The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

"There comes a time in all passionate attachments when life, real life, must be faced once again with its varied and endless obligations, when the lover know in his innermost heart that the halcyon days are over."

This particular novel had been in my to read pile for a long time. I'd been a little bit put off by the blurb and the idea that perhaps I wouldn't engage with a lesbian love story. That was a really short sighted view. I think anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in any way can find something that resonates here. Stephen's journey is one of pain, exclusion, momentary joy,guilt and betrayal. This is a book chock full of emotions and I was hooked.

Perhaps what struck a chord with me particularly was the idea of femininity that Stephen challenges. Her father expecting her to be born a boy, perseveres with the name and brings up his child with an equality of experience that is to be applauded and yet is too progressive for the times. Social expectations are a constant challenge to Stephen, eager to please her parents , her inability to conform is  the source of a never-ending, losing battle.

With a milestone birthday approaching and the constant sense of disappointment voiced by my mother that I haven't bred her dreamt of grandchildren, I could really identify with that sense that you can't, in good conscience to yourself, grant your love ones their desired outcomes.

It would be great today, to look back at this, at times, gut wrenching work of fiction and laugh at how much things had progressed  While there have been many improvements in the world of 2016, it is sad to think that many still suffer as Stephen did. Hiding her relationship with Mary, and being treated like a leper by her family. Stephen's pain at not being able to marry Mary and provide for her future is sadly a struggle that many people still face in Australia today.

This review is most probably a little more heartfelt than usual and undoubtedly stems from the fact that as I get older and the news gets more horrific and 24-7,  it is my continuing wish that sanity could prevail in the world. That there would never be a question as to equal pay for women and equal representation on boards and in government. Likewise, that wherever your heart lies, you have the ability to provide for your loved ones, no matter if both of you wear a dress or a tux  at a wedding. 

Something about the ending of the novel - SPOILERS- just irritated me, I wanted Stephen to transgress society's norms and thrive. I wanted the crazy passion between Stephen and Mary to quell to something manageable and comforting. I did not like the ending. It felt like one of those code era American film endings where if you do something outside the norm you will be punished. The self-sacrificing lie is just gut-wrenching. Never has a title so eloquently enunciated the finale!

5 out of 5 why do good things have to end?

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

"I can still remember how the vibrant hue of the dress contrasted crisply with her dark hair, it made her bob appear as slick and shiny as a pool of spilled ink."

There are sometimes when you read a novel and while you love the world, you feel a disconnect. There's a sense that something isn't quite up to scratch. Such was the case, for me, with The Other Typist.  

Roaring twenties prohibition shenanigans are of course appealing. Marry that with the contrast of a virginal woman reared in a convent and you can immediately see the appeal of this literary world. I wanted to be swept away, Gatsby style, in the excess and excitement. I recently watched Baby Face and Barbara Stanwyck's character in that reminded me somewhat of Odalie.

This tale benefits so much from the existing canon of literature of that sparkling, heady age and yet is prone to such repetition as to continually draw the reader back into the real world. The novel is an easy read that could have been rendered a great one with a little editing.

I note that Kiera Knightley is in development for the movie adaptation. I don't see that improving on the book. I don't think I could sit through another A Dangerous Mind  fiasco, that is however, just my opinion. The source material here has such possibility, with the right screenwriter and director and possibly another actress, it could make for an intriguing movie.

3 out of 5 great ideas sometimes need a little more work.

Who Buries the Dead by C.S.Harris

"Theirs was a rarified world of manners and careful calculations ruled by the dictates of taste and fashion,a world where extremes of emotion were outré  where all was controlled and measured."

Finally, another instalment of the Sebastian St. Cyr series, with a little Jane Austen action to boot. That always delightful lender of books, Miss Nicki, has once again, delivered unto me a great read. It is a truth universally known, that one must have good friends to swap paperbacks with. Well that is my conceit in any case.
I'm currently tearing myself away from the latest episode of Penny Dreadful  to catch up on my reviewing. Life has been busier than a night of horror tales with the Shelley family of late and I appear to have a bit of a reviewing back log.
Sebastian St. Cyr's latest adventure is decapitation heavy. There is something quite striking about the images the novel invokes. All smokey, dark alleys and headless corpses. The stuff of nightmares.
It was no wonder then that I absolutely raced through this read to put the spooky thoughts to bed at quick speed. I don't want to give too much away, so I won't dwell on Sebastian's look alike and how upset I was by that sub plot- actually perhaps that was a bit of a spoiler.

Bring on the next one I say, I need some more quality St. Cyr time!


4 out of 5 times the butler didn't do it.

And the weak suffer what they must? by Yanis Varoufakis

"Alas by 1963 it was clear that the horse was developing a mind of its own and the coachman was losing his grip."

Yanis Varoufakis is an engaging speaker and I was fortunate to see his charm in action at the recent Sydney Writer’s Festival, where I grabbed myself a copy of this latest work, And the weak suffer what they must?.

The intriguing title stems from a passage of Thucydides' The Peloponnese  War,  found underlined by John Maynard Keynes within his documents at Kings College. It demonstrates the inequality of decision making between unequally matched interests  with a direct inference on the outcomes of the Bretton Woods meeting and the cherry picking of Keynes’ notions for a post war IMF and currency market.

The book makes for an interesting and at times worrying read. It is rare that the curtain is drawn away from global economic with such ease and intrigue.I have to say it has lent a new lease of life in my interest in world economic policy and learning from the mistakes of the past. If only more people would study history so we were not continually forced to repeat it. I think I took a star off just because I find the idea of the imbalance of power as an alarming one - yet another thing to have nightmares about.

 4 out of 5 times, the banks are to blame.

Slade House by David Mitchell

"The steps up to Slade House are mossy and stained, the once-proud door is peeling and rotten and the knocker is chewed by rust and time."

So being the lucky lady that I am, I received a beautiful copy of this fantastic novel for Christmas from my utterly awesome friend Nicki. I didn't realise then that I should have read The Bone Clocks  first, let's face it, it is sitting in my to read pile. That being said, this works just as well as a stand alone tale; and what a tale it is.

I absolutely love parallel universes, time travel, ghosts and a mystery, so this encapsulates a little of all those notions and does so brilliantly. So much delightful, soul sucking mystery housed in such a little book with a mysterious address that is only open to a select few.

My hesitation to share any further details stems only from a deep desire that you too enjoy this book as much as I did. So, in the words of Molly Meldrum " do yourself a favour" and grab a copy.

5 out of 5 times google will never find this place.

Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller

"But the food of the body is champagne and oysters; feed it then on champagne and oysters; and so shall it merit a joyful resurrection"

Well the cover promised some purple prose and yes you will find snippets within its much banned pages. This was another tick off the 1001 novels list and I do so love progress. Admittedly I read this one on iBooks so I did get a little distracted by its rambling prose.
I remember Tropic of Cancer being far more easy to follow and far more enjoyable in general.
This novel had brilliant phrases throughout but a narrative was somewhere in the ether. It was a little like reading drunk. The salacious pieces are interspersed within the work and in between there are rambling sentences that I'm still not sure have reached their destination. Miller remains eminently quotable, as there are such brilliant lines hidden within this confusion of a novel. Every time I'd consider putting it down, a standard paragraph would drag me in and I'd push on. Miller also seems at his best when he is at his most ban-able, case in point the dalliance  finally described as "Just a couple of quiet maniacs working away in the dark like gravediggers.". He seems to reduce women to their sex organs be they "miscellaneous","laughing", "glacial", "made of pure joy" or "super" and  sex takes on a somewhat removed state, devoid of real intimacy.
If you wanted to play a drinking game and take a shot each time the c bomb was unleashed, you would no doubt be passed out on the floor in no time.

Yet, for all its faults, there are compelling aspects.

4 out of 5 banned books are hard to ignore.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E.Schwab

"People always said that the waiting was the worst part, and Lila agreed."

The problem with really loving the first book of a series that is new launched into the world, is the interminable wait anticipating the next instalment. Such was the case with A Darker Shade of Magic which, let's face it, I only finished in January.  It is true that I have traversed the pages of many a novel in between, and as such, it took me a little time to recall the particular details of the first tome. The delightful memories of the world of the first book slowly returned and as such my delight in the world of the second grew.

Lila is such a great character that kept me hurriedly turning those pages. Magic, pirates, tournaments, intrigue, there is something for everyone here. My only quibble is that, as it came to an end,  I knew I would have to wait for the next instalment. My impatience for book three can only be quelled by its pages firmly pressed against my hands.

5 out of 5 magical gatherings can be more challenging than anticipated.