North Child by Edit Pattou

This is another of those books that are difficult to place exactly. It is a fairy story and contains some tropes with which even the youngest reader is familiar: the prince trapped in an animal’s body, an icy queen enchanting a weakened male, the young maiden – who happens here to be called Rose, so could remind us of Rose Red or Briar Rose,  – choosing to go back to the home of the beast. Yet love is explored in great detail so it may suit the more emotionally mature reader.  There is no sex but Rose does share a bed with an at the time unknown male. Might it yet appeal to young adults? 

In traditional fairy stories, characters are rarely named.  We do discover The Troll Queen’s name towards the end of the story but throughout the book she is mainly known as the Troll Queen. The prince himself has lost his name and only marries Rose when he finds it again. However, Rose and her siblings and parents are named and so are some of the other trolls.  

We are close to several of the characters as Edith Patoou gives them strong voices.  Chapters are recited variously by Rose, her father, her brother Neddy, the White Bear (Charles) and the Troll Queen. Thus she creates believable and rounded characters with whom we can empathise.  Yes, even the Troll Queen has some of our sympathy because she is just a woman in love. 

There is quite a feminist theme here. Rose is the strong character and goes on her adventure.  Neddy is a warm person  but is only able to help a little.  The White Bear is drugged and succumbs to the charms of the Troll Queen. On her journey Rose is helped more by three women than by any of the men who try to help.  Father, a talented map-maker, is somewhat under the thumb of his superstitious wife Eugenia. 

It’s possibly a fluent reader book but also suitable for adults. The characters are rounded and believable. The pace is enticing.  Chapters are short, making it easy to read. Yet it’s a hefty volume, some 472 pages long.    

It is beautifully written and very engaging.

Scratched Enamel. Heart by Amanda Huggins

This month I’m recommending a collection of short stories Scratched Enamel Heart by Amanda Huggins.  Find details  here.  

Amanda asked me to review it for her. I did this gladly and I was pleased to create five star reviews on both Good Reads and Amazon. I can’t post them yet as the book isn’t out until 27 May but here’s what I’m saying:

“The short stories in this collection give a strong sense of time and place and allow the reader to follow the characters as they make a journey. Sometimes this is an actual physical journey, at other times it is a journey of the soul. Each story too brings with it an atmosphere that we cannot ignore. We are drawn to the characters and their settings.”

And here are a couple of extracts from other reviews:

“Her use of all the senses in her stories is wonderful. When she describes food being eaten, it is as if you were there watching the food being eaten! This is hard to pull off well. All of the stories will move you and make you wonder what you would do if you were this character faced with this situation. Huggins creates a miniature world with every story, and you are drawn in, almost hypnotically.” (Allison Symes)

"This short fiction collection contains twenty-four emotionally-charged stories that take readers on a journey to households and communities in a range of countries. Through these stories, Amanda Huggins cleverly shows us the commonality of emotional experience. That feelings of isolation, love, grief, loss and regret occur in different backgrounds and cultures. And equally, that hope and the promise of a fresh start is possible. Amanda Huggins writes in a beautiful and empathetic way to immerse readers in the challenges and dilemmas she presents to her characters. As readers we care about these characters and learn from them. This is a truthful, authentic and essential read." (Gail Aldwin)

Well worth pre-ordering, I’d say.  

Imagine by Jonah Lehrer.

The subtitle of this book is “How creativity works.” It offers an interesting discussion about creativity. 

Two things in particular stood out for me:

·         We benefit from immigration. Where 1% of the population of a society is made up of immigrants, that society secures 15% more patents for new inventions than a society devoid of immigrants. Is this because the type of person who opts to migrate is more imaginative? Or that the stress of migration makes people more creative?

·         Weak but extensive networks lead to more creativity.  Weak networks are defined as groups of people who interact, and though they may be positive about each other, they’re not all that intimate.  It’s the broadness of the network that counts. This rather coincides with my notion that you don’t have to just be good at your art but you also have to network to become known and therefore paid for your work.  

There are many other fascinating ideas in the book and it is extremely easy to read. It is detailed and it invites you to change the way you think but it’s not at all dry or dull.    

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

This month I’m recommending Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver. Find more details here. I borrowed this book as a brand new title form the library.  

This is described as a Gothic novel and certainly there are Gothic tropes in it. Protagonist Maud tells the story of her father who feels threatened by demons. It is not too Gothic, in my opinion, though, and can be enjoyed by readers who are not keen on Gothic texts. We can assign her father’s fears of demons to his failing mental health. Indeed, he is institutionalised.  Throughout the novel he dislikes and distrusts the fens. 

Maud, however, loves the fens and manages to stop the one near their home from being drained.

Our protagonist’s life is not happy. She suffers badly from eczema.  She is plain perhaps even  ugly. Her father is mentally cruel to her. He is a misogynist. She falls in love inappropriately.  She is not good at mixing with people. 

There is a love interest and there must have been some sex because there are some pregnancies but this is all very much in the background.  The story is somewhere else. This makes a refreshing change. 

Michelle Paver’s writing is engaging throughout. She creates a vivid atmosphere. The text borders on the literary.    

Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

I do keep buying books.

The one I’m recommending this month I bought at one of a series of talks organised by the Portico Library in Manchester,  Rewriting the North.

Makumbi is Ugandan and has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Lancaster.  

It appealed for two reasons:

1. Much of it relates to Manchester and I live in Greater Manchester.  
2. I’m a fan of short stories anyway. These I find excellently crafted and nicely unpredictable.

To boot, this is a gorgeous hardback.

Sadly I have no more shelf room for it so I’ll be depositing it at the Book Nest in the Millgate Centre in Bury in the next few days.   

Click on image to view on Amazon.