Three stories, each set in a different timeframe and all focused on relationships that are to become fractured or are in some way already broken. The Three stories, each set in a different timeframe and all focused on relationships that are to become fractured or are in some way already broken. The other connecting element is that of Mongolian wild horses (also referred to as the Przewalski’s horse or takhis), these short and stocky animals providing a background narrative in each case. The relationships we observe include newly found - and forbidden - love, a parent and child who have become separated and are now fighting to find some kind of re-connection and a complex collective who are simply struggling to survive.
In 1884 a Russian zoologist and a German explorer undertake an expedition to Mongolia where they plan to search for wild horses in the hope of capturing some and bringing them back to St Petersburg, where the Russian plans to display them in his zoological garden. In 1992, a German biologist attempts to reintroduce the horses back into their native Mongolia, the species having been whittled down to just a few that can only now be found in captivity. And in 2064 a Norwegian woman struggles with the impacts of climate change – heat, drought and lack of food – whilst caring for the few animals she has, including perhaps the last remaining wild horses.
I found the story, or perhaps I should say the history, of these wild horses to be interesting enough to prompt a little research – enough to persuade me that something along the lines of the activity described in the stories set in the 1800s and 1900s actually did take place. But it’s definitely the people who take centre stage here with the story of the horses more of a linking theme, and as a result I found that I wasn’t persuaded to fully invest in the plight of these rare beasts. As for the people, I felt the emotions and recognised the obvious pain and grief but, a bit like the horses, I found it hard to fully engage with the characters I was introduced to. The three tales are, in essence, stand alone short stories - each was able to hold my interest but none really grabbed me. The mood is throughout one of hope and lingering fear for the fate of the horses but largely of angst and disappointment with regard to their own lives. Uplifting it isn’t.
This book is the third in a promised set of four books from this author, all set around climate related issues. It won the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize and has been translated into 40 languages. My thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for providing an e-copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review....more
A series of short stories – fifteen of them – most only a few pages long and one simply a single paragraph. In fact they’re not really even stories, mA series of short stories – fifteen of them – most only a few pages long and one simply a single paragraph. In fact they’re not really even stories, more moments in the lives of the featured characters. It seems that it’s mainly young women having fun: a night out, on holiday, drinking, taking drugs and having sex. But there are also other elements of life here such as a job interview and work too. So is this just a series of random snapshots taken from a jumble of lives? At first I thought this was exactly what it was, but then I noticed that some common names were cropping up and I took a second look.
Annie features quite a lot from the start and some of her friends are sprinkled throughout the pieces too: Stella, Claire and Janey. I leafed back through the pages again and began to piece it together and yes, it was making more sense to me now – there is a flow, a narrative running through the various segments. It��s like one of those old Viewmaster toys I had as a child that threw up images that titillated and sometimes scared me - I couldn’t fully comprehend what I was seeing but it was definitely interesting.
The writing is really strong throughout with the style and perspective constantly changing. As always with such books, some sections grabbed me more than others but (on second reading at least) I could see that each grew the overall picture. Is this a just a clever way of linking together a group of otherwise random vignettes or is it something bigger and better? I’m tempted to say it’s the latter, and I’m even thinking about commencing a third reading as I’m sure there are links and clues I’ve missed along the way which might further skew how I view this intriguing collection.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
A dictionary definition of racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on A dictionary definition of racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalised.
This book, is written by an academic and interdisciplinary artist who explores themes of race, gender and sexuality. It’s a mix of her own musings, as a person of mixed race who was brought up and has subsequently lived and worked in England, and a fictionalised story about a woman who is victimised by a racist predator. In fact there is also a third element here: the assailants ‘manifesto’, his plan and his rationale which is revealed in sections between each chapter. Elizabeth Chakrabarty explains that though the story itself is pure fiction, all of the acts visited upon the victim are drawn from her own personal experiences.
Tesya lives in London and has been pursuing an academic career at a number of universities – she’s about to start a new job at her third establishment – but each time thus far she’s run into problems. Perhaps this time it’ll be different. And not only does she have a new job but a new lover too. The mysterious Holly has arrived in her life, a red haired mother of school-age children. Holly’s husband sadly died and this seems to be her first same-sex relationship. It’s a juggling act for Tesya, she doesn’t see Holly as much as she’d like but she’s also going to be struggling with the demands of bedding in the new job and balancing the desire to spend time with best friend Jazz and others she’s close to.
Holly is clearly something of an enigma, she appears fleetingly and is then absent for extended periods, difficult to contact and sometimes evasive. But at least Jazz provides constant support. But then problems at new university start to arise. Small things start happening, somewhat innocuous if reviewed individually but Tesya sees a pattern – she’s been here before. She complains to the powers that be but though she’s not exactly fobbed off it’s clear that others don’t see these acts in quite the same light. But Tesya is convinced: someone is carrying out a series of racially driven actions, possibly with the intent of driving her out of the university.
It’s at this point that I started to check my own reaction to what’s happening here. I live in a county with just about the least diverse population in the country: according to the most recent count my district is 98.4% white. So I simply haven’t come across a lot race related crime in my everyday life. To my eyes the acts against Tesya are indirect and somewhat petty and yet I can also see how they might suggest a targeted series of attacks, particularly to someone with a keen eye for such things.
As the story continued to play out I became interested in the mystery of who was targeting Tesya but more particularly in the conundrum of her relationship with Holly – this just felt ‘off’ in so many ways. But the inclusion of author’s notes, which cropped up from time to time, and particularly the ongoing manifesto updates kept drawing me back to the central theme here, that of the racial crimes that were being committed. I started to perceive, perhaps more accurately, just how it might feel to be someone from an ethnic minority group living in this country.
Probably my only feeling of unease here was introduced by the author when she talked about hearing some people say that the voice of a well known black female politician ‘grates’ on them. EC jumps on this and calls it out as misogynoir. Really, hatred of women and people of colour too? I found that a bit of a leap - I personally find that the voices of many politicians grate on me, regardless of their sex or colour.
Overall I found this to be an interesting mix of thought provoking opinions mixed with accounts of real life experiences and augmented with a pretty decent fictionalised story. In many ways it’s an unhappy tale, one of a life spent looking over your shoulder, fearing the next assault. I’ll need to assimilate my thoughts on this further as I continue to absorb the messages herein, but it’s definitely got me thinking.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for providing an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review....more
When Hakawati told his father he was gay the reaction was extreme. Well, this was mid 20th Century Damascus so the backlash was, perhaps, predictable.When Hakawati told his father he was gay the reaction was extreme. Well, this was mid 20th Century Damascus so the backlash was, perhaps, predictable. We learn that in time Hakawati escaped the country of his birth with his lover and they eventually found their way to Canada. We catch up with them when they are in their eighties and are preparing for the end of their lives. There are, essentially, three characters here: Hakawati, his lover (who is gravely ill) and Death, who lingers in the shadows. We are to learn much more of what happened in the intervening years as this story plays out.
The prose is beautiful but the messages are, for the most part, dark ones. We hear of Hakawati’s deranged, knife wielding mother and of a beating meted out on him by his friends when they learned of his sexuality. The lovers split and then re-unite as they struggle to come to terms with their new life in this strange Western country. Hakawati’s tells stories to his lover and lives in dread of being left alone. It’s bleak stuff, occasionally off-set by more uplifting stories from the past.
There is undoubtedly a large slice of the author’s life and experiences in this book and it certainly shows him to be a gifted writer who can pack a punch. But, to me, the virtually unremitting darkness of this tale made it hard going and I struggled through large sections of it. It will, I’m sure, find an audience – it’s already won a literary prize following its publication in Canada – and I wish it well, but it isn’t a book that will linger long in the memory for me.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
I’m a bit of a crime fiction addict, but lately I’ve tended to stay clear of tales set in the UK as I find too many of them to be trite and overly focI’m a bit of a crime fiction addict, but lately I’ve tended to stay clear of tales set in the UK as I find too many of them to be trite and overly focused on procedure. I like the cops to be down at heel, somewhat tortured and gruff; I like the stories to be set in locations that fire my imagination and paint interesting pictures in my mind. Hardboiled/noir stories definitely suit my palate. This story, set in London, claimed to offer something reasonably well aligned to my tastes and so I decided to set aside my predisposition on the setting and give it a go.
We first meet trouble cop Calil Drake when he’s the first police officer to arrive at the scene of two deaths at a central London building site. It’s clear that this is no accident and the brutal way in which the pair appear to have been dispatched pricked my interest instantly. It quickly becomes clear that Drake is a cop whose career had seen better times. A while ago he’d been demoted after a botched undercover operation and this case, should he crack it, might just be his last chance at some sort of redemption. As investigations get underway we’re also introduced to Doctor Rayhana Crane, a psychologist with an equally dusty past. Drake is ordered to make use of Crane’s expertise but he’s sceptical she can be of any real help to him on this case and as he’s already fighting the clock this just feels like one more complication he really doesn’t need. Both Drake and Crane have experience (and unpleasant memories) of working with military services abroad and this has affected them both in different ways, but the impact of these past events are to be brought into sharp focus as this story plays out.
I found this to be a well conceived and original take on what could have been just another routine murder mystery. In Drake and Crane, the author has brought to life characters I found complex and well rounded and I’d be happy to meet up with them again. And there’s intelligence here in the way many significant issues impacting the city are brought to life. This is gritty crime fiction but it’s written in a way that engages current events, concerns and challenges to a significantly greater extent than most fiction in this genre.
My thanks to The Indigo Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Saba is an intelligent girl who is doing very well at school and dreams that one day she’ll qualify as a medical doctor. But when she is forced to leaSaba is an intelligent girl who is doing very well at school and dreams that one day she’ll qualify as a medical doctor. But when she is forced to leave trouble torn Eritrea she leaves behind not only her schooling but also the comfortable family home. Instead she is delivered across the border to a Sudanese refugee camp where her new home is a small hut and her bed is a hard floor. There’s no school here �� in fact, there's not much of anything here.
We view Saba from a several different perspectives and it's evident that she is a strong willed and driven girl. She also has a burning need to look after her brother, Hagos, who cannot read or write and is mute. Her mother, the only other family member in their group, shares a strained relationship with her daughter – she just can’t understand why Saba doesn’t have the same aspirations as other girls from her background. As we meet fellow refugees Saba interacts with we start to get a sense of the type of physical and mental challenges they all face in this new environment. It's a tough place to live and at this point they have no idea how long they will be forced to stay here.
The story unfolds in unusual style with a set piece opening scene at the culmination of which we’re transported back in time to discover how we got to this point. I think it works, though I wasn’t sure for a while. But this isn’t the end point of this tale, there is more to come. Can Saba rise above seemingly unsurmountable barriers to achieve her goals? And what of her mother and her beloved Hagos, what will become of them?
There is love, ambition and sacrifice here - it makes for uncomfortable reading in parts but it’s uplifting too. And the storytelling is sometimes raw, with unbridled scenes of sexual coupling and masturbation. Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea. But stick with it and it will deliver its reward. For me that was an insight into a world of which I was wholly ignorant. I’m not sure that this book entertained me but it certainly educated me.
My sincere thanks to The Indigo Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
It’s morning rush hour on LA’s Highway 110 and there’s a naked runner dashing between traffic, making his way to who knows where. As car radios feed uIt’s morning rush hour on LA’s Highway 110 and there’s a naked runner dashing between traffic, making his way to who knows where. As car radios feed updates to commuters and helicopter spotters fly overhead some, sat in their cars, see the runner. One even decides to abandon his car and give chase. In this way we are introduced to a number of people who are to feature later in the book. This is a story of Los Angeles people but it’s also a story of others – mainly poor, damaged people - who rove around the surrounding area, the desert and the beach.
In a complex non-linear narrative, events continually switch between 2006 and 2010. In addition, we follow a decent sized cast of characters, each with their own storyline playing out. The stories will eventually converge but in the meantime you certainly need your wits about you to stay on top of it all.
Some of the characters we meet include:
- Britt: a college tennis player who seems to be running from someone or something
- Blake and Sam: a drug dealer and a murderer travelling on foot across the desert
- James and Owen: twin brothers who live with their parents as part of a strange cult
- Tony: a lawyer who is disenchanted with his career and with life in general
- Ren: a young man recently released from an eight-year spell in juvenile lock-up
Everyone is unhappy, stressed and looking for something else. Guilty consciences abound.
The dialogue is excellent and as I became familiar with the various players I also became invested in their outcome – though some more than others. It’s a very atmospheric piece too and I’d have to say that the writing is first rate throughout.
If I have a quibble at all about the book it’s that it’s a complicated story told in a complicated way. Also, the final outcome does stretch the imagination in terms of the number of coincidences needed to allow it all to come together so neatly. But these are really relatively minor complaints as in reality I absolutely gobbled this book up in the course of a few days. Four and a half stars, rounded up to five. Ivy Pochada is certainly a talent and I’ll be seeking out more of her work.
My sincere thanks to Alex at The Indigo Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
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