Review of Getting The Picture*

So, a little email from Dean Street Press brightened my day (let's face it, week), when they offered me the chance to review one of their new releases. I'm so thankful they did as Getting The Picture, which you can buy here, did not disappoint. Written entirely in letters, notes, emails and answering machine messages, this book is full of touching reminisces of a life that once was, or could have been. I personally love authors who toy a little with your feelings, getting you to turn this way and that in terms of who you trust - believe me (oh the irony), this book does test you a bit.

Martin Morris, a retired pornographer, moves into Pilgrim House and is delighted at the prospect of getting to know his ex-lover, Mo's, husband. Having always imagined that she would not leave her husband for him because this husband was a wonderful person full of positive characteristics, he is somewhat perturbed to meet the grumpy, obsessive George. The book centres around letters from Martin to the dearly missed Mo, but features communication from different residents to one another, the care workers and George's family. 

This is only going to be short, as I think over-analysing this book would take away from some of it's charm. At first reminding me of 'The Notebook' (one of my top favourite films), it really explores what it's like to grow old and feel unfulfilled in your love life. The manner of writing which the author develops here really allows for a multiplicity of perspectives to be displayed, whilst the true identity of the character is somewhat concealed - after all, if you're writing a letter to someone you are presenting them with a version of your life that you want them to see. All the little snippets of information the reader gets build up until all of them start to come together and you really start 'Getting the Picture'. I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in romance who's getting bored of the cliched boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back narrative.

What do you think of books that are written in non-conventional forms?

Stephanie

Review of "A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle"

The quotation above pretty much describes my current mood: "I am not so much drunk, as tired - dead done". The first few days back at uni have been exhausting - meal prepping, unpacking, going to lectures and seminars, going to the gym, and trying to fit in time for some actual uni work and reading as well! I'm currently sat in bed with a toasty mug of green tea, in some new fluffy PJs hoping that tomorrow is less hectic. 

As you've probably already guessed, this book isn't the easiest in the world to read. It's in fact a long poem written in vernacular Scottish - imagine coming across a drunk Scottish farmer in a rural area and you've just about got the gist of it. Oh, and get that farmer to translate the odd Russian poem into Scots dialect here and there. The entire text is purposefully de-anglocentric, as MacDiarmid was calling for a Scottish Renaissance in terms of literature. To move away from the static resonance to English literature in Scottish fiction was most definitely the way forward in his eyes.

I have to say, this wasn't a book I would necessarily read if I didn't have to. Having said that, it's really the only text by a Scottish author that I've ever read which defies English literature, and stands up in opposition to it. The whole notion that Scottish people do not have a language of their own, which pervades the entire poem, really pointed out to me something which I'd never thought about before. Moreover, if you want to read some fantastic imagery concerning thistles (a bit niche, but hey ho), then check it out!

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph 

Review of Piano From A 4th Storey Window*

So, this review has been a long time in coming. End of term commitments pushed everything bar frantically working, not sleeping and going out from my mind. But, I've finally gotten round to finishing this. Do you ever have books that make you think to the extent that you don't want to start a new book for a couple of days? Well I do, and this was one of them - I finished it two days ago and am still procrastinating starting a new one. But (and this is a big but) you have to suffer the first 50 pages or so. The sex scenes were pretty unrealistic in this part .... for starters I don't know anyone male or female that would want to engage in sex either whilst on, or with someone who is on their period when they have sex with each other for the first time. There were a few other problems I found with it, but that one really (unfortunately) imprinted itself to my memory. Anyway, PUSH THROUGH THIS - the book is really incredibly written in my opinion. And for an English reader there's a whole host of moments during which you can really feel at home here.

Marin Strang is a woman struggling to cohere her religious upbringing in a Jehovah Witness' household with her *ahem* someone licentious mode of living. She moves to Brighton and almost immediately meets Lawrence Fyre, ecclectic bookshop owner and all-round oddball. Immediately they hit it off, but, as we know, the course of true love never does run smooth ... Filled with tragedy, love and an over-riding investigation into what makes a family, Piano From A 4th Storey Window is a brilliant read.

I find that modern romantic fiction often has a tendency to be pretty poorly written (what ever happened to the likes of the writing in Wuthering Heights?!), but, this is actually successful, good even. And the story ... well, once, as I said, you get over the first section, you really begin to get a sense of these characters. I personally love a good bit of back story in a novel, and this gradually released one, bit by bit, for each character. So, when tragedy strikes, you almost feel Marin and Lawrence's pain yourself. 

It raises so many questions about identity *spoiler alert*: what impact does one's upbringing have on one's adult life? What happens when you lose a child which you never really met? How do you deal with that? How do you deal with a lover's relationship history? What is living in Brighton really like?

Have you read it? What did you think?