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The Tangled Leaves of Anniseed

The Tangled Leaves of Anniseed

Tag Archives: Relationships

Breakdown by Katherine Amt Hanna

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Apocalyptic Fiction, Dystopia, Love, Relationships, Thriller

I simply cannot resist an apocalypse story. Especially one grounded in real life, rather than fantasy / horror tropes. So Breakdown was a must!

It’s very different from the usual premise. A virus wipes out a critical portion of the world’s population, meaning that the survivors have to painstakingly reconstruct society (oh, how I loved the 70s TV series, Survivors!). But Hanna’s tale takes a slightly offbeat perspective.

Former rock star Chris is in America with his wife and child when the plague starts, and it takes him years to get back to England to see if his family have survived. Terrified that he will discover that they perished, he postpones the last lap of his journey, instead falling in with a family in Portsmouth, helping to run their smallholding. Chris is traumatised by his experiences, but through his new found friend Pauline, who was a therapist before the plague hit, he starts to process his memories and feelings and begin to feel like a human being again. But is their relationship just one of therapist and patient? And when it comes to the crunch, who will Chris choose?

Breakdown is a love story, albeit one in an extreme situation. What I enjoyed was that Hanna told the tale from Chris’s point of view in retrospect; we learn of the terrible things that he has endured, but we don’t experience them directly, so the horror of the situation remains containable. The breakdown of society is mirrored by Chris’s personal breakdown, and the novel charts the reconstruction of both community and self. For readers who enjoy psychology, this is fascinating, although it may disappoint those who want a brutal, survivalist narrative. Ultimately this story is about normal people, and the healing power of relationships, rather than dystopian gloom; I found that I cared about Chris and Pauline, and the final section where their happiness is thrown into doubt was very tense for me. It made me think about what really matters in life, and how the choices we make at every stage of our own journey impact on others. Breakdown is a thoughtful, poignant novel, and an intriguing one to add to my collection of apocalypse narratives.

Rating: ***

47North, 2012, ISBN 9781612184111

The Carrier by Sophie Hannah

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Tags

Abuse, Crime, Murder, Psychological Thriller, Relationships, Thriller

This is a really tricky one to review. I usually love Hannah’s books – they’re properly riveting, and shocking, and uncomfortable. The Carrier is definitely uncomfortable, but I can’t say I enjoyed that feeling this time. And looking at the reviews on Amazon, it seems to have similarly divided other fans.

Gaby is a wealthy businesswoman who ends up sharing a bedroom with gobby Lauren when her flight home from Germany is cancelled. Lauren is hysterical – revealing that an innocent man is about to go to prison for murder – and it just happens that that man is Tim Breary, Gaby’s ex-lover. Gaby determines to help him clear his name…

Without giving the plot away, this novel is about ethics in relationships. None of the characters are remotely likeable – not even the police officers, who are far more philosophical than normal detectives. Reading it made me frustrated as I couldn’t care about anyone enough to be on their side. But having mulled it over for a few days, I think that may have been Hannah’s whole point. The ending is a shock, and really made me think, and that I didn’t like the main protagonists made it have more of an impact. What is abuse within a relationship, and where is the “line”? What could you tolerate? What extremes would you go to? No one is innocent in The Carrier, and Hannah’s depiction of various types of abuse is actually deft and sensitive. While she completely overturns your expectations, she’s challenging you to stop thinking in a simplistic way. Relationships are torture, abuse isn’t always visible, and the innocent may be guilty,as the guilty are innocent. Complex and ultimately disturbing, this is one that’s going to stay with me for a long time.

Hodder, 2013, ISBN 9780340980743

In Too Deep by Bea Davenport

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Tags

Crime, Domestic Violence, Marriage, Psychological Thriller, Relationships, Thriller

In Too Deep is a compulsive psychological thriller which kept me gripped throughout. It’s told by Maura, who’s run away from her life as wife and mother after the death of her best friend Kim, for which she feels responsible. But why?

As the story unfolds we learn that Maura’s perfect life in a small village was disrupted by the arrival of local reporter Kim – glamorous, sophisticated, predatory and very, very sharp. The most obvious story is that Kim would steal Maura’s husband Nick like a cuckoo in the nest; but this is not what happens, in a refreshing twist. Instead the two women form an unlikely but genuine friendship, in the face of hostility from the locals and particularly from Nick. Kim’s cynical attitude towards men is the only thing that naive Maura finds difficult to contend with, as she is so happily married; but Kim has already spotted Nick as the monster he really is. As the villagers’ tolerance of Kim reaches breaking point, Maura finds that her marriage is under pressure, and Nick’s response is to become violent. Before long, Kim is dead and Maura is in hiding. But a journalist is on her tail, determined to discover the truth…

The slow descent of Maura and Nick’s marriage into domestic violence is chilling and all too plausible; I often felt my insides clenching with the realistic horror of it. The friendship between the two women is also portrayed very convincingly, as you can both see the flaws in their relationship and the genuine alliance and mutual respect of two people who don’t quite fit. Kim’s influence on Maura comes across as a real liberation from a stultifying life, and the vile locals are truly worth hating. After reading this novel, I felt that perhaps Maura actions towards the end of the novel were slightly jarring, but women in abusive relationships are often forced to make difficult choices so maybe it just didn’t sit quite right for me. But ultimately this didn’t impact on my experience of the story, and I was gripped throughout, wanting justice for both women.

This is Bea Davenport’s first adult novel and it shows real promise; if you enjoy Sophie Hannah’s stories, definitely give this one a try! ***

Legend Press, 2013, ISBN 9781909395299

Beasts by Nigel Kneale

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Anniseed in DVD Review

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DVD, Horror, Relationships, Supernatural

Another digression into a DVD review tonight, to follow The Stone Tape; again this is a Nigel Kneale masterpiece which has had me riveted to the sofa for the past week. Beasts is a series of six hour-length self-contained dramas which was originally broadcast in 1976. Kneale is a fantastic storyteller and I thoroughly recommend his work to any writer – his sense of structure and pace, character and his ability to create atmosphere are unsurpassed. The linking theme of these disparate tales is that of “civilised Man in conflict with the primal, animal side of existence” (from the accompanying booklet by Andy Murray). To me however there’s a deeper theme that really struck me on first viewing – that of the fragile relationship between men and women.

In Baby, a young couple have moved to the countryside and are renovating an old cottage, ready for the imminent arrival of their new baby. Having previously miscarried, the wife is highly anxious. When they discover the mummified remains of a strange creature inside one of the cottage walls, her anxiety escalatates and she starts to hear strange noises. Her brutish husband disregards her fears, shouting at her constantly and putting his own needs first, and leaves her to face her fear alone. Is she imagining things or has something malevolent awoken? The creepy ending leaves no doubt that this marriage is well and truly over.

Buddyboy is the weirdest tale and possibly my favourite. A pornographer wishes to buy a disused dolphinarium to turn into a seedy cinema. The owner is keen to sell, and be rid of the memory of Buddyboy, one particular dolphin whose death may have been no accident. When the porn baron finds a girl squatting in the building, who’s obsessed with Buddyboy, it seems that the dead dolphin is haunting people – a fact he may be able to turn to his advantage…. The clear parallels between the exploitation of animals and the exploitation of women are hard to miss in this unusual tale, and the girl’s final choice paints a bleak picture of how women can wrestle back control of their lives. Again, the men in this tale are depicted as cruel, unable to comprehend women, and finally outwitted by them.

The Dummy is a Hammer spoof in which the collapse of a marriage, and a man’s sanity, is twisted by the power of a mask. The actor behind the Dummy is riled by his director into acts of appalling violence – here men abdicate most clearly their control over their own actions. It’s a tragic tale indeed and you do have sympathy for the man behind the Dummy, as his inability to connect with the women most important to him has driven him out of his own mind.

Special Offer is a more traditional tale of a useless shopgirl in love with her bullying boss, whose frustration takes the form of a poltergeist that causes havoc in the supermarket aisles. It’s hard to feel sympathy for her horrible boss, but the poignancy of the last scene hints at how women, even when gaining power, delude themselves into loving unworthy men, leaving an unsettling feeling that this is just the beginning…

What Big Eyes is a bizarre story of a scientist who is attempting to discover the secret of lycanthropy, with the help of his daughter. When an RSPCA inspector intervenes in the scientist’s experiments, his folly is revealed, and his abused daughter rages at how he has controlled and destroyed her life – a realisation that has come far too late.

During Barty’s Party is a brilliant piece of horror in which a couple are beseiged by a swarm of rats in their home. As the scratching gets louder and louder, the domineering husband starts to disintegrate, while the timid wife bravely battles to save their lives. Wonderfully claustrophobic and horrific without ever showing anything – it’s all in their fear – this is The Birds on a tiny budget and a fantastic study in character in which the true foundations of a marriage are laid brutally bare, bringing us full circle back to Baby.

An extra episode which was not part of the series is included as a bonus – Murrain. This is a tale of simple country folk and their superstitious fear that an old woman is laying curses on them. The local vet tries to protect her and dispel their murderous superstitions, but is she really what she seems?

In every episode the female characters are strong and subversive, even if the realisation of their strength comes too late to save them from male aggression and stupidity. It’s certainly a conflict between the primal side of nature, which is personified as much in the women as the “beasts” (real or imagined) of the title. Each man fails spectacularly by not listening, not connecting, not empathising with women. They are consumed with their concerns and follies, which lead them to death, madness, and loneliness. The women by contrast often turn the tables on their menfolk, although sometimes it’s a Pyrrhic victory. The deranged scientist in What Big Eyes had it exactly right – in the folktale of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf does not eat Grandma, the wolf IS Grandma. And that little bit of insight makes all the difference, to the women and men who realise it.

Rating:*****

 

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

20 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Friendship, Historical, Relationships, Victorians

I loved the controversial Room, which is why I picked up The Sealed Letter to read – again it’s a story inspired by real-life events, but totally different in style. It’s the tale of a Victorian divorce, replete with scandal, duplicity and betrayal. Fido Faithfull is a successful independent businesswoman in a man’s world; Helen Codrington, her best friend, is by contrast a pampered “man’s woman” always on the lookout for her main chance. When Helen’s affair with an army officer is revealed to her husband, Vice-Admiral Henry Codrington applies for a divorce – a very shocking action in Victorian Britain, where they were fewer than two divorces a year – and the intimate details of their marriage are made public in the papers, to the titillation of society. Helen implores Fido to help her restore her reputation, but to do so Fido must lie in court – will she place her best friend above her principles?

It’s always bizarre to read how strictly controlled polite Victorian society was, at the same time a dark underbelly was scratching just underneath; the speech and actions of the characters are in many ways alien to a 21st century reader, but no less compelling for this. The convoluted nature of a marriage in crisis, whilst the details are strange, the emotions and manipulations are very much not. Friendship is revealed to be as much a deception as marriage in this world where propriety is more important than honesty. Women’s place in society is depicted as precarious, and the infighting between the members of the women’s movement to which Fido belongs is frustrating yet so believable. I like the way this novel takes what is essentially a small event – one marriage – and turns it into a microcosm of Victorian society as a whole. Rating: ***

Picador, 2011, ISBN 9781447205982

At Yellow Lake by Jane McLoughlin

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Anniseed in Young Adult Fiction Review

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Friendship, Relationships, Thriller

Reproduced with kind permission of Frances Lincoln

Reproduced with kind permission of Frances Lincoln

Etta’s on the run from her mum’s creepy boyfriend; Jonah is in flight from his past; and Peter is trying to fulfill a promise to his dying mother. When the three teenagers collide at the cabin at Yellow Lake, the scene is set for a turbulent love triangle. Add in some murderous thugs, and you have a tense, sometimes uncomfortable read about survival, independence and sacrifice. Difficult decisions must be made and there’s no telling who will live to tell the tale… An excellent first novel, with just the right amount of “hold your breath” moments, without being too graphic. Recommended for 14+. Rating: ***

Frances Lincoln, 2012, ISBN 9781847803603

Drawing With Light by Julia Green

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Anniseed in Young Adult Fiction Review

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Families, Relationships, Romance

Reproduced with kind permission of Bloomsbury

Reproduced with kind permission of Bloomsbury

Emily is the quiet daughter, living in her sister Kat’s shadow, but Kat’s return to University unexpectedly lets Emily step into the light when she meets dashing Seb, who can see her for the pretty and sensitive girl she is. But love brings unexpected and interesting surprises, as Emily finds the courage to deal with the problems of the present by investigating the mysteries of the past….  Her mother left the girls when Emily was a baby and her Dad never speaks of her, but Emily resolves to track her down with Seb’s help. What she finds will shake her, but also mould her into the woman she will become. This is a warm and tender story about first love, belonging, and forgiveness, drawn with a deft touch from a skilled author. The characters are real with their quirks and failings, but the family’s affection shines through, and Emily’s journey is engaging and rewarding.

Bloomsbury, 2012, ISBN 9781408819579

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Crime, Friendship, Relationships

Reproduced with kind permission of Hodder

Reproduced with kind permission of Hodder

I loved this story. It’s told by Karen, an unassuming wallflower who is swept up in the unlikely friendship of Biba, a free-spirited aspiring actress, and her buttoned-up brother Rex. Drawn into their hedonistic party lifestyle and their circle of daring bohemian friends, Karen is besotted with both siblings, but it is Rex who wins her love completely. Karen’s initial entrancement with Biba slowly becomes tempered by the realisation that her friend is self-centred and high maintenance, but it takes a horrifying crime and its terrible consequences before Karen can finally stand up for herself and break free. It’s a sad story but one easy to identify with – who hasn’t been starstruck with someone more exciting, confident and outgoing than themselves? It’s easy to identify with Karen as narrator, and as the twists in the plot slowly unfolded to reveal the full picture, the ending felt inevitable and utterly believable. A cast of very intriguing characters and a sympathetic, plausible heroine made this a very enjoyable crime novel, something a little different, and one to curl up with in the evenings, getting lost in the world of these carefree spirits. Rating: ***

Afterword: it’s also about to become an ITV drama….

Hodder, 2011, ISBN 9781444701050

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne

09 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by Anniseed in Book Review

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Childhood, Crime, Families, Relationships

Reproduced with kind permission of Little, Brown Book Group

Reproduced with kind permission of Little, Brown Book Group

Daniel is now a hot-shot lawyer but once he was a lost and damaged boy, who could so easily have found himself on the wrong side of the law, if it hadn’t been for the love of his foster mother Minnie. Now he finds himself taking on the case of another lost boy, Sebastian, who has been accused of murder. Daniel empathises with the troubled Sebastian and the case causes him to re-assess his own past, particularly when he discovers that Minnie has died; he had cast her aside years’ before after discovering a hideous secret, and now that secret is haunting him. As the court case progresses and Daniel delves deeper into Minnie’s past as well as Sebastian’s, the notion of guilt and innocence starts to take on a whole new meaning.

I found this to be an intriguing first novel; the relationship between Daniel and Minnie is centre-stage rather than the murder case, and this makes it far more than a simple crime story. Their relationship is depicted with tenderness, and the complexity of human emotions is deftly captured. There is a real sense of loss here, both of love and innocence, and Ballantyne ably shows how this loss resonates across her character’s lives. The murder case adds an intriguing “what might have been” dimension to Daniel’s tale which I felt added to the poignancy of the central relationship. An excellent read, very involving and thought-provoking, which challenges the concept that guilt and innocence are irreconcilable opposites. Rating:***

Piatkus, 2012, ISBN 9780749957285

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Welcome to the world of Anniseed, bibliofiend and librarian, chaos gardener and allotmenteer, who sometimes finds caterpillars in her hair. This is my blog – what I’m reading and what I think about it, plus commentary on the world of books, and occasional rambles into the garden.

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