THE MEMORY GARDEN by RACHEL HORE

THE MEMORY GARDEN

BY RACHEL HORE

THE BLURB:-

Magical Cornwall, a lost garden, a love story from long ago...

Lamorna Cove- a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it is a place where she can escape the pain of her mother's death and a broken love affair, and gradually put her life back together.

Renting a cottage in the enchanting but overgrown grounds of Merryn Hall, Mel embraces her new surroundings and offers to help her landlord, Patrick Winterton, restore the garden. Soon she is daring to believe her life can be rebuilt. Then Patrick finds some old paintings in an attic, and as he and Mel investigate the identity of the artist, they are drawn into an extraordinary tale of illicit passion and thwarted ambition from a century ago, a tale that resonates in their own lives. But how long can Mel's idyll last before reality breaks in and everything is devastated?

THE REALITY:-

Rachel Hore is a novelist whose works I can't resist reading. She is one of a distinguished group of only a few, for me. That group also includes Kate Morton (I've read all but one of hers), Judith Lennox (I've read most of hers) and the Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series (I've read all but one of those.) Katherine Webb is another author who will also, at some point, reach that distinction, as will Lisa Jewell and Maggie O' Farrell.

I have always longed to visit Cornwall, this almost ethereal, haunted part of England, which is often referred to as, “the oldest part of Britain.” I might just do so, later in the year (I have a holiday in Norfolk to get through first!)

This novel takes you out into a dream world of relaxed bucolic life and historical, abandoned buildings and gardens. The descriptives regarding the characters and the interest involving the time-slip element of the novel, and the way the characters entwine together is really magical. I also like that Rachel Hore offers up a variety of persona types in her novels and, generally speaking, a feel-good happy ending. The Memory Garden certainly evoked pathos... of school holidays and lazy summer days (although the book starts in Spring and the main characters all have work to do!)

The one thing that grated was the fact that the majority of the characters are all middle class with well paid jobs. In these difficult times where myself (and many others) are struggling, this distance from the realities of life does tend to get annoying but it's me who's got the problem, not the author.

I'm glad that the identity of the artist P.T. was discovered but I sometimes wanted to shake Mel and Patrick, both of whom seemed way too absorbed with their miserable recent pasts. They needed to move on, and much faster (or am I being too harsh? You read the book and tell me for yourselves.) I also hated Patrick's ex fiancée, the manipulative cow that was Bella- another middle class twit who appeared to have spent her life living on Easy Street. This little bitch wanted to have her cake and eat it and I'm glad the author gave her the sheep's face that she deserved.

A great read, showing England at its nicest- it would be fantastic to take on a British summer holiday.

THE UGLY SISTER by JANE FALLON

THE UGLY SISTER

BY JANE FALLON

THE BLURB:-

Beauty can be a blessing or a curse. As Abi would be the first to know. She has spent her life in the shadow of her stunningly beautiful, glamorous older sister Cleo.

Headhunted as a model when she was sixteen, Cleo has been all but lost to Abi for the last twenty years, with only a fleeting visit or brief email to connect them. So when Abi is invited to spend the summer with her sister's perfect family, she can't bring herself to say no. Maybe Cleo is finally as keen as Abi to regain the closeness they shared in their youth?

But Abi is in for a shock. Soon she is left caring for her two young, bored and very spoilt nieces and handsome, unhappy brother-in-law Jon...while Cleo plainly has other things on her mind. As Abi moves into her sister's life, a cuckoo in the nest, she wrestles with uncomfortable feelings.

Could having beauty, wealth and fame lead to more unhappiness than not having them? Who in the family really is the ugly sister?

THE REALITY:-

Drab. Drear. A mission to finish. "Skeletons" by the same author, was great, but this story did not really do it for me and seemed to run on....and on....and on....

It did, however, bring up some interesting and personal dilemmas. Is blood thicker than water? No, no, fucking NO! In my experience it most certainly is not, although there are many in that small, shitty fucking town that I grew up in who would disagree, as family values and unity seemed to stand way above everything else in importance there. I suppose you could say that I empathized with this book as I wasn't the favourite child in my family either (or so it seemed) although I take that as a compliment. I personally had a brother with a learning disability (not diagnosed until AFTER my parents' deaths) and I kind of got the impression that it was my responsibility to befriend him, deal with him and bring him out of his shell, even though he was over ten years older than me. Note to my parents from this side of the grave:- bring up your children yourself, and stop trying to palm those you can't be bothered with off onto other people.

Rant over. At school I studied drama at O level and we had to keep drama diaries about the lesson, and I always used them as an excuse to go in depth on a related, personal subject, as I am doing now. But this is my blog, so I can!

Cleo is definitely the ugly sister in this book and will sadly end up very alone. She's used and rejected her sister and, in general, uses people. And not very nicely either. She will meet all of those she abused on the way up, on the way down, and that's something she's currently finding out. The characters were all very believable, but being the devil that I am, I would have loved to have seen Abi get together with Jon. The story gave a good descriptive with regard to the Primrose Hill area of London and there was the odd twist in the tale with- spoiler alert- Jon and Abi's infatuation with each other and also the discovery that Richard was indeed very shallow. I also loved Abi's down-to-earth daughter, Phoebe, who found Cleo very transparent and saw her for what she really was.  I'm also glad that Cleo's spoilt children developed as better human beings under Abi's coaxing.  But the story dragged and dragged towards a very insignificant and nondescript ending. Hardly blockbuster material.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE by LISA JEWELL

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

When she was nine years old, Melody Browne's house burned down, taking every toy, every photograph, every old Christmas card with it. But not only did the fire destroy all her possessions, it took with it all her memories- Melody can remember nothing before her ninth birthday.

Now in her early thirties, Melody lives in a small flat in London with her teenage son. She hasn't seen her parents since she left home at fifteen, but Melody doesn't mind. She's made a good life for herself and her son and likes it that way.

Until something extraordinary happens. Whilst attending a hypnotist show with her first date in years she faints- and when she comes round she starts to remember. At first her memories mean nothing to her but then slowly, day by day, she begins to piece together the story of her childhood. Her journey takes her to the seaside town of Broadstairs, to oddly familiar houses in London backstreets, and meetings with strangers who love her like their own. But with every mystery she solves another one materialises, with every question she asks another appears. And Melody begins to wonder if she'll ever know the truth about her past...

THE REALITY:-

Damn blasted continuity- I know I'm a stickler for these things but when a chapter is entitled 1989 and it's about Melody being thrown out of her home for being pregnant- with a son who was born in 1988, it gets on my bloody nerves. It also makes self-published moi breathe a small sigh of relief. I haven't had the luxury of a professional copy editor (content editors can keep their greasy paws off) and always manage to find a small error in my first novel every time I pick it up. Ah well, such is life.

This isn't the first Lisa Jewell book I've read and this one was every bit as inviting as the last. The author has a real eye for the detail of taking a reader back to a certain time in recent history, through fashions, attitudes and influences. I loved the notion of a single mother living in a council flat in Covent Garden. I know these places exist, I have come across them whilst traversing central London and think that's so cool! And lucky! Talk about getting a good deal out of a tricky (baby at fifteen) situation. I've never visited Broadstairs but would certainly like to, if only to visit the Charles Dickens' House. I've stayed in Margate, up the coast, but didn't have time to see Broadstairs. Next time I take the high-speed link to Kent I'll make sure I see Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

The concept of a little girl's memory being totally wiped is a strange one. Is it even possible? I suppose it must be, otherwise authors wouldn't have the reality back-up to be able to write a convincing story. It's something I've come across before, with other novelists. I loved the way Melody's memory came back piece by piece, like a camera aperture slowly coming into complete focus. Her life in a commune made for good reading with some very lively characters, from kind Ken with his idealism, Grace and her liberalism and little Matty with his dissection of animals (he turns into big Matthew, a drunk.) This book contains very good descriptions of these people, her London father and Melody's sad mother, Jane. I shan't spoil it by telling you what happened to her and how such rotten luck led to her destruction but read it yourself and see just how bad luck heaped on top of more bad luck can shape a person and cause a domino-like affect on their shattered world.

This story, thankfully has a happy ending, as Melody meets up with her little, adoring, sister and finds out what happened to the rest of her family. She also makes peace with adoptive mother Gloria and moves on with her second chance at life, in her new relationship. A fantastic, un-putdownable read from start to finish. You won't be disappointed with this one.

KIZZY...

This was also one of my childhood favourites and a heartwarming tale.  It was a series televised in 1976, based on the book "The Diddakoi" by Rumer Godden.  It's available to watch on YouTube.

Kizzy lives in a gypsy wagon with her Nan and horse Joe, but her Nan dies and her people move on so she has to go and live in the village and attend the local school, which she hates and where she is viciously bullied.  She's no heroine- she can punch, scratch and throw a strop like the rest of them and is a royal pain in the butt when she stays with, firstly, the Admiral, at his big house and then Olivia, the local magistrate.  There is a happy ending, though, as the latter two marry and she becomes part of their family and gets accepted by her peers.

The ending, with the schoolkids wheeling in her gypsy mini-wagon, which they have lovingly restored after a fire, and leading in her new horse Joey (Joe died) brought a tear to my eye.  Lovely stuff!

COME BACK, LUCY...

Come Back, Lucy was aired on British television in Spring 1978, late on a Sunday afternoon.  It was about a young orphan girl who went to live with her uncle, aunt and boisterous cousins.  She gazes into a mirror and comes face to face with Alice, who used to live in the house a hundred years before.  Lucy slips across the time frame and befriends Alice but it soon becomes clear that Alice's intentions are malevolent.

I loved, loved, LOVED this show!  It was spooky and creepy and therefore right up my street.  I was only six at the time but wasn't in the least bit scared by it (I have read testimonies from children who were- what a bunch of wimps!)

They really don't make 'em like they used to.  I actually pity children today as the offerings available on TV seem lame by comparison.  Those who enjoyed this show will never forget the spine-tingling opening music and the opening scene....Lucy looks into a mirror, but when she turns and leaves the room her body stays gazing into the glass and you see the back of her head, Rene Magritte fashion.  Then the head turns and the face is missing!!!!

Lucy looks into the mirror...

Lucy turns but her head remains...

The head turns but the face is gone!

I remember my mother having to fiddle with the ariel to try and get a picture on our black-and-white TV.  Sometimes that wasn't always possible, and I do remember being very unhappy that I missed this show once due to poor reception.  But when I did see it, I would sit in front of the box eating my Knorr Knoodles (their version of the Pot Noodle) in prawn curry flavour.  It was a weekend treat and, to this day, I love prawn curry and noodles, although I tend to make a proper curry and not chew on something from a pot!

I bought the series on DVD.  I felt I had to before it disappeared forever.  The series has aged well, is something that will appeal to adults as well as children and is well worth the money.

DREAM STUFFING...

I absolutely loved this sitcom, which was aired on UK television on Friday evenings early in 1984.  It ran for only one series and was laugh out loud funny!

It was about two girls named Mo and Jude- one was unemployed and played the saxophone and the other worked in a factory.  It was set in a high rise London council block and the theme song was written and sung by the late, great Kirsty MacColl (possibly my favourite female singer ever).

Mo and Jude

I loved Jude's punk look!

Unfortunately, no-one seems to remember the series.  Another girl called Elaine, who I used to sit next to in English at school and who was INCREDIBLY brainy, used to watch it and we'd discuss it on a Monday morning, but surely we can't be the only two people who did?

I don't think it's available on DVD.  I've found the first episode on YouTube and will have a trawl for more recordings.

THE DREAM HOUSE by RACHEL HORE

THE DREAM HOUSE

BY RACHEL HORE

THE BLURB:-

Everyone has a dream of their perfect house...

For Kate Hutchinson, the move to Suffolk from the tiny, noisy London terrace she shares with her husband Simon and their two young children was almost enough to make her dream come true.

Space, peace and a measured, rural pace of life have a far greater pull for Kate than the constantly overflowing in-tray on her desk at work. Moving in with her mother-in-law must surely be only a temporary measure before the estate agent's details of the perfect house fall through the letterbox.

But when, out walking one evening, Kate stumbles upon the beautiful house of her dreams, it is tantalizingly out if her reach. Its owner is the frail elderly Agnes, whose story- as it unravels- echoes so much of Kate's own. And Kate comes to realize how uncertain and unsettling even a life built on dreams can be: wherever you are, at whatever time you are living, and whoever you are with...

THE REALITY:-

New York, New York, so good they named it twice, sang the song. The Dream House, The Dream House, so good I read it twice. That's exactly what I did, starting it again the minute I had finished it, as I liked it that much and wanted to absorb more of it!

Yet again, though, I find we have the problem of the person writing the blurb on the back of the book not having read the novel- I don't see how Agnes's story echoes Kate's own, not in the least.

The house and garden in the novel reminded me of the Plantation Garden in Norwich, which I visited last May. There is also a disused Plantation House. The author lives in Norwich, so I contacted her via her website, asking if that was indeed her inspiration. It wasn't, but I got a real sense of desolation whilst walking around the Plantation Garden and I found a sense of bleakness tripping out of the pages when Seddington House (The Dream House) was described. The author conjured up some very atmospheric feelings, not in the least a strong sense of deja-vu.  I think we can all relate to that "I've been here before..." feeling.

Rachel Hore's novels seem to have a theme of the heroine exiting a bad romance and walking into a better situation and this book is no different. The gradual breakdown of Kate's marriage (sorry, spoiler alert!) is nicely documented as Simon, hypocrite that he is, struggles to adapt to the life he has chosen. I'm glad Kate left him behind, despite there being children involved, as it seemed that they outgrew one another.

It was endearing reading about Agnes's life, the roaring twenties, the loss of her great love affair, the intricacies of her nearest and dearest and how they were all complexly involved and why one side of the family was sidelined from her father's, and her, will. Her devotion to her home was unwavering and I loved reading about her collections and the house itself. The mystery of her missing “son” certainly made for a page turner, but it would have been nice to find out how Harry's half of the locket came to be found in a shop in Norwich. On the other hand, maybe it's nice for the author not to spell everything out, and to let the reader make up his or her own mind.

There was a good mix of believable characters and lifelike situations for the reader to chew on and a decent balance of tragedy and happiness. Also, thanks for the family tree- it certainly made my life easier as this family is complex!

As I was brought up in Norfolk, it's good to have places I can relate to mentioned. It helped with shaping the novel in my mind. On that note, I must make a point to read less and write more- I know reading other novelists' work is good from a learning point of view but I need to slack less and get on with my own writing, although sometimes I lack motivation- an agent and a publisher would be nice and, I think, deserved.

The Plantation Garden, Norwich.

I thought this might have been the inspiration for The Dream House but I was wrong!  The gardens are well worth a visit.  I did find that they had a real sense of loneliness, though.