Beautiful Little Fools

In 1925 F Scott Fizgerald published his novel, The Great Gatsby. In 2021 Jillian Cantor published her novel, Beautiful Little Fools, which is a retelling of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of the female characters Daisy, Jordan and Catherine.

In 1917 Daisy Fay first met a soldier, Jay Gatsby, and an attraction was immediately formed. Then Jay went to war and at home Daisy's life changed dramatically when her father and sister, Rose, died in a train accident. When she met the wealthy Tom Buchanan Daisy agreed to marry him and after a while their daughter, Pammy, was born. Daisy now lived in palatial houses in America and France and had all the money she required, however she soon learned that her husband, though sometimes loving, was not faithful to her.

Jordan lived near Daisy and they became good friends and confidants. Jordan loved playing golf at a time when it was difficult for women to be accepted on the golf course but she was determined that that should change. Jordan's life changed when it was discovered that she was in a relationship with one of the other players. 

Catherine was a suffragist and was involved with organisations working for the rights of women as well as the right of women to be able to vote. Catherine's sister, Myrtle, was unhappily married to George Wilson who was known to physically abuse her. Catherine had been in a relationship with Jay Gatsby and asked him to help her sister become independant from George. The result was that Myrtle ended up in a relationship with Daisy's husband, Tom.

Most of the action in the story takes place in 1922 when Jay Gatsby discovers where Daisy lives and purchases a property across the water from her. He is now rich and is known for the extravagant parties he holds in the evenings. He is determined to once again be involved with Daisy, but she is not interested in his advances. Gatsby trys to enlists Jordan to assist with his plans threatening to expose her secret if she doesn't. Catherine is also furious that Jay set up a situation where her sister became involved with Tom Buchanan.

Then in August 1922, Jay Gatsby was shot by his swimming pool. It was assumed that Myrtle's husband had killed Gatsby and then committed suicide - case closed. However a detective, Frank Charles, is not convinced when he discovers a diamond hairclip in the woods near where the muder took place. He has three suspects who he believes are covering for each other - Daisy, Jordan and catherine. Can he find the truth?

Love in the time of Bertie

I started reading books in the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith many years ago and it is always good to drop in and visit the residents at that address and catch up with what they and their friends have been up to. Love in the time of Bertie is the fifteenth book in the series.

The books are set in Edinburgh and most of the characters live in apartments at 44 Scotland Street or are friends of the residents. In each book we learn of the events and ideas that are currently concerning the residents and how they decide to deal with them. Although often the stories are a continuation of what has occurred in previous books this is a series that you can delve in and out of and still enjoy the experience. The author includes several story lines in each book, providing two or three short chapters on a story before moving onto another story. Each book therefore consists of a series of interwoven narratives.

In this book Domenica Macdonald and Angus Lordie go to dinner with Matthew and Elspeth, Angus re-evaluates his ideas about art and Domenica befriends a student from downstairs; Big Lou meets Fat Bob; Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori de Montagna and Antonia Collie plan to buy a new apartment; while Bruce Anderson is approached to become involved in a spurious business deal and is struck by lightning. 

Bertie's story becomes more complicated as Irene, his mother who moved to Aberdeen, has decided that Bertie needs to spend three months with her. Stuart, Bertie's father, and Nicola, his grandmother, are forced to comply with the demand and reluctantly send Bertie to his mother. To say that Bertie is  unhappy with this proposal would be an understatement. Bertie and his friend, Ranald Braveheart MacPherson, plan to find a solution.

Focusing on relationships, love and community spirit and written with humour and wry observation of human life, Alexander McCall Smith provides us with another enjoyable slice of life at 44 Scotland Street.

Everyone in my family has killed someone

The Cunningham family reunion at a ski resort proves to be far more eventful than anyone would have envisaged. Shortly after most family members arrived a body was found in the snow. And there was a storm rapidly closing in on the resort. All the ingredients for an Agatha Christie style crime novel but with several twists.

The narrator of the book, Enest (Ern) Cunningham stresses that he is a reliable narrator, one who would not normally lead the reader astray. However, he is has published books about writing crime fiction and is happy to point out similarities in the plot creation with other crime novels. The narrator bases his theories on Ronald Knox's '10 Commandments of Crime Fiction' and will from time to time identify which 'commandment' has just ben used.

As the story unfurls it soon becomes obvious that this is not a normal family and that members have been involved in the death of a number of individuals over the years. These stories are gradually revealed as the narrator investigates the murder of the body found in the resort grounds. Page 2 of the Prologue reveals the pages of the book where a death is revealed. Chapter 14.5 of the book also provides a brief summary of what has happened so far in case the reader is confused. There are many twists and turns in the plot as information is gradually revealed about the characters and their past lives. And, of course, the case must be solved.

The author, Benjamin Stevensen, of Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone is a comedian as well as an author so there is much humour scattered throughout the pages, especially in  the regular updates provided by the narrator. An entertaining read.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards - General Fiction

1979

1979 is the first book in a new series by Val McDermid featuring journalist, Allie Burns. Set in Glasgow, Allie has recently started working at the Daily Clarion and is trying to be accepted in this male dominated world. Allie is one of three female journalists at the paper and the only one working in the general news room. If she finds a lead to a good story it is passed on to one of her male colleagues and she is usually presented with a fluff piece to write instead.

Returning to Glasgow on the train after visiting her family she finds herself in the same carriage as fellow journalist, Danny Sullivan. As the train is stranded in a snow drift for some time, the two journalists have time to talk. Danny is also looking for a big scoop and is investigating a story involving major fraud that also has implications for his brother. Allie agrees to help him and the resulting story and court case help raise Allie's profile slightly in the office.

Meanwhile Allie has been attending meetings of fringe groups relating to the forthcoming Scottish Devolution Referendum and, when she discovers a possible terrorist threat, Danny becomes involved in the initial investigation before they take the story to the editor and to the police. Little do they realise the dangerous world they are entering.

 As an aside, in 1965 my father arranged for me to have an interview with a sub-editor of a major newspaper about working in newspapers. This gentleman made it quite clear that he was only talking to me because he respected my father's writing. He also assumed that, if I became a journalist, I would work on the womens pages of a newspaper. He was not impressed when I said that I would want to work on general news stories. Needless to say I made a different career choice.  

Anyway I look forward to the next to the next installment in this series as Allie strives to be accepted as a professional journalist.

My Life as an Alphabet

Miss Bamford set her students the assignment of writing about their life but each paragraph had to revolve around a letter of the alphabet - 26 letters therefore 26 paragraphs in alphabetical order. Twelve year old Candice became really involved in the project producing a chapter for each of the letters as she recounted the story of her complicated life.

Candice lives with her parents and also has an uncle living nearby. She has a pet fish - Earth-Pig Fish - a penpal in America and a new friend, Douglas Benson from Another Dimension. Candice is very bright and gets on well at school. She particularly likes her English teacher, Miss Bamford. However, because Candice looks at life differently from the other children in her class she had no real friends until meeting Douglas Benson. Douglas believes that he has come from another dimension where his real parents live and he is trying to find a way to return home.

Several years earlier, Candice's sister had died from cot death and her parents never recovered from the loss. Her mother has also had breast cancer and is depressed most of the time. Candice's father works with computers but would prefer to be a programmer, designing a program that everyone wants to use. He used to work with his brother but they are not talking to each other. Candice just wants eveyone to be happy and tries to create situations where family issues can be resolved.

There is much humour in the book but it is also a moving story. In each chapter the story weaves back and forth as we learn more about Candice and her family and her attempts to bring the family members happily together. 

In 2019 the film, H is for Happiness, based on the novel was released. My Life as an Alphabet was an Honour Book in the Children's Book Council awards in 2014. My grand-daughter is reading this book for school in year 7, hence Grandma is reading the book too.

The Paris Bookseller

A number of books have been written about bookshops  and American author, Kerri Maher, has recently added to the collection by writing The Paris Bookseller, the story of Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier who both operated bookshops in Paris. When Sylvia first went to Paris she regularly visited Adrienne's bookshop which not only sold books but also operated as a lending library. In 1919 Sylvia opened her own bookshop and library, with Adrienne's support, but Shakespeare and Company would only sell books wrirtten in English.

It was not long before the regular clientel to the bookshop included English speaking authors who had settled in Paris permanently or for a short time. These authors included, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, T S Eliot and James Joyce.

When James Joyce's novel, Ulysses, was banned in the USA Sylvia decided to publish the work in Paris and then distribute the book to anyone who wanted to read it. Little did she realise what a difficult undertaking this would be as James Joyce could not be classed as an easy person to work with. However several editions of the work were successfully published before conditions regarding censorship in America relaxed slightly and ten years later an American publisher took over the publication of the book.

The Paris Bookseller is also about the relationship between Sylvia and Adrienne as well as the relationship between Sylvia and members of her family. Censorshp is also a theme of the novel showing the contrasts between the USA and France on issues such as censorship and prohibition of alcohol. The novel covers the period up to 1936. There is a section at the end of the novel where the author discusses the writing of the book. 

Many books and films describe the world of the artists in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. The Paris Bookseller provides the reader with an entrance to the world of writers in this city in the early twentieth century.

NB Ernest Hemingway wrote an account of his time in paris in the 1920s in A moveable feast.

Give Unto Others

It is always a joy to read another book set in Venice by Donna Leon. Give Unto Others is number 31 in the Commissario Brunetti series and it doesn't disappoint. Donna Leon's books are as much about Venice and the characters portrayed in the books as  about any crime that may have been commited.

This book is set after the major COVID-19 wave in Venice, a city that relies heavily on tourism but has been devistated by the effects of months of restrictions and fear that have basically reduced the once thriving city to a shell of its former glory.

When Guido Brunetti arrives at work one day he discovers that he has a visitor - a former neighbour from when he was very young. Elisabetta tells Guido that she is concerned that her daughter may be in danger and can he quietly investigate without making it official police business. Guido is reluctant to become involved but he remembers that Elisabetta's mother had always been kind to his mother and feels obliged to at least do some preliminary research - a decision that he later comes to regret.

As he investigates the story that Elisabetta gave hime, Guido soon discovers a darker story that may involve fraud. However it is also obvious that obtaining proof may be impossible. Meanwhile he does discover Elisabetta's real motive for her visit revealing a complex web of relationships and revenge.