We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Paperback:  336 pages
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Serpents Tail, 2014
Source: Purchased from Amazon.
First Sentence: Those who know me now will be surprised to learn that I was a great talker as a child.
Favourite Quote: Language is more than just words, he said Language is also the order of words and the way one word inflects another.
Review Quote: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is a dark cautionary tale hanging out, incognito-style, in what at first seems a traditional family narrative. It is anything but. This novel is deliciously jaunty in tone and disturbing in material. Karen Joy Fowler tells the story of how one animal-the animal of man-can simultaneously destroy and expand our notion of what is possible (Alice Sebold)
Literary Awards: Man Booker Prize Nominee (2014), Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2013), PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (2014), California Book Award Gold Medal for Fiction (2013), John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee (2014)

Specsavers National Book Award for International Author of the Year (2014) ...less 

My Opinion: .The strangest book I have read this year!



Well that was indeed a different read! A very odd and strange narrative, that first appears to be a traditionally told family story. However it is far from that, very difficult indeed to say much without spoilers, which I always aim not to do. 

Very briefly then, this novel starts out very normally and I thought I was going to enjoy the account of life in the Cooke household where the three siblings Lowell, Fern and Rosemary were growing up. Personally I found Rosemary to be extremely annoying, what a misery she was, making her life far more hellish than it needed to be surely. What a dysfunctional family unit they were and being used by one's parents in such a strange way obviously had a very bewildering effect on the children. When you come to the twist you will start to realise why!

There is no doubt that the author is a talented writer and in theory the plot is a very clever one and the novel is well deserving of it's short listing for the Man Booker Prize. However it was just not for me, I found the concept completely unappealing, maybe I was meant to, it is certainly a disturbing one. With the strong themes of grief, loss and animal experimentation this is not a novel for the faint hearted. 

Précis: Courtesy of Goodreads:

What if you grew up to realise that your father had used your childhood as an experiment?

Rosemary doesn't talk very much, and about certain things she's silent. She had a sister, Fern, her whirlwind other half, who vanished from her life in circumstances she wishes she could forget. And it's been ten years since she last saw her beloved older brother Lowell.

Now at college, Rosemary starts to see that she can't go forward without going back, back to the time when, aged five, she was sent away from home to her grandparents and returned to find Fern gone

Author Profile:

Karen Joy Fowler was born in n Bloomington, Indiana, USA, on  February 07, 1950 .   

About this author

: in her own words.
I was born in Bloomington, Indiana. I was due on Valentine's Day but arrived a week early; my mother blamed this on a really exciting IU basketball game. My father was a psychologist at the University, but not that kind of psychologist. He studied animal behavior, and especially learning. He ran rats through mazes. My mother was a polio survivor, a schoolteacher, and a pioneer in the co-operative nursery school movement. Along with basketball, my family loved books. The day I got my first library card there was a special dinner to celebrate. And before I could read myself, I remember my father reading The Iliad to me, although really he was reading it to my older brother, I just got to be there. A shocking book! And I remember Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh in my father's voice and a bunch of other things that weren't movies yet. My parents strongly disapproved of the Disney version of things. Pooh believed in a spoonful of honey, but Mary Poppins did not.

Biography courtesy of  Goodreads where the full article may be read.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Goodreads - Author Profile    Karen Joy Fowler - Official Author Website    Amazon Author Page

Cross Roads by Wm Paul Young

Paperback: 286 pages

Genre: Christian Fiction
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 2013
Source: Tywyn Public Library 
First Sentences: Some years in Portland, Oregon, winter is a bully, spitting sleet and spewing snow in fits and starts as it violently wrestles days from spring, claiming some archaic right to remain king of the seasons-ultimately the vain attempt of another pretender.
Favourite Quote: “There is always risk in relationships, but bottom line? The world has no meaning apart from relationships. Some are just messier than others, some are seasonal, others are difficult, and a few are easy, but every one of them is important.” 
My Opinion:  Comforting at the time of reading.


My Review :
Prior to being given this book to read for one of the Book Clubs I belong to I had never heard of this author and my initial reaction was that this was a book I very much doubt I would have read from choice.

Like many of us I struggle to understand the world and the meaning of life, so when I first read the blurb for this novel I felt it may be a comforting read. Indeed it was but only at the time of reading, not in a life changing way. A story of  relationships, participation and the choices we make at the crossroads in our lives.

A very complicated story but simply put it is about a businessman who after being involved in an accident is left in a coma.  The protagonist Tony is broken and bitter after the loss of a loved one, he does not really have any faith. Even without a strong belief in God, he finds himself not just meeting him but carrying out a mission on his behalf.  Mysteriously inside other bodies, yes they know he is there, he is able to examine his life in retrospect.  Difficult to comprehend but then so is life, The one thing that slightly concerned me is that maybe some devoted Christians may well find this 'possession' offensive.

A Christian book but absolutely no need to be a believer to benefit from reading.  The author writes (obviously his own beliefs) about life and death in a compassionate way.

You really do need to read this for yourself!

Précis: Courtesy of Goodreads:
  
Anthony Spencer is egotistical, proud of being a self-made business success at the peak of his game, even though the cost of winning was painfully high. A cerebral hemorrhage leaves Tony comatose in a hospital ICU. He 'awakens' to find himself in a surreal world, a 'living' landscape that mirrors dimensions of his earthly life, from the beautiful to the corrupt. It is here that he has vivid interactions with others he assumes are projections of his own subconscious, but whose directions he follows nonetheless with the possibility that they might lead to authenticity and perhaps, redemption. The adventure draws Tony into deep relational entanglements where he is able to 'see' through the literal eyes and experiences of others, but is "blind" to the consequences of hiding his personal agenda and loss that emerge to war against the processes of healing and trust. Will this unexpected coalescing of events cause Tony to examine his life and realize he built a house of cards on the poisoned grounds of a broken heart? Will he also have the courage to make a critical choice that can undo a major injustice he set in motion before falling into a coma?


YouTube : Official Book Trailer

Author Profile:

William Paul Young was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada on May 11th 1955. The eldest of four children but the majority of his first decade was lived with his missionary parents in the highlands of Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua), among the Dani, a technologically stone age tribal people. These became his family and as the first white child and outsider who ever spoke their language, he was granted unusual access into their culture and community.  An extended biography can be read here


The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and his writing.


YouTube - Book Trailer      Goodreads - Author Profile    Paul Young - Author's Official Website

Facebook - William Paul Young     Wikipedia Profile      Google Search Page

Dangerous Waters by Anne Allen

Paperback: 302 pages.                                                                                                      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Romance.

Publisher: Matador 2012

Source: The author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

First Sentence: Jeanne went out on deck as the spring sun broke through the clouds.

Review Quote: The island of Guernsey is so vividly evoked, one feels as if one is walking its byways. An atmospheric and tantalising read. --Elizabeth Bailey, author of The Gilded Shroud

Literary Awards: Wishing Shelf Awards 2012 - Silver

My Opinion: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am now looking forward to reading the rest of The Guernsey Novels of which this is the first of four already published. With the fifth due out in the spring of 2016, I had better get a move on if I want to catch up and read the others before then. 

'DangerousWaters' is set in Guernsey and the author's imagery conjures up the beauty of the island. The setting combined with the mystery and romance surrounding the protagonist Jeanne, this story will whisk you away to another world. A novel to immerse yourself in and for awhile forget the trials and tribulations surrounding us all in reality.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads

Tragedy seems to follows Jeanne Le Page around ...

Can she really go through it again and survive?

Jeanne Le Page is lucky to be alive … 15 years ago she was almost killed in a boating accident which brought heart-breaking family tragedy. Now 31, Jeanne is reluctantly returning to the Island of Guernsey following the death of her beloved Grandmother. Struggling for breath as the ferry nears the Island, Jeanne feels a dark foreboding overwhelm her as hazy memories of that terrible day resurface.

Only back on the Island to sell her inheritance - her Grandmother’s old cottage - she has no intention of sticking around to pick up her old life. But the cottage holds a secret, dating back to World War II, and Jeanne becomes drawn into discovering more. Then, shortly after her arrival, a chance meeting with an old teenage crush leads her to thoughts of love.

Jeanne is forced to face her demons, reliving the tragedy as her lost memory returns.

The truth is finally revealed, endangering Jeanne’s life for a second time…

Dangerous Waters is a heart-warming, contemporary romance and mystery that captures the reader’s imagination, written in a style comparable to that of Maeve Binchy.

Video Trailer for 'Dangerous Waters' Courtesy of YouTube

Author Profile

Author Biography in her own words from her website

I live by my beloved sea in Devon and have three adult children – two boys and a girl – and two small grandchildren.  A restless soul, I have moved  around a lot and spent many years in Guernsey after falling in love with the island. I managed to leave one son behind to give me a valid reason for   frequent returns! Another son is in London which proves handy for City breaks. I’m now in Devon to be near my daughter and grandchildren and love the fact that I’m still by the sea. I was born in Rugby, right in the middle of the country and as far from the sea as you can get, so spent most of  my adult life moving to coastal areas. Am particularly happiest in warmer climes, having lived in Spain for a few years. My ideal would be to spend  part of the English winter somewhere warm, possibly Spain, so that I can recharge my body and soul. 

By profession I was a psychotherapist but have long had creative ‘itches’, learning to mosaic, paint furniture, interior design and sculpt. Although I had often thought about being a writer, life had always seemed to get in the way. Bringing up three children on one’s own didn’t make it any easier! Then, a few years ago, I won a true-life story competition run by Prima magazine, which was featured in a two-page spread when published. A real boost to my writer’s ego!  

About this time I ran out of excuses for not writing a novel and the story for Dangerous Waters came unbidden after reading Joanne Harris’s Coastliners, set on a small French island. It reminded me of Guernsey and I was drawn to write a novel that was both about love and loss – central to everyone’s lives – and family secrets going back many years. My experience as a psychotherapist helped me enormously, having spent many years helping people to deal with serious issues like the loss of loved ones. I’ve also had my own life experiences to draw on…! But I must stress that the novel is not based on anyone’s real story, it is fiction. At the time I didn’t appreciate how much work it would take to bring it up to a publishable standard so it’s not been a quick journey.  But very worthwhile ☺ 

I have since published three more books – The Guernsey Novels – and am now writing the fifth, Echoes of Time, due out in 2016. Watch this space!  

Additional Author Info I read on Goodreads

Anne Allen was born in Rugby, to an English mother and Welsh father. As a result she spent many summers with her Welsh grandparents in Anglesey and learnt to love the sea.

Photographs and biographical information courtesy of the following sites.

Goodreads - Author Profile     Anne Allen21 - Twitter     Author Official Website   

Amazon Author Page      The Wishing Shelf Awards 2012   Visit Guernsey

Marriage to Measure (Serenity Holland 3) by Talli Roland

Ebook: 473KB or 141 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction
Publisher: Notting Hill Press (10 Dec. 2014)
Source: Author in return for an honest and unbiased review.
First Sentence: Proposal etiquette was definitely not designed with females in mind.
My Opinion:I have been reading and reviewing the writing of this talented author since 2010, when she asked me to review her first novel, 'The Hating Game',  Since the publication of her first novel Talli has embraced the importance of social media as a marketing tool for her novels as that is where she finds her target market. I am probably one of her older fans but 'Marriage to Measure' is the sixth one I have read and once again she has not failed to make me smile. A good enough reason in my opinion for me to continue to enjoy her writing! 
I found this to be an amusing and light hearted read, somehow made more relevant as one of my daughters got married last year. ' Marriage to Measure' is the third in the trilogy featuring Serenity Holland this time organising her wedding over a short period of time which makes for some interesting scenarios. Recommended to fans of contemporary romantic fiction, it will not fail to make you smile.


Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

When Serenity Holland proposes to her long-time boyfriend Jeremy, she’s certain ‘forever’ is a perfect fit. As the wedding train steams forward, though, Serenity starts to wonder if they really are an ideal match. From a crusty old ring to a dilapidated house she’s left to renovate on her own – not to mention the appearance of Jeremy’s clingy ex-fiancée – engagement feels more like disengagement. 

Even worse, wedding planning’s like a bad hangover as Serenity juggles the wishes of family and friends with her bossy mother-in-law-to-be, resulting in a Frankenwedding nothing like the simple ceremony she envisioned. 


Can Serenity knit her relationship back together and fashion a celebration that suits, or will ‘I do’ become ‘I don’t’?

My reviews of her earlier novels can all be found elsewhere on this blog, just click on the titles.

The Hating Game    Watching Willow Watts   Build A Man  Construct A Couple   The Pollyanna Plan


Author Profile:

Talli Roland was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, by the age of 13, she’d finished her first novel and received very encouraging rejections from publishers. Talli was very athletic at school and university, achieving provincial records and becoming a Canadian university champion in the 4 × 400 meter relay. After getting her BA, she turned to writing again, earning a Masters in Journalism. 

A few years later, she left Canada behind and settled in London, where she now lives with her husband and their young son.

Her début novel, The Hating Game, was short-listed for Best Romantic Read at the UK's Festival of Romance, and her second, Watching Willow Watts, was selected as an Amazon Customer Favourite.

You can  learn more about Talli in the About Me section of her website.


Biographical, other information and photo are with thanks to the following links where you can find out more about Talli Roland.


Photograph and biographical information courtesy of the following sites.

Talli Roland Official Website    Goodreads Author Profile   Amazon - Author Profile

Twitter - Talli Roland      Facebook Profile