Book review - The Children Act by Ian McEwan

In The Children Act McEwan lays bare several moral dilemmas, moving between their individual, even idiosyncratic nature, and their universality. The saving of a life, the strength of a belief system, passion, love and lust all feature.

He is a writer with a skill for bringing his characters to life. From the beginning the reader knows each of the players. The story weaves setting, personal stories and culture with ease, adding an essential ingredient for this particular book -the law and the normally hidden workings of the Family Courts. The ‘plot’ moves quickly, slowly, then quickly again, it never drags and rarely surprises but seems solid, well grounded in reality. 

But it is always a risk to expose professional lives -is this really the way a Family Court judge might behave?  In places it all seems a bit far fetched.  

The choice of third person narration is interesting as the perspective is always that of the main protagonist, Fiona Maye. Perhaps that says something about her approach to life -she comes across as impersonal and objective until her inner and outer worlds join in a rather critical way. 

It’s not often I read a book after I’ve seen the film, and as I reached the end of this short and very focused novel I learn why! Yes, film is a different medium, especially on the large screen ... for a start there is (usually) more than an audience of one. The book and reader are more mutable, intimate and I did not need the drama of the film ending to understand the story’s end. McEwan’s continued measured prose was sufficient. 

For a review of the film go to https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/25/the-children-act-film-review-preposterous-plot.

Back to the book, its just but only just worth 4 stars but not one of his best. 

Stitching news in Colour!!!!

Yes, this is the third blog post today and will go some way to explaining the long gap! I've been busy with, amongst other things

- a workshop at Happy and Glorious https://www.happyglorious.co.uk/pages/our-shop, run by Cas Holmes http://casholmestextiles.co.uk

Here's the small precious objects piece  I left the workshop with ...

Paper, teabags, fabric and hand stitching inspired by my Mother's lace.











It took a while for me to find my way to the set of three and to add some free motion machine stitching ... but now just look!!

and one reason it took a while was more playing with fabric, this time a small length of woven strip cotton, more details on this are here https://www.africanfabric.co.uk/fabrics-textiles/african-fabrics/handwoven-strip-cloth

The top piece is rusted in salt water and the lower piece found itself in a tray of dye at the Institches Studio last week, https://www.institchestextilecourses.co.uk.

I've probably said that I'm on my third year long course with Hazel and Terry this time learning all about adding colour.

Some great results last week, well worth all that rinsing, washing etc, because some of the fabric is now being auditioned for one of the 'pages' of my London Loop project.




Here's what it looks like so far .... comments welcome.

I'm trying for the deconstructed and reconstructed look to give Heron a well deserved stage.


Finally, something else found its way into the dye tray. Originally my embroidery and Mum's lace but neglected somewhat so it had mould stains that washing did not shift.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it now but it certainly looks more loved than it did. I'm pleased that the lace has taken the Procion dye so well. I might play with lace and dye again.

That's all for the moment ... it is still very windy and raining hard here ... a good day for indoor tasks like the one now done here.

Book review Education by Tara Westover

This is a powerful, raw and probably unique memoir that examines issues at the intersection of (amongst other things) the personal, family, belief, learning and organised religion. Westover’s prose is at once dense and flowing, hesitant and sure footed but above all it is authentic. 

She is a reliable narrator even though much of what she is writing about relies on her memory as a young child and young woman. Where she has doubts she lets the reader know. 

Westover’s 5* story left me thinking about two main aspects of her life, Firstly, the way our given intelligence and curiosity about the world, past and present, surfaces and how it does this come what may. In this way a child who never went to school becomes an original thinker -as she says, she becomes someone who writes history.  

Secondly, at times reading Tara’s struggles with herself in respect of leaving or staying within her family, I could hardly believe the impact of the strength of her Father’s belief (for example, that the world would end and they had to be prepared) on her. The bonds are almost unbearable and unbreakable when she is a child and they persist as she matures. Eventually the connections between her and her family start to fray and her knowledge of how others in and outside their religion (they are Mormons) see the world grows. 

One day when she makes her choice.  I won’t add the spoiler. Read the book! It is well worth your time to do so. 

Book review Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

I gave this book 4 stars, it would have had 5 with a different ending. In contrast to the rest of the story as it finishes Egan rounds down the shape of several characters’ lives and smooths out the edges of what happens to them. It all felt far too neat and tidy.  

That apart the book has much to admire, I learnt lots, e. g. about diving at the time, sea life during WW2 and the social mores of the place and time, and I enjoyed reading Egan’s writing. Her characters feel authentic, I could see Lydia, Mr. Voss, Dexter Styles and others, and Anna, who was always there, always living her life forward. 

Egan shapes the story in a straightforward way, yet lives diverge and converge all the time, creating interest and tension. A very good read. 

Jericho Writers - a review and a thank you

Earlier today I was wondering what to post   - perhaps something on the way forward for my stitching projects but then, well, I've rather neglected any updates about writing ... what to say that could be of interest. Well, as I was pondering, the weekly newsletter from the always interesting Harry at https://jerichowriters.com, arrives.

Wow, as well as the usual good stuff, there is a great offer   - the Jericho Writers people are more wonderful than I thought!  They will give me a year of membership if I write a review of their website on my blog (or  a website). Very opportune.

Joining Jericho Writers is a key part of my writing plan for 2018/9. It will give me access to more, much more,  of their sound advice, events and, most important, editing and how to get published knowledge and skills. I spent time watching some of Harry's free on line seminars this summer. His 'teaching' style is easy to follow, very clear with lots of examples to contextualise the points he's making about enhancing and editing your writing. I was tempted to join then. But I was about to hand my draft novel over to two beta readers for their comments - another part of my plan. I hesitated.

Perhaps I should wait for my friend's comments first? Decision made, I used more of the useful free advice from Jericho Writers. I focused on finding potential agents, how to identify a few that might be interested in my novel, how many should I send my work to at any one time, how best to approach them, how to weave my way through the myriad of advice my internet search on the subject had come up with.

There is a lot that is free on https://jerichowriters.com. Jericho Writers is generous to those who hesitate before joining. I did (lots and lots) of my own research, made decisions about who send to and what to send guided by Jericho Writers website advice and their speedy answers to a couple of questions. Thank goodness for Harry (and I presume, his staff) because, although he clearly leads with his expertise and experience, surely one person can't run it all!

The Jericho Writers helped me plan a process to follow once I thought my novel was ready to be considered by an agent, and to keep writing number two novel as the rejections arrive in my inbox. My plan ends with the need to accept that, as advised, if ten or so agents reject it, I absolutely need more editorial help for the next draft. That's where membership of Jericho Writers comes in ... it was to be my 2019 beginning of the year spend on my writing practice.  And now it may be a gift ... which is wonderful.

This post is long enough but before I close I want to add that I've also been receiving newsletters  and information from organisations like Jericho Writers. There are lots of similarities amongst them but Jericho Writers and Harry get my vote not the least for their style and focus. This is one of their strap lines (a copy from their website)

WE’RE HERE FOR WRITERS

and hopefully, soon, I'll being able to read and participate in more of what they offer. Fingers crossed.

Book review Force of Nature by Jane Harper

I kept hoping this book would get better! The ingredients were there ... context, geography and characters but reading it was like reading one long beginning. The plot almost took of,  it touched on some current and important and often neglected issues and focused on authentic aspects in the lives of contemporary woman. But the distractions from these were too visible. That all meant an unwillingness by the author to go deeper and a story that was superficial and tame. A shame  - the prose flows, the detective character from her previous  book, The Dry, is well sustained if a little overdone. The book just needed more story and more depth to the main issues. 

That said Harper's second novel got 4* on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Force-Nature-Novel-Jane-Harper/dp/1250105633


and here's what the Guardian said

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/10/force-of-nature-by-jane-harper-review

NB I read the book on my Kindle so the above image is from Amazon, with thanks.

All about the waiting ....

For what? You ask.


For lemons to ripen, our desert grape vine to settle in after planting and the basil, well, I guess we are waiting to find it frost free zone so we can continue to reap the benefit of its wonderful flavour.

 

And I am waiting for one more day before unwrapping the fabric around a great selection of rusted bits and pieces .... watch this space for the colours and patterns that'll emerge!!!








I'm hoping for some fabric that will be suitable for book spines. So far I've printed a photo of the book spine onto fabric ... some are interesting,

others not so much. So maybe what I need is a mixture of photos and free motion quilting of the lettering onto a matching fabric. One more reason to watch this space....  I'll post more pics soon.



And I will leave you with beautiful morning sunshine now the mist has cleared ... looks like a day to be outside.

Today chez moi ....

Its been a while! I've been busy  ... so a quick catch up mostly in pictures ...

.

The transformation of 6m of white cotton to a beautiful set of colours for  my next stitching project  well, that was last Friday and Saturday taken care of ..

So relieved that all the buckets and bags remained whole as I drove home ....

Its hard work rinsing and washing all that fabric but exciting as the colours emerge

Some sunrise colours here

and the black to pale grey set will be perfect for pavements and stone walls ...

Finally, I found them a nice resting place  .... but they won't be there very long.












One short flight on Sunday and now I'm enjoying some late autumn sunshine at home in France .... there are five dogs, two people and walks twice a day  ... so twice along the quiet back road in the morning and twice around the lake in the afternoon. Lots of steps and lots of time for reflection.

In between my kennel assistant routine I slipped in some sedentary jobs. So, big news here, today I sent my novel, well, the first three chapters and a synopsis, out to several agents.

It felt the right time and I now have to wait for, what? Well, who knows. Fingers crossed ...

But doing that leaves my mind free to continue with what at the moment I am calling Novel 2.

That felt a big thing to be doing so in between  I tacked a small quilt ready for, yes, you've guessed, quilting. There was a slight hiatus in this gentle activity when in the middle of the morning I lost the thread and scissors.

They were there when I went out to feed the hens and gone when I returned.  The fabric was undisturbed, my pincushion was there but no scissors and spool of tacking thread

The culprit was Naomi ... loveable and naughty and very fond of chewing ... and eventually I found the evidence.  She now has a hard(ish) rubber ball to chew and I have learnt not to leave temptation in her reach!!!


There's a book review coming up in the next post .... do read on or is it up?

Review of Wild Swans, Three daughters of China, Jung Chang

How I did I miss reading this book before now ... maybe because I thought it was a novel, and remembered my past struggles to read long family sagas when the geography, names and political culture need to be assimilated along with the narrative. A few pages of Wild Swans and I found that nothing like this applies to Chang’s flowing prose exploring life for her family in China from about 1900 onwards.

This book tells an extraordinary and heartbreakingly true story, it is deeply honest and has a reach that opened my eyes to a way of life of my fellow human beings that I had no idea about. As other reviewers have said, this is an important book and written, as it is,  in plain language, it is a wonderful way to learn history and hopefully, to learn from that history, even when all happened is far, far from a personal experience. It combines, with great skill, a post mortem on a political ideology and a forensic view of family love, loyalty and longevity. 

There are 700 pages, so it will take your time but it’s easy to pick up and start again. I had a 2 week break from it while I read a book group book. I restarted yesterday evening and was quickly engrossed again. Wild Swans is non fiction at its very best. 

As you can see from the photo here I read an old copy of Wld Swans. There was something magic about knowing that many other hands had held this book, had read its words. Had those readers, like me, been amazed, horrified and saddened by what they had read? I'll never know but that doesn't matter. We have all read it. Now it is your turn.  I can't send you the copy with its coffee stains and creased spine but ask around, someone you know might have a copy and there's always the library. 

Finally, on this wet Sunday a photo of my first homemade sourdough using Maud, who is, for the uninitiated, my sourdough starter from Hobbs House Bakery. 

As it says Maud is refreshed and resting. Well. most of her is, let's not think about what will soon happen to the portion i used for this loaf. 

I am waiting for the slow rise of this loaf in my not very warm kitchen. It will happen I need to be patient ... perhaps its time to start a new book or to find my much neglected knitting. 

Sourdough and social media ...

I should have added the common cold to this blog title because that is also occupying (!) me this morning. But nasty bugs are not nice, certainly not nice enough to earn a place in a title. Only when it allows me a good nights sleep and to resume going out will this bug be rewarded with anything!!!


 

 In contrast, my attempts to learn how best to post a Story on Instagram and how to increase traffic to whatever I do post anywhere are getting there.


I started with an Instagram story on the theme of Black and White ... the photos here speak for themselves  ... helped by the advice from Rochelle at https://thepersonaltrainingcentre.com

When I am with Rochelle she usually focuses on my need to work harder on the exercise bike or adds more weights to the triceps pull she has got me doing.

Yesterday I picked her considerable brain for hints about Instagram stories  ... you can follow her @ptcentre.  Look out for her videos on well being.

 

What about the sourdough? Well, my sourdough starter arrived 30 minutes ago via courier from Hobbs House Bakery, https://www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk, and @HobbsHouseabout.  So exiting. It is a very old starter and I feel part of its family now.

It needs looking after properly and has had a long journey. So now it is settling down in the fridge waiting for me to check out the information on the Hobbs House website about what to do next.

Meanwhile I need to give it a name -that is part of the instructions. I am not joking.

I need your help. Please votes for one of these three:

1. Leaf - because it came into my hands in the autumn.

2. Maud - because I don't much like the name and would like to learn to like by giving it to something lovely.

3. Samson - no reason, except I am gong to see the Opera, Samson and Delilah, in a couple of weeks.


Please leave your vote in a comment. Meanwhile, I am off to do as the label on the carton says ...

,,,

or maybe before that I should take my cold and its associated aches back to bed.  Like the sourdough I work better well rested.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy -my review

We are discussing this novel this evening at my Reading Group meeting. It is chez moi so I've just put the white wine in the fridge and found a bottle of red.

Regular readers here will know that I post reviews and mostly those are regular as well. I have kept log of what books I read for many years now so this is just an extension of that. In fact it is that, copied and pasted from my new e reading notebook, which is part of my effort to travel between homes with less stuff. Now instead of several notebooks including the reading log, I have e-notebooks on my iPad.

That's enough of that, here is my review of Hot Milk -a book I gained a lot from and enjoyed more than the last Levy book I read.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy, Reading Group book, October 2018, 4*

This book is unforgiving in its examination of the mother daughter relationship and the role of the mind in physical illness.Sophia and her Mother, Rose are seeking a cure for Rose’s inability to walk and obsession with pharmaceutical and surgical ways to solve her problems. This is the backdrop to a post-mortem on how family changes cast an indelible mark on individual lives. Levy slowly reveals how Sophia falls apart and her attempts to put herself together whilst all the time thinking others, particularly her Mother, are the problem.

The timeframe and geography (Spain, the beach, the arid countryside) are tight and this gives an air of everything happening in a capsule that might burst at any time. We, as readers, are observers of control lost and gained -the prose reflects this - with incremental shifts of power creating tension and uncertainty. A book lacking in romance, that keeps its attention on the grim realities of how people relate to each other.

Levy offers readers the challenge of first person narration -we only see others via Sophia, and by their actions and speech. She is not exactly unreliable but she is broken so, like her computer screen that she drops in the opening passge, and her, our view has cracks and distortions. Also metaphor use is of note .. the howling dog and the chickens that Sophia rescues which led me to thinking how much this book is about seeking rescue; from ourselves and from the chains we see between us and other people when, as Sophia eventually learns, only we can effect the change we need.  

Its not a long book, it has sections that are uncomfortable to read but it drew me in and i wanted to keep following Sophia's life as it fell like sand though her fingers. 

Walking is one foot in front of the other, isn’t it?

And it’s easy, isn’t it.

 Well, yesterday walking section 4 of the London Loop was easy, more than that it was a pleasure. Under blue sky, through deciduous woods, along leafy and green paths with lots to look up at, each step came naturally.

But, it’s not always easy as I found on Monday during my first game of walking netball, see https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/my-game/walking-netball/

Am I running? Can I walk backwards any faster than this? Can I walk over that line when I’m in this position?

The coach and experienced members of the team were very understanding about my need to learn the rules, the opposition were a tad competitive (ouch) and thank goodness, my one chance to get the ball in the net was successful. Not so my passing of the ball which led me to questions like can I walk fast and keep an eye on where my teammates are walking to, on where someone is about to throw the ball from, on someone who is asking for the ball?  More next week ... it could, might, who knows, become a habit!

Wabi Sabi by Beth Kempton - my review

This book almost belies it’s subtitle ... ‘Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life’ ... because it is a perfect book. It looks very good, the cover and pages feel wonderful and when you get inside it’s cleverly set out, well written and full of beauty. The sort of beauty that guides, explains and bestows wise words on the reader. 

I met Beth on an Arvon writing retreat and heard a few early paragraphs of her book. Her research, personal experience and knowledge shine through her excellent prose. It has been a pleasure to read Beth’s treatise on and the applications of Wabi Sabi to ordinary lives. 

This is a book I will turn to when I need reminding about the important things in my life, about how to love, how to think more wisely and how this all might feel. And, importantly, to read when I need helpful and confident messages about the perfect nature of imperfection. Beth - thank you so much. Everyone else - do read this book. 

A gift .. wonderful English autumn sunshine

 ... warm and sunny is just how we like it for our London Loop walks and the weather delivered yesterday as six of us completed the Chingford

to Chigwell section.  Milage was up as we had to negotiate more of the London Underground than planned and diverted to Buckhurst Hill for lunch at the very lovely Green Owl.

 There are some amazing green and watery spaces in the City's suburbia and we enjoyed this one in the late afternoon sun.

And below, a first, a plaque to tell us about our next walk which we plan to do in two weeks time.

 Our minds are already on where to walk when we finish the Loop. Only 7 sections to do now.


In other news, I'm catching up with all my wonderful local friends after the summer break, resuming the gym (ouch) and thinking about joining a walking netball team.




And, I'm writing. My short break last week to do more in the Enmatte garden was fruitful. There is nothing like cutting back a wilderness for thinking abut things in different ways.
I've signed up for an Indie Authors online conference next week and I'm looking at alternatives to the usual route to publication. Anyone with any experience of this please let me know what questions I should be asking about this way of producing and marketing your own book.  Thanks.

Back soon.

Around and about chez moi in early September ....

Title says it all really. Enjoy the photos.

New rusting tool glows in the evening sun 

The slow and careful burn of all those dreaded seed heads 

 This stone wall has not seen the light of day for a long while ... hence the need for the bonfire!!!!

Extra large, large and very small tomatoes are all available  ... and are all very delicious.

Thanks for being here.

NB Its still hot. 30C as I write ... what a wonderful summer we've had.