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This latest batch of micro reviews – the first of this year – features a Nigerian classic novel; a non-fiction book about Britain’s black communities during the First World War; a novella about the bond between a woman and her granddaughter; a psychological thriller set in a care home; a memoir about psychiatric abuse; a novel about love against the odds; a classic novel about a young woman’s breakdown; a whimsical fantasy and an Indian retelling of King Lear.
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rereading the copy I bought in Zimbabwe in the mid-1980s, what strikes me (alongside the culture clash with the missionaries) is the theme of fathers and sons. Okonkwo was determined not to be a better man than his father was unprepared for his son choosing a different path for himself. Then there's the sacrifice of the 'adopted' son and the imposition of the fatherhood of the colonisers' church.
Black Poppies: Britain's Black Community and the Great War by Stephen BourneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There have been Black people living in Britain since the 1500s, some of whom served in the First World War. Others travelled, often at their own expense, to fight for the Mother Country. How tragic, then, to read about the racist riots that terrorised black families in some English and Welsh seaports, which one historian likened to Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany. But, as outlined movingly in his introduction, the author's main aim for this book was to help contemporary young black Britons growing up in a racist country to feel pride, not victimhood, in their heritage.
What Willow Says by Lynn BuckleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A beautifully lyrical and poignant story of a widowed artist and her orphaned granddaughter sharing a love of the natural world through sign language and a passion for trees.
Someone Close to Home by Alex CraigieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Megan has a successful career as a pianist but that's not quite enough for her mother, who manipulates her into marrying a movie star. When he turns out to be even more vicious and controlling than her mother, she stays in the marriage for the sake of the children. Eventually, as they leave home, she starts to recover her self-esteem, until disaster strikes: a cerebral haemorrhage that leaves her without movement or speech. She's farmed off to a care home where, due both to overwork and straightforward maliciousness, kindness is in short supply. That would be bad enough, but there's one member of staff who perceives Megan's helplessness and as an opportunity to avenge her troubled childhood.
Alex Christie brilliantly evokes the terror of being totally dependent on people who are not only neglectful, but cruel, alongside the cracks in the care system that prioritises profit over people. An uncomfortable story beautifully told.
Will There Really Be a Morning? by Frances FarmerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The shocking posthumously-published maybe-memoir of an unloved daughter; 1930s Hollywood-hating film star; involuntary psychiatric patient; angry alcoholic and one half of a same-sex couple who insisted they were only friends. I read it on the recommendation of a writer in my critique group because I'm completing a novella set in an asylum (across the pond) in the same era. I thought I knew how sadistic those places could be, but this was horrific: neglect, bullying, unhygienic, with torturous treatments such as freezing-cold-water hydrotherapy (but no mention of the lobotomy she's rumoured to have had). A good example of disordered attachment and an individual scapegoated for an entire family's difficulties, but the woman remains an enigma.
Reminders of Him by Colleen HooverMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
She likes him. He likes her. They both love her daughter. But the more time they spend together, the more they jeopardise their relationship with the little girl. I got a little tired of the characters reminding me how high the stakes were, but I was still in tears at the end.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rereading this for a blog post on women and mental health history, I'd forgotten how well-written it is and how perfectly encapsulates how gender expectations of the time could drive a young woman mad. I'd also forgotten the wonderful opening with the Rosenbergs’ state-sanctioned murder, along with the pain and confusion with being out of step with public opinion. And so sad reading about the suicide attempts when we know what happened to the author.
This One Sky Day by Leone RossMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Having loved this author's short story collection, this was certainly on my radar when it was published last year. But, given it was fantasy, I thought I'd pass. Alas, I wish I'd gone with my gut instead of picking up the copy calling out to me from a bookstall. The potentially interesting themes of love, identity, sex and sexuality, food, loss, racism, capitalism and corruption were swamped by the whimsy.
We That Are Young by Preti TanejaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mixed feelings about this retelling of King Lear in a contemporary capitalist India. It's beautifully written, particularly at the beginning, but way too long, especially when the characters are (appropriately) so unlikeable and nor did I learn anything new.
View all my reviews
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This week’s flash fiction challenge is to write a story about when a newly released prisoner meets the disabled veteran who adopted the puppy the prisoner trained behind bars. Seems to me that’s already a story in its own right but Reminders of Him fired my creative flare, although the character detail I borrowed from that novel didn’t fit into 99 words.
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Rescue dog
Everything she loved was taken from her. So, when the cell door closed, she resolved never to love again. She wouldn’t love the puppies she trained as support dogs for disabled veterans. Hell, she only did that job to expedite her release.
Once out, she refused to love the freedom. Perhaps that’s why she got in the car with the mean-eyed man. And his golden retriever that smelled like one of hers.
She refused to care when he pulled a knife and unzipped his fly. But when he grabbed her clothing, the dog bit his arm and she ran.
Everything she loved was taken from her. So, when the cell door closed, she resolved never to love again. She wouldn’t love the puppies she trained as support dogs for disabled veterans. Hell, she only did that job to expedite her release.
Once out, she refused to love the freedom. Perhaps that’s why she got in the car with the mean-eyed man. And his golden retriever that smelled like one of hers.
She refused to care when he pulled a knife and unzipped his fly. But when he grabbed her clothing, the dog bit his arm and she ran.
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