Nevermore by Keith DeCandido

Keith DeCandido

Nevermore

I genuinely enjoyed this book, but that might not be wholly due to the skill of the writer. It's a book based in the Supernatural universe, which revolves around the exploits of Dean and Sam Winchester, two American brothers, who were raised by their father to hunt demons, vampires and other fantastical beings, after their mother died in a supernaturally created fire when Sam was still a baby.

I was a avid viewer of the show between the pilot and the fifth season finale, and particularly enjoyed season two, which first introduced two female hunters, Jo and Ellen Harvelle, who would recur quite often throughout the series, during the next three seasons.

I was disappointed when Jo and Ellen didn't appear much in Nevermore, considering that the book is set in the second season. Although the nightmare that Dean has, early on in the plot, does establish that she and Ellen are both important to him. Something that is clarified during the fourth season.

I know that a lot of readers, dislike the book, because DeCandido changed the colour of both actors' eyes, but I can't say that I've ever noticed what colour eyes the actors have. When watching the show I was more focused on the action, and the interplay between the characters, not studying the two male leads' faces to that extent. I don't think I could tell with any certainty the colour of any actor's eyes, even those that I truly admired like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Audrey Hepburn, Heath Ledger and Emily Bett Rickards.

Nevermore is a fun read, with a lot of detail involving New York. It's a easy and quick read, populated with good characters, and uses the show's dynamic of the two brothers well. Although some of the exposition wasn't necessary, as most of the readers would have already been familiar with the back story, as viewers of the show. I can't imagine that many people ignorant of the television show would choose to pick the book up of their own accord.

Authors beginning with the letter G

Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl

I have been a devotee of historical fiction for a long time, dipping in and out of various time periods as the fancy takes me. However when I picked up this one for the first time, I had no idea who the lead character was.

The opportunity to learn more about the less famous Boleyn sister, as well as a general interest in the Tudor period made me open the book. The sheer depth of the research that Gregory must have done hit me from the first few pages, and only now do I fully understand how many hours in reading history books, and other reference points she must have undertaken to infuse the pages with so much detail.

It almost felt like a nonfiction book because of the depth of detail that Gregory includes, creating an extremely vivid picture of what life at Henry the Eighth's court might have been like.

Her ability to reveal what might have been the innermost thoughts of a girl, forced by her father, and other male relatives first into a marriage, and then into a extramarital affair, only to be supplanted by her own sister, and then watch the same sister be executed alongside their brother for supposed adultery, is extraordinary.

The delicate yet seemingly effortless way that Gregory reveals all of the confused emotions which Mary goes through produces a portrait of a girl who despite the fact that she lived in the 1500's, and experienced a world that I will never know, felt very relatable to me. There was sympathy in Mary's thoughts for her sister Anne, and a great affection for both her brother George and her niece Elizabeth, showing that whatever Mary's true character might have been, Gregory, at least, is a believer in her better qualities.

If you haven't already read this book and have any interest in historical fiction then I advise you to pick it up. I highly doubt that you will be sorry for the experience. It's available from Amazon

Chop Chop by Simon Wroe

Chop Chop

Simon Wroe

Synopsis

Monocle, a sous chef in a pub kitchen in London, details the events within the kitchen, and what the staff get up to during their time together.

Wroe’s description of the different characters means that they are very well drawn. Racist Dave, Bob and Ramilov are the most vivid chef characters, but Monocle’s dad is also extremely easy to picture given Wroe’s writing.

Monocle never reveals his Christian name, but reveals a lot of his family background, which is dysfunctional and more than a little sad. His relationship with his father, who is the parent that Wroe writes the most about, is funny and sad by equal turns.

The closest comparison that I can think of this book having is Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, as Wroe details eccentric characters that Monocle encounters during his time in the Swan kitchen. Racist Dave, for example, is a fascinating creation, despite his racist views, as he is head and shoulders above the others in the kitchen, in terms of his cooking abilities, and is a devotee of musical theatre, something that surprises Monocle given that Racist Dave is a skinhead. Bob the overall boss of the kitchen, is sometimes a little sadistic in the way that he chooses to punish mistakes, it’s like Gordon Ramsay but taken to a very dark place. Wroe has Bob lock Ramilov in the fridge, for a minor transgression early in the novel, and there are other examples of extreme punishments.

Ramilov’s first description in the novel includes the phrase ‘a dyed in the wool psycho, a universal soldier’, and his hands, something that Bob looks at before hiring his chefs, are described as being ‘fucking horrible’. He’s an unusual character, to say the least, someone that I’ve not encountered in a novel before, fondling the fellow chefs during service, by stroking certain parts of their anatomy. He fondled ‘everyone in the kitchen except the dark-eyed girl who he correctly guessed wasn’t a man and would stab him if he tried’.

There is a lot of humour, in the descriptions, despite some of it being black humour. The language is as you might expect, given the high pressure of the environment that the characters are in and the fact that there’s only one woman mentioned as being part of the kitchen staff on a regular basis, Monocle’s potential love interest.

It’s clear that Wroe has a lot of experience in working in kitchens, describing how the different chefs work and is familiar with London. I love the way that he describes things, and people, using phrases such as ‘it was a crazed stump of hair and damaged tissue’ to describe Ramilov’s hand for example.

It’s a well written and funny book, that I would highly recommend if you are a fan of reading books based in reality, that have a strong seam of black humour, and are not offended by swearing.

How to build a girl by Caitlin Moran

Caitlin Moran

How to Build A Girl

It’s the coming of age of Johanna Morrigan, a fourteen-year-old aspiring music journalist. She adopts the persona of Dolly Wilde, both as a nom de plume for her writing, and to be the person that she wants to be. Her family are existing on benefits, as her father dreams of becoming a professional musician.

Johanna’s an unconventional woman, driven to succeed. She takes advantage of the fact that the library offers a chance to borrow CDs for 20p and totally submerges herself in a wide range of music. Once she takes the name Dolly Wilde, she also adopts a distinctive sense of style with a top hat and embarks on a path of sexual and intellectual enlightenment.

The character is very likable, her self-confidence when picking up men for her sexual experiments, is something far beyond her years. Moran names a few of Johanna’s lovers, establishing a genuine connection between her and her co-worker in particular, but a few of them are just referred to by what Dolly allows them to do to her.

Moran is a very gifted comic writer, creating a group of characters and situations which made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.

A Perfect Day

This poem is based around my sister's wedding day, which took place at Leighton Hall. It's a country house not far away from Lancaster, which has a connection with the Gillow family

The old building is alive with anticipation of what will happen
The music room fairly buzzing with the happiness spilling from the guests
The myriad of different fabrics and colours
Glinting beneath the curious touch of those thin gold fingers that come

Darting through the mullioned panes
The ethereal digits tug at trousers and dresses indiscriminately
The walls ring with the chatter of the occupants'
They're excited to be here on this incredible day, faces wreathed in smiles

Then the chatter is paused, the sound of the piano makes
As one, the congregation turn to face the door
Soft gasps are heard, dragged out at the sight of the glowing bride
Who glides gracefully on her father's arm down the aisle

The silence is broken by a little girl's exclamation of recognition
Her joyful remark causes laughter to gush out from the congregation
Vibrating off the vividly decorated walls, the sound tumbles freely
Through the empty corridors, and sets the tone for this ceremonyThren

Then once they are joined and the register is signed
The bride walks out of the room, on the groom's arm
The affection that they inspire from the congregation is evident
From the looks that reside on the faces present, as the applause rings out

The reaction of the guests to watching these two people that are so important
In their lives, agree to spend the rest of their lives together on this perfect day
Is visible in the events that unfold throughout the following hours

The speeches that were given by the father of the bride and the groom
All filled with emotion which strikes a chord with the majority of the listeners
Tears starting to sparkle in the fading sunlight

The bride and groom's first dance
Is curtailed early, as their friends fill the dance floor
Eager to share in this moment with them
As they have shared in this perfect day

Copyright Emily Morris 2016

Quotes

‘The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.’ – Barack Obama

Authors beginning with the letter F

Karin Fossum

The Murder of Harriet Krohn

Fossum is a recent discovery of mine, I had never heard of her before this year. I happened to come across one of her books on the Lancashire library website  and decided that I would go to see if it was in Heysham library my go-to place for books, and a bit of quiet inspiration when writing my novel.

Anyway, I was in luck because there was a copy. It had been the blurb on the website which first sparked my interest, which went as follows

 Charles Olav Torp has problems. He's grieving for his late wife, he's lost his job, and gambling debts have alienated him from his teenage daughter. Desperate, his solution is to rob an elderly woman of her money and silverware. But Harriet Krohn fights back, and Charlo loses control. Wracked with guilt, Charlo attempts to rebuild his life and regain his dignity. But the police are catching up with him, and Inspector Konrad Sejer has never lost a case yet. Told through the eyes of a killer, 'The Murder of Harriet Krohn' poses the question: how far would you go to turn your life around, and could you live with yourself afterwards?

Within a few pages I was hooked, Fossum alternates between the motivations of the murderer and the motivations of the inspector. She gives an insight into the workings of the killer's mind, and offers a rounded picture of Torp, as the horrendous act is purported to happen because the murderer is trying to create a better life for his daughter. He is not painted as someone without a conscience, which can happen in the hands of less adept crime writers, the relationship between him and his daughter giving Torp a realism which I really appreciated.

Her skill is such that, despite myself I felt a twinge of sympathy for Torp at the end of the book. I think it was, by and large, the way that the connection between him and his daughter was painted, his frantic and well-meaning attempts to correct the sins of the past, leading him to make an even greater mistake.

My advice is, if you enjoy crime stories, or even just well-crafted fiction in general, give this one a try.

Quotes

‘If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal.’ – John Lennon

My inspirations

Audrey Hepburn

May 4 1929-  Jan 20 1993

For me Audrey Hepburn was the epitome of elegance, both in her choice of clothing and the way that she carried herself in public. I’m not sure when exactly she became one of my heroes, or when I first watched her in a film, but I do know that after seeing her in Roman Holiday, her fun and excitement over life, seemingly crossing the line between fiction and truth, I wanted to see something else that she was in.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the next film of hers that I got my hands on, and I loved it as well. Despite the terrible and utterly racist depiction of her neighbour, the rest of it was a lot of fun, and I admired the fact that Holly wasn’t wholly likable. She possesses a lot of good qualities, but the confusion that she feels, makes her treat Paul Varjack, in a not entirely pleasant way.

She wasn’t scared to take roles that challenged her, taking roles as diverse as a teacher accused of being a lesbian (Children’s Hour 1961), a chauffeur’s daughter who becomes a chef (Sabrina 1954) and Maid Marian late in her life (Robin and Marian 1976).

It reveals how strong her power and charisma was, as despite the fact that she stopped taking lead roles regularly in the sixties, and has been dead since 1993, that she still has the power to sell merchandise, and is still idolised by people across the world.

Quotes

“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.”

Meg Cabot

My favourite musical performances

Someone like you

Adele 

The Brits 2011

Video uploaded by Texhnician’s Channel

Her voice is so beautiful, and the performance was delivered with such understated power and emotion, that it managed to silence everyone in that huge room. It’s a rare performer that can hold a crowd in that way, just by the power of their voice.