Owing to ongoing issues, I’ve clubbed together two months, especially as I didn’t get much read in November.
October
Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett
Although in some ways this may be my least favourite of the Discworld novels doubtless owing to my lack of interest in football, I still fell in love with the new characters and again with the old, and I laughed during the match and smiled by the end of the book. This still carries all the charm and magic of Terry’s world. I’ve not hurried to read the last few novels I had to read because I knew they were the last, so in a wacky sense I was almost saving them even though I’m sure Terry would have told me that was a dangerous thing to do being none of us know how long we have. Terry is sorely missed and so will be the books he may have written, but he’s left us with a legacy that will now be my pleasure to begin all over again.
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist, (audio), M.C.Beaton, read by Penelope Keith
This time Agatha takes a holiday in search of love, but finds herself caught up in another murder investigation. Surprisingly, the new setting worked well, treating the audience to a tangle of both Agatha being a suspect, and her increasingly muddled love life.
Lost Girl, Adam Nevill
I might well vote this to be the author’s best book. By that I don’t mean my favourite, which sounds odd when I’ve called it the best. I’ve not read all the author’s titles yet, though I intend to. The subject of the book — the desperate search by a father for his missing child — is a hard topic to like best, but I also have an outstanding favourite that, as much as I adore this writer’s work, any other title may well struggle to knock off the top spot.
In Lost Girl, we’re treated to a writer getting almost every sentence right. Every emotion. Every self-doubt, self-loathing, conviction to do what he must for the sake of his little girl. I doubt someone who wasn’t a parent could have written this, and part of the well-captured horror is the question of our capacity to become the monster when someone threatens those we love, even when the ultimate blame lies with those who cause the terrible things they might force others to do.
For those looking for the supernatural element in Nevill’s work, it’s here but is a subtext to a warped mind in a warped world that isn’t as far off as we would like. This glimpse of a possible, even probable future pulls on the heartstrings as much as the plight of ‘the father’ in this prescient warning. I wouldn’t call this horror, though there are horrific elements. This novel crosses genres. Horror, thriller, drama, crime… whatever one wants to call it, the author led this reader willingly towards a satisfying conclusion.
October October, Katya Balen
Picking a book at random from my book mountain, I saw this and thought, well, it’s October, so why not choose this? I wanted to love this book as much as so many others do. Fine, I’m not the intended audience, but adults are the ones who decide the best books for children and at what age. I wanted the book to leave me smiling, but I felt torn in so many ways all the way through.
At first, I was on October’s side. This book makes you feel how stifled she feels in London and longs for wide-open skies. In this, she was close to my heart. Yet I also wondered about her father having raised her entirely in the woods. There’s little of practical home schooling, no arrangements of what would happen to her if something happened to her father… which is exactly what occurs. Despite who is at fault, and even that is a grey area leaving me feeling they’re all to blame, the point is no one seemed to consider the possibility of a child’s care if the worst happened. No one seems to much care about her natural development and how she would cope in the outside world should it ever become necessary or something she might want. Then she’s ripped out of the only life she’s known into an alien environment that’s understandably frightening with a woman she doesn’t want to know.
And at that point in her life, I felt it unfair to have someone who left her own daughter at such a young age thrust upon her. I felt the unfairness of childhood when you have no say. For practical reasons alone, there is of course a good reason for October to know her mother — so that she wouldn’t end up in the situation she finds herself in, but why did this woman disappear for so long only attempting, poorly, to communicate rather than show up? If they were going to force the issue, why not do it when October was younger? The opportunities to explain and help October understand in her informative years seem entirely overlooked. I understand and sympathised that the father couldn’t live in the mother’s world and vice versa but they are parents and this seems to be something they should have worked out beforehand and, when times got tough, considered what’s best for their child, not just up and please themselves.
Both parents come across as selfish, so it’s hardly surprising October acts selfishly sometimes. Perhaps the parents’ behaviour goes someway to explain why October seems younger than her years. And the idea this girl from the woods could fit into a school, especially after her behaviour when she first arrives, is unrealistic. In reality, she’d be a perfect candidate for bullying. I’ve also spent many a minute wondering where these woods are an hour and a half away from London where they can live with scarce interaction with the outside world or the education authority — you have to prove you’re educating your child to a standard if you opt for home schooling. Much of the plot is unrealistic, so to enjoy the book it’s necessary to set all that aside.
I’m happy to say the lessons she learns about the owl are painful but important, and the underlying themes are good, especially that of parents being apart doesn’t mean they don’t both love you (dealt with better in Mrs Doubtfire), but these subjects weren’t delved into deeply enough. On a good point, the first person tone and style work well for the book and young readers. The author makes October’s world, both good and bad, come to life. Given more depth and developmental edits, this could have been a splendid book instead of good.
The Watch House, Robert Westall
If I call this a pleasant read it may give the wrong impression for a ghost story, but it’s still atmospheric and I liked the cast of interesting characters, the unusual setting, different ghosts, and background stories. An excellent read for younger readers but absorbing enough for some adults.
November
All Hallows, Christopher Golden
An easy enjoyable read. I throughly lived in the world of Parmenter Road and the characters who inhabit the place. The Haunted Woods allowed me to experience the kind of Halloween and Trick or Treat that’s uncommon in the UK be it with more than horror thrown in than anyone is prepared for. A spooky piece of entertainment both teens and adults will enjoy with fully-fledged characters that live on the page and make you feel for them. Some of the facts about the true horror came across as a little vague but this adds to the sense of bewilderment and fear. I liked that some aspects weren’t what they seemed. Can’t call this scary, though.
The Uglimen, Mark Morris
I can’t say I found this scary, though a couple of moments made me pause, but I loved the quite disturbing ideas that went into this. This may not be terrifying but it’s an enjoyable read, and one that’s kept me entertained through a not so great time.
