Month: March 2020

The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts

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The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts

Summary:

Siberia’s story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell.

Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos – grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, and humble, Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood.

How these pianos travelled into this snow-bound wilderness in the first place is testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers and exiles. That stately instruments might still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a miracle.

But this is Siberia, where people can endure the worst of the world ― and where music reveals a deep humanity in the last place on earth you would expect to find it.

My Review:

When I first heard about The Lost Pianos of Siberia (Doubleday) by Sophy Roberts it immediately shot straight to my most wanted books. This is a beautiful book that takes you on a journey across Siberia.

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Sophy Roberts debut book is breathtaking in its sheer beauty not just in the landscape and the history of this incredible landscape but of its nature. For travel journalist Roberts takes a look at the Pianos and how they and their owners made their journey to the far corners of Siberia with many going into exile. There is something about Russia and pianos going back to the 1800’s from here like seeds scattered in the wind the pianos made their journey many with their owners going into exile.

For me one of the most poignant parts of the book was when Roberts went looking for the very piano owned by the Romanovs before they were killed in 1918. But there is so much more to this book than you first think when you look at the title. This is much more than just about looking for lost pianos it is a travelogue as Roberts travels across this vast land to the far corners of Russia across barren lands and taking journeys on ships.

Imagine the winters in Siberia and what that does to such an instrument such as the piano, what it does to the keys of the piano and the very fabric that is the wood that holds it together.

So many of the pianos Roberts went in search for have so much history attached to them from the early days of the influence of the piano across Europe. Many of the pianos Sophy Roberts went in search for were never found purely as many never wanted to discuss the past. This just adds to the mystery of each one of the pianos.

The real aspect of this wonderful book is a look at the country, the history and its people and the flora and fauna of Siberia. It is a book that reads so beautifully and one that I am looking forward to listening to as an audio book during these difficult days.

448 Pages.

The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts was published by Doubleday and was published on 6th February 2020 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.

Virtuoso by Yelena Moskovich

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Virtuoso by Yelena Moskovich

Summary:

Zorka. She had eyebrows like her name.

1980s Prague. For Jana, childhood means ration queues and the smell of boiled potatoes on the grey winter air. But just before Jana’s seventh birthday, a new family moves in to their building: a bird-eyed mamka in a fox-fur coat, a stubble-faced papka – and a raven-haired girl named Zorka.

As the first cracks begin to appear in the communist regime, Zorka teaches Jana to look beyond their building, beyond Prague, beyond Czechoslovakia … and then, Zorka just disappears. Jana, now an interpreter in Paris for a Czech medical supply company, hasn’t seen her in a decade.

As Jana and Zorka’s stories slowly circle across the surreal fluctuations of the past and present, the streets of 1980s Prague, the suburbs of 1990s Wisconsin and the lesbian bars of present-day Paris, they lead inexorably to a mysterious door on the Rue de Prague …

Written with the dramatic tension of Euripidean tragedy and the dreamlike quality of a David Lynch film, Virtuoso is an audacious, mesmerising novel of love in the post-communist diaspora.

 My Review:

Delighted to share my review of Virtuoso (Serpents Tail) by Yelena Moskovich as part of the Swansea International Dylan Thomas Prize Blog Tour.

This is the second novel by Yelena Moskovich and Virtuoso is a dark yet also a brave account of life in 1980’s Prague. Jana begins a friendship with the mysterious Zorka. Life within the Communist state can be as dull as a Czechoslovakian winter. But Zorka’s family have moved in next door and it is Zorka who wants to show Jana that there is a life beyond the Communist state.

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In reality what we have here is a novel about female friendships and what is spoken through Moskovich’s novel is one of a complex relationship between Jana and Zorka. It is then that Zorka disappears without warning.

We fast forward and Jana is now living and working as an interpreter in Paris. Time really has moved on for Jana and then we meet Aimee who is happily married to Dominique. It is the story of these women’s lives in what is a rather strange and sexually explicit novel.

It is a novel that explores the relationships of these women and Moskovich’s unique style of writing makes this a novel sometimes takes patience and yet never really leaves you alone after you have finished reading. One that you will love or one that will frustrate you. It challenged me and I loved it.

 Shortlist Announcement is made on 7th April 2020

Winner Announced on 14th May 2020

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Ten Poems about Flowers

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Ten Poems about Flowers

Summary:

A bouquet is a welcome and beautiful thing, but the beauty is inevitably short-lived. This delightful mini-anthology, however, is guaranteed never to wither. Roses, fritillaries, daisies, gentians and the humble ragwort are celebrated here by poets ranging from Mimi Khalvati to William Wordsworth.

We experience their colours and scents in vivid language, so each lives on the page with all the intensity of a real flower. Sometimes it seems we can even learn from them.

My Review:

I am delighted to bring you one of the latest poetry pamphlets from Candlestick Press. Ten Poems about Flowers is now available to order through their website (details below).

Flowers bring joy in many forms whether it is a beautiful form garden in the summer or a bouquet of flowers to a loved one on a special occasion. These flowers however may only have a limited time, however poems about flowers can last a lifetime.

With poems by such names as John Clare, William Wordsworth, Helen Dumore as well as DH Lawrence bring colour to every page. My personal favourite is City Lilacs by Helen Dumore

“Lilac, like love, makes no distinction.
It will open for anyone.
Even before love knows that it is love
lilac knows it must blossom.”

 The stunning cover design is by Angie Lewin. If you are buying a bouquet for a loved one, then Ten Poems about Flowers would make the perfect card to accompany the bouquet.

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Thank you to Candlestick Press for the review copies of Ten Poems About Flowers Now available to order through their website: Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press are a small independent publisher based in Nottingham and were founded in 2008. The team consists of four dedicated people in Di Slaney (Publisher), Kathy Towers (Assistant Editor) and two admin assistants. Their aim is simple to spread the joy of poetry to adults and children alike who love poetry and or may be just beginning their journey in to enjoying poetry. These small pamphlets are just ideal for bedtime reading or like I have been doing and that is enjoying them on journeys.

They have published so many of these beautiful pamphlets on a wide range of topics from Christmas to Cricket, from Dogs to Sheep and even Clouds and walking and even breakfast. These wonderful poetry pamphlets make the ideal

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler

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Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler

Summary:

When your mother considers another country home, it’s hard to know where you belong. When the people you live among can’t pronounce your name, it’s hard to know exactly who you are. And when your body no longer feels like your own, it’s hard to understand your place in the world.

This is a novel of growing up between cultures, of finding your space within them and of learning to live in a traumatized body. Our stubborn archivist tells her story through history, through family conversations, through the eyes of her mother, her grandmother and her aunt and slowly she begins to emerge into the world, defining her own sense of identity.

Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award

Longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize

My Review:

First off a big apology from me. This review should have been out as part of the Blog Tour for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize last week.

I was so intrigued when the debut novel Stubborn Archivist (Fleet) by Yara Rodrigues Fowler was longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize as The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award that I jumped at the chance to review when offered and I am so pleased I did.

Yara-Rodrigues-Fowler

What a wondrous story that Yara Rodrigues Fowler has created. The narrator remains anonymous throughout the storyline. It bursts into life from the first page. The narrator is born in South London and has a mother who is Brazilian and a father who is English.

The one aspect that I felt when I started to read was that this was like finding someone’s secret diary and reading about them and their thoughts on their own family. The mix of languages and translations that at times are very poetic.

Through the pages we get to know about the narrator and the women that make up her life. The mix of languages and also cultures makes this such a fabulous read as well as unearthing an exciting new writing voice.

It is at times complex but also she shares her emotions through the pages and even the blank pages are powerful in themselves. The three women that appear are key in the life of the narrator, her mother, and aunt and also her grandmother each have powerful narrative. Throughout I had the sense of the narrator asking about what is home and where is home. Our protagonist is talking to us the reader about the many facets of her life even the moments that bring a laugh or two.

As I have found in my own life stubbornness equates to pure determination and the will to never stop or to never give up. Stubborn Archivist is a pure joy to read.

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Shortlist Announcement is made on 7th April 2020

Winner Announced on 14th May 2020

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368 Pages.

Thank you to Martina Ticic (Midas PR) for the review copy of Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler.

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler was published by Fleet and was published on 6th February 2020 (Paperback) and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary:

When your mother considers another country home, it’s hard to know where you belong. When the people you live among can’t pronounce your name, it’s hard to know exactly who you are. And when your body no longer feels like your own, it’s hard to understand your place in the world.

This is a novel of growing up between cultures, of finding your space within them and of learning to live in a traumatized body. Our stubborn archivist tells her story through history, through family conversations, through the eyes of her mother, her grandmother and her aunt and slowly she begins to emerge into the world, defining her own sense of identity.

Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award

Longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize

My Review:

 

Yara-Rodrigues-Fowler

 

 

 

Screenshot-2020-01-24-at-09.08.38

Shortlist Announcement is made on 7th April 2020

Winner Announced on 14th May 2020

SUDTP-

368 Pages.

Thank you to Martina Ticic (Midas PR) for the review copy of Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler.

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler was published by Fleet and was published on 6th February 2020 (Paperback) and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

COVER

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Summary:

On a summer’s day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

 My Review:

In my younger days I became fascinated by William Shakespeare and his plays and sonnets. I have been lucky to have been to the Globe on London’s South side of the River Thames number of times. One of my favourite writers has written an intimate historical novel based on one of Shakespeare’s sons. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press) is released on 31st March.

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Hamnet born to William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes (Anne Hathaway) and the twin of Judith in the year 1585. One thing I will say here for Shakespeare aficionados is that this is a fictional account of the family life of the Shakespeare’s not so much about the man himself and his wife Agnes takes centre stage through the novel.

As the story opens with the young Hamnet in the house seemingly alone with his sister Judith in bed and is very poorly. Hamnet is searching for someone in his mother Agnes. Agnes is out in the fields. The story tells of how Agnes and William first met and their humble beginnings as married couple and how the couple spent time apart as William was in London trying to earn a living and Agnes was at home expecting twins.

Hamnet dies at the age of 11 at a time when a third of all children died before they reached the age of ten. It is suggested in further readings that Hamnet may have died from the bubonic plague and the plague itself takes a major part of the novel.

The effect of Hamnet’s death at such a young age has a devastating effect on the family. This is a heartbreaking story so tenderly told by Maggie O’Farrell. Losing a loved creates a feeling like the walls of life are closing in and a claustrophobic feeling and the feeling of loss never leaves as you and this comes through the storyline.

There are many characters that O’Farrell brings into the story and each has their own life that only O’Farrell can bring into her books. Even the everyday life of the people of Stratford-upon-Avon is beautifully told. There are many who question whether the death of Hamnet was when Shakespeare then wrote his play Hamlet this will be talked about but either way this is without doubt Maggie O’Farrell’s finest novel to-date and one I loved reading. I have thought a lot about Hamnet since I have read O’Farrell’s historical novel. Many might be put off because it has the ‘Shakespeare’ tag but I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

384 Pages.

Thank you to Georgina Moore (Midas PR) for the review copy of Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell is published by Tinder Press 31st March on 2020 and is available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.