should mean a happy reunion but it appears that Victor still has some games to play with the young musician. And this time it might well result in the death of her relationship with Dominik.

Anyone who has read my review of “Eighty Days Yellow” knows that I felt kind of ambivalent about that book. I’m happy to say this second book in the trilogy worked better for me. As we get to know the two main characters better we also start to understand what it is that motivates them. That may not mean that they become anymore sympathetic than they were in the previous book, but, because they are consistent in their behaviour, they grow on the reader.

Maybe it is time to be honest and admit that my reluctance towards liking these books is a result of the level of realism in them. Most works of romantic fiction and erotica appear to be written as if they are fairy-tales. Not so these books. No first meeting with sparks flying followed by romantic courtship, interrupted for a short while by some sort of issue or misunderstanding only for everything to come together in an easy happily-ever-after in this story. These two main characters, though drawn together, have almost more downs than ups. It is their own behaviour as well as outside influences that throw obstacles in their way. These aren’t almost too good to be true fantasies we are reading; these characters are flawed, selfish and at times stupid. In short, these characters are so real that you would like to slap them occasionally if only to wake them up to how careless they are being with each other and with their own feelings. And that I guess is a credit to the authors. As frustrating as I found the characters in this book at times, they do come across as very realistic in a way that characters in romances usually don’t do.

I do wonder though if this is a work of erotic fiction (as in a tantalising story) or a cautionary tale (as in, be careful what you get yourself into because it can easily come back to bite you).

Although this book, like its prequel, comes with a fair amount of graphic and quite kinky sex scenes, the story seems to be more about the emotions behind the physical needs this time. To me it felt as if the feelings the characters had about their sexual needs, and the desperation those needs sometimes caused, was far more important than the actual acts of intimacy. We get an insight into the need, the confusion and also the shame the characters experience. This gives the book more depth than the average work of erotica usually has.

The shifting story-telling perspective that I had an issue with while reading "Eighty Days Yellow" is still the same. We still shift from Dominik (in the second person) to Summer (in the first as well as the second person). But I must have gotten used to it. While these shifts pulled my out of the story in the previous book they didn't bother me at all this time around. I'm still not sure why exactly Summer's story is told from two different perspectives, but I can live with it.

Now that I’ve read two of the three books in this series I find myself very curious about how this story might end. While it would seem that the two main characters are destined to be together eventually it also seems clear that both of them would have to learn a lot, about themselves and about each other, if we’re ever to reach that (possibly) happy ending. I now can’t wait to read the concluding book: “Eighty Days Red”.

LAST TO DIE

TITLE: LAST TO DIE

AUTHOR: TESS GERRITSEN

Pages: 328

Date: 02/10/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 10 Rizzoli & Isles

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Three young teenagers from different parts of America survived two years ago when the rest of their family was murdered. Now they are survivors again while their foster families are being killed. In order to keep them safe, the three young teenagers are brought to Evensong, a boarding school for traumatised children run by the Mephisto Club in a remote part of Maine.

But, the police in Boston who are investigating the last of the killings don’t know about the similarities between the three kids and their families. And even Detective Jane Rizzoli, who has serious doubts about the direction the Boston investigation is taking and does spot that the three kids histories are eerily alike can’t find any common link between them. But, when it seems that the murder case in Boston may be solved, she does get permission to continue digging, be it unofficially.

Maura Isles has a connection with Evensong. Julian (Rat), the boy she survived her ordeal in the previous book with, is boarding there now and she is about to spend two weeks with him in the school.

While Rizzoli continues her investigation and gets closer to exactly what it is that links the kids, Maura is at Evensong where it soon becomes clear that whoever is threatening the kids is not going to be stopped by a school build like a castle, with state of the art security in the middle of nowhere. Because the three youngsters won’t be safe until something that started before they were born is at last brought to an end.

Tess Gerritsen writes good mysteries. She is a master at keeping the reader guessing, while relentlessly pushing the plot forwards. It isn’t until the last few pages that it becomes clear what exactly is going on or even who can and can’t be trusted.

The writing itself is very good as well. This book was very easy to read, the descriptions were vivid and the characters - both the returning and the unique ones - all come to life with a voice of their own. In this book I was especially touched by young Claire, a girl whose gunshot wound to the brain means that she doesn’t react or behave like the other teenagers around her. The way she is described in this book is very realistic and all the more heartbreaking for it.

I liked the way small sections in this book gave the reader an idea of what lay at the root of the horrific events in this story while refusing to give away who exactly the narrator was or even whether that person was good or bad. I also like that certain characters make return appearances in this book. Maura’s uneasy relationship with Sansone and her developing one with young Julian make both her character and the story more interesting. 

Series like this one make me wonder exactly what the difference between a mystery and a thriller is. While this book certainly centers around a complicated mystery which is thoroughly investigated, the story reads like a fast paced thriller with cliff-hangers and shocking and unexpected revelations. And I guess that brings the reader the best of both worlds; an intriguing story that is almost impossible to put down.

The Rizzoli and Isles books are one of a few series I can’t imagine ever missing an instalment in. A new title is published and I rush out to get my hands on it, secure in the knowledge that I won’t be disappointed.