Sweet Caress by William Boyd - March meeting book review

The March meeting was held at Fell's Kitchen, where 9 members met over an enjoyable meal and gave their views on Sweet Caress by WilliamBoyd.

Some of the assembled were still reading it ( Pauline, Sue and Linda ) but commented that they were enjoying it so far. Those who had completed it (Anne Marie, Joan, Joanne C, Jeanette, Emma and Sheila) were also complimentary, with the exception of Jeanette, who really did not like it at all.

The story describes the memorable life of a well-to-do woman from 1908 to 1977. Amory Clay’s racy and well travelled life is shown to the reader through beautiful story telling and the inclusion of photographs. She finds herself caught up in many of the twentieth century’s most dramatic and defining events. Joanne particularly enjoyed the historical aspects and they were woven well into the overall story of a life well lived.

Most of us agreed that the book was well written drawing you in easily and sustaining your interest. However some found the jumping backward and forwards in time rather frustrating. An unusual feature of this novel was the inclusion of old photographs littered throughout the story. Most of the group felt that the photographs did not add to the narrative. Given that Amory Clay was an award winning photographer Jeanette commented that most were badly executed other than the one with the woman in stockings. Emma agreed adding that the two photographs supposedly of Queenie were clearly two different women. The photographs were actually taken from the author’s private collection.

The plot was sweeping and panoramic and tells the whole life story of one woman’s search for success and love and conveyed this very well. There were some issues with the plot. Amory always seemed to be present in the places where the action was happening; in jazz-age Berlin, fighting Fascists in 1930s London, wartime France and Vietnam. Perhaps it could be argued that her presence in these places did stretch your believability, however the author depicted these historical events well and reminded us of the destructive and damaging impact of war on the lives of individuals.

Amory Clay, the novel’s heroine, is not always the most likeable of women, but most of the group felt that she was interesting, Sue felt that Boyd had got into a woman’s mind very well. To steal Amory’s inventive game of describing people in four adjectives, she is irritating, boastful, imperfect and spirited. We also felt that most of the other main characters were well rounded too, even though many had quite absurd names, but at least they were memorable. Several members of our group commented that initially they thought the story was autobiographical, which I feel shows the skill in Boyd’s writing conveying her as a real person, flaws and all.

I feel it is pertinent to include here the main criticism of the story as far as Jeanette was concerned, as it generated a lot of discussion on the night. This was the attempted suicide of Amory’s father, which really does not sit easy with Jeanette. I tend to agree in part with this observation as suicide as a theme in novels does seem to crop up quite a lot. Is it simply a lazy means of portraying drama in literature? Perhaps this is a good dissertation subject for a student of literature or psychology to research more fully?

Overall the group gave Sweet Caress the score of 4. Personally I rated it a 5, as I really loved it from the beginning and would sum it up as accomplished, brilliant, captivating and dazzling.

The book selected for March is The Versions Of Us By LauraBarnett.

The next meeting is Thursday 5^th April - venue to be confirmed. 

February Meeting: "Ostrich" by Matt Greene

This month’s meeting was held in Emma’s fab flat with an accompanying bagel feast and cocktails!! What more could we ask for? Great company, good food and a good read to chew over.

And “Ostrich” by Matt Greene did get our digestive juices going, although some did find the book difficult to  swallow. 

I loved it, as did Jeanette, Joanne, Anne Marie, Pauline and Emma. Sheila and Joan thought Alex precocious and unlikeable. All agreed he was a clever fellow for 12 yrs old, as he portrayed his view of his world and the people in it, but we didn’t all feel dedicated to following his immature ramblings. 

Emma, Jeanette and Joanne felt that Alex’s understanding, (blurred and disjointed at times due to his convulsions,) his age and his fixation with the idiosyncrasies of English usage (chances of passing a scholastic entrance exam  … like he’s got nothing else to be bothered about!!))) is remarkably sensitive and philosophical. He also uses plenty of words he can’t understand or can’t spell, and this lends very much to the chuckle element in the book.

We are led like detectives, clue by clue until we uncover the truth of Alex’s world. In particular, his obsession with tautology, which is often hilarious and heart wrenching. We agreed you can miss gems on first reading, and I for one felt the need to read it again at a later date.The book is about brain surgery (sort of) and about a hamster named Jaws 2 (but not really!!) It’s about parenting, courage, love, friendship and growing up... and quantum mechanics!

Pauline was touched by his inability to spot how others are intent on belittling him as, for example, his English teacher's patronising and obtuse conversation with him after class. His precocious conversation with his French oral examiner, on the other hand, is extremely funny and makes up for it somewhat.

Like most teenagers Alex feels “ostrichized”, outside the place he finds himself in, and typically, he is influenced by his peers, like girlfriend Chloe (she being a product of a broken family). She is instrumental in fuelling his belief that his Dad’s having an affair and his Mum is going through a nervous breakdown of some sort. He makes no link with their behaviour and their worries and concerns about his wellbeing .

His Dad's bad jokes have the "tumbleweed effect", for example, when discussing the currency whilst on holiday in France, Dad is asked by him:

ed:

“Are they francs?”

and he answers

“No they’re mine”

Some of us laughed at this, but Alex did not.

But, if you don’t get anything else from this book , you will get that his parents are the best parents a boy could have. They are heroic and magnificent in their treatment of him. He just doesn’t get them or where they’re at. But then, his mind is often otherwise occupied with his brain malfunction!! And that’s a lot for a young 12 year old boy to deal with….

Writing about people suffering from serious illnesses is difficult to tackle, but we felt that Matt Greene does a brilliant job. It is a well written and well paced book and possibly comparable to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” by Marc Haddon, although we weren’t all agreed on that one.

Matt Greene does a brilliant job in getting into Alex’s head and many of us loved being in his mind with him. The book is loaded with wit and wisdom and it can make you laugh and cry. 

Awarded 4.5 stars 

Thank you Emma for your 5 star hospitality

The next meeting will be on March 2nd although the venue is yet to be decided.

The chosen read for next month's meeting is “Sweet Caress” by William Boyd.

January meeting - Reviewing our Christmas reads

The January edition of the Low Fell Book Group was slightly different on two fronts. The first was that instead of meeting at one of the fine eating or drinking establishments on the Fell, we all trooped along to a member's house. Jeanette was kind enough to host us all and the table was laden with dishes for a pot luck supper. She also provided a selection of activities, including questionnaires about our love of books and crackers complete with whistles, to keep us all entertained.

Secondly, we weren't all reading the same book. In fact, each one of us read something different, as we'd all thrown a wrapped novel into the centre of the table at the last meeting and taken our pick. Most people seemed to enjoy the books supplied by other members of the group. Reviews were submitted in various forms, including limericks and haikus. Read on to see our creative efforts:

A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

There once was a young man named Harry
Who followed tradition to marry
On a venture quite scary
He moved to the prairie
And found there it's with boys he should tarry

By Jeanette











Dissolution by CJ Sansom

Hmm, 'Disolution'
Sadly it was not for me
Better luck next time

By Joanne B













The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

In olde Amsterdam it wasn't fashionable to go Dutch
And the main male character, just wasn't that butch.
The female voices all shouted louder
Above the ever present smell of gouda.
But don't be put off from this wonderful story
Even though at times it does get gory.
In this instance small isn't always what it seems,
Perfect in every detail, but not the essence of dreams.
A wonderful read, a five star rating,
So read it now; no sense in waiting.

By Annemarie



The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Disturbing echoes
Red leaves falling, tears within
Fertilisation

By Joan













Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Haiku:
acdc..o
ptsd...omg
dbeyr

Poem:
She's a super woman
Highly trained to kill
Suffering the terrors
Making her ill
Not easily fooled
The guilty she finds
Only by her rules
All mercy declined
Does she succeed?
This I can't say
Just read the book
So get on your way...

                                                        By Sue

December meeting - Christmas book swap

Our December book club meeting was held at Primavera Italian restaurant and was also our Christmas get together. We all ordered food and drinks and then found out that only five out of ten of us had read this month's book - The Stranger in my Home by Adele Parks. There had been some difficulties in buying the paperback copy, as it doesn't come out until February. After eating a delicious meal we decided to split the group and those of us who had read the book began to discuss it.

We talked about the characters in the book. The main character Alison is faced with the trauma of finding out that her 15 year old daughter was switched at birth and she has been raising someone else's child. Pauline felt that Alison was very overprotective of her daughter because of her own unhappy upbringing. We talked about Alison's feelings of guilt due to her having to give up a child when she was 16.

We all agreed that we had suspicions of Tom. Some of us guessed that he had taken Katherine. However we were not convinced that Olivia's 'pregnancy' was a necessary part of the story. Joan felt that the ending was too much of a happy ending and we agreed that it was too perfect.

The book was easy to read and we could picture the characters easily. The baby swap storyline was a bit far fetched, but it was a good story with a twist. We all agreed that we enjoyed the book. Joanne B said that she was not sure if she would read any other books by the same author. Pauline had read Spare Brides by Adele Parks and said it was OK.

We rated this book 3 1/2 stars.

We had decided at our last meeting that we would give a secret Santa gift of a favourite book. We exchanged these gifts and are all looking forward to reading these in preparation for our January meeting. The books we received are as follows:

Lynda - The Hypnotist's Daughter by Liane Moriaty
Joan - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Susan - Fool Me Once by Harlon Coben
Sharon - The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Jeanette - A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
Emma - Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann
Anne Marie - The Minaturist by Jessie Burton
Joanne - Dissolution by CJ Sansom
Pauline - The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
Joanne - The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I had previously read the book I had received and so I chose to read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

Our next meeting will be at Jeanette's home where we will choose our next book.

The Christmas tree at Barter Books, Alnwick

November meeting - Big Brother

The November meeting of the Low Fell Book Group marked a year since our merry little band of readers had started congregating regularly. As such, we decided to go somewhere special for our anniversary and met upstairs in The Bank. There was a good turnout and interesting discussions of Big Brother by Lionel Shriver commenced.

It was generally considered that the book was well-written and everyone got into it, although many people were quite perplexed by the ending. Joan admitted to being caught off guard by it and needed to flick back and forwards over the section where the plot twisted in order to get her head around what had happened.

"It would have been better if it had started with the funeral" - Joan

Sue said she felt like the book was more like a memoir and had in fact found out that the author had written it around the time that her own brother died. Writing about the themes of guilt surrounding the issues of obesity and what can be done to help someone in the situation Edison (the big brother of the title) was in could therefore have been something of a catharsis for her.

Joan suggested that leaving your family to live with your brother was somewhat unrealistic, but Jeanette pointed out that the book was about people's relationships with food as opposed to each other. Joanne C said that she though it was offensive to skinny people, who are portrayed as judgmental throughout.

The idea of eating oneself to death is one that is uncomfortable and sparks plenty of debate. Sue was reminded of the film La Grande Bouffe in which a group undertakes a suicide pact to eat themselves to death on fine cuisine. Relatively early on in the book, there is a line that I (Emma) felt summed it up. "Now cratered down the middle like a half-dug grave, the mattress would have to be replaced".

"It was about losing himself and finding himself" - Jeanette

We discussed the various characters and which ones were likable, with Linda pointing out that the daughter was the only one she could get on side with. Once again, the partner of one of our group could be seen in the character of Fletcher (although we'll keep names secret to protect the innocent!). It was generally agreed that the names were also fairly pretentious.

Several members of the group have read We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is also by Shriver and decided that they preferred it to this latest offering.

"I read it; I was enjoying it; but I hated it by the end" - Sharon

The group decided to give Big Brother three stars, with some rating it as little as one and others going as far as 4.5.

Eight of us stayed on an had a meal at The Bank, which despite the long wait for food and a conspicuous absence of Caesar dressing made for a very enjoyable evening.

Next month's book is The Stranger in my Home by Adele Parks. Feel free to read along with us.

Meeting: 6th October 2016 at The Victoria: “The Loney” by Andrew Michael Hurley

“….every year a few people drowned - The Loney had been pushing their bones back inland as if proving a point”

It is Easter weekend and a group of people are on an annual pilgrimage to attend a shrine on the bleak and craggy Lancashire coast. They are a small dedicated cohort of 4 couples, accompanied by their spiritual leader, Father Bernard. The group consists of the narrator (un-named) and his disabled brother, Andrew (“Hanny” to his brother); the pure and devout Miss Bunce and her fiancee, David Hobs, Mr and Mrs Belderboss and the narrator’s parents Mummer and Farther (Mr and Mrs Smith). Father Bernard is considered by most to be a poor substitute for their much loved priest, Father Wilfred, who had recently died in mysterious circumstances.

They reside for the weekend at “Moorings”, a derelict, dark house with its own secrets and portents. The bleakness of their surroundings seems to represent their piety and spiritual suffering in their hope of finding a cure for Hanny’s disability, which will hopefully take place at a local shrine on Easter Sunday. In contrast, another house across the lethal waters of the bay named “Thessaly”, taunts us with its offering of spiritual destitution and pagan practices. And there is always the constant reminder of the ever-present sinister villagers and their killer dog….

We thought it had the makings of a good film with its descriptive imagery and ominous enticements, finding it “scary”, “perplexing”, “frustrating” and unfortunately even “boring” in places. The initial response contrasted sharply between thoroughly disliking the novel to completely loving it, but either way it gave rise to an interesting and absorbing discussion. 

The plot follows the narrator’s story, travelling back and forth through his lifetime, which most of us found both distracting and fascinating at the same time. Hurley seems to suspend the story in a limbo between the strange and the supernatural. The book is full of atmospheric contrasts and we reflected on many examples, such as the description of a sheep giving birth to her lamb in dark and stormy circumstances creating a dramatic conflict between the miraculous and the “gothic sinister”.

It was felt by some that the book neither mocks the believer nor admonishes the non-believer. However, this was countered by the feeling that religion was dealt with in a cynical manner and that blind faith was made ludicrous through its characters’ rituals as, for example, in the ceremonial wetting of Hanny with the fetid well water. The book certainly had an eerie mix of religious fervour and pagan superstition. Although tense and nail-biting at times, the adventures of the brothers sometimes tipped over into the “Famous Five” as time and again they made their way across the lethal waters of The Loney. Again, however, we were drawn back by the descriptions of the Lancashire landscape with its sense of impending danger to powerfully sustain our curiosity and imagination:

“a dead mouth of a bay that filled and emptied twice a day”

or 

“the soggy afterbirth of winter”.

Hurley describes the landscape and the characters in it with intricate detail but taunts us with questions begging for answers. 

Some of us expressed feelings of unease which the claustrophobic atmosphere created in the reader, but we all agreed there were touching moments in the human relationships between the pilgrims, like the narrator and his disabled brother Hanny, or the friendship between the brothers and Father Bernard. Also, the clumsy devices which were planted to help with the development of the plot, like the dead priest’s lost diaries or the letters found in the locked room in “Moorings”, merely contrived to frustrate, leaving us to make our own way to find explanations. It certainly kept our meeting buzzing, if nothing else!

We also agreed that the characters were cleverly defined and realistically portrayed and that Hurley drew our sympathy and dislike for them with equal measure. Nevertheless, the book left a deep impression, if only for the contrasts and the dynamics which drives it. “The Loney” certainly played with our minds and although it was not originally intended as a gothic horror it certainly contained all the elements.

And so on this night, as darkness fell in the shadowy depths of the “The Vic” after thoroughly analysing and demystifying “evil” versus “good” for an hour or more, our dedicated group took comfort and some relief, in food and refreshment, to talk only of lighter, more day-to-day things and laugh a little... As it was Anne Marie's birthday, we celebrated with a cake.

 “The Loney” was awarded 3.5 marks out of 5.

The chosen book for next month’s reading is “Big Brother” by Lionel Shriver.

September meeting - The Marble Collector

The September meeting of Low Fell Book Group discussed The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern. It took place at Rosa 12 at my suggestion, who accommodated us beautifully with absolutely no help at all from me. I didn’t book a table, had no idea how many people would be attending, but the staff gamely offered support with the only rider being that we would need to be out by 10pm. Oh how we laughed, three and a half hours for a book group meeting, surely not! (We left at 21:50.)

Just to continue with the chaos of the event I’d not printed out the booklist for next month (supplied by Joanne B) and have now lost all the email comments people had sent to me on the book. (It’s been tough month.) After providing the booklist for the October meeting as promised I think I’ll take a back seat and just enjoy reading the books for while!

Anne Marie started proceedings commenting that the book was ‘nice easy reading’ which she enjoyed although ‘it took a while to get into it’.

Universally the group expressed some surprise at the wealth of material that could be woven around marbles. I must admit having just divided my late father’s estate the book had me dashing to the internet to see if we’d sent something of value to the car boot sale. Well it seems there are some very nice and expensive marbles out there. A bit niche in their appeal perhaps. Not something there is a department for in ‘Collectables’ for example (other glass and china gift shops are available.)

It was delightful to have a door to this world opened for a while, although personally I did find relentless marble facts tedious after a while. No-one in the group had been aware of championship marble competitions, and remained rather underwhelmed by the knowledge.

In a new venture for the group we considered the ‘Reading Group Questions’ at the end of the book. Rather curiously one question seemed to invite disclosure of secrets in the group. ‘Have you ever hidden something about yourself, however small?’ I wonder how other groups fared with that one?

Sabrina was not found to be a likeable character. Dashing around mystery solving with relentless urgency, diving into hospital hydrotherapy pools fully clothed, travelling to some party in a car park in wet clothes with someone you’ve barely met and ‘tashing on’ with a man young enough to be your son. Emotionally unstable personality disorder at least. Or if there is truly a cycle to this ‘the moon made me do it’ possible mania in a bi polar presentation?

Emma wasn’t impressed with Sabrina’s life guard skills, leaving Mr Daly just a little too long underwater, getting angry about missing the action of a near drowning when she took her 5-minute (ok four and a half minute) coffee break. And her response to not being there when the emergency cord needed to be pulled; throwing a cup against the wall!  Anger management issues?

Speaking of the tashing….. it seemed this interlude opened the door to a ‘create your own character’ moment.

I had the young man as a cross between Harry Styles and Russell Brand … I think it was the reference to the skin tight jeans… Anne Marie pictured him with dreadlocks. But with a quick check mid-pasta eating it seems that he had long black hair, but no dreadlocks. Is there something that you have kept hidden from your past that you would like to share with the group Anne Marie?!

In contrast to Sabrina there was a lot of warmth for Fergus. His family history was particularly enjoyed by Joan who noted that ‘coming from a large family of scallywags’ herself, she identified with the relationships, politics and alliances. The moment in Venice when his ‘heart in a marble’ was rejected by Gina was painful reading, and it was no surprise to the group that this marriage ended in divorce.

It almost seemed that the pace of the ‘one-day investigation’ overshadowed the unravelling of Fergus’s storyline. Many members of the group had read the book very quickly. Gripping story? Easy read?  Not much on? I wonder if the urgency of the plot transferred to urgency for the reader?

Joanne B really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the storylines; a whole lifetime contrasted with the events of one day. The group found the ‘and they all lived happily ever after ending’ (Fergus regaining his memory) a little twee and unrealistic.

The biggest fan of the book this month was Susan who found the characters genuinely identifiable and the writing sympathetic and accessible.

Joanne C felt, having read other books by Cecelia Ahern, that this isn’t her finest hour, not one likely to be picked up by Hollywood this time. She is certainly an author that the group would be happy to read again, and this is reflected in the 3.5 stars rating.

Huge apologies for comments I have missed. It was lovely to be joined for the evening by a previously ‘remote’ member of the group. Sharon I’m sorry about the disorganisation of the evening, we shouldn’t be judged by my poor event management!

Next month's book is The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley and will be held on October 6th.