Amanda Brookfield's Blog, page 11

A re-discovered Author

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful book - intelligent, at times very funny, but also deeply poignant. It tells the story of a marriage that is gradually destroyed thanks to the arrival of a 'viper' into its happy nest. What touched me most was the deft and gentle revelation of how deeply fragile even the most secure human relationships are, built as they are on that invisible cornerstone we call trust.

Dorothy Whipple was extremely successful for a period in her own writing life - the 1930s and 1940s - but fell out of fashion (a terrifying concept for all authors!) because, as her agent put it, 'Editors have gone mad about action and passion instead.' In my view 'Someone At A Distance' abounds with both action and passion. The everyday joys and suffering of her characters are utterly credible, so painfully so, that by the end I was rooting for them to find a way out of the mess.
(And no, I am not going to say whether they manage it or not).

In my experience it is rare to find an author who can offer such depth and substance with so light a touch. The skill in achieving this is considerable and yet the reader is so swept along by the story that it feels effortless. So add this, or indeed any Dorothy Whipple novel, to your must-read lists. I have already started another which is clearly just as good.



View all my reviews

Unexpectedly delighted

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This really isn't the sort of book I normally choose: Fact, not fiction, and the ending known - they win the race! - I mean, where is the appeal in that?! But I read a review that was so very persuasive, and I do have a keen interest in sport, so I thought I would give it a go.

And now it is my turn to try and do what that reviewer did for me....namely, to persuade you that Daniel James Brown's 'The Boys In The Boat' is an epic, compelling, stunningly well-written account of triumph over adversity.....on so many levels. Because, as with all sporting endeavour, the battle to succeed is as much about the psychology of the participants and the context of their participation as skill in the sport itself.

Key to the power of the narrative is Brown's story-telling. It may be an account of fact, but it reads like fiction - page-turning fiction, whether it is the harrowing back-stories of the characters, (this is the era of the Depression, remember), that are being described, or the fascinating dynamics of oarsmanship, teamwork and boat-building, or the chilling activities taking place in Nazi Germany as Hitler, secretly, builds up his preparations for genocide and war.

I was gripped from start to finish. I also learnt a lot. Towards the end I even wept. This is virtually unheard-of for me. In fact,in five decades only a handful of books have moved me to tears. (And no, I won't list them here). So, give 'The Boys In The Boat' a chance. It will enrich you in ways that are hard,even for a novelist, to put into words.



View all my reviews

A Must-Read for Novelists

The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful book - the complexities of the human psyche looked at with such wisdom and simplicity. Each chapter was a page-turner as the problems of patients were laid out and then 'solved'. It even made me think it would be fascinating to be one of Stephen Grosz's patients myself - though it would be terrifying too - who knows what his Sherlock skills would uncover about the strange machinations of my mind!

Also key to the power of the book, is the gentle kindness that seems to emanate from the author. While delivering often extraordinary case-histories(all the identities of the 'real' patients are protected), Stephen Grosz only ever comes across as a person who truly cares for his fellow human beings, a man on a vocational and compassionate quest to alleviate their difficulties.

I have to add that, while 'The Examined Life' is an absorbing read that I would recommend to anyone, it is simply a MUST-READ for a novelist! For what are we fiction writers doing in the end, other than trying to understand and illuminate the business of being human?



View all my reviews

Grumpy Reader

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I loved 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. I wanted to love 'And The Mountains Echoed', but....I couldn't.

For me it was one of those books where the intentions of the author were clear - namely, to tell a panoramic, heart-rending tale of loss and redemption that spanned several generations, not to mention global conflicts....

But it is one thing to have an intention, and quite another to 'deliver' it. Indeed, an author's 'delivery' of a story to a reader should be seamless, effortless, dazzling with a narrative that leaves no room for any pausing to wonder what the author is aiming for and how he/she is trying to achieve it. Hosseini's first two books were exactly like that: heart-stopping page-turners that made me root for the characters from the first page to the last, willing them to survive, to find love, to find happiness. While reading 'And The Mountains Echoed' however, I kept thinking that was how I was 'supposed' to be reacting, rather than actually managing it.

That said, Hosseini's writing is always excellent and there are some gripping episodes, especially at the beginning when Pari and Abdullah are separated. In fact, if the story had just followed on sequentially from that, tracking what happened to each of them, I think I would have been as spellbound as I wanted to be. The time-jumps - while I could see their purpose - depicting the big Canvas of Life - detracted from the early momentum of the story.

A good read though. And maybe the wettest UK January on record has made me a grouch.



View all my reviews

Six Favourite Days...

These are my secret favourite days of the year: 26th - 31st December. Six days of Inbetween Time. The pressure-cooker of Christmas is done with, however it went. The New Year is yet to start.

I sleep deeply. I potter. I browse my pile of Christmas books. I am in the best, most enjoyable of limbos. A finite limbo. The hurly-burly of Real Life - January - sits waiting, ready to suck me back in. If I strain my ears I can hear its hum.

But for now it's okay to ignore it. For now it's okay to float a little. Guilt-free.

Happy New Year.
Amanda

Christmas Story...

Christmas is a milestone in any year. It is a time for looking back as well as forwards; a time for regrets and satisfaction, as well as new hopes.
That is why I picked it as the starting point for my novel 'Relative Love'.

The story opens with the Harrison family gathering on Christmas Eve at Ashley House, the beautiful home of the elderly Pamela and John. On the surface everything is as it always is: the house is heaving with children and grandchildren; there is hubbub, tension, excitement - not enough hot water! - along with the gentle, fulfilling sense of another year drawing to its close.
But change looms. As the ensuing months unfurl the entire family will start to look back in wonderment at how much they took for granted, how easy being happy once seemed.

To find out more go to:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H2GYBVO

Happy Christmas!

Amanda

PUBLICATION NEWSFLASH!

To think that, once upon a time, I imagined digital publishing would not affect me too greatly.....! And here I am, a few years later, hopping with excitement because I am about to publish two of my best seller back list books online.

The books are:
'Relative Love', a saga of loss and love, covering one year in the lives of the Harrison family, when their world is blown apart by the most sickening tragedy (there is a sequel, called 'The Simple Rules of Love' which is published by Penguin).
And 'A Family Man', which tells the story of Matt Webster, arriving home from work one day to find that his wife has walked out on him and their four year old son.

I feel close to all my novels - they are much like a brood of children, unruly, surprising, but very much one's own! - but these two touch on subjects especially dear to my heart. Giving them a second launch into the world - available to download from Friday 6th December! - feels very special indeed.

There may have to be some champagne... two glasses of course - one for each book!

A Writer's Life

Once upon a time an author was expected to.....write a book.

Nowadays, an author is expected to:
* Do publicity events
* Maintain a website
* Write a blog(s)
* Have a Facebook page
* Have a Goodreads Author profile (!)
* Have an Amazon Author page
* Tweet

I'm sure there was something else....hang on, it's coming back to me....Oh yes, I remember now...WRITE A BOOK.

And now we are turning the corner into December and there is CHRISTMAS, tapping its foot, saying 'Come on, are you ready for me? And if not, why not?'

Aaagh.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that for me, juggling all the balls can be very hard, even if some of those balls - like being on Goodreads! - is fun. Sometimes I feel as if every day is a fight for Time To Write. A fight that I usually lose! I feel a New Year's Resolution coming on...