Book review - The Secrets of Crickley Hall



I'd been putting together a Halloween reading list at work and this came out as the top book to read for the end of the month. It's also going to be a BBC drama, so I wanted to read it before I see it on screen.

The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert is a perfect Mummy chiller, ok it's good for everyone but if you're a mama it will pull at the heartstrings even more.

Word of warning, there's a few spoilers below, but nothing that will ruin your read.

There's two storylines, one follows the 11 evacuee orphans who drowned in a flood at Crickley Hall during WWII, and one follows the Caleigh family who move to the hall to get away from their London house and it's associations with their missing middle son. Five year old Cam went missing almost a year earlier, in a playground when his exhausted mama fell asleep.

I don't read horror very often (I don't think my nerves could stand it) and I experienced all the classic symptoms with this book, I had to keep the light on and keep reading until hubs came to bed, when reading at night I had to keep looking up to make sure no dark shadow was in the room, and I held back tears when you found out what happened to the little Jewish evacuee and little Cam Caleigh. Above all I had to keep on reading, I stayed up layer and almost missed my train stop because I was so engrossed.

If you're looking for a scary (but ultimately satisfying) read this October, I thoroughly recommend you give this a try.

A Walk in London

Another book review, this time for a beautiful new picture book. I got it to show C-bear all the sites we're so close to and will some day take him to see properly! But the boy is A.D.D.I.C.T.E.D. to statues and this book also helps to quench his fetish! His favourite page is the one about Trafalgar Square, there's Nelson's Column, 4 Lions plus a random Man on Horse statue that he can't tear himself away from. The book has become 'Statue book' and although we only got it a few days ago, it has been looked at a lot!

I love the illustrations, my favourite page is the one for St James' park and also Monument (because it features Daddy Bear's office) but 95% of the story reading is looking at Trafalgar Square. When we finally take him there it's going to blow his mind!

Book Review - What the Ladybird Heard

I can't believe I didn't know about this book until now! Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Lydia Monks C-bear and I love it. The story, as with all Donaldson picture books, is written in rhyme, and wonderful to read out loud, plus the illustrations are brilliant. So detailed, C-bear loves pointing out all the animals and finding the glittery ladybird on every page. He's also intrigued with the rosette on the prize cow (weirdo) and points it out straight away on every page! A must read for any toddler.

The Art of Fielding

I've not yet finished this book but already have to blog about it, it's great.

By debut American author Chad Harbach, it follows the highs and lows of a small college baseball team. It falls into the category of books I love because they teach me about a topic I know nothing. You're drawn into the world of baseball through the eyes of Henry Skrimshader. He's a brilliant stortstop (I'm assuming this is the equivalent of the good old rounders backstop) and is destined for the major league, whilst the rest of his team are terrible. If it was just about baseball it wouldn't captivate me so much, but there's also a lovely literary strand around Herman Melville (the team are called the Harpooners) and also a homosexual love affair between the college president and one of the team. If you've not seen this book yet, go and check it out!

A Night in at The Night Circus

I feel I'm a bit behind on blogging about books, but this one has been worth the wait!

In 1886 a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Reves delights all who wander its circular paths. There are contortionists, performing cats, carousels and illusionists - but this is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. And who is the sinister man in the grey suit who watches over it all? Behind the scenes a dangerous game is being played out by two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who, at the behest of their masters, are forced to test the very limits of the imagination - and of love...

The Night Circus is an enchanting, beautiful, magical story similar to The Time Traveler's Wife and Jonathan Strange. It's essentially a love story between Celia and Marco. They're trapped together in a dangerous, magical game, which becomes more intricate and beautiful as their relationship becomes more intense. As with all great novels it's the little details that really make the book, the twins, the amazing things in each circus room and the contortionist all help make this novel one of my favourites of the year.

Read it, enjoy it, love it.

Gypsies, soldiers and bisexual poets

Nope these aren't the things I want C-bear to be when he grows up! They're the main protagonists in the last three books I've read, and seriously, all three books have been gems. Let's start with the Gypsies.

The Invisible Ones is the new novel by Stef Penney (author of The Tenderness of Wolves) and it's publishing this September. The book gives a small snapshopt of the life of English Gypsies (think My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding but not so OTT). It follows a private investigator who is asked to enter the secretive world of the travellers to find out what happened to a young gypsy woman who went missing years earlier.

Publishing in August, Blow on a Dead Man's Embers is the second novel from Mari Strachan (The Earth Hums in B flat) and it's set in Wales in the years following WWI. Beautifully written this book takes ordinary life and makes it shine. We follow Non as she tries to find out what's wrong with her shell-shocked husband when he returns from war full of secrets and dread.

The one I've been waiting for and am so excited to have a proof copy of is the new Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child. When I read the synopsis I immediately thought of Ian McEwan's Atonement, but it's a many more layered beast to read. The book centres around the short and seemingly brilliant life of Cecil Valence and the amazing impact he makes on the Sawle family when middle brother George brings him home for a visit from university. The book jumps decades and shows how the visit in 1913 has a lasting impact on those involved. Publishing in July, if you like a literary read, this is one not to be missed.

And don't you think all these jackets are great? I love the spooky, misty empty boat, the simple heart-melting image of the embracing soldier and the sheet clean-cut edges of the maze.

Read this book!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I've just finished it and loved every minute. It's a big read, but that's perfect as you don't want the story to end. It's about a crumbling Dorset castle, 3 elderly sisters who live in it, their famous author Father who wrote a popular children's book called The Mud Man set at the castle. The heroine is Edie, a London publisher who's interest is piqued when her Mum receives a long lost letter from one of the sisters and discloses that in WWII she was evacuated to the castle but something mysterious happened and she has never been back. There's secrets, murder and romance and you never expect the final twist at the end.

I'm a fan of Kate Morton, she wrote The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden both of which are fantastic. If you've not read her before I recommend you read House at Riverton and once you've read that you'll be wanting to read the other two ASAP!

Reading again

OK, time to get some book reviews back into this blog. Since returning to work I've been reading like crazy! Lots of proof copies were waiting for me and with my 3 train commute I'm getting through them fast! Here are some thoughts on what I've read in the past month.

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Quirky fiction about a brother and sister growing up in the 70s. Following their slightly crazy family as they move from the suburbs to Cornwall and then when they are grown up as world events hit them hard. I loved the easy to read writing style and some of the characters were fantastic - Jenny Penny in particular.

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

A book that fits easily into wartime fiction. This looks at a Polish couple and their baby who are separated by the war and try to put their lives together again by moving to Britain. The 'twist' was pretty obvious, but a real easy read and you just wanted to find out exactly what happened in the woods.

Gillespie and I by Kate Harris

I loved loved loved this book, definitely the best I've read in a long long time. Dark and humorous, this brings to live 19th century Glasgow as seen though the eyes of English Harriet. I loved the fact that you're never sure whether to trust the narrator or not, some things just don't add up and when she's charged with murder... well you'd better read the book!

The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe
Again, another fantastic read. This was actually written by Rona in the 1958 and follows 4 girls working for a New York publisher. The 50s are brought to life and you really connect with the girls - sometimes I wanted to shout 'what are you doing' as they have to follow the conventions of the time. But I thoroughly recommend!

The Villa Triste

I used to read 2 books a week, since Charlie has arrived I've managed just a few chapters of a book I started just before he was born. The Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle is part historical novel part modern day crime set in Italy. Cati is a soon-to-be bride in 1943 when Germany invades Italy and every day life is turned upside down. She writes a diary which is read in 2010 by a detective trying to solve a murder case. Only about halfway through but it's already captivating.

Jamie's America

I'm a real sucker for cookery books and really like Jamie's new one. Jamie's America ties in with the TV show and has some really yummy looking recipes. Only one TV show shown so far (L.A. concentrating on Mexican dishes) but it's much more gritty then his previous shows and I can't wait for the next one.

The Last Station

I've just finished The Last Station by Jay Parini. It tells the life of Tolstoy's last days, how his family is at odds with the Tolstonian followers and how everyone around him is suspicious of everyone else. I read it because there's a film coming out later this year with James McAvoy and Helen Mirren, but I hope the film isn't as depressing as the book. Although it's fiction it's based on the actually diaries of his family and followers and it's really sad to think that such a great writer lived his last years trapped in a power struggle.

Time traveler

I really want the new film of Time Traveler's Wife to be good. Though looking at the trailer and the poster art, I have a sinking feeling that it won't. The book is one of my favourite books of all time, so I will go and watch it at some point in the next few weeks but fingers crossed I won't be disappointed.

Maus by Art Spiegelman

This is another example of a book I wouldn't normally read but did for my book group. Again I absolutely loved it. Maus is a graphic novel telling the story of Art's father as a Jew in Poland during WWII. This is juxtaposed with the knowledge that he escaped to America and now has a very difficult and argumentative relationship with his son and second wife.

The story in itself is amazing, the amount of times this man and his wife nearly died and the amount of times he saw his family and friends taken away is heartbreaking. Art tells it through animals, so all the Jews are mice, the Nazis are cats, the Polish are pigs and the Americans are dogs.

If graphic novels aren't your thing, I completely recommend that you try this one as a way into the genre - it's brilliant.

Triffids

I'm currently reading Day of the Triffids, it's for my book group and I can't believe I've never read it before. It's one of those books that I always thought I'd get round to reading but never did. I just have to say wow. If you've not read this book, get yourself a copy right now. I love love love it. I have a couple of chapters to go so will leave you now to finish this addictive little classic.

Delia vs. Nigella

My two most trusted cook book authors are Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson and this Christmas I'm going to put them to the test. Last year I bought Nigella Christmas which fast became my Xmas cookery bible - I made chestnut soup, gingerbread cake and peanut-butter cups. I still want to make Bourbon glazed ribs, choc chip chili and chili jam but ran out of Christmas time to make them. This year cookery queen Delia has a new Christmas recipe book coming out, Delia's Happy Christmas, and it's top of my list of books to buy. Whose the better recipe writer? I'll let you know in December.

Niffenegger vs. Jones

This October two of my favourite authors have new books and I'm finding it hard to choose between them. Audrey Niffenegger, author of the Time Traveler's Wife, hasn't written a novel for years, which means her new book is much awaited and some how this makes reading it all the more special. Sadie Jones is a relatively new author, The Outsider came out last year and got big sales because of the R&J book club.

I read Her Fearful Symmetry very quicky and enjoyed every page. Reading Niffenegger after such a long break feels like getting back in touch with an old friend, you immeditely remember her unique tone of voice and want to devour the whole thing in one sitting. Plus this book is bursting with twins, kittens and a Victorian grave yard - all perfectly intriguing.

Small Wars is completely different, nothing fantastical here, you're swept to 1950s Cyprus and follow the almost mundane life of Claire (prn. Clara - which annoyed me slightly because why didn't she spell it that way rather then rely on the reader to see the word Claire but think, oh she's actually Clara). It's beautifully written, army life is shown in miniscule detail and the island of Cyprus comes off the page hot and sticky. There are more twins (but not spooky mirror twins) these are little girls caught up in their parents army lifestyle.

I enjoyed both, but the more I think about it Niffenegger is my favourite. There's just something about waiting for a new book for a long time and being completely satisfied once you've finally read it.

Anna is my favourite

Anna Karenina is just wonderful. A bittersweet love story set in the cold, crisp backdrop of nineteenth century Russia. Anna's story is moving but its the secondary story of Kitty and Levin that keeps me coming back.