annethology
  • Home
    • About Annethology
    • About me >
      • A little more about me
    • About my books
    • Author talks
    • Contact me
    • Forthcoming events
    • World Mental Health Day
    • Privacy
    • Sign up for my newsletter
  • First two novels
    • Sugar and Snails >
      • Acknowledgements
      • Blog tour, Q&A's and feature articles >
        • Birthday blog tour
        • S&S on tour 2022
      • Early endorsements
      • Events >
        • Launch photos
        • Launch party videos
      • in pictures
      • Media
      • If you've read the book
      • Polari
      • Reading group questions
      • Reviews
      • In the media
    • Underneath >
      • Endorsements and reviews
      • Launch party and events
      • Pictures
      • Questions for book groups
      • The stories underneath the novel
  • Matilda Windsor series
    • The accidental series
    • Matilda Windsor >
      • What readers say
      • For book groups
      • Interviews, articles and features
      • Matty on the move
      • Who were you in 1990?
      • Asylum lit
      • Matilda Windsor media
    • Stolen Summers >
      • Stolen Summers reviews
    • Lyrics for the Loved Ones
  • Short stories
    • Somebody’s Daughter
    • Becoming Someone (anthology) >
      • Becoming Someone (video readings)
      • Becoming Someone reviews
      • Becoming Someone online book chat
    • Print and downloads
    • Read it online
    • Quick reads
  • Free ebook
  • Annecdotal
    • Annecdotal blog
    • Annecdotal Press
    • Articles >
      • Print journalism
      • Where psychology meets fiction
    • Fictional therapists
    • Reading and reviews >
      • Reviews A to H
      • Reviews I to M
      • Reviews N to Z
      • Nonfiction
      • Themed quotes
      • Reading around the world
  • Shop
    • Inspired Quill (my publisher)
    • Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
    • Amazon UK
    • Amazon US
    • books2read
  • Main site

Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Charismatic teens: Royals & The Lost Estate

26/10/2019

4 Comments

 
Two novels, written and published almost a century apart, about adolescent boys moonstruck by a slightly older teenager. You don’t have to share the narrators’ fascination to enjoy the novels, although it would probably help! The happenstance of coordinating covers suggests to me the novels are thematically well matched.

Picture
Picture


Royals by Emma Forrest

Jasmine is a nineteen-year-old heiress, left to her own devices when her kidult father goes travelling, and not given much parental guidance when he’s around. Steven, a working-class teenager of Jewish heritage, hates his father as much as Jasmine adores hers, but he does have the benefit of a mother who loves him and indulges his interest in fashion design. When a chance meeting brings the two together, they immediately connect, and for the rest of summer 1981 they’re barely apart. They bond like siblings, twins not lovers: although they might share baths and beds, their intimacy is more cerebral than physical, as Steven is (probably) gay.
 
Lounging around Jasmine’s Notting Hill townhouse, or chasing her whims through London, and even as far as Paris, they build dreams of a shared future when Steven is a celebrated designer and Jasmine is just more of the same. As they chat, and she consistently sidesteps allusions to her loneliness with ever more elaborate plans, Steven comes to realise how neglected and damaged his new friend is beneath the sparkly veneer. Although it was their vulnerabilities that brought them together, Steven had been battered and bruised by his father, whereas Jasmine had severely harmed herself.
 
Steven narrates the novel and I loved his voice from the first page. I loved how the details are lightly sketched in the opening scene to challenge the reader’s assumptions about what’s actually happening in the family home. It went downhill for me when he met Jasmine, partly because I couldn’t be as dazzled by her as he was, partly because the setting for their meeting didn’t ring true. Adults – albeit young adults – admitted to a children’s ward? Patients fit enough to wander the grounds but not discharged? A rich girl in an NHS hospital when London has plenty of private clinics?
 
Although I found it pleasant enough overall, the novel never recovered its initial promise. Clearly, the main focus is the relationship between the two young people, but a other settings also jarred. Steven, with no job, and seemingly not signing on the dole, can nevertheless find the funds to get home from Paris (Jasmine having paid for them to get there), as well as the nous to navigate the separate parts of the journey when he’s never travelled before. Then his mother enrols him in what he terms a “youth club” but sounds like daycare for much younger kids. If she wanted him out of the house and away from his father, why not pack him off to a museum? This might seem petty quibbles, tangential to the main thread of the story, but I liked Steven, and was more than willing to suspend my disbelief.
 
A coming-of-age novel about class, charismatic teens and the manic-depressive personality that romanticises self-harm and suicide. Thanks to publishers Bloomsbury Circus for my review copy.


The Lost Estate by Henri Alain Fournier translated by
Robin Buss

François, fifteen-year-old schoolteacher’s son, has never known anyone like the slightly older boy who joins his class in 1890s rural France. Not only is Augustin Meaulnes physically imposing, his personality is larger than life. When he disappears for a few days and returns with an account of stumbling upon a house party to celebrate a wedding, François is further beguiled. As the boys grow into men, they dedicate years to finding the mysterious house and the brother and sister who grew up there.
 
I hope I haven’t made the premise sound too interesting. I read this extremely dull French classic for my book group and wouldn’t have given it blog room but for the thematic similarities with Royals reviewed above. As I understand from Adam Gopnick’s introduction to the Penguin edition I read, this story of characters stuck in interminable adolescence, ever trying to recapture a perfect moment in time, has had a major influence of French literature, and possibly British too.
 
My impatience with this novel – I had no sympathy for any of the characters and just wanted to shout “Get a life!”, especially to François who seems to live vicariously through his friend – might be why I don’t “get” some contemporary French translations. For example, Anne Serre’s The Governesses, which describes a crazy house party similar to the one Augustin gatecrashes, might have made more sense to me if I’d known about this.
Picture
It’s not that I don’t recognise the pull of the past – in fact, “In Search of Mr Right”, one of the stories in my collection on the theme of identity, Becoming Someone, is about a woman’s nostalgia for a man she only glimpsed in her teens – but I’m not going to indulge it, at least not now I no longer work as a therapist. When so many live with adversity, it seems a poor excuse for wasting one’s life. Perhaps the friend who chose it will change my mind at our book group meeting. Meanwhile, what do you think? Am I being too mean?

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
4 Comments
Norah Colvin
29/10/2019 10:53:12 am

Interesting thoughts about French literature, Anne. I wonder is some of it that the content, and theme perhaps, is no longer of our times and you read so much that is very current. I would resent 'having' to read a book I didn't like for a book club and probably wouldn't have. You are made of sterner stuff than I.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
31/10/2019 02:48:11 pm

I think a lot of it is style – I tend to prefer more showing.
Well, I certainly had a choice as to whether to finish this, I think it was worth it for the group discussion. I’m also aware that although I believe I’m interested in adolescence as the theme there’s a lot I don’t relate to probably because my own was so distorted. Lots of five-star reviews elsewhere online.

Reply
Norah Colvin
1/11/2019 10:43:42 am

I'm pleased you remained honest and weren't swayed by the 5-star reviews. I sometimes (often) wish I belonged to a book club to discuss the books I read. I'd get so much more out of them if I could discuss them with others. There are lots of clubs around, but they probably wouldn't suit my reading taste or style.

Anne Goodwin
4/11/2019 11:21:08 am

I wouldn’t change my review to fit with others but I often wonder what I’m missing when I hate a book others have particularly enjoyed. Sometimes it can be a blind spot in me that makes me reject it which can be interesting to discover!


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.
    Picture
    Available now
    Picture
    The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home
    Picture
    Find a review
    Picture
    Fictional therapists
    Picture
    Picture
    About Anne Goodwin
    Picture
    My published books
    entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice
    Picture
    My third novel, published May 2021
    Picture
    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
    Picture
    Picture
    My second novel published May 2017.
    Picture
    Short stories on the theme of identity published 2018
    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 2 books toward their goal of 100 books.
    hide
    2 of 100 (2%)
    view books
    Picture
    Annecdotal is where real life brushes up against the fictional.  
    Picture
    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
    reader, writer,

    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
    recovering psychologist, 
    struggling soprano, 
    author of three fiction books.

    LATEST POSTS HERE
    I don't post to a schedule, but average  around ten reviews a month (see here for an alphabetical list), 
    some linked to a weekly flash fiction, plus posts on my WIPs and published books.  

    Your comments are welcome any time any where.

    Get new posts direct to your inbox ...

    Enter your email address:

    or click here …

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Tweets by @Annecdotist
    Picture
    New short story, “My Dirty Weekend”
    Picture
    Let’s keep in touch – subscribe to my newsletter
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Popular posts

    • Compassion: something we all need
    • Do spoilers spoil?
    • How to create a convincing fictional therapist
    • Instructions for a novel
    • Looking at difference, embracing diversity
    • Never let me go: the dilemma of lending books
    • On loving, hating and writers’ block
      On Pop, Pirates and Plagiarism
    • READIN' for HER reviews
    • Relishing the cuts
    • The fast first draft
    • The tragedy of obedience
    • Writers and therapy: a love-hate relationship?

    Categories/Tags

    All
    Animals
    Annecdotist Hosts
    Annecdotist On Tour
    Articles
    Attachment Theory
    Author Interviews
    Becoming Someone
    Being A Writer
    Blogging
    Bodies
    Body
    Bookbirthday
    Books For Writers
    Bookshops
    CB Book Group
    Character
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Classics
    Climate Crisis
    Coming Of Age
    Counsellors Cafe
    Creative Writing Industry
    Creativity
    Cumbria
    Debut Novels
    Disability
    Editing
    Emotion
    Ethics
    Ethis
    Family
    Feedback And Critiques
    Fictional Psychologists & Therapists
    Food
    Friendship
    Futuristic
    Gender
    Genre
    Getting Published
    Giveaways
    Good Enough
    Grammar
    Gratitude
    Group/organisational Dynamics
    Hero’s Journey
    History
    Humour
    Identity
    Illness
    Independent Presses
    Institutions
    International Commemorative Day
    Jane Eyre
    Kidney Disease
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Live Events
    Lyrics For The Loved Ones
    Marketing
    Matilda Windsor
    Memoir
    Memory
    Mental Health
    Microfiction
    Motivation
    Music
    MW Prequel
    Names
    Narrative Voice
    Nature / Gardening
    Networking
    Newcastle
    Nonfiction
    Nottingham
    Novels
    Pandemic
    Peak District
    Perfect Match
    Poetry
    Point Of View
    Politics
    Politics Current Affairs
    Presentation
    Privacy
    Prizes
    Psychoanalytic Theory
    Psychology
    Psycholoists Write
    Psychotherapy
    Race
    Racism
    Rants
    Reading
    Real Vs Imaginary
    Religion
    Repetitive Strain Injury
    Research
    Reviewing
    Romance
    Satire
    Second Novels
    Settings
    Sex
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories General
    Short Stories My Published
    Short Stories Others'
    Siblings
    Snowflake
    Somebody's Daughter
    Stolen Summers
    Storytelling
    Structure
    Sugar And Snails
    Technology
    The
    The Guestlist
    Therapy
    TikTok
    TNTB
    Toiletday
    Tourism
    Toxic Positivity
    Transfiction
    Translation
    Trauma
    Unconscious
    Unconscious, The
    Underneath
    Voice Recognition Software
    War
    WaSBihC
    Weather
    Work
    Writing Process
    Writing Technique

    Archives

    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Picture
    BLOGGING COMMUNITIES
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from havens.michael34, romana klee, mrsdkrebs, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., adam & lucy, dluders, Joybot, Hammer51012, jorgempf, Sherif Salama, eyspahn, raniel diaz, E. E. Piphanies, scaredofbabies, Nomadic Lass, paulternate, Tony Fischer Photography, archer10 (Dennis), slightly everything, impbox, jonwick04, country_boy_shane, dok1, Out.of.Focus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Elvert Barnes, guillenperez, Richard Perry, jamesnaruke, Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, El Tuerto, kona99, maveric2003, !anaughty!, Patrick Denker, David Davies, hamilcar_south, idleformat, Dave Goodman, Sharon Mollerus, photosteve101, La Citta Vita, A Girl With Tea, striatic, carlosfpardo, Damork, Elvert Barnes, UNE Photos, jurvetson, quinn.anya, BChristensen93, Joelk75, ashesmonroe, albertogp123, >littleyiye<, mudgalbharat, Swami Stream, Dicemanic, lovelihood, anyjazz65, Tjeerd, albastrica mititica, jimmiehomeschoolmom, joshtasman, tedeytan, striatic, goforchris, torbakhopper, maggibautista, andreboeni, snigl3t, rainy city, frankieleon