The Princess's Direst

I bet you thought it was safe here.  I bet you thought that it would be easy to hide on a little book blog like this.  Well, I'm sorry folks.  You thought that only the cinema was dominated by Star Wars incarnations, but, like the many-tentacled Sarlacc, I'm afraid the popular space adventure's long, elasticated reach has made it into this little corner of the internet too.  I have finished reading 'The Princess Diarist' by the late Carrie Fisher.

'The Princess Diarist' is sub-titled 'A sort of memoir...' and that's a fairly accurate description.  Unlike her other autobiographical work, it's dedicated to her relationship with the character of Princess Leia, Fisher's on-set affair with Harrison Ford and the unexpected impact of the worldwide phenomenon that Star Wars became and continues to be.  The book's name comes from it's inspiration; a collection of journals that the 19-year-old Fisher wrote while filming the original Star Wars film in 1976.  'The Princess Diarist' is Fisher's reflection on her most famous role, how actor and character became almost indistinguishable in the popular imagination and the highs and lows that come with having such a huge hit so early in your career.

Only the Lonely

Now, I know that I should be focussed and just read books that I already have, but sometimes Twitter gets so over-excited about something that I have to find out more.  A great example of this is 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', Gail Honeyman's debut novel.  Twitter, you were right!

'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'
by Gail Honeyman
(HarperCollins Publishers. 2017)

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine.  Since university, she's lived in the same flat, worked in the same job and kept the same regular routine, encompassing the crossword every lunchtime and the vodka each weekend.  As far as she sees it, Eleanor has everything she could practically need and there is no point in acquiring more than that.  The workings of her clockwork existence are interrupted however when Eleanor and a colleague, Raymond, help a pensioner who has collapsed in the street.  The rhythm of her life has changed, but can she change it back again?  And does she really want to?

I really wasn't sure about this book when I started reading it.  We've all gone through periods of loneliness - as awkward teenagers, after disappointing relationships or when starting out in a new city or town - so it felt awkward and almost intrusive to be sticking my nose into Eleanor's space.  As the story progressed and I got to know more about how trapped she actually was, however, I felt I couldn't leave her to her own, unwittingly self-destructive devices.  I'm so glad I stuck with 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'.

I think this a brilliant piece of work and I still can't quite believe that it's Gail Honeyman's first novel.  I really can't wait to see what she does next.  'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' is a story of the corners we can think ourselves into, and how even little things can make all the difference.  It's heartbreaking, compassionate, touching and hopeful.  I can't recommend it enough.  Go read it.  Go read it now!

Now, what next...

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.

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...