Paper Chains in Aussie Readers

Dec 16, 2012 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, read-on-kindle, net-galley, own-read, arc, 2013-release

Hannah had recently arrived in London from Australia, and fairly quickly found herself a job at the gift shop in a Museum…she wanted to work every day, but her boss insisted she have at least one day off. But when she had that day off, she punished herself by jogging, running everywhere. Beside the Thames, down the sidewalks and between the cafes. She ate very little, told herself she needed the punishment, that she was a bad person and didn’t deserve anything that would give her happiness.

At a Hannah had recently arrived in London from Australia, and fairly quickly found herself a job at the gift shop in a Museum…she wanted to work every day, but her boss insisted she have at least one day off. But when she had that day off, she punished herself by jogging, running everywhere. Beside the Thames, down the sidewalks and between the cafes. She ate very little, told herself she needed the punishment, that she was a bad person and didn’t deserve anything that would give her happiness.

At a shift one day, a toddler was throwing a tantrum and Hannah froze…she broke out into a sweat, and didn’t know what to do. When the young, stressed Mum was rescued by a total stranger, a young woman who calmed the toddler down very cleverly, much to the bemusement of onlookers, Hannah wished she was like her. She oozed confidence and charm, seemed to be full of life.

On Hannah’s next day off, while running through a nearby park, she spotted the same young woman on a rug on the grass, and was totally startled when she called out to her. Hannah hesitantly went over, and that was how she met India. But Hannah didn’t stay long…she had no idea what to say to India, and she was terrified of becoming friendly with her..

India had a gut feeling that Hannah needed help, so she decided to make it her job to find out what was wrong, and fix it. She was a people person, and with her friendly nature, always seemed to know when someone was hurting, when someone needed a friend.

But it seemed India also had a secret! Who was Simon that she kept writing to, but never posted the mail? What was devastating Hannah so much? What had she done that was so shocking? And what was India’s secret…why did she move from one place to the next after only a few weeks?

This book was my first by Nicola Moriarty, and I really enjoyed it! A little suspense, a little mystery along with some romance…a great combination which worked extremely well!

I would definitely recommend this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy.
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Dec 13, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, netgalley-reviews

I was charmed by Nicola Moriarty's debut novel, Free-Falling and I have been looking forward to the release of Paper Chains. This wonderful contemporary adult novel reveals the secrets of two young Australian women, India and Hannah, who meet while in London.

The deceptively lighthearted introduction to Paper Chains slowly gives way to a compelling tale of heartbreak, loss and hope.
As backpacker India considers her next travel destination, she chooses to befriend the shy and fragile Hannah, seei
I was charmed by Nicola Moriarty's debut novel, Free-Falling and I have been looking forward to the release of Paper Chains. This wonderful contemporary adult novel reveals the secrets of two young Australian women, India and Hannah, who meet while in London.

The deceptively lighthearted introduction to Paper Chains slowly gives way to a compelling tale of heartbreak, loss and hope.
As backpacker India considers her next travel destination, she chooses to befriend the shy and fragile Hannah, seeing her as "...an opportunity, a new project - someone to fix, someone to save" but in truth, Hannah is a distraction for India whose open facade hides heartbreaking secrets of her own.
Hannah is drawn to India's confidence and warmth, despite being uncomfortable with accepting her attention. Her life in England is a self administered punishment and friendship offers her solace she doesn't feel she deserves.

With careful timing and sensitivity Moriarty reveals Hannah's painful secret, one that saw her flee Australia for London, hiding in a grimy flat and punishing herself for her regrets. It focuses on an issue that surprised me for a number of reasons, though none I can reveal without inadvertently giving too much away, and is explored with compassion by the author.
Hannah's palpable misery distracts from India's own secret - one that is drifting around the world in the form of a letter addressed simply to Simon, The Aella, a journey we follow in between chapters of the story. There are hints that not all is as it seems with India, from her conflicted feelings about the aforementioned Simon to her determination to rescue Hannah and I was probably more prepared for India's shocking secret than Hannah's, but that doesn't lessen the impact of tragedy, even though it is tempered with hope and love.

Written with compassion and genuine insight, Paper Chains is a poignant tale of friendship, family and forgiveness that will touch your heart. Fans of Monica McInerney, Cecilla Ahern and Anna McPartlin should embrace Nicola Moriarty, and expect more great things to come from this talented author.

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Dec 20, 2012 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, favorites, arc, contemporary, netgalley, kindle-version, mental-illness, aww2013

Hannah is living in London, working all the days she can in a gift shop when she meets India. Hannah is amazed by India’s ability to go up to anyone she sees, introduce herself and become their friend. It’s been a long time since Hannah had a friend, but it seems like India is going to fulfill that role.

Both are Australian and both have found themselves in England for quite similar reasons. India knows that Hannah is hiding a secret. There’s a reason why Hannah is so withdrawn from life. She wor Hannah is living in London, working all the days she can in a gift shop when she meets India. Hannah is amazed by India’s ability to go up to anyone she sees, introduce herself and become their friend. It’s been a long time since Hannah had a friend, but it seems like India is going to fulfill that role.

Both are Australian and both have found themselves in England for quite similar reasons. India knows that Hannah is hiding a secret. There’s a reason why Hannah is so withdrawn from life. She works 6 days a week and when she’s not working, she’s running, punishing herself by running all day long. India is determined to get to the bottom of Hannah’s mysterious behaviour and get her to spill her secret. But as time goes by, Hannah seems to resist the powerful allure of India and India begins to wonder if she can fix Hannah after all.

Hannah is on the run and she doesn’t want to think about what she’s left behind and she doesn’t want to talk about it either. She doesn’t deserve sympathy or help. She deserves punishment of the worst kind for what she has done. Unbeknownst to Hannah, India has a secret too. She’s left behind a wonderful man in the Greek Islands, to keep up her bohemian, traveling lifestyle and Hannah can’t understand why, especially as India seems so affected by it. India writes letters to the man she left behind but she doesn’t post them – she puts them in the hands of other backpackers, other travelers and hopes that they make their way back to him. If they do, then maybe, just maybe, its meant to be. India has taken a huge risk and written down her big secret. Now its time to see if its going to reach its destination.

Before she can move on, India has to help Hannah make an important decision and start her on the path to forgiveness of herself. And in return, Hannah might be able to help India find her own way to happiness.

Paper Chains is the second novel from Nicola Moriarty and it’s every bit as enjoyable and a roller-coaster of emotion as the first. When we meet Hannah, she’s in London, alone. She has no friends, hasn’t met any people and she knows nothing but work, cheap unappetizing food and running to punish herself. Hannah is filled with guilt and self-loathing because she has run away. It’s well clear what Hannah has run away from before it is revealed within the story – the reader sees it coming before Hannah herself does as she flashes back. It’s a heartbreaking situation for Hannah – I ached for her when I read what she was going to. I consider myself so blessed that I didn’t struggle the way in which she did (oh I struggled in plenty of other ways though!) but I know people that have. I think it would be too easy to judge, or blame someone in Hannah’s situation. But this novel takes an in depth look at her frame of mind, her disconnection, the way that she felt and how that was the only option for her at the time. There were clearly other options, but Hannah wasn’t ready to acknowledge her need for them until later. I don’t want to give too much away about what she’s running from (people who read the book will guess for themselves) but I do want to applaud the way in which it is portrayed. There’s so much pressure these days – to do things a certain way, to fit in, to juggle everything with ease. And when you can’t, that’s a crushing feeling of failure. And there’s judgement everywhere – judgement in every decision you make and every failure, real or imagined. And Hannah imagines a lot.

For all of Hannah’s crippling self-hatred and guilt, India by contrast, is light and energy. She makes everything seem easy to Hannah – meeting people, becoming friends with them, caring about them. Hannah isn’t sure why India has decided to become her friend and she doesn’t make it easy for India either. But India persists, her desire and ability to fix other people hiding a secret about herself. India mourns the man she left behind and she sends him letters, but not by post. Her thinking is that if they get to him, then she’s meant to see him again. But if they don’t, well then that’s the way things are meant to be. India is seeing the world, traveling light, meeting people, exchanging stories and absorbing as much as she can.

Goddamn I loved this book. Nicola Moriarty does grief and hope in equal amounts so well. I always tend to look upon a novelist’s second book with interest – it can be a difficult exercise, especially when the first one has been successful and well received. I really loved Free Falling, Nicola’s first novel and I think I might even like this one just a fraction more. It made me cry (more than once actually) but it was that sort of cathartic cleansing sort of cry where you’ve become so invested in the characters that you’re caught up in their journey and feel what they do. There’s lots of humour and hope in here too as well as some sad moments and they made me want to cry too sometimes. I was so immersed in this story and the characters that the leap of faith “small world” wasn’t hard for me to make and often I am that person who can’t believe the coincidences in a book. But when it’s written well and the stories really make you feel, then you can buy into anything and believe that things were meant to be this way for a reason. I especially loved the idea of the way that India was sending her letters – passing them around, like a chain letter, trusting fate that they’d get to the person she intended.

Highly recommended. ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Marg rated it really liked it

Shelves: aww2013

4.5/5

Going to be difficult to review this one without spoiling!

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Feb 10, 2013 Sheree rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviews, contemporary-fiction, aussie-author, read-in-2013

Absolutely loved it!

Australian women Hannah & India meet by chance in London and forge a friendship marking the beginning of a insightful, sensitive, heartwarming journey of serendipity.

A story of contrasts, much like Hannah and India ... Hannah a deep well of pain & self-loathing, fragile, and withdrawn, India intuitive, outgoing, bubbly and confident. As first Hannah then India's secrets are slowly revealed this highly emotive novel addresses deeper issues with touching insight and honesty an ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Lauredhel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, australian-women-writers-challenge, contemporary, aww2013

Content note for (view spoiler)

Oh, this book. This book. It shattered me into tiny pieces. And not from what you who've read it already might expect. (view spoiler) ...more

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