r e v i e w l i b r a r y : December 2015

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Notes on the Author
Peter Swanson is an American author of two novels. He has won awards in poetry from The Lyric and Yankee Magazine, and is currently completing a sonnet sequence on all 53 of Alfred Hitchcock’s films.

Happy New Year readers! This was my last book of 2015, and a very solid one.

I was chatting to my friend whilst we had lunch at DF Mexico (a great little Mexican place in Shoreditch) about The Kind Worth Killing. She had never read Gone Girl but could understand the similarities once I explained both plots to her.

The story starts with two apparent strangers meeting in Heathrow Airport. Ted a wealthy tech entrepreneur has just found out his wife Miranda is sleeping with their contractor, whilst Lily, a beautiful librarian sits down beside him listening to his woes. He jokes he would kill Miranda if he could, and without batting an eyelid, Lily offers to help him.

Over the next few weeks the two secretly plan the murder, and scheme to make it look like the contractor, Brad, had committed the crime.

Whilst this is all going on, the book flits between the protagonists narrating the story. Lily describes events in her past that led her to become the cold blooded killer she is today, and Ted talks about his growing feelings for Lily and increasing disdain for his wife and lover. Lily has a long history of killing, including her ex love from university, Eric, whom she murdered after finding him cheating on her with another student, Faith.

The first twist occurs when Ted is actually killed by Brad. It turns out Miranda is just as conniving as the two of them and coaxes Brad into killing her husband, leaving her with his vast fortune. However, upon reading the news, Lily makes it her mission to avenge Ted's murder and sets her sights on Miranda and Brad.

The second twist reveals itself as Lily explains she actually knew who Ted was all along (shock) and Miranda actually was Faith (whom Eric cheated on her with, yes all very confusing) as she changed her name after leaving university. Lily still hurt from the heartbreak was thrilled to hear that Ted wanted to murder his wife, therefore was readily waiting to help him carry out the deed.

It all ends very unexpectedly, however, as the reader I wanted Lily to escape from all her sordid crimes unscathed, even if she is a cold blooded murderer. She resonated with me as a sort of Robin Hood character, doing bad thing ultimately for the greater good.

The only negative of this plot would be that there were so many killings! Realistically I am not sure if this would all happen in the world we live in today, however this is the joy of books as escapism into another reality.

I won't go through every storyline twist, as the book is peppered with them, some expected and some not. However, this book is a very entertaining read and I did finish it in one day in pure want of knowing how it would all end.

Swanson's writing is very easy to read, and full of suspense. He slowly unravels each storyline so that your head isn't swimming with new characters and plots and you can follow the story quite happily.

Overall a great read! Really happy it was my last book of 2015 - and can't wait for all the crazy reads of 2016!

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, by Unknown

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The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Notes on the Author
Ian Russell McEwan is an English novelist and screenwriter. He is noted as one of 'The 50 greatest British writers since 1945' - The Times

He won the Man Booker Prize with Amsterdam (1998). In 2001, he published Atonement which was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. In 2011, he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize.

I have never read an Ian McEwan novel, even after my well read cousin recommended Atonement to me, however I was always well aware of his reputation and excited to read The Children Act.

What deterred me from this novel at first was its unfamiliar vocabulary. Although I love finding new words, and make a habit of looking them up and scribbling their definitions on the page, it seemed the beginning of this novel was littered with vocabulary that was foreign to me.

However, determined to persevere - I took my own advice and tried to overlook such words and read around the context for overall meaning (unless it was completely necessary and then I looked up their definitions).

Once I got through that hurdle I couldn't put it down. McEwan's detail and thorough research was exemplary in this novel. It truly did shine for me. Although it was a short novel, the suspense and breadth of detail really did make it seem longer.

The story follows Fiona Maye, a high court judge who regularly deals with difficult family related cases. Whilst she works hard to give fair and impartial ruling to try and heal dysfunctional and broken families, her own is deteriorating as her husband admits an affair and leaves their home.

In a bid to escape from her marital woes, Fiona focuses on a difficult case involving a 17 year old Jehovahs Witness, Adam, who is refusing an imperative blood transfusion to help cure him of life threatening Leukaemia.

Unable to make a decision in court as to whether to force the boy into treatment or respect his religious believes and let him die, she chooses to visit Adam in hospital and whilst doing so the pair have an important conversation. Fiona leaves a great impression on Adam, and upon returning to court she overrules his wishes and grants the hospital the authority to start the blood transfusion.

Time passes and Fiona returns to the normal hum drum of work. Her husband has returned home citing the whole affair as a mistake but Fiona is finding it hard to forgive and the relationship is still rocky. Adam however, is recovering well and growing stronger, he has returned to school and is catching up with his schoolwork. He sends letters to Fiona's work and home asking to meet so he can thank her for saving his life, however to maintain a professional distance she does not reply.

It is only when Fiona is sent to Newcastle for work does she encounter Adam again. This time he has followed her from London, hitchhiking rides and waiting in the rain for her. Fiona is shaken however keeps a calm and collected manner with Adam. He explains how he wanted to die for want of the attention, and not entirely for religious reasons, imagining his family and classmates crying and wishing they could have done more. He admits his childishness and thanks her for allowing him to see the light. When he suggests moving in with her, Fiona is shocked and embarrassed and immediately shuts him down, sending him on his way. In a moment of weakness she kisses him on the lips before watching him drive off in a taxi.

Once again the encounter is forgotten, and her marriage is improving. Things are looking up for Fiona. She receives one last letter from Adam, a scorned poem, describing things of a religious nature, however she is distracted and doesn't think any more of Adam or the letter.

The story ends quite disappointedly in an expected way (I won't give that away) and I must admit the build up did not equal the ending.

I was happy to find Fiona and her husband getting their marriage back on track, however was irritated by Adams character as he came across as a petulant child who used his illness to garner attention and sympathy.

What I did love about the book however, was that it shone a light on the wonders of our judiciary system, and many judges in our high courts who deal with these matters on a daily basis, many like Fiona who work tirelessly to protect the welfare of innocent people like Adam.

McEwan's writing is very well researched and eloquently written with brilliant attention to detail and exquisite language. Overall a wonderful but anti-climatical novel!

Gx

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, by Unknown

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The Problem of Difficult Vocabulary

One problem I have, which I am sure is common amongst most avid readers, is reading a book with difficult vocabulary.

By difficult, I mean words which I may not have come across before, and of which I have no inclination of what they mean, that seem to be integral to the sentence if I am to understand it.

This isn't fun as it makes reading the book an arduous task and takes away from the joy of following the story and being able to keep up and comprehend what is going on.

There have been many times (most recently reading Ian McEwan's The Children Act - review coming soon) where I am having to look up the definition of words, scribble them down on the page and then rereading the whole thing again. This is most inconvenient when on the tube where I read most days, and have no internet access.

There are a few short term hacks to get around this, however ultimately if you are dedicated to the book and to building your vocabulary looking up the words is not only necessary but beneficial.

If like me, you are in a situation where there is no heavy dictionary to hand or not so heavy iPhone to search with, reading the passage around it and deciphering the context may help. Sometimes I can guess words meanings based on this an/or the prefix of the word.

It can be easy to give up when reading a book that requires a lot of effort, and put you off it. However, remember this is just one of the many ways in which books open people up to things they have never experienced before. Over time, reading things that are difficult have enabled me to express myself in a much broader way, allowing me to use various words and phrases I wouldn't have come across otherwise.

Yes, it is true - life experience and meeting new people open you up to these things too, but there is a great joy in sitting in bed with a book, pencil and glass of wine and reading, looking up, scribbling and rereading.

The hardest part is remembering these words! After I have finished a book, I try to go over the scribbles and write them out somewhere to try and commit them to memory. This can become a good Sunday morning or evening ritual to help relax or focus the mind.

Gx

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, by Unknown

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My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Notes on the Author
Elena Ferrante is the pen-name of an Italian novelist whose true identity has been shrouded in mystery since the publication of her first novel in 1992. Ferrante is set to be one of the most important italian novelists of our generation.

My Brilliant Friend was recommended to me by a friend whilst we were having breakfast on a Monday morning at Berners Tavern - a place which I highly recommend, situated just off Oxford Circus on Berners St.

I mentioned to her that the book I had enjoyed most recently was The Goldfinch by Donna Tart, and she said that this was another beautifully written fiction novel that had everyone talking.

It did not disappoint. In fact, I finished the book in about two days, and once finished felt a sadness - mostly at how the story ended - but also at the realisation that if I read it again it wouldn't be the same, and I wish I had savoured it more.

The tale follows two best friends Lila and Eleni as they grow up in an impoverished suburb of Naples around the 1950's. Lila is a striking character; strong, independent and sometimes emotionless, whilst Eleni is quieter, and much more unsure of herself, often looking to her friend for reassurance and validation. The girls have a dysfunctional yet endearing relationship, and whilst it is clear from the start that Lila is the star of the show, the story is narrated by Eleni beautifully as she describes the trials and tribulations of growing up poor, and with a complicated friend like Lila.

Over time the girls go down separate paths. Eleni buries herself in books and focuses on her education, whilst Lila, whom is naturally clever and clearly smarter than Eleni, is more concerned with wealth (partly to help her poor family and calm her mentally ill brother) and marries Stefano, who is from a rich family with illegal ties.

Slowly as Eleni grows more educated she feels trapped in the suburb and longs for intelligent conversation and a culturally richer life. The only way she see a way out is to be with a fellow classmate, Nino, with whom she has always been in love. However, Nino is troubled and often wanders in a world of his own, ignoring Eleni.

Lila, convinced she is in love with the handsome and rich Salvatore is jealous of Eleni and wishes she too had taken the path of education, however, she is satisfied living in the lap of luxury with her soon to be husband and settles for the better life she has always wanted.

The story ends at Lila and Stefano's wedding of the century, a prestigious affair, where tragically both the girls hearts are broken at the same time, in different ways.

I was left longing for more, and felt a cloud of sorrow pass over me as I realised the reality of the situation that both Eleni and Lila were in. I left the book really thinking about the injustice, wishing for a happy ending and wondering why Ferrante didn't end with a happy resolution, for Eleni at least, who deserved it the most.

I was disappointed with Lila, she was the strongest, most formidable and ambitious of the two - yet she relented and settled for a life with a rich husband and nothing of her own.

Ferrante's style of writing is wonderful. She is blunt, succinct yet conversational - and many of the words she used I had never heard of before - which is a plus for me. It was a very easy read and delicately written.

I hope I haven't given too much of the story away, but I highly highly recommend this novel. I truly related to both characters even though there were clear differences between the both. This has really made me want to seek out more of Ferrante's novels, which I shall put at the top of my list for 2016 reads!

Gx

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, by Unknown

r e v i e w l i b r a r y

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

The Problem of Difficult Vocabulary

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

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