My Sweet Orange Tree by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos

Title: My Sweet Orange Tree by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos

Published by Pushkin Press (with new English translation - Jan 2018)

Genre: Older Children, Autobiographical Fiction, Literature-in-Translation

Source: Publisher provided physical reading copy

Rating:

Disclaimer: A hardback reading copy was supplied by the publisher for an honest review. A special thanks goes to Mollie at Pushkin Press for this gorgeous book.

Description:

Meet Zeze - Brazil’s nautiest and most loveable boy, his talent for mischief matched only by his great kindness. when he grows up he wants to be a ‘poet with a bow-tie’ but for now he entertains himself playing pranks on the resisidents of his family’s poor Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood and inventing friends to play with.  That is, until he meets a real friend, and his life begins to change.

My Thoughts:

Magical, sweet, enchanting and heartbreakingly sad...Zeze will stay with me for some time.

I wanted this reading experience to just go on and on, but alas it sadly did not. However, this endearing tale will stay in my memory for a very long time. Little Zeze narrates with innocence and an endearing childlike perspective about life living in the poorest of conditions in Rio De Jenero during the 1930’s. He is a bright, intelligent, intensely thoughtful, devilishly mischievous five year old who often finds himself in trouble for playing pranks on the villagers. Zeze is beaten as punishment for his ‘naughtiness’ so severely at times that my eyes welled-up, and my heart broke reading about the cruelty and physical abuse this little boy suffered at the hands of his frustrated parents and siblings.

Caring and nurturing come from unexpected sources; firstly in the form of ‘Pinkie’ the titular ‘sweet orange tree’ that Zeze sits under and talks to about his day; and from a friendship struck with one of the villagers.  It is as a result of this relationship that Zeze comes to believe that he isn’t what the the villagers and family say he is, but that he is just a little boy in search of attention and affection.

With distressing scenes as well as tender and funny moments, a book that can move this reader to laugh, cry and laugh again is a very rare thing. So despite the tears this was ultimately, a uniquely uplifting story for me, and one I’ll certainly be reading again.

Originally published in 1968, intended as an older children’s book, I think that possibly due to its autobiographical content it will have poignancy, and appeal to adult readers too. Thanks to one of my favourite Brit-based publishers for translated literature, ‘My Sweet Orange Tree’ is available once again in English with a new translation and is wholeheartedly recommended  as a ‘must read’.  I’m sure it will become a favourite with many readers just as it did for me...I simply adored it.

Rabbit : A Memoir by Patricia Williams

Rabbit: A Memoir by Patricia Williams

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK (Ebury Press)

Pages: 240

Source: Digital Review Copy

Rating:

Synopsis:
That’s how things go in the ‘hood: It’s a never ending cycle of trouble, and once it grabs you, it won’t let go.
Patricia started life on the lowest rung of society: poor, black, and female. With an alcoholic for a mother and four siblings, she was raised on a steady diet of welfare, food stamps and cigarette smoke. By the age of 15 she had two children, and by the age of 16 she was dealing drugs to support her young family. Growing up in a family that had been stuck in the ghetto for generations, it seemed impossible Patricia would ever escape.
But when she was shot be a rival drug dealer in front her own children, Patricia made the life-changing decision to turn it all around. With a combination of grit, stubbornness, anger and love – and the kindness of others – she fought to break the cycle of poverty for the next generation. Now a stand-up comedian performing as Ms. Pat, she lives the maxim that the best healing comes through humour.

My Thoughts:
This brutally honest memoir begins with the five-year-old Rabbit living at her grandfather's home from which he runs an illegal liquor house.  Rabbit regularly has to navigate her way through a living room floor full of drunken bodies, but life with her grandfather, as Ms Pat reminisces, 'were the best times'. Then 'Miss Betty' demands a drink during grandfather's favourite television show and he shoots her for the interruption. Life changes 'for the worse' after he is jailed for the shooting.

Mildred, an alcoholic with a frightening, explosive temper, is incapable of looking after Rabbit and her four siblings. Rabbit's childhood is filled with hunger, alcohol, drugs, abuse on every level, and instead of protecting her, or showing any affection her mother would, as Rabbit tells us “...get drunk off her gin, whoop me with an extension cord, call me ugly, and tell me to take my ass to bed.”

By the time Rabbit is 15 years old, she's already a mother of two.  At 17 she's is a damned good hustler (drug dealer) providing extremely well for her family and her children's father Derrick, and been shot twice. Life is good again, but since the latest shooting Rabbit realises that she wants a safer life for her kids.

As much as I don't condone Ms Pat's early career choices her memoir demonstrates the struggles of everyday life in 'the hood', and of the attraction to make a choice which results in either being able to eat and keep a roof over your head, or not. With what seems no alternative Rabbit takes the only solution, to her problems, handed to her at the time.

Ms Pat's ability to turn the most awful moments in her life into a comedy sketch show is mind blowing and I can't remember the times I laughed out loud.
One particular scene I found uncomfortably funny was when a naive Rabbit (yep, Rabbit the 17 year old mother of two, crack dealing entrepreneur, still is unbelievably naive in so many ways) purchases an outfit for her mother to be buried in.  It's only when Dre whispers to her and says "why Mama wearing these ho clothes? She look like she on her way to sell pussy in hell.”, does she realise her faux pas.

As difficult as it was reading about a young child living in poverty, suffering cruelty, hunger, neglect and abuse, Ms Pat's retrospective humour pulled me through resulting in a captivating read that I couldn't leave for any length of time. So candidly written with dignity, and spades of humour, that not one moment did I feel sorry for Ms Pat, however I was horrified and appalled at the awful treatment and cruelty Rabbit and her siblings endured.

Rabbit isn't a 'pity party' memoir, with a handful of caring adults, from Ms.Troup an 'Angel In Leather Boots' who made Rabbit promise to dream, to numerous others who appear like Guardian Angels just at the right moment to help show her the way, it's a surprisingly uplifting read that sparkles with wit and optimism and is an inspiration for others wanting to turn their lives around and to those Guardian Angels feeling their help is completely unheeded.

A few memorable quotes:
I snorted with laughter on the bus at this one;
"Mama didn’t trust a doctor, so whenever something was wrong..., she liked to do the diagnosing herself ... Over the years she’d told me I had infantigo, trench mouth, chicken pox, sour stomach, a case of the nerves, and fleas. No matter what the ailment, the remedy was always “rub some Vicks on it.”

A 'bitter sweet' or rather 'sweet bitter' quote about being able to depend on someone when all else is failing is this one, "At least we have Bill Cosby.”

And, this poignant statement;
"I don’t know what made Mama act so crazy, or how love and anger got so mixed up in her head. All I know is by the time I met Derrick, when I was twelve years old, everything I knew about relationships was what I’d learned from her."

Highly recommended.

Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Publisher: Penguin-Michael Joseph (12th January 2017)

Source: Publisher via NetGalley




Rating:

Description:
NEW NAME . NEW FAMILY. SHINY. NEW. ME.

Annie's mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind.As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter...Translated into over 20 languages, Good Me, Bad Me is a tour de force. In its narrator, Milly Barnes, we have a voice to be reckoned with, and in its author, Ali Land, an extraordinary new talent.Good Me Bad Me is for fans of quality psychological suspense and reading group fiction.


Disclaimer: I received a complementary digital copy from the publisher, Penguin-Michael Joseph, via NetGalley in exchange for a non biased review.


My Thoughts:
WOW...an intense and truly twisted tale...Ali Land's remarkable debut offering, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is an exceptional psychological thriller. Compelling and addictive from the outset, I felt irritated when my attention was demanded elsewhere and I had to put it down for any length of time.


Milly is a damaged, haunted fifteen year old and she has informed the police about her mother's latest killing of a young boy. The catalyst being that she knew this victim.
To await the trial she is placed in a safe environment only to suffer the hostility of the insecure daughter of the dysfunctional foster family.


Set in London, England, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is written in the first person narrative giving Milly's perspective of events. With an intense, fast paced plot-line, and devious, complex characters, it makes a hugely entertaining compulsive read. The tension and anguish of Milly's contradictory feelings she has for her mother are palpable and truly heartfelt. I routed totally for her during her torturous moments reliving her disturbing past. Milly loves, but is also terrified of, her mother. Most of all she's afraid of herself, and becoming just like her.


However, it's not without its flaws, being a touch (ok, very) over the top with scenarios involving the unlikely, aggressive court questioning of a minor who, for the past ten years, has been subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse, and been witness to several child murders.  I'm not convinced this would be allowed to happen in today's court proceedings. The accident scene was a little contrived and implausible too with regards to the suggested timeframes, etc, etc, in my opinion.

These two niggles aside, 'Good Me, Bad Me' is an explosive, pulse racing, tortuous thriller with a convincing portrayal and perceptive character study of the behaviour and thought processes of the daughter of a serial killer mum.  I really enjoyed it.

With a great plot and gripping storyline, it's perfect for fans of, 'The Girl on the Train', 'Gone Girl', and all the other psychological thrillers of the genre.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

The Widow by Fiona Barton
Genre: Crime Thriller, Mystery & Suspense, General Fiction, Adult

Publisher: Random House UK, Transworld Publishers/Bantam Press (Jan, 2016)
Source: Publisher/NetGalley
Pages: 320

Rating:

Synopsis:

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER. "The ultimate psychological thriller". (Lisa Gardner). We've all seen him: the man - the monster - staring from the front page of every newspaper, accused of a terrible crime. But what about her: the woman who grips his arm on the courtroom stairs - the wife who stands by him? Jean Taylor's life was blissfully ordinary. Nice house, nice husband. Glen was all she'd ever wanted: her Prince Charming. Until he became that man accused, that monster on the front page. Jean was married to a man everyone thought capable of unimaginable evil. But now Glen is dead and she's alone for the first time, free to tell her story on her own terms. Jean Taylor is going to tell us what she knows. Du Maurier's REBECCA meets WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and GONE GIRL in this intimate tale of a terrible crime. "My book of the year so far". (C. L. Taylor, author of THE LIE).

My Thoughts:
The Widow the debut offering from Fiona Barton is an 'easy-read' crime suspense thriller about the abduction of a little girl from her own front garden. Set in Hampshire, (United Kingdom) it also visits other locations such as Southampton, Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport during the course of the book. Originating from the Portsmouth area myself, I found it intriguing to read a novel set in and around places I know pretty well.

The sole narrative written in the first person is that of the widow, which sets her apart from the other characters giving her focus and a sense of alienation from everyone else.  The rest of the narratives are all in the third person and include that of, the detective, the reporter, the mother and the husband. They have their own space in the form of short individual chapters so there's no confusion of who's speaking or losing your place.

Told through these narratives in a shifting of time, back and forwards The Widow commences with the death of 'the husband' and during the course of the book the truth tantalisingly seeps out, but not without several nice twists and turns along the way. The tension held throughout and I didn't feel cheated by a 'meh' ending which I feared it might have, and even when the fate of the little girl is divulged I eagerly continued turning the pages as fast as I could to get the conclusion.

I am not sure if I was supposed to find any of the characters likeable or feel sympathetic toward them, but for me only 'the detective' had any real sense of humanity or likeable traits, but what I did do was find myself questioning the whole media and police detection processes and how the general public view victims and suspects and apportioning blame and guilt. The Widow certainly made me feel a little uncomfortable about certain areas of our lives, especially our relationships via social media.

I had only intended to do a quick skim of the pages for recommendation purposes at our bookstore but I couldn't stop reading it.  A pleasant surprise after hearing that it would be 'another', 'the next' 'The Girl on the Train' or 'Gone Girl', which it isn't. It's different apart from its simplicity of its narrative style. However it may well be the next 'The Girl on The Train' in terms of success, I have no doubt.

It is important to mention, due to the subject matter, that there are no graphic scenes of violence or abuse and safe for readers who are uncomfortable with such descriptions. The Widow is an entertaining thought provoking, compelling read which I highly recommended.

Disclaimer: A complementary copy of The Widow by Fiona Barton was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

RUBY by Cynthia Bond

Waterstones Link

Ruby by Cynthia Bond

Published by: Two Roads - 7th May 2015

Pages: 368

Format: Digital

Source: Publisher via - bloggingforbooks

Waterstones Synopsis:

THE NEWEST OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB 2.0 SELECTION A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER The epic, unforgettable story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her, this beautiful and devastating debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.

Ephram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running through the piney woods of Liberty, their small East Texas town. Young Ruby Bell, "the kind of pretty it hurt to look at," has suffered beyond imagining, so as soon as she can, she flees suffocating Liberty for the bright pull of 1950s New York. Ruby quickly winds her way into the ripe center of the city-the darkened piano bars and hidden alleyways of the Village-all the while hoping for a glimpse of the red hair and green eyes of her mother. When a telegram from her cousin forces her to return home, thirty-year-old Ruby finds herself reliving the devastating violence of her girlhood. With the terrifying realization that she might not be strong enough to fight her way back out again, Ruby struggles to survive her memories of the town's dark past.

Meanwhile, Ephram must choose between loyalty to the sister who raised him and the chance for a life with the woman he has loved since he was a boy.

Full of life, exquisitely written, and suffused with the pastoral beauty of the rural South, Ruby is a transcendent novel of passion and courage. This wondrous page-turner rushes through the red dust and gossip of Main Street, to the pit fire where men swill bootleg outside Bloom's Juke, to Celia Jennings's kitchen, where a cake is being made, yolk by yolk, that Ephram will use to try to begin again with Ruby.

Utterly transfixing, with unforgettable characters, riveting suspense, and breathtaking, luminous prose, Ruby offers an unflinching portrait of man's dark acts and the promise of the redemptive power of love

My Thoughts.

'Ruby' has all the elements a Southern Gothic tale should have: It has dark, disturbing racial themes with a supernatural, fantastical edginess; It focuses on damaged, complex and flawed characters; There are a multitude of disturbing acts of violence, cruelty and rape committed by members of the town's community; And an all too willing blindness and indifference from the rest of the townsfolk towards the suffering victim. So why was I not enamoured as the majority of readers were with 'Ruby'?

'Ruby' is the debut offering of Cynthia Bond is set in an all-black hamlet called Liberty Township, in East Texas.  It is the first of a planned trilogy. I'm not sure at this juncture whether I'll read any more or not. I didn't feel connected enough to the characters, well maybe with the exception of Ephram Jennings an innocent sweet, bumbling character of a man who is besotted with the stunningly beautiful Ruby Bell.  However I couldn't bare to read anymore about Ruby's 'haints', or the spirits that burrowed inside her until she gave birth (or death, whatever it was) to them. It all just seemed so fantastically over the top, and took an age to move along with the story line.

I'm still wondering why I didn't enjoy it more. I didn't hate it I just felt indifferent. I found the dialect difficult to understand and felt that perhaps the author was trying too hard to impress and write a prize winning novel that she lost her true direction and concentrated too much on being overly descriptive.  I just know that I didn't connect with any of the characters nor care enough to want to continue reading about them.

Maybe it's just 'wrong timing' so maybe I'll try again sometime, so please do not let me dissuade you from reading 'Ruby' as I'm certainly in the minority with my views and it has received a staggering amount of rave reviews. Even 'Oprah' is championing this one. It just wasn't for me.  Book groups would definitely have some interesting discussions and debates over this one.

Disclosure: I received a complementary digital copy from 'Blogging For Books' for an honest, unbiased review.  I initially decided to stop reading at 40% but continued after a day's break. Unfortunately I didn't feel any better about it and DNF'd at 60%.