Tethered by Amy Mackinnon

I was intrigued by this novel after reading many reviews around the blogs last year. I was attracted by the unusual story, and also by the cover on the American version (although our English cover is also quite attractive). I finished it only a few hours ago.

Clara is a reserved young woman who seeks refuge from a troubled past in her work as a mortuary attendant, safely hidden from the living. Her only aims in life are to be as invisible as possible and to honour those whose bodies come her way. Her passion is for the flowers that she lovingly tends in her ornamental greenhouse, and their traditional meanings, which she uses with appropriate care when preparing the dead and including a personal bouquet. The more unsavoury parts of her job are preferable to any interaction with the people she comes into contact with. There is affection, but at a distance, with Linus, the caring owner of the Funeral Home and his wife Alma, who have come to call Clara their own. There is also Mike, the police officer from the various crime scenes they have attended together, including that of his wife 3 years earlier. Clara has enough bolt holes when the closeness of others becomes too much within her carefully planned life. That is until a young girl, a child, is discovered playing in the funeral home, reopening a distressing case of a murdered girl and forcing Clara to revisit the parts of her past she has fought to forget.

This book is very easy to read and the pages turn over very quickly. The subject matter is interesting and mysterious, without descending into unnecessary distaste. Clara is a fascinating character who drives the story and I found myself caring for her a great deal. The accounts of her painful dealings with other people, her rejection of any contact, her self-loathing and tangible pain and her need to disappear and not be noticed were so well written. I loved all of the references to flowers and their meanings, and the relief she feels when safe in her greenhouse.

The plot took a number of interesting twists and turns, accelerating the intrigue towards the end. There is more than a hint of the supernatural, making you question her perception of events throughout, and I found the final sequence very moving.

There are accounts of recovering dead bodies and preparing them afterwards, and you should be aware of this. These passages are sensitively dealt with but there are details some readers may find too much for them. I personally found these parts of the book essential in discovering Clara's character, which for me was the most satisfying part of this novel. I have never quite come across anyone like her and I enjoyed reading about her very much. The other characters are well constructed too, and develop throughout the book.

As the book progressed and Clara starts to let her guard down, with others as well as with you, this proved to be a really good read and I highly recommend it to readers who love mystery and crime, as well as those, like me, who love a strong main character and an unusual story. I will be keeping an eye out for more by this author. A brilliant first novel.

Amy Mackinnon has her own website should you want to read more about her. Just click the link.

My version of this book contained its own book group discussion questions too!

The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint

I was totally into Charles de Lint novels about 20 years ago and read 3 in succession...Yarrow, Greenmantle and Moonheart and I loved them, so when I saw a review of one of his novels last year I added him to my personal challenge list to read another. The wonderful cover illustration and story description attracted me to this particular one.

Grace is a car mechanic, covered in tattoos and specialising in hot rods and customising Fords. She loves her cars and rockabilly music.

Grace meets John, a lonely graphic designer still haunted by his brothers death when they were children, at a Halloween party and they instantly fall for each other. The problem is that Grace was killed in a botched store robbery 2 weeks earlier and is allowed to go back to her life only twice a year. One of those nights is Halloween. As the sun comes up, Grace disappears from the bathroom and John is left wondering who she is and where she went. Exploring theories about spirituality, the hereafter and love, we are taken on a journey with Grace and John as they both try to work out what has happened.

I was excited about this book as soon as it arrived because I loved the cover, the book felt nice in the hand, and I like stories that bend reality. It was very easy to read and I got into it very quickly. The chapters swap between the points of view of Grace and John, but the book is dominated by Grace who proves to be a pretty captivating protagonist. I loved the whole adventure into the afterlife and found the details inventive and interesting. I was rooting for the couple throughout the story and loved the swapped points of view. I found the end quite moving too.

I did find the reason for the existence of the in-between state of the after world, that Grace and the other characters find themselves, unconvincing, as well as its conclusion. However I was enjoying the rest of it enough for it not to cause a problem. I also found the sudden shift in direction in the last part of the novel a little bewildering because up to that point Grace and John's relationship had been the main driving force in the book. I did take away a lot of interesting parts of the story with me however, and found the love story really beautifully written.

I am glad that I have revisited this author from my past and I will most probably read more. It was a gentle, heart felt and original novel and I am sure that many readers will find a lot to discuss within its pages.

Fantasy Literature has a list of all Charles de Lint Novels on their site.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book was given to me as a present. It was very easy to read and I got into it very quickly. It ensured my attention from the first few pages, even if the narrative style took a little getting used to and was not without inviting several questions...why is the story told by Death and why is he so jolly when it was probably one of his more exhausting periods, during Nazi Germany during the Second World War? The answers came during the unfolding of the story.

Death tells us the story of Liesel, a little girl of 9 years old, being taken with her brother to a foster home. Their parents are accused of being communists in a Germany with little political tolerance. They are also poor, and on the journey with their mother, Liesel's brother dies. This is Death's first encounter with a girl whose book he will later read and recount to us. Liesel's life is transferred to her foster home, new parents, new friends, and a new political climate that will affect them all.

The writing is quirky, with amazingly inventive descriptions, a bizarre speech tone full of asides that conveys an 'other worldliness' suitable for Death, but also a child like quality which links us to the children and more particularly Liesel, as we take part in her world and point of view. There is a lot of love in the story, warmth and decency, amongst a dangerous Germany that seems hell bent on stamping out all of these things. We are all used to second world war stories where the Germans are our enemies, but in this book it is not the Allies against the Germans, but normal, decent human beings against the Nazi's, the ordinary v's those in power.

Once I got used to the style of writing, the cheeriness despite the background, I realised I had become quite attatched to the main characters, to Liesel and her street urchin friend Rudy and their many adventures, and her foster parents, her rough love mama, and a papa who is kindness itself. By the time Max, the Jewish fugitive is introduced, the book had tightened its grip on me and I was helpless as it squeezed tighter. There were times, the tension being built up slowly, when I was desperate to read what was happening but dreaded continuing. I knew every empathetic button was being pressed and that at some point it was going to cause me damage. Do not get me wrong, the majority of the book is full of humour, light hearted childrens accounts of getting into trouble and creating havoc. Also in observing adults and forging friendships, however unlikely. But amongst this the book cleverly alludes to something big and terrible to come, to break the blow and keep you reading. You are always aware that this is Nazi Germany and life is far from innocent.

When the blow came I broke my heart. I don't think I have read a book that upset me so much for a long time. I must have sobbed for an hour! It shook me in the best way a book can, mercilessly making me feel every emotion. As water flowed out of my face I re-read parts of the book and I am still enjoying doing that.

This book is well written, and provides an alternative slant on the Nazi war story. It is warm and full of the joy of human spirit. It illustrates that even when life is at its most awful there are stories of courage and kindness that outweigh the bad. There are also books that have the ability to move us, and it is the impact of this novel that made it wonderful to read even when it hurt. I would urge anyone to read it, and my copy is already in the hands of one of many borrowers.

If you would like to read more about the book and its author, the following website is useful...

Http://booksattransworld.co.uk/thebookthief/