I really can’t believe we are already at the end of September! I have read twelve books and had a fabulous evening last week meeting Jessie Burton and listen to her speaking about her new book The Confession. October will be another busy month as I have a meet up with my North East Group of authors and readers and I am going to the Durham Literary Festival to see Naomi Wood and Elizabeth McNeal discuss art and literature and Sara Collins and Yvonne Battle-Felton discuss slavery. So on to my top reads of the month which is always a difficult decision.
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy. Longlisted for this years Man Booker Prize The Man Who Saw Everything is a character driven read. Saul Adler is the sole narrator and the book begins in 1988 with him being knocked over on the zebra crossing on Abbey Road waiting for his girlfriend to take a photo. Moving on to 2016, Saul finds himself on again on that zebra crossing and again knocked over. Coincidence or not this is Saul’s story, which takes in his visit to the German Democratic Republic as part of his history thesis where he comes in to the lives of Walter and his sister Luna. In 2016 he reflects on this visit, the deterioration of his beauty and his loves and losses. Surreal at times, this book raises a lot of thought provoking questions about memory, sexuality, love, history and beauty. I loved it.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow. This book was a wonderful surprise to read, in that I hadn’t known what to expect when I joined the blog tour. Part myth, adventure, mystery, thriller and romance this book is a beautiful read and an ode to storytelling. January is a young girl of mixed and unknown heritage and ward of Mr Locke, a collector of strange and wonderful things. When she finds a book about doors that lead to new and wonderful worlds it makes her remember and incident from her childhood and a door in a field with the smell of the ocean. This is the starting point for January’s adventures with her faithful dog Sinbad where she confronts good and evil in her quest for her heritage. This is a truly stunning read, pure escapism with a central character that went to my heart, a book I won’t forget in a hurry.
The Confession by Jessie Burton. I devoured Jessie Burtons’s two previous books so was excited when Picador sent me an advanced copy of The Confession to review. Set in 1980’s Los Angeles and London and 2017 London, this is a book about motherhood in all it’s different guises and the decisions women make in life. Present day Rose has never known her mother as she left when Rose was just a few months old. Rose’s father has never said much so when he gives her the name of author Constance Holden Rose seeks her out. 1980 Constance befriends Elise and takes her to LA for the making of a film of her book. The glamour soon fades and Elise finds herself lonely and lost and in her naivety into a relationship with Matt. A powerful and compelling read this. book had me absolutely gripped.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins. With an opening scene of Frannie in the dock of the Old Bailey facing charges of murder relating to her master and mistress, this starts the suspense that is carried on through the book as we learn Franne’s story and if she did in fact commit murder. Set in the early nineteenth century the confessions in the book title refer to Frannie’s life story that she writes in the form of a letter to her lawyer. Frannie is a wonderful heroine, who continues to overcome the prejudices put-upon her due to her mulatta status; her. mother a slave and her father John Langton, the owner of the plantation where she was born. She is not trusted by the black slaves due to her lighter colouring but she is also not trusted by her white employers, and their servants when she goes to London. A rich historical read with the grittiness of Frannie’s voice.
In October I’m looking forward to reading The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey and The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley.
