Emma Donoghue
This book is by the author of the popular book "The Room".
It is the story of a British nurse who is sent to Ireland to watch a girl who has stopped eating. A local committee want to verify that she is truly not eating.
The girl is the daughter of a poor Irish farming community. She meets the local priest, Doctor, the girl's parents and a nun who is to watch the girl in alternating shifts along with her.
We find out that the Irish are very strong Catholics, somewhat superstitious too (fairies). The girl and her parents are very religious. The nurse, a trainee of Florence Nightengale, first searches the girls room for hidden food, she then starts to document the girls vital signs. She finds no evidence of any food being left or given to the girl but she is suspicious that the nun, might be working with the family to create a believe in miraculous behaviour.
The nurse and nun have been hired to watch the girl for two weeks. At first the girl's health seems to be okay and stable but after a week the nurse notices a definite deterioration in her condition, she becomes weak, her breathing and heart rate are affected. The nurse learns that the girl stopped eating shortly after her first communion (confirmation). She thinks it might be a hysterical reaction to this sacrement. The girl is praying all the time and cherishing her pictures of saints and other items.
However, she finds out later that the mother had been coming to the daughter's room and giving her food from her mouth. Now that the observers are there she has not been able to do this.
The girl's condition is deteriorating rapidly and the nurse notifies the doctor, the priest and eventually the committee. They all seem prepared to have the girl die. The nurse shouldn't do it but she confides her concern for the girl to a newspaper reporter who has come to do a story about the girl. He urges her to act on her concern.
The nurse eventually discovers that the girl's brother, who died previously had been having sexual relations with her. When the girl heard that this was a sin she fears her brother is in purgatory or hell for his behaviour and that this is why she is doing this extreme action... to save her brother. The nurse convinces her that she can die and become a new person, Nan. She convinces the girl that eating will kill her and give birth to this new girl Nan. The girl agrees to do this. While the family is out to a mass in honour of the girl the nurse sets fire to the girl's room and she carries the girl to the waiting reporter who takes the girl away.
It is assumed that the girl died in the fire. In reality the nurse, reporter and girl have fled Ireland and will start life as a new family.
This book really examined the role of faith, faith taken to the extreme, the pain of denial. The mother was told about what the Brother did but she admired him so much she told the girl to never speak of it again so the little girl was bearing this burden. It was an interesting story.
Sunday, 16 October 2016
The Party Wall
by Catherine Leroux
This is a Quebecoise author, the book is translated into English. I think it is a finalist for the Man Booker or the Governmor General's awards this year.
It is a series of short stories, involving pairs of individuals. There are several stories for each of the pairs and at the end of the book several of the characters, from the different stories, get connected.
I don't usually like short stories but I have to say she is amazing at how she portrays powerful stories/situations in a very few pages. The stories are a bit quirky. One is about a woman whose son is a drifter. He comes home because he is ill and when she gets tested as an organ donor for him she is told she is not related to him genetically. She later learns that she is a Chimera, two distinct DNA in her body because of an undeveloped twin within her. Another story is about two sisters who wander around their town and one of them loses her legs on train tracks. A third pair is about a man who succeeds in becoming Prime Minister but whose success is destroyed when his wife discovers that they are actually brother and sister. They were given away for adoption when they were born. They still love each other and head out to the prairies to start a new life under assumed names.
It was a fascinating read, very sad at times, but an exceptional book.
This is a Quebecoise author, the book is translated into English. I think it is a finalist for the Man Booker or the Governmor General's awards this year.
It is a series of short stories, involving pairs of individuals. There are several stories for each of the pairs and at the end of the book several of the characters, from the different stories, get connected.
I don't usually like short stories but I have to say she is amazing at how she portrays powerful stories/situations in a very few pages. The stories are a bit quirky. One is about a woman whose son is a drifter. He comes home because he is ill and when she gets tested as an organ donor for him she is told she is not related to him genetically. She later learns that she is a Chimera, two distinct DNA in her body because of an undeveloped twin within her. Another story is about two sisters who wander around their town and one of them loses her legs on train tracks. A third pair is about a man who succeeds in becoming Prime Minister but whose success is destroyed when his wife discovers that they are actually brother and sister. They were given away for adoption when they were born. They still love each other and head out to the prairies to start a new life under assumed names.
It was a fascinating read, very sad at times, but an exceptional book.
Sunday, 9 October 2016
When the Music's Over
by Peter Robinson
This book was just released. Generally I have enjoyed the books by Robinson about Inspector Banks but I found this one very disappointing. Robinson has not published for quite a while and I am wondering if he has run out of ideas/inspiration.
I did not enjoy this book. I felt it was too derivative. It has two parallel crimes. One is a famous celebrity from years before who is being accused of sexual harassment of underage girls decades before. The other is the murder of a 14 year old girl who had sex/was raped by three people shortly before her death and was later brutally battered and found dead on the side of the road.
The story of the aged celebrity is just piggy-backing on recent news stories in Britain. The second story involves angst against immigrants and immigration in Britain and it turns out the young girl was part of a Pakisani run sex trade ring. The book may reflect the current mood in Britain but again I feel he was again just borrowing fron current events.
I generally like Peter Robinson's books but this one was really disappointing as far as I am concerned.
This book was just released. Generally I have enjoyed the books by Robinson about Inspector Banks but I found this one very disappointing. Robinson has not published for quite a while and I am wondering if he has run out of ideas/inspiration.
I did not enjoy this book. I felt it was too derivative. It has two parallel crimes. One is a famous celebrity from years before who is being accused of sexual harassment of underage girls decades before. The other is the murder of a 14 year old girl who had sex/was raped by three people shortly before her death and was later brutally battered and found dead on the side of the road.
The story of the aged celebrity is just piggy-backing on recent news stories in Britain. The second story involves angst against immigrants and immigration in Britain and it turns out the young girl was part of a Pakisani run sex trade ring. The book may reflect the current mood in Britain but again I feel he was again just borrowing fron current events.
I generally like Peter Robinson's books but this one was really disappointing as far as I am concerned.
The Light of Paris
by Eleanor Brown
This story is about a woman who is in an unhappy marriage, bullied and controlled by her husband. He tells her what to wear, criticizes what she eats, selects their homes and furnishings. He thinks that if he keeps her nicely dressed she will be happy an accompany him as required to social events.
She gets angry at her and he threatens to divorce her. She is shocked by this announcement and thinks about trying to reconcile with him but she has a trip booked to visit her mother and she decides to do that so tha her husband can calm down. When she gets to her mother's, with whom she does not have a good relationship, she is shocked to find that her mother is planning to sell the family home and move to a condo.
She starts prowling around the house and discovers her painting supplies in the basement. She remembers how much she loved to paint as a young woman. She also finds a diary of her grandmother's in the attic. In the diary the grandmother describes how she was being encouraged to get married by her parents. To avoid this fate she agrees to act as escort for a disagreeable cousin on a trip to Europe. It become clear on the boat over to Europe that her cousin won't listen to her and doesn't want her around. She hopes her cousin will settle down when they reach Europe but instead the girl leaves her for friends she met on the boat.
The girl's grandmother is forced to tell her parents what has happened. They are furious as are the cousin's parents and want her to return home immediately. She has arrived in Paris and doesn't want to leave so she gets a temporary job at an American library in Paris. She meets a French artist and they fall in love and have an affair. After a few months she finds out that he has had five years of freedom funded by his family and he must now return to take over the family business and marry as decided by his family.
She is distraught and gets pneumonia. She is "rescued" by a family friend who happens to be in Europe. He had escorted her at her coming out party and they had had sex on that occasion. Once she recovers the man asks her to marry him.
The main character is engrossed in her grandmother's story and finds it hard to reconcile the girl in the diary from the straightlaced Grandmother she remembers. While she is staying at her mother's she meets a kind man who has opened a restaurant next to her mother's house. She is also intrigued to see the life in the neighbourhood, the shops, the friendships. It seems like a much nicer place that what she remembered as a young woman.
Her husband arrives and takes her home. She decides she cannot live an lie and leaves her husband to go back to her home town. She finds a small apartment and plans her new life.
The book was a bit of chicklit but it was an okay story.
This story is about a woman who is in an unhappy marriage, bullied and controlled by her husband. He tells her what to wear, criticizes what she eats, selects their homes and furnishings. He thinks that if he keeps her nicely dressed she will be happy an accompany him as required to social events.
She gets angry at her and he threatens to divorce her. She is shocked by this announcement and thinks about trying to reconcile with him but she has a trip booked to visit her mother and she decides to do that so tha her husband can calm down. When she gets to her mother's, with whom she does not have a good relationship, she is shocked to find that her mother is planning to sell the family home and move to a condo.
She starts prowling around the house and discovers her painting supplies in the basement. She remembers how much she loved to paint as a young woman. She also finds a diary of her grandmother's in the attic. In the diary the grandmother describes how she was being encouraged to get married by her parents. To avoid this fate she agrees to act as escort for a disagreeable cousin on a trip to Europe. It become clear on the boat over to Europe that her cousin won't listen to her and doesn't want her around. She hopes her cousin will settle down when they reach Europe but instead the girl leaves her for friends she met on the boat.
The girl's grandmother is forced to tell her parents what has happened. They are furious as are the cousin's parents and want her to return home immediately. She has arrived in Paris and doesn't want to leave so she gets a temporary job at an American library in Paris. She meets a French artist and they fall in love and have an affair. After a few months she finds out that he has had five years of freedom funded by his family and he must now return to take over the family business and marry as decided by his family.
She is distraught and gets pneumonia. She is "rescued" by a family friend who happens to be in Europe. He had escorted her at her coming out party and they had had sex on that occasion. Once she recovers the man asks her to marry him.
The main character is engrossed in her grandmother's story and finds it hard to reconcile the girl in the diary from the straightlaced Grandmother she remembers. While she is staying at her mother's she meets a kind man who has opened a restaurant next to her mother's house. She is also intrigued to see the life in the neighbourhood, the shops, the friendships. It seems like a much nicer place that what she remembered as a young woman.
Her husband arrives and takes her home. She decides she cannot live an lie and leaves her husband to go back to her home town. She finds a small apartment and plans her new life.
The book was a bit of chicklit but it was an okay story.
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