Dreaming of a getaway

Image sources from top to bottom... William Eggleston, meandmytee.tumblr.com, Slim Aarons photograph (I think?) from here, Vogue Australia November 2011 via The Fashion Spot, Fashion Me Now, Christine Centenera from here, Villa Vista Vedra Ibiza, one of my screencaps from The Talented Mr. Ripley, telltalegirl.tumblr.com, Fashion Me Now, Vanessa Jackman, found on Pinterest, purpleemoon.tumblr.com, Fashion Me Now again, Pinterest again, fashionwolf.tumblr.com, atryoshka.tumblr.com. Apologies for the fact that many of these are not proper sources, rest assured I DID use this on all of them but unfortunately various Tumblrs, Pinterest pins and Weheartit pages are all that come up for some.
The hot, sunny weather this past week has completely invaded my head, and all I can think of is summer holiday vibes. I've created a Pinterest moodboard dedicated to this theme and I can't stop looking at it and dreaming of getting away somewhere hot and exotic. The whole idea of wearing bikinis and shorts, drinking cocktails, swimming in the sea and being totally carefree seems desperately romantic right now. I wish I was getting out of the country this weekend! If only... Instead I'm going to have to make do with reading some trashy books, lounging around and planning my summer wardrobe.

PS: I've given the blog a bit of a makeover for summer - it's quite plain and simpler than the old layout, but I really like it!

Recent books: The good, the bad and the average

THE GOOD: Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn

The story: Gone Girl is a tense and fast-paced psychological thriller centred around a damaged, destructive marriage. It opens as Nick Dunne has just discovered his wife, Amy, has disappeared in strange circumstances on the couple's fifth wedding anniversary. As Nick looks back over the history of his relationship with Amy, the narrative switches between his perspective and Amy's diary entries, which paint a very different picture, particularly of recent events. It quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems - Nick, who is immediately the prime suspect, admits he is lying to the police; Amy's diary grows darker and darker. Has Nick murdered Amy? If she is still alive, then where is she? And does anybody know (or, indeed, tell) the truth about the pair's stormy, passionate relationship?

The verdict: It's quite difficult to discuss this book properly because there are so many unexpected twists. I deliberately avoided reading spoilers beforehand, and I'm very glad I didn't know what was going to happen - it made the whole experience so much more thrilling. Flynn plays with the reader's perceptions brilliantly, making you constantly switch sides, question the veracity of both Nick and Amy's accounts, and try to second-guess the characters. I loved and hated Amy (an utterly brilliant creation) in equal measure, and absolutely loathed and despised the misogynistic Nick - but no matter what awful things the protagonists did, I was always fascinated by their actions, and desperate to know what would happen next. In places, I could barely stand the tension and had to restrain myself from skipping to later parts of the book to see what would happen - but the restraint was worth it, because the ending is fantastic. It's been a while since I read a book I liked this much that was also so entertaining and readable. Gone Girl is an easy read, and you don't need to be concentrating on every tiny detail to understand what happens, but it's still very well-written and ingeniously put together. It's a superior example of the mystery/thriller genre and the word 'compelling' doesn't do it justice. As long as you don't mind reading about deceitful, tricky characters who you will dislike at least some of the time - or the awful title (Amy is in her late thirties so patently not a girl!) - this is a highly recommended read.

Rating: 8/10


THE BAD: Empress of Rome (2012) by Kate Quinn

The story: This is a semi-sequel to Kate Quinn's debut novel, Mistress of Rome, with the main characters being the children of the first book's protagonists. Having grown up in Britannia, Vix (son of Thea and Arius) returns to Rome at the age of nineteen, where he becomes entangled with Sabina (daughter of Lepida). This sets the scene for an epic tale which has these two characters at its heart, and also prominently features scheming empress Plotina and soft-hearted tribune Titus.

The verdict: Let me explain why I'm categorising this as 'bad'... I didn't think it was awful, but I have really enjoyed Quinn's previous books set in ancient Rome - which perhaps contributed to a certain level of anticipation/expectation for this one - and this was a letdown in comparison. It simply didn't grab my attention in the same way, and somehow I couldn't get into the story. Quinn's writing is as enjoyable as ever, but I've always seen these books as fun romps rather than literary novels, and the prose really needs to be wrapped around an exciting plot. I wasn't enormously keen on Vix or Sabina and didn't care much for their romance, and while Plotina was well-portrayed as a devious and powerful character, she lacked that deliciously hateful edge that characterised (for example) Lepida and Domitian in Mistress. I can't say I was truly rooting for any of the characters, but there wasn't anyone I loved to hate either. With the other books, I was gripped throughout and was constantly kept entertained by twists and cliffhangers, but here there were chapters upon chapters that dragged and seemed to be either dull, or full of pointless developments that didn't come to anything. Empress of Rome was diverting enough in parts, but where its predecessors were juicy and action-packed, this book felt a little bit... limp. If you haven't heard of Kate Quinn before, please don't let this review put you off her other books, because they really are a lot of fun. I just wouldn't recommend this one.

Rating: 4/10


THE AVERAGE: The Light Between Oceans (2012) by M.L. Stedman

The story: The Light Between Oceans is a simple yet almost ingeniously original tale about, as the book's blurb has it, 'right and wrong, and how they sometimes look the same'. Set in 1920s Australia, it is the story of Tom Sherbourne, a solitary war veteran turned lighthouse-keeper, and Isabel, his young wife. Following a necessarily brief courtship in the small seaside community of Partaguese, Tom takes Isabel to his lighthouse on isolated Janus Rock, where she dreams - in vain, as it turns out - of starting a family. After the third in a series of devastating miscarriages, Isabel and Tom spot a washed-up boat which turns out to contain a man's body and a baby girl, only a few months old. Convinced her mother must have drowned, they make the fateful decision to raise the child, who they name Lucy, as their own. The story goes on to explore how the truth comes to light and how Isabel and Tom, along with the others affected by their deception, cope with the consequences of their decision.

The verdict: There wasn't really anything wrong with this book, but I didn't find it enormously exciting or memorable. That could be because I'm not the ideal target audience: mothers (or those who are particularly maternal) would probably be able to relate to both Isabel and Hannah, Lucy's real mother, with greater ease. I did think the writing was clumsy in places - the random switching between past and present tense always irritated me and didn't feel like it had been executed well at all. For the most part, though, The Light Between Oceans was a well-written and quietly engaging story. The characters are nicely drawn, with just enough detail to make them believable while retaining something of an enigmatic edge. I can see this book being a big hit because it blends themes that will appeal to the chick-lit market (marriage, motherhood, love and loss) with what might be called literary aspirations (historical setting, intelligent prose and a rather nice, non-chick-lit-looking cover design). It might deserve a couple of lazy afternoons' worth of your time, but I wouldn't bother bumping it up to the top of your to-read list.

Rating: 6/10

A simple wishlist

Image sources Bags: one, two, three, four. iPhone cases: one, two, three, four.
There's only two things I really, really want at the moment...
1. A simple, neutral slouchy zip clutch bag. The Céline two-tone clutches are obviously the dream, but I'd settle for one of the American Apparel carry-all pouches in tan leather or suede, even though I think they're overpriced for what they are (which is why I STILL haven't bought one, I'm waiting in vain for someone to make a cheaper version).
2. One of these amazing iPhone cases from SwitchEasy (or on eBay, much cheaper) which I keep seeing everyhwere and absolutely love. The problem being that you can only get them for the 4/4S and I have a 3GS. #firstworldproblems. Can you even get decent cases for the 3GS? I do not want to put my phone in one of those things that looks like a cassette tape. It's enough to make you get a new phone (if only!)

Book review: Signs of Life by Anna Raverat

Signs of Life by Anna Raverat (2012)

Beginning this book, there is something you should know. This is not a confession. This is something I am writing; something I am making out of something that happened. Ten years ago I had an affair that ended badly... With these irresistible lines begins the troubled, fragmented, and unreliable account of Rachel, the narrator of this melancholy and brilliant little book. Her story is a series of memories charting her emotional history, primarily focused around the affair she had with an unstable colleague, Carl, while (and after) she was in a serious relationship with Johnny, a calm, gentle man she met in her teens. But what really happened, why has Rachel ended up living alone in a high-rise flat where she writes and watches the workmen in the building opposite, and why does she feel compelled to write this 'non-confession'?

I don't always like writing reviews of books I adored. Really, all I want to do is spew out a stream of incoherent babble, culminating in 'this is AMAZIIIIING, read it NOW' - I think the best qualities of great books are sometimes indefinable, or at least very subtle, and it's easier to be coherent about something that has glaring flaws. This is, quite simply, a beautifully written book with a fascinating narrator and an original, inventive structure. Rachel's recollections skip back and forth through time, moving through her relationship with Johnny, the affair with Carl and her present-day situation in an apparently random fashion. The narrative is written as one might really recount one's past - it seems like Rachel is writing down memories as they come back to her, but as the story progresses, a pattern of hidden secrets and uncertain details emerges. Rachel even admits that she is embellishing her tale at points, and although there are few surprises due to the non-linear nature of the book, there are choice moments when shocking revelations are delivered in a calm, cool tone. The book is rich with sumptuous, poetic prose and striking imagery, while remaining totally believable as a personal account.

I should qualify my review with a warning that I don't think other readers will necessarily love Signs of Life as much as I did. There's a bleak undercurrent to everything that happens, illustrated most obviously in the time Rachel spends with Carl, but subtly pervading the rest of the story too. I took to Rachel straight away because she seems so human - flawed, uncertain, full of guilt, more vulnerable than she realises but sometimes selfish and devious too - but I doubt everyone will have the same reaction to her. The book has been much compared to Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, and I can certainly see the similarities, though I wouldn't say Rachel is anywhere near as calculating as Barbara Covett - she is sucked into events surrounding her rather than having a hand in controlling their outcome. I've found it very interesting to read through other reviews of Signs of Life and see that so many people found Rachel unlikeable. Did I feel differently because I saw something of myself in the character (as was the case with Barbara in Notes on a Scandal) - or is it simply the fact that she's a woman who is unfaithful, something that so many find so repulsive, that has turned other readers off?

I thought this book was absolutely brilliant, sublime, near-perfect. It's quite short and could be read in one sitting, but I preferred to work my way through it bit by bit, savouring the gradual uncovering of the truth. I found both style and content so delicious that it was much more satisfying to read a chapter at a time than to power through it. It's a shame that this is a debut, because I'm desperate to read more of Raverat's work... But on the other hand, this just gives me something to really look forward to when she publishes her next book. Please let it be soon.

Rating: 10/10

Reading round-up: March/April

I decided at the end of last month not to do a reading round-up for March, as shamefully, I'd only read four books and two of those were supposed to be for children! Thankfully, I managed to get back into the swing of things in April, mainly because I went on holiday.


17. What They Do in the Dark by Amanda Coe - 8/10 (full review). Set in the 1970s, this is a tale of two very troubled young girls, and has an extremely shocking, unexpected climax. Very well-written and believable, although I found the ending hard to understand.
18 & 19. Tales of Terror from the Black Ship and Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth by Chris Priestley - both 6/10. These were the aforementioned books for children, a couple of short volumes of ghost stories that were fun but unsurprisingly samey.
20. Q: A Love Story by Evan Mandery - 4/10 (full review). This is a good idea - a time-travel story about a man who is visited by future versions of himself who tell him how he should change his life - but it didn't really work due to annoying characters and a lack of exploration of the premise's most interesting concepts.
21. The Possessions of Doctor Forrest by Richard T. Kelly - 8/10 (full review). A deliciously dark mystery about a doctor who disappears in strange circumstances. Wonderful gothic escapism.
22. The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones - 6/10 (full review). One of those crumbling-country-manor stories about an aristocratic family, but with an intriguing twist. I liked this but sadly the blurb and marketing gave away the main twist and ruined most of the tension!
23. The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland - 8/10. Review not yet published as the book isn't due out until August!
24. Bunheads by Sophie Flack - 7/10 (full review). Set in New York, this is the story of a young ballerina who starts to question her commitment to her career when she falls in love. Insubstantial, but fun and involving.
25. The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams - 7/10 (full review). An unusual historical novel, with shades of Sarah Waters' work, about a mentally disturbed young woman who becomes convinced that she alone can catch a serial killer. This was odd and disjointed, but I found myself really enjoying it.
26. Summer by Tom Darling - 6/10 (full review). The story of two orphaned children who are sent to live on their grandfather's remote farm one hot summer. Some interesting moments, but ultimately this was quite dull and didn't capitalise on the potential of the plot.
27. A Common Loss by Kirsten Tranter - 8/10 (full review). Although it's full of characters who are impossible to like, this second novel from Tranter was beautifully written, subtle and fascinating.
28. American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar - 6/10 (full review). A coming-of-age story about a Muslim boy growing up in America in the early 1980s. While it was interesting and well-plotted, I found this book too slow-moving.
29. Every Contact Leaves a Trace by Elanor Dymott - 8/10 (full review). I loved the idea of this debut novel about a man who tries to discover the truth about his late wife's death in the surroundings of a wintery Oxford college. It was good, but would've been brilliant if it wasn't for the ridiculously unbelievable relationship between the protagonists.

As you can see, the last couple of months' reading has been a mixed bag. I suppose that's always going to be the case with any batch of books, but there isn't anything that stands out from this lot as particularly amazing. I suppose my favourite of the bunch would have to be The Possessions of Doctor Forrest. I also really liked What They Do in the Dark, A Common Loss and Every Contact Leaves a Trace. However, I would hesitate to recommend these to others, for various reasons: respectively, these are the strong element of the supernatural, the strange ending, the unpleasant characters, and the bizarre 'romance'. I seem to have read quite a few books I've been looking forward to for a long time that haven't quite lived up to expectations, notably The Uninvited Guests and Summer. Happily, I've already read a really fantastic book to add to my May list, so hopefully the next round-up will be more positive!

A fashion post. Sort of.

I've been wanting to post about something other than books for a while now, and I know most of my many fans (ha) probably want to see more fashion on here, but material is hard to come by. One of the reasons I wanted to give up fashion blogging was because I didn't have enough time to put the posts together and keep providing fresh content, but since I quit my old blog, I've often thought it's a good job I decided to do that since I rarely buy anything now. I can't imagine outfit posts would be of much interest when they'd just be the same things over and over again - even if I wanted to do them (which I definitely don't). However, I've managed to cobble together some 'recent' purchases - ie I bought them sometime this year - so here we go...


Dresses: On the left, four dresses I managed to get for FIVE POUNDS each! All from Primark, naturally. They're not necessarily 'my style', but perfect for work, and I couldn't pass up 4 new office outfits for £20. The dress on the right is also from Primark, but was full price (£13, I think). It's so clearly inspired by Victoria Beckham's diffusion line of dresses that I couldn't resist it.


The one that got away: I'd wanted this Warehouse shirt ever since I first saw a picture of it from one of their press days last year (although that version was long-sleeved and silk, which would have been nicer). So, as soon as I saw it in real life, I immediately bought it. However, this proved to be a moment of madness when I realised that a) I hate bright blue and b) it goes with precisely nothing - seriously, other than a pair of white jeans as seen on the website (white jeans being something I would NEVER wear), what would you wear this with?! I did the sensible thing and took it back to the shop.




Favourites: These two shirts from Zara are definitely my favourite purchases of 2012 so far. The prints are most likely something you will either love or hate, but I'm firmly and unashamedly in the former camp. They're so easy to wear with jeans and flat boots, and the monochrome one is perfect for work too (it goes nicely with a dark red pencil skirt).


Getting ready for summer: This New Look top was a bit of a premature buy, as it's been way too cold to wear it yet, but I'm looking forward to wearing it with denim shorts or chinos when it's warmer (I'm kind of weirdly into broderie anglaise at the moment). This week I also treated myself to some sandals from Primark. Definitely too cold for these, but I've wanted a pair in this style since last spring, and £12 for real leather seems like a pretty good deal to me.


And finally: I've decided recently that I want to start wearing more silver jewellery; I've been getting a lot of wear out of a simple silver chain that I bought for a few pounds on eBay, along with this ASOS cross bracelet. I picked up the above necklace for £3 in a Warehouse clearance shop this weekend - I love the little feather pendant.

PS: as we're talking about clothes, I'll seize the opportunity to mention that I've got a few more things up for sale on eBay. This is the last lot... although that's only because I haven't got anything left to sell now!

Book review: Every Contact Leaves a Trace by Elanor Dymott

Every Contact Leaves a Trace (2012) by Elanor Dymott

I've mentioned before - on numerous occasions, I think - that I'm not keen on love stories. This doesn't mean I'm a killjoy about romance: I like reading about love, but it has to be realistically portrayed. To enjoy a fictional romance, I have to believe in the characters, feel for them, root for them: get this right and it's one of the best things fiction can do. But too often I feel like authors think they can just tell their readers the relationship between two characters is a great love story, rather than doing anything to prove it. Too often books feature 'star-crossed' relationships that just wouldn't happen in real life. Too often these elements ruin or at least taint the rest of the story. Every Contact Leaves a Trace, a book I had sky-high hopes for, is, sadly, no exception.

Our protagonist and narrator is Alex, a successful lawyer who studied at Worcester College, Oxford. While there, he met a fellow student named Rachel, with whom he enjoyed a brief affair one summer. After graduating, Alex doesn't see Rachel again for over a decade, although he constantly thinks about her and hopes to see her on the streets of London, where he now lives. Then, at a friend's wedding, he finds himself seated across from Rachel. The next day, they decide to get married. Some months after their wedding, Rachel is brutally murdered during a visit to their old college. Devastated, Alex sets out to discover the truth behind how this came to happen to her, and in the process he discovers there was much he did not know about his wife.

I surely can't be alone in thinking that isn't romantic for a successful, wealthy, highly intelligent, cultured and presumably attractive man to remain fixated on a girl from university for so many years afterwards. It's weird, and kind of unbelievable. It isn't romantic that Rachel would want to marry him so suddenly and then appear to be so deeply in love with him immediately. Again, it's weird, and very unbelievable. And there's absolutely nothing strange or mysterious about Alex discovering that Rachel had a lot of secrets - it's a fact that he barely knew her. Aside from which, we're told that Rachel a) refused to ever discuss the past and b) snapped and shouted at Alex whenever he tried to ask her about the ONE family member that's a part of her life. All of which left me wondering what, exactly, it was that he expected? I found this 'romance' so odd and unbelievable that I could barely believe it was supposed to be taken seriously; adding to this negativity was the fact that neither Alex nor Rachel were portrayed as likeable people. Early in the story, I had several theories about Alex's reliability as a narrator, which turned out to be incorrect - I presume the reader is supposed to sympathise with him, more's the pity.

Enough of the bad points. I'm dwelling on them perhaps a little more than is necessary because I'm angry that they tarnished a story that might otherwise have become a genuine favourite. This is a rich, atmospheric book, filled with layers of intrigue and emotional turmoil, set against a meticulously detailed background which is a tantalising mixture of academia and debauchery. When Alex listens to the tale told by Harry, Rachel's former tutor, the author's style really comes into its own - I found this past narrative, in which we learn about Rachel's student days as part of an exceptionally close-knit group of three, far more engaging than the present-day narrative.

In spite of its one big flaw, this was absolutely my kind of book, and I really did savour reading it. This is a narrative that takes its time to unfold, lingering over small details and lengthy ruminations, but this is in no way a bad thing. The slower-than-average pace suits the twisting journey of the plot, told in suitably elegant prose. Every Contact Leaves a Trace is a great debut, and being a debut, I'm willing to forgive its imperfections. The main problem, in fact, is that the rest of it is so good, the problematic 'love story' stands out all the more. Despite the fact that this review has probably ended up sounding more negative than positive, I do thoroughly recommend this book.

Rating: 8/10