GONE LIKE A GOLDFISH by Anonymous

 5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

Blurb from Amazon

Alcoholic novelist Jim Hardwick-Callahan intends to kill himself at the end of one last sex-filled vacation to Japan with his ex-girlfriend, but a death in the family interrupts his plans. As the tragedies pile up and his life falls apart, his teenage twins begin to self-destruct. This anonymously written book is about loss and obsession. It is sad, vulgar, disturbing, and funny.

My Review

Excellent stuff, I loved it.

Jim Hardwick-Callahan deploys hedonism to mask his disappointment with himself, his guilt and pain, and because he really likes sex and drugs.  The temporary buzzes of alcohol, psychedelics, weed, recreational and kinky sex do a good job of masking the emptiness that calls out to him now and again. 

I stayed awake to finish it last night when I needed to sleep, because I was totally absorbed.  Then of course I lay awake thinking about it.  It's that sort of book.  This is a terrific writer, unusually so.  The book was produced in a very short time - this is mentioned in the author's note at the back, which you should definitely read - so I was surprised at how tight it was, such a great structure, spot-on dialogue and detailed labyrinths of inner thought that were sometimes so sad, other times droll, or breezy, or a mixture of all three.  The novel is perfectly paced, with never a wasted word.

Megan, with whom he is in love, is the main female character in that her actress name will appear second in the titles after that of Jim's when they make the film.  She's clever, creative and elusive, and has way too many issues for one person.  Just Jim's type.  

BTW, in case this marks your point of departure.  The Megan bits often contain lots of bad language and sex, some of it quite graphic.  Normally, I would choose not to read that, but I made an exception. It fits the book ... hard to explain.  If Jim had talked/thought/acted in a more delicate way it wouldn't have been Jim, it would have been a far less arresting character.  In other words, none of it is remotely gratuitous.  And it's often funny.

The book features scenes about Jim's father, Pete - I loved reading about him, and Jim's strange brother Cray.  Jim's twins Amanda and Todd are essentially sound kids but are both screwed up in the way only teenagers can be.  Enter ex-wife Pam.  Jim's relationship with her is subtly amusing.  Kind of tired.  The areas of friction are still there, but they've gone limp.  

Then there are the other women, comprising past, present and promising hook-ups.  

As Jim's world starts getting smaller, he becomes trapped in his own head...

Amongst all the grimly entertaining chaos are many threads of introspection, anger, loss and heartbreak laid bare.  A small amount of words that can illustrate the emotion so starkly; at one point I stopped reading in admiration.  'Boy can this guy write' moments were off the charts.  I expect I shall read it again before too long.

It's a snip at 77p, or free on Kindle Unlimited.

FOIL by Evan Klonsky #RBRT

 4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Human drama exploring many psychological issues of the current day.

At Penn Station, New York, a man called Sam sees what he believes to be a young man wearing a suicide vest, about to blow the place sky high.  Out of nowhere, Sam finds the courage to stop this from happening by wrestling the younger man, Xander, into submission, in a far more brutal fashion than was perhaps necessary.

The aftermath of these events forms the basis of the story, with stark illustration of how the actions of one can affect many.

The first thing that struck me about this book was how totally screwed up, self-absorbed and self-indulgent the characters are - I couldn't say I liked any of them.  Audrey came across as cold and selfish, Sam as rather sweet, childlike, almost, but alarmingly superficial, and poor Holly as an emotional mess, for good reason.  Maybe it's simply the world we live in these days.  This is not, incidentally, a criticism; the author portrayed all the characters so well, and I don't need to like a character to want to read about them.  I was particularly impressed by a minor player called Ainsley, who fancies himself as a Shaman - I loved the scene that comprised him, Sam and Sam's friend Gelb.  Excellent piece of writing.

The story is engaging and unusual, and I couldn't work out how it might develop.  Evan Klonsky is a jolly good writer, and this is a highly competent first novel in which he captures so well this current age.  I was a little disappointed by how the plot simmered down towards the end; I was expecting more 'events', but it's nothing if not realistic, and other readers may love the last ten per cent for this reason alone.

I'm sure this author has an interesting future ahead!

THE ENEMY'S WIFE by Deborah Swift @swiftstory

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I have read every single book by only one author, and it's Deborah Swift, so I was waiting for it!

In a Nutshell: WWII drama, set mostly in Shanghai.  Book 2 of a series but completely stand-alone.

******

Blurb from Amazon

1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone.

Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria.

As violence tightens its grip on the city, they seek shelter with Theo, Zofia’s American employer. But with every passing day, the horrors of war and Haru’s absence begin to reshape Zofia’s world – and her heart.

Can she still love someone who has become the enemy?

******

My Review

I was as gripped by this book as I expected to be after reading its prequel, Last Train to Freedom.  The Enemy's Wife is completely stand-alone, as I, with the memory of a goldfish, can confirm.

I was particularly impressed by the structure and pacing - so smooth, and such an indication of the author's talent.  Getting it right is an art, and Deborah Swift is a maestro.

One aspect I found most interesting was the psychological effects of the horror of war.  That sounds a tad simplistic, but in this book the horror is all too real.  So many aspects came to life - the hell that changes the minds of men, the pointless and brutal loss of life, the erasure of communities, the lack of concern for ordinary people, the hunger, the restrictions, the constant sting of fear.

Most interesting of all, to me, was the stark illustration of the effects of the Japanese war machine on its own soldiers.  The swiftness with which fear changes the mindset into obedience, in itself an intended result of the psyop.  It made me think of much that is going on in the world now, and the escalation that is imminently possible.

On a lighter note, my favourite character was Theo until near the end, when it became Wu.  Hero!

If this genre is your thing, I highly recommend this book and its prequel.  

THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET by Elizabeth Gauffreau

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Various book blogs, including Sally Cronin

In a Nutshell: Human drama and cultural changes, fiction based on fact, 1960s

I was attracted to this book because I just loved the title, which I find poetic and rather beautiful.

The story centres around Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, which did actually exist, as I read about in the author's notes in the back.  Hazel and her husband Paul run the farm in rural Vermont; here, they take in those who might otherwise have had nowhere else to go, aside from possibly a mental institution.  It has existed in several incarnations for some decades, but in 1968 it faces closure.

The book opens with the arrival of the Claire, who is clearly in the throes of a mental breakdown of sorts, which has been taking place for some time.  Hazel takes the uncommunicative mystery woman under her wing.

The first half of the book alternates between the points of view of Hazel and Claire, as we learned what happened to the latter to bring her to this point in her life.  Later, we travel back to 1927 to learn about the heartbreaking story of Hazel's childhood, and how she recovers from disaster after disaster, loss after loss.

The story is so well structured; the author provides background just at the right point, setting up the intrigue and allowing the different elements and timeframes to weave together perfectly.  I was so aware of the difference between Claire and Hazel's lives; Claire knew all about the changing culture of 1967 and 68, whereas in Sheldon Poor Farm life ticked by as it always had done, aside from when the residents were allowed to watch television and see some of the horrors taking place in the world, such as the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

Lovely book.  I definitely recommend.