Review: The Voyage of Freydis

 

Title: The Voyage of Freydis

Author: Tamara Goranson

Publisher: 22nd July 2021 by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, viking

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

History set her fate in stone…

Murderer. Mercenary. Temptress.

Trickster. Traitor. Thief.

But under a hammer that falls like thunder, stone will always shatter.

So with her voice she lights the forge.

The Voyage of Freydis sings the silenced tale of Freydis Eiriksdottir, the first and only woman to lead a Viking voyage across the Atlantic in this tempestuous retelling of the Vinland Sagas set at the dawn of the 11th century.

My Thoughts

This is an historical story set in the Viking age and follows the legendary character of Freydis Eiriksdóttir (daughter of Erik the Red and the half-sister of Leif Eriksson). Married to an abusive man, she makes arrangements to escape on a ship bound for North America. If, like me, you loved the TV show Vikings, then this book will definitely hold a certain appeal for you. 

“I am Freydis Eiriksdöttir! I am the goði’s döttir. I am a warrior. By the gods, the next time I have a chance, I’ll kill you with this fearsome blade.”

There are many interesting aspects to this tale, particularly surrounding Norse and Beothuk  (‘skraelings’: the Viking term for Indigenous Americans) cultures. For me, this held the greatest attraction. However, rather than an action adventure, it tends more towards the emotional journey and the treatment of women. 

“Taking a vyking expedition is a perfect way to keep you safe from your husband’s fists,”

Unfortunately for me it was a difficult read because of the degree of abuse, in its many forms, occurring. I understand this is a Viking tale and therefore is not all flowers and chocolates. Yet the depth and breadth of the abuse - domestic violence, sexual assaults, emotional abuse, racism and more - was not balanced out with an accompanying engaging story. 

‘I am standing on the brink, pounded down like sand but willing to go in search of peace. I have found a way to trick him and now I am about to soar.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Details

Title: The Details on Love, Death and Reading

Author: Tegan Bennett Daylight

Publisher: 8th July 2020 by Simon & Schuster (Australia)

Pages: 200 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: non fiction, biography and memoir

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

A book about the connections we form with literature and each other

Tegan Bennett Daylight has led a life in books - as a writer, a teacher and a critic, but first and foremost as a reader. In this deeply insightful and intimate work, Daylight describes how her reading has nourished her life, and how life has informed her reading. In both, she shows us that it's the small points of connection - the details - that really matter: what we notice when someone close to us dies, when we give birth, when we make friends. In life's disasters and delights, the details are what we can share and compare and carry with us.

Daylight writes with invigorating candour and compassion about her mother's last days; her own experiences of childbearing and its aftermath (in her celebrated essay ‘Vagina'); her long admiration of Helen Garner and George Saunders; and her great loves and friendships. Each chapter is a revelation, and a celebration of how books offer not an escape from ‘real life' but a richer engagement with the business of living.

The result is a work that will truly deepen your relationship with books, and with other readers. The delight is in the details.

My Thoughts

‘A great book changes with you.’

I am so undecided on this book. Initially I was attracted by two things. Firstly the cover: that seemingly 1970s style vibe from the subject herself (could easily have been me) to the sepia tinge common of that era. Secondly, the synopsis speaks to all bibliophiles. Yet by the conclusion I was just not sold on it in many ways. Don’t get me wrong, Tegan has many worthwhile offerings here for contemplation but I found there was no flow to the book and I was not onboard with all she had to say. Yet, that can be a good thing right ... to push your boundaries?  Thus my overall indecision on the complexity that is this book. 

‘Literature isn’t, for me, a classroom, it is right at the centre of my life. I don’t ‘learn’ from it. It isn’t ‘good for me’. It isn’t work or study or a hobby. It is me. I think in lines from books I’ve read. It’s alive in me all the time, I’m helpless, it runs through me like a torrent.’

Tegan is a wonderful writer. Her prose is eloquent yet rugged with her insights into reading and writing evident for all. From her own life and career, to her reflections on other authors, she offers clear and insightful ideas. She expresses her great loves and great concerns when it comes to reading and writing. With a great variance in chapter topics there is something for everyone from family to famous authors. Her understanding on the technique of writing and her advice to her tertiary students demonstrates her great love of literature. She delves into great depth on particular authors  such as Saunders. 

‘If you are a reader like I am you will have become closely acquainted with more than one body of work. There’s something particular in the reading of one author’s entire oeuvre. Easy with Austen; less so with Dickens. I have read every book written by Jane Austen, Tim Winton, Helen Garner, David Malouf, Charlotte Wood, Jonathan Franzen, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro, James Wood, Alan Hollinghurst and George Saunders. In this way you enter into a lifelong conversation with the author. You watch their material change, their attitudes to it shifting. You learn how to read them.’

What I struggled with was the seemingly random selection of chapters and topics. It’s not that I expected a sequential tale but I found it to be disjointed overall in its approach. The common theme of reading was not strong enough to gel it all together in my opinion. Also being a teacher myself, I could relate to some of the aspects Tegan shone a light. However, I disagreed with other things, for example, her summation of young adult literature.

‘When I stood in front of a class I felt an excited kinship, and a sense of my enormous luck–to be there, right now, amongst young people, as their reading and writing took shape. I still feel lucky, because it’s a privilege to be next to young people at any stage of their lives. But sometimes, when I read their writing, I want to set up a howl of desolation. Their flimsy words scud across an empty landscape, a landscape unpopulated by all the books that came before. There’s no weight, there’s no texture, there’s no echo, there’s no depth.’

All up this is an interesting read for lovers of literature. Here you will find one reader/writer’s thoughts on the impact of a life of reading and how it holds your hand as you journey through life together.  

‘I want them to notice what a powerful tool literature is, to understand that it helps us to know ourselves and the society we live in. I want them to discover that if they learn to handle language they might not feel as though they’re worth nothing, have nothing to say.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Latitudes of Longing

Title: Latitudes of Longing

Author: Shubhangi Swarup

Publisher: 12th May 2020 by Hachette Australia/Quercus

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

A sweeping, lyrical debut about the love and longing between humanity and the earth itself, by a major new literary talent from India

A spellbinding work of literature, Latitudes of Longing follows the interconnected lives of characters searching for true intimacy. The novel sweeps across India, from an island, to a valley, a city, and a snow desert to tell a love story of epic proportions. We follow a scientist who studies trees and a clairvoyant who speaks to them; a geologist working to end futile wars over a glacier; octogenarian lovers; a mother struggling to free her revolutionary son; a yeti who seeks human companionship; a turtle who transforms first into a boat and then a woman; and the ghost of an evaporated ocean as restless as the continents. Binding them all together is a vision of life as vast as the universe itself.

A young writer awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in India for this novel, Shubhangi Swarup is a storyteller of extraordinary talent and insight. Richly imaginative and wryly perceptive, Latitudes of Longing offers a soaring view of humanity: our beauty and ugliness, our capacity to harm and love each other, and our mysterious and sacred relationship with nature.

My Thoughts

This is an interesting book. A series of four connected stories that take the reader on a journey through Asia,  geographically covering areas from India to Pakistan to name but two. Latitudes of Longing is full of lyrical writing and imagery. The characters are secondary inclusions when compared to the rich descriptions of the locales they live in. 

‘The life of an equal couple in the latitudes of longing and the longitudes of trepidation has hitherto been a rare, undocumented phenomenon—like a whale giving birth in Antarctica or white elephants mating in south Asia.’

The book begins quite strong but as it proceeds it slows down and becomes repetitive. If you relish writing about natural environments you will love this book. The descriptive language used is mind blowing as it sweeps you away across land and sea. However, for myself, it became too much - too many metaphors, similes and alliterations. It would make great poetry but not a story in its current form. This is unfortunate as the author clearly has a lot of talent and a definite way with words. With guidance the magical use of language could be channeled to provide a balance with the story itself. 

‘She moves around in her cotton sari like leaves rustling in the breeze. She breathes as imperceptibly as a tree, sucking in all the room’s air and spilling it back, fragrant. Like a bird, her gaze is intense, unblinking. With a single nod, it shifts from the metallic blue eyes of a fly perched on her wrist to an Andaman padauk trunk toppling somewhere on the archipelago, to a pod of dolphins entering the bay.’

Latitudes of Longing has much to offer as a lyrical dedication to the natural environment. A slow journey with much to ponder that many will love. Sadly, I struggled with it overall. 

‘The evening will come to an end. The only way to recapture it will be to travel along with the sun, experiencing the sunset again and again in the topographies of different longitudes and latitudes...’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Light After the War

Title: The Light After the War

Author: Anita Abriel

Publisher: 1st February 2020 by Simon & Schuster (Australia)

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, world war II

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

In the bestselling tradition of THE GIRL FROM MUNICH and THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, an extraordinary tale based on the true story of how the author’s mother survived World War II against all odds.

In 1946 two  young Hungarian refugees arrive in Naples determined to start a new life after losing everyone they loved before the war. Vera Frankel and her best friend, Edith Ban, are haunted by their terrifying escape from a train headed for Auschwitz after their mothers threw them from the carriage, promising they would follow. But instead the girls found themselves alone in a frozen, alien land. They managed to find refuge and barter for their lives by working on an isolated farm in Austria until the end of the war.

Armed with a letter of recommendation from an American general, Vera finds work and new hope at the United States Embassy and, despite her best intentions, falls in love the handsome and enigmatic Captain Anton Wight. But as Vera and Edith grapple with the aftermath of the war, so too does Anton, and when he suddenly disappears, Vera is forced to drastically change course. Their quest to overcome their terrible losses and rebuild their lives takes Vera and Edith from Naples to Ellis Island to Venezuela and finally Sydney as they begin to build careers, reunite with old friends – and find love.

Heartbreakingly moving and compelling, THE LIGHT AFTER THE WAR is inspired by the story of the author’s Holocaust survivor mother and her escape with her best friend from a train to Auschwitz.

My Thoughts

The Light After the War is a debut novel inspired by the author’s mother and her experiences in surviving the Holocaust with her friend after both jumping from a train headed for Auschwitz. It is a story about friendship, family, hope and survival. After surviving the war, the two friends arrive in Naples determined to start a new life after losing their families. It then traces their movements over time with flashbacks throughout from before and after the war. 

Sadly, I struggled with this book on a number of fronts. Firstly, the writing is very light, trite and superficial, not the kind of tone one would expect for a holcaust novel. Events are quite predictable and characterisation falls flat. Which leads to my second issue, I feel this should be categorised more as a young adult fiction as so much of the focus is on the love lives of these young girls - a harrowing war tale this is not - mostly their pursuit of love and marriage. Not a lot of time is spent on the girls journey to their initial destination of Naples - it would have been great to read more of their struggles in arriving there. At times, it all just seems a little too easy.  This, of course, lends the reader to little empathy as the girls seem so untouched by events and rather petulant.

“Why do we always have to think about money?” Edith said stubbornly. “We ’re young; we ’re supposed to have fun. I’m going to get a gelato.”

So, if a young adult war romance is what you are after then this surely delivers. Sadly the lack of depth in the narrative - story and characters, plot and predictability - does not assist the reader with any investment in the final outcome - which of course, will satisfy believers in fate and one true love. 

“We have had a good time,” Edith said gently.

“We made friends and I started a business and you’re going to have a baby.” 

..... “The killing was supposed to stop with the war, but it goes on forever.” 

“Death is everywhere, but so is life,” Edith said. “How many mornings did you make me get out of bed ... You taught me we have to give it our best try. We ’re young; we ’re going to lead happy lives.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Sisters Grimm

Title: The Sisters Grimm

Author: Menna van Praag

Publisher: 6th February 2020 by Random House UK, Transworld Publishers

Bantam Press

Pages: 496 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: sci fi, fantasy

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of sisters Grimm on Earth.

You may well be one of them, though you might never know it.

This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire.

They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.

In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die.

You’ll have to read on to find out who and why . . .

My Thoughts

‘I hope that by the time you finish this tale, you’ll start listening to the whispers that speak of unknown things, the signs that point in unseen directions and the nudges that suggest unimagined possibilities.’

Having read a few of Menna’s books, I was anticipating this new read - such a beautiful cover and with its connections to fairy tales and magic I was excited knowing she writes so well.  Sadly, this would prove to be not the book for me, however, loving Menna’s creativity and writing the way I do makes for very hard reviewing. 

The premise here is brilliant - dreams, fairy tales, real world and dreamscapes - with strong themes of life, love, growth and development in the real world and the world of Everwhere. Menna’s thoughts and writing are incredibly poetic and beautiful as ever. A multi layered story of four sisters finding their purpose and each other, facing an onslaught of challenges.

‘I wanted to be different, special, exceptional. No doubt everyone felt the same, excepting the seven people on this planet happy exactly as they are. I wasn’t. I’d wanted to be extraordinary ever since I was old enough to know I was not. I suppose that’s why I liked sleeping so much, because in my dreams I was spectacular.’

However, through execution the potential became lost. Far too many points of view that proved a challenge to keep up with (even dual points of views for the sisters as a child and present day). Slow repetitive character and world building that left only a small late portion of the book that was gripping. So whilst the whole mythology and fantasy elements were well considered, the structure did not lend itself to embracing it fully. It is really hard to get into the story and develop empathy for the many characters and situations, as they go in so many directions with a narrative that appears all over the place at times. 

I persevered to the end and found the conclusion fulfilling. It’s just a shame that the slow moving, repetitive and scattered narrative throughout was unable to embrace the wonders of the world building, elemental aspects and some valid relationship tales. Many readers loved it and I wish I were one. Yet I could only feel that the overall theme of female strength and empowerment was lost in a jumble of multiple storylines. 

‘You think you’re ordinary. You never suspect that you’re stronger than you seem, braver than you feel or greater than you imagine.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Paris Girl

Title: The Paris Girl

Author: Natalie Meg Evans

Publisher: 31st October 2019 by Bookouture

Pages: 461 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, romance

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

In 1920s Paris, a young woman will lose everything… and finally discover what truly matters most.

Tatiana Vytenis has worked hard to leave her past behind. Once a ruined Russian princess in hiding, she is now a sought-after model and engaged to Gérard de Sainte-Vierge – a handsome, if occasionally overbearing, aristocrat. With the Sainte-Vierge heirloom ruby sparkling on her finger, Tatiana feels as though she should be happy. Not long ago she was penniless and now she’s about to become a marquise.

But fate still has a final hand to play. One night in a bohemian café in Montparnasse, Tatiana discovers she’s been the unknowing plaything of the Sainte-Vierge family. Hidden beneath their genteel exteriors, Gerard and his brother have a secret darker side, and her darling fiancé will gladly ruin Tatiana’s life to save his own reputation.

As Tatiana’s situation becomes ever more desperate, she crosses paths with an unlikely guardian angel. Regan Dortmeyer is an American in Paris – a war photographer running from his own hard knocks in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. He’s no fancy French nobleman, but Regan has seen the lengths to which a wicked man like Gerard will go. As the consequences of her disastrous engagement threaten to swallow Tatiana up, he might be the only one who can save her now…

My Thoughts

I was greatly intrigued by the synopsis for this book - a Russian Princess now model, French noblemen (if a somewhat shady Marquis), the classic ‘American (photographer) in Paris .... it looked to have the right ingredients - all set to the backdrop of Paris 1920s - what could go wrong?

There were some interesting aspects to this tale. The definite positives are the rich descriptions of place and time; the modelling scene and accompanying photography is lavish. In fact, I wish there were more of it. I did enjoy the drama, particularly surrounding the remaining two sisters and Katya’s journey. Even photojournalists from WW1 turning to shooting Parisian fashion was a worthy topic. The premise, as stated, is a worthy one, that being, when a person loses everything going from riches to rags and losing your home and family, to what extremes would you go to never feel threatened again? Would you marry a man that absolutely everyone (including me) vehemently state you shouldn’t?

‘Are you sure you want to marry into the family?’

Sadly, however, I did not like the main characters. As stated above, Katya was the exception and a few others having secondary roles. The leading man, Regan, is okay within himself, but with Tatiana being so hard to like, what on earth did he see in her?  His back story and why he was in Paris was interesting. Yet this book is all about Tatiana in one sense and she is a difficult character to come to terms with even given her childhood experiences. Spoiled, unappreciative and just plain annoying - it became very difficult to feel sorry for her.

All up this is a real saga of its age, rich in style and detail. With the aftermath of the war and the evolution of a range of characters, The Paris Girl will try to sweep you away along a journey of much drama and heartache. 

‘Why do you love him?’ When she gave no answer, Benjy supplied his own. ‘He’s hypnotised you with his own sense of self-worth. The answer, of course, is that you don’t love him. Not truly. You need him.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Girl Who Reads on the Métro

Title: The Girl Who Reads on the Métro

Author: Christine Féret-Fleury

Publisher: 29th October 2019 by Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 192 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: fiction, contemporary, France

My Rating: 2.5 cups

Synopsis:

In the vein of Amelie and The Little Paris Bookshop, a modern fairytale about a French woman whose life is turned upside down when she meets a reclusive bookseller and his young daughter.

Juliette leads a perfectly ordinary life in Paris, working a slow office job, dating a string of not-quite-right men, and fighting off melancholy. The only bright spots in her day are her metro rides across the city and the stories she dreams up about the strangers reading books across from her: the old lady, the math student, the amateur ornithologist, the woman in love, the girl who always tears up at page 247.

One morning, avoiding the office for as long as she can, Juliette finds herself on a new block, in front of a rusty gate wedged open with a book. Unable to resist, Juliette walks through, into the bizarre and enchanting lives of Soliman and his young daughter, Zaide. Before she realizes entirely what is happening, Juliette agrees to become a passeur, Soliman's name for the booksellers he hires to take stacks of used books out of his store and into the world, using their imagination and intuition to match books with readers. Suddenly, Juliette's daydreaming becomes her reality, and when Soliman asks her to move in to their store to take care of Zaide while he goes away, she has to decide if she is ready to throw herself headfirst into this new life.

Big-hearted, funny, and gloriously zany, The Girl Who Reads on the Metro is a delayed coming-of-age story about a young woman who dares to change her life, and a celebration of the power of books to unite us all.

My Thoughts

‘She had always loved the smell of books, especially when she bought them second-hand. New books had different smells too, depending on the paper and glue used, but they said nothing of the hands that had held them, the houses that had been their home; they had no story of their own yet, separate from the one they told–a parallel story, hazy, secret.’

The Girl Who Reads On The Metro is aimed at fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and aimed at all book lovers. The whole passuers was fabulous - giving out books to strangers or leaving them in particular places - I loved this bookish ploy, especially with how the story ends with the minivan. Books can help you through life.

The author does an exemplary job at presenting contemporary issues, such as the recent terrorist attacks in France, and the impact this has on people wanting to hide away from the world and live rather in books. It would have been good if the author had expanded on this and really developed both plot and characters on their journey - more emotion was needed with less time spent in superfluous moments or conversations. 

So whilst the concept and  potential was there - that being the power of books to transform people - I cannot help but feel it was lost in a story that did not correlate well enough. Some characters fell rather flat for me and the story somewhat disjointed. 

I do love a book about books and although this short story and easy to read,  it lacked depth and was a little too slow at times for me. I appreciate that the lead character truly believed that you could find yourself in books and help people through life. I just wished more from this book. 

‘ ... he at least made no pretence of leading a ‘normal’ life. He had chosen to hide away in a fortress built of books, fragments of which he regularly sent out into the world, like sending messages in bottles across the sea, offerings and gestures of affection destined for kindred spirits, those who, outside the walls, were confronted with real life.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.