Unthology 5 edited by Ashley Stokes and Robin Jones

Review by The Mole

The long awaited Unthology 5 is finally here. And I mean that... Maryom has been regularly pestered by me when on Twitter - "Anything on Unthology yet?" and finally it's here and it was well worth the wait. I read and reviewed Unthology 4 and if you want to know what I thought about it then turn Unthology 5 over and read the back! (or read it here)

With 14 stories that start with an abduction and finish with the end of the world this collection is everything the last one was except... it has one more story crammed in. A Little More Prayer will horrify you and have you rooting for the victim, Daddy's Little Secret will leave you wondering what is going on in "Daddy's" head, A Writer Tries To Work It Out will have you hoping for true love and so it goes on - each story touching you in some way and leaving you thinking about the "rest" of the story. That's one of the things I love about short stories - the way they tell you so little but so much and you can finish them for yourself.

In Clarrie and You you will be frustrated by secrets kept instead of honesty shared, but it's something you will have seen and maybe have been complicit in. In Kowalski you meet prejudice and racism in a most convincing and abhorrent way. And The Coroner's Report... 'nuff said but you will not be unmoved. And the crowning glory has to be The End of the World which will have you saying "What??? Wake UP and SMELL the coffee!" while laughing at the premise and people's ability to be stupid.

Another brilliant collection compiled by Ashley Stokes and Robin Jones that will add a seriously new dimension to commuting or coffee time.

Publisher - Unthank Books
Genre - Adult short story anthology

Welcome to Sharonville by Sharon Zink

Review By The Mole

Toni is driving back from New York and nearly home when her Redsmobile is involved in a massive accident. She is found in the wreck by her best friend, Buzz - a fireman. Buzz follows her to the hospital to find she is alive but in a coma. He lets Mila, her roommate, know who decides Uncle Franco, the man who raised her from a baby, must not be informed. Buzz cannot accept this and does tell him and so, one by one, everyone who has had their lives touched by Toni gets introduced and we learn what Toni meant to them.

Are there happy endings for everyone? Unlikely, and anyway - what is a happy ending?

In many ways this felt like a series of short stories as we learn each back story and then return to Toni before moving on, although the story of Franco and Betta is one we keep returning to and have our own hopes and dreams about. Each character touches the lives of one or more of the others and it gets to feeling like a closed club almost. Some questions remain unanswered - like What is the outcome of Franco's court case? And what does happen to Steve? And do things work out for Buzz?

This was immensely enjoyable but also, strangely, I could easily put it to one side for a while after finishing a character's story - making it a great read for coffee time or commuting. There are happy endings, and sadnesses and many incompletenesses that give the reader chance to finish the stories themselves - this, again, is one of the features of short stories - in fact one of the attractions of them. A novel for lovers of short stories or a novel to get readers hooked on short stories? You decide.

Publisher - Unthank Books
Genre - Adult literary fiction

Tom Vowler Blog Tour - Top Ten Books and Films

This week sees Tom Vowler on a blog tour  and today he visits us to tell us of his top ten films and books. Tom is the author of What Lies Within and The Dark Remembered Day of which Maryom said "It's very much a page-turner of a read... once things are put in place, they proceed with the same unstoppable force as a boulder rolling downhill." It's also nice to see favourites of ours amongst his lists.

Of course, any such list, aside from being gloriously subjective, merely draws attention to its omissions. It was impossibly hard to get down to ten, both for films and books, so to keep it manageable I focused on stuff I’ve watched and read in the last decade or so. But, yes, I hate myself for not finding room for such gems as Sideways or Adaptation et al. 

Top Ten Films

21 Grams

I could have chosen any of Mexican director Iñárritu’s films, but Penn, Watts and Del Toro are superb in this chronologically fragmented masterpiece of lives crushed by a moment’s tragedy, the title coming from the supposed loss of weight upon death, suggestive of a soul were it not a scientific apocryphal tale.

No Country for Old Men

Violent noir thriller adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s book. Who can forget Javier Bardem’s cattle gun? Brilliantly shot.

Léon

Luc Besson’s intensely beautiful tale, with Jean Reno’s finest role as The Cleaner and a precocious Natalie Portman learning the rigours of a hit man, which apparently includes drinking lots of milk.

Fargo

Now-vintage comedy crime noir from the inimitable Coen brothers.

Dead Man

Unforgettable, stylish outing from Jim Jarmusch. Worth it for Neil Young’s haunting soundtrack alone. Great cast.

The Lives of Others

Remarkably affecting film of a Stasi agent’s moral awakening. Cinema at its finest.

The Usual Suspects

Crime thriller with so many great performances from emerging talent. The final scene in the police station has rightly become iconic.

Withnail and I

‘We’ve come on holiday by mistake.’ Uniquely brilliant.

Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight

See how I snuck 3 into 1 here? This poignant romantic trilogy invests the viewer so deeply in Celine and Jesse’s lives. Beautifully shot, exquisite dialogue. Quiet and powerful.

Let the Right One In

Elegant art-house Swedish vampire tale of love and revenge. As ever, avoid the US remake.

Top Ten Books

The Secret History – Donna Tartt

Epic, elegant and cerebral tale of morality among a group of classics students.

Goat Mountain – David Vann

Astonishing book, which I reviewed here.

Julius Winsome – Gerard Donovan

Classic story of unhinging and revenge set in the wintry wilds of Maine. Taut and brilliant.

We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver

A ballsy book, original and brave, the antithesis to formulaic guff.

The Beautiful Indifference – Sarah Hall

Prize-winning short stories from a master of the form.

Touch – Graham Mort

See above.

Disgrace – J M Coetzee

Coetzee’s finest novel about a disgraced professor in this political portrait of post-apartheid South Africa.

A Widow for One Year – John Irving

Typical Irving territory: grief, humour, love and sex. And squash.

Engleby – Sebastian Faulks

My favourite Faulks, something more playful and subversive here. Extraordinary voice.

Harvest – Jim Crace

Bewitching tale of landscape and myth. Wonderfully immersive.

Cheating at Canasta – William Trevor

Twelve perfectly wrought stories from the doyen of this most demanding form.

Bio

Tom Vowler is a novelist and short story writer living in south west England. His debut collection, The Method, won the Scott Prize in 2010 and his novel What Lies Within received critical acclaim. He is co-editor of the literary journal Short Fiction and an associate lecturer in creative writing at Plymouth University, where he’s completing a PhD looking at the role of the editor in fiction. That Dark Remembered Day is his second novel. More at www.tomvowler.co.uk

 

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

review by Maryom

Harper is a serial killer with a difference - he's discovered the key to never being caught; the key to a house which enables him to travel through time to commit his atrocious acts and slip away into the past to avoid discovery.
But just once he makes a mistake.... Kirby has survived one of his horrific attacks but feels that there must be women out there who weren't as lucky - and for them as well as herself she wants the attacker brought to justice.

I'd heard a lot of praise being heaped on this book, seen it nominated for awards, praised by other crime writers etc, so when I spotted it at the library I decided it was time to read it. It's certainly an original take for a crime thriller - how can anyone track down a man who can effectively disappear at will? - and raises lots of side-questions particularly about free will, and cause and effect; would Harper have become such a monster without the house? was he lured into committing these murders because of the 'memorabilia' he found in the house or would he have acted this way regardless? 
Even without getting into such muddy waters, it's a compelling read, one which gives as much thought to the victims as to the perpetrator. All of Harper's 'shining girls' have special qualities, something that makes them stand out from the crowd, which makes their deaths seem even more tragic.

As with any good time travelling novel, there's a satisfying tying off of loose ends, a joining-up of the little random-seeming events to make a closed loop. In a way though this took away some of the tension from the novel - Harper himself notices that there are a finite numbers of victims featured among the house's 'memorabilia', so the reader knows that sooner or later he'll be caught - though the 'how' remains a mystery.

Maryom's review - 4.5
Publisher - Harper Collins (Harper)
Genre - Adult crime thriller

Love and Fallout by Kathryn Simmonds

review by Maryom

Tessa is the driving force behind a struggling environmental charity Easy Green, she's a firm believer in everything eco-friendly and planet saving, with no interest beyond the practical and ethical in her clothing. So she's not best pleased to find herself set-up for a TV makeover show - and even less pleased to discover not only her best friend but her husband too were behind it all! Do they not know her at all? Is her husband really that unhappy with how she looks now? Persuaded that it will give some TV airtime to her ailing charity, Tessa reluctantly agrees to take part but the TV producers are more interested in her Greenham Common past. Tessa finds herself drawn back to memories of the life-changing months spent camping outside the US base at Greenham, a time that she'd almost forgotten but that made her the person she is today.

There are two almost unrelated threads to Love and Fallout - Tessa's experiences at Greenham Common in the autumn and winter of 1982, and her present day crises of failing business, failing marriage and failing communication with her almost grown-up children. The two threads weave in and around each other but, to be honest, I found the 'Greenham' story by far the more interesting. Recently dumped by the boy she'd envisaged sharing her life with, bored and frustrated by her meaningless job, a young, politically naive woman runs away to join the Greenham protesters. Living in a make-shift camp as the weather deteriorates, with regular run-ins with police, she quickly matures both emotionally and politically. It would have made an excellent novella on its own and the present day story-line by contrast felt a little lacking. Together they make an enjoyable read but one half outshines the other.
It hadn't occurred to me till I read this novel that the early 80s anti-nuclear peace protests have fallen into that gap of no longer current affairs but not quite old enough to be seen as history - and therefore largely forgotten. This novel gives an intriguing insight into the many reasons that woman joined in there, the hardships and prejudice they faced, and the support and comradeship they found.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Seren Books
Genre - adult fiction, historical

The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh

review by Maryom

I first reviewed this back in February but as it's now out in paperback I thought I'd give it another shout out.
I'm not normally a romantic beach reads kind of person but this isn't your average romantic beach read - yes, there's plenty of steamy passion but also a subtle insight into the stresses and boredom of a long-term relationship, and middle-aged Jenn's need to feel attractive and desired again.



Here's most of what I said in the earlier review but see here for all of it

The Lemon Grove is hot, steamy and full of illicit passion but it's more than a summer sex romp. It's also a wonderful portrayal of a family reaching a turning point in their lives; the dynamics of their relationships are changing and they aren't accustomed to their new 'roles' yet.
Jenn particularly is starting to feel middle-aged, a little bit past it, no longer as sexy and desirable as she was. Her relationship with Greg is comfy and familiar. She's no longer needed in her role as mother-
substitute but Jenn hasn't settled into the new 'adult' relationship with Emma. Into this situation add one hot 17 year old boy/man - and Jenn is about to be swept off her feet - not by love, but plain lust. Nathan represents everything young, sexy, passionate and edgy missing from Jenn's comfortable life - and means nothing but trouble!
Told in the third person from Jenn's point of view, the reader feels all her yearning, guilt and helplessness in the face of this sexual infatuation, but stands back enough to realise that things can not end happily, that at best Jenn will end up looking foolish. It's a very addictive read, with descriptions that bring place and people vividly to life; a page turner in a 'will they, won't they' kind of way, but one that captures the subtle undercurrents and tensions of family life as well as Jenn's desire.


 Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher -  Tinder Press
Genre - Contemporary adult fiction, beach read

The Good Children by Roopa Farooki

review by Maryom

Growing up in 1940s Lahore, the Saddeq children have their futures mapped out for them - the sons, Sully and Jakie, will study hard, earn a place at a foreign university, and after more study, become doctors like their father; the daughters, Mae and Lana, are brought up to be decorative and helpful around the house, to grow into perfect wives and mothers. Good children do as they are told, is their mother's firm belief and through a mix of pious sweetness and merciless bullying she manipulates the children to fit her ideal. When it comes to educating her sons, their mother is a firm believer in using the stick instead of tempting with the carrot, quite happy to literally beat knowledge into them; her daughters meanwhile are dressed up and made up, and played with as if they were dolls.
At first her plans seem to be going well  - Sully and Jakie  head off respectively to the USA and England for medical training; Mae and Lana marry young - but then things go awry. Sully marries a fellow student, half Indian, half German, deemed unsuitable in his mother's eyes; Jakie falls in love with a hard drinking Irishman, even more unsuitable!; the girls up and leave their husbands.
But it isn't that easy for them to shake their upbringing and no matter how grown up they are or how far away they live, home still has a way of drawing them back.. and in relation to their mother they'll always be children.

The first thing to say is how much I loved this book. There's something special about a good long book that I can slowly sink into - become familiar with its characters, learn their good qualities and their flaws, their hopes and disappointments - and The Good Children is definitely one of them. A story of how childhood influences continue their hold throughout life, of the things that bind families together, even while pulling them apart, and how freedom is a thing of the spirit not distance, it's a grand sweeping novel moving from Pakistan to England and the US, and from 1940 to the present day. Exploring the complex relationship between parents and children, and between the children themselves, the story follows their lives as they strike out for freedom, searching for love and fulfilment, become parents, and grandparents, themselves, but find themselves, like a jumper on a bungee rope, still tugged back to home. Jakie and Lana inherit their mother's pious caring qualities while Mae and Sully have more of her stern disciplinarian side - none of them though try to make and mould their children in the way that she did.
Despite its length - 620 pages - it never feels slow or too long; if anything the story whipped past far too quickly. Although she's a new author for me, Roopa Farooki has written several other books and I'm off to catch up on them - just hoping my library will stock some if not all.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher -  Tinder Press
Genre - Adult fiction, literary