The Promise of Happiness, Justin Cartwright

This novel revolves around the Judd family, a middle class british family based London before the parents retired to Cornwall. It opens on the day one of the daughters is released from prison. It deals with family relationships, and how they affect and are affected by individuals trying to carve out a way of life. The book is as much about ways of living, plans, decisions taken and mistakes made as it is about family, as well as the idea of healing or redemption. It flicks between the points of view of all the family members, so we get a pretty well-rounded view of all of them, as well as the disparity between the kids' view of life as in front of them and parents' view of life as lived.

The Promise of Happiness is mainly written in the third person, but Cartwright employs a slightly odd tactic; every now and then there is a paragraph, only a sentence or so, written in first person. This is a clear thought from whichever Judd we are hearing from at that moment, and I can see why it was done. However each time I read one of those sentences it was a bit of a jolt, and pulled me out of the story more than it pulled me in. Other than that I really enjoyed this, it kept me interested and the characters felt well rounded and well drawn, with differing concerns and places in the family. 

I have also just finished White Dog Fell from the Sky by Eleanor Morse; powerful.

A Burnt Out Case, Graham Greene

After reading Brighton Rock and Travels with My Aunt I decided not to read any more of Greene's 'serious' novels, and to stick to his comedies. This was Greene's last chance to prove to me that his literary ones are worth reading. 

A Burnt Out Case follows Querry, a famous architect fleeing from himself and his reputation. He ends up in the jungle at a leper colony run by an catholic missionaries and an atheist doctor. Querry tries to stay there without anyone finding out who he is and what he is running from.

I did enjoy it. There is a little too much discussion on pretty large, abstract themes for me, which slows it down a little. However the story is good, the characters are reasonably engaging and again Greene conveys an excellent sense of place and climate. The plot is slightly absurd and some of the charters are grotesques but just believable. In all I would choose a Greene comedy any day, but wouldn't completely vito another literary one.

The Stories of Eva Luna, Isabel Allende

I love Isabel Allende's work, I can really remember reading 'City of the Beasts' as a child; its vividness and mixing of reality and imagination. The Stories of Eva Luna were not a disappointment, they have the same blend of reality and fairytale and are much more passionate and sensual.

The stories I think are based in Allende's native Chile and seem to come from another time. Outlaws, rebels, illegitimate children and mistresses all feature in stories sometimes domestic and sometimes fantastic. 

I love the short story format as it often encourages authors to leave more up to the reader; we get snippets rather than beginnings, middles and endings. Not so with Allende, her stories read more like fables. We get a full life but told simply, pared down to the essential parts but still poetic and beautifully told. I loved reading them and would definitely recommend. 

Graham Greene's 'A Burnt-Out Case' next.

The Execution of Noa P. Singleton, Elizabeth L. Silver

I really enjoyed this. It is a definite page turner; you don't find out the 'truth' until the very end. It is very well written, and you feel that Silver has a lot of respect for the reader; allowing us to make up our own minds rather than spoon-feeding us a moral outcome.

The story follows Noa P. Singleton, when we meet her she is on death row and her execution date is in six months. Silver reveals the story to us in snippets and from Noa's point of view.

The thing I loved the most about this is the story, when we finally find out the whole of it, is not cut and dry. It is complicated and mixed together with bad decisions, mistakes and bad luck. You get the feeling Silver is making a point; in life there aren't goodies and badies, but situations people react to, one way or another. Silver opens the novel with the line 'In this world you are either good or evil' and then shows us how this is not true, how the world puts is into categories which then makes others' react to or think of us in a certain way and creates a sort of self fulfilling prophecy. The novel is complicated and intelligent, as well as being a gripping read.

A Good Parcel of English Soil, Richard Mabey

I was unsure what I would make of this. I bought it partly because it was a beautiful book and reasonably cheap, but also because I thought it might teach me something, it is an interesting idea for a series of books to be written based on Underground Lines. 

Here Mabey discusses the beginnings of the Metropolitan line; why it was built and what it led to. Much of the book is based on a tension between the city and the countryside and hinges on people living in suburbia and commuting into the City. 

It is certainly an interesting read, and has been very well researched. Mabey talks about the early marketing campaigns for the line and how canny the company running it were. The book is also centred on Mabey's personal experience growing up in 'Metro-land' and on the flora, fauna and wildlife found co-habiting with people. The thoughts translate to any suburban area, the tussle and contradiction found in these areas makes it worth a read.

Next is The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver.

Mort, Terry Pratchett

Mort is everything you'd expect from a Terry Pratchett novel. It's witty, irreverent and fast moving. Pratchett's ideas are just so good! Mort is the name of the protagonist here, who is chosen by death to be his apprentice. Mort learns the trade and makes a small mistake that has quite big consequences and leads to a lot of running around with little time to spare. It is hugely entertaining and is deceptively poignant in places.

Next I am reading A Good Parcel of English Soil: The Metropolitan Line, by Richard Mabey, which is one of the Penguin Underground Lines series. It's a very pretty book and am enjoying it so far, though it's not quite as entertaining as Mort.

Sketcher, Roland Watson-Grant

Sketcher is narrated by Skid, a nine year old boy when we meet him. He has a vivid imagination and a distinctive voice, he plays with words and similes and his personality really shines through the book and colours the events. 

Skid and his family live in a swamp, just south of 'New O'lins' and Skid grows up juggling his imagination, the beliefs of his family & the wish to escape poverty and the swamp. That said it doesn't feel like the book is about any of those things. It feels like its about magic and growing up in a big family. It is one of those stories where you are constantly wondering what to believe, what is the truth and what is imagination, or a way of seeing things. It treads this line really well, I think in the end you can decide what to believe, or be left wondering.

Next up is Mort by Terry Pratchett.