Review: 'The Son-in-Law' by Charity Norman (2013)

On a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them. This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...

Thank to the lovely people at Allen & Unwin I received a review copy of Charity Norman’s new release, ‘The Son-in-Law.’ I hadn’t read anything by Charity Norman before, and I am not quite sure whether I would have picked up this novel myself. As followers of this blog will probably know by now, I am a sucker for romance and a happy ending, and those are not exactly the ingredients this novel would appear to offer at first sight. However, one of the most important things about reading is that you can relatively easily cross your personal borders and pick up a novel that might not initially be your cup of tea, but it might end up surprising you. And that is exactly what happened with this novel.

After spending several years behind prison walls, Joseph Scott is out in the wide world again. The only thing he cares about is seeing his three children, Scarlet, Theo and Ben, but this won’t be an easy task. Four years ago, Joseph killed his wife Zoe in a fit of rage, in front of their children. They now live with their grandparents, Hannah and Frederick, who have no intention of letting Joseph near his children ever again. When Joseph sees no other option but to take the case to court, Zoe’s torn family is forcefully reunited, bringing back all kinds of memories and emotions.

One of the absolute strengths of this novel is Charity Norman’s writing. After just a few chapters, I already felt myself being consumed by this story and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. The characters are incredibly well-written and realistic, just like the scene setting. I could imagine myself standing in the living room with them, which only made me feel even more drawn in by the novel. Norman especially managed to create a feeling of conflict: who of the characters do you support? There are two main different points of view, and I found myself switching between the two continually. As a reader you are really brought into the minds of these characters, and it also shows you everything might not be as straightforward as it might seem at first sight.

Even though Zoe has already died quite some time ago at the start of this novel, she takes on a central role in the story. She was a mother, daughter, and wife, and these three roles are explored in the form of her children, parents, and husband. I especially loved the three children, most specifically Scarlet; she is so clearly torn between two parties, and Norman describes this so incredibly well. Next to this, I also admired the relationship between Hannah and Frederick; after everything they’ve gone through, their love is still so strong. I don’t want to give too much away about what happens in this novel, but the last few chapters had me with tears streaming down my face, and that is something that doesn’t happen too often to me when I’m reading! ‘The Son-in-Law’ is an emotional and realistic novel that will keep you captivated from beginning to ending, and a tale that reminds you to not forget that there’s always two sides to every story.

Rating:8,5/10 

Review: 'The Outline of Love' by Morgan McCarthy (2013)

Persephone Triebold has grown up in the strange desolation of the Scottish Highlands, raised by her anxious father and memories of her dead mother. Inexperienced in the rules of friendship, sex and love, Persephone takes the opportunity to replace uninhabited mountain ranges with city life and leaves to study for a degree in London.

Parties, new friends and the polluted splendour of the capital intoxicate Persephone at first, but fail to supply her with the grand passion she wants. It's only when she meets the literary star Leo Ford, a former singer who has become a celebrated writer, that she finds someone she can love. Though Persephone succeeds in entering Leo's circle of friends she finds him to be as elusive as he is sought after. And she becomes increasingly curious about the incident in his past of which no one ever speaks...

One of the great things about being a book blogger is receiving review copies from publishers for books you probably would not have known about otherwise or would not have picked up in a shop yourself. ‘The Outline of Love’ is one of those books. Thanks to the lovely people at Headline (thank you, Veronique!) I received a review copy of this novel in my mailbox, and at first I wasn’t entirely sure whether this would be a book for me. I really like the front cover, especially the pretty silhouette of London in the background, but I wasn’t too sure about the description. However, it’s important to step out of your comfort zone every now and again, especially when it comes to reading, so I decided to give it a go.

At the centre of ‘The Outline of Love’ we have PersephoneTriebold, who has been raised by her father in the desolate Scottish Highlands. Persephone can’t wait to get out of the mountains and start a new life in the exciting city of London, where she will go to study for her Management degree. As soon as Persephone arrives in London, she quickly finds herself living the typical student life: annoying roommates, new BFF’s, parties, boys... But somehow, Persephone is missing something. Something she had already been missing in Scotland and had hoped to find in a place like London. Then she meets Leo Ford, former lead singer of a famous band and now a renowned author, and Persephone finds herself completely captivated by him. Everything in her life starts to revolve around Leo and how she can possibly secure a place in his circle of friends, or perhaps even more... However, Leo is not your average man and it doesn’t take long before Persephone finds herself lost in his mystery and secrets.

There were definitely some elements in this novel that spoke to me. I liked the setting: the contrast between the rural Scottish Highlands where Persephone grew up, and her longing for a life in a city like London. I have also always had a weakness for Greek and Roman myths, so I really liked the idea of retelling the myth of Persephone and Demeter and using it as a parallel storyline. However, I didn’t find myself warming to Persephone, no matter how hard I tried. She seemed a bit empty; I was expecting strong emotions, but instead it felt like she constantly remained on the surface. Because of this, I found myself losing more and more interest after each page. At the end, some events managed to grab me, but once again I was disappointed by the way Persephone dealt with it all.

Morgan McCarthy’s writing is one of a kind; thoughtful, detailed, and not like anything else I have read before. Her descriptions of the setting are incredibly realistic and I could easily imagine myself sitting in Persephone’s house in London, or in the middle of the Scottish Highlands. It certainly does not seem like this is only her second novel. Though there was a nice plot, a good basis to start with, I did not enjoy this novel as much as I hoped I would because I felt it lacked emotion and it didn’t manage to grab me. I’ve read some amazing reviews of Morgan McCarthy’s first novel, ‘The Other Half of Me’, and from those reviews it already became quite clear: you either love McCarthy’s style or you don’t. ‘The Outline of Love’ is a thoughtful and well-written novel, which might capture the interest of other readers, but unfortunately not mine.

Rating:6,5/10

Review: 'My Life in Black and White' by Kim Izzo (2013)

When Clara Bishop, a struggling screenwriter-turned-tabloid journalist in Hollywood, is jilted by her philandering husband, she follows him to London, determined to win him back. Armed with only a glamorous wardrobe of vintage clothing inherited from her grandmother, a former film noir actress, Clara discovers that the clothes really do make the woman. Dressed to kill, she adopts a new femme fatale persona: confident, sexy and set on revenge. But on the road to retaliation, Clara discovers an unfinished film script that sheds light on her grandmother’s mysterious death years before. Then it happens: somehow, magically, her whole life is transported back in time, into a living, breathing film noir that reveals to Clara the potential to write her own ending.

I had already seen the cover of Kim Izzo’s latest novel ‘My Life in Black and White’ appearing on my Twitter timeline several times, but hadn’t really felt the instant desire to check out the novel. Fortunately, I ended up receiving a copy of the novel via @WishListBooks (thanks so much!), and after reading the blurb on the back of the novel I was really curious to read it. ‘My Life in Black and White’ appeared to be slightly different from anything I’ve read before, and I figured it would either turn out to be a pleasant surprise or a novel that wasn’t for me.

‘My Life in Black and White’ tells the story of Clara Bishop, a tabloid journalist from Hollywood who originally had a dream of becoming a famous screenwriter. Unexpectedly, Clara discovers her husband Dean is having an affair with a young, blonde waitress named Amber and their marriage is over. She can’t let it go and follows him to London in order to win him back, with only an old trunk filled with her grandmother’s vintage dresses. As Clara starts wearing these glamorous clothes, she slowly starts to change into a true femme fatale herself, and before she knows it, she suddenly finds herself in the city of London in the year 1952, starring in a film noir about her own life, with the opportunity to change not only her own destiny, but also her beloved grandmother’s.

When I turned to the first page of this novel, I honestly had no idea what to expect, especially since I haven’t seen a film noir in my life. However, as soon as I had finished Chapter 1, I was completely hooked. I loved the protagonist of the story, Clara. I really felt for her; her husband cheating on her, still missing the child she never had, not being happy with her career choices, the strained relationship between her mother and her... Yet, Clara manages to find the strength within her to take all of this on board and deal with it. I loved the relationship between the three generations (Clara, her mother, and her grandmother) and the whole atmosphere of the novel was just fabulous: from the glamorous vintage dresses and the shadowy film noir elements to the parts of film script included and the font of the chapter headings... Everything about this novel has been thought through and I loved the feeling of going back to London in the 1950’s and joining Clara on her journey.

‘My Life in Black and White’ is incredibly well-written and I felt myself not wanting to put it down. It’s really original and I can honestly say I have never read anything quite like this. The novel is described as a time-travel romantic comedy, which is a perfect description, and is something I think different kinds of readers will enjoy, not just lovers of chick lit. As a big fan of anything Jane Austen, I immediately ordered a copy of Kim Izzo’s novel ‘The Jane Austen Marriage Manual’ after finishing this one and her name has been added to my ‘must-read’ list, because I am already looking forward to her next release!       

Rating:9,5/10