THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE by MAGGIE O' FARRELL

THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE

BY MAGGIE O'FARRELL

THE BLURB:-

Fresh out of university and in disgrace, Lexie Sinclair is waiting for life to begin. When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep in rural Devon, she realises she can wait no longer, and leaves for London. There, Lexie carves out a new life for herself at the heart of bohemian 1950s Soho, with Innes by her side.

In the present, Ted and Elina no longer recognise their lives after the arrival of their first child. Elina, an artist, wonders if she will ever paint again, while Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood- memories that don't tally with his parents' version of events.

As Ted's search for answers gathers momentum, so a portrait is revealed of two women separated by fifty years, but linked by their passionate refusal to settle for ordinary lives.

THE REALITY:-

What a wonderful book! This is the second Maggie O' Farrell novel that I've read and, as with the first, I read it through in a couple of days. An interesting and easy read.

I'm always slightly uncertain about writing in the present tense but the author seems to make it work. I liked the way she played with scenes- she described a love scene backwards (very fascinating) and dropped hints regarding Lexie, our 1950s heroine, and her early demise (although Innes' death came as a total and unprecedented shock.)  Her descriptions of motherhood are detailed and so real that you can almost reach through the page and touch them and her storytelling really brought Lexie's London to life.

I like the way the two tales intertwine via the location of buildings- the place where Innes kept his offices is now, fifty years on, the coffee shop that Ted pops into most days- and how the place seems to keep an imprint of its previous occupants. I found the memory loss and deja vu suffered by Ted very atmospheric and also loved the way the author almost violently described the near-death experience Elina had whilst bringing her son into the world, and the after affects of that traumatic labour. I liked this unusual, foreign character, with her artistic bent and her alternative style of dressing. Put a story together that involves art, bohemian fashion, writing, London and unconventional, daring women and it's hard to go wrong with me.

I buy most of my books from charity shops. I will get a Kindle but, for me, nothing quite beats opening a real, living, breathing book. I bought this one from a Saint Francis' Hospice charity shop. I like to support them as they looked after my friend as she died her untimely death from ovarian cancer a couple of years ago. I always manage to find some good reads in this shop, some of them very current, such as Gone Girl, The Dress Thief (which I was about to order from Amazon) and my previous Maggie O' Farrell novel, The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox. I will make it my business to seek out more titles by this riveting author and learnt some lessons regarding writing from reading her work, which is always satisfying to do.

GONE GIRL by GILLIAN FLYNN

GONE GIRL

BY GILLIAN FLYNN

THE BLURB:-

Who are you? What have we one to each other?

These are the questions that Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?

THE REALITY:-

Wow, what a masterpiece! I can understand why this book became a best seller and am now looking forward to seeing the film- this is one superb thriller and gets five stars from me.

The detailed descriptions of the characters' psyches are really explored via the writing and your sympathy ends up swinging from person to person. To start with, you feel sorry for Nick but then end up hating him and ditto for Amy. I wish I hadn't allowed this book to fall open at a future page, and hence- SPOILER ALERT!- finding out that Amy was actually alive, but luckily it was near the end of part one, and it's in part two that her story is detailed.

The setting was almost ghostly in its desolation, with the bankrupt town and disused shopping mall eerily described. As the tale progresses, you end up trying to differentiate between what is truth and what is fiction, especially with regard to Amy's diary. I loved all of the minor and not so minor characters and was saddened and touched when Amy got ripped off whilst on the run. I also had no sympathy for Desi, who also had extreme “issues.” The novel certainly makes you explore a whole caveat of personal emotions. I loved the use of quizzes to help you understand Amy and also her diary descriptions of being the “cool girl.” The writer left no stone unturned with the thoroughness of continuity and the tying up of any loose ends (rather like Amy!) Both of their crime research is second to none!

I ended up hating both characters- they are absolutely revoltingly horrid and deserve each other. I know Nick should have kept it in his pants but I do wish that he could have “manned up and grown a pair” and stuck up to this vindictive cow at the end of the novel- either that or simply killed her. Whilst I understand her motive for her wanting to stitch him up (a woman scorned, and all that) she is still an evil cow and deserves to die for what she did.

 

RIMMEL MASCARAS...

I have been using Rimmel make-up since I was a teenager and don't really see the point in upgrading to more (sometimes ridiculously) expensive products that do exactly the same job.  I've tried some of the premium make-up brands and, like anything else, some of the products are better than the cheaper versions, some are the worse and some no different. 

I like sticking to what I know- here's why!

As it's advertised everywhere, I thought I'd give their new Super Curler mascara a go.  I'm not generally swayed by advertising at all, but was in a particularly jovial mood and thought I'd take advantage of Superdrug's "3 for the price of 2" on all Rimmel cosmetics.  Kate Moss advertises this and, despite looking a bit dodgy nowadays, has very nice green eyes (green eyes are the best!!!!)  The same applies to the other Kate (no, not Middleton!) I'm talking Katie Price.  Despite ruining her once pretty looks through extensive plastic surgery, her eyes remain beautiful.

This was okay, but nothing to get your knickers in a twist about- it did the job, the curved brush was neither a help or a hindrance, but it did make my lashes look a bit twisted and spidery.  I'm gonna be sticking to Rimmel's Extreme Volume mascara in black, like I have been doing for AEONS.  With no fancy brush gimmicks, it does what it says on the tin.

Whenever I get to the till at Superdrug, they always try and plug Scandaleyes Mascara- they reckon it's their best seller and are always surprised when I tell them that I don't like this one.  The brush is way too fat and it's like trying to put your mascara on using a hairbrush!