Miss, Educated

'Educated' by Tara Westover (Penguin Random House, 2018)

With schools still closed or partially closed due to Covid-19, education is back in the headlines.  At first, it seemed like a dream scenario for many students, but the novelty soon wore off, and many are now realising the long term damage of a disrupted education.  Someone who knows more than most about the challenges of catching up on missed classroom time is Tara Westover, author of memoir 'Educated'.

Tara Westover grew up in rural Idaho, USA, the youngest of seven children in a family dominated by her father.  His twin obsessions were becoming as self-sufficient as possible in preparation for the end of the world, and avoiding contact with the authorities.  As such, while the children didn't go to school or see doctors, they learned to preserve food, use firearms and hide resources such as fuel around the family homestead.  They worked as his crew in their scrap yard, often risking life and limb in an environment where health and safety amounted to decaying steel toe-capped boots and not much else.  When accidents occur, the children are treated by their herbalist mother.  As she grows up, Tara's relationship with her siblings changes as they each begin living lives of their own.  While Tyler shows her there may be hope beyond the farmstead, the mercurial Shawn leaves her broken and doubting her own mind.  When Tara herself finally decides to pursue formal education, she manages to overcome her father's opposition, but, when challenged by life in an alien outside world, will she flee and return to the familiarity of home?

Mama, We're All Sweary Now

'Why Mummy Swears' by Gill Sims (HarperCollins, 2019)

I haven't read 'Why Mummy Drinks', but I did recently finish 'Why Mummy Swears', Gill Sims' potty-mouthed sequel, continuing Ellen's story of contemporary motherhood and family life.

'Why Mummy Swears' follows mother-of-two Ellen through another 12 months of ups, downs, wobbles and squabbles.  While her son Peter ignores her in favour of his tablet, her daughter Jane only speaks to her to demand an Instagram account.  Outside the house, Ellen's been suckered into chairing their school's PTA (because no one else will) and her father's Big News has got her pretentious sister Jessica tied up in knots. On top of this, her well of ideas has dried up and it's becoming clear that working from home on a new money-making scheme is not going to pan out.  Fortunately, Ellen's dream job comes up just in time.  But can she rely on her husband Simon to step up and do his fair share of the parenting so she can go back to work full-time?

Broken Hearts, Broken Minds

'When I Had a Little Sister' by Catherine Simpson (4th Estate, 2019)

Well, it's going to be a bit of a challenge to write this post, but nowhere near as tough as it must've been for Catherine Simpson and her family to decide to share 'When I Had a Little Sister', a powerful story of family, grief and mental illness.

The 'Little Sister' of the title is Tricia, who, following a lifetime dogged by mental health issues and depression, killed herself in December 2013 at the age of 46.  Beginning with this terrible event, Simpson describes the feelings and formalities of the immediate aftermath, then reflects on her family's past and how the tough, stoic attitude of generations ultimately led to tragedy.  Tricia, Catherine and their eldest sister Elizabeth grew up together on the ancestral Lancashire farm, living in the farmhouse where Tricia's life would eventually end.  The apparently idyllic surroundings belied a childhood dominated by tough and eccentric personalities, whose influence would echo down the generations.  Eventually, having exhausted their shared experiences, Simpson cautiously turns to her sister's journals, filling in the gaps and discovering a whole life that no-one knew her sister had.  The book ends where it began, with Tricia's death, and the effect of the tragedy on the family closest to her.

Simply Wander-Full!

Ah, the glorious days of summer are upon us!  Which is why I've been hiding indoors, listening to the audiobook version of '21st Century Yokel' by music journalist and writer Tom Cox.  Well, you don't want me getting sunburnt, do you?

Released by the innovative, crowd-fund publisher Unbound, '21st Century Yokel' is as genre-defying as it is lovely.  Part-memoir, part-travel book and part ode to the British landscape, it meanders through tales of creatures and countryside, family and folklore to weave a charming narrative that you just want to wrap yourself up in.  Cox uses gorgeous, lyrical language to capture the important places, pets and people in his life with humour and optimism.  From his native Nottinghamshire, via Devon, Derbyshire and Norfolk, '21st Century Yokel' takes the reader on journey that is both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply thoughtful, but never, ever dull - especially if his Mr Cox Senior is around.

Conflict Resolution

So, in my 2017 review, I said that I wanted to read some more of the books I'd been given in 2018.  I've made a start with 'The Reason You're Alive' by Matthew Quick, sent to me at the end of last year by Picador.

When Vietnam veteran David wakes from a serious brain operation with one name on his mind -

'The Reason You're Alive'
by Matthew Quick
(Picador, 2017)

'Clayton Fire Bear', a fellow soldier he wronged long ago - he realises that he must make amends before it's too late.  But first he has to recover, which means spending more time with the son he doesn't see eye-to-eye with over politics, relationships, food... well, pretty much anything really.  Fortunately, he'll also get to see more of his adored granddaughter Ella and David's friends are happy to help.  There are surprises all round as their worlds collide and old wounds as well as eyes are opened, but ultimately, David mustn't lose sight of the one final mission that must be completed despite his reservations...

Moon, Light, Shadow

It's been a while since I last read a Poldark novel ('Warleggan' back in July 2014).  I knew that I wanted to read them all, preferably before they're all filmed by the BBC, but was so appalled and shocked by Ross' behaviour in book four that I couldn't quite bring myself to do it.  I have now, however, finished 'The Black Moon' by Winston Graham.  It was so good, I've pretty much gone straight on to book five.

'The Black Moon' begins with Elizabeth, lost love of Ross Poldark and now wife of his enemy George Warleggan, giving birth to a baby boy.  While George rejoices at having

'The Black Moon' by
Winston Graham
(Pan Books, 2008)

 a son, the ancient Aunt Agatha quickly points out that the child has been born under an ominous black moon, a very bad omen.  But for the time being the bad luck shadows others in the household.  Elizabeth's cousin, Morwenna, tutor to Elizabeth's son from a previous marriage, falls in love with Drake Carne, brother of Ross' wife Demelza, sparking a new enmity between the Poldarks and Warleggans.  And Ross has much on his mind already, including the fate of the unfortunate Dr Enys imprisoned in revolutionary France...

This, like the other Poldark novels I've read so far, is absolutely absorbing.  Reading Winston Graham's work is like being launched through time and space into rural Cornwall, but without the travel sickness and overcrowding by holiday-makers.

Having said that, there's always a risk with family saga novels that, as they progress, the number of characters becomes a bit overwhelming and you start needing a list in order to keep track.  I did begin to feel a bit like this when reading the first few books, but Graham seems to have recognised the potential problem and there was enough explanation of who's who to jog my memory without over doing it.  To be fair, there were 20 years between 'Warleggan' and 'The Black Moon', so original readers would have needed some help too!

'The Black Moon' had me on the edge of my seat.  I laughed at Demelza's encounter with French exiles at a dinner party, I sighed at Drake and Morwenna's falling in love, I cheered as Ross sought justice once more, I cried and I gasped at... well, I don't want to give all the details away.  Suffice it to say the fact I couldn't stop myself heading straight for the next book says a lot.  I'm just relieved that I don't have to wait as long as fans in the '70s!

The Rising Son

As you've probably worked out by now, I'm quite a slow (but determined!) reader.  So it tells you something about 'Not My Father's Son' by the actor Alan Cumming that I read it in less than three days.

'Not My Father's Son'
by Alan Cumming
(2015, Canongate)

Alan Cumming may be a star of stage and screen, but this is not your average celebrity memoir.  'Not My Father's Son' is a book about family, physical abuse and the need to understand.  Mr Cumming and his brother, Tom, grew up in fear of their violent father, their childhoods overshadowed by his explosive rages, their adulthoods hastened by a desire to get away as quickly as possible.  Eventually, Alan was able to accept the reality of his traumatic past, through therapy and the support of friends and loved ones, but one day his long-estranged father contacts his sons with news that threatens everything.  This is the story of a defining period in Mr Cumming's life, during which he not only confronts the horrors and mysteries of his own past, but coincidentally those of his maternal grandfather too.

This is a beautifully written book.  Instead of being melodramatic, self-indulgent or a 'misery memoir', it reads more like a subtle suspense-thriller as Mr Cumming searches for the truth behind his ancestor's death (with the help of the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' programme) in parallel with trying to understand his father's behaviour and its affect on his own character.  By moving between the past and the present, he drip feeds information and builds a tension that makes this a real page-turner.  

The key theme is understanding.  It's not about vengeance, it's not about pity or 'poor me', it's not about abuse voyeurism, although it could so easily have become so in the hands of another writer.  I admire Mr Cumming for managing to stay focussed on the story he wanted to tell rather than slipping into sensationalism.  The plain English used keeps the book simple and factual and it works.  'Not My Father's Son' is heartbreaking, thought provoking, analytical and hopeful.  It also acknowledges that there were good times too, although they were often overshadowed by the fear of abuse yet to come.

Overall, I would recommend this book.  Mr Cumming is brave to tell this story and to do it in this calm and honest way, especially as many fans would want a more glamorous tale littered with celebrity names and showbiz anecdotes.  Instead, Mr Cumming uses the voice his success has given him to talk about something that happens at all levels of society and show us all that victims shouldn't be ashamed.

Now, back to the books.

People's History

Lots of people think that history doesn't matter. But it really does, very much indeed.  None of us can be entirely sure where we're going, but we can be absolutely certain, whether we knew them or not, that we had parents, who also had parents, who also had parents, going back to the very dawn of time.  So something of each of us has lived through every era, as empires rose and fell, rulers lived and died and wars were won and lost.

I've just finished 'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me', the story of how a black, German woman came to terms with the shock discovery that she was descended from Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth. Although raised in an orphanage, Jennifer Teege did have some contact with her mother and grandmother as a child, but neither woman ever gave any hint as to Teege's dark family history.  It wasn't until she was in her late 30s, a happily married mother of two, that she found out by chance when she picked up an unknown book by her mother in Hamburg's central library. Suddenly she finds herself plunged into the shadow of one of World War II's most notorious psychopathic killers, the Butcher of Plaszow in Poland, slaughterer of thousands of Jews - and her grandfather.  As Teege struggles to comprehend what this means for her, her family and her many Jewish-Israeli friends, she summons the courage to face this family skeleton head on.  But is it possible to come to terms with such a chilling discovery?

This book is gripping, uplifting and thought-provoking from beginning to end.  Written from Mrs Teege's perspective, interspersed with supporting sections by journalist Nikola Sellmair, it explores how both a person and a people have had to deal with a past they would rather forget.  Some deny it, some ignore it, but I have great respect for Mrs Teege as she decided to tackle it head on and not give the past power over the present.

I think that this would make an excellent reading group book.  There is much to discuss and think about here.  It's not really a book about World War II, it's a book about family, national guilt and coming to terms with a shameful past.

I found it gripping from beginning to end and would thoroughly recommend it.

Now, what next...

Related Links

'My Nazi Grandfather, Amon Goeth, Would Have Shot Me' (BBC News Magazine, 03/10/2013)

Book Details

'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me' by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair.  Translated by Carolin Sommer.  Hodder & Stoughton, 2015. Originally published in Germany as 'Amon: Mein Grossvater hätte mich erschossen', 2013.

Hitting the Right Note

There's nothing worse for writer's block than staring at an empty page.  So I'm going to try and fill this one with a review of 'When I Met You' by Jemma Forte, which was sent to me by the lovely people at New Books Magazine.

'When I Met You' is the story of a turning point in the life of Marianne Baker.  She says she's happy, but the thirty-something still lives with her parents, has no love life to speak of and has been in the same job since leaving college.  Her one true joy is playing the violin, but that's just a hobby.  Rather than a building any sort of career, she works until she can afford to jet off to a far flung part of the globe, travelling until her cash runs out and she's forced back home to earn more.  Then one dark and stormy night during a sojourn home, her estranged father turns up without warning.  From that moment on, life for Marianne and her family is never going to be the same again.

The size of this book came as a bit of a surprised to me.  It's nearly 450 pages long in the paperback and blimey there's a lot going on!  At times it felt sprawling, with subplots shooting off in every direction and an extended cast of characters that was a little hard to keep track of at first.  It was as though the author had a whole bundle of ideas that had made her laugh, so she'd just shoehorned in as many as she could.  It shouldn't work, but to be honest I found I could forgive most of this book's eccentricities because they made me laugh too and, disparate as some of the ideas seemed, the author knitted them together well.  Sometimes it's just best to go with it and see what happens.

I liked Marianne and could identify with her eclectic family and friends, which made me want to spend time with them.  She could have annoyed me so easily - do I really want to hear about the self-inflicted directionlessness of someone pretty and talented? - but there was just enough humility and self doubt in there to make the reader root for Marianne without wanting to slap her.

Overall, this book asks you to suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow and I felt it was worth it.  It's silly and touching, made me laugh and made me cry, but generally left me feeling hopeful and positive.  Perhaps I'm just an irrepressible optimist.  Or maybe Ms Forte has just written a nice book about love, death and change.

Coming soon... Jon Ronson on public shaming in the internet age...

Sorry, Ma'am

I, like many people, have often looked at the Royal Family during state functions or PR opportunities, as they shake hands with complete strangers and do their best to be interested in what they have to say, and thought to myself "What are they really thinking?".  Finally, in 'Gin O'Clock' by the Queen of Twitter, we might find out.

'Gin O'Clock' by The Queen
(of Twitter) (Hodder, 2012)

Following in the ink blots of her illustrious ancestress Queen Victoria, HM Elizabeth II has decided to publish her memoirs.  But, being a modern queen in modern times, rather than writing them in a leather bound journal, she's made full use of the latest technology, tweeting her thoughts to her adoring subjects.  (At last we know what she keeps in her handbag - a smartphone complete with Twitter ap!).  'Gin O'Clock' is a collection of her messages from December 2011 until June 2012, a time of weddings, visits and - if this is to be believed - an awful lot of wild parties and fried breakfasts.

I bought this book last year because my reading was getting far too serious and I wanted something to cheer me up.  Like more than a million other people, I'd followed @Queen_UK and found the quips funny enough to want to read 'Gin O'Clock'.  After all, I've read several books based on blogs, some of which I've really enjoyed.

Unfortunately, I don't think the humour really translates.  In losing it's immediacy and context in the big news of the day, I think the satire has lost it's edge.  I found myself scrabbling around in my memory trying to recall what was going on at the time, which didn't help really.

Also, after a while some of the jokes also wore a bit thin.  Nick Clegg's colouring in, Prince Edward's campness and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall's interesting fancy dress choices also lost their sparkle after about 100 pages.  That's why it's taken me so long to read it (probably about eight months).  I found the best way to enjoy it was to put it down long enough to have forgotten the running jokes.

I also found the structure rather annoying.  Each part starts with a tweet, which is then covered in more detail.  Trouble is that a few lines in the tweet is often repeated as part of the prose, so something that was funny when first read becomes irritating very quickly.

'Gin O'Clock' does have its very funny moments and unlike some satire it's not really mean or cruel, more cheeky and upbeat.  Unfortunately there weren't quite enough for me.

So I guess we'll just have to keep wondering what is going on in the heads of our Royal Family.  Or at least hope that Her Majesty is as gracious and loving as she says she is and I don't end up writing my next post from the Tower...  It's been nice knowing you!

It's a Family Affair

I've just finished 'The House We Grew Up In' by Lisa Jewell, sent to me by publisher's Random House.  It's not a book I would've picked for myself, but it made a change reading something 'off list'.

'The House We Grew Up In' is the story of the Bird family; children Megan, Beth, Rory and Rhys, dad Colin and mum Lorelei.  At the epicentre of family life is the sinister eccentric Lorelei, determined that the fixtures of a perfect, rose-tinted childhood remain in place while stubbornly ignoring anything that threatens her idyll.  The pinnacle of the year is Easter Sunday in the Cotswold family home, a day of guests, egg hunts and roast lamb.  But one year the cracks give way and a shocking act rocks the family's image of itself.  As relationships are tested, is it too late for the Birds?

'The House We Grew Up In'
by Lisa Jewell
(Century, 2013)

The first thing that struck me about this book was how absorbing it was, a credit to the author Lisa Jewell.  She adeptly manages several different voices from several different times, drip feeding individual stories to keep the narrative pushing forward and the reader engaged.

Just as I felt I was on safe ground and that I had a grasp on the characters because I could relate to them, however, their behaviour started to take unexpected turns.  I suppose it makes sense in the context of the story, but everything did go a bit 'soap opera-y' and feel a bit out there.  But because of the understanding I'd gained of the characters in the first part of the book, I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt as I wanted to know what would happen to them.

Overall, I'm not sure that this is a book I'd recommend to many people as it's subject matter is actually quite dark.  It's not really a book to enjoy in the conventional sense.  I liked the writing enough to want to read more by the author, however, and intend to do so.  But I rather need read some more on the list first!