Wishing they could be a bigger part of that world.

Half-siren Mira is the token employee of the Tiankawi Border Guards – she’s made it to captain but she’s got to watch her step, be a model employee and prioritise the example she’s setting as a fathomfolk immigrant in a human land. Water dragon Nami is newly-arrived in Tiankawi; her mother set her the task of finding her dragon pearl, and now Nami is here she’s starting to see the discrimination her people face – she might be sister of the ambassador but his place in society isn’t entirely secure either. And sea-witch Cordelia is wanting bargains, to protect her husband who is unaware he married a fathomfolk and would be furious if he found out, and to protect her children. And all the while a group of disenfranchised youngsters are looking to protest in a way the city will not be able to ignore.

Fathomfolk is an utterly incredible fantasy that has its basis in The Little Mermaid (Mira doesn’t have a singing voice, any more information would spoil the story) and skirts the edges of literary fiction in the way it handles its core subject of immigration; whilst certainly a fantasy (water dragons are folklore after all) it offers a conversation on questions people of different backgrounds ask every day in our real world.

Certainly you can read the book as a straight-out fantasy but reading with consideration to the real world topics in tandem does lend itself to a more interesting experience and, arguably, more enjoyable experience, too. Chan looks at the discrimination migrants face when they leave their homes to travel to a more secure environment – there are asylum aspects here – but also the ‘simple’ act of discrimination caused by people seeing those who are different as bad. This is where my statement about reading this as fantasy or as an allegorical work comes in – on the one hand we have a host of fantastical beings taken from various folklores from around our world, and on the other we have the fact of gills marking people out as not ‘one of us’ (most fathomfolk can shape-shift into human form and often do to make the humans around them feel more comfortable).

To comment on the various folklores, there are the afore-mentioned water dragons, sea-witchs (well, only one in this book), and sirens. There are kelpies and kappas, mermaids – of course – and others. (The main and secondary fathomfolk characters are from the species I’ve named.) This brings a very decent level of diversity to the book by itself, and it’s all set against the backdrop of a quasi-East Asian city, the half-submerged Tiankawi. Location is important – we also see the underwater settlements and some not-so-nice holding places for the incoming migrants of yore – but the characters and people in general are understandably at the forefront.

Plot meets characterisation – it’s safe to say that with, particularly the younger, fathomfolk becoming ever more angry with the situation they are in and distrustful of the humans, there is progression towards change in this book. There are conversations from various sides of the conversational spectrum, workings to change things from the inside out, and various allies. A particularly shocking discovery towards the end that veers into sci-fi territory and has been pretty well hidden by Chan throughout her inferences to something going on, asks further questions. The ending itself could be considered controversial – it won’t please everyone but it definitely keeps the discussion going and holds promise for the second book (this is book one in a duology).

The writing is good, descriptive, and changing when the perspective changes. Chan favours explanatory language and understanding, has a strong handle on when to change the scenery and focus, and does an excellent job of balancing your interest between the three narratives with their different social positions and classes (folk from higher social classes, like dragons, are accepted). You don’t get a human narrative thread, but the secondary characters – both the humans and fathomfolk – fill you in on what you need to know. In terms of pacing, it’s worth noting that the story is fairly slow for approximately the first half in order to allow for characterisation before the second half fully dons the plot and speeds things up.

Where we have the resistance group we have another side of the story, again balanced well. The Drawbacks allow Chan to contrast moderation and extremism, giving the latter a fair say and placement to explain themselves whilst comparing them to the others. There’s also a thread about manipulation and how far people will go for their cause and leader.

There is a romance. It’s far from a main event – Fathomfolk is not a romantasy – but it lends itself to further Chan’s main points while never getting bogged down in them.

As you might be able to tell from this decidedly lacklustre review, it’s difficult to talk about this book without getting close to spoilers, so I’m going to stop here. This is a book for anyone who likes the sound of the basic premise and fantasy in general. And as to the topics involved, I’m creating the phrase ‘literary plus’ – I think the content here will interest a fair few people who tend to stick to literary fiction, too.

Publisher: Orbit (Hachette)
Pages: 417
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-356-52239-5
First Published: 27th February 2024
Date Reviewed: 29th September 2024

I’m really, really, happy with the number of books I read this month. Due in no small amount to the quality of the books but also the choice I spoke about last week helped a ton. The last three books on this list were from the list, and while I may have been planning to read Paul’s book anyway, it all still helped. Knowing me, I’ll still have a reading slump sometime in the not-too-distant future (I’m on the high now, clearly!) but I expect that if I can keep going with it or, at least, when I keep doing it, it’ll lessen that problem.

All books are works of fiction.

C J Wray: The Excitements – Two nonagenarians are invited to Paris to receive the Legion d’Honneur award and, with one of them a jewel thief with a reason, the other with secrets, and a loyal great-nephew in tow, many ‘excitements’ may occur. Fabulously funny and full of heart; this book contains a lot of world war history, too, in an interesting, well-planned, structure.

Chloe C Peñaranda: The Stars Are Dying – Astraea can only remember the last five years and those have been spent at Hektor’s mansion, hiding from everyone under his command and staying faithful while he sleeps with any woman he wants. When she decides to slip away from the manor to visit her friend who is going to a (we might call it) Hunger Games-esque trial, Astraea starts a cascade of events that begin with her meeting an incredibly handsome man who may be a vampire who has the ability to converse in her head. This is the first in a dark romantasy series and has some basis in the Greek mythology. The only thing I’d bring up here is the pacing – it won’t work for everyone. Some will find it too slow but, certainly, others will adore it.

Éric Chacour: What I Know About You – Writing to Dr Tarek, our second-person narrator tells us Tarek’s history and over time we learn who our narrator is and why he is so into Tarek’s story. (I should note the plot is of an Egyptian man born in the 1960s who becomes a doctor like his father, later gets married, and then one day falls for his male assistant.) Stunning – the plot is well done and everything about the structure and writing is superb. This is the English translation; the author is from Quebec and the original title is Ce que je sais de toi.

Gill Paul: Scandalous Women – A somewhat fictionalised story of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins, this tale looks at the literary journey of both women as well as the life of a editing-hopeful purely fictional character, Nancy. This is an excellently written story, where reality and fiction has been balanced beautifully (you’ll be surprised what is fact!) The research is evident and the look at the literary industry, particularly for women, in the decades (1970s mostly) is awesome – certainly it was my favourite aspect of the book, though learning about two women you could then look up on YouTube was thrilling.

Kaliane Bradley: The Ministry Of Time – A secret government ministry in near-future London has managed to develop time travel and is experimenting with the safety aspects by pulling historical people who were due to die in their own time forward. We follow our unnamed narrator, a guardian-type figure for one of the historical figures which, in her case, is Commander Graham Gore of an ultimately failed Arctic exploratory mission (Gore is, I believe, the sole real character in the book). The two must learn to live with each other, Gore must learn to live in the 21st century, and our narrator must work with the mysterious ministry she’s a part of and yet kept distant from. This is a stunning, stunning, book, often hilarious, and has a great use of narrative.

Kristy Woodson Harvey: A Happier Life – When Keaton’s relationship and career are upended she decides to take on the job of getting her family’s heritage home ready for sale. But travelling from New York to Beaufort in North Carolina becomes a journey she didn’t expect – she likes the house, she loves the town’s people, and the man living next door is very attractive. As she goes about preparing the house she starts to uncover the semi-mystery of her grandparents’ death and starts to feel she might want to stay in Beaufort. As well as this we have a narrative from 1976, the last months of Rebecca Saint James’ life. A nice feel-good story, for all of its mystery and ending – it was difficult to read in parts but overall good. Certainly, as I did Woodson Harvey’s The Wedding Veil, I enjoyed reading about the present day characters more than the past.

So, yes, I’ve really enjoyed this month. I’d say my absolute favourite was Bradley’s book because it’s just so unique even within its time travel genre (the nearest I’ve read is Kerstein Gier’s Ruby Red trilogy). It also totally lived up to the entirely self-created hype I had for it just based on the cover.

What did you read this month?

I felt a bit shameful about the idea I should – in my wish to chronicle the films I’ve watched – have to put 18 months together. Then I looked at the below list, compiled from those months, and thought it was a brilliant idea. Being an avid reader who can’t read and watch screens at the same time equals I haven’t watched very much… and actually none of the below were watched this year. I did binge-watch Bridgerton (loved the first two seasons, hated the third, am keeping Queen Charlotte for some time in the future because once it’s watched it’s all over), but beyond that there’s been little.

Barbie (USA, 2023) – I loved this right up until the end where, to me, the whole premise seemed to have been thrown out. I don’t know, I was very confused.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (USA, 2023) – Very good, though I personally thought it would have been better if it had showed the players playing the game sometimes, instead of it being fully lore-based.

Encanto (USA, 2021) – Not the best Disney’s ever made but fun. Admittedly probably a lot better if you’re in the target age group.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (USA, 2022) – I still to this day do not understand much of what went on here but it was a blooming good film regardless.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (USA, 2016) – The first one was much better.

Maleficent (USA, 2014) – I loved the message about true love.

The Little Mermaid (USA, 2023) – I’m not too interested in the live action versions that are heavily CGI-based but I suppose you can’t really get around it for this. I did enjoy it otherwise and thank god the dog doesn’t get killed.

Plus One (USA, 2019) – Very bog standard storyline but a good cast, excellent script, and the general execution is good as well.

Shazam! (USA, 2019) – I absolutely loved this film. It was just lots of fun, not overly predictable (within the scope of a genre that is predictable), and did different things to other action films.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (USA, 2023) – I looked forward to this so much. It was awful.

Tomorrow Never Dies (UK/USA, 1997) – It starred Michelle Yeoh. I can’t remember the rest – I find I either really enjoy or just tolerate James Bond films.

The World Is Not Enough (UK/USA, 1999) – Ditto the above, minus Michelle Yeoh because she’s not in it.

I am still upset about the second Shazam!. I think if it hadn’t trodden the same plot that every bad sequel seems to tread it would’ve been great – more about the kids, less about the new ‘worse than the last one’ bad guys. Everything Everywhere All At Once was probably, objectively, the best, but my favourite would have to be that first Shazam!.

The ultimate unreliable narrator.

Twelve year old Edith lives permanently in her father’s theatre, the only theatre remaining in Edwardian Norwich. She cannot leave for the curse put upon her when she was a baby ruled that if she were ever to leave, the theatre would fall down. Then the person who put the curse on her exploded. (It did happen in a theatre after all.) Now Edith’s got a play of her own in mind that she wants her theatrical staff-family to put on: never having left the theatre, Edith’s done a monumental amount of reading, has learned all there is to know about Norwich (she probably knows more than residents who may traverse it freely) and has learned that a large number of children have gone missing over the years and the culprit is a nasty old woman called Mawther Meg. As her father’s doppelganger understudy confuses her, Mr Measly keeps trying to get her to hug him, her father’s four dead wives’ clothes remain in his rooms, Aunt Bleachy calls her bucket and talks lovingly about her Mop, and father’s new fiancé tries to lure Edith out down the steps of the main entrance (she’s the heiress to the Beetle Spread factory, made of exactly that ingredient) Edith attempts to outwit them all, stay away, and write the truth about what happened to the children.

Edward Carey’s Edith Holler is a bonkers and often confusing book about a young girl’s struggle to be noticed in a way that is full of respect and care, to be listened to. It’s a phenomenal piece of literature and art (Carey’s drawings are included) and is a delight to read. To quote the oft-mentioned-by-Edith Hamlet, ‘To be or not to be’ is precisely the question. Who, what, and, sometimes, where, is Edith? You’ll change your mind very often while reading this book.

On the one hand you have, as stated, an unreliable narrator – it can get incredibly frustrating being in Edith’s head, you’re stuck to her narrative like she’s stuck to her theatre – and on the other hand you have something incredibly true. Confusing? Yes, it is. The thing with Edith Holler – referring to the entire book here rather than the character, though the book and character may be one and the same, who knows? – is that it is wholly theatrical. Edith’s narrative is like a monologue – it is a monologue, just one by a child so, unlike your usual monologue plays, it goes on a bit due to lack of maturity and lack of editing. She does ramble so. (Potentially necessary note: the book as a product of Edward Carey, author, is edited.)

Having written the bracketed sentence it makes sense to now mention the ‘reason’ for this book. This reviewer’s jury is undecided. Possibilities range from mental illness (and across the road is a mental hospital), to child abuse, to a play within a play or play in a book entirely, to puppetry and animation. Where you are indeed with Edith throughout, I think it’s fair to say you may never reach a complete conclusion, but isn’t that just the way with pieces of theatre (and literature) sometimes?

Carey’s theatrical concepts – we should maybe say ‘Edith’s concepts’ because if Edith were told she was a creation of an author originally from Norwich she’ll either self-destruct in fear or depression (that might be appropriate) or, likely as she is with Karl Baedeker the famous guidebook author, become rather obsessed – are both purely his own and taken from various plays. There’s blood and death everywhere, very often, a bit like Shakespeare; there’s children’s toys and dolls and we might be in a doll’s house, like a meta reference to Ibsen. Dolls house – add that to the list of possible ‘reasons’.

On toys, we need mention Carey’s drawings. Carey has included drawings in all of his works and they are always intriguing but I think it’s apt to say they’ve taken on a particularly important role here – pun definitely intended. (Add a child playing with her toys to the list of possibilities.) The drawings present a very strong case for a particular meaning and reason for the whole book, for Edith and everyone else. So too does the fact that, if you visit Carey’s website, you’ll find a printable card theatre with a range of characters included.

I’ll include a single other character of note, though there are more – Edith’s father’s fiancé, whose introduction in the book ushers in a new era and many new questions for the reader. Or are we, perhaps, members of the audience as well?

I’m starting to sound like Edith, I fear, so here’s a related yet different topic: Carey’s necessarily limited portrayal of Norwich is appealing. It is in fact due to the limitations Edith’s life sets on the text that perhaps makes it stand out all the more – there’s a lot of very specific street-to-street facts here, a bit like the guidebook Edith loves (oh this is all getting too meta!) that allow you to know a nice amount of information about this city in its Edwardian form. Norwich too is part and parcel of this text – there are again many inspirations, and literary metaphors abound.

Edith Holler, then – again the book, not the girl, though the girl is probably stomping her feet at me for the twice-now dismissal of her person – is quite the literary feat. The literary (genre) elements, the intertextuality, the use of and grounding in its location, and of course the overriding theatricality and artistic nature of it are superb. Best read alongside reader-led research into the various parts (especially if you do not know Norwich – the nearest this reviewer has been is Lowestoft and that as a child) unless you are well informed already. It’s a great experience.

I was sent this book in order to interview the author.

Publisher: Gallic Books (Belgravia)
Pages: 390
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-1-913-54778-3
First Published: 31st October 2023
Date Reviewed: 30th August 2024

I have been scrabbling with my book choices in recent years, at least when it comes to reading not undertaken for a podcast episode (that reading is prescribed and enforced, essentially by myself). I think, given I’m now emerging from a major blog hiatus, it was likely caused by the goings on of those recent years, and now I’m looking at my reader self and asking her if we might get some order in the ranks.

While I love the idea of reading by mood, I’m definitely someone who benefits from a bit of planning because those moments of wondering what to read create a paralysis of choice which is enough to make my excitement pack up and suggest that an entirely different activity is the thing to do right now.

(It was fascinating going back through old blog posts to see what I’d written about reading lists in the past – in 2012 I said they absolutely did not work for me, in 2015 I started seeing the benefits at least where being a book blogger was concerned, and at the start of 2020 I was loving them but saying that balancing it with mood reading was best.)

About a month ago I started mulling the idea of creating a reading list for non-podcast books. I realised I should choose books for it carefully with the idea that I’d spend time on the choice now, all at once, for an easier time of it later. I had books that came to mind immediately – books I wanted to read soon, regardless of any lists, and others I’d meant to read but not got to. I consider myself to have failed at my Classics Club list (paralysis of choice strikes again!) so I figured the whole idea did need some thought.

And some rules. Firstly, I’m not going to let the list get too long – I can have ideas for it, but they can’t just be added whenever. (First and a half – it should probably be something along the lines of one book finished, add another one or, better still, finish a few, add a few, all at once.) Secondly – I shouldn’t think I can blithely add books I’ve had for years and ride off into the sunset. Being honest with myself, I’m going to have to read a lot of newer books – or at least new-to-me books – to give myself a solid psychological backing for any of that ‘finally getting to it’ stuff. I am, after all, the person who’s been moving Vanity Fair to each year’s brand new list of books read every year now since 2012. Thirdly, and most importantly – I need to be careful of letting books languish on the list and not let them become books I’ve had for years. And it should go without saying that there needs to be plenty of books I’m excited about and a mixture of genres. I think after having read lots of books I’m excited about that excitement is likely to sustain itself for some ‘I was excited and then left it too long’ books.

After thinking up an actual list and mulling over putting it out there for the last week, I’m going to do so. I’m not going to come back and update this list, I think that would spell trouble; if they get read they’ll be in my round ups and quite possibly reviewed. (That’s another thing I’ve decided going forward – I miss reviewing and having my notes but I won’t return to my old ‘must review’ process. Books will get reviewed if I want to review them.) Part of me wants to discuss the following book choices but I think that’ll also create some pressure.

So, here we go. I plan to read, ordered by author’s first name:

Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow
Gill Paul’s Another Woman’s Husband
Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne
Kristy Woodson Harvey’s A Happier Life
Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society
Raven Leilani’s Luster
Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing
Susan Stokes Chapman’s The Shadow Key
Zachary Levi’s Radical Love

And that is plenty to be getting on with.

I previously had three other books on the list – Tasneem Abdur-Rashid’s The Thirty Before Thirty List, Maggie Brookes’ The Prisoner’s Wife, and Gill Paul’s Scandalous Women. As you may have noted by those titles having been mentioned here recently and by reading my blog in general, I’ve already read them. That was another thing I thought was important – waiting a few weeks to see if it would stick.

Do you make/use reading lists? And what is your history with using/not using them?

Episode 106: Nikki Marmery (Lilith)

Charlie and Nikki Marmery (Lilith) discuss her epic story that looks from the start of the Genesis story all the way to our present day, showing how the biblical stories did away with an all-important goddess for women – Yahweh’s wife – and the consequences that has had. There is discussion, too, on the Gnostic gospels, various mythologies, and environmentalism.

If you’re unable to use the media player above, this page has various other options for listening as well as the transcript.