Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James

"Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a
nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written an adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf explores the fundamentals of truths, the limits of power, the excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all."

Defying the more Western belief in one definitive version of a story, this book is structured as an oral epic in which stories lead to more stories which lead to yet more, ultimately providing the reader with a conundrum of reliability: who tells the truth and whose story is being told? Marlon James chooses to leave that entirely up to the reader. There are many elusive layers of detail to sift through from the very beginning: a test of endurance, almost asking "do you really want to hear this story?"

And I found that my answers was...No, not really, thank you. 

This is a deeply disturbing book. 

First, my purely literary criticism. I don't mind having to sometimes work for a story. some of the best stories take patience to dissect deeper meanings. But what is really happening here is Marlon James hiding behind his fancy words and complicated sentences to distract the reader from the lack of substance and development. The rhetoric in this story is dense, convoluted, and bogged down with false promises of something worth reading. The prose is evasive and meandering, dragging the reader around and around in circles without an end in sight. The pacing is uneven and the whole experience one of crazy disorganisation. It reads like a dreamscape, full of portent and stark brutality. The writing is often staccato, list-like, with small, well-crafted sentences that are a perfect foil for Marlon James’ ability, showcasing his striking imagery and unusual connections. Well, I would like to think that this was a stylistic choice of James's to create a feeling of unreliability or a drug induced haze and the book wasn't just an disorganized mess. Yes, it’s beautiful at times, but, for me at least, emotionless.

Now onto the really disturbing part. The amount of lewdness in the book is obscene. I'm not easily deterred by things sexual in nature, even perverse stuff as sex and the way we use it can give us a huge amount of insight into the human psyche. Bring it on. But this is too extreme for me. A big neon flashing trigger warning is necessary for the following: rape, gang rape, paedophilia, bestiality, incest, mutilation of bodies, graphic murder, physical and emotional abuse, repetitious orgies, torture, constant misogyny in all the characters, etc. and none of it has any relevance to the plot or progression of the storyline. I understand that mythology doesn't shy away from such brutality, but there is a difference between being aware and having these events happen for a reason and just being down right offensive for shock value. This book is the latter. 

Characters have limited realism, some act as symbols, some merely a means of upping the violence levels still further. When read all at once, it’s an endless and eventually numbing litany of misery and horror that loses any meaning. Such a lack of humanity ensures there is nothing redeemable or relatable about this book. Had this been a story about a tracker and a shapeshifter finding love while in search of a missing boy, deeply rooted in African mythology and cultural folklore fantasy, I would have loved this to bits. The concept is phenomenally creative. but this book is nothing that it claims to be. Instead is showcases toxic relationship after another, a disturbingly misogynistic and awful main character (that I really hope doesn't mirror the author's own feelings towards women)  that has zero character growth and reduces queer men's relationships to nigh-  on bestial sex. 

I wouldn't recommend it but it was certainly an experience that brought something new. 

Age Rating 18+. Please believe me on this one. I am not being overly sensitive, just trust me.

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

"Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he
discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life."

The Starless Sea is a love letter to literature, story telling as a whole and  to those of us dogged with the invisible burden of unbelonging that sends us out into the pages in search of solace. The writing is truly stunning. Morgenstern's prose is fluid, memorable and painfully beautiful. It kind of reminds me of Laini Taylor's newer works. The overall aesthetic is just spot on too, I wanted to climb into the book multiple times just from the sheer beautifulness of everything being described. 

The Starless Sea starts with a fascinating inciting incident. This guy named Zachary finds an old book at his library that tells his story. On a quest to discover why this book tells his story, Zachary soon finds himself in this magical library/world with some magical people. 

However, what follows is a disappointing series of seemingly endless fish-out-of-water scenes as Zachary bumbles along, trying to make sense of this magical place. But even when things started to "come together" in the last 100 pages or so, I still had no idea what was going on. I constantly asked "but what is the point?" while reading this book and never, even at the end, got a satisfactory answer. Who are the Owls, who are the bees, why does the starless sea exist, why does it rise or sink? There was also no antagonist or central conflict. Again, I'm utterly confounded. Without an antagonist or a cohesive plot I am reading beautiful meaningless prose. 

But I am going to shock everyone now... I didn't mind being confused hugely. I think each person could read this book and come away with a hugely differing moral or take. Maybe the bees are God, maybe they are the first story tellers and stories make the world? Who knows? Maybe that was Morgenstern's point. Maybe this is a prolonged show of the mailability of stories and their meanings. If so she was very brave and I can see this being incredibly frustrating for many readers, myself occasionally included. 

However the one thing that did really grate on me was the irritating love story. I didn't buy Zachary and Dorian's relationship for a second. They kind of saved each other's lives once or twice, but never had any time to develop a deep connection. They spent an evening drinking wine and reading together, (and by "reading together" I mean reading different books in the same room together) but had no other significant interactions. They never flirted or talked to each other more than a few sentences. Then all of a sudden Dorian confesses to Zachery very dramatically.  Uh, what??!? At this point in the book, I wasn't even sure that Dorian was into men and liked Zachary, let alone was in love with him. It is hinted at that Zachary and Dorian are meant to be together because of some prophetic nonsense, but my god, what a cop out. Throw some scenes of them getting to know each other with some cute banter in this huge book so that I can believe they are in love.

Age Rating 14+ Nothing inappropriate.  

Dracul - JD Barker, Dacre Stoker

"The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by
the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's--and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.

It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here...

A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behaviour by Ellen--a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen--and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning."

A good, simple, fun summer read. Would probably be a better fun autumn read but oh well. It was atmospheric, traditionally gothic, simple to follow and didn't require any deep soul searching. Don't expect high literature or any especially chilling horror, though there where some genuinely good moments. It often read like a silly Halloween movie with way too many vampire tropes stuffed in with little work done to try and make them feel less silly.

A fun element, for me anyway, was the opportunity looking into this book offered to dig up some dirt on the real Bram. The one piece of intel that I found most amazing was that when Bram first submitted his manuscript, it was as a work of non-fiction. Because of tender sensibilities at the time about a relatively recent bout of wide scale mortality, it was thought better to present it as fiction. In doing that, the first 101 pages of Bram’s manuscript vanished like a sated bloodsucker on a foggy night. I am itching to get my hands on the Icelandic "Makt Myrkranna."

I most enjoyed the first part with the ominous Nanny which I found to be chilling, creepy, and scary. It was the second part which, in my opinion, was slow and a little too long for my liking. The eventual back story for said Nanny was also so disappointing and cliché. I mean please, melodramatic romance gone wrong. No, no, no thank you. I also struggled with the writing itself, which at times felt gimmicky, overwrought, and not particularly of its time. If this was supposed to be a prequel to Dracula, I would have expected a closer resemblance to the language used in Dracula. This is a minor quibble, tho.

Age Rating 15+. Some scary horror moments. 

Ariadne - Jennifer Saint

"As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos,
Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything.

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition?"

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I figured this would solely be a retelling of the Minotaur myth, but it actually follows Ariadne's entire life (the minotaur is only like the first 25%). I really enjoyed getting to know more about her outside of her father's kingdom. I found her relationship with Dionysus interesting and the alternate perspective of Theseus refreshing.

The writing is also lovely, not quite on the level of Madeline Miller or Pat Barker(an impossibly high standard, to be honest), but still has moments of beauty. 

However, I was disappointed. To put it plainly, there was so much potential from the get go, but the longer the story went on, the more it seemed like this was just a re-write of the original myth from Ariadne’s perspective. Not much differed from my finite knowledge of the myth to which this was based on. There was no new take, or fresh approach. The book merely changed the POV character.

The book's pacing also flagged in the middle. It was mainly just the author trying to come up with some sort of emotional conflict that didn’t need to happen, and would have been much more interesting to have the darker aspects of Dionysus shared and explored with Ariadne. Especially since classical art DEPICTS her participating in his rituals with the Maenads and Satyrs. So the characterization of her being the dutiful housewife and mother was dull and off-putting, which is something I never could have imagined for the wife of the god of wine, revelry, ritual madness, and religious ecstasy. It would have also been a wonderful way to explore that feminist aspect with Ariadne finding her own wildness and passion. 

I was hoping the ending would give me the satisfaction I was looking for, I mean you hear “feminist retelling” and you get a little excited. However, upon reaching the end I have to say that giving this novel that description could not be more misleading. The ending itself also felt anti-climactic and sudden. I had no idea how it was truly going to end and the ending that was given did not leave me feeling satisfied in the least and mostly left me wondering what even was the point of the novel other than “women suffered a lot in a highly misogynistic society" ..which I mean, duh. 

Age Rating 15+. A few more brutal moments. Childbirth, depression, suicide. 

A Thousand Ships - Natalie Hayes

"

This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have
waited long enough for their turn . . .

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war. 

A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told."

Elegantly written from the narration of Calliope, the goddess of epic poetry, through the book, the reader is given a unique perspective. As Calliope answers the pleas of a poet, she provides a compilation of the many women - goddesses, Greeks, and Trojans alike - whose lives were affected by the war. Although this book isn't told in chronological order, it is rather an anthology of stories, the narrative is quite cohesive and broad.

Natalie Haynes honours the women, raising their voices to provide a broader perspective on the war and it's aftermath. She flits from one woman to the next, introducing the perspective of five different women in the first fifty pages, with additional female characters to follow. Narrative perspective shifts from first to third-person. Some chapters follow a linear path while others fade in and out of the past and present. This leaping about, narratively and through time, gives the book a quality of being slightly patchwork and frenetic, disjointed. The systematic checking off of each woman's perspective minimizes character development, and while Haynes' writing is pretty it lacks the emotional depth or rawness that I think this book and it's subject matter really needed with the realities of women's lot in war being tiptoed around, further distancing the reader.

This is also a highly personal criticism but I really didn't enjoy Hayes's portrayal of the goddess, who seemed to lack any sense of gravitas or divinity. Rather reducing such powerful figures as Athena and Hera into 1 dimensional mean girl characters. Hardly in keeping with the "feminist" themes of the book. 

I would also say that it is rather harsh to say that women's voices have been ignored in the Trojan cycle. As if all those Athenian plays built around the figures and words of the women in these stories never existed: Euripides' The Trojan Women, Hecuba, Andromache; Aeschylus' Clytemnestra; Ovid's Heroides which rewrites epic from the points of view of women such as Penelope, Helen and Laodamia,

"He is learning that in any war, the victors may be destroyed as completely as the vanquished. They still have their lives, but they have given up everything else in order to keep them. They sacrifice what they do not realize they have until they have lost it. And so the man who can win the war can only rarely survive the peace." - One of my favourite quotes. 

Age Rating 16 +. Some references to rape but never explicit. 

The Wind - Up Bird Chronicles - Murakami Haruki

"In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his
wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.

Gripping, prophetic, suffused with comedy and menace, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a tour de force."

This is a thoroughly confusing book and very difficult to review as I feel a person's experience of this book will be highly subjective. It certainly is a book to be experienced and left a deep impression on me. The book is a lonely world full of half finished stories, abrupt departures, missed connections and deep silences. A highly atmospheric novel, which I feel is more the point of the book then the confusing and meandering plot. To immerse you in this world of confusion, existential dread and urban ennui. 

While Wind-Up Bird didn't employ traditional clichés, there is the constant introduction of psychic characters who simply "know" things because they were "supposed to know" became slightly trite. Also, while half the characters were functionally omniscient, the other half did things without knowing why, claiming they were compelled by some uncontrollable, unknowable urge or force that often leaves them empty or numb of all feeling (literally, this happens with half of the characters in the novel). This started to feel old and frustrating because of the lack of character motivation that leads to characterisation. 

Some people have also argued that this 600 page book is functionally meaningless. An author can get away with a lot if ultimately the theme or message of the novel is intact. Try as I might, I can't find a coherent message Murakami was trying to express through The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Murakami did include a character that thoughtfully reflects on war crimes in World War II, but this subplot was unfocused, and by the end of the novel this story within the story fizzles and suddenly ends without reaching a climax. 

However despite my rather harsh criticism, I actually enjoyed this novel. It danced on the edge of being surreal however I personally never felt that anything that had happen was completely unbelievable just really freaking weird. I think this book is a wonderful representation of the mental space that many mentally ill people can find themselves in. A strange mix of pain, common sense, confusion and loneliness. 

I would suggest if you do decide to give this book, just give up trying to understand it from the beginning. Nothing makes sense, and I think that is actually the whole point. It reminds me slightly of the existential surrealism of Camus or Kafka. 

Age Rating 17+ Sex, murder, war, cheating, rape, concentration camps, rather explicit torture scene. 

The Betrayals - Bridget Collins

 "If everything in your life was based on a lie

Would you risk it all to tell the truth?

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu’s highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before.

Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls…"

This is an extremely atmospheric novel, with the abstract concept of the grand jeu, a tragic death, a nefarious government party, and elusive characters all vying for interest. There is a mysterious feeling to everything and Collin's prose is deeply beautiful and highly readable. The books main focus seems to be on the characters, which I'm not quite sure was the best decision, as this leaves the multiple outside forces not fully explored, and the story was hindered because of it.

The 'grand game' is a complex mix of music and math, philosophy, religion, and life itself, understood by the reader only in the abstract. Unlike us, the students and teachers at Montverre feel the power of the game, working to create the most intricate or clever version in competition with each other. So central is this process of creation that the game becomes more important than any character in the novel.

But its inherent emptiness and incomprehensibility is alienating, and while that's a perfectly apt metaphor for the themes in the book, it's going to leave a lot of readers dissatisfied. There's so much mystery shovelled into this book that it seems to burns all, or at least much, of the emotion out. The Grand Jeu (no real explanation given), the Rat (evidence of a past mystery and a mystery in itself), the Party (some kind of fascist government who want something abstract from the game, the school, and apparently to persecute Christians.)All of these mysteries are left unexplored or only very lightly touched on. 

The romantic element was disappointingly resolved, a beautifully depicted and unconventional relationship developed in the first half of the book turned quite mundane by the end. I did like the mystery's conclusion and the small amount of bi representation that it afforded us. 

That being said, I just could not put this book down. Something about it sucked me in and kept me engaged. I think the writing has such a charming and enveloping nature to it, that I didn't want to stop reading it.

Definitely not as good as BCs debut novel, in my opinion, but still worth reading.

Age Rating 17+ Sex, abuse, suicide, mental illness, prejudice.