Shifting Horizons by Sheena Billett

 

This month I’m recommending Shifting Horizons: Stories of lives lived and journeys taken by Sheena Billett

I can hand on heart say that this is the best book I’ve read in the month of December. What a joy that this is a book written by one of my writing friends. Yes several of the stories in this volume have appeared in CaféLit and Sheena also has work on Secret Attic where I’m also published. So, it’s rather obvious that Sheena writes the type of story I like to read and hope to write.  

As I read I tried to define what it is about them that I like. I’ve concluded:

·         They all have a convincing voice.

·         They make you think.

·         The language is simple but not dull.

·         There are solid story arcs though they are also subtle.

·         The ending is often upbeat.

·         There is some room for the reader to decide what is actually happening.

·         They are not clichéd

So Sheena Billett’s Shifting Horizons, highly recommended. 

 

The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 2, 1857-1870

 

These letters give a good insight to Dickens as a writer and as a family man.

In some letters he declines dinner dates and invitations to spend holidays with others.  He has too much work to get on with. He relishes anyway a quiet life at home.    

Dickens didn’t have TV, social media or email. Yet he found an equivalent for all of these. He visited the theatre a lot and was quite a critic. Some of his own works were adapted for the stage but he also liked to critique plays written by others. He received many letters and felt obliged to answer them as this was part of his PR and marketing – even those that seem of a more personal nature. In one letter he describes how he finds it hard to muster the energy to answer letters after he has been writing all day.  This reminds me of my attitude to email.  At one point he burns all of the letters other people have sent to him. I do something similar to my email inbox sometimes.  It’s a shame for us though; some of those letters would have made interesting reading. 

He didn’t neglect his family and in many letters it is clear how proud he is of them. Some of the letters are to them. 

The letters of Charles Dickens Volume 2 1857-1870 is a valuable historic document. There are earlier letters in Volume 1.    

The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham

 

A young woman defiantly sells banned books as a means of resistance during World War II.  

The stories of two women weave themselves together, joined by a third story, a story of romance. We witness Nazi brutality and the generous of spirit in the young woman who prescribes literature form her Book Dispensary. There is a strong sense of time and place in this work. All of the characters are well-drawn.   

Siobhan Curham’s writing is superb in The Paris Network, a gripping World War II novel.     

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

 

This seems like a cosy crime and we really are kept wondering whodunit.

The author really keeps us guessing in the first half of the book. All the clues are there, we may realise in retrospect. He even has a foreign detective, Atticus Pünd, who may remind you of a certain Belgian detective. Then comes the twist. A much more intriguing story and even more bizarre murder are hidden behind this story.

Anthony Horowitz, as ever a great story teller, presents us with some intriguing characters in the mysterious Magpie Murders.   

The Girl with Louding Voice by Abi Daré

 

Adunni dreams of becoming a teacher.

But it seems it is not to be.  Her mother dies and her father marries her off so that he can earn some money. She faces several challenges but encounters a couple of friends on the way.  There are some grave dangers.  She has to escape the wrath of her husband. She finds employment but her boss is cruel and violent. She has to study hard at the same time as completing long hours of physical work.

Abi Daré certainly gives Audnni a “louding” voice and creates an authentic character here.