3 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE
Ardent Justice is a novel that brings to light the corruption in the financial world of the City. After a brutal rape by a rich financier, tax inspector Ade
becomes involved with Paul, an activist who works with homeless
people. Together they become modern day Robin Hoods, determined to
expose the fraud within the City and help the poor, fighting the power
of money and influence of back-hander paid officials. The novel is
billed as a character-led feminist thriller.
I
found the explanation of how fraud works within the city fascinating,
and certainly confirmed much that I suspected; alas, this is how
business has been done for hundreds of years, after all, the only
difference being that today it is on a much larger scale and has more
devastating and widespread consequences. There is no doubt that the
book brings to light societal problems that will be an eye-opener for
some, but I'm afraid that, for me, it didn't work as a novel. The
characters were one-dimensional; Ade came over as bitter towards the
world rather than feminist, though aside from this she was never more
than words on a page for me; I didn't believe the characters as, on the whole, the portrayal of emotion was not convincing, dialogue was unrealistic, and I found the narrative disjointed.
The proceeds of the book will go to Shelter, the charity for the homeless, so I am sorry not to be able to be more postive.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Drama, homelessness
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
The novel is set mostly around Atlanta, Georgia in the US. Frank is a Vietnam vet whose life has crashed and burned, leaving him a vagrant trying to scratch out an existence as best he can. Chloe is a small town, naïve mother of two who has allowed her path through life to be determined by others. When husband Duane deserts her, everything gradually falls apart and she ends up in a shelter for homeless women.
Marsha Cornelius has clearly put a great deal of research into this story. I recently watched the 1960s BBC (UK) drama-documentary `Cathy Come Home', which shows how easily families in the UK in the 1960s could descend from keeping their heads above water into homelessness; this book had the same effect on me. It's shocking, but so real, and really made me think about how so many people are just a couple of salary cheques away from the street! The details of both Chloe and Frank's struggles are very well illustrated, as is their climb back to something approaching normality - though indeed, what they consider `normal' is not the conventional lifestyle some would expect.
The message of this book is definitely one of love and relationships mattering more than anything else, and about it being the simple things in life that can bring the most happiness. The romantic aspect of the story was perfectly portrayed too, I thought; not schmaltzy, or overtly sexy for the sake of it but just touching and true to life.
It's a story about love and hope, the goodwill of friends, and the discovery of inner strength. Recommended.
