silverliningsandpages's reviews
388 reviews

B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils by Edward Carey

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils is a little gem of a book, and if you enjoyed Edward Carey’s award winning novel, Little, you’re bound to appreciate this.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and much of the world went into lockdown, the artist and author posted a sketch on Twitter.  Thinking - like many of us - that lockdown would be over after a few weeks, he committed to doing this daily.  It was his way of practicing self care in creatively channelling his deep worries and fears, and it became a powerful journal of social commentary.  From George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, to plague doctors to stags and swallows and Stone Henge, his subjects are diverse and pertinent.

My favourite illustration is a vibrant Anne Frank, but I also love how Charlotte Brontë and Medusa appear on the same page! Edward Carey is a sensitive, eccentric and compassionate writer who eloquently expresses introspective, pandemic thoughts that resonate with me, but ultimately delivers hope.

“Certainly I saw it.  A naked nose.  I was collecting groceries and the msn who was delivering them had an I’ll-fitting mask that kept slipping down.  Put that nose away.  I winced each time I saw it.  I told him I could see his nose and he apologised for nose-flashing and quickly put his nose away.  But soon the mask slipped and there it was again: a nose.  I mustn’t see your nose.  Noses are forbidden.  One day there will be noses outside again, but for now noses are private.  It troubled me to see this young man’s nose.  It disturbed me.  One day noses will be permissible again.  And then there will be mouths, too.  And chins, likewise shall be popular.” 

Thank you Gallic Books for the PR review copy of this charming book.

The Box of Delights by John Masefield

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Outlawed by Anna North

2.5

Cry, Mother Spain by Lydie Salvayre, Ben Faccini

funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

She Who Became the Sun, a reimagining of the establishment of the Ming dynasty, has been compared with Mulan and The Song of Achilles - it’s a strong debut.

China,1345

When bandits destroy a family’s home in a poverty stricken village, Zhu steals her dead brother’s identity to overcome a peasant girl’s traditional destiny of adversity and oblivion.

At 400+ pages and densely written, it was for me a considerable time investment but which, I’m pleased to report, was wholly worthwhile.  It’s evocative and atmospheric with a lot going on…warfare manoeuvres, political intrigue, a caste hierarchy, spiritualism, a quest for greatness and ominous ghostly figures (just the right amount of creepiness).  

The greatest strength of the writing is in the complex characters, some of whom seem callous until their back stories and motives are fully revealed.  Shelly Parker-Chan poignantly explores identity, and what it means to be ‘different’ and marginalised. In particular, she confidently delves into the feelings and experience surrounding gender identity and body dysmorphia: the sense of isolation which ‘otherness’ brings is very affecting.

4/5 🌟 A mix of LGBT literature, historical fiction and fantasy, this is the first in a trilogy, and I’m certainly curious to know how the story will unfold.

Ad-review copy: thank you for the proof Bookbreakuk and Panmacmillan 

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Magic Toyshop

Did Angela Carter’s writing impress me? Yes. Did I like it?  I’m not sure!

This is a dark, gothic fairy tale/coming of age story.  Fifteen year old Melanie’s life is passing her by, and yet she feels ready for all that the world has in store for her...Particularly men.  Filled with boredom and longing, one night her vivid imagination drives her to walk through the garden in her mother’s wedding dress, and the next morning she awakes to find that she is an orphan.  She and her siblings are uprooted from their refined middle class lifestyle to live in squalor with moody, violent Uncle Philip, who owns a toyshop.

The writing is rich with vivid, sensuous imagery and there are many layers to unpick.  It is also wickedly funny: I love the part where Melanie steals six of her brother’s Biggles books, and sells them in order to buy false eyelashes! 😆  It’s difficult to describe, but unfortunately the story became too twisty and sinister for me, and yet therein lies Carter’s skill in pushing boundaries and creating that discomfort.  I’m not a prude, and definitely don’t mind some bawdiness and irreverence, but couldn’t help finding aspects of the story a bit...well, repulsive. interestingly, I read a line in the foreword by Carmen Callil, that Angela Carter ‘was the great celebrator of the vulgarian as heroine, and raised her irreverent female creations high’.  I am still curious to try more of her work gradually, and her book of fairy tales is on my radar. 

3.5/5 🌟

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This Bookstagram favourite centres on a middle aged couple who leave comfort and refinement in the 1920s to set up a homestead in a remote part of Alaska.  Seeking a fresh start, they discover that the lonely Arctic wilds can be an unforgiving and harsh environment.  They are also still enveloped in sorrow for a baby they lost a decade earlier.  When a little girl inexplicably appears on their land one night, Jack and Mable are fascinated and delighted, but they are uncertain about what this ethereal child’s mysterious ways can mean for them.

I had no idea that it’s actually a retelling of a story from Old Peter’s Russian Tales, a battered copy of which I have from when my dad bought it for me at a church fair.  Always a lover of fairy tales, I’ve read that book many times, though not recently, so it was lovely to rediscover the original tale.  

Nor did I expect to be utterly transported and swept along by the beautiful, magically woven prose, the descriptions of the savage but wondrous wilderness, and the tenderness of the warm characters within these pages.

It truly is a box of delights, a bittersweet novel about navigating grief, overcoming loss, and finding comfort, love and joy in the most surprising of places.  Some aspects of the story touched raw nerves and took my breath away; from time to time Claire found herself privately sobbing behind her book (and she’s not a frequent book crier)! It is a quiet, yet fierce story, with unforgettable insights on longing and holding onto hope.  If you want a book with just the right balance of magic realism and silver linings, let me recommend this! 

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Do you ever reflect on your unlived life?  Do you wonder how things might have turned out if you’d made certain decisions differently? 🙋‍♀️

I’m late to the Life after Life party, but this is a fascinating historical fiction which reflects on the scenario of an infinite number of chances to save your life, and possibly even multiple opportunities to change the course of world history.  

The story begins with a baby born during in England in 1910 during a snowstorm.  She dies before she can take her first breath, but in an alternative story the same baby is born alive and has multiple chances to experience what life throws her way.

This fresh narrative structure is very skilfully written, and it’s a bold, imaginative story that digs deep into the joys and sorrows of life, and dances around the meaning of deja vu.  I found the evocation of the effects of the Spanish Flu and the Blitz on London particularly vivid.  The bewilderment and devastation are palpable. It’s also very strong on characterisation and developing the complicated family dynamics.  A book that stayed with me after reading as I contemplated how the descriptions of populism and prejudice in the last century continue to reverberate and unfortunately are not uncommon now.

Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books by Cathy Rentzenbrink

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Dear Reader: I’m very glad this special book found its way into my hands.  Yes, I thought it would be pleasant, although some reviews led me to expect it to be a bit twee.  However I actually found it very life affirming and comforting.

It’s more than a tour of much loved books and lists of what to read, and read again (though I wholeheartedly approve of many choices).  It’s a tribute to the transformative power of literature, and how for some people, reading gives structure and solace in a tumultuous world.  I was blown away to discover that some of the author’s personal experiences resembled my own, and her sadness in the face of tragedy and knocks in life was only too familiar. Furthermore, her words perfectly articulated some of my own reading habits that I’ve always struggled to explain to others:

“This is what I have always done.  When the bite of real life is too brutal, I retreat into made-up worlds and well-worn paths...Reading built me and always has the power to put me back together again.”

It’s a beautiful memoir about living, resilience, family and of course the joy of reading.  I do recommend it!

Thank you Panmacmillan for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion 

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

‼️My Dark Vanessa is well publicised on Bookstagram, and for good reason; it’s explosive! 🔥 (No spoilers)

Many will know that the story follows the grooming of fifteen year old Vanessa by her teacher, and the aftermath of accusations against him by another former pupil during the wave of the #metoo movement.  The novel examines the confused and conflicted feelings that adult Vanessa has...does she love him, did she have agency over her actions?

I made the mistake of reading some negative reviews.  I do enjoy healthy dissent but some of these reviews really frustrated me as they seemed to entirely miss the point of the book😖

🧨 Strane, the English teacher is very well drawn.  A charismatic, intellectual narcissist, he’s exceptionally clever and manipulative in how he grooms Vanessa. Always insidious, he drip feeds her with ideas and convincingly reframes all of their interactions. He is written so masterfully that on the one hand we can see why Vanessa is under his spell, but there are her blurred moments where the reader can perceive him for the monster he is.

🧨Vanessa is a complex character.  She stands out to Strane as prey, for her intelligence, unconventional beauty, loneliness, class differences at the prestigious boarding school.  She has been criticised by some reviewers for wanting to be with him, and I think there is a lack of understanding that she was vulnerable and a minor. He has utterly confused her perception and the experience has left her submissive to his influence and control, imbibing every aspect of her life.

🧨This novel is a potent study of how society ignores predators who are hiding in plain sight, how systems and processes often fail victims of abuse.  How in fact they can dehumanise victims and enable perpetuated abuse.  The message of the story is: Wake up! Don’t turn away!‼️

Thankfully I don’t have personal experience but do feel very strongly about the issues highlighted.  This book is *meant* to rattle your cage.  The content of the story makes it an horrific, heartbreaking read, but so powerful and compelling that I just couldn’t look away.