Review: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan is the most harrowing novel I've ever read. It's the story of Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans who grew up in rural Tasmania and after a passionate love affair during his Army training, signed up to fight in WWII. Captured and forced to work in a Japanese labour camp along the Thai-Burma Railway, the living conditions and violence Dorrigo and his fellow POWs experienced was nothing short of horrific.

"They were men like other young men, unknown to themselves. So much that lay within them they were now travelling to meet." Page 41

Before the war Dorrigo had an ardent love affair - despite being engaged to another woman - and he draws on those memories during his captivity. However, the narrative moves back and forth in time (before/during/after the war) without any obvious structure or chapter indications of timeframes and I found it quite disorienting. Adding to the confusion was the lack of punctuation for dialogue which very few authors manage to accomplish without upsetting the flow on the page.

Having said all of that, the writing and lyrical prose was absolutely sublime and often intensely intimate and emotive. Dorrigo loves reading and poetry and I enjoyed his reverence for books in this excerpt:

"He had placed it on the darkwood bedside table next to his pillow, aligning it carefully with his head. He believed books had an aura that protected him, that without one beside him he would die. He happily slept without women. He never slept without a book." Page 29

Slowly the narrative expands to include the first person perspective of other characters in Dorrigo's life, including love interest Amy and several Japanese soldiers from the camp which was surprising. These first person perspectives of the Japanese soldiers was deeply disturbing, as were their innermost thoughts about their mission, conduct, the lack of supplies and their individual contributions to the war effort. Reading their 'side of the story' so to speak felt like a significant betrayal, and I believe this demonstrated real courage from the author.

"It's not just about the railway, Colonel Kota said, though the railway must be built. Or even the war, though the war must be won. It's about the Europeans learning that they are not the superior race, Nakamura said. And us learning that we are, Colonel Kota said." Page 129

Having spent so much time with the Australian prisoners of war tasked with building the Burma Death Railway and reading in detail about the tropical diseases, malnutrition, starvation, beatings, exhaustion and despair they endured - in addition to the countless deaths - I was deeply disappointed that the author chose not to include their release and recovery. Flanagan highlights some of the struggles faced by those returning home - Australian and Japanese - even going so far as taking the reader to the point of their deaths and the manner in which they recalled their experiences. The inner reflections of the Japanese soldiers sickened me, including the fact that for one character, time eroded his memory of his crimes and nurtured stories of his goodness and extenuating circumstances:

"As the years passed, he found he was haunted only by the way he was haunted by so little of it." Page 375

Having suffered through these viewpoints and acknowledged Flanagan's attempt to highlight both sides of the conflict, I wanted to glimpse the moment Dorrigo realised he'd survived the war and was going home. This would have gone some way to offsetting the misery they endured, is that why it was excluded? What was it like for Dorrigo to taste real food again? How did he feel seeing himself in a mirror for the first time? Putting on fresh clothing? I wanted to know every detail of the treatment the Australians received, how they were rehabilitated and the ongoing problems they suffered afterwards.

Also completely missing from the book was an Author's Note or Acknowledgments section. I had to go elsewhere to find out that Richard Flanagan's father was a Japanese prisoner of war and that the main character of Dorrigo Evans was inspired by the life of Weary Dunlop. This would have been useful to know in the beginning or at the very least in an Author's Note at the end.

There were so many heartbreaking moments during this novel. The gruesome beating of Darky Gardiner that his comrades were forced to watch - and his later death - only to discover his connection to Dorrigo after the war was devastating. Reading the perspectives of some of the Japanese soldiers right up until their deaths was disturbing and I wanted to cry or vomit when I read Jimmy Bigelow's bugle was later sold by his daughter in a garage sale. Whilst only characters in a book, this was so well written and researched that their experiences and personalities seemed as close to real as you can get. I don't think I could recommend this novel to any reader in good conscience knowing just how distressing the content is, but I acknowledge it is a profound and important Australian novel.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize in 2014 and is a haunting novel about the savagery of war, camaraderie of men, national identity, legacy and the depths of love.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Dunstan by Conn Iggulden

Set in the year 934, Dunstan by Conn Iggulden is the story of a young boy raised to become a Benedictine monk, but who went on to become an Abbot, Bishop and Archbishop and reform the English Church.

Dunstan was canonised after his death and became England's favourite saint for almost 200 years, but according to this reimagining of his life, in addition to defeating the devil, he was also a liar, murderer and maker of Kings.

Despite being set over a thousand years ago, Dunstan's first person perspective cut through the years like a knife and it wasn't what I was expecting at all. We begin at the end of Dunstan's life with a Prologue:

"Perhaps I will consign these precious sheets to the fire. No one will disturb me now; I have earned that much. These hands that hold the quill are just bones and paper-skin, so like vellum themselves as they whisper against each other. Brother Talbot once said they were a workman's fists, all scarred and thick. Well, time served him well, didn't it, with his delicate scribe fingers? I have trod down the soil over his dead face with my bare heels, and only the moon as witness." Page 2

Right from the beginning Dunstan hints that he might be a murderer, yet this didn't deter my interest in his story at all. Dunstan's upbringing alongside his younger brother in the abbey at Glastonbury was brutal and I was caught up in the drama between the boys and Dunstan's creativity in the struggle for dominance and power.

Dunstan performs exceptionally well at his studies, takes an interest in architecture, blacksmithing and medicine and seems to excel in every area he applies himself too. He's also unashamedly ambitious, and weaponises his religion to further his own prospects.

"I have worked my whole life, from six years old when I first piled bricks for workmen on my father's land, in exchange for crusts of bread and a draught of cider. I have prayed and I have dropped my sweat onto the forge. I have made swords and I have used them. I have made a cask or two of wine in my time, taking grapes from different vines. I have pissed in a bottle once or twice as well, when I did not like a man - and I have watched him smack his lips and tell me it was so smooth and extraordinarily fine that I was half tempted to try my own vintage. I have loved a woman and she ruined me. I have loved a king and yet I ruined him. And all I have gained in return for my lifetime of labour is fame and power and servants and an abbey." Page 2

Dunstan's ambition takes him to the court of King Æthelstan, the first King of England, and throughout the course of his life he will be involved - to varying degrees - in the politics and conflicts of the newly emerging England.

"I have known seven kings in all. Three were brothers: Æthelstan, Edmund and Eadred. Two were sons of Edmund: rash Edwy and Edgar the Peaceful. The last were two sons of Edgar: Edward and Ethelred. I am an old man. It breaks my heart." Page 438

Iggulden does an exceptional job of ensuring the reader is able to keep track of these seven kings. Each character was unique and memorable in their own right and their relationships with Dunstan varied to an enormous degree; one of them even sent him into exile!

"I tried to form the words to tell him I forgave him, because I had no other way to take revenge and I wanted him to wince when he recalled me ever after. Vengeance is a fine thing, but forgiveness can be just as cruel." Page 7

The 14 page Historical Note at the end of the novel was a welcome addition and I spent time looking up the Glastonbury Tor and abbey as well as some of the battles and places mentioned in the book after reading.

My maiden name is Dunstan and I originally purchased this book back in 2017 for my Dad and he thoroughly enjoyed it. It's taken me much too long to finally read it myself, but I've been rewarded with an unforgettable character and a fascinating tale of talent, intellect, vengeance, duty, miracles, exile and ambition.

Highly recommended!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Cuddy by Benjamin Myers

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers is an historical fiction novel told in a blend of writing styles, including: narrative prose, quotes from historical reference books, poetry, diary entries and even a play. Anticipating a novel about the life of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne told in a fictional first person point of view, Cuddy was an unexpected story.

Born in 634 AD in Northumbria (modern day Scotland), Cuthbert had been a monk, a prior and a bishop and was a hermit at the time of his death in 687 AD. Beloved in life, many came to pray at his grave at Lindisfarne and were healed. Deciding to elevate his remains as relics on the anniversary of his death, his body was found intact - hadn't decomposed - and he was declared a saint. Pilgrims visited the shrine for decades until Viking raids threatened the area.

Cuthbert's body was transferred to a coffin and transported by a dedicated group of worshippers seeking a safe resting place for their beloved saint. On the move until the year 995, a site was finally chosen and a series of churches were built to house St Cuthbert's remains. Construction of Durham Cathedral commenced in 1093 and still houses the Shrine of St Cuthbert today.

Pieced together from the non fiction quotes in the book, I share all of this because it's a fascinating slice of history and if you're still reading, it means you agree. Myers has created characters from each of these periods of Cuthbert's history in the wildly different formats mentioned above.

We hear from Cuthbert (affectionately known as Cuddy) early in the book but he's already close to death:

"Well now. You should have been here a candle or two ago. The scenes of despair amongst the monks at my final days of retreat to this bluff in the foaming ocean was quite the picture." Page 7

I love that phrase, 'a candle or two ago.' In Book I we join the religious folk in 995 AD carrying Cuthbert's remains and an orphan girl who has visions regarding his final resting place.

In Book II we jump to the year 1346 and through the eyes of the fletcher's wife, meet a stonemason engaged in building the great Durham Cathedral. The work of the mason and the history of the stone - then and now centuries later - was beautifully written:

"In the stone is yesterday's sun and the stories it has seen, not only of wandering holy folk and the fiery Norse, not only old white churches and milkmaids, galloping Frenchmen and the green men that took to the trees but other details not always pressed to the page by monks. Everything the stone has borne silent witness to is held within it now...... Rainstorms and quarrymen, Picts, plague pits and paupers, hawkers and jesters, skirling new life and coughing old death, archers and anglers, devils and angels, sunrises and sunsets, courting couples sitting on stone walls watching snowfall, villeins and franklin and wandering freemen, nets of cuttlefish and pails of crabs, sores and scabs, bed-bound mothers and gaoled fathers, babies - a thousand wailing babies - and church bells, cabbage soup and nettles and worms and sacks and jam and garlic and knives and deer and murder and toll gates and caravans and soothsayers and plums and coffin-makers and lepers and laughter and ice and logs and oats and sex and sin and Cuddy and Jesus and God." Page 237

I know that was a long quote, but it perfectly captures the awe and wonder I feel when gazing at a Cathedral built more than 1000 years ago and I want to be able to revisit these words again, even if I no longer have the book.

Leaving those characters behind to leap forward a few centuries, the Interlude was based on a haunting and shocking account of history. In 1650, Durham Cathedral was used as a prison by Oliver Cromwell to house 3,000 Scottish prisoners of war. Suffering in the cold without food or water, the prisoners destroyed the pews and burned the timber in order to keep warm. Devastatingly, 1,700 soldiers died from battle injuries, dehydration and starvation and were buried in mass graves nearby.

This is a disturbing chapter of history I knew nothing about but certainly won't forget, as the author has created a macabre play for the Interlude, whereby several soldiers being held captive engage in dialogue with eachother and the cathedral. Yes, you read that right.

It was a relief to reach Book III covering the period in 1827 when an arrogant Professor from Oxford travels to the Cathedral to oversee the disinterment of the saint in order to verify his remains are uncorrupted. Diary entries tell this tale and the character is haunted by his complicity and fears for his sanity. I felt the author's outrage at the desecration and believe the character met a satisfying fate. 

Book IV brings us to 2019 and it was perhaps an unnecessarily long tale to deliver the reader to Durham Cathedral and the tomb of St Cuthbert.

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers seemed to me to be the story behind the building of Durham Cathedral over time told through the lives of a handful of individuals:

"My story, and that of Fletcher Bullard, just one story in a thousand million stories that combine to define a place, concludes thusly:" Page 263

While brief, each serves as a complete story and while the reader may be reluctant to leave a character or point in time, their stories reach a natural conclusion of sorts.

A word on the layout as there were several techniques that were used - presumably - to impress but which I found slightly irritating. In one case, a character's visions were presented in one continuous paragraph with font that slowly reduced in size until it was barely readable by the end. Elsewhere, poetry was presented with varying alignment choices that left me cold, with just one word or sometimes even one letter per line. I guess you could say that while I enjoyed the mashup of writing styles within Cuddy, the unconventional layout choices fell short of the mark.

The descriptions of the cathedral from characters across time were incredible, with the 2019 character of Michael describing the vast edifice before him as enrapturing. It certainly had me pausing at certain times in the novel to research a fact or take a virtual tour of the cathedral and I'd love to visit in person one day, even just to see the sanctuary knocker.

"The face of the Sanctuary Knocker then, is that of the lonely miscreant, the damned, the doomed, the cursed, the blasted, the blighted, the bedevilled, the fated; he who shall live their life seeking God's eternal forgiveness alone." Page 197

Now that I've finished reading Cuddy, I believe it to be the complex history of Durham Cathedral rather than the story of a saint. This unique blend of fact and fiction and multiple writing styles felt original and is recommended for fans of Ken Follett and his series beginning with The Pillars of the Earth.

Prologue AD 687
Book I Saint Cuddy AD 995
Book II The Mason's Mark AD 1346
Interlude The Stone Speaks AD 1650
Book III The Corpse in the Cathedral AD 1827
Book IV Daft Lad AD 2019

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

* Copy courtesy of Penguin Random House *

Intro

You're not seeing things, what follows is a review of an historical fiction novel set during WWI. I know I've said here on Carpe Librum that I'm - mostly - on a break from WWI and WWII historical fiction, however such is the power of Katherine Arden that I made an exception.

Last year I reviewed The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and fell in love with the writing style of this YA urban fantasy / historical fiction series. The Bear and the Nightingale earned a glowing 5 star review and I'm still looking forward to reading the next book in the Winternight trilogy The Girl In The Tower. Therefore I was surprised to see the author pop up in a publisher's catalogue with an adult title The Warm Hands of Ghosts. Seeing it was an historical fiction novel set in WWI, I was keen to see how - or if - the author would bring her love of Russian myths and legends and sense of 'other' to a bloody war and now I have my answer.

Review

I shared this back story because I didn't know what to expect - other than great writing - reading The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. It's quite possible that if I'd known just how dark the book was going to be, I might not have requested it for review. Having said that, going in blind was the best approach for me and I'm glad I read it.

Laura Iven is a Canadian nurse providing medical care to the soldiers on the Western Front during WWI when she is injured during the bombing of a hospital, discharged and sent back home to Halifax in Canada to recover.

The snappy writing and depth of character was immediately present in the author's writing. Here's one of my favourite observations by Laura:

"Laura tried not to look cynical. Pim appeared simultaneously flattered, delighted to make his acquaintance, and innocently unavailable. She'd probably practiced that expression in a mirror." Page 91

Laura's brother Wilfred (Freddie) is a soldier serving in Belgium and after receiving contradictory news and fearing he might be missing, she risks another deployment and travels back to Belgium in search of him. Volunteering at a private hospital in Flanders, Laura and her colleagues struggle to stay on their feet working for days without rest in the gruelling conditions. Laura speaks to the men as she tends to their wounds and starts to hear strange stories about the Fiddler.

The novel is set in alternate chapters with Laura in present day January 1918 and Freddie's point of view from several months earlier enabling the reader to discover what happens to him. Incorporating elements of the Halifax Harbour explosion from history was a refreshing angle I hadn't come across in WWI literature and it was interesting to learn more about this disaster from the character's perspective.

Laura's brother was named Wilfred in the novel and every time I saw his name on the page I reacted with 'oh, I thought that was going to read Wilfred Owen.' I studied the works of WWI poets Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves in a War Literature course at University so I felt rewarded when I noted the following in the Afterword:

"Her brother's name, Wilfred, is a hat-tip both to Ivanhoe and to Wilfred Owen, whose poem "Strange Meeting" was the starting point for Freddie's story." Afterword, Page 378

What a terrific tribute to the poet and for those interested, you can read Wilfred's short poem Strange Meeting in full on the Poetry Foundation website.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is difficult to read at times. It's brutal and graphic yet also tender and achingly beautiful while accurately conveying the destruction and hopelessness of war without flinching away from the horror. Reading this in the lead up to ANZAC Day enhanced my sense of gravitas while reading but the kiss at the end was one step too far for me.

Highly recommended for experienced readers of WWI historical fiction with a strong stomach looking for a new story that stands apart from the rest. Not sure? Read a free EXTRACT.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *

After reading Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See earlier this year and identifying it as a real contender for my Top 5 list, I was lucky enough to receive two of the author's backlist titles for review, the first being The Island of Sea Women.

Set on Jeju Island in Korea from 1938 - 1975, the novel covers the events through the occupation by the Japanese, the Korean War and eventual establishment of North Korea and South Korea.

Our main character is Young-sook and the book follows her life in a dual timeline beginning with her childhood years growing up and learning how to do water work with her best friend Mi-ja. A small part of the book takes place in 2008 and provides the contemporary timeline.

Starting with little to no knowledge about Jeju Island, I was interested to learn about the matriarchal society of the haenyeo, where the women divers support their families by diving for various items - like mollusks, octopus, seaweed - to sell and eat. In contrast to the west, the matriarch is the head of the family and the father looks after the children at home while women divers go to work in the water fields or dry fields depending on the season.

Despite this interest, much of the content includes the conflicts and associated atrocities during this period. I found the unrelenting nature hard going at times and I needed to take a break part way through the book.

"We stayed alert for Japanese soldiers. Korea had now been a Japanese colony for twenty-eight years. We hated the Japanese, and they hated us. They were cruel. They stole food. Inland, they rustled livestock. They took and took and took. They'd killed Grandmother's parents, and she called them chokpari - cloven-footed ones." Page 13

I'm used to reading historical fiction where an heir is needed to secure a family legacy or royal line, but in this culture, a son is valued because they can perform ancestor worship when you die. Far from a son being required for reasons of succession, female babies are prized for their income earning abilities and male babies are celebrated as they represent a comfortable afterlife.

In the words of one of the characters:

"You are nothing but someone's servant if you don't have a son who can perform ancestor worship for you one day." Page 61

The political situation and escalation of violence with accompanying poverty and starvation is interpreted through the eyes of the haenyeo, and it was often a helpless situation for Young-sook and her family.

"This meant - although none of us understood the practicalities - that the USSR would oversee Korea above the line as we transitioned to independence and formed our own country. We thought we were free, but so far the only difference in our lives here on Jeju was that the Japanese flag was lowered, and the American flag was raised. One colonizer had been replaced by another." Page 154

In my view, there was too much time spent covering the ever changing political situation to the detriment of character development and character growth. An estrangement was the most interesting focal point of the novel and without giving away any spoilers about whether (or not) there was any reconciliation, the ending was satisfying and realistic.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See is recommended for readers who enjoy their historical fiction supported by a detailed knowledge of the political and military background at the time to add validity to the story and highlight the horrors of the past. An interest in Korea will enhance your enjoyment.

I'm looking forward to reading The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane in the new year!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Armour of Light by Ken Follett

* Copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan *

The Armour of Light by Ken Follett is a 700+ page novel, but if you're concerned it'll be a slow burn or you'll have to suffer through a slow start, fear not. As always, bestselling author Ken Follett drags the reader into the lives of his characters by the scruff of the neck, whether they've made the commitment to invest the requisite time with him or not.

But this is historical fiction I hear you cry, not a thriller. How does he do that? Well, how's this for an opening line?

"Until that day, Sal Clitheroe had never heard her husband scream." Page 3

Okay, I'm in! The opening line introduces us to Sal Clitheroe and we become immediately invested in her plight and that of her husband and family. It's 1792, the focus soon widens and we begin to meet more characters from a range of backgrounds from the town who will go on to tell this story. Some are friends, some are foes and they all have their faults, but together a relatable history of the period begins to form in the reader's mind.

Set in Kingsbridge, England during the Napoleonic Wars, I'll admit to being surprised at the date we pick up the thread again. I wanted to return to the moment soon after the events of The Evening and the Morning and the naming of Kingsbridge which gave me a very pleasant gasp of recognition that left me wanting more.

That said, The Evening and the Morning was actually the prequel to The Pillars of the Earth, however The Armour of Light is the 5th novel in the series and chronologically follows on more than a century after A Column of Fire*.

In The Armour of Light, we return to Kingsbridge 150 (or so) years after those events and during the industrial revolution.* The characters in Kingsbridge are struggling with the introduction of machinery to the local mills, which causes unrest amongst the workers.

Meanwhile, I learned about press gangs for the first time and didn't know that men could be kidnapped or tricked and captured, later waking up on a ship.

"Britain was in constant need of men for the navy. The militia, the home defence force, had no shortage, for it had the power to conscript men whether they liked it or not. There was no conscription into the regular army, but poverty-stricken Ireland supplied about a third of army recruits and the criminal courts accounted for most of the rest... So the biggest problem was the navy, which kept the seas free for British trade." Page 427

"In England, teams called press gangs kidnapped, or 'impressed', able-bodied men in coastal towns, took them aboard ships, and kept them tied up until they were miles from land. The system was hated, and often led to rioting." Page 427

I don't recall this ever coming up in the historical fiction I've read until now, but I could be mistaken. It seems preposterous, doesn't it? That you could drop into your local tavern for a beer and be kidnapped and forced into service, unable to alert your family or provide for them and this plays out in the book.

As in previous work, Follett's depth of research is supported by excellent writing, with the occasional line that made me smile for the sheer joy of it:

"The two men set off again. Willard House was on the market square. The irritatingly officious Sergeant Beach was on duty in the hall, and after a token display of reluctance he showed them in to Donaldson." Page 552

I love the 'token display of reluctance' and seeing this kind of detailed observation on the page is always an unexpected delight. Other than commencing close to two centuries later than I expected, The Armour of Light by Ken Follett delivered on every other hope and expectation. I came to care about the plight and wellbeing of the millworkers and villagers as well as the success of the town, all while understanding that the challenges faced in the industrial revolution were only going to increase.

Follett is able to distil the events of history and make them relatable through the impact to his characters, and I'm now feeling a little more informed about the Napoleonic wars and can't wait to see the release of Napoleon here in Australia later this month.

The Armour of Light by Ken Follett was my most highly anticipated title for 2023 and I can highly recommend it for readers of historical fiction.

* Here's a look at the Kingsbridge series of books in the order you should read them, and the time periods they cover:
Book #0 The Evening and the Morning 997AD - 1007AD
Book #1 The Pillars of the Earth 1135 - 1174
Book #2 World Without End 1327 - 1361
Book #3 A Column of Fire 1558 - 1606
Book #4 The Armour of Light 1792 - 1824

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Blog Tour and Giveaway for Bone Rites by Natalie Bayley

* Copy courtesy of the author *

Intro

Natalie Bayley is a talented UK born Australian author residing in Sydney and it's a pleasure to be part of the digital blog tour celebrating the release of Bone Rites.

To celebrate the book launch, I'm hosting a giveaway and will be sharing a guest post from the author later this month entitled A Wander through the Weird & Wonderful World of the Edwardians.

In the meantime, it's giveaway time!! For your chance to win a signed copy of Bone Rites, winner of the The Virginia Prize for Fiction, enter below.

Blurb

"I collected the first bone when I was twelve. This fact was not mentioned in court... Such a tiny little bone, more like a tooth. I only kept it to keep him safe."

Holloway prison, 1925. Dr Kathryn Darkling, branded The Westminster Vampire by the press, has two weeks until she is hanged for a series of brutal murders. Facing death, she knows that time is running out to complete her mission. Will she find a way to escape her fate?
​
Will she be able to perform the special bone rites that will save her brother?

Bone Rites is a dark, literary tale of love, loss and one woman's obsessive fight for justice and redemption within a ruthless world.

Review

Bone Rites is a dark historical fiction novel set in the Edwardian period, in London. Dr Kathryn Darkling's story alternates between her Holloway Prison jail cell in 1925, and the events that led her there, beginning in 1905 with an irreversible injury suffered by her brother.

Kathryn is an easy character to warm to and the familial love she has for her younger brother powers the entire book. Pursuing an early interest in medicine, Kathryn struggles to succeed in a male dominated environment and takes measures to address them that had me clapping and cringing.

As Kathryn began to cross the lines of morality in the pursuit of her life's work, her sanity starts to shift and slide with the introduction of a supernatural influence after her service as a doctor in the war.

The research behind Bone Rites was seamlessly incorporated and the writing was polished, giving me great reading moments like this one: 

"My hand connects with her face with such force the resultant crack silences the room." Page 223

At the time of reading, I could almost hear the reverberations of that crack and flinched from the impact of 'that' slap. The narrative is convincingly gothic and dark and will appeal to readers of Stacey Halls, Jess Kidd and Laura Purcell; in particular The Corset by Laura Purcell.

Bone Rites by Natalie Bayley is about female agency, sibling love, forbidden love, the ravages of grief, the horrors of war, justice, redemption and ultimately hope. Enter below for your chance to win a signed copy!

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Giveaway

This giveaway has now closed.

Review: Becoming Mrs Mulberry by Jackie French

* Copy courtesy of Harper Collins *

In Becoming Mrs Mulberry by Jackie French, the reader meets Agnes in 1924 at the Mulberry estate known as Wombat Hills, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Agnes Glock is a medical student who gave up her chance to become a doctor to establish a haven for shellshocked soldiers and those left permanently injured or horribly disfigured by WWI. When Agnes meets her best friend's brother Douglas Mulberry, their lives are irrevocably changed.

Largely unfolding in a flashback or dual timeline, the first half of the book contained significant character makeovers and partial recoveries in the case of Agnes and Douglas. Agnes is a staunch believer in the restorative power of nature, and the ability of wildlife and the Australian bush to heal those still suffering the horrors of war, abuse, trauma and shell shock. As Mrs Mulberry, Agnes insists on hiring staff injured or incapacitated in the war and sets up a respite for returned and injured soldiers otherwise locked away in hospitals, insane asylums, back bedrooms or attics.

The second half of the narrative was the unexpected discovery of an ill little girl being displayed in a travelling circus freak show visiting the nearby town. Allegedly raised by dingoes, Agnes is drawn to the little girl who howls like a dingo, walks on all fours and laps up her water like a dog. Convinced she can treat the girl's illness and give her a better quality of life, Agnes insists the child accompanies her to Wombat Hills for treatment.

I love a character makeover and the first half of the book was a five star read for me, with several makeovers and recoveries unfolding in what seemed like quick succession given the length of the book. My favourite part of the novel - other than Trout's exit - was the overseas flashback to Agnes meeting Douglas and their immediate struggle to return to health, safety, sanity and eventually, the Australian bush.

Meanwhile, the second half of the book slowed down to a three star read for me, leaving my overall rating somewhere in between. The medical treatment of the girl and the mystery surrounding her birth and place of origin didn't engage me nearly as much as the early establishment of our main characters.

Becoming Mrs Mulberry by Jackie French is recommended for fans of Australian historical fiction, however don't read the blurb - or this review - prior to starting it. Almost all of the key points of the plot are revealed in the blurb and I think you'll enjoy it more if you know less going into this one.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

I enjoyed The Remains of the Day, the story of an ageing butler reminiscing about serving Lord Darlington between WWI and WWII, while Klara and the Sun was an interesting science fiction novel about artificial intelligence. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro was published in 2015, however it was a disappointing read for me. Australian author Ben Hobson recently shared his love for this book but wondered why so many readers didn't enjoy it. Here's why.

This is the story of Axl and Beatrice, an elderly couple in a fictional post-Arthurian Britain where people across the land suffer from forgetfulness and a type of collective amnesia. The pair set off on a quest to find their son and discuss the mist causing the memory loss with others they meet along the way. What I found instantly irritating and relentlessly repetitive was the overkill with regard to the characters using each other's names ALL the time. Axl calls Beatrice princess and it drove me up the wall. I've flipped to a random page to share an example with you:

"It can wait till the morning, Axl. It's not even a pain I notice till we're speaking of it." "Even so, princess, now we're here, why not go and see the wise woman?" Page 55

Stilted dialogue aside, The Buried Giant is a post-Roman fantasy with touches of Tolkien complete with pixies, ogres and even a dragon. Intergenerational conflict is an important topic in the novel with the hatred and distrust between the Saxons and the Britons sure to resurface if the memory dampening mist is dispersed. Axl and Beatrice contemplate whether it's better not to remember at all if there's a risk the traumatic memories of war and genocide could come tumbling back with the years of separation, love and loss.

I might have cared for all of this - the vicious cycle of hate and violence and the hopelessness of war - but the overarching narrative was unclear. I was unable to decipher the meaning of the ogres or the purpose of the pixies; if indeed there was any. Did they represent foreign powers? The mixed tense was often confusing and what was that about the black birdlike hags/women? Is the boatman death? Or does the island represent death? Or am I wrong on both counts? The mysteriously omniscient narrator who revealed themselves at the end (I think?) as part of a frustratingly ambiguous ending only served to increase my ire.

It would seem I don't belong to the literary 'in crowd' for whom this was written, but in my opinion, there was too much expectation on the reader to pick up on the hidden meanings, subtext and literary devices that must be holding this up. If I have to work hard in order to figure a book out, then it needs to deliver, otherwise the reading joy ebbs away and that's what happened here.

If you've been following Carpe Librum for any length of time, you'll know I'm not a fan of an ambiguous ending, and boy do we have a doozy here. Published in 2015, and with many of you having no doubt read this before me, I think I can safely ask... What do you think happened at the very end? After being questioned, did they stay together or not? Did Axl? Or didn't he? Someone put me out of my misery, quick!

After reading The Buried Giant, I think Ishiguro and I are done for now.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★