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
  • 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
    • 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
  • 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

About the author and blogger ...

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

TELL ME MORE

Keeping going: The Life of the Mind & The Retreat

12/11/2021

10 Comments

 
I was going to call this post hopes dashed, but that would be too sensational for these two lovely novels about women getting on with it after disappointment, not because they’re heroic survivors but because they’re ordinary flawed human beings. In the first, an untenured academic carries on as normal despite a drawn-out miscarriage; in the second, an aspiring artist continues painting despite a lack of talent and community support. Both stories unfold in elegant understated prose with touches of humour.

Picture
Picture


The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood

As an academic, Dorothy has chosen the life of the mind, but it isn’t working out as well as she’d hoped. Being mistaken for student when she uses the library photocopier might seem a trivial concern, but it places her firmly at the bottom of the hierarchy with seemingly little opportunity to secure a permanent post.
 
For the few months covered by this novel, however, she’s intensely preoccupied with her body. With the discharge – part blood, part defunct tissue – from her vagina, to be precise, following a miscarriage she observes with detached curiosity.
 
She doesn’t tell her friend about the miscarriage; nor does she tell either of her two therapists. It’s not, she rationalises, avoidance but that the opportunity has passed her by.
 
There’s not much plot to Christine Smallwood’s debut novel, but Dorothy’s wry observations and neurotic self-analysis kept this reader turning the page. Stream of consciousness minus the boring bits, The Life of the Mind is a refreshing exploration of the gap between thinking and doing, between the female body and the non-gendered mind. Thanks to publishers Europa Editions for my advance proof copy.
 
But, Anne, you haven’t slated the characterisation of the therapists! Turns out, I haven’t much to say about them, apart from the obvious absurdity of Dorothy seeing a second therapist to talk about the first. Otherwise I’d give them both a B+ (not that I’ve ever graded fictional therapists in my growing library before, but Dorothy gives all her students and A-).

Picture


The Retreat by Alison Moore

Sandra has harboured two improbable ambitions since childhood: to go to art school and to visit the small private island of Lieloh. Coming across an advert for an artists’ retreat on the island seems like the start of a double dream come true. So she books her place and heads for the harbour with high hopes of joining a supportive creative community. Unfortunately, that’s not what she finds.
 
Like all of us, Sandra has her oddities but are they enough to make her the odd one out? The group quickly develops routines and rituals that leave little space for Sandra’s preferences. Determined not to waste the opportunity to practice her art, she shrugs off the other members’ mockery of her evening gown and their complaints about the meatless lasagne she makes when it’s her turn to cook. But neither the house itself – former home of a reclusive film star – nor her flat watercolour seascapes can compensate for the emotional chill.
 
I’ve loved all four of Alison Moore’s previous novels for adults – the most recent being Missing published in 2018 – and this was no exception. I particularly admire the ability to make relatively ordinary situations seem macabre. I also love the visual imagery: how objects are planted, as they might be in film, as clues to how we might interpret the story. No doubt I missed several in The Retreat, but picked up on doubles and mirrors; fantasy and fairy tale; and the small, smaller and smallest islands like matryoshka dolls.
 
With a heavily pregnant character and a parallel narrative concerning a writer on an individual retreat, also on an island, this can be read as a novel about ambition and creativity. For me, however, it’s much more about the power of group processes: the pain of exclusion and the pressure, both internal and external, to fit in. That pressure is especially intense on an island, with no easy way of escape; The Retreat, although less violent, put me in mind of The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and The Lord of the Flies.
 
Thanks to Helen Richardson and Salt publishing for my advance copy. If you’d like to know more about The Retreat, why not come to the online launch next Monday, November 15, 2021?
 
My latest novel is about a woman who also keeps going when her hopes are more dramatically dashed. Watch the trailer and/or go here to Matilda Windsor’s webpage to learn more.



I also considered calling this post carrying on, but wanted to avoid suggesting the alternative meaning messing about. But I’m carrying on anyway because, by sheer coincidence, that’s this week’s flash fiction prompt.

Having recently returned to my maybe-YA novel Snowflake, I considered writing my 99-word story about kids messing about. But, walking the fields this morning, I remembered carrying on past a no entry sign on a country walk several years ago when my stubbornness was met with unexpected kindness:

Picture
Footpath closed

Mile by mile her mood lightens, until the signboard returns the clouds to her mind. FOOTPATH CLOSED. BRIDGE REPAIRS. FIND AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE. She’d stamp her foot if it weren’t already aching. She can’t trudge for an extra hour.

She’ll ford the stream if there’s a shallow spot. If there’s no-one around. But that hammering isn’t a woodpecker. That whistling isn’t a starling.

The sky darkens. The foreman bars her way. She’s ready to argue when he directs her to a hidden bridge, ten minutes upstream.

She’d sought succour in solitude. She found it in kindness she didn’t deserve.
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.
10 Comments
Charli MIlls
16/11/2021 02:43:32 am

These reviews sparked my interest, Anne. Allison Moore, ah, I've come to appreciate her writing and I'm intrigued by the object placed as clues to direct reading. That symbology is also very Lord of the Flies. It also reminds me of a modern dance performance I saw Thursday night, a collaboration between a Japanese choreographer and an Israeli composer who spent several weeks alone, collaborating on an artist residency that is a remote wilderness island in Lake Superior. Generously, these international artists, one in New York, the other in London, debuted their work at Michigan Tech University. I thought their time together would be worth a story! He was captivated by "pooping in the bush" and told the audience so. I cheered.

Funny how we think we don't deserve kindness and maybe that's why we withhold it. I like how your character carried on, taking her chances and finding the unexpected. We are in sync -- carry on, Anne!

Reply
Anne Goodwin
17/11/2021 04:11:04 pm

That artist retreat sounds interesting, and more productive than the one in the novel. I wonder if her will be able to use his toilet experience for WTD on Friday!

Well, I thought she didn't deserve that kindness because she ignored the warning sign, and thus it meant more to her.

Reply
Norah Colvin
16/11/2021 09:48:56 am

Hi Anne,
I enjoyed your reviews. Both books sound interesting though I'd probably choose The Retreat first. I haven't read any of Alison Moore. You review makes me feel like I 'should'. (My feeling not your doing.)
I love your flash, especially that it is a bots. It's great to know that paths open up when we keep on going. Road blocks aren't always dead ends.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
17/11/2021 04:12:28 pm

Some paths open up, but not always. I've been down a few dead ends!

Reply
Norah Colvin
9/12/2021 11:42:01 am

I know what you mean. I've been down far too many also.

Anne Goodwin
10/12/2021 06:54:06 pm

;-)

D. Avery link
17/11/2021 12:39:09 am

Serendipity (synchronicity?) strikes again, and you seamlessly mix your reviews with the flash prompt. Thinking if you and Charli Mills like Alison Moore...
But oh, the tbr pile- I've unread, partially read books all around.
The walk in your flash also in the flow. There was succor, solitude, and a lesson from a stranger.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
17/11/2021 04:15:44 pm

Oh yes, the tbr pile. Do you have more reading time in the winter, or are you out in the snow?

Reply
D. Avery link
17/11/2021 04:27:05 pm

Winter is great outside time. I walk on water! Or skate, or ice-fish. Or go cross country skiing or snow-shoeing. And of course bringing in wood and stoking the fire. Really, I just get distracted too easily, and put reading off until day's end and then I fall asleep. And I start a book, then another. Usually the right book comes at the right time. I don't plan on taking a job this winter so maybe I will get better at reading. And that other thing that requires my butt in a chair. Which is what I'm sort of doing right now sort of.

Anne Goodwin
21/11/2021 02:08:07 pm

I can see the attraction of walking on water. Not quite as cold here but we do get some bright winter days.




Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.
    Picture
    OUT NOW: 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 latest 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

    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 used under Creative Commons 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