Eleven by Mark Watson Review
07/06/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured in Stylist Magazine*
Xavier is a radio DJ who triggers a chain of consequences that reach out across the city as invisibly yet decisively as the radio waves he broadcasts. As events build momentum Watson settles into a narrative that is at once droll and devastating, littered with insightful analogies. Having been aligned with David Nicholls’ One Day, Eleven had a lot to live up to. But it’s true that those who enjoyed the former should engage with the latter. Despite providing less suppress-a-giggle-on-the-tube comedy, Watson finds his strength within a multitude of relatable characters and thought provoking circumstances.
Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi Review
07/06/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured in Stylist Magazine*
Mr Fox is cheating on his wife, with his imaginary friend. Mr Fox is also a serial killer; his heroines never make it out of a story alive. Oyeyemi punctuates the narrative with her protagonist’s own gruesome fairy tales to great effect; blurring the line between what you suppose is fact and hope to be fiction. Don’t be fooled by the inadequate blurb and misleading cover art, Oyeyemi has a sharp wit and isn’t afraid to use it. Mr Fox is a black comedy that draws you into a hilariously horrifying world, where your imagination can literally run away with you.
Night Waking by Sarah Moss Review
30/05/2011 § Leave a comment
Anna is a mother on a remote island struggling to manage her marriage, workload and two young children when she discovers a baby’s skeleton in her garden. She proceeds to neglect all domestic duties in favour of investigating the child’s untimely demise. The narrative is bleak and repetitive, and the subplot of the island’s historically high infant mortality rate is mediocre. It could be said to effectively mirror the trials of daily life with children and an unsupportive husband. But whether anyone would want to experience that over 375 dreary pages, which culminate in an anticlimactic ending, is another matter.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time by Mark Haddon Review
28/05/2011 § 3 Comments
When Christopher, a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome, finds a dog murdered on his street he decides to seek out the culprit and write a murder mystery along the way. As he narrates his detecting we witness his ardently regulated world fall apart. Haddon has created a challenging character that is extremely well researched and magnificently portrayed. In addition to succeeding in being an intriguing, if unconventional, detective story, this novel reveals the thoughts of a person who is innately difficult to comprehend. Hilarious and humbling, it’s a whirlwind education in the struggles faced by those with Asperger’s. Everyone should read this.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen Review
28/05/2011 § Leave a comment
This is a firsthand account of a girl’s experience of being entombed within the American mental health system. Girl, Interrupted is an autobiography that reads like a novel, which immerses the reader in a world where the astoundingly abnormal is accepted with sardonic insightfulness. Kaysen describes her descent into madness with a punchy wit; consistently ignoring her own lunacies in favour of observing those of others. As each character is dissected, the reader becomes aware of their own disquieting fascination with the insane. This book will make you consider your own mental state, and you’ll have fun along the way.
A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks Review
26/04/2011 § 1 Comment
In the week it takes for a politician’s wife to plan a dinner party, the evolving lives of seven controversial characters (ranging from an islamic extremist to a hedge fund manager) intertwine to form a metaphoric evaluation of London circa 2007. Sadly, a lack of character development and intruiging plot lines leave nothing but an uninteresting run through the week of characters who are impossible to relate to. The brash and gaudy references to media phenomenon and industry giants leave a bitter taste of an author with an axe to grind that overcomes the satyrical insightfulness that was surely intended.
Room by Emma Donoghue Review
26/04/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured on Stylist.co.uk*
Winner: Stylist Culture Critic
Meet Jack; a boy whose perception of the world is limited to the 12ft square Room from which he has never left. Child of his incarcerated ‘Ma’ and her monstrous captor, Jack’s life is dominated by an intense relationship with his mother, and the deceptions that she has woven to keep the miseries of his existence from him. Horrific themes are introduced by cleverly structured omissions to create a novel that is ultimately a glimpse into the private world of a mother and her son, with ever present intimations of the Fritzl case adding an effectively unsettling chill to every word.
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