Material Witness

REVIEW: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Unabridged audio read by Alyssa Bresnahan)

With the vast majority of audio books I listen to, there is what I think of as a "settling in" period when I adjust to the voice of the reader. In many cases during the first chapter of books I have read, I sit there thinking, "No, no, no, this is all wrong".

It is not generally all wrong, of course. Simply different from the voice I heard in my head and the adjustment take a few minutes, maybe longer. But I almost always adjust, in some cases to the extent that I hear that narrator's voice the next time I pick up a book by the same author: Sean Barrett and Michael Robotham being one.

Rare is the book where the reading starts and the narrator takes hold immediately. But so it was with this marvellous reading of Alice Sebold's heart-breaking and mesmerising novel The Lovely Bones, read by Alyssa Bresnahan.

Perhaps it is that the opening moments of the novel are so arresting that it is impossible not to be drawn into the narrative immediately - it is one of the most powerful and disturbing openings that I can recall.

But I think credit must go to Bresnahan for capturing essence of Susie Salmon, the murdered teenager who follows the lives of those she leaves behind from her own personal heaven. Susie is by turns soulful, reflective, joyous and with a crushing wisdom that extends way beyond her years, understanding the implications of the emotional upheaval - and in some cases destrcution - of her family and friends. It is an emotional and draining journey for the the reader - a difficult book to read I remember - but Bresnahan imparts the soul of the book to the listener and it is an altogether more uplifting experience than reading the book.

In particular she has a gift for voices, which is absolutely critical, and she gives resonance to key characters, Jack Salmon, Susie's desolate father, and her friend Ruth Connors, in particular.

One of the joys of listening to the audio interpretation of a book you've read before is that it invariably opens new dimensions to the story that the first read does not reveal. This time I was struck by how strong and resourceful a character Lindsay Salmon, Susie's sister, becomes. And also by the kindness of the Steckler brothers, Samuel and Hal, who servce as reminders of humanity's goodness as the Salmons try to pick up the pieces of their fragmented lives.

This is a wonderful book, served well by a beautiful narration. It has pathos, drama and subtlety. It comes with a warning, however, it might not be a good idea to listen to it while driving as that becomes a dangerous exercise when tears are streaming down your cheeks.

The audio came billed as a complement to the recently released Peter Jackson film. In all honesty though, I'm not sure I will bother with the cinema. I don't know what more it could contribute.

The Lovely Bones is available from publisher Pan Macmillan, as well as the ever excellent Audible.

REVIEW: Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson

A large country estate; an ancient and powerful aristocratic family; a dangerous hidden secret; a mysterious anatomist; a feisty amateur female detective and the brutal murder of a stranger. Really, what more could you want from a novel?

Well, how about a link to the American revolutionary war and London in riotous meltdown?

It's all here in glorious abundance in this rich and lustrous historical crime novel, Instruments of Darkness, the debut work of the ludicrously talented Imogen Robertson which comes to paperback soon.

It is difficult to isolate a single factor that makes this book so successful, as there is so much here that is well done, but the thought that kept occurring to me as I read it was that at heart this is a classical whodunnit superbly executed. Roberston presents her crime and then for three hundred pages she presents scenario after scenario that suggests this or that killer might be responsible, driven by this or that motive. The novel twists and turns, keeps the reader guessing and then peaks to its dramatic conclusion.

The terrific plot is underpinned by technicolour context - a historical backdrop in Massachusetts at the outset of a disastrous war as well as the anti-Catholic Gordon riots that rocked London in 1780 - as well as rounded, convincing characterization.

The novel opens with two murders. In rural Sussex an unknown man is killed on the Caveley estate of Commodore Westerman, currently serving with the Navy in the Caribbean. In London a respected musician is killed in front of his children by an unknown assailant in an apparently pre-meditated attack.

The former is at first attributed to a violent robbery, but the investigations of the insatiably curious Harriet Westerman, looking after her husband's affairs in his absence, and the mysterious anatomist Gabriel Crowther, who has taken lodgings nearby, quickly suggests the motive and murderer might be connected with the nearby Thornleigh Estate where the once powerful Earl Of Sussex has been all but destroyed by dementia. An apparent battle over his succession has developed with his glamourous second wife, a former dancer, and his alcoholic American War of Independence veteran son Hugh seemingly scheming to replace the estranged heir Alexander and control Thornleigh and its power.

Harriet is a thoroughly modern woman, happy to take on traditional behaviours and upset the carefully established apple cart of tradition and deference. Crowther is silent and intelligent, reluctant to engage but once involved cannot let go. The interaction between them is the soul of the book. It gives the narrative heart and humour.

This really is a tremendous murder mystery novel, a joy to read, beautifully written. There is more on the way soon from Roberston, a TV director whose literary career was launched by a Daily Telegraph competition. The next book cannot come soon enough.

The Habit of Art - Another Alan Bennett triumph at the National Theatre

There is not much I miss about living in London. Out in the sticks, we have space, fresh air and peace. We have surprisingly good restaurants, decent facilities for sports and leisure. We are lucky, I know, to have fantastic provincial theatre at the new Curve in Leicester and the revamped Royal & Derngate in Northampton.

But that is just not the same as being able to pop down the road to the local, as the National Theatre used to be when we lived in London, to see Richard Griffiths and Alex Jennings on stage with a brand new play from Alan Bennett, The Habit of Art, as we experienced last night.

I can't really do justice to this wonderful play, exploring themes of aging, sex, genius, art and even the theatre itself but I can report of the sheer exhilaration of being in a lively and engaged audience in a wonderful venue with a cast and  script that crackled with theatrical magic. For just a second, I envied those who could walk home... and walk back for something different next week, next month...

For those who would like to hear more about the play, here is Michael Billington's review in The Guardian.  All I can say is, if you get a chance, go and see it.

REVIEW: Bequest by AK Shevchenko

At the heart of AK Shevchenko's debut novel Bequest is a ancient and beguiling tale: the legend of the Cossack gold. The story runs that in the eighteenth century a Cossack warrior and nobleman deposited his wealth in the Bank of England to safeguard it for the future of his family and his nation, Ukraine. It is a legend or myth that has endured over the centuries, promising unimaginable wealth for Ukraine and for the adventurer who secures its release.

And as such it is fabulous raw material for a novel: a rich, mysterious story spanning several centuries. Shevchenko adds layers upon it including a modern love story and a Russian spy desperate to make his name in the modern secret service by foiling the search for treasure that would have the potential to liberate Ukraine from Russian economic and political control.

 

It is an ambitious undertaking, not least because the setting up of the story covers two threads in the present day as well as trips back to 1941, 1962, 1748 and 1922. Ultimately, this was too much for me and I found it difficult to keep track of a story that struggled to generate momentum. (I should point out that I am not generally a big fan of books that operate on multiple time lines).

 

Only when the book moved into its second half did the plot settle down sufficiently for the narrative to take a grip - before eventually speeding towards a dramatic conclusion - and once it did I was pleased to have stayed with it. Shevchenko's passion for the story began to shine through as did her obvious flair for story-telling.

 

I also enjoyed her major characters - Kate, the young London solicitor hired by a fellow member of the Ukrainian diaspora to track down the documentation required to find the gold, and Taras, the young KGB researcher whose career is hamstrung by his Ukrainian background now that Russia and Ukraine find themselves at odds. Neither ever behaves in quite the way I expected and that was pleasingly unsettling.

 

My misgivings about the structure aside, this was a promising debut and I hope that Shevchenko is sitting on a treasure chest of stories from the land of her fathers - or indeed anywhere else.