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

Stronger Than Skin & Siren: Youth’s Scandalous Secrets Brought to Light

24/7/2017

4 Comments

 
Should mistakes made in adolescence be allowed to blight a life? Both having spent over two decades safeguarding their own secrets, the protagonists of these two novels would hope not. While both Mark and Sheen’s mistakes have had serious consequences, they’d argue they were seduced into situations they were too young or too blinkered to understand. But now their pasts are catching up with them: Mark’s because his former lover has confessed to murder; Sheen’s because the man who stole her future refuses to face the truth. Can they confront their own responsibility without losing everything they’ve gained? And how did these students get embroiled in such a mess?

Picture
Picture

Stronger Than Skin by Stephen May

Mark Chadwick is looking forward to the weekend with his family as he cycles home from his teaching job in North London. When he sees the police car parked in his street, he’s mildly curious. When he sees two officers approach his front door, he’s so scared, he cycles right past. After twenty odd years, his past mistake has finally caught up with him. If he can’t find Anne Sheldon, the older woman with whom he had an affair as a student at Cambridge, and persuade her to exonerate him, he’s going to miss more than the birth of his third child.
 
As Mark goes into hiding, courtesy of a chance meeting with a former pupil, we travel back in time to his first meeting with Anne. He’s beguiled by her bohemian confidence, the product of age, experience, social class and rather a lot of expensive wine, and by her veto on sharing sad stories, something of a relief to an adolescent not yet ready to process his younger sister’s suicide only a year before. He neglects his friends, his studies but, when his father suffers a heart attack, he’s forced to swap a summer with his lover for a return home to Colchester to help run the family pub. When, after several weeks’ absence, he returns to visit Anne, she’s in a mess: her husband is determined to divorce her for a new life abroad. Too young to recognise the extent of her flakiness and with a strong dislike of Philip for reasons of his own, Mark creates a noose for his own neck by doing all he can to help.
 

Stronger Than Skin is a story of wounds and scars, of the families that make us and those we make in our turn, of secrets, growing up, and failing to, and of youth out of its depth. It’s also, as Stephen May explains on the Literary Sofa, about modern manhood, and the startling fact that men are people too. Although I liked how the novel explores this, both through Mark’s perspective as a teacher and his sister’s insistence that men should listen more, I don’t think I’d have picked up on it much if I hadn’t read his post before I read the book. That’s partly because I was engrossed in the story but also perhaps because women of my generation who’ve read avidly since childhood are well practised in identifying with a male narrator as a matter of course.
 
Thanks to Sandstone Press for another great read. For more on vulnerable masculinities, read
Two novels about young men forced to face the real world.

Siren by Annemarie Neary

Tongues are wagging on the remote Lamb Island as a woman arrives from America to rent Murphy’s cottage in the run-up to Easter 2004. Boyle, squatting in the derelict schoolhouse nearby, shares the community’s curiosity, but not the craic; he’s been persona non grata since the disappearance of another female visitor to the island several months before. When Lonergan, the popular politician with a holiday home on the island, offers him money to spy on the newcomer, and perhaps scare her away, it seems to suit him perfectly. But what has Lonergan got against the attractive New Yorker, and will the Dutchman, Theo, seduce her before he can get near?
 
Like Diana, the protagonist of
my debut novel, Sugar and Snails, Sheen has had to reinvent herself before she’s finished school. As a naive Belfast schoolgirl, she was an accomplice to murder as part of the civil war that had served as backdrop to her entire life. Like Diana, she puts the past behind her but, when her marriage breaks down, in part due to an identity based on lies, while the career of the man who stole her innocence is on the ascendant, Sheen decides to go back. She’s going to confront Lonergan with the evidence of his sordid background. But will she be safe to do so and, in a country keen to move on from the Troubles, will anyone really care?
 
Siren is a cut above your average thriller in the exquisite use of language, plot credibility and relevance of the sociopolitical context in which the story unfolds. Reading this, I was struck by how little fiction I’ve come across addressing the bloody conflict in my own nation (albeit in that “foreign” part across the sea) relative to similar trauma abroad. In fact, the only novel on the Troubles I can recall reviewing is The Insect Rosary. Thanks to Hutchinson books for providing this opportunity to add another one to this list.

Picture

Knowing that some of my readers are, like me, intrigued by book covers, you might have noticed the similarity between this one and my second novel,
Underneath. Despite the supposition that blue covers suggest comfort, both these novels show houses with lighted and unlighted windows in blue and yellow to evoke a sense of jeopardy within the walls.

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 link
25/7/2017 12:06:50 pm

An intriguing pair of novels, Anne. Siren is of interest, mainly because of my connection to Belfast and, as you say, the scarcity of novels about the era. Stronger than Skin also sounds interesting, and you raise a very pertinent question in your opening: Should mistakes made in adolescence be allowed to blight a life?
There is a lot of discussion about that currently in relation to online behaviour, but I'm not sure that any number of warnings will make a difference to young people. They are not yet ready to accept responsibilities or consequences. Should they blight a life? Maybe that depends on the seriousness of the activity and the depth of the attitudes. Who's to judge? A psychologist?

Reply
Annecdotist
25/7/2017 06:55:05 pm

I was actually thinking of you when I was reading Siren. I don’t know whether you’ve come across other novels about the Troubles?
These are interesting novels for considering the extent to which we’re accountable for our own behaviour but, as you point out, the world is changing with the potentially embarrassing digital footprint. After all, if oldies like us can make fools of ourselves online, what chance for the youth?

Reply
Charli Mills
25/7/2017 03:33:56 pm

Evidently there's a lot by which we can judge a book by its cover! The similarities between your book cover for Underneath and Sirens is made all the more interesting by your explanation of color and lit windows. Beyond covers, both books in your review have interesting themes and circumstances to explore. While writing and researching, Rock Creek, I often wonder at how we fail to give space for the youth and vulnerability of young men, especially in western mythology where guns are said to separate the men the boys. That brings us to a novel about the Troubles. Perhaps the history is distant enough to begin exploring it in the literature.

Reply
Annecdotist
25/7/2017 07:34:59 pm

Sadly, I’m not sure that the Troubles feel so distant, especially now that the breakdown in joint leadership of the Northern Ireland assembly and exit from the EU is destabilising things once more. And indeed, still lots of pressure on boys and young men to be tough, then the law comes down hard on them when they cross the line. Although Stronger Than Skin isn’t really about that style of masculinity – although there’s a nice set piece over the pool table in a pub when the main character realises the young men he’s challenged to a game just want to be loved.

Reply



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
    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

    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