Red Room Book Reviews

GENRE - Children's fiction (9-11 years), adventure, fantasy.  FIRST PUBLISHED - 1961 PUBLISHED BY - Alfred A Knopf (Our version published in 2016 by Puffin Books) THEMES - Friendship. Magic. Adventure. Child neglect/abuse. Bereavement/parent loss. Isolation. Acceptance. Travel.  PLOT - At four years old, James lost his parents, who were eaten by a rhinoceros that escaped from London zoo. An orphan, he goes to live with his horrid aunts who keep James a prisoner in their house, making him do chore after chore. They do not allow him to go anywhere, not even to school. James is sad and lonely.  One day, after three years of living with his aunts, something magical happens and James is filled with hope. A giant peach begins to grow in the garden, and inside it live giant bugs, who are ready to escape with James, far away from his mean aunties. James begins a magical adventure of friendship, wonderous discoveries and dangers he must use bravery and creativity to champion....

GENRE - Coming of age, historical fiction, novella. FIRST PUBLISHED - 31/10/2024 PUBLISHED BY -  Jonathan Cape, London THEMES -  Coming of age, status, post-war Britain, social class, society, relationships, parents, romance, parties, youth, marriage, patriarchy, male vs female. PLOT -  The setting is post-war Bristol. It's winter time, and sisters, Moira and Evelyn go to a party at a dockside pub where they meet the equally sophisticated and irritating, Paul and Sinden. Sinden later invites them to Paul's mansion which he shares with his brother and sister. Evelyn is reluctant but agrees to go for Moira, who is eager to show off her design work and make an impression. The party ends in an unexpected way for the sisters and they leave a little differently to how they arrived. MY REFLECTIONS -  This is the kind of book that may feel as if nothing much is happening plot wise, however,  emotionally, psychologically, a lot is going on. Fans of Virginia Woolf's writi...

GENRE - Non fiction. Spirituality. Psychology. Self-help.  PUBLISHER - My version, Penguin Random House, 2018. First published by Penguin Books in 2016. First published by Dutton in 2005. BLURB - An international bestseller about reaching a high level of consciousness and living a more spiritual existence. Tolle discusses how we can overcome the fears of our egos in order to obtain true happiness for ourselves and society.  MY REFLECTIONS - I read this pretty quickly because I found it very interesting. Many of Tolle's words resonated deeply. At times it felt abstract, perhaps because I am not as spiritually advanced as Tolle . It has obviously resonated with many readers, as it is an international bestseller, and it was Oprah's Book Club pick of 2008.  A favourite quote - "You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are". You do not have to believe in god to appreciate this book, certainly not in a 'traditional' sense. If...

GENRE - Children's literature  PUBLISHER - Puffin, Penguin Random House, 1974 (my version 2016). First published 1970 by George Allen and Unwin.  THEMES - Animals, farmers, animals vs humans, nature, survival, food.  BLURB - Farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean, plot together to kill the fox who has been stealing from their farms - the fox is Fantastic Mr Fox. Mr Fox must outwit the farmers to save his own life and the lives of his family and animal friends. Who will win?  MY REFLECTIONS - A fun read. I read this with my seven year old son who gave it 9/10.  I enjoyed the creativity - the character names for instance, my favourites being Boggis, Bunce and Bean (I appreciate the satisfying alliteration). I also liked the song the children sing about him, and couldn't help singing it a la Wes Anderson. By the way, I did enjoy the film more than the book, although I did like the book.  Jack's favourite part of the story was Mr Fox having his tail shot off (a little...

Genre - Fantasy. Children's/young adult.  Published by - Bloomsbury  Purchased at - Asda Themes - Magic. Family. Friendship. School. Death. Good/evil. Right/wrong. Rules and rebellion. Secrets. Bullies. Plot - Harry lives with his cruel aunt, uncle and cousin, where his bedroom is the under stairs cupboard. On his 11th birthday he receives an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because, as he discovers, he is no ordinary boy. We follow Harry on his journey of magical adventures as he learns about himself, his family history and the secrets surrounding Hogwarts.  My reflections - I read this with my 7 year old, who gives it 9/10. I think a lot of it went over his head, but what he absorbed he enjoyed. I think he is a little too young for HP.  For me, it was overall an enjoyable read. I felt a little underwhelmed after the years of hype. I've seen the film, and, this is a rarity - I like it better. There are parts of the book that stand out...

Genre - Biography Due to be published - June 6th 2024 Reading Time - Approximately 9 hours, 30 minutes Arc received from The History Press May 2024 Blurb - A detailed biography regarding the events and occurrences of Charlotte Bronte's life which influenced the creation of Elizabeth's Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Bronte. The troubles and tragedies of Charlotte's life are told through factual accounts and letters of Charlotte herself and those she knew and met, including Elizabeth Gaskell herself.  My Reflections - The attention to detail in this work is admirable. Watson manages to provide a careful and painstaking record of facts in relation to Charlotte Bronte's relationships, her personal life and her time as a published author. In turn, the actualities, with shrewd observation, enable an impression of Charlotte's character to form.  Those who have not read Elizabeth Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Bronte will most likely wish to do so following on fro...

  GENRE  Literary fiction FIRST PUBLISHED May 2024 ARC RECEIVED FROM Oldcastle Books THEMES Life. Death. Parenthood. Family. Culture.  READING TIME Approximately 6 hours PLOT The book begins with an arranged marriage between Bedi and Sushma, who we follow into their future together and learn what has become of the hopes and dreams they had when they first met. The story goes further into the future, following the lives of their children, and their hopes and dreams. Their  thoughts and feelings about themselves and about life, echo those of their parent's and there are apparent ripples and repetitions of family history.  MY REFLECTIONS Oh this book. It is beautiful and I love it. I urge you to read it. I will do my best to express what an absolute masterpiece of a debut novel this is. This is a moving novel that conveys how beautiful, fragile and bittersweet life is, and about how our choices and actions influence our own lives and the lives of others. It is a se...

GENRE  Modernist fiction FIRST PUBLISHED  1925 PUBLISHED BY The Hogarth Press (1925) My copy, Vintage (2000) THEMES Disillusionment, society, high society, post war London, post traumatic stress, communication/lack of communication, inner thoughts vs action, being in love, parties, flowers, suicide READING TIME (audio, BBC Sounds) Approximately 7 hours (read just under half, listened to the rest) PURCHASED FROM The Works. Listened via BBC Sounds.  PLOT   Set over a day in  London, in the summer of 1923, Mrs Dalloway prepares for a party. A friend returns from India and Clarissa Dalloway reflects on the past. The novel follows the thoughts of several characters through the style of a stream of consciousness - their inner worlds are the plot. MY REFLECTIONS  The style of writing immediately had me gripped. It's so unique. It took some getting used to though. I could easily understand someone giving up on it. I first kept re-reading parts to make sure I'd...

GENRE: Contemporary fiction. Japanese literature.  FIRST PUBLISHED: Shogakukan Inc, 2010. My copy - Manilla Press, 2023. READING TIME: Approximately 3 hours, 45 minutes.  THEMES: Family. Books/reading. Bookshops. Love. Loss. Healing from heartbreak. Trauma. Relationships.  PURCHASED FROM:  Waterstones PLOT: Takako is a young, heartbroken woman who unwillingly goes to live with her uncle Satoru in a secondhand bookshop, Jimbocho, Tokyo. She comes to love the bookshop and reconnects with her uncle, whilst forming friendships with the locals, all of which lead her to healing, maturity, and a fresh start. MY REFLECTIONS:  The overall atmosphere of the book is one of heartwarming cosiness. Sadly I couldn't connect with Takako or the other characters. I found them all very bland and lacking in personality. Takako is in her twenties but seems more like a teenager, and due to this the story has coming of age vibes about it. Despite some of the heavy themes it's a light ...

GENRE: Psychological thriller. Novella. FIRST PUBLISHED:  2018 by Flammarion. My copy, 2021 by Scribner. THEMES:  Suicide. Adolescence. Holidaying. Family. Making friends. Lust. Society. Fitting in. Coming of age. Morality.  READING TIME:  Approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes. PURCHASED FROM:  Waterstones PLOT:  Leonard is seventeen and an outsider. Whilst holidaying with his family during a heatwave in France, Leonard witnesses another teenager, apparently committing suicide. He then decides to bury the body. The story follows Leonard's inner thoughts about the what he has done, what he hasn't done, and about how he sees himself and the'others' in a society he clearly struggles with.  MY REFLECTIONS: If the song 'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads was a book, this would be it. It is a short story about a boy who does not fit in and his awareness of this. It's fuelled with sexual tension, inner conflict and clever contrasts. The writing is intelligently d...

GENRE  Ghost story. Gothic fiction. Novella. FIRST PUBLISHED 1983, Hamish Hamilton. My copy, 1998, Vintage. THEMES Ghosts. Haunting. Graveyards. Houses. Weather. Death. Child loss. The past. Family tragedy. Fear. Food. READING TIME  Approx 4 hours 30 minutes PLOT Arthur Kipp, a young solicitor, is sent from London to the village of Crythin Gifford, to attend the funeral of the mysterious Mrs Drablow, and to attain relevant papers from her home at Eel Marsh House.There he encounters chilling supernatural experiences that will impact the rest of his life.  MY REFLECTIONS Although written in the 1980's, the style of writing echoes the classic Gothic, Victorian ghost story. I love to read some good old pathetic fallacy, and this novella is packed with it, setting and keeping up the foreboding, haunting tone and atmosphere consistently from beginning to end. It's the traditional, old fashioned ghost story that many of us know and love - haunted house, eerie location, paranorma...

GENRE: Comic. Comedy. FIRST PUBLISHED: 2022, Canongate Books THEMES: Literature. Authors. Writing. Readers. Books. Book lovers. Procrastination. Covid.  READING TIME: Approximately one hour, ten minutes. GIFTED   MY REFLECTIONS:  An illustrated book of comic sketches regarding the world of the bookish; aimed at readers, writers, publishers, editors, librarians and book lovers. If you love books then there is probably something in this one you can relate to, and smile about. This book was given to me by a librarian friend, and I used to be a librarian. We are both book lovers, and I still haven't written a novel, so, the perfect gift, to make me laugh at myself.  Being a true library nerd of the old school generation, I love the fake stamped ticket inside the cover, so much so that the mention of it stands here alone for emphasis. Tom Gauld 's illustrations make me think of the comic strips found in the newspapers of my youth, so I wasn't surprised to learn he is feat...

GENRE: Historical fiction FIRST PUBLISHED: 2019, Penguin Books THEMES: 1970's, rock and roll, rock stars, music, song writing, drugs, alcoholism, friendship, family, love, creativity, creative relationships, abortion, attraction, sex, choices, life direction. READING TIME: Approximately 7 hours PURCHASED FROM: Waterstones PLOT: The setting is the American 1970's rock and roll scene, and through an interview transcript style, follows the rising and coming together of singer and song writer, Daisy Jones, and the band, The Six. The story focuses on the personal lives of each band member and their individual accounts of what happened during their time working together, with particular focus on Daisy and Billy and the difficulties and demons they face that impacts on their working relationship and the rest of the characters.  MY REFLECTIONS: It's a good book, well written, and entertaining. It made me think of the interviews you see on TV - ageing band members reflecting on the...

GENRE - Modernist literature, tragedy, literary realism FIRST PUBLISHED - 1925 THEMES - Illusion vs reality, 1920's America, sociology of wealth, extravagance, the American dream, upper class, disillusioned love and marriage LISTENING TIME - 5 hours, 30 minutes SOURCE - BBC Sounds; read by Kyle Soller PLOT - In the summer of 1922, Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York to pursue his career in the bond business. He rents a house next door to the mysterious Jay Gatsby, who hosts lavish, extravagant and very popular parties at his mansion every weekend, which Nick is soon invited to. When Nick meets Gatsby, he discovers that his parties and lifestyle are all aimed at impressing and attracting Nick's cousin, Daisy, who he's been in love with since meeting her several years ago. Nick invites Daisy for tea at his house, and an affair begins between Nick and Daisy (Daisy is married to Tom, who is having his own affair with Myrtle, who is also married). I'...

GENRE - Poetry. Young adult. Horror. Fantasy. Illustrated.  FIRST PUBLISHED - 1997 PUBLISHED BY - Faber and Faber THEMES - Outcasts. Deformity. Human hybrids. Estranged love. Abnormality. Warped beings. Macabre infants.  READING TIME - 15 minutes PURCHASED FROM - HMV (many years ago) MY REFLECTIONS - This is a reread. I first read this collection of dark, twisted poems as a teenager. I was a huge Tim Burton fan at the time and I loved this bizarre little book as much as his films. I would say teenaged is the perfect age for these morbidly gruesome tales and their entertainingly ghastly illustrations, although at 40, I still greatly appreciate them. Eccentrically and darkly timeless, this book would still make a great little gift for coming of age misfits and those of us with peculiar minds and a love of the unearthly. These strange mini stories and their characters are literary evidence of the wonderfully weird and warped imagination of Tim Burton.

Genre  Mythology | Retelling | Young adult | Short book | Fantasy  First PUBLISHED  2021, Bloomsbury  Themes Greek mythology | Romance | Feminism | Trauma | Sexual abuse | Masculinity and femininity | Jealousy  Reading Time Approximately 2 hours, 40 minutes Purchased From Waterstones Plot  This is a feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Medusa, which seeks to humanise the famous mythological 'monster', by providing an empathetic account of how a beautiful young woman, was mistreated and abused by the gods, and transformed into the gorgon with snakes in her hair.  Medusa hides in a cave on a remote island, with her sisters, away from the rest of civilisation, coming to terms with her past, present and future, and her identity, when the handsome Perseus finds her, and changes everything.  My Reflections As the story is aimed at young adults, the writing is quite simplistic, although poetic at times, and it manages to skilfully and sensitively addr...

GENRE - Literary fiction.  FIRST PUBLISHED - 2022  PUBLISHED BY 4TH ESTATE THEMES - Relationships. Dysfunctional relationships. Mental health. Love. Romance. Friendship. Sex. Alcoholism. Drugs.  READING TIME - Approximately 12 hours 30 minutes PURCHASED FROM - Waterstones PLOT - Set in the busy, bohemian city of New York, British Cleo meets American Frank (20 years older than Cleo) one night whilst leaving a party. It's an instant attraction and a whirlwind romance begins. They are  damaged people with dark sides and this affects their relationship. Many of the people and relationships around them are at least a little gloom-ridden or tinged with some form of negativity, such is life, for most of us have struggles - and this book is very much about that - life, relationships, and our responses to both.    MY REFLECTIONS -  This book has it all - it's devastating, it's funny, it's glamorous, it's sexy, it's elegant. It's deep, dark and meaningful - my f...

GENRE  Quick read. Thriller. Crime. Horror. Slasher. FIRST PUBLISHED  2013, Arrow Books  THEMES Woods. Friends. Survival. Murder. Sex trafficking. Crime. READING TIME One hour, 30 minutes (approx) BORROWED Cantley Library, Doncaster PLOT A group of friends are holidaying in a remote woodland area of Scotland. During a hiking tour they find a young woman, naked and terrified, unable to speak English. Half of the group want to help her, half don't. It's difficult to say more without spoilers. MY REFLECTIONS This is my first Kenrick read and the first thing that struck me was the fast pace of the writing - it's a quick read, and a thriller, so that's a positive. If you're looking for a horrific adrenaline ride that gets straight into the action and doesn't let up, you'll probably appreciate this. It made me think of a typical American slasher film, so much so that I kept imagining the dialogue between the friends in American accents, which they aren't.  The...

GENRE - GOTHIC FANTASY.  CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULTS FIRST  PUBLISHED - 2002 PUBLISHED BY - HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS  THEMES - HOME. FAMILY. SUPERNATURAL. CHILDHOOD. PARALLEL UNIVERSES. BUTTONS! READING TIME - APPROX 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES GIFTED PLOT -  Child protagonist, Corlaine has moved to a new home where she discovers a doorway to another world. At first, this other world seems wonderful; much better than her world back home, but Coraline soon finds herself fighting for herself, the souls of trapped children and her parents. She must outwit the 'other mother' to avoid buttons for eyes, and becoming stuck in a gruesome unreality.  MY REFLECTIONS - I have to mention the film first, because this book is very cinematic and because I watched the film when it was first released - I really enjoyed it. I always prefer to read a book before a film version, so that I can avoid what happened here - my own imagination fought for dominance over the movie imagery. There are dif...

GENRE - GOTHIC FANTASY FIRST PUBLISHED - JUNE 2022 PUBLISHED BY - TITAN BOOKS THEMES - FAMILY. BLINDNESS. ITALY. FRIENDSHIP. LOVE. COMING OF AGE. SUPERNATURAL. READING TIME - APPROX 9 HOURS 30 MINUTES PURCHASED FROM - WATERSTONES PLOT - The plot follows Luca Saracino, a teenager who is adjusting to becoming sightless, during his move to southern Italy with his family. His parents begin working on turning his deceased grandfather's old farmhouse into a hotel. Whilst they are occupied with their mission, Luca meets his new neighbour, Ada Guadalupi, and develops a close friendship with her. He discovers a troubled history between their families, and encounters 'the wanderer', whose hauntings, along with mysterious whispering winds, lead him deeper into dark and hidden truths.  MY REFLECTIONS -  Oliver K. Langmead calls this novel 'A sensory treat', which I completely agree with, since it left my senses exhilarated by the extraordinary experiences of the teen-aged and b...