I currently have three books in my reading sphere: Edward Carey’s Edith Holler, his latest novel with his customary drawings, Gill Paul’s Scandalous Women, a very kind gift from Gill herself (thank you again!), and the book I’m often reading aloud to my rabbit because she likes it, Sarah Marsh’s A Sign Of Her Own, which is a book I read in full last year.

I’m going to start with Edith Holler. This book is very much in line with what I’ve previously read of Carey’s work, albeit that my experience is limited to one non-fiction (with illustrations) and some knowledge of a backlisted novel. It’s… kooky. I prefer that word to ‘strange’ even if kooky is a synonym for it because it’s more odd than anything eerie or creepy. It has its eerie moments – there’s a veil of the paranormal – but it’s unknown, at least at 270-odd pages in as I am currently as I write this, whether the paranormal is real.

I think I’d better include a premise – Edith is a 12-year-old girl in newly-Edwardian Norwich who lives in her father’s theatre along with a plethora of staff members. She has a great knowledge of her city but it’s knowledge she’s gained through books as she’s not allowed to leave the theatre – she was cursed by a scary child-disappearer that if she left the theatre, the theatre would fall down. It’s a novel where you know instantly you’ve got an unreliable narrator but you’re not sure by how much, especially as you get dialogue from the various members of the theatre family.

What I’m liking perhaps the most about this book is the way Carey’s used his drawings to supplement the purposefully limited evidence the reader has with which to form a conclusion as to what’s going on – the drawings are, by and large, of cardboard theatre cut-outs, child’s toys. Edith’s words suggest mental illness, or child abuse, or a play-within-a-book. The drawings add a suggestion of bog standard playtime.

It’s a fascinating novel – totally bonkers and full of internal monologue (fitting for a theatrical novel, really), with a very slow but steady build up to the truth. There’s some constant irritation for you, the reader, in Edith’s story, but never enough to make you want to give up. It reminds me rather of Paula Lichtarowicz’s The First Book Of Calamity Leek which had a similar flavour to Carey’s book but not – at least I believe at this point – the same reveal. (I wrote a second post on Lichtarowicz’s book in what is now way back in 2015. I ended up reading the novel again a few years later.)

My latest read – a secondary book on the go – is Gill Paul’s Scandalous Women, which is out tomorrow insofar as my writing this post goes (29th August). I had previously banked on Paul’s Another Woman’s Husband being my favourite of her books – though, disclaimer, that is still on my to-be-read – but having begun her tale of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins, I have a feeling this latest one may end up being it. I’m at page 18 and already have something to discuss; the prologue creates a fictional TV interview (chatshow host variety, just with two guests going at it while the host looks on) between Paul’s entirely fictional editor character, Nancy, and the entirely factual Truman Capote. Paul notes Capote as a ‘longtime adversary’ of Susann’s – I double-checked this fact and, as it turns out, he didn’t much like Jackie Collins either – and has written a fictional interview that sounds very real in terms of structure and overall content. (This probably shouldn’t be a surprise because she also writes non-fiction; one of the things I love about Paul’s work is the way that you can never be sure – unless you know already or have read her author’s note – exactly what is fact and what is fiction.) I think it’s the boldness of the end of the interview I like the most; it involves what we’d now call assault and is quite shocking, while the host continues to look on. There’s a general misogyny subtext in the act, too, adding to the more blatant misogyny in chapter one.

I also like the way Paul has included a third person in a similar way as she did in A Beautiful Rival. In the latterly-mentioned book, the person is a real person but most of her story is fictional because history doesn’t say much about her; in Scandalous Women the person’s entirely fictional but has a job that was a very real position.

Lastly, Sarah Marsh’s A Sign Of Her Own which is about Ellen, a fictional pupil of telephone inventor Alexander Bell, who studies his ‘Visible Speech’ method of teaching deaf children how to speak because, in sum, we can’t possibly allow deaf people to speak in sign language oh the horror they must speak properly and integrate with the hearing population! Reading this aloud has made me appreciate language and the way words sound so much more than any other book I’ve read extracts aloud from. (My rabbit also likes The Great Gatsby but has shown a distaste for Pride And Prejudice – I’ve come to the conclusion it has to do with how much dialogue there is in any given book and how animated I am therefore or there-not. She is against hearing about Mrs Bennet’s poor nerves as much as Mr Bennet is.)

Through Marsh’s honing in on the way words are pronounced, the way the lips are shaped, and words that look similar or the same on the lips, you end up with a prose unlike any other and one that is interestingly perfect to be read aloud. (The first chapter is mostly dedicated to Ellen’s wondering why the two men with her are going on about peaches until they remember she exists and notice her confusion – it’s speeches, not peaches.) I suppose this is in tandem or a continuation of my interest in the way Marsh uses language in general – written, spoken, signed and, in the ARC, where quotation marks were included or left out – but I don’t think I would have appreciated this aspect of the book if I hadn’t actually read it aloud.

There is definitely something to be said for reading books aloud and A Sign Of Her Own is the absolute pinnacle for me in this. There is probably a whole post on this somewhere in my mind – Carey’s book is proving to be very fun and fittingly theatrical to read aloud. I’m loving it.

(My rabbit hates it.)

If you’ve made it this far in my ramblings, I salute you because I’m aware this is indeed very rambly! I definitely notice more and more, the more I read, and the more I read with different purposes (reading for pure pleasure is very different to reading for review which is very different to reading for interview which is very different to reading aloud) the more literature continues to become alive and the further the concepts and skill and application of both seem to reach.

Episode 105: Natalie Jenner

Charlie and Natalie Jenner discuss the war years and 1950s Italian film industry and the Vatican’s authority over it, changing working practices after being accused of discrimination, and including still-living celebrities in your book.

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

This list isn’t exhausted; I’ve chosen to exclude books that I’ve reviewed and some I’ve posted about on Instagram – this post is an edited version of the books that have entered my life since April.

Chloe C Peñaranda: The Stars Are Dying – From the publisher for interview. This has a The Hunger Games-esque aspect to it with vampires, a romantasy with darkness. I’m very much looking forward to giving it a read.

Edward Carey: Edith Holler – From the publisher for interview. I’ve previously read Carey’s B: A Year In Plagues And Pencils and enjoyed his style (I’ve also a copy of his Madame Tussaud novel, Little, I really should read some time…)

Gill Paul: Scandalous Women – This is with much thanks to Gill Paul who gave me a copy of her book. It’s out in the UK now and looks at the work and rivalry of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann. I have high hopes for this book.

Kaliane Bradley: The Ministry Of Time – I saw this book in a bookshop. No idea what it was about. I definitely have a thing for very plain covers with fonts that have been jazzed up. I now know that it’s about Arctic exploration and potentially some time travel.

Kristin Harmel: The Paris Daughter – Harmel’s latest book has been much lauded and I did love The Forest Of Vanishing Stars.

Kristy Woodson Harvey: A Happier Life – Woodson Harvey’s latest; I said in a TikTok video, and probably also on this blog, that since reading The Summer Of Songbirds I would be reading more Woodson Harvey. My second read, The Wedding Veil, confirmed it.

Sue Lynn Tan: Daughter Of The Moon Goddess – I first saw Tan’s book on Amazon and didn’t realise she was big on BookTok, at least it sounds like she was before I saw any videos.

Susan Stokes Chapman: The Shadow Key – I wanted to read Pandora back when it was released and never got around to it (and don’t have a copy either). I thought I’d get ahead of my inevitable desire for her second novel and buy a copy early.

Tan Twan Eng: The House Of Doors – Years ago I stayed at a monastery for a week (they had a guest house) and the bookshelf in the common room had a copy of The Garden Of Evening Mists. I kept meaning to pick it up and see what it was about, but didn’t. And then every now and then I’d remember it and knew I had too many books to read to consider it. Like with Susan Stokes Chapman, when this newer book was released I made a decision.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Before We Say Goodbye – My friend bought a copy of Before The Coffee Gets Cold a while back, and told me of Kawaguchi’s fame. I’ve suggested we read each of our books at the same time and compare as much as is possible.

Zadie Smith: The Fraud – I don’t believe this requires a comment!

I’m currently reading both Edith Holler and Scandalous Women, and The Stars Are Dying will follow as soon as one of those ‘slots’ is up for grabs. I’ve currently a podcast TBR and a not-podcast TBR to work with and that’s proving fairly manageable so far; I’ve been actively using the idea for a month or so after a few months of thinking about it.

Tell me about your latest books!

I’ve read some good books this summer (I’ll leave chronicling August until later). I remember some years ago, a blogger called Judith said that she doesn’t write many negative reviews any more (by that time) because she’d got really good at knowing whether she’d like a book or not prior to choosing it. I remember being mystified by this, but now I feel I’m getting there myself.

All books are works of fiction.

Elaine Chiew: The Light Between Us – Tian Wei lives in 1920s China; he finds a letter from a woman from the next century. In 2019 in Singapore, archiver Charlie finds a letter from a 1920s man, written to someone else. By placing their subsequent letters in the way they found their firsts, both Tian Wei and Charlie are able to begin a correspondence across time, and over time it may develop into something more as the pair share their worries and successes. Fans of The Lake House/Il Mare, and The Time Traveller’s Wife will enjoy this in particular, but the subject matter, especially in terms of Tian Wei’s time and life, will interest many others. Chiew’s writing style is focused on details but not at all in a way that becomes overly much – it’s difficult to describe, but her prose is singular and her focuses appealing.

Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song – Ella, Georgia, and Georgia’s daughter, Phoenix, have travelled to the Greek island of Hydra to spread their mother’s/grandmother’s ashes. For Ella, the trip is very difficult – she was last on the island as a teenager, one beautiful holiday with the love of her life before he suddenly and intentionally disappeared; he was a musician and years later she still has to bear listening to his hit song that was written about her. For Georgia it all needs to go strictly to plan but at the same time she probably needs this time away from her husband. And Phoenix is along for the ride. Ella’s turmoil comes to a head when she makes a surprise discovery, and the trip for her mother morphs into something else entirely. There’s a lot to appreciate here – setting, characterisation, and Cowell’s deft decisions when it comes to letting the reader know more; I shan’t be more specific than that to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say it’s a page turner and enjoyable.

Mark Stay: The Crow Folk – Wartime Britain. Faye Bright has grown up in Woodville, Kent (fictional village, real county). She helps her dad with his pub, she’s a local volunteer for the war effort, and she’s a bell ringer at St Irene’s. She’s also started to have some strange experiences and has found a spell book of her late mother’s which has left her, unsurprisingly, with a heck load of questions. One day animated scarecrows approach a group of villagers but none of the villagers believe what they’ve seen. Except Faye… and perhaps Miss Charlotte, the woman commonly thought to be a witch… and maybe also Mrs Teach, there’s always been something about her. So now not only is there a war on, but Faye’s got this book she wants to learn from (which also includes a recipe for jam roly-poly for some reason), and she’s got to work with the bonkers situation of scarecrows coming to life, led by a demon – who’s a scarecrow, too – while the fair number of villagers who saw these scarecrows don’t believe it happened. But they better do at some point – that demon’s not joking. This is a wonderfully comedic low fantasy fairly similar in tone to Terry Pratchett and Claire North’s The End Of The Day.

Mark Stay: Babes In The Wood – Pretty much straight after the episodes with the crowfolk, and getting towards the Battle of Britain, Faye and co have situation on their hands involving Kindertransport children, creepy artwork, and secret meetings. Brilliant again, this time with a little more darkness and specific WW2 themework.

Mark Stay: The Ghost Of Ivy Barn – We reach the Battle Of Britain. It’s coming soon to a witches’ circle near you (well, they hope). Also, there’s the ghost of a pilot in one of the villager’s barns that Faye needs to help. This book has the best dialogue in the series, I’d say, wherein the plan to get the Nazis not to bomb Britain is to communicate to them, in chant, ‘you cannot cross the sea’. In English.

Mark Stay: The Holly King – Book four sees the season of Christmas and the attempt by an ancient god to take over the village. Less travelling this time, if you count Kent to the coast as ‘travelling’, but as always, lots of fun.

Susan Muaddi Darraj: Behind You Is The Sea – A book of connected short stories about which I’ve been using the term ‘fractured narrative’, Muaddi Darraj’s story in stories focuses on American Christian Palestinians as they find their identities, as they work with horrible truths they discover, as they work with wonderful truths they discover, and as they work with the different generations. Focusing mostly on the same family and featuring a good few extremely poignant stories, this is a stunning book told in lovely prose that necessarily differs per point of view.

Was it a ton of reading? No, but it was a ton enjoyable and so far August has been just as good.

Episode 104: Matt Ottley

Charlie and Matt Ottley (The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness) discuss Matt’s type I bipolar disorder and how it has influenced this, his latest book, and his life in general. As Matt is also a composer and illustrator and the book involves both, we also discuss in detail the creation of the music and artwork.

Please note that there are mentions of child sexual abuse and attempted suicide in this episode.

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

Apart from what I’ve previously discussed, the year’s reading so far has been great. Looking at this list there’s only one book I wasn’t keen on, The Priory Of The Orange Tree which I read in readalong fashion with a friend until Christmas. I then completed it quickly because it was starting to make all the grief feel never-ending (that is not a criticism of the book – it’s just that I had been reading it all that while) and so my friend fell behind but she’s since finished it, too, and felt similarly to me by the end of it. I posted a brief review to TikTok (I’ve lost my way there, it’s a lot more difficult than writing, I find) but plan to post a longer review here in time.

All books are works of fiction.

Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: This Is How You Lose The Time War – In the far-flung future, two people meet each other across a battlefield and begin sending each other letters hidden in various technological ways. Over time – literally – they fall in love and try to work out how to have a life together when they both belong to different factions that are trying to mould the future to fit their desires. This book is fantastically done but it definitely requires a lot of attention; the description is sparse and much is left to the imagination.

Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ: Dazzling – In two dual timeline narratives we follow Treasure and Ozoemena – one girl whose father was killed, the other whose father has disappeared. We find out about their lives in the Nigerian Civil War and their lives beyond that. Ozoemena has been joined to the secretive leopard society and Treasure is being pressured by spirits; both are somewhat struggling at school. I’ll have to leave it there or risk spoiling the entirety – this is a great magical realism/fantasy/mythological story of two girls coming into their own and being more than what their society has created for them to be.

Diana Gabaldon: Voyager – With Brianna and Roger now second and third voices to help Claire decide what to do, she chooses to go back to Jamie. A lot has changed since she’s been away, for both Scotland and the Fraser family, and with Jamie hiding in plain sight from the authorities, it’s not going to be the same life she had before. So much going on that’s difficult not to spoil. I loved this book for the going-back-in-time-again aspect, and it was nice to get away from the book-length flashback of the previous, but there was one big issue I had with this book concerning a second marriage that did mean I had to pause for a week or so. Unfortunately I found the TV show version of the plot thread made it worse, but I did battle on and finish both. I am still generally happily reading the series and am looking forward to book four, I just could’ve done without the unbelieveable plot thread which was less believeable, to me, than the time travel…

Jacquie Bloese: The Golden Hour/The Secret Photographs – In Victorian Brighton, Ellen and her brother take erotic photographs of women to sell abroad. Ellen comes across Lily who is struggling in an abusive household, and offers her money to pose – Lily takes her up on it so long as the photos do indeed go abroad. Meanwhile, Clementine, from America, is stuck in a disagreeable marriage to a man who won’t let her to anything she wants to do. This is an incredibly immersive book – great sense of location – about a fictional photography business and the music hall theatres that are fairly related, alongside a backdrop of the experiences of women of different classes, all looking to gain agency in their own lives. It’s very well done.

Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates – Jane Austen comes back from a rendezvous with Tom Lefroy to a silent gathering – a woman has been murdered. Unhappy with the seeming lack of seriousness with which the magistrate starts dealing with the situation, Jane decides to do her own investigations much to the surprise and relative shock of the locals. This is a brilliant book, Bull’s homage to Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, and, in the way that it looks at a book that was already a parody, a homage somewhat to Gothic fiction, too.

Kate Weston: You May Now Kill The Bride – Five close friends go to a hen party (one of their own). The bride is killed. They then decide to go to another hen party anyway and now ‘inevitable’ happens. This is a very good whodunnit where the group of suspects are rarely apart from each other. It’s also rather funny.

Liz Fenwick: The Cornish House – Maddie and Hannah are grieving their husband and father respectively. And now Maddie has inherited a house all the way down in Cornwall; they go there – it’s a large old house and needs a lot of work but they could both do with a fresh start. There is also a rather attractive man around Maddie’s age who helps them out when they can’t find the house. This book, Fenwick’s debut, looks at the grieving process and how people move through it. It also sports some romance and there is a mystery element to the house that turns into a whole theme when it drags up stuff from the past that Maddie had thought she’d buried. A really nice, somewhat cosy, read with a great use of dialogue. I’d been wanting to read it for a few years, and I loved it.

Liz Fenwick: The Secret Shore – With all hands on deck for the war, Merry has become a map-maker for the war effort; she uses her abilities and local knowledge of Cornwall to assist with the plans for what would become the Normandy landings. And now, like many women, she suddenly has more agency over her life, but there is a choice to be made in regards to whether she stays single and able to have a career or gets married and loses it all, and there is a handsome American in the ranks who is starting to steal her heart. This is an almost epic tale of resilience in war and person with an excellent thread of female agency running throughout and a great use of Dorothy Sayers’ gentleman detective, too.

Manda Scott: Any Human Power – When Lan dies, she promises her grandson, Finn, that she will communicate with him after death. She soon finds the ability to do so – infiltrate the MMORPG they enjoyed with their online guild. But the promise she made in life means that Lan must linger and not move on. Years later, Lan’s granddaughter, who she never met, posts a controversial opinion on social media and suddenly the whole thing spirals out of control. The family must secure their property, but they also decide to further the politics and create their own manifesto, and Lan is there for it all, helping Finn as much as she can. This book hit me hard – I was grieving and Scott’s writing of death and grief is incredibly powerful. It’s a very up-to-the-minute book with a lot of discussion on how we can change the world for the better and why we must do so. There is also, in Lan’s presence, a constant thread of Shamanistic belief that runs throughout. Worth reading!

Matt Ottley: The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness – A boy deals with bipolar disorder, his mind taking him to fantastical places. This is a wonderful graphic novel (or multi-model narrative as I believe Ottley calls it). The artwork is superb, the prose lovely, and the author/artist is also a composer; there’s a musical work to accompany the book; the whole experience is awesome.

Natalie Jenner: Every Time We Say Goodbye – Vivian leaves Bloomsbury Books and moves to Italy to work in the film industry; the affects of WW2 are still there at Cinecitta, but for Vivian, her time is about being a success and also looking to find out what happened to her fiancé, who fought in the war. An interesting follow-up to Bloomsbury Girls that takes a well-loved character and moves her elsewhere for her very own storyline, this book features Jenner’s now-signature careful use of celebrities passed and steady focus on character development.

Nikki Marmery: Lilith – Thrown out of Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Lilith leaves Adam to his feelings of superiority and beings her search for the goddess she knows was taken from them both. This is a story stretching from Genesis to the present day and beyond and Marmery leaves you with an absolute wealth of information about early religion. It’s beautifully written to boot.

Samantha Shannon: The Priory Of The Orange Tree – The Nameless One is awakening and must be stopped. The kingdom of Berethnet is at odds with others but needs an heir; women inherit the throne. Meanwhile Ead is far from home protecting the Berethnet queen, Tani is preparing for her exams to become a dragon rider, and Niclays is trying to remain on the down-low. this was not a book for me; I didn’t find there to be much story, never got on with the characters, too many characters died to serve the plot, and so on.

Only one I didn’t enjoy very much, and I was disappointed because I’d been looking forward to reading it for so long, but the others were all great experiences. Over this, June, month, I’ve already read Mark Stay’s Witches Of Woodville series – at least the four books currently published – and am now reading both Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Behind You Is The Sea and Elaine Chiew’s The Light Between Us, both different genres and enjoyable.

Episode 100: Liz Fenwick

Charlie and Liz Fenwick (The Secret Shore) discuss the women cartographers who were fundamental in the Allies winning the Second World War and the way women at university at the time had to choose between their career and having a family. We also discuss Liz’s love of Cornwall, her use of Dorothy Sayer’s Gaudy Night, and we go back a few times to the people who were involved in the secret flotillas that preceded the Normandy landings.

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

My podcast will reach 100 episodes later this month and to celebrate I invited back 16 previous guests to join me for different fun and casual bonus episodes. There are 5 or these such episodes; the first launches today and I’m joined by Elizabeth Fremantle (Disobedient; Firebrand/Queen’s Gambit), Amanda Geard (The Midnight House; The Moon Gate), Gill Paul (A Beautiful Rival; Scandalous Women), and Maggie Brookes (The Prisoner’s Wife; Acts Of Love And War).

The episode can be found on the podcast page of this here blog which includes the episode in a media player, links to various apps, and the transcript.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Monday 1st July: Alex Hay (The Housekeepers), Stacey Thomas (The Revels), and Lucy Barker (The Other Side Of Mrs Wood)
Monday 15th July: Elissa Soave (Ginger And Me), Chloe Timms (The Seawomen), and Jenni Keer (The Legacy Of Halesham Hall; At The Stroke Of Midnight)
Monday 29th July: Melissa Fu (Peach Blossom Spring) Amanda Geard (The Midnight House; The Moon Gate), Phillip Lewis (The Barrowfields)
Monday 5th August: Liz Fenwick (The River Between Us; The Secret Shore), Emma Cowell (The House In The Olive Grove; The Island Love Song), Ronali Collings (Love & Other Dramas/All The Single Ladies), and Tammye Huf (A More Perfect Union)

It has been an absolute joy making these episodes and I’m thrilled to be able to share them at last – the first two were recorded in January! I have to say a big thank you to Amanda Geard for giving me the idea that sparked the whole thing off – she suggested a party to celebrate and then I realised there were far too many people I wanted to include for one party to be sufficient. In truth I’d have loved to have done another three more but it turns out that my thoughts were correct and working to a weekly schedule is one heck of an undertaking when you’re a one woman band.

On that note, episode 100 itself, which is with Liz Fenwick, will be out on Monday 24th June. It’ll be a regular solo book conversation about her latest novel, The Secret Shore. The milestone episodes are essentially slotted in the weeks between regular episodes.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!