No longer on the shelf.

Publisher: Broadway (Random House)
Pages: 246
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-307-39506-1
First Published: 2012
Date Reviewed: 28th April 2013
Rating: 2/5

At fifty-four years old, Clover feels invisible as a woman. One day she wakes up and it’s no longer a feeling – she is literally invisible. Going unnoticed by her family, she discovers a group of women like her and starts attending meetings. The other women have worked out what’s gone wrong, but is there a way to fix it?

Calling Invisible Women is a book that starts brilliantly and has a fantastic premise, but rapidly falls to what’s most comfortable in a way that provides a negative impact. The premise, or at least the supposed premise, of a middle-aged woman feeling invisible, is fresh. The possible metaphor of literal invisibility standing in for the invisibility of middle-aged women in a society that values youth and beauty, is promising and had a lot of potential, but sadly Ray does not take the opportunity presented.

What is good in Calling Invisible Women is the laugh-out-loud humour of the first half, the fine writing, and of course the social issues referred to. But that is where it stops. In Clover there is a character who feels invisible but has done everything that will insure she’ll remain so; a woman who simply does not fit her time period. If this book had been released in the mid-twentieth century, understanding Clover would be easier.

A typical example is Clover’s relationship with her daughter. Ray’s descriptions and the dialogue show Evie to be a self-absorbed person who cares not a jot for others unless she needs something. When Evie needs clothes, Clover describes how she’ll be giving her daughter, who is 20 and hasn’t realised her mother is invisible, the money for these clothes. If Clover spoke of how she should stop and how she lets her family walk all over her, it would be okay, but she doesn’t. There is also a situation where Clover and Gilda stop their grown-up sons making their own life choices, and when Clover tells her women’s group what happened “The group let out a moan, the collective heartbreak of all suburban mothers.” Given the subject at hand, Ray affectively wipes out a great number of potential readers from her audience as well as providing an out-dated social commentary on something that is widely considered an individual’s choice.

After the initial set-up, wherein one could suppose the women have become invisible because of society and the way they themselves feel, Ray places the actual reason outside of the women’s jurisdiction in order to conduct a commentary of another subject. It means that the strength of the premise is destroyed, even if the commentary itself is an interesting one. This happens later also, in a minor way, by Clover’s changing thoughts about her family. This is a family who fails to notice that their mother and wife has become invisible, despite the fact that Clover continues a sexual relationship with her husband and affectively flies around in clothes, headless. There is also the fact that Clover’s issues really needed to be at the forefront.

For its premise this book needed strength and empowerment. The ending is little more than a summary and the action happens too late in the day. Calling Invisible Women could have been incredible, a friend to women entering middle-age and a lesson for those who are younger or who simply forget such women. Unfortunately, it is not and whilst it may be one thing to have an un-likeable character, it is another to have one who is nonsensical for no given reason.

I received this book for review from Crown Publishers.

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It is the east, and Juliet is the sun… and too much sun can wilt the flowers in the shop and cause the family to go out of business.

Publisher: Broadway (Random House)
Pages: 226
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-0-307-98672-6
First Published: 2000
Date Reviewed: 12th April 2013
Rating: 4/5

Florist families Cacciamani and Roseman have been rivals for three generations, causing havoc to each other’s businesses. But when 60-year-old divorced Julie meets widowed Romeo, sparks fly and they quickly fall in love. They might be able to see each other behind their families’ backs for a time but it’s unlikely to work, especially when it didn’t work for Julie and Romeo’s children. Can the mature version of the fight do any better, and just what is behind the feud, because to tell you the truth, Julie and Romeo have no idea.

Julie And Romeo was the début of Ray, the mother of Ann Patchett, and the book has recently been updated and thus reprinted. It’s a fun relatively short story that brings the older generation into the spotlight in a way that makes it appealing for all ages.

The story itself is rather predictable and light, but it might be those very qualities that make it difficult to put down. Although it doesn’t match the Shakespeare play entirely (time period and ages aside) there is enough of it to make it a fair retelling and the diverges make for a happier tale. There is a comfortable aspect to the story, you know it’s going to be humorous with no extreme hatred, and whilst there may not be much action, the book is exactly what it says ‘on the tin’.

Undoubtedly it’s the ages of the main characters that are the draw and reason d’etre here. Ray has shined a light on an age group largely neglected by the media. She does point this out literally a couple of times, but the book as a whole is devoid of preaching – Ray’s way of promoting her message is to show just why the age-group is not to be forgotten. She demonstrates how at heart everyone is the same, how love doesn’t change just because you’re older, and the result is a book that can be enjoyed by all.

The characters themselves are generally well developed. Ray has allotted a fair amount of page time to each of the families, allowing for the shortness of the book as a whole. The only issue is that Julie, the narrator, is too giving at times, even to her cheating ex-husband. She requires answers but lets people get away with not answering them (from the start of the book she wants to know why the families are feuding but doesn’t put her foot down when people brush her off).

There is also a problem in that flower orders are cancelled by the opposing party, which isn’t particularly realistic, as after the first time a business would have plans in place with the delivery services to ensure it didn’t happen again and to uphold security. Not everyone in the book is as docile as Julie – it would have happened.

But the couple of issues do not effect the book too much. Julie And Romeo successfully proves that romance in literature need not be limited to the young, and it does this whilst being utterly inclusive, funny, and just charming.

I received this book for review from Crown Publishers.

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The okay Gatsby. The great writer.

Publisher: N/A (I read the version by Alma Books)
Pages: N/A
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: N/A
First Published: 1925
Date Reviewed: 17th April 2013
Rating: 4.5/5

When Nick Carraway moves home, he finds his neighbour to be the host of many all-night parties. Having met his (Nick’s) cousin and her friend, he is encouraged to join the friend, Jordan, in attending one of them, and finally meets his allusive neighbour. What he doesn’t know is that his new acquaintances are familiar with each other.

The Great Gatsby is a novel of money and aiming high for innocent reasons. It’s relatively short with enough characters to get the messages across but not too many that you lose track of them, and at once both lives up to its reputation and falls short of it.

The story itself is basic – written before, written since, without much to recommend it. Gatsby himself isn’t as great as described, but then that could be the point, and therefore the statement at the beginning of this review refers primarily to the book as a whole. It is therefore in the writing that the success of the book can be found. Fitzgerald’s writing style is literary, political, satirical, and spot on for the time. Indeed so woven into the era his book is, it can seem dated today in ways that many classics aren’t – references to political events that have not stood the test of time (in other words are not particularly well known today) inevitably mean that whilst the sentiment may be obvious, in order to fully appreciate what Fitzgerald is saying some research may need to be conducted. For this reason a version of the novel with notes included is recommended.

Whilst Fitzgerald was reported to be nonchalant about the title of the book, the name undoubtedly fits well in both a potentially sarcastic manner and in the feelings of the crowds of people who supposedly know Gatsby himself. Gatsby is both a well-developed character in his own right, and a representative of all those who try their best to make something of themselves for whatever reason.

None of the characters are particularly likeable except, perhaps, Nick, who is simply a bystander who becomes exploited whilst trying to do the right thing. Here there are innocent aims, together with snobbery, material wealth above all else, and a distinct lack of care for anyone.

Fitzgerald portrays the romances in an intriguing way. He uses the word ‘love’ many times, but whilst reading it may be hard for the reader not to wonder where this referenced love is. Certainly there is love of money, as a particularly poignant line imparts, but of romantic love there is little. If Nick is to be believed, then the love was mostly in the past, and perhaps it’s the money itself that causes the physical separations, in terms of the space between two people on a sofa, for example. Yet there is an interesting contrast in the book between those who separated because of money, and those who have come together despite it, even if those who transcend money do not truly transcend it. And the subtext that money makes the world go round – money causes separation, which causes poor choices, which causes situational conflicts between characters, which causes a look to someone of less money – is ironic and exploited to great effect.

The story is average – it is the message that is to be taken away; the warnings for those who dream without considering the reality, the alerts to the fact that some people are not genuine or will move on if their pretentious needs are not met. These messages are presented in books often, so it is Fitzgerald’s writing that makes the book one of those you ought to read.

On many levels it’s the fact that it’s anything but great that makes The Great Gatsby worthy of your time.

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A little goes a long way.

Publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown)
Pages: 311
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-1-408-70371-7
First Published: 12th January 2010
Date Reviewed: 1st April 2013
Rating: 5/5

CeeCee Honeycutt is the only person who cares about her mentally ill mother; her father is always away, and CeeCee has no friends except the kind elderly lady next-door. When Mrs. Honeycutt is killed in an accident, CeeCee’s neglectful father hands her over to her great aunt. Will it be worse in Savannah, the home her mother longed to return to, or will CeeCee find the regular life she’s always wanted?

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the gripping début by Hoffman that combines a young person’s thoughts with an adult readership to interesting and, let it be said, successful, effect. Drawing on history with all the discrimination it involved, Hoffman introduces the reader to the world of a girl on the cusp of her teenage years, who has struggled to find her place in a town where she is guilty by proxy.

Important to discuss first is the text and structure. Hoffman has produced a very special work. As previously stated, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is gripping, yet on the surface that is something that shouldn’t be so. Hoffman’s book is slow, and there is not much action. The climaxes are minor and from the start it is obvious that there will be no great reveal. And yet yes, it is absolutely gripping. What Hoffman has achieved is that feat so beloved of many readers of literary fiction – whilst little happens in reality, this slowness allows for a great amount of detail. Hoffman’s 12 year old CeeCee is believable and partly for that reason, that the author allocated so much time to character development. The pages turn themselves and even in times of conflict, a certain calm pervades the text that suits the pace of life portrayed here. You can enjoy the proceedings without that nagging sense of wanting to get to the end of the book to discover the conclusion.

Talking of CeeCee, the prospective reader might wonder whether the thoughts and life of a 12 year old in 1960s America would be interesting enough to the mature target audience. Inevitably opinions will be divided, but Hoffman has ensured that her character is well-read, thoughtful, and mature beyond her years in many ways. CeeCee makes bad decisions of the kind any 12 year old might when they do not understand repercussions, but these choices and the way Hoffman otherwise presents the character mean that instead of being off-putting, the reader can empathise with her, will her to see the poor decision for what it is.

As said, CeeCee is far from perfect. Indeed there is a section where the previously grounded child, having grown up witnessing hatred and loneliness, takes it upon herself to inflict pain on another. It could be said that this was a bad move on Hoffman’s part and out of character for CeeCee, and yet it’s not at all easy to just accept that thought and move on. Besides the obvious element of understandable immaturity, Hoffman demonstrates how even the kindest person can turn down the wrong path sometimes, and, most importantly, she shows how CeeCee’s overwhelming love and gratitude for someone can translate as an urge to get back at the one who hurt her friend.

The history in this book is mostly subtle, though there are times when it is explored in detail. Hoffman doesn’t shy away from using the damning words and descriptions employed in the 1960s, using her characters to remind her readers of the prejudice towards Africans and, of course, the mockery of the mentally ill. Hoffman shows how despite emancipation, Africans were viewed with scorn, used as scapegoats in a world that believed an account based on whether or not you were of the right colour.

This history and the usage of it pervades the dialogues – in a way Oletta, the cook, is stereotypical. However there is this undercurrent of fact, Hoffman clearly wants to use all the appropriate and available aspects to really teach her readers what life was like, to make them feel as though the story is real and they are a part of it – because whilst it’s fiction there are many truths woven into it. What is of course wonderful, if predictable, is how the major white characters themselves treat African Americans, and how they are a part of the drive towards modernity. Their natures are explanations, and allow the author to portray the many different attitudes.

To be sure, in order to enjoy this book one needs to be happy with the idea of a young narrator, no matter how mature that narrator is. CeeCee can be a little too precious, and is headstrong in times of trouble – but then how many children are truly angels? Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is low on plot but bursting with character development and detail. And given that the plot is secondary, that is a fine thing indeed. If the idea of lazy but satisfying sunny days in a historical Savannah, mixed with some hard-hitting facts, is at all intriguing to you, then you are sure to love this book.

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Over the sea, once from the sky.

Publisher: (self-published)
Pages: 367
Type: Fiction
Age: Adult
ISBN: 978-1-78088-470-7
First Published: 17th December 2012
Date Reviewed: 26th March 2013
Rating: 3.5/5

So Alex chose to remain with her 1600s husband. But the tensions between Matthew and his brother Luke have not weakened – Matthew finds himself abducted and aboard a ship bound for the new world. As a slave with no rights it will be up to Alex to save him; and of course amongst this there is always the future, the time of Alex’s birth, and those she left there.

Like Chaff In The Wind is the second book in the Graham series, and, it must be said, a strong step up from the previous book. Belfrage has expanded on her topic, filling it with events and complexities that make it more gripping than A Rip In The Veil, and whilst there are still issues there’s the suggestion that any further books will continue to build on these new strengths.

One of the biggest reasons this novel succeeds is Mrs Gordon, who provides a nice balance to the main two, being less impulsive, a winner of hearts for good reason, and realistic. Indeed the character development in this book is much better overall; although Alex and Matthew are of course the same people, the reader gets a lot more information about them. It is thus a lot easier to appreciate them.

Where A Rip In The Veil spent little time in the 21st century, Like Chaff In The Wind hands the period a good portion of space. Belfrage answers questions and allows the ‘younger’ family to become important in their own right. And just when you think she might let it peter out again she dives straight back into the fantasy to produce a plot point that is welcome, fitting, and appealing. Speaking of time, more characters get to hear of Alex’s background, which inevitably makes matters more interesting and fun.

This writing, too, is better, however here we come to the negative aspects. The book suffers from many of the problems the previous book did. The characters still end questions with “no?”, when it doesn’t fit their overall usage of English, and there is a vast amount of editing and grammatical errors that detract from the story. There is also a lack of spacing between some scenes, meaning that you may need to pause for a moment so that the sudden jump in situations doesn’t feel so wrong (because with adequate spacing it wouldn’t, normally).

The plot is strong on the whole, but it does follow the basic pattern of violence, argument, sex. Again there is a lot of violence and a lot of sex, and again one must try to suspend beliefs in the way this 21st century British woman acts in a society of male domination. This copious violence and sex take precedent; the reader will have to decide whether the family feud, considering the years covered in the book, isn’t going on a bit too long given the back and forth of the vengeance.

But overall, Like Chaff In The Wind is a major progression. The characters are memorable, the time travel is exciting, and the good use of history is continued. There are problems but its hard to say that the book isn’t enjoyable. If the reader deems it possible to start with the second book that is perhaps recommended, but either way you might find here a story to love.

I received this book for review from the author for Historical Fiction Virtual Author Tours.

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