Book Number One: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

This book actually came into my possession by chance.  Those who know me know that I believe everything happens for a reason and it was Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London which has inspired me to start my ‘Super Summer Read-a-palooza’ and therefore given me a purpose for the whole summer!  All of the author recommendations peppered over the front and back cover of the book seemed promising, although I must admit I was a little put off that one of the glowing reviews was from Charlene Harris of Sookie Stackhouse fame.  I’m a big fan of The Southern Vampire Mystery books (and the TV show which they inspired…) but I’m the first to admit it isn’t exactly the most challenging reading, and if I were at a party full of worldly book connoisseur types (however unlikely I will find myself at one of those any time soon…) I would probably keep it under wraps that I’d read the best part of the whole series. 

Anyway, back on point, I was a little worried that Rivers of London would be of the same calibre of writing and the first 50 pages did little to change my view.  The writing seemed a little childish at first, like Aaronovitch is playing it on the safe side with who his readers may be and how far he can stretch their imaginations, and he seemed to be following the Harry Potter prototype with the supernatural dropped into a mundanely human London.  I’d just about book shelved the novel with my Sookie Stackhouse’s and Edward and Bella’s (you will never find Harry Potter in that section, in my opinion at least) when the book started to gain a little more momentum.  I’d begun to think about it when I’d put it down, it had become a little more sinister than previously suspected, I’d started noticing the writing less which (excuse me, but…) made me realise it was actually quite good.  The genre mixing had become less ingenuous and more reminiscent of Pan’s Labyrinth or the Master and Margarita than a children's book, which I had previously suspected it may end up being.  Darkness begins to creep in as the novel progresses, and slowly, like an ink spill it spreads through the book.  Child murder and domestic abuse dispel any Harry Potter similarities I may have prematurely picked up on.  Aaronovitch’s earlier hit-and-miss attempts at humour had become more hit and his writing seemed more confident and fluent.  

Fitting for a man who had previously written Dr. Who screenplays Aaronivitch introduces the cryptic police Constable Thomas Nightingale, who appears to defy time and takes on the inexperienced and frankly quite fumbling protagonist Peter Grant as his apprentice in the world of magic.  An original twist, this magic is borne from science and the author creates a clever etymology for the Latin spells which are all invented very logically and fitting with a scientific tone.  I have to admit I was a little lost with some of the deeper scientific explanations for how the magic functions, mainly because I am completely inept when it comes to any kind of science, maths, logic, reason...you get the gist.  Either way, the author adds a beautiful depth to London which has never been explored before, and I mean that in a literal sense.  The Thames River spirits dart about Grant, some helpful, some so not, as he races time to unravel the inner workings of the mind of a serial killer whom we all know from childhood but would never begin to suspect...


I read Rivers of London in under three days so I think I can safely say it is rather riveting and I was sad when it finished as I felt I already missed the characters.  I believe it’s always a good sign of a well-written novel if you feel like you have made friends whilst reading.  Obviously I was thrilled when I discovered there are two more in the series, although it probably won’t be such good news for my boyfriend who I have barely spoken to in the last few days.  I would definitely recommend this book, it’s perfect holiday reading and a nice little bit of relief for fans of magic books who haven’t been under a decent spell for a while.

Sophie's Super Summer Read-a-palooza

So I have officially finished university (yes, yes, about time...) and have enjoyed three weeks of doing absolutely bloody nothing.  Turns out that three weeks is just about all I can take of lying on the sofa and staring with dead eyes at facebook for hours on end.  My brain has finally recovered and has been starting to crave something a little more than 'shared' photos from 'lol cats' and the like.  So when a friend showed up at my house the other night with a big pile of books that she had brought from home and offered me one I resolved to set myself a little summer challenge.  With what seems like very little hope of being offered my dream job anytime soon, on top of not yet knowing my degree classification and hence whether I have been accepted onto my Masters course, life seemed pretty bleak and pointless.  The weather has been echoing how I feel and being unable to even sit outside and pretend it's summer due to the torrential downpours we have had in Leeds of late I decided to set myself the task of reading 30 books before the end of September.  The requisites being they must be fiction and written in the 21st century.  I will obviously try to read more if I hit the 30 before the deadline and will also be writing up a little review of each of the books and posting on this blog.  I'm always preaching about how important reading is so if I could inspire at least a couple of people to a) read my blog and b) read even one of the books, I will be very happy and content and smiley.  So if anyone is actually reading this then I hope you enjoy this and find a little summer reading for yourself!  :)

Nothing to be a-Shamed About

In the follow up to his critically acclaimed Hunger, Steve McQueen re-emerges with a film which is laced with intensity and insight.  Shame is an unnerving study into the taboo world of sex addiction and the self-loathing that so often accompanies it.  Michael Fassbender puts in a gritty performance as the high-achieving Brandon, whose everyday life is in the grip of an all-consuming sexual dependence.  As a slave to his own sex drive he is dominated by a desire to constantly fulfil his erotic desires, even going so far as to jeopardise his job by spending hours at work trawling porn sites.  His hard drive becomes so riddled with viruses that when it is returned his boss recites a list of lewd sexual videos they found stored on it…a moment of unexpected humour saves Brandon’s job but he begins to see how thin the line he is walking on is. 

The arrival of Brandon’s marginal and troubled sister, Cissy, disrupts his ritual and he can no longer indulge in marathon masturbation sessions and meaningless one night stands.  Like a junkie who can’t get a hit he becomes erratic and anxious.  He attempts to stave off the urges to get what can only be described as a fix, and begins habitual home clean outs, throwing away huge bin bags of hardcore porn and sex paraphernalia.  Ultimately, he is thrown into the grip of deep loneliness and depression and embarks upon an epic binge followed by deep remorse.  Unlike other addictions such as alcohol and gambling, sex addiction is not recognised as a disease and Shame appears to be McQueen’s proposal for why it should be.  Brandon is crippled by his constant craving and Fassbender’s relentless agitation demonstrates clearly how his character’s mind is always elsewhere.  

While McQueen demonstrates with great directorial ease how difficult the life of a male sex addict is, Cissy’s character is underdeveloped.  We are made aware that she too has trouble maintaining relationships and she exhibits promiscuous behaviour (although perhaps no more than an average woman of this day and age).  It is not made clear whether she herself is a nymphomaniac or simply on a path to self-destruction.  A brief fling with Brandon’s married boss follows an almost painful nightclub scene where Mulligan attempts a sultry rendition of ‘New York, New York’ only to produce a piece of singing not even worthy of a bad X-Factor audition.  The only decent thing to come out of this car crash scene is the split second of vulnerability we catch from Brandon, only for him to once again to retreat into himself.  His inability to express emotion and allow others in is a major feature of his disorder and the most damaging factor he faces when trying to build a meaningful relationship.  He is unable to engage during sex with a woman he respects and could possibly care for because she is no longer simply an object of sexual desire.

Shame is stylishly filmed, the serious subject matter one that has never been touched on before, with moments of real world humour peeking through at least expected moments.  We require no explanation of how the brother and sister duo have found themselves in such unfortunate frames of mind, although Cissy hints at the root of the problem as she explains ‘We’re not bad people.  We just come from a bad place’.  Like every addict does they inevitably hit rock bottom, but what remains to be seen is whether the pair can, or cannot recover.  The film could not be accompanied by a more complimentary score, harrowing and strangely sad, a musical embodiment of Brandon’s psyche.  Five stars.  

The Iron Lady is Solid Gold

There were times when watching 'The Iron Lady' that I had to remind myself that Margaret Thatcher wasn't actually playing the lead role.  Meryl Streep owns the part and is frighteningly accurate in her depiction of Britain's former Prime Minister.  By the end of the film I was having to Google images of the real Thatcher to remind myself of what she looked like.
The fragile figure that we meet as the film opens is sad for those of us who remember the days (or have seen the youtube footage) of the enigmatic Thatcher once holding court in Lords.   Pathos is abundant as the modern day Mrs. Thatcher flips between utter confusion and moments of sheer lucidity when her biting wit and cutting intellect remind us of the imposing figure that she once was, and to a degree still is.  Phyllida Lloyd, the director, highlights Thatcher's rapidly deteriorating dementia which is poignantly personified by hallucinations of her late husband, Denis.  The film shows a softer side to Thatcher, or MT as Denis affectionately dubbed her, and watches less like a film about a former political force than acting as a keyhole into her private life.  We are given a glimpse into the life of a woman who, on the surface, seemed invincible but who we are reminded was also a mother, a wife and the one role that drove her to the lengths she took, the daughter of a greengrocer.  Subtleties as small as Thatcher offering her husband a sweet as they watch television are touching in a very intimate way, and it's hard not to feel as if you are intruding on their privacy.  This is a life that Margaret Thatcher hid from the world and we are introduced to a very different Iron Lady from the one that the public became accustomed to.
Lloyd manages to give a fluid transition into Thatcher's past, however it can't help but feel that she uses her dementia as a cinematic tool to do so.  As David Cameron rightly pointed out the film does seem to linger too long on her rapidly decreasing mental state rather than her success as the leader of a country.  Her hallucinations become memories and the audience becomes privy to her Rites of Passage.  We join the young Margaret on her first day at Lords and it is an amusingly ironic moment as she opens the 'Women Member's' door to find an empty room with nothing but an ironing board and iron.  A 'Britain's Next Top Prime Minister' makeover scene renders her truly recognisable as the woman who transformed this country with a 'Prime Minister's Speech' montage scene demonstrating how she found her (literal) voice.  All while the younger Thatcher's cabinet circle her like vultures and she remarkably handles the Falklands War, the elder Iron Lady battles her dementia with equal resolute stoicism, the woman who would not give in to the miners will also not give into her condition.  Streep plays Thatcher as appearing to see a lighter side to her illness, she is aware that Denis is not there and unwilling to admit her visions of him, but this does not stop her jesting and dancing with him in private.  The couple become one of the great partnerships of history and are proof that behind every great woman is a man who can put up with her.  'Were you happy, Denis?', an old lady asks a vision and despite the difficulties they both faced I think that we all know the answer.
Definitely worth a watch, very touching and a true sense of being close to reality.  However, if you're looking for a lowdown of Maggie's political career then it's probably best to go out and buy a biography.