I can't believe just how busy I am this week. So far it doesn't feel as though I have stopped. Despite this I have still managed to get a wee bit of reading in. So far this week I've read a couple of excellent books. The Boat by Clara Salaman is a tense psychological thriller about the loss of innocence. Similar in style to the bestselling The Beach, and to films such as Dead Calm, the story follows romantic lovers Johnny and Clem as they confront evil and madness in the confined space of a sailing boat. The story works really well, with the contrasts between the idyllic scenes in Cornwall working very well against the immoral and dreadful truths they learn on the 'Little Utopia' This one isn't published until 30/01/14 and I will look forward to seeing how it does.
I've also read through my proof copy of Wake by Anna Hope. I found this to be a deeply moving piece of writing. The story follows three women, a sister, lover and mother of men killed or damaged by the 1914-18 war, during the five days running up to the first Remembrance Day in 1920. Running Parallel to the story of these women, and integral to their lives, is the story of the choice and journey home of the Unknown Warrior from his unknown 'grave' in France/Belgium to his final resting place in Westminster Abbey. All of the stories intermingle to form a whole which is compelling, tragic and exceptionally well written. Again I'm afraid there is a bit of a wait until the publication of this beautiful book as it is not released until 16/01/14. The wait will be worth it though as this really does stand out among the current crop of First World War novels.
So now I've moved on to something quite different, The Gospel of Loki by old favourite Joanne Harris. I'm a sucker for a Norse legend so this is right up my street, but even despite my bias I can see that this could turn out to be something rather special.....
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