The Cleanskin by Laura Bloom

The Cleanskin
Laura Bloom
The Author People
2016, 304pages
Copy via my Local Library

You know sometimes you are browsing in the library and you see a book and you have no idea what its about but you pick it up and put it in your library bag regardless? Well this book? It was one of those moments.  In truth though when I did read the full blurb on Goodreads I knew I had to read it because there is no book about the Troubles in Belfast that I can not read, so when I learned there was a lose connection to that it went straight to the top of my TBR.

Halley has moved to Mullimbimby in Northern NSW to escape her past, she has changed her name, she is married and has a teenage son who have no idea of her past. Then one day Aidan arrives in town, he is the younger brother of your first love Dom and the unresolved history she has.

The story takes place over multiple locations, time periods and characters. The perspective is coming from Halley and Aidan and we see the plot reveal itself through their recollections and as new facts reveal themselves.  Aidan is the younger brother of Halley’s first love so we learn about it, there troubled elder brother Liam and what happened to their Father.  They grew up in Belfast, a Catholic family during the 70’s and 80’s during some of the worst fighting in the troubles at that time.

The way the plot develops its difficult to really discuss anything because it could be a spoiler. The book has complex relationships, its very tight and tense, it reveals the impact of trauma on a family and the ripple effect throughout not only your own life but then to the relationships you develop along the way.  I was intrigued reading the book and I was compelled to get to the end and see what happened.   It was satisfying but I thought there might be a more, it felt like it scratched the surface and I wanted to know more. So that probably is a good point overall.

Overall  though it was a good read and its one I will be pondering as I wonder what’s happening to the characters now.

3.75 stars

 

The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain

The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters
Nadiya Hussain
HQ
2017, 304pages
Copy via my Local Library

Firstly, let me make clear my bias.  I am a lover of The Great British Bakeoff, and I’m still upset about the changes to the show coming for the next series and don’t know how I feel about it, and one of our family favourites from the show was Nadiya, my Dad called it right at the start, he thought there was something about her and sure enough he was right.  When I saw this book at the library there was very little chance I wasn’t going to love it.

This book is told from the perspective of the four Amir Sisters, Fatima, Farah, Bubblee and Mae, they live in a cute little English village, Wyvernage (I am assuming this is a made up village) the girls are four of the five children of Immigrant Bangladeshi parents who made the move to England when their eldest daughter Fatima was a baby.  They are the only Bangladeshi’s in the neighbourhood and have done there best to fit in.

Each of the girls are very different, Fatima the eldest is 30, still trying to get her drivers license and she works as a hand model ( this made me laugh so hard). Next there is Farah, she is married to her cousin and she loves her husband very much and she does her best to help and support everyone but doesn’t let people in, she is feeling the pressure because they don’t have a baby. Bubblee moved to London a few years ago and she is an artist who rejects the ways of the family, she wants be independent she doesn’t believed in the defined gender roles of her parents and resents that her sister Farah has fallen into that trap and she could have had so much more.  Finally we have the baby of the family, Mae.  She is still at school and thinks she is the next big thing in Social Media, she has 5000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and records the everyday goings on of her family.

Each chapter of the book is told from the characters perspectives and switches as the book goes on.  A family tragedy impacts  the family and there quite happy family life is rocked, and it makes them all question what they think they know about the family they thought they knew so well.  The story has a few twists and turns and each of the characters are fleshed out though with four characters and only 300 pages its hard to go to much detail but the story is well fleshed out and I was interested through out.

Nadiya had some help in writing the book from the wonderful Ayisha Malik and having read one of her books I could see that in this book, for a first book though it was enjoyable.  Its a family comedy/drama/chicklit/womens fiction type read and I enjoyed it.  I wanted a nice palate cleanser that didn’t make me think to hard after finishing Exit West and this was a delight. I’m hoping that Nadiya will write another book featuring the Amir Family because there is certainly more going on there and I love me a big loud Bangladeshi family and this one is great.

3.5 Stars

 

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Exit West
Mohsin Hamid
Hamish Hamilton
2017, 240 pages
Copy via my Local Library

This book has been getting much hype online, social media and in all the traditional medial cohorts, I have heard interviews with the Author Mohsin Hamid on all of my favourite PodCasts like NYT Book Review, Mashreads and the BBC.  I am always hesitant when it comes to literary fiction that includes some element of magical realism.  Me and magical realism are like that boyfriend you had in your early 20’s that everyone thinks is perfect for you and when it ends no one understands and tells you that this you will regret for the rest of your life! Well that’s us, maybe I’m being a little dramatic but you get my meaning.  I was waiting for this to come into the library, I saw all of my overseas bookish friends getting it as their Book of the Month choice, but at long last it arrived.  I picked it up with a sense of trepidation, and then…. Well…. I didn’t want to put it down.

The book opens in an unnamed country at the edge of conflict, we are in the future, when that is we don’t know, though this world feels awfully similar to where we are right now.  A young man and woman meet in a night university class.  He seems almost instantly captivated by her, and she? Just a bit curious about this handsome young man. Saeed and Nadia have different lives, he an only child committed to his parents and prayer, she the unwanted girl child who is a little different who longs for independence which for a woman in this time is difficult, with some creativity she finds it, living alone and mindful of how to limit the male gaze on her.

The story gives us glimpses of their growing friendship and snippets of the escalating civil war going on in the city around them.  Slowly but surely the world they live in gets smaller and smaller because of the conflict.  As the escalation continues so does their relationship and how it slowly develops is simple and nuanced, I loved reading it.

The conflict sits at the sidelines, you know its there, its this dread that is just out of reach which gives you this sick feeling as you read all the while however the magical realism element of the story pulls you in, it takes up a small part of the story but its incredibly important to drive the plot, not unlike the Underground Railroad in a way that Carson Whitehead used so well.

The future for Nadia and Saeed in the city they know so well becomes impossible and they know they need to escape, that’s where the magical “doors” come in and the story leaps from there. The writing is unadorned yet brilliant, I could have written so many quotes down because they resonated and his way of framing ideas kept going straight to my hear. I wanted so much to see what happened next and what was through the next doorway, and the should they/shouldn’t they.

What I loved most was the ending, because it was like real life. Just like the situation of the story, it all feels like real life.  This is my first book by the author and I am planning on going back and reading his previous novels.  So in this instance…. Me and magical realism, maybe 22 Michelle should have given him more time.

4.5 stars

Review – Block and Tackle

 

Block & Tackle
Elise Faber, Kristen Vayden & Stephanie Fournet
Blue Tulip Publishing
2017, 296 pages
Copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

This book is made up of three short stories that take place at Prestige Media Group, a Sports Management/Marketing Company. Each story focuses on a different employee of the agency, the CEO and Temp Exec Assistant, A PR Consultant and Rookie Footballer and finally an Agent and the sister of a Seattle Sea Hawkes player.

I have a secret, I kind of have a guilty pleasure for Sports Romance novels, its a genre that I go and look at in the Kindle store whenever I am in a bit of a reading slump or when work is particularly stressful and I need to escape my brain for a time.  This ebook is a great taster for each of the three authors, of all of the stories the first in the book was my favourite, Offside by Elise Faber.  It has an element of suspense to it and and covers some important issues even though its only a short story but makes me want to read more by the author.  Its your typic Assistant falls for the boss and has plenty of heat.

The second story Off Guard sees us in San Francisco where newly graduated Charlie has just started a new job and is keen to impress.  Whilst out for a run she thinks someone is following her, instead its a gorgeous blond curly haired god and the attraction is immediate, its great until she discovers that he happens to be a client of Prestige and thats against the rules, and Charlie, she doesn’t break the rules.  Thinking about this story now it also has an important message that is handled very well, something the first two stories handle well.

Lastly we have Off Limits, here the agent has had a crush on the clients younger sister for years, they all grew up together, for several years there has been hostility between them which of course, starts to thaw in this book.

Each of the stories are a fun and quick read, with enough mild heat but nothing over the top, no Christian Grey antics here.  After reading this taster I can’t wait to read more my Elise Faber and there might just be a few sneaky purchases in the Kindle store today.

An overall quick fun afternoon read, 3.5 stars

P.s the kindle cover purchased here at Totes a GoGo and I’m obsessed, full disclosure its my Mum’s store but I still have to purchase them 🙂

Review – The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots

A personal challenge to myself this year was to read more books by Aussie Women Writers , (AWW) last year I managed 30 so this year I thought I would try to match it or maybe even beat it, so the aim is 33, achievable I think.  Over the coming weeks I will go back and review the AWW I have read this year so you look forward to those over the coming weeks.

I was having a look at my kindle to see of the far to many books I have on it was by AWW – I found that I had a few Loretta Hill novels, then whilst at the library I saw The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots on the shelf and thought, this has to happen, I picked it up and started reading on my walk home.

Our main character Lena is a recent Engineering graduate in Perth Western Australia, she is uber feminine, loves to organise fun nigh out and adores shopping.  She is trying to prove herself as an engineer and wants to make a good go of it. Her boss Ivan calls her into the office to let her know that as part of her Graduate Program requirements she needs to head to regional WA to the Pilbara to work on a project out there. Lena is less than excited about working out there but she knows her future as an engineer there depends on it.  Some choices in her past are playing on her and she needs to prove to herself and those around her that can do this job.

Being on site for Lena is a massive learning curve, she thought she would have lovely living conditions instead she has to live in a “Donga” (small mobile home type thing) in a work camp near the site.  She has brought half her wardrobe with her and she has to wear a uniform and she is covered in red dust.

After a few bumps Lena starts to find her way on site, she has some resistance for being a young woman on site but slowly though proving herself gets more people on side, she meets a certain amount of resistance from old-school types but she keeps working hard.  One of the biggest hurdles is the client, Bulldog as he is called on site, Dan Hullog is safety conscious and a perfectionist and nothing is good enough for him.

The book is filled with great Aussie characters, the supporting characters on the job are very funny, there are some great cameos by some Kangaroos and the descriptions of the landscape are breathtaking.

The book covers some important topics, sexism, the pressure and difficulty of those working in fly-in-fly-out projects, mental health and workplace safety.  I have worked in this kind of industry for the last 10 years and it all really rang true for me.   Loretta’s style is readable and enjoyable and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

4.25 Stars

 

A new bookish adventure

I have been an on again off again blogger over on BlogSpot but it feels like its time for a fresh start, I am reading much more and as that happens I’m scared I will start to forget what some of the books were about so I’m hoping this is a good solution.

This year I have made a few reading plans, possibly I have over committed myself but I’m not going to stress about it.  If I can achieve these goals then great, if I can’t so what. As long as I’m reading then that’s the main thing.

Last year I set my Goodreads target to 52 books and I managed to read 104. This year I will again set my target to 52, my aim is to always be able to manage a book a week, I normally manage 2 and a bit and that helps when I have a reading slump or something like that then I can still achieve the goal.

This year I celebrated a milestone birthday, to commemorate that I am planning on reading a book from every year I have been alive, this is one of my primary reading goals this year.  Looking at my reading pattern last year I read mainly new releases so it will force me to change my reading and that is probably a good thing, but Litsy and all the new great books my friends are reading will be tough to not be lured into the temptation of new books.

I’m also planning on participating on some Litsy Challenges, Litsy really has been a game changer for me, it is the best kind of Social Media and it has really restored my faith in people.  This year I plan to participate in the Litsy A-Z and the Litsy Reading Challenge Bingo Card.

Mainly, the plan is to read, to enjoy what I’m reading and if all the plans fall by the wayside that’s ok with me. Good books, good stories, new adventures and some giggles and tears for equal measure.  Lets do this!