FARING TO FRANCE ON A SHOE by Val Poore @vallypee

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book: I got to know Val Poore on Twitter some years ago, and have read all her travel books; African Ways is my very favourite.  Links to Watery Ways and Harbour Ways on the above review.

In this memoir, Val and her partner Koos travel to France via their home of the Netherlands and Belgium, on their barge the Hennie-Ha - which really is shaped like a Dutch clog; see cover!

The beauty of this book is, I think, that it's so very real and unpretentious.  Nothing particularly breath-taking happens, but every time I picked it up I smiled at the way that Val Poore can even make a trip to the supermarket good to read about.  It's so genuine; there are no flowery descriptions for the sake of it, just Val's impressions.  And it's funny, too - not split-your-sides laughing, deliberately 'hilarious anecdotes' like some books of this type; her writing doesn't need that, because it hits the right spot so effortlessly.  Especially the nerve-wracking cycle ride to buy food:  juggernauts flying past, a flat tyre and the bed of stinging nettles....

As someone who believes that the simpler your life is, the happier you are, I sighed as I read about Val and Koos' memories of a happy evening that could not be captured in words or by camera, the liberation from the 'must do' stuff of the world left behind, and her appreciation of the occasional makeshift 'shower', after days and days of stand up strip washes.  The more I read, the more I liked it, until about half way through, when I wished I was IN it.

There are links to Val's photos of the trip on Flickr, which were great to look at.  A lovely book.

THE INFINITY POOL by Jessica Norrie

4.5 out of 5 stars

Dark contemporary drama/suspense

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

This was one of those surprise gems that I find now and again on Rosie's review team list.  An unusual and intelligently written holiday drama, the story takes place on an unnamed island where the locals fail to find accord with the owners, staff and guests of Serendipity, a New Age/bohemian/back to nature type retreat.  It centres round some jagged relationships: charismatic womaniser Adrian, village girl Maria who catches his eye, Serendipity regular Alice (wonderfully obsessive and creepy!).  Then there is the effervescent Ruby who finds love with a local, female detective Chris, who isn't quite sure what she's signed up for, and Bernard, the creative writing teacher who is frustrated and bitter about his own inability to produce any work of note.  Eventually the resentments and incompatibilities erupt, not only between incomers and locals but between the camp residents.

The book starts with a dramatic episode, then goes back to September 2010, which sees Adrian at his lecherous best, the camp successful, but the seeds of discontent among the villagers are already sown deep.  Fast forward to June 2011, and Serendipity is all but falling apart, with key people missing, guests unhappy, and finances falling short.

The subtle characterisation in this novel is excellent; there's a hint of mockery of the New Age claptrap in some of the guests' silliness, and I smiled at the smugness of those who considered themselves more 'in touch with their feelings' than some of the newcomers (especially those who had not yet experienced the wonder of Adrian).  The comparison between the simple lives of the villagers and the spoiled Northern Europeans who aim to slough off their weight of privilege by rather self-consciously going 'back to basics' is artfully portrayed.

At the dramatic end, some of the characters who were dubious about the place find that their lives have changed for the best after all, though perhaps not in the way that Serendipity intended.  

Alice is an excellent character; I spent much of the novel wishing that more was being done with her, and felt some of her potential went undiscovered by Ms Norrie, but her end scenes really worked and I decided that, in this case, less was more.  The high spot the whole novel, though, is the sections from the point of view of the character who has a head injury.  So good I read them twice.  I've been close to someone with a brain injury and worked with some sufferers, and this gives such an insight into how it (probably) really is for them.  He has quite an adventure; it's entertaining to read as well as being an eye-opener.

This is how to write a novel with a fair bit of domestic detail and without great swathes of thrills and spills, and still make it a real page turner! 

THE NEW MRS D by Heather Hill

3.5 out of 5 stars

Mature Chick Lit

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

Bernice is on her honeymoon in Greece; it's her second marriage, and she has two grown up daughters.  The problem is that her husband, David, loves her but doesn't fancy her - several days into the holiday they still haven't had sex - he's been getting his kicks from porn websites.  Oh, and he had a picture of four of her bikini clad friends in his wallet.  Not Bernice, just her friends...

Bernice decides she can't take it any more, and will spend the rest of the holiday alone.  She meets up with David's friend Chris, an artist who lives nearby, and makes several new friends.

This is a smart, well written, lighthearted-with-serious-undertones sort of book, and I enjoyed the Greek holiday atmosphere.  I thought the whole subject of Bernice's dilemma was most interesting; her relationship with her mother that led to the low self-esteem, that led to her making a first unwise marriage, then becoming a Facebook 'friend' of the woman for whom Husband #1 left her, and, finally, marrying a man who didn't want to sleep with her.  I think many women would be able to relate to Bernice's tendency to 'people please', which in itself had a detrimental effect on her self-esteem, but I thought the story might have been better suited to a slightly edgy, contemporary drama, rather than chick lit mode, with all its zany incidents -  I do sometimes wonder if anyone's ever written a chick lit heroine who isn't ludicrously accident prone!

I was pleased that the ending wasn't predictable (I liked it alot, it made me smile!), and I thought the message of the book, about learning to love and accept yourself, was sincerely and sympathetically executed.  The whole thing was a bit too 'whoo-hoo, you go girl, let's all be sassy real women' for me (and a bit too naked), but that's only personal taste; Bernice and her new friends were believable characters and I think this book will appeal to many women.  I can imagine it being an inspiration to others caught in the low self-esteem trap; haven't most of us been there at some point?