Review: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Natalie Jenner

Publisher: 14th May 2024 by St. Martin's Press

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women’s Fiction 

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

My Thoughts

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, was a wonderful read back in 2020. She followed it up with Bloomsbury Girls, taking one of the characters from her debut novel to a London bookstore. In her latest, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Natalie takes one of the characters, Vivian, from the bookstore to post-war Italy working as a script doctor in the movies after her play is a flop in London. 

“We make the truth. We’re selling a world that doesn’t exist.” “That’s so cynical.” “What are you making, then?” “What the world could be.”

Natalie was inspired by the world famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome that had been used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. Set in the la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome, the story explores a very unique time period. Lead FMC Vivian is working as a script doctor and carries her own personal war wounds wherever she goes. Her fiance disappeared in Italy during WW2 and she is searching for closure after making some life changing decisions. 

‘The only thing that will save you is perspective - and that, only the passing of time can bestow.’

Natalie does an excellent job of conveying the complexity of Italian political, economic, and cultural life in the 1940s and ’50s. From the glamour of movie actresses like Ava Gardner and Sophia Loren making cameo appearances, to the policing and censorship of some movies by the Catholic Church. In many ways the past continues to haunt from its fascist and German occupation days and deep contradictions are evident. 

‘… contradictions of Italy at work here: a former Fascist regime that had somehow shape-shifted into an ostensible democracy that was heavily influenced by a censorial church and half-heartedly administered by the police. Yet the one thing all these factions took seriously was cinema.’

The novel encompasses so much, from love and conflict, faith and censorship, war and orphans, glamour and moviemaking, fashion and food - it has to all. Whilst there is much to learn about Rome, the Church and politics of the day, in some ways it feels like a reflective piece with characters coming to terms with life after traumatic events. You don’t have to have read the previous novels to enjoy Every Time We Say Goodbye as the focus is on learning how to live after such tragedy. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Mickey

Title: Mickey

Author: Helen Brown

Publisher: 1st May 2024 by ABC Books AU

Pages: 340 pages

Genre: pets, cats, autobiography 

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Cleo, a warm, wistful coming-of-age true story about the transition from childhood to adolescence, and the small stray cat who helped guide the way.

It was 1966 and the times they were a-changing, even in the provincial New Zealand coastal town of New Plymouth. Skirts were getting shorter, the Vietnam War was on TV every night and French nuclear tests in the Pacific turned the night sky a violent red. Twelve-year-old Helen, the youngest daughter of an eccentric engineer and a musical theatre fanatic, was living in a crumbling castle overrun by nature, and overshadowed by the majestic Mount Taranaki. On the eve of puberty, everything suddenly is uncomfortable and unfamiliar to Helen. She feels lonely and lost, adrift in this new turbulent sea. 

That is, until her father gifts her a tiger-striped kitten with extra toes on each paw. Noticing an M on the cat's forehead, Helen names her new companion Mickey. Inquisitive, clever and skittish, Mickey disrupts the already rambunctious household with his mischief. But as it turns out, he's just the ally Helen needs to explore the new world waking up around her.

My Thoughts

‘Cat and girl, we embraced the meow, surrendered to the shimmer, and let ourselves melt into the particles.’

The author, Helen Brown, has previously written three other books about cats and how they loved and supported her through challenging times. She has now gone back to the very beginning with the one cat that started it all, Mickey. When she was twelve years old, at the very cusp of what would be a challenging adolescence, her father presented her with a kitten. Mickey was her first friend and love with whom she shared all her dreams. 

Living in a household with her eccentric parents and older siblings, everyone seemed to be caught up in their own dramas. Feeling somewhat lost and unseen, Helen and Mickey traversed  through the challenges together. Living in provincial New Zealand in the 1960s, one was still aware of global tensions from Russia and USA, troubles in Vietnam and nuclear testing in the Pacific. So, far from being a book just about cats, it tells a story that is much broader. 

This is a heartwarming memoir about love and loss, family and friends and how our furry friends can provide the joy and healing we humans often look for. A genuine story that celebrates the power of our animal companions during life’s trials and tribulations. 

’Mickey and I shed our physical bodies and became weightless spirits, limited only by the size of our thoughts. The cat expanded to become the size of a giant tiger. I climbed on board her back. Together we dissolved through the ceiling and floated across the night sky.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Wise Words from David Attenborough

Title: Wise Words from David Attenborough 

Illustrations: Nat Carroll

Publisher: 29th November 2023 by Harper by Design

Pages: 96 pages

Genre: reference, quotes, environment

Synopsis:

With his unmistakable voice and childlike wonder, Sir David Attenborough has graced our television screens since 1954.

This unauthorised collection celebrates the world's favourite naturalist and his perspective on plants, animals, sustainability, community and beyond. 

From vegetarianism to climate change, each of these quotes demonstrates the power of words and positive thinking in our everyday lives.

My Thoughts

We depend upon the natural world for every mouthful of food that we eat and indeed every lungful of air that we breathe.'

A selection of some of David Attenborough’s most memorable and wise quotes to remind all ages to act accordingly in ensuring the conservation of our planet. A perfect gift or coffee table inspiration book with illustrations by Australian artist, Nat Carroll. She was commissioned to design a series of animal and plant illustrations for this tiny hardback, a purposeful little book that beautifully combines the wise words of the world renown conservationist. 

Perfect for inspiration, this small, short book features words of advice and life tips that are sure to stir the soul. David Attenborough is an icon and this little treasure of a book is sure to provide hope and heart in morally motivating readers to care for our very special home. 

‘What we do in the next few years will profoundly affect the next few thousand years.'

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Beauties

Title: The Beauties

Author: Lauren Chater

Publisher: 3rd April 2024 by Simon & Schuster Australia

Pages: 432 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Romance

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

An incomparable beauty. A promise to a king. A portrait that can never be completed.

When Emilia Lennox loses everything after her husband’s lands and title are confiscated, her beauty is her best bargaining chip with the only man who can restore their fortunes: King Charles II himself.

But the king’s favour comes at a price. He will pardon Emilia’s husband only if she agrees to be his mistress. Torn, Emilia comes up with a condition of her own: she will consent, but not until her portrait hangs among the famed Windsor Beauties, a series commissioned by the Duchess of York to showcase the fairest women in the royal retinue.

For Henry Greenhill, ambitious assistant to the court painter, the opportunity to paint Emilia’s portrait is a chance to step out of his master’s shadow. But his sitter proves as evasive as she is beautiful, and with barely a sketch to show for his efforts, Henry’s career is on the line.

As the king’s patience wears thin, it’s clear that more than creative talent will be needed to capture this incomparable beauty on canvas ...

From the bestselling author of The Lace Weaver comes this seductive story of rivalry, artistic passion and a woman bold enough to wield her beauty as a weapon.

My Thoughts

The Beauties is Lauren’s latest book and it is set in the 1600s during the exile and restoration of King Charles II. It tells a story of two women as they work to find themselves in a society where a woman’s beauty is her only leverage.

‘A painting, Sire?’ The King leans towards her, affecting a confidential air. ‘Actually, it’s a series of portraits of the most beautiful women at court. We are calling them the Windsor Beauties.’

The story takes place both in London and The Hague during the restoration period. It tells the story of Emilia whose husband’s family have had their titles and estate taken away for assisting a traitor. Then there is Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and one of Princess Mary’s ladies in waiting. Finally Henry Greenhill, an assistant painter working for Dutch court painter Peter Lely. The latter is commissioned to paint a series of portraits called ‘The Beauties’ which will be part of a collection for Windsor castle.

‘I thought about the women I knew - mothers, sisters, daughters, mistresses, wives. Did they know how strong they were, that those roles, assigned by society, failed to define them? Did they ever see themselves in all their wonderful complexity? Did anyone ever hold up a mirror to show them how well they were doing, how far they’d come, how much they’d grown?’

This is such an interesting and educational book as I have not read much from this time period. With real life characters and events it was interesting to learn about events that shaped rule in England during this Restoration period. Then there are other events such as female owned and run theatre and of course much about art history of the period. 1665 is also the year of the Great Plague of London and it was insightful to learn how this impacted the city. Yet at its heart this is a book about women of the period, their lack of power, individually and collectively, that led to exploitation. Beauty, in many a sense, was their only bargaining tool. 

‘Why shouldn’t women see themselves as they truly were - strong, powerful, intelligent? Instead of gazing outwards, I wanted them to look within, identifying the unique skills and accomplishments that would allow them to endure the trials every woman must face.’

The Beauties is all encompassing for history buffs from playhouse to painting, from palace to plague. If this is your interest, follow along with characters and the many trials and tribulations as they seek out security, creativity, passion and love. 

‘There is rebirth and connection, desire and self-knowledge. And there is the possibility of transformation even in the darkest times. All it requires is the courage to move beyond the frame.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.